Sharing Secrets with the Druze
Вставка
- Опубліковано 6 сер 2024
- Continuing our series on the Druze by sitting down with Sheikh Professor Fadel Mansour, senior member of the Druze community, member of the management committee of the Higher Druze Religious Council in Ussafiya and a retired biologist at the Vulcani Institute.
How we got here: Inside Israel’s Most Secretive Religion: • Inside Israel’s Most S...
Our short intro to the Druze: The Secret Religion of the Druze • Israel’s Most Secretiv...
This week’s video is dedicated in memory of my beautiful friend Sholi. May your bear-hugs, your jovial happy spirit and loud infectious laughter with stay inside our hearts for as long as we live and live on through us.
To you Sholi, my brother, who would have laughed so hard at these videos.
00:00 Excerpts
00:25 Who is Prof Fadel Mansour
02:08 The Message of Jethro
03:29 Where the Druze differ from Islam
05:10 Allegorical Interpretations of the Quran and the New Testament
06:59 History of the Druze. Hamza ibn Ali and Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
08:14 Greek Philosophy and the Druze
12:52 God according to the Druze
13:43 The Prophet as Tajalli, a Manifestation of God
15:41 Why is the Druze Religion a Secret?
16:48 Can we Exchange Secrets?
18:06 How do you behave?
21:16 Similarities between Druze and Sufism
24:11 The Inner Meaning of the Precepts of Islam
25:35 “The Protestants of Islam”
26:06 Druze Mysticism?
26:47 Batin and Zahir, Batin al Batin
30:19 Tell us of Prayer
32:29 Uniting with God?
32:17 Waḥdat al-wujūd, the Unity of Existence
33:59 Future Revelations?
35:42 Less Speculation, More Action
37:02 Finding the Common and the Good in Religion
38:37 Critical Thinking and Religion. God via the Brain
40:18 How did the philosophical influence take place historically?
43:13 The Message of Jethro
47:00 Pages Time
50:29 Messiah according to the Druze
51:29 Heaven and Hell according to the Druze
53:17 Will you Pray with us?
55:44 Guest Book Signing
58:00 What is Hasidism?
1:01:02 The Three Questions
1:05:09 What are Tzitzit?
1:06:54 “To Find the All”
1:08:07 Thank you
If you’d like to learn more about the Druze, check out this great video from our friend Filip over at Let’s Talk Religion: Who are the Druze: • Who are the Druze?
To go even deeper, check out these titles.
Academic:
Origins of the Druze People and Religion, Philip K. Hitti, 1928
The Druze Faith, Sāmī Nasīb Makārim, 1974
The Druze, Robert B. Betts, 1988
A History of the Druzes, Kais Firro, 1992
The Druzes: A New Study of Their History, Faith, and Society, Nejla Abu Izzeddin, 1993
The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status, Nissim Dana, 2003
Historical Dictionary of the Druzes, Samy Swayd, 2006
Non-Academic
The Druze and their Faith in Tawhid, Anis Obeid, 2006
The Olive and the Tree: The Secret Strength of the Druze, Ruth Westheimer, Gil Sedan, 2007
Deep Within: The Nectar of the Gods Rests the Druze Faith, Fadya Alameddine, 2017
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Watch how we got here: Inside Israel’s Most Secretive Religion ua-cam.com/video/Bdzr8tUs6Tg/v-deo.html
free will with 100% restrictions on what free will is
Pease correct the comment. Druze (not a term generally used by the community), are not from an entity that was created in 1948. We are from Lebanon, Syria or Jordan. That’s our ancestral roots.
Im watching this as a Christian and this was absolutely wholesome. I didn’t think I was going to make it through the whole thing, but I really loved this conversation and the respect and the sheik was such a nice man. I came fore knowledge and got wisdom. It made my heart happy.
I’m Druze and proud to be ❤️💙🤍💛💚
Same ngl
Same
Who is druze ???
Well it's certainly different is the Golan heights now ok to visit, from uk
God bless these Beautiful People.....They are always Victorous wherever they go.....Only the ignorant can dislike them.....All that truly know them love them 🙏❤️✌️
Thank you for this video. I'm not a religious person but I watched it with interest, seeing how good manners and courtesy among different peoples creates trust and in trust, sharing.
May we all live in peace and shared prosperity.
❤❤thank you for sharing my heritage, Druze.
As a Nizari Ismaili myself, Imam Hakim Bi-Amr Allah never said he brought the message of Jethro. We have a deep love and reverence for Jethro, Moses, and every prophet and Imam before and after them, but it is never written anywhere, my brother, that Imam Hakim said this. Imam Hakim was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, and his son, Imam Zahir, was the next Imam. However, Hamza created his own cult.
Even if Imam Hakim talked about Jethro (Prophet Shoaib), what difference does it make? Every prophet and Imam brought and taught the same knowledge. The Zahir (outward) and allegories may be different, but the Batin (inner meaning) is the same. I know what the Druze really believe because their faith is a corrupted version of my faith's philosophy, which is the Ismaili Fatimid belief. Druze faith is a mix of Ismaili, Twelver Shia, and Trinitarian beliefs. Imam Zahir was the Tajalli (manifestation) of Imam Hakim, but you followed Hamza, who had no relation to Imam Hakim.
