CONTENTS
- SUFISM NOT PACIFISM
Very often the Sufi Message, in its form of beneficence is taken to be what they call in these days pacifism, and those who are unfavourable to the idea of pacifism explain it as being "Peace at any price". Sufism does not teach that. Sufism does not mean goodness, kindness, or piety; Sufism means wisdom. All things in life are materials for wisdom to work with, and wisdom cannot be restricted to any principles.
Among Sufis there have been great souls who were kings, or else in the position of beggars, saints, and workmen, commanders, generals, business men, statesmen, prophets; in all different walks of life the Sufis of different ages have practised Sufism. This shows that no one can point out with the finger, "This particular belief, or tenet, is a Sufi doctrine". There are two things, sound and notes. Notes point out the degree of the sound, but sound is all notes, not any note in particular. So is Sufism: it is all beliefs and no belief in particular.
There is no action which the Sufi calls right or wrong, for every action can become right and can become wrong; it depends upon the use or abuse of the action, its fitness or unfitness. Right or wrong depends upon the attitude and situation, not the action. This naturally gives the Sufi tolerance towards another, and makes him ready to forgive another and unwilling to form an opinion about the action of another person. This attitude keeps the Sufi far removed from saying that peace is good or war is good. The Sufi will say, "War is good at the time of war, peace is good at the time of peace."
But then you will say that if all things are right in their proper place then Sufism has nothing to do in life. In answer to this I will say that there is one principle mission of Sufism, that is, to dig the ground under which the light of the soul becomes buried. The same is the teaching of Christ, who has said, that no one shall cover his light under a bushel, also, "Raise your light on high." The condition of the world to day is such that humanity has become abnormal in these days. Man is not only frightened at badness, but also at goodness; man does not dread only war, but also peace, man is not only tired of enmity, but also friendship; man does not only suspect his adversary today but even his own brother. It seems as if the mind of the world were not only tired but ill: it seems as if humanity had a nervous breakdown.
Man, individually or collectively, does not know his life's purpose or goal. The Sufi Message warns humanity to know life better and to achieve freedom in life, it warms man to accomplish what he considers good, just and desirable, and before every action, to note its consequences, by studying the situation, by judging his own attitude, by studying beforehand the method which one adopts to act in life. It is true that Sufism does not only guide those who are religious, mystical or visionary, but the Sufi message gives to the world the religion of the day, and that is to make one's life a religion, to turn one's occupation, one's profession into religion, to make one's ideal a religious ideal. Sufism has as its object the uniting of life and religion, which so far seem to have been kept apart.
Think, when, once a week, a person will go to church and all the other days of the week he will devote to his business, how can he benefit by religion? Therefore the teaching of Sufis is to make everyday life into a religion, that every action in life may have some spiritual fruit. The method for world reform which different institutions have adopted today is not the method of the Sufi movement. We think that if ill is contagious, good must be more so. The depth of every soul is good; every soul is searching for good, and by the effort of individuals who wish to do good in the world much can be done, even more than what a materialistic institution can do. No doubt for the general good there are political and commercial problems to be solved and little can be done in that direction before several difficult problems have been solved. But that must not debar individuals from progress, for it is the individualistic progress through the spiritual path which alone can bring about the desired condition in the world.
- OUR WORK IN THE LINE OF BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD
In working in the line of brotherhood our main object is to bring about a better understanding among the different classes, the followers of different religions, and people of different races and different nations. But by this we do not mean to mix them up. If this were our idea, it would have been quite a different thing. We want to let the farms of wheat be farms of wheat; on the farms where rice grows, let rice grow; where there are woods, let there be woods; where there are gardens, let there be gardens; all things are necessary.
Our ideas have not reached to the extreme of cooking all things in the same dish. We do not wish to stretch the fingers so as to make them all even, for their natural size is the proper size for them. Our imagination of equality has not yet reached that idea. Only our motive is that East and the West, the North and the South, instead of turning their backs to each other, may turn their faces to each other. We do not wish that all people in the world should be of the same religion or the same education or the same customs and manners; nor do we think that all classes must become one class, which is impossible.
We wish that all classes may blend into each other and yet every individual may have his own individual expression in life; all nations may have their peculiarity, their individuality, but at the same time they may express good-will and friendly feelings toward one another; different races may have their own manners and their own ideas, but at the same time they may understand each other; that the followers of different religions may belong to their own religions, but at the same time may become tolerant to each other. Therefore our idea of brotherhood is not in any way extreme. The motive is not to change humanity, but to help humanity on towards its goal. People may belong to one church and they may fight with one another. It is just as well that they should belong to different churches, and yet understand each other and respect each other's religion, and tolerate one another. People may belong to one institution and disagree with one another. Then what is the use of that institution? Therefore, it is not at all the mission of the Movement to make the whole humanity followers of one special movement, but to give to humanity what God has given us, and destined it, that we may serve His cause.
- OPTIMISM AND PESSIMISM
Optimism represents the spontaneous flow of love. Also optimism represents trust in love. This shows that it is love trusting love which is optimism. Pessimism comes from disappointment from a bad impression which is there of some hindrance in the path. Optimism gives a hopeful attitude in life, while by pessimism one sees darkness in one's path. No doubt sometimes pessimism shows conscientiousness, cleverness also, and pessimism also shows experience. But in point of fact can we be conscientious enough if we only thought what difficulties one had before one in one's life. It is trust which solves the problem.
Very often the wise have seen that cleverness does not reach far, it goes so far and then it stands; for cleverness is knowledge which belongs to earth, and as to experience, what is man's experience, one is only proud of one's experience until one has seen how vast is the world. In every line of work and thought, there is no moment of experience that is not needed, but the further man takes the experience the more he sees how little he knows. The psychological effect of optimism is such that it helps to bring success. For it is by the optimistic spirit that God has created the world. Therefore optimism comes from God and pessimism is born out of the heart of man.
What little experience of life man has, he learns this will not succeed, that will not go, this will not come right. For the one who is optimistic, if it does not come right in the end, it does not matter, he will take his chance. And what is life? Life is an opportunity, and to the optimistic person this opportunity is a promise, and for the pessimistic person this opportunity is lost. It is not that the Creator makes man lose it, but it is himself who fails to seize the opportunity. Many in this world prolong their illness by giving way to pessimistic thought. Mostly you will find that those who have suffered for many years from a certain illness, that illness becomes so real that its absence becomes unnatural.
They believe illness to be their nature, and its absence is something they know not, and in that way they keep in themselves that malady. Then there are pessimistic people who think misery is their part in life. They are born to be wretched, they cannot be anything else but unhappy. Heaven and earth is against them. They themselves are their misery, and pessimism belongs to them. Man's life depends upon what he concentrates upon. If man concentrates upon his misery, he must be miserable. If he has a certain habit which he does not approve, he thinks he is helpless before it, for it is his nature. Nothing is man's nature, except what he makes for himself.
As the whole nature is made by God, so the nature of each individual is made by himself. And as the Almighty has the power to change His nature, so the individual is capable of changing his nature if he only knew it. Among all the creatures of this world, man has the most right to be optimistic, for man represents on earth, God; God as Judge, as Creator and as Master of All His Creation. So is man Master of his life, master of his own affairs if he only knew it. A man with optimism will help another drowning in the sea of fear and disappointment; but on the contrary a pessimistic person if to him some one goes ill, or downhearted he will pull him down and make him sink to the depths with him. On the side of the one is Life, on the side of the other death.
