THE ALCHEMY OF HAPPINESS Summarized by T K Jayaraman IRS (Rtd)   

1.   Transformation of base metals into gold is Al Chemy. But the alchemy taught in this remarkable spiritual classic is transformation of base human nature into divinity. This classic was authored by the eminent Sufi, Al-Ghazali, who was also a philosopher, jurist, theologian who lived in the 11-12th century AD. An English translation by Claud Field is available online for seekers who like to read this classic. The book has just 50 pages. It is written in a lucid style. In this post, I am giving a summary of its contents.

2  Apart from the introduction, there are eight chapters in the book. The headings of the chapters are as follows: 1) The Knowledge of Self 2) The Knowledge of God 3) The Knowledge of the World 4) The Knowledge of the next world 5) Concerning Music and dancing as aids to the religious life 6) Concerning Self-examination and the recollection of God 7) Marriage as a help or hindrance to the religious life 8) The love of God

3. In simple words, alchemy is purification of heart. God has sent twenty four thousand prophets to teach men this alchemy. In other words, this alchemy is turning men away from the world to God. Koran says that he who knows himself knows God. Man has a body and soul. The knowledge of the soul and its attributes is the key to the knowledge of God. Knowing oneself does not mean knowing one’s body. Self-Knowledge is the Knowledge of the heart or the soul. The soul uses the faculties as its instruments and servants. It belongs to the invisible world.

4. The similes chosen by the author are very instructive. In the spiritual warfare, the body is the kingdom, the soul is the king, the different senses and faculties constitute an army. Reason is the Prime Minister; Passion is the Revenue collector. Anger is the Police officer. Passion and Anger though have roles to play, can go to extremes. So Revenue Collector and Police Officer have to be kept in check by the King. When Passion and Anger dominate the ruin of the Soul is certain. In another place he compares body to a steed and soul to its rider. The study and contemplation of our own bodies reveal to us the power, wisdom and love of the Creator. 

5. External knowledge is a hindrance to spiritual truth. The soul (heart) is represented as a well, and the five senses as five streams which are continually conveying water to it. In order to find out the real contents of the heart, these streams must be stopped for a time, at any rate, and the refuse they have brought with them must be cleared out of the well. In other words, if we are to arrive at pure spiritual truth, we must put away, for the time knowledge which has been acquired by external processes and which often hardens into dogmatic prejudice. Man is superior to all created things, at the same time; he is helpless in many ways. By Alchemy of Happiness, he rises from the rank of beasts to that of angels. 

6. By contemplation of his own being and attributes man arrives at some knowledge of God.An abstruse method of arriving at knowledge of God is not suitable for ordinary people. So the author is not explaining it.He explains the second method.When a man considers himself he realizes that there was a time when he was not existent. His beginning was a drop of water without intellect,hearing,sight,head,hand etc. So any degree of perfection attained by him is not due to his efforts.The marvel which is human body is verily an indication of the power of God.The author gives a very detailed and convincing explanation for the same. God’s mercy is as great as His power and wisdom when considering how He has provided for all man’s needs.

7. Man’s attributes are a reflection of God’s attributes. Both God and the Soul (Spirit) are invisible, indivisible, unconfined by space and time and outside the categories of quantity and quality nor can the ideas of shape, color or size attach to them. Such realities are difficult for people to conceive. Feelings like anger, pain, pleasure or love are thought-concepts and cannot be recognized by the senses. Just as God governs all things, the Soul (Spirit) rules the body and its members.

8. n the Kingdom of man, God’s throne is represented by the Soul, the Archangel by the heart, the “ chair” by the brain, the “tablet “ by the treasure chamber of thought. The Soul (Spirit) itself not located and indivisible, governs the body as God governs the Universe. In short, each of us is entrusted with a little kingdom and charged not to be careless in the administration of it.

9. In Gods Providence there are many degrees of knowledge. The author explains in detail the limited knowledge of the physicist and the

Astronomer due to their limited perception. When a person is affected with Illness, the doctor, the physicist and the astrologer will look at it from their limited knowledge. They don’t know that illness is one of those forms of experience by which man arrives at the knowledge of God. When a man dies he has to do with God alone. Love is the seed of happiness and love to God is fostered and developed by worship. Such worship and constant remembrance of God implies a certain degree of austerity and curbing of bodily appetites. The limits of indulgence are to be consulted from the laws laid down under divine inspiration of the prophets.

