‘Lisan –Al – Gaib’

In a quaint alley, snuggled between towering complexes lies a small almost insignificant shop – which could be very easily be missed by any passer by & common man. It would take only the unquenched mind, the ever seeking eyes & the most voracious of all readers to discover this treasure trove. This dingy looking bookstore graciously provides room for every single book to hit the national & international market – whether a best seller or a major let down ranging from science fiction to fantasy to philosophy to business management to occult…u would find it here.

Thus this shop ‘which must not be named’ for too powerful is its name became the abode not only for rare & outdated books but even new born books, who had barely taken the whiff of the outside world…from across the world this shop became the go-down of every book - new or old, classic or contemporary…and it is here that you would oft find me, bunking classes & now bunking work spending hours on end dwelling deep into the land of words & letters.

It was on a cold winter morning a couple of years ago, when I discovered quiet by chance the mother of all science fiction novels – The Dune Series by Frank Herbert. Initially though intended to be a trilogy, Herbert could not but stop his own personal growth to higher levels & his thoughts spilled over six books all on the Dune saga.

Never have I read a science fiction novel that is buried so deep in religion & spirituality- bordering on Higher Awareness & Meta Cognition. The series draw heavily from Zen Buddhism, Taoism, Hindu Mythology, Islamic principles & ofcourse Christianity.

Dune touches upon Taoism throughout. The very first line is "A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct." compares with this fragment of chapter 63 of the Tao-te-ching, ‘Consider Beginnings’, as translated by Ursula LeGuin:

Study the hard while it's easy.
Do big things while they're small.
The hardest jobs in the world start out easy,
the great affairs of the world start small.

So the wise soul,
by never dealing with great things,
gets great things done.

The character of Paul Atreides, the protagonist of the Dune series who goes on to become Muad’Dib & the Lisan –Al – Gaib is the essence of not only of the book but the essence & the inner most truth of each of our lives. Lisan – Al – Gaib is an Arabic word meaning ‘The Hidden Prophet’ which is hidden deep within each one of us. It is the knowing, understanding and experiencing these hidden realities that marks the beginning of the spiritual journey & inner quests that every living creature embarks upon at some point during the course of his existence.

The becoming of the ‘Kwisatz Haderach’ by bridging the gap between space & time, yin and yan and embodiment of masculinity and feminity into one-all knowing, unifying force is the ultimate in all higher awareness – which every Yogi, Sufi Saint & Messiah aspires to achieve. Herbert, has spun one of the most beautiful word yarns using these concepts which modern day science fiction writers fail to do.

At what level of Meta Cognition Herbert reached one can only guess, but the fact that he brought out works like the Dune series, leaves no doubt that he has broken several boundaries in his quest for spiritual higher awareness.

Each of us is a ‘Freeman’ in our own way, looking out and waiting for our Lisan –Al – Gaib to deliver us from our current state. If only we would look deep within our inner well of providence, we would find the Mahdi [‘The One Who Will Lead Us To Paradise’] in us all & no longer would we be Freeman at the mercy of others.

Here’s a silent prayer that each of us wakes up from our Sleepy Hollow to see & experience the Lisan –Al – Gaib within us - merging with ultimate unlimited consciousness of existence!

Peace In Abundance

~Saba Khadri~