Extended Article
“Science and Spirituality” by Victor Sinow
Winter 2024 Column
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim
Happy and blessed new year! For this edition of the Insight newsletter “Science and Spirituality” column, I would like to focus on human agency with regards to our connection to the cosmic waves and energies of the universe.
I will begin with a teaching from the holy master Shah Maghsoud Sadiq Angha: “[Earth’s] electromagnetic energies have been in constant connection and relation with all the eternal energies in the existence. And the human being, who is a connecting link between the seen and unseen, is the recipient of both active and receptive energies of this infinite and eternal environment (Angha, 98).” As Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar teaches, these infinite and eternal energies are reflections of divine Mercy and Grace…reflections of the light of Ar-Rahman. Indeed, all motion, including our own intention and action, is a consequence of that first light that shone in the cradle of nothingness and gave birth to our physical universe. We cannot separate ourselves from this light, and our interaction with it shapes not only our own fate, but also that of the energetic makeup of the cosmos.
Consider this teaching of Mir Ghotbeddin Muhammad as described by Dr. Nahid Angha: “Since nothing will vanish into space, thus no matter how far the light wave travels from its center, it will always be observable by suitable receivers. The same is true for our actions and deeds of goodness or wickedness, servitude or treachery, friendship or enmity, hidden or apparent. They are carried away by the quickest wings of light into infinite space and are handed from wave to wave into eternity” (Angha, 76). Through this wisdom, it is evident that in each moment and with every thought, we generate electromagnetic waves that radiate from the magnetic centers of our bodies and mingle with the combined energetic waves of the universe. At the same time, those same magnetic centers can, as Shah Maghsoud writes, “receive and transform the electromagnetic energies of the extended universe into harmonious useful energies and materials suitable for human systems” (Angha 100). Thus, capable of both sending and receiving energetic radiation, our human systems precisely manifest the behavior of a communications antenna.
Before we continue, I would like to briefly introduce the concept of “interference” in wave and communication theory. In brief, interference is a phenomenon where two waves are combined by adding their amplitudes along their vectors of propagation. If the crest of a wave meets a crest of another wave of the same frequency at the same point, then the amplitude of the resulting wave is the sum of the amplitudes of the two constituent waves—this is called constructive interference. If a crest of one wave meets a trough of another wave, then the amplitude of the resulting wave is equal to the difference in the amplitudes of the two constituent waves—this is known as destructive interference.
As applied to our interactions with the light of Ar-Rahman, and, as Shah Maghsoud writes “the roaring and transacted waves” (Angha 13) of the universe, the concept of interference provides us with a tangible framework to understand how human agency is critical to connecting with the eternal energy of the divine. As Shah Maghsoud writes: “The effects of any individual’s thought will surely search and find – without any limitation of time – its suitable receivers within reality” (Angha, 3). A suitable receiver is simply that human heart that beats constructively with the frequency of divine illumination. Our systems have the capacity, through focused meditation, disciplined thought and action, and guidance from a true teacher, to generate electromagnetic energy that constructively interferes with the ever-present divine wave.
As Dr. Ali Kianfar taught during a course on Surah 53, “By practice, when you collect your energy, and return this energy into the center of the heart, that connects with the eternal energy, and these two become one and unite.” In contrast, if we ignore the longing of our hearts and focus our energies instead on matters of culture and transience, the electromagnetic energy we radiate will destructively interfere with the divine light, and we will remain disconnected from the source of life. By the grace and wisdom of Allah, each of us has been given the most incredible power to focus our energies, tune our hearts to the resonant frequency of the universe, and unlock the light waiting to shine forth.
Works Cited:
Angha, Shah Maghsoud Sadiq. Manifestations of Thought: Padidihay-I Fikr. Trans. Dr. Nahid Angha. International Association of Sufism Publications: 2022.