Quote of the Day: If You Claim To Love God...

‘If you claim to love God and you hate humanity, you are a liar.’ - Younus AlGohar

Mankind's Rise to Eminence

How extra-celestial beings changed the course of human history.

There are three periods in human history. In the religious circles, it is commonly believed that in total, God sent 124 000 different messengers and prophets. Out of them, 14 000 were only Adams. In the theosophical circles of Abrahamic faiths - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - the scholars understand that there was only one Adam, but they do not know how to justify it.

The First Period: The Adams

Now we’re living in the scientific era. We never had the type of transportation that we have today in the past. We have aeroplanes, motorised boats, etc. We can now travel by sea, air and land. Everything has become so advanced and travelling has become so easy and comfortable. However, in the olden times, travelling was a nightmare.

Christopher Fernandez was a Spanish, Christian leader. He sent a man called Christopher Columbus on a journey. The idea was to discover a land where they could establish a Christian kingdom. Spain comes from the word ‘Usman’ which we call ‘Ottoman’ in English. The words ‘España (Spain)’ and ‘Hispanic’ are derived from it. Christopher Columbus was able to make a boat with an automatic motor and go far out into the sea.

He was looking for any barren land when he arrived at the soil that we call the United States of America today. The only people he bumped into there were the Native Americans. Because they had dark complexions, he thought that perhaps they were Indians, so he thought that he arrived in India. He was the first to arrive from across the Atlantic, but people still lived in America before he arrived.

If it was only one Adam who came, then it would become a mystery how the progeny of one Adam dispersed itself and scattered into so many different islands and remote places of this world. Some people live in the mountains, in igloos; their nature and culture are different.

So there was not just one Adam; 14 000 Adams were sent. Human beings have inhabited this world for millions and millions of years. For that enormously long period of time, God had only seen people who would worship him in their worship places. These people did not know anything about God’s love or the existence of celestial realms where, other than them, different types of creatures inhabit.

In terms of knowledge and understanding of the cosmos, their intelligence was zero. They couldn’t think of anybody else for except themselves. Even today, we do believe there are angels and genies, but we haven’t seen them with our naked eyes. A majority of people haven’t seen angels walking [in the world]. However, we believe it because we have been told of their existence by trustworthy individuals [that we know to be saints of God].

So for as long as the common man existed in this world, who didn’t know about divine love, God had been experimenting [with] different species of humankind. He made many different types of human beings. Sometimes, he would change the colour of their skin. Sometimes, he would change their height. However, the culture of hatred was pretty much persistent. Their hateful culture of killing each other never perished.

In the end, maybe 6500 years ago - that is pretty close in comparison to millions of years since the inhabitation of humankind on Planet Earth - God, as it has come to our knowledge, got bored with the kind of worship and culture that human beings carried for that long. Then he decided that now was the time for him to upgrade human beings in character and in spirituality.

Prophets who gave the world an insight into the future - which we normally call prophecies - these kinds of prophets were not there in the era [pre-existing the last Adam]. The first time a prophet was introduced in this world with the ability to foretell the future was only 6500 years ago.

Before that period of time, the human heart and soul were barren. There was no sign of spiritual cultivation because there was no seed of love. So they lived in complete oblivion and darkness of ignorance.

They lived in ignorance about themselves, God and the cosmos. They didn’t know anything about their surroundings or the sky; they didn’t know anything about any extra-terrestrial, celestial or extra-celestial realm.

Then, about 6500 years ago, God decided to open up a little and allow human beings to be in contact with the other side of the world for the first time in human history. That was a wonderful mark of the divine exuberance and excellence.

Whoever was able to obtain this type of knowledge and be in contact with the other side of the world must have felt very lucky and [excited]. Such people must have felt privileged because they never heard that any human being could be in contact with the other side of the world.

Then came this radicalised message: love God. Don’t forget that for many million years, nobody heard such a message. It took them by storm.

They would say, ‘You don’t even see God and you want to love him? How?’ That was the very first divine inspiration. Before this, they would only go to worship places and [pay homage to their respective forms] of God, because they didn’t know anything.

The Second Period: The Last Adam

Then the last Adam, ‘Adam the Eminent One’, came. The first thing which was almost impossible for [people] to digest spiritually was to relate to the last Adam who was created in Paradise and then descended onto Earth. He was different in nature, character and complexion from them; even the nutrients he would eat [were different]. The initial thought that crossed their minds was, ‘He came from above the skies. He must be a son of God.’

Now, when we talk about the first divinely ordained and anointed Adam, with the knowledge of eminence - the knowledge of spirituality which connects man with God - we involuntarily assume that every single person in that era of Adam was blessed with this knowledge. This is where we go wrong.

Not even in the era of Abraham was everybody blessed with his presence, love and the knowledge he was parting with. After Abraham, Moses came; he was a Grand Messenger with the divine majesty hovering around his face. [However,] not even in the era of Moses was everybody blessed with that knowledge.

Then came Jesus. Jesus is a little different in that he was only given 33 months of ministry. Do not forget: other prophets and messengers spent years and years [spreading their message]. Adam lived for 931 years, Abraham was over 125 and Moses spent a lot of time among people. Jesus’s ministry did not even last three years.

Muslims talk about the grandsons of Prophet Mohammad; they commemorate their sorrow and how brutally they were killed in Iraq. They talk about the torment they went through of thirst, hunger and fear. However, nobody - not even Christians - talks about the turmoil and hardship Jesus had to face.

