The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship

A short talk given by M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen from Questions of Life, Answers of Wisdom Volume 2.

Questioner: I want to know how to find wisdom and how to develop wisdom.

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen: There are seven levels of wisdom, or consciousness: feeling, awareness, intellect, judgment, subtle wisdom, divine analytic wisdom, and divine luminous wisdom.

Using this wisdom, we churn deeper and deeper, increasing our understanding. For example, take a piece of fruit. We recognize the taste in a fruit, don't we? When we bite into it, we know whether it has a good taste or a bad taste, don't we? We understand that immediately. This understanding is based on our intellect, but we can go further in our understanding: How did this taste come about? What is the name of this fruit? What soil did this fruit grow on? What were the energies in that soil? Was the fruit from an original seed or was it grafted?

Analyzing such points and understanding the results of the analysis is done by our fifth level, subtle wisdom. The next level is divine analytic wisdom. At this level, we realize that within a tiny seed is contained a large tree with many leaves, many flowers, and countless fruits. The unripe fruits came from the flowers and were once green like the leaves. The tree came from the seed and bears the same nature as the seed. The bark of the tree is like the outer covering of the seed, and under the bark is the same white color that you find inside the seed. Just as a tiny point grows from within the seed, so flowers and fruits come forth. As the fruits ripen, they gain the same taste as the original fruit the seed came from.

And just as a tree sheds its bark, we peel off the skin of the fruit and discard it. By discarding the seed casing, by destroying its old form, a new form emerges another tree. This tree takes a new form, then it grows a fruit, and within the fruit the original seed grows again. Thus, a single tree that grows from a single seed goes on to create a vast number of seeds, and within each of those seeds the form of that tree is created over again. So now it is necessary to eat the fruit and analyze it: Is it ripe? Is it good? Is it bitter? Is it sour? Is it sweet? I taste the fruit and say, "This is a nice taste," or "This is sour," or "This is not good." The wisdom that churns and sifts inside, revealing all these answers and defining the taste, is divine analytic wisdom. The next level is divine luminous wisdom, which says, "This taste is good. It is good and there is a use for it."

In the same way, we must understand our self and our entire life, from the original seed to the final seed. We must churn ourselves and throw away the outer coverings that grew in this world of ignorance. Then the point of God will grow. What we were originally will sprout again, and from that, His millions of miracles, His qualities, and His light will grow. All the colors will leave and His explanation will return. To understand this state is true wisdom and light. Do you understand? Is that right?

Questioner: Thank you.