Feisal Abdul Rauf: Lose your ego, find your compassion

Translator: Miro Pandur Reviewer: Sandra Gojic

I'm speaking about compassion from an Islamic point of view,

Pričat ću Vam o samilosti sa stanovišta Islama,

and perhaps my faith is not very well thought of

jer se možda o mojoj vjeri ne razmišlja

as being one that is grounded in compassion.

kao o vjeri utemeljenoj na samilosti.

The truth of the matter is otherwise.

Prava istina je sasvim drugačija.

Our holy book, the Koran, consists of 114 chapters,

Naša sveta knjiga, Kur'an, sadrži 114 poglavlja,

and each chapter begins with what we call the basmala,

i svako poglavlje počinje s onim što mi nazivamo basmala (bismillah)

the saying of "In the name of God, the all compassionate, the all merciful,"

kazivanje u ime Boga, Milostivog, Samilosnog,

or, as Sir Richard Burton --

ili kako je to opisao Sir Richard Burton

not the Richard Burton who was married to Elizabeth Taylor,

ne onaj Richard Burton koji je oženio Elizabeth Taylor,

but the Sir Richard Burton who lived a century before that

nego Sir Richard Burton koji je živio stoljeće ranije

and who was a worldwide traveler

i koji je bio svjetski putnik

and translator of many works of literature --

i prevoditelj mnogih književnih djela,

translates it. "In the name of God, the compassionating, the compassionate."

on to prevodi kao "u ime Boga, milostivog, onog koji je samilostan"

And in a saying of the Koran, which to Muslims is God speaking to humanity,

I u kazivanju Kur'ana, koji je za muslimane obraćanje Boga ljudima,

God says to his prophet Muhammad --

Bog govori svom poslaniku Muhamedu

whom we believe to be the last of a series of prophets,

za kojeg vjerujemo da je zadnji u nizu poslanika

beginning with Adam, including Noah, including Moses, including Abraham,

počevši od Adama, uključujući Nou, Mojsija, Abrahama,

including Jesus Christ, and ending with Muhammad --

Isusa Krista i na kraju Muhammeda

that, "We have not sent you, O Muhammad,

i kaže: "Nisam te poslao, o Muhammede

except as a 'rahmah,' except as a source of compassion to humanity."

osim da budeš raham, osim da budeš izvor milostivosti ljudskom rodu."

For us human beings, and certainly for us as Muslims,

I za nas kao ljudska bića, naročito za nas muslimane,

whose mission, and whose purpose in following the path of the prophet

čiji je zadatak i cilj slijediti put Poslanika,

is to make ourselves as much like the prophet.

i postati što sličniji Poslaniku

And the prophet, in one of his sayings, said,

sam Poslanik je u jednoj svojoj propovjedi rekao:

"Adorn yourselves with the attributes of God."

-"Okitite se s svojstvima Boga."

And because God Himself said that the primary attribute of his is compassion --

A sam Bog je rekao da je njegova najvažnija osobina suosjećajnost-milostivost.

in fact, the Koran says that "God decreed upon himself compassion,"

U stvari Kur'an kaže, "Bog je od Sebe naredio milostivost"

or, "reigned himself in by compassion" --

ili "upravlja u Svojoj Milostivosti"

therefore, our objective and our mission must be to be sources of compassion,

Stoga naš zadatak, naš cilj mora biti da postanemo izvori milostivosti

activators of compassion, actors of compassion

da pokrećemo milostivost, da djelujemo milostivo,

and speakers of compassion and doers of compassion.

da imamo ulogu onih koji zagovaraju milostivost i budemo aktivni u činjenju milostivosti.

That is all well and good,

To je sve lijepo i dobro,

but where do we go wrong,

ali kuda smo to skrenuli?

and what is the source of the lack of compassion in the world?

Šta je izvor nedostatka milostivosti na svijetu?

For the answer to this, we turn to our spiritual path.

Da bi odgovorili na ovo, vratit ćemo se našem duhovnom putu.

In every religious tradition, there is the outer path and the inner path,

U svakoj religijskoj tradiciji postoji ono što nazivamo vanjskim i unutrašnjim putem.

or the exoteric path and the esoteric path.