One climbs to the top of the mountain the other descends to the depth of the earth. Is there any greater helper in sorrow or misfortune, when every situation in life seems dark than the spirit of optimism that knows that all will be right? Therefore it is no exaggeration if I say that the very spirit of God comes to man's rescue in the form of the optimistic spirit. Friends, it does not matter how hard a situation in life may be, however great the difficulties, they all can be surmounted; but what matters is if one's own pessimistic spirit is weighing one down low when already a person has come to low waters. Death is preferable to being weighed down in misery by a pessimistic spirit. Therefore the greatest reward there can be in the world is the spirit of optimism, and the greatest punishment that can be given to man for his worst sin is pessimism. Verily the one who is hopeful in life, he will succeed.
- HARMONY
It seems that that which makes beauty is harmony; beauty in itself has no meaning. A certain object which is called beautiful at a certain place and time is not beautiful at another place or at another time. And so it is with thought, speech and action. That which is called beautiful is only so at a certain time and condition, which makes it beautiful. Therefore if one could give a true definition of beauty it is harmony. Harmony is the combination of colours; harmony is the drawing of a design or line, that is called beauty. At the same time a word, a thought, a feeling, an action that creates harmony, is productive of beauty.
Now the question is from where comes the tendency to harmony and from where comes the tendency to disharmony? The natural tendency of every soul is towards harmony and the tendency towards disharmony is an unnatural state of mind or affair. And the very fact that it is not natural makes it void of beauty. The psychology of man is such than man responds both to harmony and disharmony. He cannot help it, because naturally he is made so, mentally and physically he responds to all that comes to him, be it harmonious or inharmonious.
And the teaching of Christ, "resist not evil," is a hint not to respond to disharmony. For instance a word of kindness, of sympathy, an action of love and affection finds response, but at the same time a word of insult, an action of revolt or hatred, that creates response too, and that response creates more disharmony in the world. By giving way to disharmony one allows disharmony to multiply. At this time when one sees in the world the greatest unrest and discomfort pervading all over, where does it come from? It seems that it is from the ignorance of this fact that disharmony creates disharmony, and will multiply disharmony.
A person has a natural tendency that if he sees he is insulted, he thinks the proper way of answering is to insult the other person still more. By this he gets a momentary satisfaction, to have given a good answer, but he does not know what he has done by his good answer. He has given response to that power which came from the other and these two powers, being negative and positive, create more disharmony.
"Resist not evil," does not mean receive evil onto yourself. "Resist not evil," only means this: do not send back the disharmony that comes to you, just as the person playing tennis would send back the ball with his racket. But at the same time, it does not suggest that you should receive the ball with open hands. The tendency towards harmony may be likened to a rock in the sea and each wave comes with all force and yet the rock is still, stands, bears it all, letting the waves beat against it.
By fighting with disharmony one increases it, by not fighting it one does not give fuel to the fire which would rise for destruction and cause destruction. But no doubt, the wiser you become, the more difficulties you have to face in life, because every kind of disharmony will be directed toward you for the very reason that you will not fight it. But at the same time one must know with all that difficulty you have helped that disharmony which would have otherwise multiplied, to be destroyed. It is not without advantage, for every time you stand against disharmony, you increase your strength, although outwardly it may see a defeat. But one conscious of the increase of his power will never admit that it is a defeat. And as soon as the time is passed the person against whom one has stood firm will realize that it was his defeat.
Life in the world has a constantly jarring effect and the finer you become the more trying it becomes to you. And the time comes that when a person is sincere and good-willing, kind and sympathetic, the worse life becomes for him. But if he is discouraged in it he goes under. If he kept his courage then you find it was not disadvantageous in the end. Because his power will some day increase to that stage, to that degree that his presence, his word, his action will control the thoughts and feelings and actions of all.
For he will get that heavy rhythm, the rhythm that will make the rhythm of everybody else follow it. This is the attribute which is called in the east the quality of the mastermind. But in order to stand firm against the disharmony that comes from without, one must first practise to stand firm against all that comes from within, from one's own self. For our soul itself is more difficult to control than the others. And when one is not able and one fails to control oneself, it is most difficult to stand against the disharmony without.
Now the question is what is it that causes disharmony within oneself? It is weakness. Physical weakness or mental weakness, but it is weakness. Very often therefore one finds that it is bodily illness that causes disharmony and disharmonious tendencies. Besides there are many diseases of the mind which the scientist has not yet found. Today in the world there are two things. One thing is that a person who is too ill perhaps, is considered as an insane person, and then there are all other illnesses which are not counted at all. These people are counted among the sane people and as notice is not taken of the defects which are of the diseases of the mind, man never has a chance to notice them within himself. He is constantly finding fault with others. If he is in an office, if he is in a good position, if he is at home, everywhere he causes disharmony. Nobody knows, for to be treated as insane he must first be called insane.
The health of the mind is a question so little talked about in these days. In fact as there come more solicitors, more lawyers, more barristers, more courts and more judges, so there come more cases. Consequently prisons increase, and what is the outcome? After a person has gone to prison and comes back, he has forgotten where he was. He goes again in the same path. For the disease is not found out. In court a person is judged, but it is not found out psychologically, what causes him to do this. One can find in these prisons thousands of people with whose minds there is something the matter. And if for a thousand years they were kept in prison, they would not improve. Nothing but injustice is awarded to them by putting them in prison. It is just like putting a person in prison because his body is ill.
The cause of every discomfort and of every failure is disharmony. And what would be the most useful thing at the present moment in education is to give the sense of harmony, to develop it in children. It will not be so difficult as it appears to bring harmony to their notice. What is necessary is to point out to the youths the different aspects of harmony, in different aspects of life's affairs.
The work of the Sufi Message, a message which is of love, harmony and beauty, is to waken the consciousness of humanity to the true nature of love, harmony, and beauty. And the training which is given to those who become initiated in the inner cult is to cultivate these three things which are principle factors in human life.
- HAPPINESS
Does happiness depend upon the condition in life or upon an outlook on life? It is a question which is very often asked and it is most difficult to answer. Many with philosophical knowledge will say, this material world is an illusion and its condition a dream, but yet there are very few who can make themselves believe it. To know a thing in theory is different from practising it. It is most difficult in this world to rise above the effect that conditions produce. No doubt to rise above conditions there is only one thing that helps and that is a change of outlook on life and this change is made practical by the change of attitude.
In the language of the Hindus life in the world is called samsara. It is pictured as life in a mist. One thinks and says and does and feels and yet does not know fully why. If a person knows one reason for it, there is another reason hidden behind which he does not yet know. Very often conditions in life show a picture of captivity, often it seems as if one had to walk between the water and a pit, and to rise above conditions one needs wings, which not everybody has. The wings are attached to the will, one is independence the other is indifference. Independence needs a great deal of sacrifice in one's life before one can feel independent in life. Indifference against one's nature of love and sympathy is like cutting one's heart asunder before one can practise indifference through life. No doubt once the will is able to spread its wings then one sees the conditions of life far removed, one stands above all conditions that make man captive. There is no difficulty which cannot be surmounted sooner or later, but even if one has achieved something one desires in life, there is something else in life that seems to be unfinished and so if one went from one thing to another achieving all he desires, the object of his desire will multiply and there will never be an end to one's desire.