10. The author talks elaborately about people who transgress the limits due to their ignorance of God. Such ignorance may be due to several causes. Some failing to find God by observations conclude that there is no God and the world made itself or existed always. Some of the physicist and astronomers belong to this class. Some due to ignorance of the real nature of the Soul repudiate the doctrine of a future life. Some believe in God and future life but their belief is weak. They feel that God is indifferent to them. Some feel that it is impossible to abstain from anger, lust and hypocrisy as these are inherent in men. Some feel that they have God’s mercy irrespective of their actions. This is wrong. The sixth class is pretenders who think they had reached the exalted state whereas truth is to the contrary.

11. This world is a stage or a market place passed by pilgrims on their way to the next. Just as the body needs care and nurture, the Soul is also to be protected and cared. Body perishes. Soul endures. The Soul uses the body just as a pilgrim uses his camel to go to Mecca. The Pilgrim should look after the camel. But he should not bestow undue attention on it. Similarly man should not bestow undue attention on his body. Bodily needs are simple. They are food, clothes and shelter. In the world, there are animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms. They give rise to various professions in society. Hatred, envy, jealousy and other maladies of the Soul are responsible for quarrels and strife. Hence there is a need of a political system and civil government. This world is a stepping stone to the next world and one should avoid too much indulgence and give primacy to the remembrance of God. Indulging in worldly pleasures is like drinking sea water which never quenches your thirst.

12. The life in this world is invariably followed by the next world which can either be Paradise or Hell. Knowledge of God and worship are medicinal and ignorance and sin are deadly poisons for the Soul. Man has two souls. An animal soul and spiritual soul, angelic in nature. The seat of animal soul is in the heart giving power of sight to the eyes, the power of hearing to the ears and to every member the faculty of performing its appropriate function. The spiritual soul is indivisible and by it man knows God. If the animal soul is a steed, the spiritual soul is the rider. The steed is granted to capture the Phoenix of the love and knowledge of God. If it has done that, death is not a grief. On the other hand, if death happens without gaining knowledge of God, the regret will be indescribable. The Soul is distinct from the body. When the body perishes, the Soul with its attributes persists. Koran says, “The good things abide.” If one dies in ignorance of knowledge of God it will abide as darkness of soul and the seed of misery. Koran says,” He who is blind in this life will be blind in the next life and go astray from the path.” The human soul whose origin is upper world is sent to lower sphere to acquire knowledge and experience. Koran says, “Go down from hence all of you. There will come to you instructions from Me and they who obey the instructions need not fear, neither shall they be grieved.”

13. On the death of the body, the bare personality of him survives. If he had attached himself to all his earthly possessions at the time of his death, then he will suffer bereft of them. But a man of renunciation escapes such misery after death. Persons who love God more than the worldly possessions have less to fear the miseries of Hell than those in whom worldly attachments surpass the love of God. With the help of parables, the author describes the types of spiritual hell experienced by people who failed to lead a virtuous life.

14. Man is capable of existing on several planes, from the animal to the angelic and precisely in this lies his danger of falling into the lower depths. There are people who say that hell is a creation of theologians. Do they think that 124 thousand prophets and saints who believe in future life were wrong? Nothing can be done about them as they refuse to be instructed.Certain people doubt the existence of future life.To them the author advises to give the benefit of doubt and live as though future life exists. They don’t lose anything by that. Ali once arguing with an unbeliever said, “ If you are right, then neither of us will be any worse in the future, but If we are right then we shall escape and you will suffer. "Please recall Pascal’s Wager on which I wrote a blogpost. So man’s chief business in this world is to prepare for the next.

15. The author makes a point that music and dancing, contrary to the beliefs of certain people, may aid religious life. He gives instances from the Life of the Prophet to strengthen his views. The reality of ecstasies and other spiritual experiences of Sufis cannot be denied.

