Religion has been around for a long time. Religion has been used in different ways in different civilizations at different times. Often, religion becomes a method for a government to control people, for the government to keep people in line. Religious beliefs were originally brought through the 124,000 prophets that God sent into this world. It was a methodology for people to see in a manifest form God’s love in this world, and to be able to, by looking at that manifest love, begin to bring that love into their own being, and become like what they saw. What happened was that people tried to carry on what the prophets brought, but often the people carrying on what was brought were not at the level of consciousness as the people who brought it. When their own self-interests began to interfere, change came to religions and as opposed to being a path for people to understand themselves, to understand their Lord, it became a political power system.
Sufism grew in the time when religions had lost their way. The understanding of Muhaiyaddeen came forth as one who brings back the truth to the religion. Religions, over time, lose their integrity, they lose their power, they lose their truth, and the truth had to be brought back to them. The Muhaiyaddeens were sent into the world, the qutbs (divinely wise beings) were sent into the world, to bring back that integrity. The religions were already established and there was no need for a new religion, but there was a need to bring truth back into the hearts of devotees.
Truth is beyond physical and religious procedures. Truth is beyond externalities. Truth is beyond the world of illusion. Truth goes to the heart of things. Truth goes to the essence of things. Sufism became known as the essence of religion, the essence of the truth. Sufism stayed away from politics, stayed away from power, and those following this path stayed within themselves trying to put themselves within their Lord. This was the purpose of Sufism, this was the purpose that the qutbs began to convey to the people who listened to them. They said, “There is something beyond this political world. There is something beyond this material world. There is something beyond what the eyes can see. This teaching is what is beyond all of this.”