The more one has to do in life the more difficulties he has to meet with. If one keeps away from the life of the world then his being here is purposeless. The more important the task the more difficult to accomplish it. And so every evening follows the day and goes on till eternity. For a Sufi, therefore, it is not only the patience to bear all things but to see all things from a certain point of view that can relieve him for that moment from difficulty and pain. Very often it is the outlook on life which changes the whole life for a person. It can turn hell into heaven; it can turn sorrow into joy. When a person looks from a certain point of view, every little pinprick feels like the point of a sword piercing through one's heart. If one looks at the same thing from a different point of view the heart becomes sting-proof, nothing can touch it, all things which are thrown at that person as bullets drop down without having touched him.
What is the meaning of walking upon the water? Life is symbolical of water. There is one who becomes drowned in the water, there is another who swims in the water, but there is another who walks upon it. The one that is so sensitive that after having one little pinprick he is unhappy all through the day and the night is the man of the first category. The one who takes and gives back and makes a game of life is the swimmer. He does not mind if he received one knock, for he derives his satisfaction from being able to give two knocks in return. But the one whom nothing can touch is in the world and yet is above the world. He is the one who walks on water. The life is under his feet, its joy and sorrow both. Verily independence and indifference are two things which enable the soul to fly.
- THE MISSION OF SUFISM TO THE WORLD
The Sufi Movement has two missions to perform in the world, one as a duty to individuals searching after the truth, the next duty, to bring about a better understanding among people. Therefore these two missions depend on each other for their fulfilment. Without the progress of individuals the progress of humanity is difficult, without the progress of humanity in general the progress of the individual is also difficult. The Sufi movement is not political, because beyond the political to a Sufi there exists the mystical idea. In all ages in the past the spiritual message was given by the prophet, for the words of God came to humanity through the mediumship of a mystic. When the law has fallen in the hands of worldly intellectual people it will always prove imperfect. It wants seeing further than the average eye to see the actual condition of life, which those interested in life cannot see, for they cannot help being partial when there is a question of their own interest.
The principal thing that the Sufi message has brought to the world is tolerance for all faiths existing in the different parts of the world, followed by different people. This can be done by giving the idea of that one truth which stands as the stem of religion, and all different faiths as its branches. The true religion to a Sufi is the sea of truth and all the different faiths are as its waves. The message of God from time to time comes as tides in the sea, but what remains always is the sea, the truth. Those who consider another on the wrong track they themselves are also not on the right track, for the one who is on the right track finds every road leading to the same goal sooner or later. The Sufi mission does not make converts to a certain faith to the exclusion of all faiths. A convert to the Sufi orders means a convert to all faiths in this world and is bound by no particular faith. Faith to a Sufi is a free ideal, not a captivity.
The Sufi mission looks upon the whole humanity as one body, all races different parts of that body, all nations its organs, the people the particles which make this body and the spirit of this body, God. As the health and happiness of the body depends on each of its particles being in good condition so the happiness and peace of the whole world and the people therein depend on the condition of one another. The Sufi mission does not invite people to believe in superstitions, to take an interest in wonderworking or to increase power or to investigate phenomena. Its main object is the same which Christ has taught: love your neighbour. To individuals the Sufi mission has a different duty.
The Murshid as a physician, first treats the mureed, in order to make him better able to realize where he is, what he is, what he wants to do, and how he must work to accomplish it. What is worthwhile and what is not worthwhile, Murshid explains to his mureed. It is not only study but it is exercise that Murshid gives now and again as a prescription for the mureed. But still more important is the contact of the Murshid. A moment's conversation with him is more helpful than a whole year's study of books in the library for Murshid is to kindle in the heart of the mureed the divine spirit which is man's heritage. There is no particular discipline nor a particular faith which is forced upon mureeds. Every mureed is free to think for himself. Murshid's whole idea is to liberate the soul of the seeker after truth.
- SUFISM
The word Sufi comes from an Arabic word Saf which means a purifying process. All the tragedy of life comes from the absence of purity, and what does purity mean? To be pure means to be natural. To lack purity means to be far from being natural. Pure water with no substance such as sweet, sour or milk or anything else mixed. Sterilized water means water made purer, in other words, natural. Sufism, therefore, is the process, of making life natural. You may call this process a religion, a philosophy, a science or a mysticism, whatever you may. It is true that all the religious teachers who have come to this world from time to time, have brought this process of purification in the form of religion.
It is therefore that Christ has said, I have not brought you a new law, I have come to fulfil the law. It is not a new process; it is the same old process that the wise of all ages have given. If there is anything new given in it, it is the form in which it is put to suit a certain period of the world. Now in the present period of the world it is given in its present form. A person may think by spirituality it is meant that one must learn something which one did not know before, or one must become extraordinarily good, or must attain some unusual powers or must have experience of a supernatural kind; but none of these things does Sufism promise, although in the path of a Sufi nothing is too wonderful for him.
All that is said above and even more is within his reach. Yet that is not the Sufi's aim. By this process of Sufism one realizes one's own nature. In a few words Sufism means to know one's true being, to know the purpose of one's life and to know how to accomplish that purpose. Many say, out of disappointment, "I shall perhaps never be successful in my life," not knowing the fact that man is born to do what he longs to do and success is natural, failure is unnatural. If man is himself, the whole world is his own, if he is not himself, then even his self does know what he is, where he is, why he is here on the earth; then he is less useful to himself and to others than a rock.
It is in self-realization that the mystery of the whole life is centred. It is the remedy of all maladies. It is a secret of success in all walks of life; it is a religion and more than a religion. And at this time when the world is upset this message conveys to the world the divine message. What is wrong with humanity today is that it is not itself and all the misery of the world is caused by this. Therefore nothing can answer the purpose of humanity save this process of sages and of the wise of all ages, which leads souls to self-realization.
- WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS TODAY
The unrest which one finds throughout the world, the difficulties among nations, the hatred existing among people one for the other, a cry of misery which comes more or less from all sides, make one wonder what may be done to find a solution for the general cry of humanity? What is done today is that the different institutions try to extinguish the fire burning here and there, but that can never solve the problem of the world.
The first thing that should be remembered is that all activities of life are connected with one another, and if one thing is put in order another goes wrong. It is just like a person who is ill, who needs sleep and good diet; if he has sleep without good diet it will not do him good, nor will a good diet without sleep help him. While wanting to straighten up commercial difficulties political problems creep up, while considering the social question moral difficulties manifest to view.
Therefore in wanting to serve humanity in the work of reconstruction, which is the duty and responsibility of every sensible soul, whatever be his rank or position or qualification in life, first the question must be studied what will be the remedy for all the maladies that manifest on the surface of life today? There is one principal thing and that is the changing of the attitude of humanity, which alone can help in all directions of life. And the attitude can be changed by moral, spiritual and religious advancement. The work that the Sufi Message has to accomplish is in this particular direction. The Sufi message is no new religion, nor is it a particular system, but it is a method of changing the attitude in life, which enables man to have another outlook on life.