Firstly, Jesus didn’t have a house, a bed or pillow. He had no building to call his home. He did not enjoy anything that belongs to this world. This was the quality of his self-imposed austerity. He used to say that he was on a divine mission and he wasn’t here to enjoy life. He did not like this life because he is immortal.

When Jesus came to this world, he would open his mouth and the breath of eternal life would [disperse]. He talked about the Kingdom of God, spiritual infusion, the Unseen World and he talked about the Father. He talked about real, rapturous love. However, there were only a few who were [ready to become] recipients. There were only a few disciples who were really close to Lord Jesus Christ. One of them was Thomas. If you study the Gospel of Thomas, you would come to know of the knowledge I talk about: the Unseen World.

He said, ‘I am the alpha and omega. I am the light of the world.’ [Revelations 1:8; John 8:12] The Koran said, ‘God is the light of the world.’ [Koran 24:35]

Tell me: is this the son of God or God himself because Jesus said what God says about himself in the Koran.

The blind would come to him; he would blow upon their faces and their eyesight would be restored. He would blow upon people who were not able to walk [and heal them]. When they were healed, they would want to pay their homage to Lord Jesus Christ. They would say, ‘You have done a favour [upon us].’ He would reply, ‘No, I haven’t done a favour yet.’

He said, ‘This is not a favour. If you were not able to see this world and now you can, this is not a favour - because you are still blind. When you see things in this world, it doesn’t benefit you. How can this be a favour? I will do to you a favour when your inner eye is open. What you will see with the inner eye is what will benefit you.’

One day, he stood in front of many different people. Some of them were the followers of the religion of Adam, some others were the followers of Abraham and some others were followers of Moses. He said to them, ‘Come to me. Adam, Moses and Abraham were not worthy.’ They didn’t like it. They took it as a blasphemy. They would ask him, ‘Who are you to say such a thing?’ His reply would be, ‘Don’t ask me. Ask the one who sent me.’

Jesus clearly said, ‘I am the only way to the Father. You only reach through the Father through me.’ [John 14:6]

What Jesus talked about was mind-boggling. In front of him were people who didn’t know who they were sitting with. They didn’t know that the person who was standing in front of them was not a man. It is a gross injustice if you know Jesus as a son of man.

A man is known by his character, not by his family lineage. Your ancestral history doesn’t reveal anything about you.

Jesus was a favour upon mankind. [However], you can count the number of people who were blessed by him. They were seven in number, who were sent by Jesus to seek asylum in caves. They fell asleep and have been there for the past 2000 years. Now they’re back with Jesus.

After Jesus came Prophet Mohammad. When Prophet Mohammad came into this world, he was equipped with the spiritual knowledge which would allow people to see God. With his help, many people were able [to reach the audience of God].

In the span of 5000 years, God was done with the exhibition of his power; he was done with the exhibition of his knowledge of eminence.

It is no wonder that he didn’t do anything for the many million years prior to [the creation of Adam the Eminent One]. When he started to reveal about himself, little by little, it only took 5000 years for him to be done. In this span of time, all the Grand Messengers had been sent. All the knowledge was sent, starting from the articulation of God’s name in the heartbeats and coming to an end with the ability to see God and enter into a physical meeting with God. That is the culmination, the peak.

Now, you shouldn’t ask God to send somebody else, because he is done! [He has nothing else to offer].

The Final Period: The Awaited Ones

When I was in Pakistan, somebody asked me, ‘Why has the image of His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi has appeared on the surface of the Moon? Why not the image of Prophet Mohammad?’ I replied, ‘Why? If Prophet Mohammad’s image appeared on the Moon, what would you receive as a spiritual benefit from that image? He is not here.’ It is impossible.

Then somebody sent me a question, ‘You say that your Gohar Shahi will return to this world. Why can’t Prophet Mohammad return?’ But if Prophet Mohammad were to return, what would he do? He has already done everything he could have done.

Immigration in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia have been taken over by the US’s Homeland Security. [These countries] cannot tackle the upfront threats, so Homeland Security is taking care of their immigration. Similarly, God is done. Now the Gohar and Jesus team from the Unseen World has taken over.

First, it was Jesus who talked about the Unseen world. Then His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi came into this world and opened up the chapter [and talked about the secrets of God]. Only two dignitaries talked about the Unseen World and knowledge of the Unseen World.

So this time, when Jesus finally shows up in public, they must believe in Jesus as divine. If they don’t, they are not connected to Jesus. [Similarly, when] HDE Gohar Shahi shows up again in public, they must admit that HDE Gohar Shahi is divine.

Quote of the Day: Only Spirituality Can Create...

'Only spirituality can create a perfect balance between your body, mind and soul.' - Younus AlGohar

Quote of the Day: The Understanding That You...

'This understanding that you are the best is the root of all evil.' - Younus AlGohar

Self-Awareness Level 2, Lesson 3: Can You Fake Your Emotions?

Editor’s note: the following is the third lesson in Younus AlGohar’s course on Self-Awareness, Level 2: Emotional Intelligence.

For better background information, read Self-Awareness, Level 1, in the Messiah Herald. 

Read Self-Awareness, Level 2, Lesson 2 here.

How emotionally intelligent you are, depends on how good you are at identifying and knowing the difference between thoughts, feelings and actions. Actions can be seen, but thoughts and feelings cannot be seen.

Some people are [better at] controlling their emotions than others. If you are able to control your emotions, people call you a brave person. But that is not bravery, it is just control. Sometimes, we do have emotions but we exaggerate them to earn sympathy; [we may even] fake that act in order to convince people how much we are affected. Sometimes, we fake our emotions to convince people of how much we love them.

