In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.
A man sees only himself while he is inside his own shell. He is shut off from the beauty and the glory of God. But when he breaks free of that shell, when he sheds the veil of his own self, then his sight is made wide.
God made us a meeting place of the seen and the unseen. We are meant to speak with angels, with the unseen world. And at the same time, we must manage the world with our spirit.
A man must be pure. First, he must know why he was made. Second, he must make himself one with that purpose. God made the whole world a feast laid out for us. He said, “I made these things for you.” So God is the one who tames it all, not us. But He tamed it for us. He showed us how to use the heavens and the earth. He said, “He has tamed for you what is in the heavens and what is in the earth.” He made us a meeting place so we could benefit from the whole of it. We (our souls) are the sum, and the world is the pieces.
He gave us a body, which is of this world. And He gave us a soul, which is of the unseen. He said, “I breathed into him of My spirit.” He gave us the soul for two reasons. One, to speak with the angels. “Those who say, ‘Our Lord is God,’ and then are steadfast, the angels will descend upon them.” The other reason is so that we can manage the world with our spirit. But men have different aims. Some men just want to stay safe inside their own small place. Others work to break free and to see a wider space. This is by purification of our souls.
When a peacock cracks its shell, it is not beautiful. It has no colorful feathers. But when it breaks free, it becomes a peacock. It grows its beautiful feathers. We too will fly if we break free of our own shells by purification of our souls.
It is said that Imam Kazem said, “There is no veil between God and His creatures except His own creatures.” But a man, while he is in his own shell, sees only himself. He is kept from seeing God’s beauty and glory. But when he breaks free of his shell by purification, when he sheds the veil of his own self, his sight is made wide.
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