“The real meaning of crucifixion is to crucify the false self, that the true self may rise. As long as the false self is not crucified, the true self is not realized.”
—Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Bowl of Saaqi, January 9
The problem I have with the formulation “crucify the false self” (even though Inayat Khan is My Man) is the implication that this crucifixion is an intentional (and violent) act directed at something concrete, and that we can cause this to happen.
Any action we take /against/ our false self will be interpreted by it as an attack upon our existence, and will be resisted FIERCELY, resulting in a deeper internal split and tying-up enormous amounts of life force that properly should be available for living life.
Furthermore, the false self is not a “thing” but a perspective, an /identity/, and it is called “false” because of its particular limitation of separation from the Divine Ground of Being. We transcend the limitation of this identity by the grace of the experience of ourselves as larger and more multi-dimensional than a time-apace object.
When this experience is real, it uproots the identity. For the most part, these experiences are what are called “spiritual states” and they are not permanent. This must happen many times and in different sectors of the personality for the larger perspective to be integrated and permanent as a spiritual /station/.
Spiritual crucifixion is not something we can arrange to happen. It can only happen, and is only of value, when we surrender to the cosmic set-up when ecstatic Grace or fierce Grace are visited upon us.
—Hafizullah
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