Hatred is a form of emotion. Somehow or other, you experience the emotion of hatred even if you are a saint of God. This is because hatred is not just against human beings. Sometimes, you hate your own actions because they can hurt people. Sometimes, you hate your habits. This is because you want to quit doing things, but you are not in control of your actions. You may want to change your lifestyle but cannot do it for a number of reasons. Hatred is something that is a reaction to your expectations - you begin to have this repulsive feeling when [the situation] turns out to be unfavourable to you.

Love is impulsive and hatred is repulsive. Love is pull and hatred is push.

Psychiatrists are not holy people; they are not connected to God, so the knowledge they have [is incomplete]. Some people are so clever, they can intelligently beat psychiatrists. The psychiatrists are looking at the symptoms; perhaps they do not know that certain symptoms can be faked.

For example, some people don’t like good moods. If you are in a good mood they [start to take their liberties with you]. So, as a deterrent, you might impose superficial anger [upon yourself in their presence]. Feelings, actions, and thoughts all can be faked.

Psychology is incomplete without spirituality.

Psychology will tell you how mad people behave and why people get angry, but [psychologists] do not know the source of these emotions.

Understanding Emotions

Love can have different sources, that’s why we say there is ‘true love’ and ‘false love’. If your ego is powerful, the source of your love is evil; however, if you only look at the symptoms of love, you will appreciate it. If the source of love is the heart, that love is totally different [from love related to the ego].

If the source of anger is your Carnal Self, it is destructive. However, if the source of anger is your heart, it is constructive.

For example, [let’s assume that] a holy man is sitting in front of you; he has the presence of His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi in his heart and he has divine energy running through his bloodstream. If he gets angry and shouts, the divine energy will emanate from his body with his words; that divine energy will burn your sins. That is called ‘Jalal (Majesty)’. When the source of your anger is your heart, not your Carnal Self, [you] benefit humanity even when you are angry.

What is coming from the thoughts is fake and what is coming from the feelings is true. This is because what is coming from the thoughts is being made up by you, but you cannot make up your feelings.

Ask yourself: what emotion is stronger in you? Is it love or hatred? If you loved somebody, what was the reason? What made you love them? Do you ever hate anybody, action, place or thing? What is the cause? Did you ever think that maybe you are not always right? Do you consider that you need correction sometimes?

Nobody is perfect. You cannot be too arrogant, even if you have expertise in a field. Leave some room for improvement. If somebody rejects you or your policies, or whatever it is, then do not react straight away. Think about it and then see whether or not you are right or they are right. Next time somebody criticises you, ask them, ‘Are you really serious? Tell me what wrong I have done, so I can correct myself.’ Some people will genuinely criticise you, whereas, most will just criticise you [for the sake of it]. You should be smart enough to know which is real and which is fake. Keep your head cool.

Anger is triggered by certain things. For example, you might feel irritated because you don’t want somebody to do certain things, but they don’t stop doing it. You may want them to do it your way, but they do it their way, so it triggers your anger. What we can do to help us out from this position is to broaden our minds and think ‘Maybe I am wrong.’ If you are being criticised, ask the critic how to do it correctly. If his/her way is right, then adopt it.

Sometimes, hatred is like a blessing. You should feel hatred for the terrorists who are killing innocent human beings. If you don't hate certain individuals, you are actually an enemy of humanity.

I want to help you understand the source of emotions and give you a divine tool of understanding the emotions.

Right now, you do not know what hatred, love and compassion are; you do not know who you are. When you have acquired this tool, you will begin to understand the source of emotions. What you are doing as a reaction now and calling it hatred, later on, you will not call it hatred. For now, you could be thinking that you have extreme love for somebody; [with this tool], tomorrow, you will find out that it was need, not love that you feel.

Sometimes it is a necessity and we mistake it for love. Sometimes, people say, ‘I cannot live without you,’ and later on you find out that they were right - but it was your financial help they could not live without.

When you are angry, you may say something and later on you regret it. At the time of anger, you didn’t even know that what you said or thought was bad. Now, you just blame yourself and load your heart with guilt.

You need to have a touchstone, with the help of which you can understand different emotions so that you cannot make a fool out of yourself.

Sometimes, you want to tell people something, but you feel the words are not putting your thoughts forward to them. The words fail to [do you justice] and then you raise your voice; you think this is frustration, but it’s not.

Your face is the mirror and [people’s] eyes will interpret whatever is on your face. When you are afflicted by emotions, it is all on your face.

Emotional intelligence is to determine what the reason could be behind someone being quiet. If you know this, you can read faces, because faces are full of information.

Principles of Morality

In ethical values, religious values and spiritual values, there is no room for hatred. If someone wants to be a religious man, let him be a religious man and respect his choice. If someone doesn’t want to be a religious man and doesn't want to follow moral values, let him make his own choice. Why are you affected by his choice? Is God affected by those who don't accept him as God? Whether somebody is good or bad, it is none of your business. Whether you are good or bad, it is none of my business.

Even religion says that whether somebody is good or bad, you have nothing to do with this. There is a day known as Judgement Day. Let God judge people; you shouldn’t judge anybody.

Everybody thinks, ‘I am the nucleus of knowledge. Anything not aligned with me is wrong.’ That’s not true.

When you think somebody is morally imperfect, you are actually comparing him to yourself; it is because you think you are the best and he is imperfect. You can say this only when you have perfected yourself - however, nobody is perfect.