The chief thing that the Sufi Movement will try to avoid is sectarianism, which has divided man in all ages of the world's history. The Sufi Message is not opposed to any religion, faith or belief; on the other hand it is a support of all religions; it is a defence for religions which are attacked by the followers of other religions. At the same time the Sufi Movement provides humanity with the religion which is in reality all religions. The Sufi Movement is not supposed to take the whole humanity in its arms, but in the service of the whole humanity is the fulfilment of the Sufi Mission. The Sufi Movement therefore does not stand as a barrier between its members and its own religious faith, but as an open door leading to the heart of his faith. The member of the movement is a messenger of the divine message to the followers of the church or the sect to which he belongs.
The work of the Sufi Movement is not to collect all the rainwater in its own tanks, but to work and make a way for the stream of the message to flow, supplying water to the fields of the world. The work of the Sufi mission is sowing; reaping we shall leave to humanity to do for the fields do not belong to our particular movement; and all the fields belong to God. We who are employed on this farm of the world, to do the work, we must do, and leave the rest to God. Success we do not trouble about, and those who strive for it, let them seek in some other directions. Truth alone is our success, for lasting success is truth.
- DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW
There are two different points of view open to one, in all things in the world, liberal and conservative. And each of these points of view gives a person a sense of satisfaction because in both there is a certain amount of virtue. When someone looks from the conservative point of view at his family he becomes conscious of family pride and acts in every way so as to keep up the honour and dignity of his ancestors. He follows the chivalry of his forefathers and by looking at the family from this point of view he defends and protects those who belong to his family, whether worthy or unworthy. In this way he helps to keep up a flame which has been lighted perhaps for years, by holding it in his hand through life as a torch to guide his way.
When one looks at one's nation from a conservative point of view it gives one the feeling of patriotism, which today is the substitute of religion in the modern world. It is no doubt a virtue in this way that one begins to consider one's whole nation as one family. It is not for one's own children only that one cares but also for the children of the nation. Man gives his life when occasion arises to defend his nation - the dignity, the honour, the freedom of his people.
The conservative spirit is the individualizing spirit, which is the central theme of the whole creation. It is this spirit which has functioned as the sun, but for this it was the all pervading light and it is the power of this spirit working in nature which keeps many branches together - one stem and several leaves together on one branch. It is again this spirit working man's body which keeps man's hands and feet together, thus keeping him an individual entity.
But there is always a danger of this spirit, if increased, producing congestion. When there is too much family pride man lives only in his pride, forgetting his duty toward mankind and not recognizing anything which unites him with others beyond the limited circle of his family. When this congestion is produced in a nation it results in all kinds of disasters, such as wars and revolutions with violence and destruction. The nightmare that humanity has recently experienced has been the outcome of world congestion produced by the extreme of the same spirit.
This shows that it is not true that virtue is one thing and sin another. It is the same thing which was once virtue that becomes sin. Virtue or sin is not any action, it is the condition, it is the attitude which prompts one to a certain action and it is the outcome of an action which makes it a sin or a virtue. Life is movement, death is the stopping of the movement; congestion stops it, circulation moves it. The conservative spirit is useful so far as it is moving, in other words as it is broadening itself. If a person who once was proud of his family, after doing his duty to his people, he takes his next step to help his fellow-citizens, and the third step of defending his nation, he is progressing onward. His family pride, his patriotism, is no doubt a virtue, for it leads him from one thing to another which is better than the former.
Congestion comes when a person is set in his interest. If one's family makes anyone so absorbed in its pride and interest that nobody else exists in the world to him except his own, or when a person thinks of his people alone and nothing else interests him - others do not exist for him - in that case his patriotism becomes a veil over his eyes, making him blind so as not to be able to serve others nor yet his own. In selfishness there is an illusion of profit, but in the end the profit attained by selfishness proves to be worthless. Life is the principal thing to consider, and true life is the inner life, the realization of God, the consciousness of one's spirit. When the human heart becomes conscious of God it turns in the sea and it spreads - extends the waves of its love to friend and foe - spreading further and further, it attains perfection.
The Sufi Message is not necessarily the message of Pacifism, it does not teach making peace at any cost and at every cost, it does not condemn family pride or patriotism, it does not even preach against war. The Message is to make man conscious of the words in the Bible, where it is said, "We live and move and have our being in God", to realize this and recognize the brotherhood of humanity in the realization of God. And the natural consequences of this will bring about the spirit of brotherhood and equality and will result in preparing the outer democracy and inner aristocracy which is in the nobility of the soul, where perfection is hidden under the supremacy of God.
- THE JOURNEY TO THE GOAL
There are two different stages in the human evolution. And these two different stages may very well be called the minor and the major stage. In the Hindu Puranic symbology these two characters are called the younger and the elder brother. Just as there is a stage of childhood, when the child only knows what it wants, and is only happy when it gets it, no matter what may be the consequence, the stage of that minor state of the soul is when man in reality desires only what he can see, hear, perceive, touch - beyond that he does not care - only that is desirable to him - he does not wish for anything else.
And the major state is that, when man has experienced life more or less, has known pleasure and pain, enthusiasm and disappointment, and he knows the variability of life, only then has he reached the stage of majority. Minor or major do not depend upon a certain age, nor do they depend upon a particular education. No, they depend upon the inner life. When one has gone into life as far as he could go and when he has passed the limit of the minor state, then he arrives at the major state. In the East there is a custom that has become a kind of religious etiquette, viz. not to wake a person who is asleep, but to let him sleep well; if this is not done it is considered a crime. In other words, you must treat the world according to nature and not to go against nature. Do not force the man in the minor state into the major; he must first sleep well before he can awake.
Now about progress specially for the spiritual path. There are two different characters on the spiritual path. The first is the man who says; "Yes, I like to go on this path, but where shall I arrive?" He wants to know all about it before he travels on this path; if his friends are going with him, and if they are not, he is not ready to go either, because he is no sure of the way; he will not go alone and wants to know when and where he will arrive, and if it is safe to journey on that particular path. When he travels on the path he looks back and tries to look forward, asking, "Shall I reach the goal? Is it really the right path?" A thousand times doubt comes, fear comes, he looks back, forward, around; if others could only tell him how far he has journeyed; he is restless, he wants to know how far he is from the goal. He therefore is a child still, although he has a desire to journey. For him there are toys, the mystical hints for mental research keep him busy that he may look at the map of the journey to see where he goes.
Now to come to the conditions of the major state. About his character the Bible says: "Unless the soul be born again, it cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." In the first place, if I were to say what the journey is and its object, it would be this, that the whole creation was purposed for this journey, and if it were not for this purpose there would be no creation at all. And before a person takes this journey, he practises it in some form or other, in play, how he will make this, but he has not yet started in reality.
For instance, a person desires to be rich, and he devotes all his time, his energy, his life, his thoughts to that object, and, so to speak, he journeys to that goal. If he desires power, he makes for that and gets it. If he wants position, he uses all his strength to reach his goal, naturally in a playing way. The proof of that is that every activity of which he is in pursuit, to attain the thing desired, brings him to the desire for something else. If he is rich, he wants to be famous; if he is famous, he wants something else; if he has one thing he strives for another and is never satisfied.
