Trinidadian Agriculture and the Mystical Path

As I go visiting farms in Trinidad and speak to the farmers and even the academics at the University Agriculture Department ,  one thing strikes me-the emphasis they put on composting. The first academic agronomist I spoke to was specialized in the field. At the Green Market I visited on Saturday, there was a vendor just selling compost. And at Louis Bertrand’s farm there was a huge infrastructure for composting, the likes I have not seen at our organic farms in Quebec with the possible exception of the famous Serbian farmer Dag who convinced the city of St. Lazare to dump all the leaves from its autumn clean-up on his farm. Eventually, they closed down his farm ,  however, saying it was an eye-sore!

At first, I thought this emphasis on composting somewhat peculiar but, on further reflection, I realized it was a stroke of genius. To quote an iconic statement from my own spiritual process:  ”Composting man ,that’s where it’s at” lol Why is that so important?! Because the soil and its nutrients are the basis of the whole process. For example, you may have noticed that generally organic tomatoes have almost no taste. That puzzled me for a while until I realized that ”organic” only refers to what isn’t in the product-no pesticides, no chemical fertilizers no GMOs. It doesn’t say anything about what is in the product-i.e. nutrients. So if you have a farm in Mexico, for example , that keeps using the same depleted soil over and over again without replenishing it, you may have an “organic” product but you won’t necessarily have a healthy one!

Those of you who know me by now may well have an idea of where I am headed here. I see all of what exists in this concrete world as a metaphor for what exists in the invisible world and the after-life. This resembles the concept of “concomitants” developed by the Swedish Mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg. Everything in this universe has an equivalent in the subtle world.

So what is composting?! Composting is the ground of our existence-the soil we plant ourselves in. And it is VERY important to have good spiritual soil or our spiritual being and its process will not thrive!

So what are the ingredients necessary for a fertile spiritual soil?” you may well ask. The Buddhist model of the eight-fold path could be a useful start as it defines the way to enhance our process of Enlightenment. The eight-fold path involves: Right Mindfulness, Right Vocation, Right Effort, Right Vie, Right Action, Right Speech, Right Concentration and Right Intention. The terms speak for themselves but if the reader would like to explore each of these concepts more in depth there are numerous sources available on the internet and in published books .It is not my intention to write a summary of Buddhist methodology in this text.

What I would rather do is focus in on a few dimensions of the “soil” that I have observed  in my own practice and the practice of those around me that are relevant to the spiritual path. Obviously good behaviour, good speech and good intention and serious effort are all important. Those are challenges we face on a daily basis.

What concerns me more, at this point, however, are the items which involve more long-term decision-making -specifically “right vocation” and “right company”( not an item in the Buddhist model although the Buddhists try to cover that area by developing monasteries, something we are discouraged from doing in Islam and Sufism.)As to right vocation, this become particularly problematic in modern times. As the MBAs(“the suits” lol) take over ,they try to push all work-related tasks into more and more “efficiency”!(?Profit-making) and as they do that they create more and more stress at the workplace. Doing the jobs of two or three people, working long overtime hours, having constantly to document everything we are doing and defend our actions, may lead to more “efficacy” in terms of labour costs. It also leads to nervous breakdowns and depression! I have personally seen many, many patients in my psychiatric practice suffering from this push to efficacy. Often, it pushes people to stress and burn-out. It can go as far as pushing people to suicide!

As spiritual seekers, it is our duty to be very conscious of this process and resist it. Otherwise, our work will completely drain us and devitalize our souls, so that we are incapable of advancing spiritually .Dealing with this phenomenon may involve changing jobs, starting our own businesses(although that can be very stressful as well) or taking a job that pays less or is less prestigious in order to leave time and energy for other pursuits.

In my travels I have run into two contrasting models of time-management around work. In Syria (before the terrible Civil War) there were still places that followed the traditional timetable. In that schedule, people went to work after the morning-prayer and finished at the time of the noon-day prayer. That still gave them a work-day of seven hours. Then the entire after-noon and evening was available for family life, studies, dhikr, or whatever else interested them. That is an example of balance from my point of view.

The opposite extreme is the” Manhattan model”-you work every day of the week including most evenings and then crash out exhausted on the weekend. Then you restart the cycle on Monday morning. That is not to mention the possibility of weekend meetings, deadline overtimes, and all-nighters .In some of the high-tech industries, people are expected to sleep overnight at work and rest as little as possible to meet deadlines. Is that normal in anyone’s mind?!

As to the question of right company, that, too, can be a complex issue. Obviously, we are highly influenced by the social milieu that surrounds us- no matter how resilient we believe ourselves to be. Spiritual teachers since time immemorial have been urging their disciples to keep good company. This is because we not only pick up the behaviours and ideas from the people around us, we also pick up their states of being which determine those thoughts and behaviours. So beware! This is no light matter.

Now the situation can get complicated, as human beings have multiple dimensions of existence. Someone, for example, might share your value systems but be very boring to be around. Someone may be in a very high spiritual state but it can disrupt your emotional and worldly functions. I have been in tariqats with very pious good people where I had nothing to say to them and I found their discourse predictable and uninteresting. Despite the teachers suggesting we practice “suhba”-spiritual company with brothers from the group, it can get tedious and trying. At that point I might prefer to listen to a stimulating lecture on “Ideas” the CBC nightly intellectual talk -even if the speakers are usually not very pious or God-fearing! Some of the very pious people may also be personality disorders so “buyer, beware” lol Despite their God-fearingness, they can be a pain in the butt!

I hope that through these reflections have got you thinking as to what kind of “spiritual soil” you need in your life to optimize your spiritual development. Let me know what you think and how you are coping with this all too common dilemma. Salaams, Ibrahim