The Universal Experience of Divine Breath

I invite you to do this exercise: take a deep breath and breathe in the sweet fragrance of the air that has just been exhaled by the people around you. Appreciate the air exhaled by your brother or sister. This air is not pollution, but an invitation to feel the Truth that we are really only One: human beings breathing the same air, swimming in the same Ocean of Life. The Breath we inhale is the very essence of our existence.

 

Through  this Breath of Life, there is no separation between beings. We may build walls, live in separate houses, create cultures that separate us and claim different identities, but the reality is that we breathe the same air, the same breath. Take the time to observe and meditate on this: there's no distinction between the air you breathe out and the air the other breathes in.

 

There is an established truth among men and women of Sufi wisdom: the breath that Friends of God exhale brings healing. It is a source of healing and Life for those other friendly souls who breathe it in!

 

They say that this breath is attributed to the Divine Breath, in the image of Jesus son of Mary, who embodies this "ruh-Allah" not in the sense of "the Spirit of God" as it is generally translated, but in the sense of the Divine Breath, of this Divine Perfume. Just as Jesus embodies and manifests the Divine Breath, the breath of spiritually aware people is merely a channel for the Divine Breath.

In fact, one of Jesus' sayings is that when a Man of God breathes out in a place, the people there are regenerated.

 

There's a Man of God inside each and every one of us. If he's dormant, let's wake him up by simply becoming aware of his existence. What is a "Man of God", after all? It's a person who has realized that his breath does not belong to him, that his breath is only a channel and conductor for The Breath: The One and Only!

 

With this perception, my dear friends, we can consider that each of us here and now is surrounded by a circle of God's friendly souls, a circle of God's Men. So let's take part in this experience by consciously breathing in the fragrant air of awareness, warmed by the work of the fire of love in our hearts, with the deep intention of regenerating our faith, our inner fire.

 

Let's continue to breathe with intention and attention, "weighing" each breath. And let us meditate:

What is life?

What is birth, if not taking one's very first breath?

What is death, if not the very last exhalation, the very last breath?

What is Life, if not a determined number of breaths?

Life begins with a breath, the breath of Life, and death ends with our last breath.

 

So, for example, celebrating the Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (may the Divine Force continue to nourish his light and our connection to him) is tantamount to celebrating his breath. Celebrating his first breath, but also his last. It is celebrating the number of breaths.

 

But we are not left behind. Where has his breath gone? Has it disappeared? No. It's always there, always present, always alive, always moving, always available. In reality, it is the one and the same eternal Breath, always moving. The Prophetic Breath that animated his body, nourished his thoughts and carried his inspirations is always there, and its fragrance has never disappeared. The same goes for the air breathed out by Mary, Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Isis and all the Prophets and Men of God of all times. Imagine that you're breathing in the air breathed out by these beings of superior spiritual intelligence. How does that make you feel? Indeed, it's an obvious reality that you just have to realize, grasp and embody.

 

When we breathe, we are not just breathing. We're taking part in the sacred experience of the Breath of Life. It is a unique experience, a collective and universal breath that we experience and share together. And it's this Breathing Experience that we call God, The Divine.

 

Breathing is not a simple action, but a participation in Being, a communion with existence. Some of us take part in this experience unconsciously, others consciously…

 

We have gathered to celebrate the memory of the Prophet's birth, his incarnation and his Passage into this world of manifestations.

 

Remember that the Prophet is the most conscious being.

 

The air after his passage on Earth is no longer the same. It has been perfumed by the Fragrance of his breath. Just as, after Jesus' passage, the air carries forever the Eternal Fragrance of his breath. In the same way Krishna, Shiva, Buddha and all the other saints and prophets impregnated the air with the fragrance of their conscious breathing.

 

Let us then take part in this conscious breathing of the air that has been perfumed by these conscious beings, so that our exhaled breath is in turn a source of healing not only for us but also for all those around us.

 

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Meditation given on the occasion of the Grand Mawlid of Ottawa, September 29, 2024