Ego is the sense of separation from God. It is the vision of endless diversity of independent existences, each exerting their own willpower. But in reality only Allah is in Existence.
Sheikh Nazim says that 'What a person does is either the manifestation of his own existence, or the vanishing of his own existence' If you choose to assert your existence by saying, “I am here” you can never see God. As Allah says "Oh my servant, Leave yourself and come to me"
Thus, one could know Allah Almighty only by annihilating all traces of his separate self and subsisting in the unlimited and eternal existence of God.
Worship, Good actions and Character helps to lighten the effect of the ego and move faster towards the process of annihilation in the Divine. All worship and acts of goodness are based on the following foundations;
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Caring for others, and feeling for others like you feel for yourself
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Respect and giving true value to all Humanity alike
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Putting others first and Wanting for others more than you want for yourself
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Upholding justice and fairness
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Being honest and truthful to yourself and all around you
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Being Compassionate, Kind and tolerant of others
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Being humble and willingly attributing to Allah all that you have and all that you will ever be.
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Trust and faith in the Allah.
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Having the Sincere and Fervent Desire in seeking the Lord
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True Thankfulness and appreciation towards the Lord and his creation
Reaching towards perfection is a hard task and needs the support and guidance of a Master
Depending on a person's sincerity and obedience, the Sheikh becomes the catalyst for transformational change in the Mureed.
It's only through Purification of Self that one sees his true personality in Allah’s Divine Presence and the seeds of divine love and wisdom could be sown.