What is the universe? It is a point, and this point is a divine light, and the divine light is itself a light.
Every point is the imprint of luminescence (Tajalli). When this imprint transforms itself into the divine light then it becomes Aura (Jism-e-Misali). The display of the Aura is the physical body.
The physical body is built up as a structure of bones, flesh, and muscle. The skin is a kind of plaster and color on this building. The life of the human being who is made up of veins, arteries, nerves, bones, and flesh, is nothing except senses.
It is said that the total number of senses in a person is five, but in reality a person has 11,500 functional senses within him
Humans have two countenances: one is apparent and the other is latent. The soul plays an active role in the latent countenance. The soul is present and active in every particle of the universe. Everything in the universe, including all elements, all particles and cells, all are alive by virtue of the activity of the spirit.
Life continues in activity as long as the soul attaches itself to the body, but when the spirit detaches itself, then life is extinguished.
The spirit has thousands, even millions of countenances, and every countenance is a disguise.
A human is a soul on one side and the disguise of a soul on the other. This story of guise and disguise began when this universe began and will remain forever. This story is actually a drama. Different guises (people) come on the stage, which we call the world, and they exit the stage after having displayed their character (disguise). The display of guise and disguise is actually a past, a present, and future. I am a 64-year old person who is actually a disguise of childhood, youth, and old age.
Picking a brick from here and a stone from there,
God, like the juggler, built a family
In my sixty-four years of life I have seen 23,360 suns. Every new sun is witness to my disguise. 23,360 suns continually built up my past, present, and future. Now I am tired, but the attached present, past, and future of my life promptly make more countenances of my guises
This tale of guise and disguise is a grief and a pleasure. With my worldly experience I kept collecting the different grief and cheerful characters of guise and disguise in the Kashkoal (bowl). Now this Kashkoal (bowl) is full, so I am presenting this story of guise and disguise to you.
Khwaja Shams Uddin Azeemi
December 1, 1990