The Druze are the ultimate in unity seekers, for sure! They call themselves unity-ists. Wish I could have been a fly on the wall, but hey, I think I was. Thanks!
The way you spent the better part of the hour drawing each other out lead to a crescendo of knowledge sharing in the end. What a wonderful conversation, thank you Zevi and your wonderful hosts, beautiful.
Peace
Thank you William for your kind appreciation. It was a pleasure and an honor. With love,
Zevi
Beautiful holy conversation.
Zevi chilling without drilling. Druze Shaikh like the wise man of the Mountain, with the laugh, and giggle pointing to the fountain. His brother, a language lover, is a polyglot time never forgot. Great interview and I commend you:)
Thank you Jack ☺️ that was delightful
Started watching this channel to have something soothing on the background when I was drawing.
Now I am having thoughts of somehow everything being one, made of one, coming from one, and
one day will return to one and that somehow I am one of infinitely many aspects of one.
Hehhe. We love when that happens ❤️
God bless these Beautiful People.....They are always Victorous wherever they go.....Only the ignorant can dislike them.....All that truly know them love them 🙏❤️✌️
which ones of the one have you composed your spirit from
Nope believing you melt into one is satanic in my personal opinion. You never dissolve away. You retain your personality and character and you simply leave body.
Thank you for taking the time to respectfully seek and for uploading this video. God Bless.
💚❤️💛💙⚪
" Druze and proud "
I've been interested in the Druze for years, thank you for a closer look than many (especially in the English speaking world) can usually attain. Blessings be upon you and the Mansour brothers.
Glad it was helpful. Thanks for joining us Alex.
This was so interesting. Thank you!
no matter how humanity tried to hide and suppresses the truth of things the final result will be that truth slowly creeps out and with a fearsome bang reveals itself and exposes our ignorance and hypocrisy LOVED THIS VIDEO
They separated to maintain their right to see scripture as metaphoric and not literal kudos! they refuse to Define truths as something that is uniquely possessed by a single group, so they're rational and faithful all at once you got to love that!
How do you know they don’t believe truth is exclusive?
Druze believe in many religious philosophies, even tho they're an offshoot of Islam.
They believe in Islam (of course), Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism & their "former" Paganist tribe's beliefs.
It is not that there is no truth..it is that each has levels of the same truth. Only some attain the full truth..seen from many angles.
@@Rulya-HaShem-MorriganHow do Druze conventionally interact with more modern mysticism? Say Spinoza?
Finally I got time to watch this. The wealth of knowledge is amazing.
Absolutely incredible, you love to see it! The sharing, the exchange, the exploration, the clarification, the realization of each other in the other and the love! Beautiful!
Thank you friend. I'm so glad this work is resonating with you. Thank you for your kindness. There is much work to do.
After doing research into my family's history we found that our family was Druze but fled to the US. Since I was a child I believed much of these beliefs
you are druze then go to your country of origin and learn about it
God Bless these 3 beautiful human beings! I really enjoy hearing this Druze Gentleman speak!! Thank you producing this excellent video ❤
You're most welcome Toby. Thank you for joining us for this encounter.
I just finished watching and had written out a long comment.
And the Internet ate it.
😭
Bless these wonderful people forever!
And bless you, Zev, for reaching out to them and sharing ideas with them.
We are all many within the One.
And the One is within the many.
Holy is His/Her Name!
Thank you Jennifer ❤️ It’s beautiful to be part of this. Thank you for being here with us.
Me toooo 😭😭😭❤❤❤
Thank you so much for this very insightful series! It is such a joy to learn as much as possible about the Druze people. Greetings from Germany!
Thank you for joining us Damian. You’re most welcome. Thank you.
Beautiful talk, tensions ablate as the heart is drawn near. historic wounds appear, passivated by reciprocity and grace.
❤️
These gentlemen are exceptionnal !
Thank you so much for sharing, great interview and amazing work. I’m glad to have found this channel :-)
You’re most welcome. Glad you found us. Welcome 🙏🏼
Thank you for this great gift.🌹
You are so welcome
Amazing! What a great conversation! Thank you
You’re most welcome. Thank you for sharing in it with us.
This was a wonderful interview!! Many thanks for sharing this exchange of thoughts and ideas and for bringing us closer to the beliefs of the Druze
You’re most welcome. Our pleasure.
This was amazing brother - thanks for sharing. I also love reaching the syncretism of all mystical faiths
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you friend.
I love this interview so much!!
Thanks Zevi I enjoyed this, very calming and peaceful vibe
Thank you Ploni. I’m glad you found it so ☺️
Zevi, you have such a wonderful soul! I just discovered this channel and I’m so very thankful for it.
Hey Paul, thank you ☺️ I’m so glad you found us. Welcome 🙏🏼
Thank you for this upload! after the previous one, I was eagerly waiting on the edge of my seat.
I appreciate your work and your mission for unity and understanding, your humble and respectful spirit is felt.
I'm a new subscriber but have been following in this direction of thought and belief as well, we are all talking about the same thing in different ways.
Psalm 133
Thank you Mikey. That’s really kind of you. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. With Gods help we can do beautiful things together. With love,
Zevi
thank your for recording this interview i always wanted to know more about the Druze
You’re most welcome friend. Thank you for joining us 🙏🏼☺️
Thank you sooo much for bringing this to us Zevi, I am thousands of miles away, but luckily love doesn't care about physics coz I can feel it! Bless you and the Druze!