Jesus was walking and he came to a point where he saw a very noisy mob. He stopped and asked, ‘What’s going on?’ They said to Jesus, ‘There is an adulteress here, and according to the Sacred Law of Moses, we are pelting stones at her until she dies.’ Jesus said, ‘Wait. Listen to me carefully. In this mob, is there an individual who has never sinned?’ There was nobody who had never sinned. So Jesus said, ‘If you have never sinned, then you pick up that stone and throw at her, because you are not a sinner and she is a sinner. However, if you are also a sinner, then you cannot punish another sinner.’

Every single person is affected by the original sin mentioned in the Bible and Koran. You and I cannot punish anybody. We can dislike [people and their actions] but don't compare [yourself with others]. When you compare, you are not in pursuit of being good; you are in pursuit of being jealous. The source of comparison is jealousy. You are not elevating the standards of morality by doing that.

His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi is my witness, I am under oath: HDE has given me a lot of love, but not even for a microsecond has this thought ever come to my mind that I am better than somebody. It’s not that I assume I am the bad guy. It’s not based on my assumption. This is natural because I have known myself for many years. I know the only thing that makes the difference is HDE Gohar Shahi’s spiritual attachment. The fact that we belong to HDE Gohar Shahi is what makes us different from others.

You cannot judge people because you do not know everything about religion or morality.

Sometimes, pinpointing people when they are doing wrong is an act of morality, but sometimes, seeing people doing something wrong and keeping quiet is morality - because you do not know the intentions. What may appear to be wrong may have been designed to appear wrong, however, it is addressing the genuine issue and helping somebody out. Don't ever think you are better than anybody.

God doesn't look at past or present, God looks at the future.

There is a day for judgement and it is just God who will judge people according to his criteria.

Quote of the Day: Spirituality Softens...

'Spirituality softens the heart.' - His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi, The Religion of God (Divine Love)

Quote of the Day: A Man Will Only Become...

‘A man will only become mentally corrupt once his heart is corrupted.’ - Younus AlGohar

Quote of the Day: A Man is Known By...

‘A man is known by his character, not by his family lineage.’ - Younus AlGohar

Quote of the Day: Your Intellectuality Reflects...

‘Your intellectuality reflects the company you keep.’ - Younus AlGohar

Quote of the Day: I Will Stand by You...

'I will stand by you and help you until you do not need help anymore.' - Lord Ra Riaz Gohar Shahi

Quote of the Day: The Real You...

'The real you is your spirit and that spirit does not know death.' - Younus AlGohar

Quote of the Day: Emotions Can Make...

'Your emotions can make your head empty of intellect.' - Younus AlGohar

How To Increase Your IQ

The first lesson in Younus AlGohar's comprehensive course on Self-Awareness, Level 2, which revolves around emotional intelligence and its many aspects.

Main points:

- Emotions play a very pivotal role in our lives. They are, oftentimes, a reaction to things. Negative emotions come from the negative source in you. Positive emotions will come from an enlightened heart and a conscious soul.

- In every field of different types of knowledge if spirituality is not present, that knowledge is useless. Psychology is all about human behaviour but it doesn’t tell you the source; it doesn’t tell you how to manoeuvre your emotions.

- Things you experience or see that you consider to be of less importance are stored in your subconscious mind. Things you notice with attention are stored in your conscious mind; these are the things you remember.

- If you pay attention, every piece of information will go into your conscious mind. If you don’t pay attention, it will go into your subconscious mind. As result, your IQ level will go down. The IQ level, when not accompanied by the EQ (emotional quotient) level, is zero. The relation between emotions and intelligence: the ability to identify something is intelligence. To react is emotions.

- When things are incomplete and they transfer themselves from the subconscious mind onto the conscious mind, they create doubts. Your eyes are like spy cameras. Everything is being stored. You want to make sure that everything being stored by your sensory system is not incomplete. Pay attention so that every piece of information is complete. When there is full information, your mind will be healthy.

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Quote of the Day: Something is Missing...

‘Something is missing when love is exclusive.’ - Younus AlGohar, Global Peace Through Spiritual Sciences and Divine Love

Quote of the Day: Many Religious Scholars...

‘Many religious scholars may not comprehend its unique nature and subtle application, however God's religion is above all religions.' - His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi, The Religion of God (Divine Love)

MFI CANADA VISITS CATHOLIC CHURCH ON EASTER SUNDAY!

Messiah Foundation hopes everyone had an 'eggcellent' Easter Sunday full of celebration, love and laughter. On the auspicious occasion of Easter (the resurrection of Jesus from the Dead), delegates from our organisation in Canada visited St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica where many hundreds of Catholic Christians engaged in the special services of Easter. There were many families gathered together singing songs in praise of Jesus Christ, lighting candles and decorating easter eggs. It was a wonderful sight to see!

Our team took this wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of the message of divine love and global peace. We showcased large banners outside the Church bearing the divine signs of Lord Jesus Christ and HDE Lord Ra Riaz Gohar Shahi on the Moon, Sun and Holy Black Stone. We also handed out our very first issue of The Messiah Herald - a monthly publication by Messiah Foundation International in which the main SPOTLIGHT article 'Is the Promised Messiah Already Here?' received positive response by readers.

Many people were deeply touched by our message and appreciated the fact that there was no proselytism involved. Our message was simply human-friendly and respected people of all faiths and backgrounds. Recipients were surprised to see how effortless the method of the 'Opening of the Spiritual Heart' was. They happily and wholeheartedly embraced the unprecedented teachings of HDE Lord Ra Riaz Gohar Shahi.