It shows that man, externally busy in the pursuit of worldly things, is not satisfied in his soul, but that he has a constant yearning in his soul for something more, which keeps him uneasy. A very good explanation is that which Rumi, a great Sufi Teacher of Persia, gives us in his book, the Masnavi. There he says, "What is it in the reed flute that appeals to your soul, that goes through you and pierces your heart?" And the answer is: it is the crying of the flute, and the reason for its crying is that it once belonged to a plant, from which it was cut apart. Holes were made in the heart. It longs to be united with its source, its origin. And so the soul feels a longing for its origin. In another place in his book Rumi says; "So it is with every person who has left his original country for a long time. He may roam about and feel very pleased with all he sees, but there will come a moment when a strong yearning is in his heart for the place where he was born."
One sees that those in the world who have really suffered, who have been disappointed, are broken hearted, do not wish to tell anybody their experiences, don't want any company, but wish to be alone. And it is then, as if there was some one waiting with open arms, waiting for that soul to come as a child comes to its mother. This shows that there is somewhere a consoler, greater than any in the world, a friend dearer than anyone in the world, a protector stronger than any earthly one. Knowing that the world is not to be depended upon, he looks for that great one in himself.
A friend who is a friend in life and after death, in pleasure and pain, in riches and poverty, one on whom you can always depend, who always guides aright, who gives the best advice, that friend is hidden in your own heart. You cannot find a better one. Who is this friend? Man's own being, his true, inner being. That friend is the origin, source, and goal of all. But the question arises, if that friend is one's own being, why then call him a friend, why not call him oneself? The answer is that no doubt, in this friend is really one's own being, but, when comparing the present realization with the greater self, one finds oneself smaller than a drop in the ocean. Man cannot very well call that friend himself, until man has forgotten himself, until he is no more himself. Until, and unless one has arrived at the state of perfection, he had better be quiet than insolent about that which he has not yet become.
All occult schools all over the world prescribe as the first lesson, quietude: no discussion, no dispute, nor argument. The conditions for those on the path are altogether different from those of the outer world. The true knowers of life have kept their lips closed about that subject. No method has been successful and profitable other than the method of the prophets of all lands, who give man the first lesson of love for God. Of course, religious authorities of different times have kept humanity ignorant of the knowledge of God, and only given it the belief in God.
Absence of knowledge has made the man of reason rebel against that which he could not understand. There remained no link between the two, and that is how the reign of materialism came to the world, a reign which is still spreading around. In such times of materialism there comes chaos in the world; all is confusion, unrest. All wish to do good, but don't know how. Such times Sri Krishna has called the decay of Dharma, when spirit has gone, and form only remains. No doubt, warning comes in time as intuition, to the soul, but the intoxication of life, the mist, is so great, that the message is not heard, not understood, not received until the messenger has disappeared.
Now coming to the journey: What are the manner and the method of it? We see that when a person rises above all things of the world, as power, wealth, possessions, all that gives pride and vanity, there comes a desire in his heart, a remembrance of his origin, of the perfection of love and peace. No one in the world can pretend to have arrived at this stage, because every moment of his life speaks louder of what he really is than what he says. His first tendency towards humanity is a loving attitude, a charitable attitude, to such an extent that forgiveness leads every action of his life. He shows patience in his actions, tolerance to humanity and considers that each one has his own stage of evolution. He cannot expect a person to act in a way better than his point of evolution permits. He does not make his own law and want others to follow it; he follows the law for all.
When a man's attitude is a loving attitude, a tendency to serve, to forgive, to tolerate, a reverence for all (good and bad, young and old) then he begins his journey. To explain what path this is: there is no better symbol for it than the path of the cross. No one without courage, without strength of will, and without patience, can go this path. When a person has to live among people of all natures, he must make his own character soft as a rose; make it finer, so that no one can be hurt by the thorns. Two thorns cannot harm each other. The thorns can hurt the rose, but the rose cannot tear the thorns. The journey begins with a path of thorns, and he must go barefoot. It is not easy to be tolerant, always to be patient, to refrain from judging others and to love one's enemy.
It is a dead man who walks on this path: one who has drunk the bowl of poison. The beginning of each path is always difficult and uninteresting, hard for everybody. Ask the violinist, the first days when he practises the scales and he cannot even form the tones: often he has not patience enough to go on, till he can play so well that he is satisfied. The first part of the path is permanent strife, a struggle with life, but as one approaches the goal, the path gets easier: the distance seems larger, but the path is easier, the difficulties less. The journey is achieved first by realizing in oneself: what am I, am I body, mind, or what else am I? Do I originate from earth or from where else?
As soon as one has started on the journey, one's lower nature rises up, all his follies and weaknesses want to drag one down to earth and the struggle of breaking these chains requires the strength of Samson. Then comes the struggle between beauty in matter and spiritual beauty. Beauty in forms is more realistic: spiritual beauty is hidden in mist, until one comes to a stage that spiritual beauty becomes the beauty which is a shining light.
Another struggle is that when man has acquired knowledge, power, magnetism: he is conscious of having a greater power than others, of knowing more than others, of being able to do more than others. To use those faculties rightly is another struggle. He must not pride himself on those accomplishments. There is an enemy who starts with him on the journey, and never leaves him: his pride and spiritual egotism. It stays with him as long as he is on his path. Think of the temptation on having received inspiration and power, when one can think: I can do, know, understand more than you. That is a constant struggle till the end, and every moment one falls and tumbles down.
Only the steady traveller will persist in rising up every time, as without patience he may lose the path. Those who journey on this path will get help. As Christ said: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all things will be given to you." The goal is the important thing, and the right attitude of the soul towards it, and not the things you meet on the path. The inner cult of the Sufi School which is now presented to the Western world is meant as a guidance on this path. Nobody in the world can carry a person on this path. The only thing is a little advice can be given by those who have journeyed on the path, to those who really wish to travel on it.
- WORLD RECONSTRUCTION (1)
Especially after the war and the pain that the world has experienced, people are beginning to think on the subject of reconstruction. But no doubt every mentality, and in this way the ideas about reconstruction of the world differ very much. Considering the condition of the world as it is today, in the first place when one thinks of the financial condition, which is most essential for order and peace, it is so confused and has become so difficult to solve that it seems that there are many with their intellect and brain and understanding, helpless before this most difficult problem. No doubt there are many who will tell us that there is no other remedy for the betterment of humanity than the solution of the financial problem.
But at the same time it seems that the financial problem is becoming everyday more and more difficult and bringing nations and races and communities to a greater and greater destruction, and before this problem is solved it is no wonder if a great deal of damage is done to nations. And although intoxicated by the absorption in his own problem of life, man does not think enough about these things; nevertheless in the end the world in general will realize the weakness, the feebleness, caused by this disorder and unbalanced condition of the financial problem of the world.
As long as nations and people profit by the loss of other nations and people, for the moment they may think that they are benefited, but in the end all will realize that we human beings, as individuals or as a multitude, all depend upon one another. For instance, if for the cause of one part of one's body the other part suffers, in the end it will prove an unbalanced condition, a lack of health in the physical body. What does health mean? Health means all the organs of the body in good condition, and so the health of the world means all nations, all people in a good condition.