☺️ Thank you Jason. Thank you for your love ❤️
Wonderful video! All religions share the same secret, hee hee! 😄
Mysticism, direct union with God, is the core of every religion.
These guys were so great and the connection between you all was beautiful to watch. Thanks! 🙏❤️
Thank you Luv 🙏🏼☺️❤️
@@newlin83 like the idiots comments about idiots. We’re an indigenous religion and people by blood and ancestral lands. The religion nor our people have ever left the lands.
@@newlin83 what would I know about Hinduism? 😂
Mystics meet in divine bliss, beyond dogma 🙏🪔✨
Love the genuine connection & discourse
☺️❤️
Wow! What a great conversation. What an opportunity, and what an adventure to get to it. Well done. The Baatin al-Baatin part was super cool to hear about. What a nice man. His English is amazing, too.
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Wonderful as always. Thanks for always having dialogs with insights that join humanity together. BEST WISHES
D. ABDALLAH
Thank you Abdallah. There is so much holy work to do in this broken work. With G-D’s help we will prevail. With love, Zevi
Just a quick comment. A very incitful talk. I enjoyed watching but look forward to learning more. Your efforts in this talk deserve the highest praise. A rare glimpse in Seeking Unity in the world.
Thank you Raphael. That’s really kind of you. Thank you for seeking it with us.
“Every religion has secrets, but it’s the same secrets that they all share” I just wonder how much influence the Druze have from Pythagoras. The Pythagoreans were wild
Zevi, I have wanted someone to visit these guys for years and hear their story!! Thank you, thank you
And you both listened sincerely and challenged them where possible. Lovely
You’re so welcome Abe. I’m glad you appreciated it.
Thank you for this video ❤❤❤
You’re most welcome 🙏🏼
Outstanding interview !
Thank you friend ☺️
Thanks for this awesome post!
You’re most welcome
What an incredible video
Thank you Bob 🙏🏼
Awesome conversation!
Wonderful episode. I can't wait for you to come to Iraq or Iran. Foodwise Iraq may be a challenge but in Iran there are plenty of kosher places. Some much material here for your videos. Difficult but not impossible. Shloime Soinze managed to visit Iraq and visited the grave of prophet Ezechiel. Lots of love. Keep them coming. Your videos are amazing.
Thank you brother Yusuf. Looking forward to many exciting adventure together.
Amazing!!
Thank you Gim 🙏🏼
Thank you for these videos!
You’re most welcome friend. Thanks for joining us 🙏🏼❤️
@@SeekersofUnity I feel like I'm a part of an awesome group!
And so it is ;)
I found my comment!!! 🥳🎉
This is my impression.
Okay!
I had to finish with my Holiday cooking and feasting.
It's Thanksgiving here in 'Merka.
Now, I can concentrate.
I understand what he is saying in the "How do you behave?" section and before.
In several Traditions, you teach these things in phases.
1. Moral Teaching
2. Habit of Prayer (as he is doing with his beads, even during a conversation)
3. Deeper Practice for Transcendent Experience
More or less. As I understand it (from p.o.v. of several Traditions) the Moral Teaching must become automatic first. If not, and you end up having a Transcendent Experience prematurely, you end up in a "place beyond good and evil" and there is a likelihood of going completely off the rails and breaking the social contract (we can all name examples both current and historic people who did this) and then outsiders think you are just a hypocrite and/or your religion is evil. This must be avoided at all costs. Esp. for them since they've been murdered and massacred for believing in a Transcendent God and oneness with Him/Her. If you attain to the Transcendent State and your body keeps living a Moral life on autopilot, this is the best of all worlds. Others will see this and will trust you. Many Traditions are trying to preserve this and the tried and trusted way to do that is to 🤫 and just follow the steps in order. Morality First.
Another problem is that the ability to have this experience is not evenly distributed thruout the population. In some old philosophy texts they had words for this. It's awful to discuss this now because we don't want to be elitist or bigots or racist or whatever. We who most want to be inclusive, have the hardest time with this. I still go back and forth on this issue. I hate it. And then I see its true. Then I reject it again. Then I'm forced to admit it's a fact again. It's awful.
But here are the 3 groups:
Hylic: those who see nothing beyond the satisfaction of the flesh.
Psychikoi: those who see nothing beyond emotional and intellectual satisfaction.
Pneumatikoi: those who can leave the first 2 completely behind them and sustain a Transcendent State without needing satisfaction from anything in this world.
I hate these distinctions. I hate using them. I hate believing them. I think this is just evil.
And then I see more evidence that it's true.
If you think it's bullshit, I can't disagree with you.
And yet, the evidence for it is quite large.
I can't advise anyone on whether or not to believe this, but I suspect that the practitioners of these deeper traditions believe this and they have a good reason. Broadcasting the deepest truths to the General Population means that the people who see nothing beyond satisfaction of the flesh will think they are elitist prigs and those who see nothing beyond emotional and intellectual satisfaction will try and fail and outsiders will see this and hate them all. It may also mean that extreme orthodox Traditionalists will hate them for breaking the important laws and dogmas. Those are the dangerous ones.
