So
how does a pilgrimage purify?
The
first question that comes to mind is purify what?
If the answer is purification of soul then what does that mean in real terms?
I
could distill it as purification of intent. Because intent determines our
thoughts, our actions and thus eventually the results that we achieve. And thus
if we were able to purify our intent at all times our outcomes at all times
will be pure, which is eventually what we aspire.
How
do you purify something, say your clothes? Basically it involves two
fundamental steps – cleaning or removing accumulated dirt and sustenance or
ensuring you don’t acquire new dirt after the purification process.
A
pilgrimage essentially does both these tasks.
Let
us take the Haj example and try to build the algorithm of a pilgrimage, unravel
the steps that, when done in letter and spirit, will ensure purification of intent.
1.
The foremost step before you even
start planning for the journey is to ask the question ‘Why am I going for Haj’
or what is the intent? The single, simple intent
has to be ‘pleasing God’ or rab ko
raazi karna, and thus in the process purifying oneself. If there is any dilution
of this intent then purification process may not yield desired results.
2.
A pilgrimage is about leaving the world behind. So you need
to ensure that you have taken all your professional and personal tasks to a
logical end or assigned them to a responsible person so that they do not need
your intervention for the next six weeks.
3.
Forgiveness of past sins is necessary
to remove the accumulated ‘dirt’ of life so far. Hence seek forgiveness from all your acquaintances before you leave.
While Allah is all merciful and can forgive you for your transgressions of
faith, it is mandatory for your acquaintances to forgive you for any perceived wrongdoings
against them since only they have the right to do that. However this can easily
become an opportunity to publicly proclaim your Haj rather than an exercise in
atonement. Thus intent needs to be carefully guarded.
4. Haj, like all pilgrimages, requires travel. Any prolonged travel exposes
your practicing values through numerous occasions of conflict which are
opportunities to demonstrate and build character.
5.
Haj requires you to be patient and provide service to your
fellow pilgrims at all times. This requires a constant awareness of your
situation and a determined effort to stay true to these principles in times of
conflict and threat to personal comfort, security or opportunity which can be
often. This determined effort builds taqwa
or mindfulness or a conscious awareness
of what is right and wrong and then having the courage to do the right in the
given situation.
6.
Before you enter the boundary of
Makkah you have to discard all your clothing, cleanse yourself physically and
adorn the ‘ihram’ or the two sheets
of white. And while in the state of ihram you have to avoid scratching, or
killing any type of animal or plucking leaves or maintaining conjugal
relationship. This helps you to ‘detach’
from everything worldly – including your clothes, the last vestige of your
status, before you go in the presence of Allah. This is the closest to death
while living. It also symbolizes the removal of all distinctions and the equality
of mankind irrespective of social, economic, educational, regional and all
other boundaries.
7.
Every pilgrimage involves being in the
presence of something deeply reverent,
something which is extant at that place only – for Haj it is the Kaaba, the black stone cuboid which is
the direction for every Muslim to pray in. This leads to a sense of deep gratitude, of the feeling of being the ‘chosen one’
amongst the millions of aspiring common men.
8.
The forsaking of the world, the time
to reflect without distraction and the sense of gratitude of being present with
the divine helps you to undertake the
journey into your core intent, the true purpose of your actions and you
begin to discover the dirt of pride,
ego, greed, temptation etc. that lay at the core of some of your even so called
good or noble deeds.
9.
Forgiveness is the detergent of the
soul. This discovery of your fundamental flaws leads to deep remorse and you seek forgiveness with an intensity and
genuineness that is difficult to experience from any other place.
10. As
you start feeling the peace that comes after forgiveness you realize that only
someone who loves you deeply can forgive you for so many transgressions and
still provide you the privilege of His presence. This leads to a true
understanding of love and a feeling of great
love for the Almighty and thus eventually for mankind.
11. Most
of the rituals at Haj (as also other pilgrimages) e.g. Tawaaf (the seven circumambulations of the Kaaba) and the Saee (or
the seven rounds of Mount Safa and Marwah) require
you to walk. Medical science has proven that physical activity leads to the
release of specific neuro-transmitters by the brain which are the source of
relaxation, energy, positivity and relieving of pain.
12. Remorse,
Gratitude and Love are a potent combination. The rituals before the actual Haj
rites help inculcate them. And then, in this heightened state of awareness and
emotional ripeness, when you stand under the sun in the huge plain of Arafat
along with millions of others like you and seek forgiveness there is a collective divinity at work that is at
the same time powerful and humbling.