Egzoteričnim i ezoteričnim putem.

The esoteric path of Islam is more popularly known as Sufism, or "tasawwuf" in Arabic.

Ezoterični put Islama, poznatiji je pod nazivom Sufizam ili tasawuf na arapskom.

And these doctors or these masters,

Ti majstori i duhovni učitelji

these spiritual masters of the Sufi tradition,

Sufijske tradicije

refer to teachings and examples of our prophet

pozivaju se na učenja i primjere našeg Poslanika,

that teach us where the source of our problems lies.

koja nas uče gdje su zapravo uzroci naših problema.

In one of the battles that the prophet waged,

U jednom od ratnih pohoda koje je predvodio Poslanik,

he told his followers, "We are returning from the lesser war

on je rekao svojim sljedbenicima "Vraćamo se iz manjeg rata

to the greater war, to the greater battle."

I ulazimo u veći rat, u veliku borbu".

And they said, "Messenger of God, we are battle-weary.

A sljedbenici su odgovorili, "Božji Poslaniče, mi smo umorni od ratovanja.

How can we go to a greater battle?"

Kako sad da idemo u još veću bitku?"

He said, "That is the battle of the self, the battle of the ego."

On je odgovorio, "To je borba sa sobom, borba s egom (sebičnošću)."

The sources of human problems have to do with egotism, "I."

Uzroci ljudskih problema leže u sebičnosti, JA!

The famous Sufi master Rumi, who is very well known to most of you,

Čuveni Sufija učitelj Rumi, koji je dobro poznat mnogima u ovoj dvorani,

has a story in which he talks of a man who goes to the house of a friend,

ispričao je priču o čovjeku koji ide posjetiti prijatelja.

and he knocks on the door,

Pokuca na vrata

and a voice answers, "Who's there?"

i čuje glas: "Ko je?"

"It's me," or, more grammatically correctly, "It is I,"

"Ja sam" ili možda bolje rečeno, "To sam JA"

as we might say in English.

kako bi to rekli na engleskom.

The voice says, "Go away."

Glas reče: "Odlazi!"

After many years of training, of disciplining, of search and struggle,

Nakon mnogo godina vježbe, discipline, potrage i unutarnje borbe,

he comes back.

čovjek se vratio.

With much greater humility, he knocks again on the door.

I puno poniznije, ponovo je pokucao na vrata.

The voice asks, "Who is there?"

Opet je čuo glas: "Ko je?"

He said, "It is you, O heartbreaker."

Odgovorio je: "Pa to si Ti, o srcelomitelju."

The door swings open, and the voice says,

Vrata se otvoriše i glas kaže:

"Come in, for there is no room in this house for two I's,"

"Uđi, jer u ovoj kući nema mjesta za dva JA

-- two capital I's, not these eyes -- "for two egos."

(engl. ajz - igra riječi - ajz znači i oči), za dva Ega."

And Rumi's stories are metaphors for the spiritual path.

Rumijeve priče su metafore za duhovni put.

In the presence of God, there is no room for more than one "I,"

U prisustvu Boga, nema mjesta za više nego jedno JA,

and that is the "I" of divinity.

a to je božansko JA.

In a teaching -- called a "hadith qudsi" in our tradition --

U učenjima koja se zovu Hadit kudsi u našoj tradiciji,

God says that, "My servant," or "My creature, my human creature,

Bog kaže, "Moj sluga" ili "Moje stvorenje, moje ljudsko stvorenje,

does not approach me by anything that is dearer to me

ne može me ničim više razgaliti,

than what I have asked them to do."

nego čineći ono što zatražih."

And those of you who are employers know exactly what I mean.

I oni od vas koji su poslodavci tačno znate na što mislim.

You want your employees to do what you ask them to do,

Vi želite da vaši zaposlenici naprave što ste tražili od njih.

and if they've done that, then they can do extra.

I ako su to napravili, mogu napraviti i nešto dodatno,

But don't ignore what you've asked them to do.

, ali ne smiju zanemariti ono što ste vi tražili da naprave.

