I Am a Traveller

INDIAN OCEAN

The Holy month has come to re-align the believer’s heart to the Heavenly Realm.

Ramadan, with it’s strict fasting regime and extra focused worship is God’s gift to us if one only reflected. The practicing believers unplug from the world to deepen their Taqwa or God consciousness, reminding themselves that: “I am a traveller and this place is not my end destination.”

During this month we starve the physical and nurture the spiritual, we weaken the body to strengthen the heart – the core of our consciousness and the commander of the limbs. The entire body is in entrainment with the heart. So when the world’s water has seeped in we find ourselves lacking in self-discipline, we find ourselves falling victims to our impulses.

29 – 30 days of deep spiritual practices that aim to redirect our souls to their Creator. To re-establish purpose on earth and serve as an inner purification from all the dirt accumulated which is tainting our inner eye of consciousness. The deepest challenge is to come face to face with our lower self and deal with its pain, yet to choose to ignore it and realize that its purpose is to limit us in comfort.

The challenge is to kill your screeching pangs of hunger, thirst, emotions, ego telling you to just forget it!! It’s too hard. Hamdillah, during the fast the believer chooses to listen to their heart over their limbs, and will wait for the sun to set before the break of the fast.

Always remember: a satiated belly hardens the spirit and a hungry one softens it, eventually sharpens the intellect.

In this Holy month food is no longer a distraction, nor is it keeping the body restless – all distractions have been eliminated to aid us in delving in to the core of our soul, to get to know ourselves and our Creator. When we face our shortcomings and submit our heart to the Controller of The Hearts, we find that He elevates us, satisfies us, and fuels us with an energy we thought is impossible with such low caloric intake.

Lastly, Ramadan is a crash course in character discipline, courtesy and morality – how do you find your conduct when you’re thirsty, tired and hungry?

“The day of your fast should not be like any ordinary day. When you fast, all your senses: eyes, ears, tongue, hands and feet must fast with you.”

-Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq