With the absolute power of God, we start the meeting.
Hello, friends, I am Hossein, a traveler.
Hello, Hossein.
Please, for our liberation from our most powerful enemy, which is our own ignorance and unawareness, let's observe a 14-second silence and seek refuge in the Almighty.
Thank you.
I kindly request the honorable secretary, Ms. Neda to read the summary of the previous session and announce the agenda for today's session.
Hello friends, I am Neda, a traveler.
Hello, Neda.
In the name of God, the seventh session of the 20th round of Congress 60’s meetings is held with the agenda of the Seventh Valley, under the supervision of Mr. Hossein Dezhakam and, Ms. Neda as the secretary on November, 13, 2012. The session commenced at 9 a.m. Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello, friends, I am Hossein, a traveler."
The agenda for today's session is the seventh valley. Before I begin the seventh valley, as the meeting’s master, I ask the secretary to bring her secretary notebook (in which Congress 60 secretaries write every session’s report) next week so that I can see if the reports are neatly written or not.
Well, the secret to discovering the truth lies in two things: one is finding the way, and the other is what we perceive.
The seventh valley can be discussed in the most complex philosophical issues and also in the simplest daily tasks. Its law is that it can be used from the simplest issues to the most complex ones. It's very common. As I mostly said these valleys remain like laws, I've said it before. Some divine laws are fixed and do not change, they are like mathematical formulas; if you multiply two by two, the answer comes four. Now, if you consider two black coins which are multiplied by two, the result will be four black coins; this holds true for two pieces of gold multiplied by two, it can be four bags or jewels, silver, whatever. So, this law can be applied to black coins as well as to big issues or financial issues. We have an expression in Persian reading نبریده گز نکن which means “look before you leap”. [The phrase “گز کردن” in here means to measure and “گز or gaz” is a unit of length which is equal to approximately 0.9144 meters].
In the past, for example, when measuring a fabric like a tent or a suit, the tailor had to first find the size of cloth, for example, they would say I want two and a half meters or two and a half Gazes, gaz is slightly smaller, a few centimeters smaller than meter [approximately 0.9144 meters]. For example, the tailor would request two and a half gazes, meaning two and a half meters, or they would ask for one meter of cloth. First, to make a suit (for men), they would measure the fiber and then tear it. The tailor first determined whether this fiber is suitable for suit, but if the tailor tore the fiber without measuring it, some fiber would be residual or lacking. This is a law too. Or another Persian idiom reads says, “dig the well first, then steal the minaret” [so that you can hide it in the well]. You've seen a minaret, it is very tall, if you steal it, you can't hide it up because it's very tall, everyone will know the theft. First, you have to dig a well, then, if you steal the minaret, you can put it in the well so that no one sees it. All of these fit into the seventh valley. Now, I'm going to read the valley and move ahead. It's brand new. I was just writing the end of this valley, it is brand new exactly like freshly baked bread.
In the first to fourth valleys, we focused on contemplation, and in the fifth valley, we learned that we must transform our thoughts from potentiality into action. Potentiality means what exists in our mind, in our thoughts, into action, meaning to bring it into reality. In the sixth valley, we acknowledged the sovereignty of Aql (Intellect). That is, we understood who should be in charge? Aql (Intellect) should be the only ruler, we recognize it as the ruler. “Now, we are at a stage where Aql must uncover some of the unknowns with its own forces, so that it can show us the right path”. Well, when Aql wants to show us the right path, it should uncover the unknowns, find the unknowns, specify the unknowns to show us the right path. Up to this point, it was very easy and you understood it. So in this valley, we continue the discussion on “finding the path” to further understand its importance; because it is an extremely important issue. Yes, Aql is the absolute ruler, but it must contemplate. That is, it should think positively to find the way for us. Everything has a measuring unit or standard, that is why humans have created a set of units, length unit (meter), kilo unit (weight), then gram (milligram) so that they can talk to each other in a rational language. This is five tons of wheat, this is ten tons of wheat, this is one liter of water, these are all standards that Aql has examined and change it in to a language that everyone can understand. Yes, your Aql contemplates and measures how much water you need to irrigate this grassland. I want to go on a trip in the desert, I need to stay in the desert for 24 hours, how much water is needed? All the things must be calculated, these are tasks that must be performed by Aql. “Now, we are at a stage where reason must uncover some of the unknowns with its own forces to show us the right path. In this valley, we continue the discussion on finding the way to further understand its importance because finding the way is an extremely important issue”.
Many people and friends of ours have become victims simply because they didn't find the way or went wrong. How many are the people who became victims and their lives were destroyed, just because they didn't find the way?
So finding the way is a very important matter. One way leads you to the slaughterhouse (one way sacrifices you), and another way saves you. You make friends with one person, and your life is drawn to destruction, ruin, and darkness; you make friends with another, and your life ends in victory, in brightness, in goodness, in happiness, in joy. So you see how important the choice of the right path or direction is and it plays a very constructive role, it's important. These maps are important, which solution you find is important. Just suppose that a person wants to lose weight, the story I am going to tell you has happened and Shani (my daughter) told this story to me that two persons wanted to lose weight and gets thin, a doctor told them that “I'll remove your intestines, I'll do surgery, I'll remove a bit of the intestine, and the absorption of the intestine decreases, you get thin” and both of them die. So one way is this (the destructive path).
One way to lose weight is to listen to a doctor who wants to remove a part of your intestines. The doctor thinks that it is natural when a part of intestines is removed, the absorption of food decreases, the patient gets thin. He said, I want to increase my height, he said, very well, I do it for you! I don't know where these people get this information, or for the height, the doctor says, we break the leg bones, (of course a doctor doesn't say I break them), the doctor says we do surgery, then in the middle of the leg bone, for example, we put a prosthesis, a 20 cm, 10 cm, 15 cm prosthesis in the leg bone, and your height increases. Where does this path result in? A healthy person’s legs are broken and prostheses are put in them, what happens? His height increases. When you look at this body, especially its nakedness, it's so ugly and disgusting that only God knows. Because from the sole of the foot to the knee, it's a tall, featureless thing; from the knee to the waist, it's short, and (the form of) the body is weird and ridiculous. In the case of someone whose height is proportionate, the size of all parts of the body are proportionate. From the sole of the foot to the knee is a (fixed proportionate) distance, from the knee to the waist is a distance, from the waist, let’s say, to the neck is a distance. All these distances are determined, defined.
If you open your hands wide, the way I've heard it and I don't know whether this is right or wrong, when you open your hands and they measure it, the distance between the hands equals your height. Now, whether it's true or false, for example, let's assume that the body organs’ size is all proportionate. For example, let's assume the skull’s size (circumference) is the size of seven eyes, for example, the height of forehead is ……is the size of the face, all of these are now defined and determined in painting and they have their own specific and particular definition, so those who give these solutions to these things, they will lead astray. One way for weight loss, is to use methamphetamine, which leads to addiction, insanity, and madness, and so on. There may be thousands of ways to lose weight, which one is correct? One way leads a person to health, and another way leads you to misery. This holds true in other issues similarly, there are thousands of people who haven't found their way and have gone to ruin and destruction because of the wrong path. There are thousands of people, though we never discuss political issues in Congress 60, just consider that many people have joined different political groups, which had very pompous, strategic names or whose names were very heavy and grandiose, implying freedom and salvation, you know better than me where these people came up with these slogans, you know where have they reached, many people were sacrificed. They wanted to go to the pasture, but instead of pasture, they reached slaughterhouse. Those systems have exploited these [gullible] people. These people have been exploited by a system, a group, and they were led to destruction and self-slaughter, just because they have selected and gone down the wrong path.
Whenever they talk about their system or its strategies, the words are seemingly very good, very beautiful, mouthful and beautiful. Like that time when there was turmoil in Tabriz, [the imbecile] came, and tried to separate one part of Azarbaijan (a city in Iran) from Iran and give it to the Soviet Union. Well, were they satisfied if it were separated? Now, when we see these villages now and compare them to the villages in Russia or Azerbaijan (a European country), since we hadn't seen Russia for years, now in current films we see the Caucasus and Azerbaijan, they are still living as they did 200 years ago, their lives are still the same as 200 years ago, as 100 years ago. Therefore, choosing a field of study and choosing a group and choosing friends and choosing a path is a very important and destiny-making issue. No matter whether it is about choosing a path, the field of study, a spouse, a friend, a companion, or anything, so it's very important. No matter what it is, if it is a profession, or a [thinking] principle. Some have chosen their path and selected therapeutic energy or group therapy, but they became sick and crazy and get many diseases, it seemed that they had chosen [the right] path, [but they hadn’t]. Some wanted to determine their path and become Sufi. Well, Sufism was good in some situations, excellent in some situations, but it became a mess in some other places. So determining the path and direction is very important.
Many people and friends among us have become victims simply because they couldn't find the right path or made mistakes. Making mistakes and going the wrong way isn't just about politics. It's about friends, companions, everything, and everywhere we can use it. So many people have become victims, and their lives have been destroyed just because they couldn't find the right path. Some of them didn't give up on their efforts, they were determined and resilient, but only due to choosing the wrong path, they provided means for their own and others' destruction.
Sometimes, they also cause the destruction of others. Sometimes a person destroys themselves, well, we say they've brought themselves to hell, it's no matter. Sometimes you see someone is driving a bus, who's in the bus? Passengers. Sometimes a person is going somewhere alone. Sometimes a person with a personal car, a single passenger, goes somewhere, and you consider it nothing if he's gone and destroyed himself. However, sometimes you see 40 passengers sitting on the bus, his family, his father, mother, sister, brother, well, he takes them all to the bottom of the valley. He brings a problem for someone, for example, you go and someone is crystal meth seller, 300 kilos, they take 500 kilos of crystal meth from him, if a person carries this amount of crystal meth, he will be crucified, now he's nothing, his brothers, sisters, friends, family, they all get destroyed, his family members all loved him, they all wanted him, they all valued him, he was precious to them, he was valuable to them, but, he drags them all to destruction and nothingness. Because he messed up his path. Of course, these people say that these people were very hardworking and diligent in choosing friends or spouses or paths or jobs, it's possible that a person is very determined, hardworking, and diligent. We can't say they're helpless, not at all; they merely chose the wrong path, some of them didn't give up on their efforts, and they were determined and resilient people, but they selected the wrong path. The only thing they did was the selection of the wrong path and they destroyed their own and others’ lives.
What matters is which front you join, the front that's losing or the front that's winning. Which side are you on, which one do you choose? Then, this valley asserts that even people who haven't found the final solution to their problem have committed suicide. We've had many people, they were determined with lots of good traits; however, they chose the wrong path [to cure their addiction], and because they chose the wrong path and couldn't solve this problem, they didn't find a solution, they committed suicide. Some suicides are out of despair. This despair, depression, because of taking drugs or [psychiatric] pills, their consciousness and senses do not work properly, they commit suicide. It's only one case, they are in perfect mental health, but due to a crisis [in their life], they end up with no solution, they commit suicide. You can see lots of similar cases in samurai, you see a lot of Japanese who commit hara-kiri [Seppuku], for example. We can't say they've been will-less because they also had an extraordinary will. But their body, their psyche, their thoughts had deviated from natural balance due to not finding a solution to their problem. When they went the wrong way, as a result of going the wrong path, what happens? Their body, even their thoughts, their psyche, deviates from natural balance. They get out of balance and commit suicide.
Finding quick solutions to problems always plays a significant role in our lives [quick solutions however lead to bad consequences sometimes]. Finding the right path in our life always has a significant impact. Well, we found a path, and came to Congress 60, and reached a conclusion, reached something. We might have gone somewhere else and reached a different conclusion. We might have gone somewhere else and reached no conclusion at all. Which path leads us to the right result? We have to see which path leads to success and select the right path.
Many people have joined various groups and thinking cults and sects, they thought they had chosen the right path, believing they were heading to greener pastures, but end up in ruin and realize it, when it was too late. At some point, a person realizes that it's too late to change anything; nothing can be done anymore. Finding the proper way is again emphasized. Finding the right path is one of the most important and fundamental issues. So we say the secret to discovering the truth lies in two things: finding the path and what one gains from it. Now, although we know the meaning of the words in this principle, it is still better to write down their meanings. We know the meanings of words like secret, discovery, and truth, but we should look them up in the dictionary and write down their meanings. This issue is very, very important, and every moment in our lives, we face crossroads.
“And We guided him to the two paths” [Surah Balad (city), verse 10] is the same as “And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it, both wickedness and righteousness were inspired in Self [human being]” [Surah Ash-Shams (the sun), verse 8]. We always find ourselves at a crossroads, and every time we choose the wrong path, we end up in the lowest of the low.
It starts small, but the end result is vast and significant. What does that mean? It means that if a rocket we send to the moon has a deviation of one ten-thousandth of a degree, it’s not even measurable by the naked eye or even with a telescope. This small angle is insignificant at first, but as it travels thousands of kilometers, what happens to the distance? It grows larger and larger. So, you see, it starts with something small and leads to a massive difference. Therefore, we must be very careful every time we choose a path or anything else; we need to think.
Now, let’s see what happens. Sometimes you see things get really messed up. Well, let's see what the literal meaning is. One of them is 'secret': see, here it says the secret of discovering the truth, meaning the discovery of truth has a secret. To discover the truth, we have to know the secret and mystery. We have to know the truth, and to reach this truth, we have to know what secret, mystery, and discovery mean. All three are unknown. In the title of this seventh Valley, there are three unknowns. To know the truth, finding the path, and determining the direction are not simple; they require thought, contemplation, and analysis. Now, let’s define these words one by one to keep them in mind.
What is a secret? It is a concealed or hidden matter. Now, it could be any concealed thing. Anything that is hidden, whether it’s a matter, a thing, a path, or a route, if it is hidden, it is called a secret.
What is a mystery? A mystery is a concealed secret. For example, we have keys and suitcases like Samsonite. When asked for the code to open them, it might be something like four fours or four zeros. Or, for a satellite receiver, when we want to access a channel, it asks for a code, like four zeros or 0123. Or, what is your password? What is your code? It is a hidden secret. That combination of four zeros or four numbers or any number you say, that is the code. Or there are numbers, like your national ID number or your passport number. Whatever it is, it becomes a hidden secret. Or a specific symbol that helps you understand something, a special symbol from which something can be understood or identified. Even the letters of the alphabet are codes. The letters we write on paper, like A B C D, are actually codes. If someone doesn’t have literacy, they are not able to read alphabets, they can't understand them. You need to know that the combination of W, A, T, E and R forms "water". But since we all know them and we all can read them [automatically, they are no longer considered as codes. They are hidden secrets.
A matter or issue that is incomprehensible and requires a key to solve is also a secret. For example, a lock requires a key to open it. Without the key, it can’t be opened.
So, a mystery is a concealed secret, a specific symbol from which something can be understood or identified. It is a matter or issue that is incomprehensible and requires a key to solve. This was something very clear and simple.
What is discovery? Discovery is revealing or finding something. Christopher Columbus found the continent of America. When you want to discover something, there has to be something to find. If there’s nothing, it can’t be found. For example, microbes were discovered. America was discovered, or electricity was discovered by Edison. Discovery means finding something hidden and making it known. They discovered a certain star, found it, and a certain scientist named it Halley's Comet because a scientist named Halley discovered it. There must be something for us to find. This means that everything always exists; we just have to find it.
What is truth? Truth is the essence and ultimate reality of everything; it is honesty and correctness. The essence and ultimate reality of everything, which includes honesty and correctness, help us understand the matter at hand. Christopher Columbus found and discovered the continent of America. The truth of this discovery was the continent of America itself. Therefore, to discover the truth, sometimes the truth must be revealed. This means that we constantly need to discover the truth. For example, if there is a certain disease and something cures it, doctors need to discover what cures it. In life, we are constantly discovering different things. Humans are always finding and searching for something.
Therefore, to discover the truth or to reveal the essence of any hidden matter or truth, we need to unlock its secret and mystery. For any hidden truth, in order to discover and reveal it, we need to find its secret and mystery. In this context, the secret is finding the way or path of movement. Here in this valley, the secret is finding the way. So, finding the way becomes the secret of the matter. Secret means finding the way or path of movement. And the mystery means what it conveys, which is traveling and traversing the way or path of movement. The secret is finding the way, and the mystery is what it conveys, which is traveling and traversing the way. Now, with the next example, the matter will become completely clear to us.
So, the mystery is what it conveys: "traveling and traversing the way or path of movement to reach the truth." It's all about reaching the truth: discovering the secret and mystery to uncover the truth. Our discussion topic is truth. That is, the essence of the matter we want to reach is called truth.
In other words, to unlock the lock of any door or box, first, you must find its key, and second, you must use the key to unlock the lock. Using the example of the lock and key, it says that for any lock you want to open, you first need to find its key and then use the key to unlock it. This part is a bit outside the main topic, but it is mentioned here. Since we are talking about locks and keys, keep in mind that there are always many lock makers and few key makers. Generally, there are many people who create problems, and very few who can solve them. Those who create various diseases are a lot, and those who can treat these diseases are very few, and so on.
To clarify the subject, let's use another example. To make the matter clearer, let's use another example: If we are in Tehran and want to drive to Tabriz, the first thing we need to do is find the best route. If we are in Tehran and want to go to Tabriz, why Tehran to Tabriz? Because I like the people of Tabriz, the Azeris, that's why I use Tabriz as an example. They are very hardworking, honest, and good people. The Persians are also good, I did not mean they are bad.
If we are in Tehran and want to drive to Tabriz, the first thing we need to do is find the best route and then start our journey. It is very clear to us that after starting, we will never reach the truth until we travel the distance between Tehran and Tabriz, in this context, the truth is reaching Tabriz. If we want to go to Tabriz, first we need to find the route. Once we find the route, we need to travel it to reach Tabriz. This is finding the way and then reaching the destination.
Now it says, if we roughly look at people, some of them always consider this rule or the seventh valley for accomplishing their tasks. They have understood the secret and mystery in discovering the truth. We now have understood what it is and how it works, and so on.
Now let's look at people. If we look at people roughly, we see that there are some who, for everything they want to do, consider a rule. First, they find the way and then they start moving. An old Persian reads “Don't shave without wetting”, [equal to the English idiom “look before you leap”]. What does that mean? It means if you haven't wet your beard, don't shave. They used to shave with a blade [in the past], and if you haven't wet your face, don't use the razor. Wet your face, apply soap or cream, to make soap foam, then shave. You shouldn't shave your face dry. Some people don't wet their face but want to shave. They end up cutting and scratching their face, causing problems. Some people consider this rule, while others do not.
If we roughly look at people, some of them always consider this rule or the seventh valley for accomplishing their tasks, and some don't pay any attention to it. So let's hypothetically divide people into two groups and, with a little thought, see which group we belong to: Let's look at people, generally, they are of two kinds. One group follows this rule, and the other doesn't. The first group is "the less wise." Instead of calling them “unwise”, we conventionally call them "the less wise," rather than calling them the ignorant or the fools, to speak a bit more politely.
If we belong to the group of the less wise, the sign is that we always speak first and think later, or for any task, we do it first without thinking or reviewing, and then when we face a problem, we start looking for solutions.
So, if we belong to the group of the less wise, we always speak first and think later, or we do any task first and then come back to address and find a solution to the problem. So when we encounter a problem, we want to find the reasons and solutions.
Therefore, we are always creating problems for ourselves and others and constantly have to say: "I am sorry, I was not aware of what I was saying," "I didn't mean it," "It wasn't my fault," "I don't know how this happened," "I thought it would be different," and "I'm sorry." This is what they always do. I had written another sign [showing the less wise people] initially but then deleted it later. Another characteristic of the less wise is that as soon as I mention the group of the less wise, you immediately think to yourself, "I am not one of the less wise." Anyone who thinks that they are not part of the less wise should know that they definitely are. This is the clearest sign of being less wise. Some people may be knowledgeable, but if they say they are knowledgeable, it is a clear sign of their lack of awareness or their ignorance. If we think this way, we are part of this group.
Another issue is that when I wrote this, I used the word "we." I said, if we belong to this group, because if we don't use "we" and say the group of the less wise is like this, we all think the less wise belong to some other group, not to us. We think we are talking about some other people who are on the planet Mars or the Moon, not about ourselves. But here, I said plainly, “if we belong to this group”, because we probably are part of this group. I said so because we speak first and then think. We say: "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, forgive me, I didn't understand what I said," or we do something like this. We are always explaining how we created problems for ourselves and others: "I didn't understand," "I didn't get it," "I didn't mean it," "It wasn't my fault," "I did not think it would be like this." Sometimes, there might be some tears or a bit of remorse mixed in, "I really apologize, I am truly sorry, please forgive me, I am ashamed." These are the dialogues we constantly face, these people are always apologizing.
Sometimes, we think the best way is the shortest and cheapest way. Sometimes, the less wise think that the best way is the shortest way. It's like when someone says, “I'm going to lose weight,” and the addressee tells them “Eat whatever you want”, [a wrong and faulty solution]. The person is happy because they think they can eat whatever they want and still lose weight. Another person [a surgeon] may say, “I'll remove part of your intestine [colectomy], shorten it by a meter, and the problem will be solved. Shall we start?” The person agrees, and then the person gets hurt for the rest of the life and they have to suffer a lot, you should wait and see their severe sufferings.
Sometimes, we think the best way is the4dcxe shortest and cheapest way, and in our naive thinking, we want someone to come along to shorten the way for us. When we say the shortest way is the best and cheapest way, we naively hope that someone will come along and solve our [financial] problem or illness or heartache with a spell, or a charm, or cosmic energy, or a treasure map. This is also part of being less wise. They are always looking for someone who can solve their problem with a [psychiatric] drug, a spell, or cosmic energy. This is a very common occurrence. Some always say “I'm depressed, give me a pill. My nerves are shot, give me a pill. I can't sleep at night, give me a pill.” But why can't you sleep at night? There's a reason you can't sleep; that issue needs to be addressed. When you say, “I'm depressed”, [there must be a reason for it], why are you depressed?
You have a flaw [in your body or physiology] that needs to be fixed. I am overweight, well, when suffering from obesity, there is a flaw that needs to be addressed. I am thin, on the contrary, no matter how hard I try to gain weight, I can't. There's a flaw, I want it solved with a pill, surprisingly all types of food are fast food, which has made a big problem for all the people. People want to put this food in a system [microwave] and immediately cook it. Nowadays, (I do not know whether microwave is good or bad [healthy or unhealthy], I don't care about it), but the problem is that people want to cook their food quickly. People take healthy, simple, and clean food [like vegetables], keep it in cans, and box it, put it in the freezer [for several months], they keep the food in freezers to spoil it, and eventually they eat it. I'm really sorry but I shall say half of the people on Earth are either suffering from diarrhea or constipation.
I'm really sorry, 50% of them have diarrhea, and 50% have constipation. Why? Because they don't have proper nutrition, I'm serious. Now, 10% or 5% of people may be healthy, but others all, everyone you meet, are suffering from colitis. They all have problems, just because of their [bad] nutrition; they want their food to be ready [immediately], cheap, and simple. A modern woman doesn't have the patience to buy vegetables, clean them, and put them on the table for others to eat vegetables. They don't have the patience anymore to go get lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers to make a salad. The women are not patient enough to buy two lemons and provide lemon for her family members. They don't have the patience to go get some barley, make barley soup for her family. She is not patient to make plum soup, she does not buy plum to make plum soup for her family, or get some turnips, and boil them for her family. They do not make beets, turnips, for her family. Whatever God has created is for human being. Turnips contain penicillin which can be used to loosen the chest [Deep coughs], all of these things have been removed from our diets. A lady does not get some beans, some fresh beans, to make Ghorme Sabzi (a very popular Iranian stew loaded with dried limes, and fresh herbs], when she wants to make Ghorme Sabzi, she buys canned beans, prepared cooked beans, from Yek O Yek [an Iranian food product company], she pours these together, she also buys cooked meat and vegetables, and mix them together, for example, she gets a certain meat, a very long preserved Brazilian one, where is it coming from? The meat had been left in her freezer, and it was also preserved for 6 months in the ship; for several times, this meat has been frozen and melted, and frozen again, then she's picked it up, mixed it with canned beans and frozen vegetables together to cook Ghorme Sabzi.
Nowadays, none of the ladies of the house go for garden fresh vegetables, they do not chop them finely, do not chop the vegetables fresh right there, do not pour them into the pot right there, to make Ghorme Sabzi (a delicious Iranian stew loaded with vegetables and meat). We have very few of these ladies now. The chopped vegetables are already sold [in the markets], or their mom, their aunt, and the neighbors have come and cleaned 10 kilograms of vegetables, fried them, put them in these nylon freezer bags, put them in the freezer, layer by layer. Whenever they want a piece of it, they take one out, eat it, but they do not notice that keeping the vegetables in freezer for a long time changes it into garbage, it's not food anymore [it has no nutritional value anymore], it's trash. It's dross, you take it out, you want to make a food out of it, it has no smell, no taste. Instead, you can buy the fresh vegetables, and make a stew right away. In the past, when a lady was cooking Ghorme Sabzi, you entered the alley, you could smell its aroma from five kilometers away. But now, Ghome Sabzi does not smell so did it in the past, in an apartment, Ghome Sabzi is made, but even the neighbor doesn't know that in the neighboring apartment they are cooking Ghorme Sabzi, because they do not use fresh vegetables. Lack of using fresh vegetables causes intestinal diseases, and stomach diseases, because people don't use healthy food at all, because they want to reach everything very quickly and fast, because they don't move and they don't walk.
Nowadays, sometimes you want to go to a very near place, but you don't walk; you try to go by taxi. Sometimes, your house is in an alley where you have to walk 100 meters, but you take a taxi to avoid walking. You take a taxi to your exact address, if it was possible, you would ask the taxi to transport you to your apartment on the third or fourth floor, or if it was possible you would drive the car up to the fourth floor to drop off at the apartment. I once said it, it is exactly like those villagers who ride donkeys to the end of the stable. When they got to the stable, they did not even bother getting off the donkey. They just lowered their heads, because the stable doors were so low in height that they had to duck or lower down their head to pass through them and the donkey walked all the way to the end of the stable. Then they got off and came back (Mr. Dezkhakam laughs) because the stable doors were so low. They ride the donkey right into the house, through the yard, and all the way to the stable. Well, we had these things in the past, and now we have people like the villagers. No one walks, people have no movement. Every human being should walk 4000 meter, who does this? Who walks? Humans should walk 4000 or 5000 meter a day. You have to do walking every day to keep your heart ready (active), [to help] the blood flow, to control fat (cholesterol) and urea.
Which of you does walking everyday? From your bedroom, you go to the kitchen, you go from the kitchen to the bathroom, then you say oh, my back hurts (laughs), my legs hurt, my legs are tired, and tired, or you wash the dishes, for half an hour, a quarter of an hour you wash the dishes standing, and then you say oh, my back hurts, my legs are painful, this is because you don't walk, because they want to solve their own problems as quickly as possible.
As you see, all the written sentences in here are in first person singular to emphasize that each of us, ourselves, may have the same thinking style.
Or we naively think that we have to find someone to give us a pill or a magic word or a cosmic energy or a treasure map, to solve our problem or our illness or our heartbreak, and we don't consider that if he were a healer, he would have found a way to improve his own situation.
For example, we ask a treasure map from a broke person [fortuneteller], who has not even bread to eat, and I really saw a lot. I have seen urban people, engineers for example, doctors, (I'm an engineer myself), they go to a village to visit a broken person that lives in a stable-like house (very dirty and old), and has nothing to eat, they go to this person giving him some money for a treasure map. If he had a treasure map, he would take it and get rich, he wouldn't have lived in this misfortune.
And if you ask him “well, why don’t you use the map for yourself?” He responds, “No, I can't use it. Even if I use it, the genies won't give me the map”. The stupid people believe it and say he's right. Sometimes, they have a problem, they go to an opium addict or an opium-extract addict, a poor and broken guy, and ask him to solve your problem, he himself has many children, and you ask him to solve your problem! Well, he will tell you that because there's someone who has done black magic for you, controlled your fate, that is why your husband’ or wife’ or your friend’s affection has been taken from you. You say, well, it is normal for everyone to experience these things. You say, you're right, you're right, now what should I do? He says, you need to spread a genie's table. You ask, what's a genie's table? He says, you need to give money for a sheep or such and such, and also give 100,000 Tomans so we can sacrifice a sheep, cook food, and provide food for the genies to come and eat. As they come and eat the food, they will solve your problem. Surely, you will give him money to set a genie's table. However, if he could provide food for them, he was able to provide food for himself to avoid hunger and misfortune! He takes the money and provides a sheep for himself and barbecue and eats it or he takes the money and enjoys it.
For example, a person who doesn't have bread to eat, we ask him for a treasure map, or we ask someone whose head to toe is filled with various illnesses, to cure our illness with his energy!
Just consider a sick person who is in need of a doctor or a medical practitioner, but instead of visiting a doctor, they visit an energy-healing practitioner to put his hand on their head [to inject energy] to heal them. Or energy-healing practitioners say we are going to call you to at 11 p.m. to send you some energy to get fine. Some people have got used to sponging. They want to solve any problems very cheaply. For instance, the municipality of a town requires a person to pay 100 million toman for municipal charges, but the person makes a [religious] vow to give sheep meat [to poor people] to get the license from the municipality! They want to solve such a big problem with giving a very little money. A sick person needs a doctor, you have to find the best way. You want an energy-giving practitioner to put his hand on your head to get better?! What a nonsense it is?! There is lots of energy in the universe, but who can use it? Everything has its own rules and keeps its counts. There are lots of Dollars and gold, in a rich man’s house, there are lots of dollars and gold in banks in the United States, which are transported with forklifts and cranes, well, what does that have to do with me? There's lots of energy in the universe, so what? In Kerman, they have a saying, which reads “our neighbor has got Komaj in their house, so what does it have to do with me?!” Komaj is a type of sweet Kermani confection which is delicious. These are things that have nothing to do with us. They say, knowing our neighbor has komaj in their house, has nothing to do with me, because they will not give us their komaj. The same holds true for people seeking treatment from an energy-healing practitioner who himself is very needy! For example, we ask a person who doesn't have bread to eat, to give us the treasure map, or we want a person who has got all kinds of illnesses [from his head to toe] to give us energy to cure our illnesses. Really, why is it so? Because we don't know the seventh valley, because before finding the path, we move and that is why we go astray.
When we move before finding the way and determining the path, we mostly end up in confusion. Because before finding the way, before thinking, before pondering, we rush into action. We may intend to head towards Bandar Abbas, but end up setting off towards Tabriz, towards the north, towards the west, towards the east [but not the south of Iran]. We say let's hit the road and see what happens next. And since we move before finding the way and determining the path, we end up in confusion.
That's why there's a saying, in Iran for making clothes; “Don't cut the fabric before measuring it” or “Measure twice, cut once.” It's important to check all the details before diving in. Planning ahead is crucial at every stage of life. When trying out a recipe like Ash, (an Iranian noodle soup), it's wise to gather advice from 10 different people. Similarly, when choosing a lawyer it's prudent to conduct research before making a decision. Although we consider all lawyers good, it is wise to ensure that your chosen lawyer is trustworthy. You give him 5 million Toman, you give him 20 million Toman, and from the other side, he takes 100 million Toman, working against your interests. There might be some people like this out there, lots of them may be found. If a doctor says he'll cut your intestines short and make you lose weight, you have to consult with four other specialized doctors. If a doctor says he'll perform surgery to increase your height, talk to ten others [to make sure if he is right or wrong].
They consider illness as an unimportant thing, illness is no joke, it's something serious, and it’s caused by some factors. We cannot make joke of illness, with disease. A person [in Iran] has claimed that when you're sick, I cure your illness with energy therapy. He claims that I have cured someone in the U.S., some years ago, and their disease has improved, he has also written a book. Well, they got better by chance or something else. Just consider addiction, one thousand or ten thousand people take addiction withdrawal capsules, out of these ten thousand people, maybe five get better. This [very limited] number of the cured has nothing to do with the capsule [the capsule has not cured the disease]. If it had anything to do with the capsule, at least from ten thousands of people taking the capsule, at least four, five or two or three thousands would get better. These five who got better would have improved without the capsule. Generally, few people can get better on their own. If we want to show the effect of our method [the capsule in here], we have to statistically calculate and report the result. We have to see out of one hundred ill people, how many got better, out of a few thousands of people, how many got better. I [as a surgeon] did ten surgeries, I shall see how many of the ill got better. Did nine of them die or eight of them get better? If eight of them got better, this is a winning job. If six got better, this is a winning job. Well, definitely always, there are some casualties, or problems. So, we need to investigate everything. For any task, we must investigate, research, and examine. We want to make a deal, we want to perform surgery, we want to lose weight, we want to gain weight, we want to study, we want to do something, always we have to make investigation first.
When we want to talk, we have to first think about what I want to say now; we should consider if I say this word, it might upset this person or not. Sometimes, when you get into a taxi, you have not even reached your short destination yet (e.g. from Seydkhandan, or from Pich-e Shemron, you have not reached Qolhak yet), but you tell your whole life story to the person sitting next to you, you would tell them who I am, [you would say everything in detail], I have four children from my first husband, then, I got divorced, my second husband was bad, this one is good, my niece is like this, one of my sisters-in-law is very jealous, but the other one is good, and so on, they tell (a stranger) everything up from their personal life.
"Until a man or a woman has spoken, his faults and skills are hidden [a Persian proverb]. Whatever you want to do, whatever you want to say; think first, then speak. Why are you always saying “sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry”? [why are you doing wrong consistently so that you have to apologize consistently?]. Meanwhile, if you are a wise person, you apologize. Some people are so ignorant and unlearned that their pride does not allow them to apologize [when they do wrong], yet those who apologize are the ones who are savvy.
So, it is enough for now. I hope you can use this story and this matter, and God willing, that is why they say “look before you leap”, [in Persian we say, do not cut the cloth without measuring it first].
The second group are the wise. Thank you so much for listening to my words.
Thank you, friends. I ask our esteemed secretary, Ms. Neda, to read the summary of the previous session and announce today's agenda, which is the seventh valley.
Hello friends, I am Neda, a traveler.
Hello Neda
The previous meeting, the sixth session of the twentieth term, was held on November, 6th, 2012 with the agenda “the second part of the sixth valley and its effect on me”, under the supervision of Mr. Hossein Dezhakam and, Ms. Neda as the secretary, on November, 6th, 2012. The session commenced at 9 a.m.
The summary of the master's words:
In this valley, we likened the human body to a city, and this city must be managed and have laws. In this city, the chief of the tribe is Wisdom and a council from the inhabitants of a city. If there are too many negative elements (inhabitants) in our system, everything goes towards ruin and corruption and it shows itself. If they move in the right path, the overall Wisdom and overall sagacity rule the entire system. If an irrelevant element is found, this system be ruined completely. The mind does not accept unreasonable desires because the mind always wants good. The Blaming Self and the Commanding Self are ourselves (in Islamic mysticism, three Selves are considered for a human being: the Commanding Self, which invites us to the wrong path; the Blaming Self, which blames us in case of doing wrong and the Assured Self which is Self-at- peace; gradually, with doing right, the commanding-self changes to the Assured Self). When the Commanding Self becomes the ruler of the city, it accompanies us towards anti-values and decisions are made by unreasonable desires, and the person gets involved in negative desires and corruption. However, when we reach awareness, we must follow and act upon other orders. At this point, the Blaming Self, which is the conscience, comes into play, and a person realizes their mistakes and sometimes they err and sometimes they don’t. This matter continues until we enter the Assured Self, where everything it says is assured and reasonable. When a person moves from one process to another, negative inspirations and negative thoughts intensify and do not allow us to approach positive forces. The only way to get rid of them is to get closer to the command of Wisdom. In the end, Master Dezhakam said that if we do not obey the Wisdom’s command well, we cannot become a worthy commander. To purify and cleanse, we must start with small tasks so that we carry out big commands, and we must know that the distance to the command of Wisdom [to reach Wisdom’s command” is just short physically, but takes thousands of years in time.
And today, the seventh session of the 20th round of Congress 60’s meetings is held with the agenda “the Seventh Valley and its effect on me”, under the supervision of Mr. Hossein Dezhakam and, Ms. Neda as the secretary, on November, 13, 2012. The session commenced at 9 a.m. Thank you.
Translated by Elahe