This is what I've seen. 😢
One of the things I find so profoundly beautiful about the Sheikh is that he recognizes the similarities between his and other Traditions. This is amazing! I don't know many advanced practitioners of these ancient Traditions who acknowledge this. For instance, the Orthodox Christians can't seem to see this, even tho they are clearly having pretty much the same experience. Maybe there are a few who can see it. But I suspect they may never say so.
And on the other side of the coin, he believes their Mysticism will not be accepted by others.
I have no words for how profoundly sad this is. 😞😭
How I wish I could change the world for him. Just to take away this fear.
So generous and sweet.
And so sure that the rest of the world will kill them.
It's so amazing that this inquiry of love and optimism is a new experience for them.
I can only guess that this means previous inquiries were those of suspicion or accusation.
I pray that they become surrounded by more people who have this love and optimism and that those people will protect them from the suspicion and accusation of others.
They are so precious! And their ideas so amazing!
Everything on those papers are really radical (in a good way!). Esp. if they've believed that for a long time. Familiar to me, but only if I get far enuf away from the really orthodox dogma. I can see how strict Traditionalists would have a hard time with that. But bless them forever for staying true to it!!
They became the Protestants of Islam. 😄
How amazing is that!?
The parallels are just amazing!
Reincarnating thru each religion makes _so much sense!_
The tzit tzit and the beads thing is fantastic!
This was Solid Gold and I feel so privileged to have seen this.
It feels very intimate and private and I'm almost afraid for them should this be seen by the wrong people.
May God protect them forever.
That they may have great health and long lives.
May their ancestors and descendants all carry the same Love in their Hearts forever.
Amen.
With all due respect, I’m Druze and you’re comments are somewhat disturbing. To say you can’t disagree with someone that this is “bull” is extremely disrespectful. When you make a statement that you wish you could take his hurt, the Druze faith was massacred and persecuted throughout time. The aspect of keeping our traditions sacred and only for those amongst the faith is sort of our culture. We’re not afraid of dying, we keep to our ways and always strive to be spiritually sound.
I’m not coming from a place of anger or to say you’re comments are insulting. It’s just something for you to consider since you’re not of the faith, or have the full history which is included in our teachings.
@@farestimani9204
I'm happy to learn, Fares.
And I meant no offense.
We are clearly both in direct contact with the understanding gap here.
I'm leaning in. Willing to risk being wrong for the sake of closing the gap.
Are you?
Thank you for responding. Sincerely!
I'm glad to know that I was not wrong about my suspicion about the 3 Types. I've only spoken with 1 person who admitted to believing this idea. He was an American and he had alot of clout. But it was clear that he understood that this idea is not very popular in this culture - to put it lightly. But he did get it across that it had deep historical roots and was accepted in many branches of what he might call "Gnostic" Traditions. It was usually part of the "secret stuff". I was speaking to people in my own culture in that section. Not yours. I see you skipped over everything favorable and glowing that I said about your culture.
Why was this?
Here's the thing.
Most people in American Culture have this sense of entitlement about saying whatever we want about whomever we want and asking whatever questions we want of whomever we want. We consider "Learning" to be a neutral act. Not something that depends upon status or political or religious loyalty.
Only some here learn in order to judge. Unfortunately, this is becoming more and more common. But for those of us like Zev and I and many others here, we learn in order to love. There is a huge difference and I can tell that it took over an hour for Sheikh Mansour and his brother to really get this. Thank God Zev is such a consistent communicator and was able to get it thru. The brothers were not used to this way of learning. Perhaps you are not either. We honestly mean no harm. But it is scary to outsiders and may seem like we are making insults when really we are just having temporary emotional ambivalence. This will pass on its own. The _more_ we talk to each other about these things, the more we will both get past it. Talking _less_ is not going to solve the problem.
I'm guessing that I haven't been able to make it clear for you why I feel about it the way I do. Why this idea actually feels so offensive to many of us here.
I would ask you to go first, in order to be less dominating in conversation, but I'm honestly not sure if you'd volunteer info about how you hold this belief in daily life. How do you love and not judge your brothers and sisters while holding this belief? What is the solution to fear and hatred between cultures or ways of being if you're not going to get rid of ideas of difference such as this. I'm not asking with suspicion and accusation. I'm asking so I can learn because honestly, I really don't know and if you have a solution, I wanna hear it.
Over here, we are having a really hard time trying to figure this out. I don't know if you follow "Social Justice" issues in American Culture, but this is exactly where we all get stuck. Some want ideas that lead to judgement to disappear from public _and private_ discourse because they are sick and tired of the violence and I don't blame them. Some say they have the right to think and say whatever they want where and whenever they want - and I get that too. As I said, I have alot of ambivalence about this.
I grew up during the Civil Rights era when women and blacks (people of color) were struggling to change the culture of disrespect and violence towards them. As a child, this gave me hope for humanity enuf that I wanted to live. Otherwise, the hatred in the world all around me was literally robbing me of my will to live. I needed inclusivity and pluralism like I needed air to breathe. Many of us did. The main way we did that was by eliminating talk of difference.