Our team from Messiah Foundation Canada is extremely grateful for this opportunity on Easter and looks forward to dispensing the message of love in the future!

View the full Flickr album here. 

Quote of the Day: Love is a Passage...

‘Love is a passage that is paved with a lot of self-denial and sacrifices.’ - Younus AlGohar, Global Peace Through Spiritual Sciences and Divine Love

Global Peace Through Spiritual Sciences & Divine Love

The following is the transcript of Younus AlGohar's speech delivered at the Global Peace Through Spiritual Sciences & Divine Love programme in Toronto, Canada.

Good afternoon. I am privileged, honoured and very happy to be here in front of you. I would like to share some of my thoughts, some of my feelings and some of my experiences. I’m not going to give you a lecture on spirituality, but I would like to raise awareness of open-mindedness, of human values and love.

A few hours ago, I was checking my Facebook and there was a video of a young man who was brutally getting beaten up. People were pelting stones at him. They were throwing at him anything they could grab. Then, he died and they stripped him naked. He was all naked and soaked in blood, but the people who were beating him up didn't stop even though they realised he was dead. They were throwing huge stones at his dead body. His skull was cracked open and there was a fountain of blood coming out from his head. They were raising slogans, ‘Allahu Akbar, God is great.’ There were more than 100 people. They were killing this one, solitary guy with the help of these slogans. Is this religion? This is terrible. How would you feel if this was happening to you?

These people, they were not Taliban or ISIS. They were not terrorists; they were common folks. This is the level of fanaticism, extremism and ignorance. We are living in the 21st century, where science has provided us with a lot of inventions and has made life a little easier than we could have imagined 50 years ago. However, we’re going downwards emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and, of course, mentally.

We believe Christianity, Islam and Judaism were all founded by individuals who were sent by God, but people of one religion have a very fierce disagreement with others; although all these religions were founded on principles of divinity. It is strange. This is not one solitary incident. Wherever you go, you will see these incidents taking place.

It is a very sensitive matter that I am speaking on, however, I cannot keep quiet. I cannot just go here and there and deliver lectures on spirituality, and not even realise what people are going through. We’re living in very strange times.

It is like I want to go to England and I bought a ticket with Air Canada. Now, [suppose] I change my mind and I don’t want to fly with Air Canada - instead, I want to fly with British Airways. If Air Canada says, ‘No. If you don’t fly by Air Canada, we will kill you,’ this is ridiculous. My main destination is England. Air Canada, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and all other airlines are just means of travel. In a similar way, God is the destination and the religions were supposed to be the means of travel.

If I lived as a Muslim for ten years and now I want to change my religion and become a Christian, and you tell me, ‘If you leave Islam, we will kill you,’ it doesn’t make any sense to me. Why? Jesus was also sent by God. What is wrong with Jesus? What is wrong with Christianity? Joseph, Jacob, Moses, Adam, Abraham - all these spiritual dignitaries were sent by God. Why should I become a religious person and risk my life, my peace and the lives of my family? [When I know that] if I didn’t like this religion after ten years and I wanted to switch over - maybe I liked Judaism and wanted to become a Jew - people from my previous religion would want to kill me? It is not making any sense to me.

The thing is, when all these three Abrahamic religions were founded by divinely sent individuals, I do not understand why we have difficulty to accept all the religion and respect them all? Now, there is something wrong. All these religions were founded to cater for the needs of the people of one particular area. They were not designed to cater for the needs of everybody.

While I am speaking, I would like to take this opportunity to have my say on this point: there should be no such thing as Islamophobia. The threat is not coming from the religion of Islam, the threat is coming from the majority of people who misunderstood Islam.

When you become a fanatic, your gates are shut.

There is no such thing as extremism. For example, blessings. Whether the blessings are just little in quantity or huge, they will never change from blessings into something else. In a similar way, God’s love or religious values, even if you take them for extreme, they will not hurt or harm you. So this is not extremism; this is fanaticism. This is hatred and ignorance. 

One who doesn’t value a human life, I can never accept that person can ever love God. One who cannot appreciate human values - the value of a human life - I do not think he follows any religion at all.

What comes from the divine, nobody will go against it: that is love. Ask anybody, ‘Do you like love?’ Maybe they will say, ‘We love love,’ whether they are Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs or Jews; even those who don’t practise any religion. Love is divine. What we need today in this global society is love.

The thing is, where is love? It is not available at Macy’s, Walmart, churches, mosques, synagogues or temples. Love is not [as easy to get as going] to Tim Hortons for a cup of coffee and Timbits. Love is hard to come by.

Love is a passage that is paved with a lot of self-denial and sacrifices.

When Jesus said, ‘Love your enemy like you love yourself,’ I thought that perhaps there was something wrong and that Jesus couldn’t have said this. How can you love your enemy? I really suspected that there may be an error. It doesn’t make any sense. Young people spend many weeks and months before they find the chemistry of love between them. They spend a lot of time together. You can’t go to your enemy and say, ‘Can you spend some time with me so I can love you?’

L

So is it just a phrase or is it a reality? It is a reality.

When you want to love your enemies, it simply means you have nothing left in you but blessings and love.

It is when you have no other feeling left in you; when you have subtracted all other ailments of being a human being and negativity from your personality. Nothing is left but love, blessings and the divine bounty in you, so you are forced by your nature to love everybody.