"And," God says, "my servant continues to get nearer to me,

I Bog reče, "Moj rob to mi je bliži

by doing more of what I've asked them to do" --

što više čini ono, što tražim od njega".

extra credit, we might call it --

Mi bi to nazvali "dopunske zasluge" .

"until I love him or love her.

"sve dok ga (ju) ljubim."

And when I love my servant," God says,

"I kad volim svog roba" reče Bog,

"I become the eyes by which he or she sees,

"postajem oči kojima gleda on ili ona,

the ears by which he or she listens,

postajem uši kojima sluša,

the hand by which he or she grasps,

postajem ruka kojom hvata

and the foot by which he or she walks,

i noga kojom hoda

and the heart by which he or she understands."

i srce kojim razumije."

It is this merging of our self with divinity

To nas povezuje s božanskim

that is the lesson and purpose of our spiritual path and all of our faith traditions.

i to je poruka i cilj našeg duhovnog puta i svih naših vjerske tradicije.

Muslims regard Jesus as the master of Sufism,

Muslimani prihvaćaju Isusa kao učitelja Sufizma

the greatest prophet and messenger who came to emphasize the spiritual path.

kao najvećeg Poslanika i glasnika koji je došao istaknuti duhovni put.

When he says, "I am the spirit, and I am the way,"

Kada kaže, "Ja sam duša, ja sam put"

and when the prophet Muhammad said, "Whoever has seen me has seen God,"

kada Poslanik Muhamed kaže: "Ko je vidio mene, kao da je vidio Boga",

it is because they became so much an instrument of God,

to je zato što su oni postali toliko bliski Bogu

they became part of God's team --

da su postali dio Božanskog daha.

so that God's will was manifest through them,

tako da se kroz njih očitovala Božja volja

and they were not acting from their own selves and their own egos.

i oni nisu djelovali svojom voljom ili zbog sebe.

Compassion on earth is given, it is in us.

Samilost nam je darovana, ona je u nama.

All we have to do is to get our egos out of the way,

Jedino što moramo napraviti je da uklonimo ego s puta,

get our egotism out of the way.

uklonimo naš egoizam s puta.

I'm sure, probably all of you here, or certainly the very vast majority of you,

Siguran sam da ste svi ovdje ili barem velika većina vas

have had what you might call a spiritual experience,

doživjeli ono što nazivamo duhovnim iskustvom.

a moment in your lives when, for a few seconds, a minute perhaps,

Trenutak u svom životu, možda nekoliko trenutaka,ili minuta

the boundaries of your ego dissolved.

kad ste zbacili okove ega.

And at that minute, you felt at one with the universe --

U tim trenucima ste se osjećali kao dio uiniverzuma,

one with that jug of water, one with every human being,

postali ste jedno sa ovom posudom vode, jedno sa svakim ljudskim bićem,

one with the Creator --

jedno sa svojim Stvoriteljem,

and you felt you were in the presence of power, of awe,

i osjetili ste prisustvo snage, strahopoštovanja,

of the deepest love, the deepest sense of compassion and mercy

duboke ljubavi i snažan osjećaj saosjećanja i milosti

that you have ever experienced in your lives.

koji ste ikad iskusili u svom životu.

That is a moment which is a gift of God to us --

Taj trenutak je Božji dar nama,

a gift when, for a moment, he lifts that boundary

dar kojim, na trenutak,, otklanja sve ograničenja

which makes us insist on "I, I, I, me, me, me,"

koje nas inače tjeraju da naglašavamo JA, JA, JA, MENE, MENE,MENE

and instead, like the person in Rumi's story,

umjesto da kažemo,kao što to čini ličnost iz Rumijeve priče,

we say, "Oh, this is all you.

da kažemo:"O, to si sve TI."

This is all you. And this is all us.

To si sve Ti. A ovo je sve mi.

And us, and I, and us are all part of you.

I Mi, i JA smo dio Tebe Stvoritelju.

O, Creator! O, the Objective! The source of our being

Sve kreacije, svi ciljevi, svrhe našeg postojanja,

and the end of our journey,

I kraj našeg putovanja.

you are also the breaker of our hearts.

Ti Si onaj koji se voli.