Because of the current Social Justice movement, I learned that this didn't have the desired result. People who felt different _wanted_ their difference seen *_and_* respected. It didn't take me long to get that. Alot of us got it pretty quick. But we still cringe when we hear language that emphasizes difference. Especially when it is difference in rank or status. It's like fingernails on the chalkboard. I'm not sure that initial reaction will ever go away until this generation dies. But we're not opposed to talking about it and learning. In fact we need that. I had a conversation with a friend in the cancer ward a few months ago - she is black - about this very thing. And she was so sweet and helpful even tho I felt like a total clod. I knew that the emotions I was experiencing were not what she would want, but she was very patient with me and explained why a certain thing was the way it was.
I learned.
And I don't feel as torn up about it now.
So, I'm getting past it.
I love her so much!!!
💗💗💗
This is what we need.
Both of us.
All of us.
I beg you to help me understand how you can hold these beliefs and not use them to exclude others from your community or your inner circle or your heart or whatever - or, worse - get mad at God for making people different enuf that they cannot want to know Him/Her. You have no idea how long I've been trying to figure this out.
This is not a simple matter of respecting people with different beliefs. I already do that. This is a much bigger issue.
Blessings to you!
💗💗💗
Also, you misquoted me and I'm pretty sure misunderstood me as well. Let's save that one for later.
@@DarkMoonDroid I didn’t skip over anything or your kind notations, specifically. I did acknowledge and say thank you, since it was and is always appreciated when as humans we’re supportive of our differences in beliefs etc.
Learning aspects about the faith isn’t an option for us to share. We’re forbidden from sharing any details or aspects that pertain to our faith specifically. I wish there was more to provide you because it’s such a great thing to know how interested you and other people are about our faith.
The different examples used thrice within your responses are dominating to keep the open form of communication. In order to support this, the are distinct facts that are misrepresented within the video.
We’re not from Israel. We are all Arabs from either Lebanon, Syria, or Jordan by ethnicity and origin. The Druze in the Galilee, Mt. Carmel, Golan and Majdal shams fell under the occupation after the creation of the state. We love all our fellow faiths, as portrayed through the brothers.
If you want further aspects of our day to day, research the shouting valleys. This is a big part of our present status.
If there’s a question you may have, please feel free to ask and I’ll support within the confinement’s that are permissible within the traditions, culture, and religious practices.
Please take into consideration that we’re not able to share the beliefs of our faith. The inside of the inside, if you will.
So, if it was missed by any chance, thank you. Your kind words and respect of our faith is appreciated.
@@jasejase2886 I am Lebanese and a Lebanese Druze …… not a Druze under the occupation.
And any form of occupation is never acceptable. To make a justification for our lands and movements across our holy sites we are forbidden to go to because of the occupation because of the passports we have on our own ancestral lands. You don’t understand the impact maybe in your generation but a lot of us do.
We pray and will always advocate for each other to be together one day, to see our families, our lands again once the occupation ends. The Galilee mt Carmel Jericho Golan and majdal shams are Druze ancestral lands. We never forget our history and remain enlightened.
thank you for sharing
You’re most welcome
Thank you!! This is a marvelous candid exchange. I believe the sheik pulled a Zahir upon you in response to your "What is free will?" question.
The reluctance to divulge secrets is remarkable. My theory is that the ultimate pan-religion secret is that bad people reincarnate too. The bad guys of the world know it too. We are living in sheol right now. The bad guys want to stay here.
Glad you enjoyed it ;)
Well I must be evil then! I was very attached to my old family and when I was killed last life I was born that instance and I remember. It's because I loved my family alot. That's why so what your saying cannot be correct 100 percent. I was born in the USA and I was not raised to be ethnically druze. It goes beyond that and it's a secret
A nice way of thinking .Respect .
People sharing and being beautiful. Thank you for filming and sharing this wonderful discourse,
You’re most welcome Michael. Thank you for joining us 🙏🏼
Was just listening to r Joey rosenfeld (hint hint have him on) and now this treat what a great day. Yasher koach.
Thank you Lewi 🙏🏼☺️
Wow§druid ms?
Elders have so much wisdom
Thank u for all your great content
You’re most welcome Julie. Thanks for joining us 🙏🏼
nice respectful.best mustaches love Druze people💗
Beautiful, Zevi! I feel that the struggle to descend into the depths of Druze History and Metaphysics was overwhelming. But, after yielding, we were able to contemplate the ground level gems of Druze Ethics and these Druze's fundamental Humanity. I feel lighter after watching this. Closer to you, to them and to God. Thank you, brother! Peace.
Thank you brother for your kind words and constant encouragement. It's a pleasure and an honor to be on this journey with you.
so interesting, i feel like they sort of blend/unite the faiths. If im not mistaken, I think the greeks also were influenced by the indus valley and vedic civilization. It would be nice to learn more about the Druze but they seem to be very secretive in some of the teachings. But that makes it more interesting to want to learn more lol. I also like to focus on the similarities between the faiths and what unites us all vs the differences. Anyways, thanks for posting. Fascinating talk.
What a beautiful exchange! We could literally watch barriers being broken down over the course of the conversation. I feel like you created an opening in a wall that has stood for generations between the Jewish and Druze people.
But now I have to know...what are the batin al batin??! He teased us by mentioning esoteric teachings about the sun and the moon but didn't tell us what those were. As a nature mystic those are two of the primary symbols that I work with so I'm dying to know! I spent the last 6 months studying every esoteric and mystical teaching on the moon that I could find while writing my series of lunar rituals.
