Feisal Abdul Rauf: Lose your ego, find your compassion

Traducător: Maria Tancu Corector: Vlad Belciug

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

Vorbesc despre compasiune din punctul de vedere Islamic,

and perhaps my faith is not very well thought of

si poate, credinta mea nu este considerata

as being one that is grounded in compassion.

ca fiind inradacinata in compasiune.

The truth of the matter is otherwise.

Adevarul este altul.

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

Cartea noastra sfanta, Coranul, este constituita din 114 capitole,

and each chapter begins with what we call the basmala,

fiecare capitol incepe cu ceea ce noi numim basmala,

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

zicerea in numele lui Dumnezeu, cel plin de compasiune, cel iertator,

or, as Sir Richard Burton --

sau, asa cum Sir Richard Burton

not the Richard Burton who was married to Elizabeth Taylor,

nu Richard Burton, cel care a fost casatorit cu Elizabeth Taylor,

but the Sir Richard Burton who lived a century before that

ci Sir Richard Burton care a trait un secol inainte

and who was a worldwide traveler

si care era un calator pe intreg globul

and translator of many works of literature --

si translator al multor opere literare,

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

o traduce ca: " in numele lui Dumnezeu, cel care ofera compasiune, cel plin de compasiune."

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

Si in scrierile din Coran, care pentru musulmani este Dumnezeu care vorbeste umanitatii,

God says to his prophet Muhammad --

Dumnezeu spune profetului sau Mohamed,

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

pe care il credem a fi ultimul din seria sa de profeti,

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

pornind de la Adam, incluzandu-i pe Noe, Moise, Abraham,

including Jesus Christ, and ending with Muhammad --

inclusiv Iisus Cristos si terminand cu Mohamed

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

a spus ca," Nu te-am trimis pe tine, O Mohamed,

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

decat ca pe un "raham", decat ca pe o sursa de compasiune pentru umanitate."

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

Cat despre noi, oamenii, si mai ales pentru noi ca musulmani,

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

a caror misiuni, a caror scop, in urmarea caii profetului,

is to make ourselves as much like the prophet.

este sa ne facem cat putem de mult asemanatori profetului,

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

si profetul, in una dintre spunerile lui, a zis,

"Adorn yourselves with the attributes of God."

" dati-va voua atributele lui Dumnezeu"

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

Si pentru ca Dumnezeu insusi a spus ca atributul sau principal este compasiunea,

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

de fapt, Coranul spune ca, " Dumnezeu si-a decretat siesi compasiune",

or, "reigned himself in by compassion" --

sau, " se conduce pe sine prin compasiune".

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

Deci, obiectivul si misiunea noastra trebuie sa fie surse de compasiune,

activators of compassion, actors of compassion

activatori de compasiune, actori de compasiune,

and speakers of compassion and doers of compassion.

si vorbitori despre compasiune, si facatori de lucruri pline de compasiune.

That is all well and good,

Toate acestea sunt bune,

but where do we go wrong,

dar unde gresim,

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

si care este sursa lipsei de compasiune din lume?

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

Pentru a putea raspunde la aceasta intrebare, ne intoarcem pe calea spiritualitatii.

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

In toate traditiile religioase exista ceea ce numiti calea exterioara si calea interioara,

or the exoteric path and the esoteric path.

sau calea exoterica si cea esoterica.

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

Calea esoterica a Islamului este cunoscuta sub numele popular de Sufism sau tasawwuf in Arabica.

And these doctors or these masters,

Si acesti doctori sau acesti maestrii,

these spiritual masters of the Sufi tradition,

acesti maestrii spirituali ai traditiei Sufi,

refer to teachings and examples of our prophet

se refera la invataturi si exemple despre profetul nostru,

that teach us where the source of our problems lies.

care ne invata unde este sursa problemelor.

In one of the battles that the prophet waged,

In una dintre bataliile pe care profetul le-a avut,

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

el a spus credinciosilor sai." Ne intoarcem acum din razboiul mai putin important

to the greater war, to the greater battle."

la razboiul mai important, la razboiul cel mai important."

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

Si ei au raspuns," Mesager al lui Dumnezeu, ne temem de batalie.

How can we go to a greater battle?"

Cum putem sa mergem la o batalie mai mare?"

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

El a spus, "Aceasta este batalia sinelui, batalia egoului."

