Triggering the Mind

Remembering God much is the result of a chain reaction in a person’s thinking process, that is, a series of thoughts in which each thought causes the next one. Zikr-e-kathir, or much remembrance, is a result of creative thinking. It is a product of a prepared mind. If you are a prepared mind, then your mind is bound to be triggered at every experience or observation. You will start discovering one item after another of God-realization. In this way a chain reaction will be initiated in your mind.

It is this intellectual activity that is called in the Quran zikr-e-kathir. For example, if it is raining, a believer will very soon present his shukr, that is, acknowledgment to God. Then he will start thinking further: what caused the downpour? He will discover the natural processes that resulted in rain. He will think that when the water was in the ocean, it was salty, but when it took the form of downpour, it turned into freshwater. So step by step he will discover how God created various process which finally provided him water to drink. This is an example of chain reaction in thinking, and through this chain reaction, you begin to discover items of realization of God. If you are a prepared mind, then this process will continue without limit.

This chain reaction of zikr will enhance your marefat, that is, realization and discovery of God. It will enhance your relationship with God. It will increase your wisdom and power of analysis. This will enhance your capacity to sort things out, and so on.

Trigger is a mechanical term. It is a device which actuates the firing sequence of a firearm. It is used to initiate the firing of a cartridge in the firing chamber of the weapon. This is the mechanical concept of triggering but there is also an intellectual triggering. Just as mechanical trigger can produce an explosive result, the same is true of intellectual triggering.

For example, if you take a glass of water and drink from it, this is also an occasion that can trigger your mind. If you are an awakened mind, you are bound to reflect on how water was created. If you think how two gases could combine and form a very useful liquid (H2O), it would certainly trigger your mind.

If you continue your thinking process, it is bound to lead to a high level of spiritual development. Every moment you face such experiences in the form of the rising of the sun in the morning, the continuous supply of oxygen from air, the flying of birds in the sky, green trees standing on the surface of earth, flowing streams and so on. There are numerous such phenomena in nature that may trigger your mind and give you a high kind of spiritual food.

Anyone who wants to live as a spiritual person must develop himself as a person who can engage in tawassum.