Why Cannot a Sealed Heart Acquire Light?
The heart is what initiates and manages all of our movements. Attachments, desires, talents, joys, sorrows, and even misfortunes and confusion all have their roots in our hearts. If our heart is open to light and guidance, we find ourselves on the path to bliss. However, if we neglect our heart, we end up having a sealed heart. A sealed heart is affected by a disease that can never absorb or reflect light; just like a dusty mirror that does not reflect when we shine a light into it. Our heart is like a house that we must build it ourselves. If its door is locked, only we can unlock it.
The heart is our only eternal asset providing us with peace and life. The heart is a powerful tool given by God for understanding and gaining ma’rifa. So why is it sealed? How does it forget its Most Important Audience? Why do the beloveds of our lower selves, distance us from our True Beloved? This article aims to answer these questions.
The sealing of the heart is a type of illness that alters our intellective and spiritual nature, creating a situation in which we can no longer accurately discern intellective and supra-rational truths. The only part of our existence that has infinite capacity is our heart. The more our True Beloved enters our heart, the more our happiness increases. Conversely, when we do not allow our True Beloved enters our heart, no matter how wealthy we are, we will never achieve inner peace.
How Does Our Heart Become a Sealed Heart?
In previous lessons, we discussed the life of the heart, moving with the heart, the True Beloved of the heart, and the sick heart. We learned that the heart is the very soul that understands, thinks, loves, decides, loves, and hates. If it is not aligned with true values and True Beloved, it does not have enough strength to rule over our other existential dimensions.
We also noted that a sick heart cannot reach its true status and connect with human’s only Deity i.e., God. Consequently, our supra-rational dimension loses its ability and potential to acquire capabilities, competencies, and eternal bliss. The heart is the most crucial part of our existence. It is also the strongest tool for distinguishing good from evil and our other faculties are under the control of the heart. If the heart is neglected, it gradually becomes unable to achieve perfection and growth, to the point where harms and veils of perception overpower us, stripping us of understanding and ma’rifa.
The heart is sealed in several stages. First, it begins to rust [1]. Then a veil covers it [2], as a result, it becomes deviant [3]. After that, it is strongly locked [4]. Ultimately, it is sealed in a chamber [5].
Thus, due to obstacles created by ourselves, the heart gets sick and and turns into a sealed heart. In this case, our heart becomes so preoccupied with the beloveds of the lower dimensions of our being that forgets its True Beloved. Imagine that we throw a sealed glass bottle into the sea. Even if this bottle is thrown into the ocean, water cannot enter it, because the glass is sealed. The same rule applies to our heart; if it is sealed, it cannot achieve any perfection and is deprived of having intimacy with its Pair and Deity. Therefore, despite its vastness, the heart becomes tainted by negligence and requires constant purification to remain pure and not be sealed. If the heart, as the king and ruler of the body, is tuned into a sealed heart, all other of our existential dimensions will also become corrupt and destroyed.
Why Does the Heart Forget Its True Audience?
We previously discussed that our soul has five faculties: the sense perception, imaginal, estimative, intellective, and supra-rational faculties. Each of these faculties has needs. So, to fulfill their needs and desires, they must achieve what is sought and unite with their beloveds. Our heart is compatible with God and made of His essence. It is inherently in love with Absolute Perfection. Love for the Infinite is our true and eternal asset; the asset that will be our greatest support.
Love and attachment to God is a yearning that the heart develops when the supra-rational faculty is healthy and properly nourished. Therefore, during the limited time we have in this world, we must strive to establish relationship with our True Audience. However, one of the obstacles that prevents us from communicating with our True Beloved, is our attachment to the world and focusing on all our existential dimensions except the supra-rational faculty.
When we spend all our time with worthless lower beloveds, we avoid solitude with our True Audience. We do not take pleasure in praying and supplication, so, we never achieve peace and happiness. In such conditions, if we do not connect with our only True Audience, we cannot find a way to solve our problems and cannot seek help. Just as cardiac arrest, if untreated, leads to death, a sealed heart represents a stage of spiritual death which occurs when we distance ourselves from our True Beloved.
In this lesson, we examined the disease of a sealed heart. We said that light and perfection can only be acquired through the heart. We stated that if the heart cannot connect with its True Audience, it loses its greatest asset and support.
How concerned are you about your relationship with your True Audience? Share your thoughts with us!
References
[1]. Quran, 6:25
[2]. Quran, 61:5
[3]. Quran, 83:14
[4]. Quran, 47:24
[5]. Quran, 16:106