Anyways, thank you again for such beautiful content. (And if you ever find out about the sun and the moon let us know!)
Thank you Justin. It’s a delightful pleasure to be involved in this barrier breaking, wall opening experiment. Haha same here re. the sun and moon. If we ever find out we shall share it ;) Thank you for supporting what we believe is sacred work.
Might have something to do with this article I saw cited which is related to the picatrix: Maribel Fierro, “Bātinism in al-Andalus. Maslama b. Qāsim al-Qurṭubī (d. 353/964), Author of the Rutbat al-Ḥakīm and the Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm (Picatrix),” Studia Islamica 84 (1996): 87-112.
OMG what an awesome episode. I’m an Indian and yes we believe in reincarnation but a little differently. But it was so nice to see you guys have such a sweet-hearted conversation AND I’m simply blown away by the religion- it’s beautiful.
But they said that humans love knowledge, and I love knowledge too, I wish we could know a lil more about these guys.
Hi brother .. what would you like to know?
מדהים!
Thank you David 🙏🏼
A wise man. I thought his comment from "the Protestant of Islam" was a nice metaphor. He has a lot of knowledge about religions.
Much much Respect
A Living Druze! 🙌
Thanks for sharing…It’s wonderful that you made us listen to a real Druz scholar… where can I read the books… didn’t find them on Amazon India though… would love to read more
Would be interested to learn about the influence of Hindusisim and Buddhisim on Druze
Also the influence of the Druze on Freemasonry
We are the one god.
The hidden mystical secrets of every religion are in plain sight..
Mysticism is an experience..
For example..
Jewish tradition:
Are you oppressed in the Egypt of this world ?
Are walking around in circles in the wilderness of your religion ?
Do you see the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey or do you see giants ?
Has your veil been broken and you dwell in Solomon's temple ?
Every trial and tribulation is waiting for the mystic to experience in their own unique ( but strangely familiar) way.
It starts in Egypt, there are no short cuts.
To me they are holy. 🧿
Thank you for sharing the video.
I was raised in the tradition of the Assyrian Church and am particularly fond of minority sects/religions/philosophies..
For more than a decade the Church and everything related to the Nestorian Christian Faith was the central motif in my life (I do not shy from the term Nestorian despite that the figure of Nestorius underwent a severe downgrading since the second half of the 1910's and in the 1920's and 1930's when the Assyrians suffered greatly in South East Turkey and in North West Iraq prompting the Church to purge Nestorius' core ideas at the same time not defrocking him for he is a 'Saint' (or more precisely to modify the beliefs and doctrines of his two main Spiritual mentors) in an attempt to reconcile the Church (if even loosely) to the Imperial cult (The Roman Church, specifically its two branches of Chalcedonian 'Orthodoxy' and Non-Chalcedonian 'Orthodoxy'.
By banishing Nestorius, a Bishop of Constantinople, to the Egyptian Desert the Imperial cult (in its obsessive compulsive yearning to dominate every aspect of life in the Byzantine Empire) hoped it was getting rid of those who refused to adhere to the frankly insane concepts of Trinitarianism, Eternal Damnation and the 'Theotokos' (essentially that a demigoddess gives birth to her creator).
Fast forward 1,550 years or so and Christianity is a complete and utter shambles to the point that most wonder if it will even exist a century from now (except in its so called 'charismatic' or junk food spirituality version as we see in the US and parts of Asia today).
I did not have close contacts with the Druze in Lebanon as a child (My relatives live in the town of Zahle, Beirut and in a district North of Beirut where Druze are few and don't usually wear traditional clothes as these two men).
However, on trips to Chouf and Aley (the beautiful mountain region) I remember feeling admiration because of their modest dress and how clean their villages and houses are.
However, as I grew older and had more frequent and personal interaction with Druze in 'neutral territory' (ie outside their villages) I realised that the external appearance of community cohesion, purity and displays of adherence to a code of moral conduct are deceptive in so far that it is a mask that hides a lot of dirty secrets and power games in Druze society.
I do not express this to in any way insult the Druze.
Many of the Druze are fantastic people on the individual level.
However, on a societal level I feel it is very problematic and I will suffice in stating this unequivocally.
Two years ago I discovered the religious philosophy of Gnosis.
Suddenly the pieces fell in place and I was able to reject the evil, cynical and arrogant 'One God' of the Muwahideen the Druze and that of the Abrahamic Faiths.
I am more certain than ever before that the spirit that kidnapped billions of souls and trapped us in these bodies is the same spirit that stole power from the source of Divinity (of which we are all part of because we originate from the true Light and to the True Light we shall return no matter how treacherous and long the way home to the True Light may be) to fashion material and this world.
Yes nature is beautiful but that is not because the sadistic deity (spirit) created it. Rather it is because the wisdom and power of the Source is so magnificent that nothing short of beautiful could be fashioned (no matter how mediocre and frankly ignorant the Abrahamic deity is).
Sheikh Mansour claims the philosophy is very ancient which is fair enough considering that it fits into the category of Panentheism which indeed is an ancient tradition.
