15. Didi- Al Quddus (The Most Holy) Cheb Khaled (Algeria)
This week I was thinking about what do over the Easter Break. A very dear friend of mine who we would try and visit is going to Algeria so that was not on the agenda. I feel excited for her as the children will be meeting there grandparents and family from Algeria. Its so exciting to belong to different cultures. My dad loved his Pakistan. I only went once when I was 12. It was such a culture shock but after 3 months I loved it. Over the years I think I tuned into my dads longing to want to go back. I am so careful these days with my son with what we identify as being home. Sometimes the longing I felt wasn't always a good feeling. In reality I used to feel that I don't belong here and I don't belong there either. Such thinking can only serve to de-stable you and open the door to all kinds of mental health issues. My understanding and definition of home sometimes became just the few personal items I would carry when I would travel. Later I associated people in my life who felt like home. My son has just started school and I know for me he is my home. When he is near I just know who I am on a soul level. Without realising Al Quddus the 4th Name is what I aspire to create for my son when he comes home. As a mother I am my sons window to the source. I need to do more and be proactive to learn about what the world hangs onto him so we can undo it and be clear for the next day. I know without this cleansing process my son will carry baggages unknown to him. Even if he is happy this baggage will weigh him down and make him sad.
Al Quddus is the ever-purifying one. It required us to take leave of what we cling to in order to experience intimate union. Al-Quddus allows the spiritual traveler to transcend to the lower self and keep going towards the one. Al-Quddus is a force that constantly cleanses us from the conceptual mind and its differentiations. It continuously purifying our experience of the world through inward intimacy and union with the absolute. A variation of the root of this name means to return home to one’s village. Al- Quddus is always purifying and always distancing, in the sense of leaving behind the ephemeral to go fully into the eternal.
So for my dear friend here is one of the most famous Rai songs from Algeria to get you in the mood for your trip. I heard this years ago and I believe it is popular again due to Airlift the new Bollywood release.
What music reminds you of home? My dad loved Noor Jahan but I think I will save that for next week! xx