You are the one whom we should all be towards, for whose purpose we live,

Ti Si onaj kome trebamo težiti, za čiju svrhu mi živimo,

and for whose purpose we shall die,

I za čiju svrhu ćemo umrijeti,

and for whose purpose we shall be resurrected again

I za čiju svrhu ćemo ponovo biti oživljeni,

to account to God to what extent we have been compassionate beings."

I položiti račun o tome koliko smo bili samilosni.

Our message today, and our purpose today,

Naša poruka danas i naš cilj danas,

and those of you who are here today,

I vas koji ste ovdje danas,

and the purpose of this charter of compassion, is to remind.

i cilj ovog izlaganja o samilosti, je da nas podsjeti.

For the Koran always urges us to remember, to remind each other,

Kur'an nas opominje da zapamtimo, da podsjećamo jedan drugoga,

because the knowledge of truth is within every human being.

na znanje o istini koju u sebi nosi svako ljudsko biće.

We know it all.

Svi mi to znamo.

We have access to it all.

Čak svi imamo pristup tome.

Jung may have called it "the subconscious."

Jung (Carl Gustav Jung psihijata rop.p) bi to mogao nazvati podsvješću

Through our subconscious, in your dreams --

Kroz našu podsvjest ,u našim snovima,

the Koran calls our state of sleep "the lesser death,"

koje Kur'an, to naše stanje sna, naziva manja smrt,

"the temporary death" --

privremena smrt,

in our state of sleep we have dreams, we have visions,

U stanju spavanja imamo snove, imamo vizije,

we travel even outside of our bodies, for many of us,

putujemo izvan našeg tijela, mnogi od nas,

and we see wonderful things.

i vidimo prekrasne stvari.

We travel beyond the limitations of space as we know it,

Putujemo bez ograničenja prostorom kojeg znamo,

and beyond the limitations of time as we know it.

putujemo bez ograničenja vremenom kojeg znamo.

But all this is for us to glorify the name of the creator

Ali to sve nam je dano da uzdižemo ime Stvoritelja

whose primary name is the compassionating, the compassionate.

čije je pravo ime Milostivi, onaj koji je Samilostan.

God, Bokh, whatever name you want to call him with, Allah, Ram, Om,

Bog, Bokh, ili kojim god Ga imenom nazivali, Allah, Ram, Om,

whatever the name might be through which you name

kojim god imenom se služili,

or access the presence of divinity,

ili pristupili stvarnosti Stvoritelja

it is the locus of absolute being,

je mjesto apsolutnog bića,

absolute love and mercy and compassion,

apsolutne ljubavi, milosrđa i samilosti

and absolute knowledge and wisdom,

apsolutnog znanja i mudrosti,

what Hindus call "satchidananda."

koje Hindusi nazivaju Sačitananda.

The language differs,

Jezici su različiti

but the objective is the same.

ali cilj je isti.

Rumi has another story

Rumi ima drugu priču

about three men, a Turk, an Arab and --

o trojici: Turčinu, Arapu

and I forget the third person, but for my sake, it could be a Malay.

i zaboravio sam treću osobu, ali neka to bude recimo, Malajac.

One is asking for angur -- one is, say, an Englishman --

Jedan traži angour, a jedan od njih govori engleski,

one is asking for eneb, and one is asking for grapes.

jedan traži eneb i jedan traži grapes (engl. grožđe).

And they have a fight and an argument because

I oni se oko toga svađaju i prepiru jer,

-- "I want grapes." "I want eneb. "I want angur." --

Ja želim grožđe, ja želim eneb, ja želim angour,

not knowing that the word that they're using

a ne znaju da se ta riječ

refers to the same reality in different languages.

odnosi na istu stvarnost samo na različitim jezicima!

There's only one absolute reality by definition,

Po definiciji postoji samo jedna apsolutna stvarnost,

one absolute being by definition,

jedan apsolut, biće po definiciji,

because absolute is, by definition, single,

jer apsolutno je, po definiciji, jedno

and absolute and singular.

apsolutno i jednina.

There's this absolute concentration of being,

Ovdje je apsolutna koncentracija postojanja,

the absolute concentration of consciousness,

apsolutna koncentracija svijesti,

awareness, an absolute locus of compassion and love

svjesnosti, apsolutno mjesto samilosti i ljubavi

that defines the primary attributes of divinity.

koje definira glavnu osobinu Božanskoga.

