‘Yoga got me closer to Islam’: Young Iraqi’s spiritual journey via Paris & Abu Dhabi

Bengaluru, Aug 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) The spiritual journey of 28-year-old Salah Abdul Halim, a graduate from Paris-Sorbonne university, hailing from Iraq, settled in Abu Dhabi is inspirational. Salah, serves as a volunteer in the Isha Foundation at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, run by spiritual master Sadhguru.

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Speaking to IANS, Salah, who proudly identifies himself as one among the thousands of seekers in the Isha Yoga Center campus, when asked about hostility and disapproval back at home for his spiritual endeavour says, the association with Isha, yoga practices and meditation has brought him closer to the essence of Islam.

Abdul Salah also took an active part in the Save Soil campaign taken up by Sadguru in Turkey, Dubai and Oman.

"It is making me closer to the essence of Islam than ever before. Essentially in Islam the first step and a crucial condition is to pray five times a day in a state of stillness which is 'khushuaa' in Arabic. They tell you when you are in prayer, if you are not in stillness, which in Islam they call 'Khushuwa', meaning the state of your mind which is very calm, emotions are calm, you are away from them and they are not driving you here & there, your spirit, soul or heart is open and connected to god directly, in Islam, no prayer is accepted without stillness or khushuaa.

"All the years I prayed, I have never felt in stillness, therefore my prayer was not accepted. Looking at people around me, I didn’t see anyone in stillness. Not even once I saw people in stillness. Whenever I asked them, they said I was thinking about this, I was doing this, they are always distracted by their thoughts, feelings or body... It is clear from outside, and many I asked if there is no stillness, so who could teach me stillness… if they themselves don’t have it,”Salah explained.

"Unfortunately, in my religion people are talking about it but they are not giving tools for it, nor enough importance to solve this crucial issue, so I had to look elsewhere, I wanted something that truly works…,” he added.

Salah wakes up at 4 a.m. everyday. “I do yoga practices until 8 a.m. Two hours of Yoga Asanas to make the body move and stretch and two hours of meditation and chanting. Once you finish, you are in an amazing state of stillness within you. All the thoughts 90 per cent making you busy all day with no effective reason are gone, therefore I have more clarity, ease to do my day to day activities, and sharper perception... all these things truly allow my intelligence to flower, which allows me to be more energetic and productive,” he said.

Then he washes his clothes, cleans the room and for 30 minutes checks his mobile. “I go for brunch at 10 a.m., at 10.30 a.m. sharp, I go to the office and start doing my social media job. Then I take a break, meditate in the Dhyanalinga, a meditative space consecrated by Sadhguru for people from all religions, where there is a pure technical scientific sit and shut up approach which is very religious friendly. After this I will carry out one to two hours of yoga, sadhana and meditation and then go back to work."

When asked about how it all happened? Salah said that he used to study in Paris in a university. “It’s a very hard university and moving from a country where everything was easy to do like I lived all my life in Abu Dhabi and then suddenly moving and studying in a different country, different language from English and Arabic which I know very well, studying in French and studying in Paris was very difficult. And it was a very different culture from the place I came in.

"I faced a lot of pressure, a lot. Slowly the pressure started piling up and more. The weather in Parish is harsh, mostly rainy and cloudy, and people are very cold. The ambiance is that people are depressed and stressed everywhere. I was not doing well in studies. My family situation on finances stressed me. I had to pass the exams. There was so much anxiety. Slowly I became isolated from everyone and I started praying as a Muslim.

"I was praying to god to pass me in the exams and things to get better. This situation started getting harder and harder, I even lost my communication skills with people. At this stage all deep questions why god created us, why are we like this, why this all suffering deep questions started arising. I started looking deeper into my religion Islam, Christianity and spirituality in general.

"Spirituality and religion have been my interests since my childhood... so I had a background already. When life became very hard on me these questions surfaced. So, I started surfing, watching debates and with an open mind, desperate to find a way out. The kind of a beginning of a depression and was good enough to be handled, didn’t need medical intervention. Sadguru’s videos started popping up when I searched these questions. All the videos, people and research, this man made most sense.

