Sufism- The 7 Stages

Spiritual Awakening

Spiritual awakening knows no limitations of caste, creed or religion. Any person in the world can experience the pleasure of union with the supreme power and attaining moksha (which is the last stage of spiritual awakening). However, many believe that the spiritual awakening experiences are restricted to certain religions and spiritual traditions, like Hinduism and Buddhism for example. This is certainly not the truth. Sufism, an esoteric path within Islam, also follows a variety of spiritual practices, leading to the awakening experiences. It showcases us the way to God through spirituality and emotions. The ancient practices and mystical teachings imparted by the Sufis have great level of importance for the spiritual seekers today.
Not just this, Sufism also describes the major stages spiritual awakening that explains the spiritual journey of the soul traveling from this world to a world that is closer to God. But, before discussing these stages of spiritual awakening, lets have a look at a story by Farid al-Din Attar (12th Century Sufi poet), who first described these stages.
The story goes like this:
Once upon a time, there were thousands of birds who were eager to find a King for their Kingdom. Keeping a great level of determination in their mind, they set out for the journey. On their way, they found seven valleys, each having a different name and significance. When they began crossing the valleys, some birds died, some gave up, some returned to their kingdom and some made excuses. So, only 30 birds made through the journey. At the end of the journey, they realized that the king they were looking for is a reflection of themselves. Eventually, they become fully aware of the fact that all of them are the part of a whole.
This story, ‘Colloquy of the Birds’  is based on a belief that God is the totality of existence. He resides in us, and we reside in him. Hence, God is not separate from the universe, and we are not separate from God. The seven valleys, as described in this story poem are Talab, Eshq, Marifat, Istighnah, Tawheed, Hayrat and, finally, Fuqur and Fana. These valleys are actually the stages or path of awakening experienced by the soul.

7 Stages Of Spiritual Awakening

Now that you know about the valleys or stages of spiritual awakening (as mentioned above), lets get acquainted with them in detail.

1. The Valley of Search

This is the first step in the journey of a spiritual seeker. According to Bahá'u'lláh - the writer of the book ‘Seven Valleys’ - one must not follow the path followed by his forefathers, and should cleanse his heart before embarking on this spiritual journey. Patience and ardor are the major keys to traverse this valley.

2. The Valley of Love

This stage symbolizes reason and love by smoke and fire. It states that where there is love, there is no room for reason; it simply vanishes. When a person gains inner sight, he is able to see the spiritual foundation of the visible world. He knows that he won't be able to learn the importance of love, if he keeps seeing the world with the eyes of ‘reasons’. Hence, he completely dissolves reasons in the fire of love. At this stage, the seeker is completely enamored with the love and admiration for God.

3. The Valley of Knowledge

This stage refers to seeker's thirst for spiritual knowledge or the knowledge which has no starting or end points. Here, the seeker is not looking for bookish knowledge. He is not looking for more facts and information about God. Then what type of knowledge is he looking for? He is looking for insight. He is looking for true understanding of the reality. The seeker knows that bookish knowledge can't be an alternative to true understanding. Merely parroting scriptures will not take him closer to God.  Essentially, he is looking for wisdom, not mere information.

The seeker tries to find wisdom in every area of his like. He tries to find wisdom in his pain and suffering and he tries to find wisdom in his happy moments too. He gains wisdom when he faces ups and downs of his life. Even though he sometimes struggle to feel gratitude for God, especially if he is going through hardship, he is still able to see the "silver lining" behind the cloud of suffering.

In short, his everyday life becomes his training ground for wisdom.

4. The Valley of Unity

Here the unity between mind and heart develops and a certain kind of consciousness seems to take form. At this stage, the seeker has no ego and praises the Lord for all the creations in the world. His interest in life increases and enjoys everything he sees. He start seeing his beloved in everything, even in his enemy. Hence, the world becomes a place of splendor for the seeker, no matter what good or bad, life throws at him

5. The Valley of Contentment

At this stage, the seeker comes across a feeling of contentment, that is, he becomes inwardly happy. He has also developed a certain indifference to all material things. The seeker understands that happiness cannot be obtained by material things. This stage is a mashup of a highly developed indifferent attitude and the joy and happiness derived from previous stage or valley.

6. The Valley of Wonderment

This stage is also known as the Valley of Amazement, wherein the seeker is amazed by the beauty of God. He keeps exploring the mysteries of God’s revelation, and continues to be astonished as he explores the mystery of creation one after the other. Also, he gets to know the cause of all causes, the reason of all reasons and understanding about what is beyond all things.

Because of all these inner understandings, the spiritual seeker often becomes a ardent devotee of God. The realization of this valley is kind of similar to that of the fourth valley, where the seeker continues to explore God in his creation. But, in the fourth valley (valley of unity), the seeker seeks God in his creation so that he could end his seeking. In his seeking, God remains an objection or goal to reach or grasp onto.
However, in the valley of wonderment, the seeker seeks God not because he wants to end his spiritual search or not because he wants to be God-realized. Rather he seeks God because he loves him. He loves God for the sake of it, and he has no hidden motive behind his love, like going to heaven for example

7. The Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness

This is the last stage referred to as the state of self-annihilation in God. Here, the seeker is completely empty of all concepts of a separate self that constitute the ego-mind. His individuality is lost in the depth of God conscientiousness, just like a water drop gets lost in water of a vast sea. Here, in this stage, there is no lover, only the beloved remains. Here, the worshipper gets lost, only the worshipped remains. Here, there is no God's creation, only God remains.

SO LONG AS MAN CLAMOURS FOR THE I AND THE MINE, HIS WORKS ARE AS NAUGHT:

WHEN ALL LOVE OF THE I AND THE MINE 15 DEAD, THEN THE WORK OF THE LORD 15 DONE. FOR WORK HAS NO OTHER AIM THAN THE GETTING OF KNOWLEDGE: WHEN THAT COMES, THEN WORK IS PUT

AWAY. THE FLOWER BLOOMS FOR THE FRUIT: WHEN THE FRUIT COMES, THE FLOWER WITHERS. THE MUSK IS IN THE DEER, BUT IT SEEKS IT NOT WITHIN ITSELF: IT WANDERS IN QUEST OF GRASS.