However, the Druze religion is one of the youngest (especially when compared to those of the land where it originates - Egypt) in the world and the secretive demeanor only window dressing to conceal the lack of spiritual progress those who engage in it inevitably suffer.
I apologise if what I wrote caused discomfort to anyone.
If it causes you to reflect on your worship of the mediocre, jealous and cruel spirit the Druze and the Abrahamic Faiths think is their one and only God you may benefit!
اكا هيي اكا ماري اكا منداد هيي
Knowing and thinking you know are 2 different thing.....God bless these Beautiful People.....They are always Victorous wherever they go.....Only the ignorant can dislike them.....All that truly know them love them 🙏❤️✌️
@@maximusEagle
I agree that many Druze are beautiful on the inside and also on the outside (they are a beautiful race as 90% of their DNA originates in Anatolia and North Western Iran for they are a mix of Kurds and Turkmen) but to claim they are 'always victorious' is not only inaccurate but outright false.
The Druze influence in the middle east declined significantly and their numbers dwindled even more during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
The bloody feuds and civil wars between Druze clans led to their decline and they today face a demographic armageddon in Lebanon and the diaspora due to very low birth rates and high rates of assimilation and conversion to other faiths.
Even the Ottomans who were no friends of heterodox sects in Islamic garb were alarmed by the lack of communal cohesion and high rates of conversion to the Maronite Church so in the 18th century they decided to import the Can Polat (Jounblat aka Joumblat) clan from Southern Anatolia and North of Aleppo and impose its leadership and dominance in the southern region of Mount Lebanon.
This was achieved by forcing the Maronite and Greek Catholic Dioceses to sell large tracts of land they owned in Mount Lebanon to the Jounblat Family at ridiculously low prices.
Despite the wealth and political clout the Druze had in what was an agrarian society in the latter half of the 18th, and in the 19th and early 20th centuries it did little to stem the flow of Druze to the Maronite, Greek Catholic and Protestant Churches that saw their proportion in the population drop from a high of 13% - 14% in the area of Greater Lebanon during the late 19th century to the current low of 3.5% of the approximately 6 million people who permanently reside in Lebanon (citizens as well as non citizens).
That the Druze chose almost unanimously in the 1983 - 1984 Mountain War in Lebanon to ally with anti-national forces and that they displayed extreme brutality to the Lebanese Army (especially the Christians that formed a 3/4 majority in the army at the time) were acts that perhaps got them the sympathy of the US and Gulf countries (especially the KSA) and that did translate to them being the only non-christian sect with over-representation in parliament and public jobs but the demographic decline is such that sooner rather than later their role will decline further for a majority of them ally politically with the Zionist - American axis (Around 58% of the Druze voted for Joumblat in the May 2022 elections which was similar to what he got in 2018) which has less than rosy prospects in a region where the China-Russia-Iran-Syria axis is set to make significant gains and maybe even expel completely the Zionist-American axis and its local shills and agents.
The system of mashaye5 el 3aql
مشايخ العقل
(the sheikhs of wisdom) is no longer sustainable as the younger generation breaks away from a repressive society in which sexual abuse of vulnerable minors is rampant and the individual is unable to bring to the public sphere his/her grievances for the gear of violent retribution by a society where image and keeping up appearances is the highest value.
In Syria where half of the 1.1 million Druze of the middle east live the rates of assimilation in the pockets of Druze settlements outside Soueida District (Damascus, Homs and Katana) are alarmingly high.
That the Druze of Soueida (two thirds of all Syrian Druze live in Soueida) lead a de facto autonomous existence and refrain from fighting in the Syrian Arab Army (the number of Druze fighters in the ranks of the Syrian Arab Army is at most 700, i.e 1% of the total number of fighters) will also spell their exclusion from centers of decision making and doom their region to long years of economic hardship as a result of less investment by the Russian and Syrian Government.
If you made it so far into my reply I will add that the Druze are a fascinating community but that they face major challenges on the spiritual level in addition to the practicalities of survival.
The i-generation finds the obsession with the glorification of a single supposedly almighty, omnipotent and merciful deity absurd and the religious establishment is viewed as increasingly archaic and frankly irrelevant with each passing day.
It will be interesting to see what becomes of this community in twenty five to forty years from now.
@@sargon4451Victory comes in many forms.. It is indeed a matter of TIME...God knows how long.....Peace to all the people of TRUTH wherever they may be....Shalom
'To everything there is a season'🎶🎵🎸💜💚
Thanks
🙏🏼
@@SeekersofUnity there are gnostics ?0
I love how you let them do the talking while you probably know their entire view point and differences with other believe systems.
Completely impossible. We’re a religion that provides nothing about our beliefs or faith to the outside world.
Pure beauty
Thank you Arthur 🙏🏻
@@SeekersofUnity thank you Zevi, I found your great work through Justin Sledge's videos, which I love also, I was listening your conversation about rationalism and mysticism yesterday, It was fascinating, highlight for me was your debate about the difference between monism and non-dualism in mystical experience, because I've always had pretty the same impression as you on this topic and I was not sure if I get it right before. God bless you and your family
Some interesting slides plus a short video about Druzes, also here:
ua-cam.com/video/uvXKUiDa7xc/v-deo.html
Thanks friend.
Can you make a video about batin-al-batin?