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

Sursa problemelor umane au legatura cu egotismul, eu.

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

Faimosul stapan Sufi, pe nume Rumi, care este foarte bine cunoscut de majoritatea dintre voi,

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

are o poveste in care povesteste despre un om care se duce acasa la un prieten

and he knocks on the door,

si bate la usa,

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

si o voce a raspuns, " Cine e acolo?"

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

"eu sunt" sau "sunt eu"

as we might say in English.

asa cum am spune in Engleza.

The voice says, "Go away."

vocea spune, " pleaca."

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

Dupa ani multi de training, de disciplina, de cautari si incercari,

he comes back.

el vine inapoi,

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

si cu mult mai multa umilitate, bate din nou la usa.

The voice asks, "Who is there?"

Vocea intreaba, "Cine e acolo?"

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

El a raspuns, " tu esti, oo sfaramatoare de inimi."

The door swings open, and the voice says,

Usa se deschide , si vocea spune,

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

" intra, pentru ca nu este destul loc in casa pentru doi de eu,

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

doi de EU, nu acesti ochi, dar doua egouri.

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

Povestile lui Rumi sunt metafore pentru calea spirituala.

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

In prezenta lui Dumnezeu, nu este destul loc pentru mai mult decat un EU,

and that is the "I" of divinity.

si acela este EUL divinitatii.

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

Intr-o scriere, numita hadith qudsi in traditia noastra,

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

Dumnezeu spune ca, "Servitorul meu, sau " creatura mea, creatura mea umana,

does not approach me by anything that is dearer to me

nu se apropie de mine prin nimic ce este mai drag mie

than what I have asked them to do."

decat prin ceea ce i-am rugat sa faca."

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

Si cei dintre voi care sunteti angajatori stiti exaxt despre ce vorbesc.

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

Va doriti ca angajatii vostrii sa faca ceea ce ii puneti,

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

si daca au facut asta, pot face in plus,

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

dar nu sa ignore ceea ce i-ai pus sa faca.

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

Si Dumnezeu spune, " Servitorul meu se apropie din ce in ce mai mult de mine,

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

prin a face ceea ce i-am rugat sa faca,"

extra credit, we might call it --

treaba in plus, ai putea sa o numesti,

"until I love him or love her.

" pana cand il iubesc pe el sau ea.

And when I love my servant," God says,

si cand imi iubesc servitorul, " Dumnezeu spune,

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

devin ochii prin care el sau ea vede,

the ears by which he or she listens,

urechile prin care el sau ea aude,

the hand by which he or she grasps,

mainile prin care el sau ea apuca,

and the foot by which he or she walks,

piciorul prin care el sau ea merge,

and the heart by which he or she understands."

si inima prin care el sau ea intelege."

It is this merging of our self with divinity

Este fuziunea dintre sine si divinitate

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

aceasta este lectia si scopul pentru calea noastra spirituala si toate traditiile noastre de credinta.

Muslims regard Jesus as the master of Sufism,

Musulmanii il privesc pe Isus ca maestru al sufismului,

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

cel mai mare profet si mesager care a venit sa sublinieze calea spirituala.

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

Cand el spune, " sunt spiritul, sunt calea,"

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

cand profetul Mohamed a zis, " Cine m-a vazut pe mine l-a vazut pe Dumnezeu",

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

este pentru ca ei devenisera atat de mult un instrument al lui Dumnezeu,

they became part of God's team --

devenisera o parte din coloana lui Dumnezeu,

so that God's will was manifest through them,

asa incat dorinta lui Dumnezeu sa se poata manifesta prin ei

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

nu sa se manifeste prin sine si egoul lor.

Compassion on earth is given, it is in us.

Compasiunea pe pamant este data, este in noi.

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

Tot ce trebuie sa facem este sa dam la o parte din cale egoul nostru,

get our egotism out of the way.

dam egoismul la o parte.

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

Sunt sigut, probabil toti de aici , sau marea majoritate dintre voi,

have had what you might call a spiritual experience,

au avut ceva ce ati putea denumi o experienta spirituala,

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

un moment in voata cand, pentru cateva secunde, minute poate,

the boundaries of your ego dissolved.

limitele egoului vostru s-au dizolvat.