What I am saying is not imperative. It is not advice. I am sharing my thoughts. Honestly speaking, my concern these days is to raise awareness of this ignorance which is prevailing in our societies: hatred in the guise of distorted religions. It is really troublesome and it is spreading like fire. If we just keep ourselves busy with spiritual practices at home, in the workplace or meditation centre and we do not take it upon ourselves to correct society and the mentality of people - the way people think - then we are not going to have a wonderful society.

This hatred is prevailing. We need a lot of hearts which have been kindled with the flame of love.

Lectures upon spirituality will not help anybody. We need some practical exuberance of love. We need to have a spiritual trade in which we import and export love. Love is a substance. Love is not just [limited to] talk.

The place of love is the heart and the heart must be free.

If the heart is already preoccupied with a lot of other activities, the heart is not going to practise love. You can only preoccupy your heart with one activity because love is a very heavy duty activity. We need to free our hearts from all shackles. Then, get our heart admitted in the kindergarten of love. When the heart has learned to love, you will become a wonderful person. Then, you are love for everybody; you are love to everybody.

This love doesn’t come by reading books, going to temples, churches or listening to lectures. We have to teach our hearts. We have to provide our hearts with positive energy. That is the first thing.

There are many different sources of positive energy. For example, names of God - any name in any language. It may seem confusing: how can positive energy be obtained from names of God? But there is a way, a method according to which the name of God is said in a certain way, for a certain number of times, then it starts to generate divine energy. The moment it starts to generate divine energy, you feel the vibration. That vibration will nurture the innermost nature of your heart.

This is an introduction to love. Only you will know whether your heart has this substance of love when you have it. You will not need to rely on [anyone to] confirm to you that you have love. Your heart is not lying. If you are sitting in front of me, and I can see you and you can see me, [it would be silly for you to ask me], ‘Am I sitting in front of you?’ and [for me to reply], ‘Yes you are.’

When your heart has learned to love you will feel the vibration.

Questions and Answer Session

Q: What in a human being [makes them] distance themselves from the actual state of being loving and feeling divine love?

There are multicellular and unicellular living objects. In a similar way, we are multi-spiritual. It is a huge universe and we have seven spirits in our body.

The spirit which can be in the most possible nearness of God is the main spirit.

Some people who want to be near to God - but they do not know that the soul which can drag them into the most possible nearness of God is still not enlightened, they feel the distance. They are in the presence of God, however when it comes to measuring the distance or nearness, that particular spirit which can go into the most possible nearness of God is the main spirit (the soul). When it is enlightened, you will have difficulty in finding out whether it is [you] or god; you become so near.

Q: How could we raise the vibration of love in the world? To bring more love?

That is a very difficult question.

Before I give away money to everybody, I need to make sure my pockets are full. First, we need to make sure that we have enough love.

Most spiritual people, they just talk about love but their wife is lacking his love. Their children and family are deprived of his love. The gentleman talks about love, ‘My love is for everybody,’ but his children will complain, ‘’Where is my share of love?’

There is a difference in a talkative form of love and practical love. Practical love resides in the heart, it lights up like a candle. The rays of love cannot be controlled. You will just sit there and the beams of love will emanate from your heart. You become so intermingled with the substance of love that you become love on two legs.

Love has no boundaries; it is for everybody. For example, you love human beings but not your dog? [Then it means] you are a liar. You love a human being but you don’t care for the cat on the street? Then you are a liar. Love is blind and it is for everybody; whether you are two-legged or four-legged, does it really make a difference? When there is only love, this is for every single form of life.

Some people only love human beings or their pets. They say, ‘This is my pet, but I don’t love [someone else’s] pet.’ When you have pure love in your heart, this will not happen. You will love all animals like your own pet because you have love [in your heart].

Something is missing in love when love is exclusive. Love is perfect when it is inclusive.

This is my understanding and this is how I view love. Maybe some other people view it from another angle and have discovered more about love - but this is my discovery about love.

Quote of the Day: The Place of Love...

‘The place of love is the heart and the heart must be free.’ - Younus AlGohar

Happy Easter - A Special Easter Message!

Happy Easter from Messiah Foundation International! Learn about the secretive reality of Lord Jesus Christ this Easter. Easter is not just about festivities and eating chocolate eggs. Read HH Younus AlGohar's special Easter message here!

Quote of the Day: Love is Perfect...

'Love is perfect when it is inclusive.' - Younus AlGohar

Self-Awareness Level 2, Lesson 2: Are You Emotionally Aware?

Editor’s note: the following is the second lesson in Younus AlGohar’s course on Self-Awareness, Level 2: Emotional Intelligence. For better background information, read Self-Awareness, Level 1, in the Messiah Herald. 

Read Self-Awareness, Level 2, Lesson 1 here.

Spirituality is fundamentally the original knowledge of human beings; their existence, their functions and their beings. Senses, which are numbered as five in total, are related to the five souls in the human breast. It makes it really easy to understand that due to the fact that these five souls are enclosed in our bosoms, we have emotions and other senses. Animals do not have these senses.

The most common functions of the souls which are open to all souls, like emotions and empathy; sometimes, human beings who do not get to enlighten their souls have problems [with these functions]. They lose some of the senses because the souls are badly damaged or diseased with some evil ailments. Some people stop having empathy and sympathy for others; they stop feeling the pain of others. We know them as self-centred people.

What exactly happens when somebody has all the feelings of his or her pain but does not feel the pain of others? This is due to the fact that the souls responsible for upholding the sensory system of five senses are diseased and are now malfunctioning.