16. Life is precious. One should not waste it in vain pursuits. At the resurrection, there will be reckoning of the good and bad done by a man during his life and the consequences would follow. One should keep a watch on each of his senses as they are possible gateways to hell. A self examination is advocated. Man should remember that God observes all his acts and thoughts. Till a man is thoroughly convinced of the fact that he is always under God’s watch, it is impossible for him to act rightly. The following parable is edifying.

17. A certain Sheikh gave each of his disciples a fowl asking them to kill it where none can see and bring back the dead bird. Everybody did so and returned with the dead bird. But one favorite disciple returned with the bird alive saying,” I have found no such place as God sees everywhere.”The Sheikh told all,” You see now this youth’s real rank; he has attained to the constant remembrance of God. On the Day of Judgment three questions will be asked on every action done by a person in his life. The first, “Why did you do this?” The second, “In what way did you do this?” The third, “For what purpose did you do this? The first will be asked because a man should act from the divine and not from Satanic impulse. The second will test if the action was done wisely or negligently. The third will test if it was done to please God or men. 

18. In chapter 7, the author deals with marriage as a help or hindrance to a religious life. Marriage has an advantage of the increase in the number of worshipers. Another advantage is that the prayers of children profit their parents when the latter are dead. Another advantage of marriage is the company of one’s wife for relaxation after religious duties. A further advantage is wife’s role in taking care of the house and domestic chores.

19. Being patient with feminine peculiarities and providing wives with their necessities are an important part of religious duties. There are certain drawbacks in marriage. To support his family, a man may resort to unlawful means. A man may treat his family harshly and bring sin on himself. The third disadvantage is that the cares of a family prevents a man from concentrating his thoughts on God and on a future life.

20. The important qualities in a wife are chastity and good character. She should be of a good disposition. An ill tempered or ungrateful or loquacious or imperious wife makes existence unbearable and is a great hindrance to leading a devout life. The third quality to be sought is beauty. The fourth desirable point is that the sum paid by the husband as the wife’s marriage portion should be moderate. Fifthly she should not be barren. Further she should be of a good stock and not previously married and not too nearly related to her husband. Marriage is a religious institution and should be treated in a religious way. A man should remain on good terms with his wife. A man should condescend to his wife’s recreations and amusements and not attempt to check them. A man should keep his wife properly supplied with money and not stint her.

21. The 8th chapter of the book is entitled “The Love of God”. The love of God is the highest of all topics and is the final aim of life. The love of God should conquer a man’s heart and possess it wholly. Love of God is a duty. Love of God is completely different from the love produced on account of delight due to five senses. Physical beauty is different from moral beauty. The author explains several causes of the love of God.

22. The first cause is that man loves himself and the perfection of his nature. This leads him directly to the love of God, for man’s existence and attributes are gifts from God. The second cause is that man loves his benefactor and his only benefactor is God. The third cause is the love that is aroused by contemplation of the attributes of God, His power and wisdom. The fourth cause of this love is the affinity between man and God. The Prophet said, “Verily God crested man in His own likeness.

23. The vision of God is the summit of human felicity. Every faculty of man has its appropriate function which it delights to fulfill, from the lowest bodily appetites to the highest intellectual apprehension. God is the highest object of knowledge and knowledge of Him must afford more delight than any other thing. Delight of knowledge falls short of delight of vision of God. The knowledge of God acquired on earth will in the next world change into vision of God. He who has never learnt the knowledge will never have the vision. God is one but will be seen in many different ways just as one object is reflected in different ways by different mirrors.

24. At the end of the last chapter, the author enumerates and explains the signs of love of God. The first sign is that the man should not dislike the thought of death. The second sign is that the man is willing to sacrifice his will to God’s Will. He cleaves to what brings him nearer to God and shuns what places him far from God. The third sign is that the remembrance of God always remains fresh in his heart without efforts. The fourth sign is that he loves Koran which is the Word of God and Mohammed who is the Prophet of God. If his love is strong he loves all for all are God’s servants, nay, his love embraces the whole creation. Fifth sign is that he seeks solitude for the purposes of devotion. Sixth sign is worship becomes easy. The seventh sign is that lovers of God love those who obey Him. In my view, the teachings in this book have universal application and all spiritual seekers irrespective of their religious affiliations can profit by them.

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