And these should also be

I to bi također trebala biti

the primary attributes of what it means to be human.

glavna osobina za ono što mi nazivamo čovječnost.

For what defines humanity, perhaps biologically,

Ono što definira čovječnost, u biološkom smislu,

is our physiology,

je naša fiziologija.

but God defines humanity by our spirituality, by our nature.

Ali Bog definira čovječnost našom duhovnosti, našom prirodom.

And the Koran says, He speaks to the angels and says,

I Kur'an kaže, on govori anđelima i kaže:

"When I have finished the formation of Adam from clay,

:"Kada završim stvaranje Adama od gline,

and breathed into him of my spirit,

I udahnem mu dušu od Mog Duha,

then, fall in prostration to him."

tad mu se svi poklonite (padnite ničice pred njim).

The angels prostrate, not before the human body,

Anđeli su se poklonili, , ne pred ljudskim tijelom,

but before the human soul.

nego pred ljudskom dušom.

Why? Because the soul, the human soul,

Zašto? Zato što duša, ljudska duša,

embodies a piece of the divine breath,

sadrži dio božanstvenog daha,

a piece of the divine soul.

komadić božanske duše.

This is also expressed in biblical vocabulary

To je također iskazano Biblijskim riječnikom

when we are taught that we were created in the divine image.

kad smo poučeni da smo stvoreni na sliku božju.

What is the imagery of God?

Šta je slika Božja?

The imagery of God is absolute being,

Slika božja je apsolutno biće,

absolute awareness and knowledge and wisdom

apsolutna svjest te znanje i mudrost

and absolute compassion and love.

i apsolutna samilost i ljubav.

And therefore, for us to be human --

I zato, za nas biti čovjekom,

in the greatest sense of what it means to be human,

u najvećem značenju onoga što podrazumjevamo pod riječi čovjek I čovječnost,

in the most joyful sense of what it means to be human --

u najradosnijem osjećaju onoga što znači biti čovjek,

means that we too have to be proper stewards

sastoji se u tome da moramo pravilno upravljati

of the breath of divinity within us,

dahom božjim u nama,

and seek to perfect within ourselves the attribute of being,

i težiti usavršavanju naših osobina ,

of being alive, of beingness;

života, bivanja,

the attribute of wisdom, of consciousness, of awareness;

osobinu mudrosti, svjesnosti, postojanja,

and the attribute of being compassionate and loving beings.

i osobinu suosjećanja i bića koje voli.

This is what I understand from my faith tradition,

To je ono što sam shvatio iz moje vjerske tradicije,

and this is what I understand from my studies of other faith traditions,

i to je što sam shvatio proučavajući tradicije drugih vjera.

and this is the common platform on which we must all stand,

To je zajednička platforma na koju svi moramo stati

and when we stand on this platform as such,

I kada svi budemo stajali na toj platformi kao takvoj,

I am convinced that we can make a wonderful world.

uvjeren sam da možemo stvoriti divan svijet.

And I believe, personally, that we're on the verge

I osobno vjerujem da smo na rubu toga

and that, with the presence and help of people like you here,

da se to I desi i da uz pomoć ljudi poput vas ovdje,

we can bring about the prophecy of Isaiah.

možemo ispuniti Izajino proročanstvo.

For he foretold of a period

On je prorekao razdoblje

when people shall transform their swords into plowshares

kad će ljudi mačeve pretopiti u plugove

and will not learn war or make war anymore.

i neće više učiti o ratovanju niti voditi ratove.

We have reached a stage in human history that we have no option:

Dostigli smo razdoblje u ljudskoj historiji u kojem nemamo izbora.

we must, we must lower our egos,

MI moramo,moramo smanjiti naša ega,

control our egos -- whether it is individual ego, personal ego,

kontrolirati naša ega, bilo da je to naš, osobni ego,

family ego, national ego --

porodični ego, nacionalni ego,

and let all be for the glorification of the one.

i pustiti da sve bude u slavu Jednoga .

Thank you, and God bless you.

Hvala vam i Bog vas blagoslovio

(Applause)

(pljesak)