You must have seen people who may be easily regarded as stone-hearted or hard-hearted. You must have seen such people in your vicinity - at work, school and religious places. Something goes severely wrong when the souls inside the human chest go wrong. Malfunctioning of these souls result in having no empathy; people suffering from malfunctioning souls do not sympathise with anyone. They become egocentric, stone-hearted and blind to any compassion. These things can only be understood with the help of spirituality because they are to do with spirituality.

It is not the body which has the outburst of emotions. Emotions are a very spiritual, abstract thing. You don't see them, but you can feel them.

We live in a very strange world; when somebody has emotions, we say, ‘This person is too emotional.’ Intelligence is part of emotional intelligence. If you don’t have emotions, you are an animal. Animals don’t have emotion because they don't have the five souls in the breast. If you are a human being and still you don't have emotions, it means your souls are severely diseased.

Emotional Intelligence

Most of the time, many people who are not spiritual are only concerned about their own emotions. They don't care about others’ emotions. Whether it is their friends, spouse, father, brother or sister, they are not bothered.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others. The mismanagement of emotions is extremely dangerous.

For example, if you spill a glass of water by mistake, you would forgive yourself without hesitation. You will not even say, ‘I’m sorry, please forgive me.’ I don’t have to say it. However, if somebody else does it, you would say, ‘Oh my god, look at them!’ Things will go out of proportion. This is because, emotionally, you are not intelligent. You have problems with identifying the emotions and managing them. When you were able to remain quiet when you spilt water because you knew that you did it, why couldn’t you control your emotions when somebody else did it?

For example, some people, when their toddlers are crying, they give them chocolate. They know that it is not good for them, but they give it to them just because they want some peace. If somebody else was doing it, the same people would erupt in an outburst of emotions.

In the management of emotional intelligence, the first skill you must master is emotional awareness.

‘Emotional awareness is the ability to harness emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problem-solving. It is the ability to manage your emotions, which includes regulating your own emotions and cheering up or calming down other people.’

For example, let’s say somebody does something wrong and by looking at his face, you see that he is full of emotions. He is so sorry; however, you don't read it. You say, ‘He didn’t even say sorry.’ Look at his face! You are so blind and cannot read emotions of others. So, you are not emotionally aware.

If somebody’s face is all swollen, their eyes are red, they look sombre, gloomy and distressed - and still, you can’t read it, it means you lack awareness of emotions.

When somebody does something wrong, sometimes I make jokes with them. I learnt it from His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi. His Divine Eminence said, ‘When somebody does something wrong, give him more love so that he can correct himself.’

When you are happy, your body is so transparent, it cannot hide your emotions. Your face is so transparent it is like a revealing, see-through dress. The emotions are peeking out. When you are happy, your face is [bright]. When you are sad, your face will seem to have some swelling. When you are angry, your nostrils flare.

Emotions do not need a language. Emotions don’t need your permission. They will manifest before the world. They are self-expressive; they do not need extra help.

When there is an outburst of emotions, the emotions will manifest upon your face. The face will go to the backstage and emotions will come to the forefront.

When somebody does a favour to you and now it is your turn to be thankful to them, some people think by saying, ‘Thank you,’ they have done their job. You don't see the emotions of gratefulness upon their faces. This is because they are emotionally dead. Some other people say, ‘Thank you,’ but with the emotions of hatred.

Appreciation is an exhibition of emotions, my friend. Appreciation doesn’t consist of words only.

In a similar way, when you are grateful to God, you say, ‘Thank God.’ When you are thankful to somebody, you need to express your emotions. That exhibition of emotions is the true form of appreciation. When somebody is doing a favour to you, it is natural to exhibit some emotions of gratefulness. Gratitude is not just two words, ‘thank you’.

In order to become a good human being, you must be emotionally intelligent.

Have you been in a situation where you see that some people are really disturbed and quiet, while others in the room are not bothered about their emotional state and are laughing and making jokes? I think this is a mark of a bad character.

When we see that somebody is upset, for any reason, we should respect his emotional attire, condition and the situation he may be in. We should give him space.

We should not make an environment where somebody feels, ‘Nobody is bothered. They are spiritually so dead, they cannot see my face. They cannot even see how sad I am and they’re just making jokes.’ This is also very important.

If we must [be jubilant, we should leave his presence first]. We can comfort him and say, ‘Everything will be okay, don't worry.’ Words of comfort don't mean anything, but it comes under mannerism.

Taking Criticism

Some people criticise you for the sake of criticism. Not a lot of people criticise you to reform you. Some people just try to boast themselves and put allegations on others. That is not true criticism.

If it is true criticism, you must reflect on your actions and deeds.

Then again, in the very first instance, you need to know whether the criticism is positive and coming from a fair-minded person, who doesn't hold a grudge against you and who is not a habitual nagger.  Some people just use everything as an instrumental to disrespect, insult you and find flaws with you. Even if there are no flaws in you, they must find a flaw with you. They become oblivious about their own being; they are totally oblivious to who they are and how good or bad they are.

You must know when you are criticised, whether or not that criticism is positive. On the other hand, do not make this as an excuse [not to listen to the criticism] at the same time. Sometimes, you say, ‘I don’t care because it is not a positive criticism; let them say what they want,’ because you need an exit without guilt. You have to be pretty sure whether or not that person is a genuine critic. If that person is a genuine critic, then you must hear him out.