When one leaves this financial condition and comes to the problem of education, in spite of all the progress that has been made in the educational world, no-one with thought can refuse to consider the little child, what is his age, what is his strength and what work is given him to accomplish. It seems that in the enthusiasm of making education richer and richer, a kind of load has been put on the mind of the children and what happens? It is like a dish which was meant to be ready after half an hour's cooking, made ready in five minutes time. What has happened? It is perhaps burnt; it wanted a longer time. The child knows too much for his age, what he does not require, what he does not value, what is a load to him, what is forced upon his mind.
And how few of us stop to think of this question that childhood is a kingliness in itself. It is a gift from above that the child is growing and, during the time of his growth, that he is unaware of the woes and worries and anxieties of life. These are only days for experiencing the kingliness of life, the days when he should play, when he should be nearer nature, when he should grasp what nature gradually teaches. Imagine then that the childhood is devoted to study, study of the material knowledge. And as soon as the child has grown into the youth, the burden of life is put on his shoulders, the burden of life which is becoming everyday heavier and heavier for the rich and poor; and the result of this is that there are parties, there is disagreement between labour and capital, the life full of struggle to which the child opens his eyes and he has never the time to be one with nature, or to dive deep within himself, or to think beyond this life in the crowd.
When we leave the problem of education and come to the problem of nations one becomes still more perplexed. The enmity, hatred and prejudice which exist between nations and nations, and the antagonism and the utter selfishness which is the central theme of communications and connections between nations, that shows that the world is turning from bad to worse and unrest seems to be all pervading. There seems to be no trust between nations, no sympathy, except their own interest. And what is the outcome of it? Its impression falls as a shadow upon the individuals, turning the individuals also to that egoism, that selfishness. And the only thing in the world which was meant to be a refuge was religion. But at the present moment, with the increase of ever-growing materialism and overwhelming commercialism, the religion seems to be fading away. A silent indifference towards religion seems to be increasing, especially in the countries foremost in civilization today. That being the condition, where could man find the solution of the problem of the day?
- WORLD RECONSTRUCTION (2)
Now looking at the question from a philosophical point of view. What is construction, what is reconstruction? A construction is that which is made already. A child born is a construction. But after a disorder in the health or in mind, there comes again a need of reconstruction. In the English language there is an expression: "To pull oneself together." The reconstruction of the world today means for the world to pull itself together. The education, the political, the social condition, the financial condition, religion, all those things which made civilization, seem to have scattered and in order for these things to come together there must be a secret of life to be studied. What is the secret of healing power? The secret is to make oneself strong enough to pull oneself together. And that is the secret of the life of the mystic. The world has lost its health, and when one can picture the world as an individual, one can see what it is to lose one's health. It is just like illness in the life of an individual. And as for every illness there is a remedy, so for every disaster there is a reconstruction.
But now there are different ideas that people have. There is the pessimist, he says, "Well, if the world has got to this state of destruction, who can help it, how can it be helped?" It is like an ill person who says, "Well, I have been so ill, I have suffered so much, I do not care. How can I be well now? It is almost too late." In that way he holds his disease and he keeps it, he cherishes it, although he does not like it. And then there is a curious person, who is very much astonished to see the newspaper and see that this money has gone up and that money has gone down, and to see that there is the probability of a war, there may be another war, and he will excite his friends about it.
Then there is another person who says, "Some committees must be formed, there must be some societies, some leagues, some congresses must be formed, we must do something definite." And in this way there are now so many societies and congresses formed and discussing, and so many more meetings, so many more discussions. But there seems to be no end to the discussions and disputes in order to find out the ways and means how the condition must be bettered.
I do not mean to say that any effort in whatever form made towards the reconstruction or towards the betterment of conditions is not worth while, however small. But what is most needed for us is to understand that religion of religions and that philosophy of philosophies which is self-knowledge. We shall not understand the life outside if we do not understand ourselves. It is the knowledge of the self that gives the knowledge of the world. The politician, the statesman, however qualified, will dispute about things for years and years, he will never come to a satisfactory conclusion unless he understands the psychology of life and the psychology of the situation. And so the educationist will try a new scheme and will never come to a satisfactory conclusion, unless he has the psychological knowledge of life, which will teach him the psychology of human nature, what is the manner to solve the problem.
What is today called psychology is not what I mean. It do not mean by the word psychology what they call psychoanalysis. I call psychology the understanding of the self, the understanding of the nature and character of the mind and the body. Friends, what is health? Health is order. And what is order? Order is music. Where there is harmony, rhythm, regularity, cooperation, there is harmony, there is sympathy. The health of mind, therefore, and the health of body depend upon the preserving of that harmony, upon keeping intact that sympathy which is going on in mind and body.
And remember that life in the world, and especially as we live it amidst the crowd, will test and try our patience every moment of the day, and it will be most difficult to preserve that harmony and peace which is all happiness. For what is the definition of life? Life means struggle with friends and battle with foes. It is all the time giving and taking, and it is most difficult in this to keep the sympathy, to keep the harmony which is health and happiness.
Now you will ask, "Where are we to learn it?" My friends, all education and learning and knowledge are acquired, but this one art is a divine art, and man has inherited it. But, absorbed in the outer learning, he has forgotten it, but it is an art which is known to the soul, but it is his own being, it is the deepest knowledge that he has in his heart. No progress in whatever line that man will make will give him that satisfaction which his soul is craving for, except this one, which is the art of life, the art of being, which is the pursuit of the soul.
In order to serve the reconstruction of the world the only thing possible and the only thing necessary is to learn the art of being, the art of life for oneself and to be an example oneself, before trying to serve humanity.
What is the Sufi Movement? What is Sufism? It is that art of which I have just spoken, the art by which that music and symphony of life can be preserved, and by that man can enable himself to become the proper servant of God and humanity.
- BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD (1)
One can see the beginning of the spirit of brotherhood when one sees the flocks of birds flying in the sky together, when one sees the herds of animals in the forest together and the swarms of little insects all living and moving together. No doubt in man this tendency of brotherhood is pronounced, for man is not only capable of realizing the spirit of brotherhood but of fulfilling that purpose which is hidden in this natural tendency. What is called good or bad, right or wrong, sin or virtue, the secret behind all this diversity is one, and this secret is that all that leads to happiness is right, is good, and is virtuous; all that leads to unhappiness is wrong, that is evil, and if there is any sin, it is that which may be called sin. Then coming to the idea of brotherhood, it is not something which man has learned or acquired, it is something which is born in man, and according to the development of this spirit man shows the unfoldment of his soul.
Coming to the religions which have been given to the world, for instance, when we read in the bible the words of Jesus Christ, what do we read? "Love your fellow man, love your neighbour," from the beginning to the end. If there is any moral that the master taught and repeated constantly, it was this moral, the moral of brotherhood. The different religions which exist in the world, the followers of which are perhaps millions and millions, if one studies what is the central theme of it all, it is the one and same: Brotherhood, love one another, serve one another, be sincere one to the other.
