Summary: Tonight we shall listen to a discourse by Robert Darr (whose spiritual name is Abdul Hayy). He is a highly respected gringo Sufi teacher who lives in Sausalito, California. But during his apprenticeship years, he trained in Afghanistan with a Sheikh living among the Taliban. But Afghanistan was once a Buddhist country. Many will remember the gigantic statues of Buddha located in a valley called Bamyan that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. In this lecture, Darr explains the once-dominant relationship of Islam to Buddhism, quoting from books written during the golden age of Islam, when its sages still openly taught nonduality and the transcendent unity of all religions. It is important to understand this history in order to grasp the true level of fallenness that all religions have experienced as the collective consciousness levels have become more materialistic and egocentric.
His insights can help us perceive our own active traces of idolatry, in our worship of such idols as the ego, its objects of desire, and the possession of power. Until we eliminate those predispositions of the ego, the realization of the Self must remain veiled. May this profound lecture inspire you all to attain the greatness of soul signified by such terms as the Buddha and the One God.
Shivoham,
Shunya