It is like a blessing if you have a positive critic around you. Then, in that case, you don’t have to work hard on correcting yourself. They will criticise you positively, then you will take note of what they are saying about you and you can correct yourself. A positive critic is the best of your mates.

Most of the time, we think our parents are positive critics, but sometimes they are overprotective. They are just exaggerating it most of the time. Then they say, ‘Who can be more positive than I am? I am your mother/father. Nobody can love you more than I can.’

Handling Setbacks Effectively

How do we learn to stay calm? First of all, we need to understand what exactly does the phrase ‘under pressure’ mean? You go under pressure when you know exactly what your problem is and then you get frustrated.

Sometimes you get frustrated when you fail and you don't achieve your goal. That is when you are justified to be frustrated. You are allowed to be frustrated; however, you must fulfil the requirement of frustration.

There are two types of frustration: original and false. Frustration is justified when you know there is a problem and you have been working on it; nothing seems to work and then you are helpless, clueless and you don't know how to resolve the problem. You have applied all your skills and energies and still, there is no result. This feeling is true frustration. But sometimes, you don't even try [to fix the problem] and you impose frustration on you. That is false frustration! A lot of people fall prey to false frustration.

Some other people who are not connected to God, who are not spiritual, what will they do? They will simply go to the church or temple and say, ‘God help me!’ God will never help them and this will only add to their frustration.

In our case, when we are helpless, we should not be frustrated. When we feel helpless, we always turn to His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi. Some people don’t even try to solve the problem. They skip this stage and go straight to asking for His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi’s help. That is wrong. Don’t do that. Try to fix the problem first with all the skills and energies you have.

His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi’s help will definitely come when you are genuinely helpless.

Why should HDE Gohar Shahi help you when you are able to resolve the problem yourself?

But we have become habitual of doing this. If anything goes wrong, we immediately say, ‘HDE Gohar Shahi, help me; Jesus, help me.’ Jesus will not help you because you are not a genuine seeker. Your quest for help is not genuine.

Only pray to God for help when you cannot help yourself.

In fake frustration, you are never helped out and you lose trust in God. You don’t make an effort and you call upon God to help you. Obviously, God will not help you because your frustration is not genuine. As a result, you become depressed and lose trust in God. This is so dangerous. So make sure your frustration is original frustration.

God helps those who want to help themselves. That will happen when you have tried everything and now you are genuinely helpless; you are lost and do not know what to do. Then comes the Lord’s help. Maybe before you even say, ‘HDE Gohar Shahi, help me,’ HDE Gohar Shahi will help you.

There is no room for frustration in a spiritual person’s life because frustration is a condition where you are helpless and there is nobody to help you.

A disciple of HDE Gohar Shahi and those who are actually connected to Jesus can never be truly frustrated because they are not helpless. So we have to remove this word frustration from our life, practically. There is no room for you to have frustration in your life. You must abide by this. Frustration comes when you become completely helpless and HDE Gohar Shahi is our Lord, we are not unattended for.

This is the answer to handling setbacks effectively. Try your best. God doesn’t like it that there is a problem and you're not making an effort to resolve it. God will never help you like that. Make as much effort as it is required. Even after everything you have done to resolve the problem, there is no result and you are clueless and feel helpless, then call upon HDE Gohar Shahi. I guarantee that you will be helped straight away. When the Lord’s help arrives, there is jubilance, not frustration.

Controlling Emotions and Problem-Solving

There are two skills involved in emotional awareness: the ability to identify your emotions and ability to identify others’ emotions.

When somebody is injured, you bring out a First Aid kit. In a similar way, if somebody is sad and under the outburst of emotions, you should try to comfort him and harness his emotions. Make sure that his emotions do not become overwhelmed. If your emotions become overwhelmed, you will push yourself into the depth of depression. If you are there and you see somebody is under some kind of emotional state, you should have the expertise of controlling and making use of those emotions in solving problems.

If somebody is sad and you also go there and you tell them stories which will increase in their sadness, then this is backfiring. You should comfort them in a way that it appears to be genuine to them. Tell them, ‘Don’t lose hope in God. God will help you. Bad days do not stay forever like good days do not stay forever.’ Give them a practical approach in order to solve their problems. Don’t give them false hope, but at the same time, give them calculated hope.

The same thing goes for yourself. When you are emotionally down, you don't want to talk to people. This is bad because you are shutting the door on any help that might come to you.

Some people seek isolation when they are emotionally down. That is not going to solve the problem. If you have a problem, find a practical solution. You have to make efforts. When some others have a problem, they become hostile to everybody. You must manifest humility and modesty at all times. If you think that you're the only one in the world who has a problem, you are severely mistaken. Every single person in this world is laden with trouble; but the thing is, everybody thinks his pain is greater than everybody else’s.

Do not seek isolation when you are emotionally down. When you seek isolation and you are emotionally down, the chances are that you are pushing yourself into a deep depression. If you are sad, seek a solution. Always leave a door open for someone to come and help you.

Keep your head cool so that you can solve the problem. Don’t become unreasonable. Tell yourself, ‘It is not the end of the world. I will find a solution.’ Sit down and find a practical solution.

If you cannot help yourself, nobody will care about your life. If you don’t want to help yourself, why would the world help you?

When you are helping yourself, then foreign aid will come. However, you should be the first one to help you.

How do you keep cool? If you have a problem, think about how to solve it. Calculate. After your calculations, you know what to do. When you know that something can be achieved, keep cool. You should be worried when you know it cannot be done. There is no problem that cannot be solved!