But as man is more capable of loving his friend, so he is more capable of hating his neighbour. The first tendency of brotherhood, of love, brings him satisfaction and happiness to the other. The other tendency of hating his brother brings him dissatisfaction, and unhappiness to the other. Brotherhood therefore is creative of happiness, and the spirit which is contrary to it, is productive of sorrow. When we read the scriptures of the great religions in this world, be it the Bible or Kabala, or Koran, Gita, or the Buddhist scriptures, in some form or the other in the manner best suited to the people to whom the religion was given, it was the same moral, the same symphony, it was the same music which was performed before them. The great teachers of the world, were they especially engaged in giving the mystical or occult teachings to the world? Or were they engaged in discussing philosophical problems? Not at all, though they were mystics, they knew philosophy, they knew occultism. But that was not the principle thing they came to give. If ever they have done anything, or given to the world anything, it was that simple philosophy which is never new to anyone. Even a child knows, love one another, be kind, be sincere, be serviceable to one another.
And one might ask, "When it is a simple thing, and so simple that even a child knows it, what necessity is there that the great ones, the Godly souls have come and taught it?" It is most simple and yet most difficult to live, and man does not accept anything from someone who does not live it. And if he accepts it, he will not hold it for long. Therefore they came with love from above the world, and lived that simple moral, that simple philosophy of brotherhood. A Mongol emperor of Hindustan who was a great poet - -in history we read his name, Ghasnavi writes, "Born in a palace, and having reigned from the first day I came to earth, I saw nothing but thousands and thousands of people bowing before me. But the day in my life when I learned the first lesson in love, my proud head bent and bowed before every slave that I saw standing before me in attendance; and those who were standing before me as servants, I then felt that I was their slave." What does it show? It shows that coldness of heart hardens one's feelings and closes one's eyes from the light which shows the path of brotherhood.
There are many relations, there are many connections in this world, by blood and by law also. But the great relationship is friendship, which is called brotherhood. Brotherhood means perfect friendship.
- BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD (2)
But now comes the question how this simple principle of brotherhood may be lived, how may it be practised. It is most difficult to teach this principle to anyone. The best way of teaching it, is living it oneself. Parents, either father or mother, who show to their children, besides fatherly love and motherly tenderness, that brotherhood, that feeling of a brother with his brothers, in this they can express themselves best to their children, and in this way the children are able to express their best to their parents. A father may be most kind, a mother most loving, but as long as he or she maintains the attitude of holding himself or herself as father, as mother; something different from the children, the children will grow to love them, but will never look upon them as friends.
They will look for friends elsewhere, because there is no brotherhood. And when we come to the teacher, a teacher may be respected by his pupils, he may bear great dignity before his pupils, but at the same time there cannot be established that communication of inspiration and love, of sympathy, of understanding till he has practised with his pupils that manner of brotherhood. When the soldiers, millions of them, gave their lives for the great kings and generals, it was not for the general, it was for the brother. No king, no general, no commander, whatever be his honour and his position, has been able to win the hearts of those who followed him - never.
When we hear of the great ones, the prophets, the seers, the mystics, in what way have they treated their pupils, their disciples? The story of Jesus Christ is known to all, calling the fishermen to come and sit and talk with him. The Master never felt comfortable when they called him "good." He said, "call me not good." The whole idea was, "consider me not superior to you, I am one of you." Think then the picture of the Master washing the feet of his disciples. What does it teach us? It all teaches us brotherhood. No miracle, no great power, no great inspiration, occult or mystical, can equal the phenomenon of that humility, of that fraternity, that brotherhood with which the great ones have become one with all.
To think, friends, about the condition that humanity has passed through during the last few years and what result has been achieved from all the prejudices and disagreement and disharmony which has come up between nations and between people, and it seems that even now it is not lessening, the world seems to be going from bad to worse--the suffering in every way caused to humanity, it seems has not yet ended! No doubt life in the world is so intoxicating that man hardly stops to think about it, and the life such as it is just now has so many responsibilities that everyone, rich or poor, is so absorbed in his affairs that he hardly has a moment to think what is going on in the world. Nevertheless illness is illness, the world is ill. Yes, a person may neglect his illness and may engage his mind in something else, but if that illness is not attended to, it remains just the same. And when we look for the cause of all this disaster we may be able to find a thousand causes, and yet there is one principle cause, which is the lack of brotherhood.
And the absence of anything one could have endured, but the world cannot be happy, and the order and peace of humanity maintained in the absence of brotherhood. The brotherhood which can be learned and that every person has the facility of learning in his life. Think of that master who is kind and who is loving to his servant, who considers his servant his brother, he is blessed. Think of that family, a family in which two members, or three members, or four, or five members, whatever be their relation, that they consider that idea of brotherhood in sharing with one another the pain and pleasure, how happy, how blessed that family will be! Think of a nation, whatever its government, whatever be its constitution, if there was this spirit of brotherhood between the people of different position, of different ranks or occupation, how blessed that nation would be! From where does injustice come, from where unfairness? It all comes from the lack of brotherhood. Think of that condition today, the courts full of cases, the prisons full of prisoners! How many disagreements between people, disharmony between nations, all that is caused by the lack of brotherhood.
Now when we consider that question from a still deeper point of view, we shall find that in the spirit of brotherhood there is the way of illumination. A man who lives by a great principle, or prays all day, or meditates in the caves of the mountains, if he does not show the spirit of brotherhood, he is no good to himself or others. Because brotherhood is the way to develop spiritually. It is not exclusiveness, it is not running away from the world, which is the way of the real spiritual ones. It is to consider one's obligations, it is to keep by one's word, one's honour, it is to prove sincere in every little capacity in which one may be working, faithful to friends, and true before everyone. Those are the merits which develop by themselves when the spirit of brotherhood has become mature in man.
But when we come to the metaphysical point of view we see that element attracts element. For instance, two streams of water will be attracted to one another. There will come a time when they will join together, but there will be efforts made by both to come together. Fire, starting from two ends of a certain line will be attracted, each to the other flame which is coming from the opposite end, and will meet and will become one. And so an artist is attracted to an artist, thinker to thinker, a scientist to a scientist, and the man of action to the man of action. It is not that they are attracted because there is the same element in them. No, no. It is because there is a comfort, there is a happiness there in being attracted by the same element. Think of the joy when two people of the same thought meet together. It is greater than a joy, greater than a satisfaction; it is that happiness which is promised in heaven.
But behind all this world of various names and forms there is one life, there is one spirit. That spirit which is the soul of all beings. That spirit is attracted towards unity. It is the absence of that spirit which keeps it unhappy. A person who has just had some unpleasantness with his brother or sister, to him food is tasteless, the night without sleep, the heart restless, the soul is under clouds. If one may ask, "What is the matter? What is closed before you?" He would give one answer if he knew, and that answer is, "That sunshine has been covered by clouds." What does it show? It shows that we live not necessarily on food. Our soul lives on love, the love that we receive, that we give and take. The absence of this is our unhappiness, and the presence of it is everything that we need. Nothing in the world is a greater healing power, that is a greater remedy, a greater happiness, than to be conscious of brotherhood and be able to give that feeling to one's child, master, neighbour, friend!