"The first few videos that I saw I didn’t like it nor him but I couldn’t say he doesn’t make sense or he made the most sense because in my confusion I couldn’t recognize this neither.  I just wanted out anyway. Slowly the videos would appear repeatedly, I watched Sadguru for one month and it made sense for me. He is asking and answering questions in a way that tackles the problem that no one is talking about, and most leaders are even afraid to ask/answer certain topics that he talks about clearly and with ease.

"Because they don’t know the answer, maybe so they avoid it all together. He is speaking about my condition and every human condition and how to be, who we are and depression, health, where we are coming from, what is the source we come from? I started watching more videos. I looked it up on the Internet and I wanted to take an inner engineering course. I took it after two months in July 2018 in Paris.

"I found the purpose, I found something worthwhile to hold on to. I found a person who is about the people, not about himself.  At the end of the course, I was asked whether I would volunteer, that was a wow moment for me. After doing the programme, noticing the transition that I went through, my mind was craving for India. I finished my studies and passed the course and got the bachelor's degree in Geography and Urban Planning. I went back to Emirates and all I was telling about going to India. But, my parents did not want me to come to India as I finished my degree in the best university in the world.

"I wanted to come to India and develop myself, evolve. There was a period of trying to make them understand what it is. They understood. They didn’t have much choice. They wanted me to get married and do well. I am like, I am still young and established myself first. This is a thing to establish yourself. It is the reality, a good foundation to start my life from. Nine months after coming back from France, I came here in 2019 for the Ashram. I took a direct flight from Sharjah to Coimbatore.”

Explaining about his vegetarian choice of food, Salah said, "I am a meat eater, I love meat. I cannot imagine my life without meat. I ate vegetarian food for the first time in Isha Yoga Center, this was a proper south Indian meal -- a mix of millets, raw fruits, salads, sprouts, soaked groundnuts, legumes, lentils, porridge, payasam, sambhar, hand-pounded varieties of rice, etc. Third, fourth, fifth time I discovered it to be very diverse, very flavory and the food was amazing. We don’t have this vegetarian/Indian food in Abu Dhabi. We have parathas, salona. This kind of food they make here is so good. I was worried about how I live without meat. Two days in Isha, that is not hard to do.”

"Now after practicing Yoga for a very few years. there is stillness without trying to be there. It's a natural state, it happens by itself. These tools, practices, techniques and this science is making me get closer to the true essence of my religion. For The first time after having experience of stillness, I started feeling the connection with a presence much bigger than me, before, never has this occurred. Many times we prayed, we fasted, we would feel some sweetness but you would never feel a connection. I think this is needed not only for Muslims but every other nationality and background and culture, may my brother Muslims know the real meaning and experience of 'Khushuaa' stillness, the true essence of Islam lies in our hearts. We need not look for someone to explain it to us, it is within," Salah said.

"I am reflecting upon my future course of action. I don't see anything better for me as a Salah than holding on to this purpose as in life purpose. Sadguru has clarified for us that we aren't born with a purpose of our own. We choose our purpose. If the choice is mine I will choose this purpose because it is very inclusive for everyone and it has transformed my life, I am going to evolve even more because it has transformed me in a big way.

"I feel I am just taking the first step. By 2050, 33 per cent of the planet will have mental, psychological disorders. This is very needed for the world. I remember my pressure/helpless situations, every time I go through a hard time, I promise myself, Salah, remember these times and never forget how you feel, how hard and nasty the feeling is… so I can have a compassionate relationship with people who go through hard times. Second, I am truly privileged to be part of an organisation which provides scientifically proven solutions.

"I feel it's empty if it is just to make money, what is life without serving others? The true joy is this," he underlines.

"I am still a Muslim, I am 100 per cent Muslim in the true essence of Islam. I am more Muslim than I used to be, thankfully. So, the problem was earlier when I was thinking maybe this is against Islam.. maybe Sadguru is not authentic... It haunted me. I had my doubts. So before I stepped on this path I said, God, whatever I am doing I am doing to get closer to you. And it truly happened, I don't need anyone to tell me what Islam is, because I have found it within me.

"The Hadith of Prophet Mohammad seeks knowledge even if you have to go to China (“Utlubul Ilma wa law fis Seen”). Don't fear questioning your beliefs.  Do anything to get closer to God. Try and if you don't try how you can find or taste what it is, try with an intention to get closer to God,” he said.

Salah said he wants to stay at Isha foundation for three years. “May be forever,” he adds.

Source: IANS