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

Si in acel minut, te simteai una si aceeasi persoana cu universul,

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

cu cana de apa, cu oricare alta fiinta umana,

one with the Creator --

cu creatorul,

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

si simteai prezenta puterii, uluirii,

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

dragostei adanci, celei mai adanci compasiuni si mila

that you have ever experienced in your lives.

decat ce ati simtit vreodata in viata.

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

Acela este un moment pe care il primim cadou de la Dumnezeu,

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

un cadou cand , pentru un moment, ne ridica granitele

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

care ne fac sa insistam asupra eu, eu , eu, mie, mie mie

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

si in loc de asta, asemeni persoanei din povestirea lui Rumi,

we say, "Oh, this is all you.

spunem, "ah, totul e facut de tine."

This is all you. And this is all us.

Totul e facut de tine. Si totul e facut de noi.

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

Si noi, si eu, si noi suntem o parte din tine.

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

Tot creatorul, toate obiectivele, sursa noastra de a fi,

and the end of our journey,

si finalul calatoriei noastre.

you are also the breaker of our hearts.

Voi sunteti de asemenea si cei care va sfasaiati singuri inimile.

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

Voi sunteti cei fata de care ar trebui sa ne indreptam, pentru al carui scop sa traim,

and for whose purpose we shall die,

si pentru al carui scop sa murim,

and for whose purpose we shall be resurrected again

si pentru al carui scop sa fim reinviati din nou,

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

pentru a da socoteala lui Dumnezeu cat de mult am fost fiinte pline de compasiune.

Our message today, and our purpose today,

Mesajul nostru astazi, si scopul nostru astazi,

and those of you who are here today,

si cei care sunteti azi aici,

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

si scopul acestei charte de compasiune, este de a reaminti.

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

Pentru ca in Coran ni se spune sa ne amintim, sa ne reamintim fiecaruia,

because the knowledge of truth is within every human being.

pentru ca intelegerea adevarului se afla inauntrul fiecarei fiinte umane.

We know it all.

Stim cu totii asta.

We have access to it all.

Avem acces la toate astea.

Jung may have called it "the subconscious."

Jung poate a numit asta subconstient.

Through our subconscious, in your dreams --

Prin intermediul subconstientului nostru, in vise,

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

pe care Coranul le numeste, starea noastra de somn, moartea mai putin dureroasa,

"the temporary death" --

moartea temporara.

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

In starea aceasta de somn avem vise, avem viziuni,

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

calatorim chiar si in afara corpurilor noastre, pentru multi dintre noi,

and we see wonderful things.

si vedem lucruri extraordinare.

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

Calatorim dincolo de limitele spatiului asa cum il cunoastem noi,

and beyond the limitations of time as we know it.

si dincolo de limitele timpului asa cum il stim noi.

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

Dar toate acestea sunt pentru a glorifica numele creatorului,

whose primary name is the compassionating, the compassionate.

ale carui nume sunt plin de compasiune, cel compasional.

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

God, Bokh , indiferent de numele sub care il stiti, Allah, Ram, Om,

whatever the name might be through which you name

oricare nume care credeti ca numeste

or access the presence of divinity,

sau acceseaza prezenta divinitatii,

it is the locus of absolute being,

este locul de pornire al fiintei absolute,

absolute love and mercy and compassion,

iubirii absolute si milei si compasiunii,

and absolute knowledge and wisdom,

si cunoastere absoluta si intelepciune,

what Hindus call "satchidananda."

ceea ce hindusii numesc satchidananda.

The language differs,

Limba difera,

but the objective is the same.

dar obiectivele sunt aceleasi.

Rumi has another story

Rumi are o alta povestire

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

despre trei, un turc, un arab,

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

si am uitat ce era a treia persoana, dar de dragul meu, sa zicem ca era Malaeziana.

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

Unul intreaba de angour, unul este, sa zicem englez,

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

unul intreaba de eneb, si unul intreba de struguri.

And they have a fight and an argument because

Si se cearta si pentru ca,

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

eu vreau struguri, eu vreau eneb, eu vreau angour,

not knowing that the word that they're using

nestiind ca acel cuvant pe care il utilizeaza ei

refers to the same reality in different languages.

se refera la aceeasi realitate in limbi diferite.

