The Beauty Beyond: Nurturing Spiritual Vision
It's late.
You're lying in bed.
One last scroll through social media before sleep. As your thumb flicks upward, a stream of images flashes by—friends, news, ads.
Then suddenly, your finger freezes.
An image appears that catches your eye. It's alluring, explicit even. You know deep down it’s not aligned with your values, but something makes you pause. Your thumb hovers over the screen. You’re torn between your curiosity and your conscience.
In that moment, how do you respond?
This scenario plays out numerous times in our digital lives. Whether it's an enticing thumbnail on a video, a racy ad, or a explicit post.
This is the challenge many of us face in our digital age. How do we protect our souls when we're constantly bombarded by harmful visuals?
Let's explore this through a Sufi comic:
Art by Charbak Dipta
Our eyes are incredible gifts. They’re windows to our soul. But in the online world, they can also be gateways to content that pollutes our soul.
Cutting off from technology entirely isn't practical. So how can we interact with it while safe guarding our spiritual well-being?
Self-control and avoiding temptation are crucial spiritual practices. But in our digital world, we face a constant flood of images and content. It can feel overwhelming.
When the Quran speaks about lowering the gaze, it’s an invitation to inner purity:
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them.” Quran (24:30)
We need to complement self-control with another approach: elevating our spiritual vision.
It's about developing a perspective where harmful content naturally loses its appeal.
Let me share an analogy that might help:
Imagine you're at an art gallery, seeking inspiration.
You wander through the rooms, encountering a variety of paintings. Each piece offers a different experience - some uplift your spirit, others challenge your perceptions, and a few leave you feeling unsettled or conflicted.
As you move from painting to painting, you find yourself somewhat lost. Which pieces should you focus on? How should you interpret them? What's the best way to engage with this art to find true inspiration?
Then, you learn something extraordinary: the master artist is present in the gallery.
Suddenly, your perspective shifts.
You realize that while the paintings themselves offer various experiences, the artist who created them holds the wisdom behind their beauty.
He understands the meaning of each piece, how they interconnect, and most importantly, how to engage with them in a way that leads to genuine inspiration and growth.
This is much like our journey through the world.
We start by being captivated, and sometimes confused, by the myriad experiences and images life presents us. But as we grow spiritually, we begin to see beyond the "paintings" to the "Artist" behind it all.
We start to appreciate not just the surface-level experiences of the world, but the deeper wisdom of the Creator.
This shift in perspective guides us in how to engage with the world around us, helping us discern which experiences to embrace and which to approach with caution.
Raising Our Spiritual Vision
While guarding our eyes through willpower and self-control is important, the deeper, more sustainable approach is about raising our spiritual consciousness to a level where harmful content naturally loses its appeal.
When we elevate our spirituality, we develop a deep commitment to our spiritual path. This commitment nurtures two powerful forces within us:
Love for the Divine: We begin to see the beauty of the Creator reflected in all things, making us less susceptible to superficial or harmful attractions.
Fear of Losing Divine Connection: We become acutely aware of how certain images or content can cloud our spiritual vision, creating a natural aversion to anything that might weaken our connection with the Divine.
Once they take root in our hearts, we find ourselves naturally drawn away from distractions and towards experiences that nourish our souls.
It's not about forcefully averting our gaze, but about our hearts being so committed to the "Artist" that the "paintings" no longer hold the same power over us.
The Journey to Spiritual Sight
Remember the wise Sufi from our comic? He wasn't rejecting beauty; he was focused on a beauty so profound that it made everything else pale in comparison.
By raising our spiritual vision, we too can reach a state where our hearts are so filled with divine love that harmful distractions naturally lose their appeal.
As you navigate the modern world, strive not just to control what you see, but to elevate how you see.
Train your heart to seek the "Artist" behind the "paintings" of this world.
In doing so, you may find that the wonders you discover – both in the world around you and within yourself – far surpass any fleeting online temptations.