This
grand climax at Arafat completes the process of Cleaning.
The
next stage is about Sustenance, or ensuring that you avoid gathering ‘dirt’ (or
wrongdoing) in your life hereafter. How does one avoid ones clothes getting
dirty in real life? The answer is not difficult. First you become aware of
where dirt is and avoid those places or circumstances. Where you cannot, you
tread cautiously taking the correct steps and avoiding temptation.
We
have already seen how the focus on being patient and being of service to others
at all times helps build Taqwaa or a
sense of heightened self-awareness. Let us see how other rituals at Haj help to
reinforce sustainability.
1.
After Arafat, a key ritual is the
stoning of the Devil. This requires you to throw seven stones at three devils
each, with each stone recalling one wrongdoing in your life. Thus not only are
you reflecting on your own wrongdoings, but building a mental pattern within yourself to ‘stone the devil,’ or
resist the temptation, whenever you are accosted with one in your life
hereafter.
2.
It also inculcates a sense of ownership and responsibility for your own
wrongdoings by suggesting that the devil lies inside each one of us and not
in those pillars or the external world which is only a manifestation.
3.
Every single Haji, irrespective of
caste, creed, color, nationality, wealth, education, age or gender stays
together, travels together and performs the same rituals during the five days
of Haj. This creates a strong bond of universality and unification with mankind
that inculcates a deep sense of
community and love. And only this feeling of love for your brethren can
provide the wisdom and courage to forgive others and sustain not just purity
for yourself but help others in achieving purity for them; because
sustainability can be best achieved not just by keeping yourself clean but also
helping your environment become clean.
The
process thus can be summarized as Gratitude, Remorse, Forgiveness and Love enabled
by Reflection leading to a heightened Mindfulness.
The
final question then that needs to be asked is what is the end outcome of
achieving purity? How does it make your life different than what it was before
the journey?
I
can only answer this for myself. It has been nine months since the completion
of the journey and what I have experienced myself and validated from my close
friends and colleagues is summarized below:
1.
There is better clarity in the thought
process. I am thus able to respond better, which means I speak less in calls
and meetings and am more relevant. I realized I used to speak a lot earlier
simply because I was finding clarity as I spoke.
2.
This clarity has also helped me
prioritize better and I am now able to identify and give more time to things
that I feel are important and add value to my life.
3.
My need to impress people has reduced
to a certain degree which has also resulted in being able to accept
shortcomings easily, share bad news and participating in calls and meetings
only when required.
4.
I have become less impulsive. This has
improved my facilitation skills and I feel in better control during a session.
5.
I have become more mindful of
situations and understand the right and wrong options. That doesn’t mean I am
able to act correctly in each of them but I hope awareness is first step and my
ability to action will also improve gradually.
6.
I feel a heightened sense of gratitude
for everything which means giving has become easier and I get the urge to say
thanks more frequently.
To
summarize measurable outcomes, as is the preoccupation these days, my
participation in calls and meetings has reduced by around 70% and I am on the
verge of completing two books.
And
I feel at far greater peace with myself.
I
cannot conclude this series without saying Thanks. I deeply thank my boss who
sanctioned my leave without the slightest hesitation, my team which ensured I
wasn’t called one single time during those 40 days, Asian Tours, the travel
operator through which I undertook the pilgrimage, my room partner during the
journey – a fantastic couple who kept the spirits high despite having gone
through some of the greatest tragedies a parent can face and all my fellow
pilgrims.
When
I started the series I expected it to conclude in around 5 episodes. However
the writing process made me reflect and relieve the experience and as is common
one is always wiser in hindsight.
I
reserve my deepest gratitude to every reader, now and in the future. On
returning from Haj I didn’t want to write about it simply because it would seem
like public posturing, drawing mileage from what was essentially an intensely
personal and private experience. However I started to pen it down only when
more than a few friends requested to understand the experience.
I
hope you have gained as much from it as I have writing it.
In
the end I would repeat what I said at the beginning – everyone must go on a
pilgrimage sometime in their life, in whatever form it is. It helps.
Thank
You!
[In a subsequent appendix I will list down the do’s and don’ts for any person who is planning to go on Haj. Since it will be relevant to only a small populace I will be happy to share that with anyone planning to undertake the pilgrimage.]