There's only one absolute reality by definition,

Exista doar o singura realitate absoluta prin definitie,

one absolute being by definition,

o singura fiinta prin definitie,

because absolute is, by definition, single,

pentru ca absolut este, prin definitie, singur,

and absolute and singular.

si absolut si singular.

There's this absolute concentration of being,

Exista aceasta concentratie absoluta a fiintei,

the absolute concentration of consciousness,

concentratie absoluta a constiintei,

awareness, an absolute locus of compassion and love

un loc de pornire absolut al compasiunii si iubirii

that defines the primary attributes of divinity.

care defineste atributele primare ale divinitatii.

And these should also be

Si acestea ar trebui sa fie

the primary attributes of what it means to be human.

si atributele primare ale ceea ce inseamna sa fi om.

For what defines humanity, perhaps biologically,

Pentru ca ceea ce defineste umanitatea, poate din punct de vedere biologic,

is our physiology,

este fiziologia noastra,

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

dar Dumnezeu defineste umanitatea prin spiritualitate, prin natura noastra,

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

Si Coranul spune, el vorbeste ingerilor si le spune,

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

" Cand am terminat a-l face pe Adam din lut,

and breathed into him of my spirit,

si am suflat peste acesta spiritul meu,

then, fall in prostration to him."

atunci sa cadeti in inchinare in fata lui."

The angels prostrate, not before the human body,

Ingerii se inchina, nu in fata corpului uman,

but before the human soul.

cat in fata sufletului uman.

Why? Because the soul, the human soul,

De ce? Pentru ca sufletul, sufletul uman,

embodies a piece of the divine breath,

incorporeaza o bucatica din suflul divin,

a piece of the divine soul.

o bucatica din sufletul divin.

This is also expressed in biblical vocabulary

Aceasta este exprimata si in vocabularul biblic

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

cand suntem invatati ca am fost creati in imaginea lui Dumnezeu.

What is the imagery of God?

Care este imaginea lui Dumnezeu?

The imagery of God is absolute being,

Imaginea lui Dumnezeu este fiinta absoluta,

absolute awareness and knowledge and wisdom

constiinta absoluta si cunoastere si intelepciune

and absolute compassion and love.

si compasiune absoluta si dragoste.

And therefore, for us to be human --

Si, deci, pentru ca noi sa fim umani,

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

in cel mai bun sens de a fi uman,

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

in cel mai plin de bucurie sens al ceea ce inseamna sa fi uman,

means that we too have to be proper stewards

intelegandu-se ca si noi trebuie sa fim stuarzi adeecvati

of the breath of divinity within us,

suflului divin din noi,

and seek to perfect within ourselves the attribute of being,

si sa cautam sa perfectionam in interiorul nostru atributul de a fi,

of being alive, of beingness;

de a fi in viata, de fiinta,

the attribute of wisdom, of consciousness, of awareness;

atributul intelepciunii, constiintei, constientei,

and the attribute of being compassionate and loving beings.

si atributul de a fi persoane compasionate si iubitoare.

This is what I understand from my faith tradition,

Asta inteleg eu din traditiile credintei mele,

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

si asta am inteles eu din studiile altor traditii de credinta,

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

si aceasta este platforma comuna pe care trebuie sa stam cu totii,

and when we stand on this platform as such,

si cand vom sta pe aceasta platforma,

I am convinced that we can make a wonderful world.

sunt convins ca putem sa creem o lume mai buna.

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

Si cred, personal, ca suntem pe cale,

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

si ca in prezenta si cu ajutorul oamenilor ca voi de aici,

we can bring about the prophecy of Isaiah.

putem sa facem adevarata profetia lui Isiah.

For he foretold of a period

El a prezis de o perioada

when people shall transform their swords into plowshares

cand oamenii isi vor transforma sabiile in taisuri de plug

and will not learn war or make war anymore.

si vor invata sa nu se mai razboiasca niciodata.

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

Am ajuns la un stadiu din istoria omenirii, in care nu avem de ales.

we must, we must lower our egos,

Trebuie, trebuie sa ne lasam jos egourile,

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

sa ne controlam egourile, fie ca e un ego individual, personal,

family ego, national ego --

sau al familiei, sau al natiei,

and let all be for the glorification of the one.

si sa lasam totul sa fie pentru glorificarea unuia.

Thank you, and God bless you.

Multumesc si Dumnezeu sa va binecuvanteze.

(Applause)

(aplauze)