People like us also have difficulties to pray intensely, how you can overcome that?
in prayer also there is similarities between hesychasm of Christianity, Ajapa jap of Hinduism, Which mainly focus on repetition of certain word and sound with rhythm of breath. Sufis in india and Bauls( a religion developed through the influence of Sufis, and tantric mysticism) also same kind of idea. Is there anything similar in Other Religion also?
I love that when we reached Batin Albatin they kind of regretted mentioning that.
That’s common knowledge
What you are looking FOR
You are looking WITH.
Your religion is a KNOWN SECRET.
What is the story with their mustaches ?
Could you please write the names of the Sheikh and the Translator and also the tien or village? Thanking you for this beautiful conversation
Sure. Sheikh Fadel Mansour. The translator is his brother. The village is Isfiya.
I wonder if a person was limited to 4 children,what ifba person was to disobey that law ? What would happen?
It's impressive how they keep their secrets. Sometimes, on the much - too - wide fringes of Hassidut you find disturbing practices and views. One has to approach the secrets only after they gained common sense religious attitude.
Tawhid Tawhid, explain tawhid and the kairouan Caliph that disappeared. Its a fascinating story.
Great work. Man I wish he had felt more comfortable to open up...
It may also be a good idea to interview Ayatollah Sistani which is a high ranking Shia cleric. There seems to be an overlap with Shia and Druz idealogy.
Thank you Omid :)
Moon = Mind (biten) what is biten biten of thar ?
The secretiveness makes me uneasy. I wish they werent so afraid to share their knowledge
I think It’s because the Political situation and wars in Middle East brother, maybe in better times and better environment the will open up more
People must go to Israël and visit , listen and learn from them !
Who Are The Kenites Today? The Druze
ua-cam.com/video/1IvuNhEFryo/v-deo.html
Gematria links between Yitro, the Kenites and the Druze! (5 mins)
batin means the hidden meaning of the word , when a word is spoken in a conversation the word in the conversation has its definition however the word with its definition in the conversation has another meaning behind it by the person using it in a certain conversation but that is one case only , the second explanation would be if your friend tells you ((My father is a great person )) now you understood the word great but the word is incomplete because it did not describe where his greatness is from nor what it is all about . NOW there is also the deeper explanation what batin al batin means but that only the very experienced in Life that developed decent wisdom can only understand such as for one meaning that word has more then one other meaning in the other has one more other behind
when the older man said Moon all know what Moon means but the older person has meant that the Moon has relation with humanity or certain group of people in religion in sailing in science in spiritual relation whether real or false and in season changes in charting maps in charting days and who are the people that got involved and who and what drove them to get involved
When he said that it was for a UA-cam Channel the old man rightly begin to hide things supposed to be hided and some time after leave.
Really? I hoped that the subject of the interview knew they were being interviewed
Batin Batin. Reincarnation is just the religious word for evolution. The word becomes flesh. Ideas shape the future
No it isn’t. We believe in the literal transmigration of souls
So do we in Kaballah. But what is a soul? Are you your thoughts, memories, actions, awareness? Do you not live on in this world through your impact on it & if its about your individual soul moving on to another experience, does it matter if you really leave anything behind? Ideas like reincarnation touch on the deep mysteries of life. Evolution is just as spiritual and profound as any other idea of transmigration
@@mendysel we believe that the soul is a “part” of the universal consciousness aka God. Nothing exists but god the material world is an illusion and we need to free our souls and unite with God the source of all consciousness. We are trapped for eternity (reincarnation) until we achieve gnosis and then we can unite with god
I love that. Well put. I share that belief in principle, but believe our job as reincarnated beings (which I see as part of the evolutionary process) is to refine this world and make it a sanctuary for the cosmic consciousness. A garden. With each iteration of life, us humans can choose to better this world through good deeds, education, following laws, and connecting to the divine - thereby moving this world towards its completion.
As for uniting with G-d through knowledge, I agree that that is also a primary objective. To know & love Him. He is not separate from us, so in a way, we’re really coming to know and love ourselves. I also think that it is natural and good for us to go between the state of being one with and being submissive to the Infinite. We can realize we are one with the Source and still be submissive to it’s larger will.
Thank you for sharing your beliefs here. Always food for thought.
@@mendysel 100% agree. This is exactly what our books say. Unfortunately as a non initiated Druze I don’t have access to the books of wisdom but I try to learn about it indirectly through similar philosophies and religions. You mentioned earlier about the Kabbalah. Does the Kabbalah have any books on mystical knowledge? I would love to read some. What books do you recommend?
funny that is it is that SOME unity found between different people that separate them the most because that unity came from batin al batin and not from the pure surface
that some unity is incomplete for other stuff is influencing the unity , when unity is not homogenous then danger of conflict is always present it is the laws of human nature and not mine
He looks a bit like G I Gurdjieff the Druze gentleman.I believe that they believed that reincarnation only occurs within the same species and unlike Buddhism and Hinduism don't believe that humans are reincarnated as animals.As they believe that God is both immanent and transcendent it would appear that they are panentheists so very similar to Neoplatonists.
As a suggestion maybe you should have done the talk with him in his own language and then you put subtitles. Maybe he would have opened up more.
the full will of both is an enforced will
by others
they accepted Christianity and then Islam
This is the people who accepts truth no matter who brings that
That's beautiful