The humble efforts made by the Sufi Movement in the service of God and humanity are towards brotherhood. In the form of devotion, of philosophy, of mysticism, or metaphysics, art, or science, or whatever form, the Sufi Movement will present to the world the ideal, the central theme of which is always brotherhood.
- THE PROBLEM OF THE DAY: HOME AND REFORM
There has been a great upset in the world commencing from the time of the Reformation and culminating at the time of the war. It seems there is a continual unrest in every direction of life; in different departments of life there seems to be a great turmoil. In spite of all the progress which has been made in the last years, civilization seems not to have succeeded. The difficulty that there has been is the adjustment of the new idea, the idea of democracy to the foundation of aristocracy on which it was based. The outcome of the same is felt, now, after the war, more than ever before. There seems to be confusion and chaos rather than the understanding of living life to the best advantage. The reason is that the character of aristocracy and democracy is not understood by all men from the point of view of the mystic. And as long as the lack of understanding of this secret remains, a thousand democracies or aristocracies will always fail in the end.
When we study nature, we find the model of life made before us as a design to follow. The interdependence of the stars and planets, and how they are sustained in heaven by each other's magnetism. How the light of the sun functions in the moon and how the light of the sun is reflected by all the different planets, and at the same time, how the different planets differ in their light and character, and how every planet in the universe fulfils the scheme of nature. Call it aristocracy or call it democracy, there is a model of life that nature has produced before us.
The word aristocracy, very often, when not understood, becomes unpleasant to the ears of some. But the real aristocracy is not necessarily the picture of its abuse, its degeneration. And what is democracy? Democracy is the fulfilment of aristocracy; in other words, democracy means complete aristocracy. But when aristocracy has not been understood and democracy is sought after, then democracy is not understood fully, it is not complete. Man is born in this world ignorant of the kingdom which is within himself and to attain to that kingdom which is within him is the true aristocracy.
To recognize that kingdom in another person is aristocracy and to see the possibility of that kingdom in oneself and to try to fulfil that ideal in life is true democracy. Aristocracy means one king; democracy means all kings. But when a person does not know one king, he does not know all kings. What I mean by this is to understand that the object of life is not in revolt against someone who is more advanced than we and by this revolt to pull him down to one's own level; that is not democracy. Democracy is to see the possibility of advancing as the other; and trusting in that possibility, trying to advance to the same level, is the real democracy.
The question of the day must be studied by all sections of humanity and by all classes of humanity. It seems that, being absorbed in a more comfortable life, many have neglected their part in all different works of life, at home and outside, and there are certain different works of life, at home and outside, and there are certain classes who are unaware of certain works that life demands at home and in the world, and the time is coming and has come, when they meet with difficulties, because they find themselves more dependent on certain work which they have neglected in their lives, and they have always shown unwillingness to do certain things which seemed beneath their idea of dignity.
Now the time is coming when humanity is being upset and what has happened is that one class is going under the other class and the place of the one class is taken by the other class, and in this way, not more comfort, but chaos is being manifested. And the way out of it would be to imitate some of the ideas of the old, and if they are not imitated, perhaps life will become settled in a certain way, but the home life will become a hotel life and there will no more be that joy and pleasure of experiencing what is called home life. The difficulties will bring about that situation before long when in every district there will be a kind of hotel arrangement and in that way that individualistic progress, culture and joy will become hampered. Man's individual choice will be sacrificed to the mechanism of living.
The method, of which I was saying, that it may be followed, is a method which was used in the ancient times by the Hindus, and even till now, some of the method exists. Among the community of Brahmans, the Brahman may be in a very high position and very rich, but he knows how to cook himself. The women in the household, in the home of a prime minister, attend to the kitchen themselves. There is nothing in the home which they do not like to do. They were trained in the ancient times to sew, to knit, to weave and to cook, keeping the house neat, decorating it, cleaning it, painting it, all these things were accomplished by every person. No one possessed a house who did not know at that time everything about taking care of the house, independently of the housekeeper. The perfection of life is perfecting oneself not only spiritually but in all different aspects of life.
The man who is not capable of attending to all life's needs is certainly ignorant of the true freedom of life. The more we shall study the problem of the day, the more we shall realize that it is the division of work, which is so distinctly made at the present time, that has made people helpless. What is most necessary today is to introduce in education the spirit of providing for oneself all that one needs and arranging for oneself all that is necessary in one's everyday life. The mechanical life today, though it shows a progress, yet is not a complete progress. Imagine a person being from morning to evening in a factory and making only needles. Perhaps he does this for twenty years and what does he know of life? Only how to make a needle. Perhaps the benefit goes to the head of the factory. But what benefit goes to this man who has perhaps all his life been making needles?
The secret ideal of life and its progress is to become self-sufficient; the key to the secret of democracy is self-sufficiency. No doubt it is a vast subject and difficult to explain in all its aspects in a few words, but at the same time, spiritual perfection is the second step and the one who has first made himself self-sufficient is entitled to the spiritual perfection in the end.
- THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING HUMAN (1)
Mankind is so absorbed in life's pleasures and pains that man hardly has a moment to think what privilege it is to be human. Life in the world contains, no doubt, more pain than pleasure and that which one considers as pleasure costs so much that when it is weighed against the pain that it costs, it also becomes pain, and as man is so absorbed in his worldly life he traces nothing but pain and complaint in life, and until he changes his outlook man cannot understand the privilege of being human.
Yet, however unhappy a person may be in life, if he were asked, "would you prefer to be a rock than a human being," his answer would be that he would rather suffer being a human being than be a rock. Whatever the condition of man's life, if he were asked, "would you rather be a tree than a man," he would choose rather to be a human being. And, although, the life of the birds and beasts is so free from care and troubles and so free in the forests, yet, if man were asked whether he would prefer to be one of them and be in the forest, he would surely prefer to be a man. This shows that when human life is compared with other different aspects of life then it shows its greatness and its privilege, but when it is not compared with other life then man is discontented and his eyes are closed to the privilege of being human.
Another thing is that man is mostly selfish and what interests him is that which concerns his own life, and not knowing the troubles of the lives of others, he feels the burden of his own life even more than the burden of the whole world. If one could only think in his poverty that there are others, who are poorer than he; in his illness that there are others whose sufferings are perhaps greater than his; in his troubles that there are others whose difficulties are perhaps greater than his. Self-pity is the worst poverty. It overwhelms man and he sees nothing but his own troubles and pains and it seems to him that he is the most unhappy person - more than anyone in the world.
There is a story of a great thinker of Persia, Sa'adi. He writes in the account of his life, "Once I had no shoes and I had to walk in the hot sand barefoot and I thought how very miserable I was; then I met a man who was lame, for whom to walk it was very difficult. I bowed down at once to Heaven and offered thanks that I was much better off than he, who had not even feet to walk upon." This shows that it is not the situation in life, but it is man's attitude toward life, that makes him happy or unhappy. And this attitude can even make such a difference between men that one in a palace would be unhappy and another in a humble cottage, could be very happy.
The difference is only in the horizon that one sees. There is one person who looks only at the condition of his life; there is another who looks at the lives of many people - it is the difference that the horizon makes. Besides this, it is the impulse that comes from within that has its influence on one's affairs. If there is an influence from within always working, if there is discontent and dissatisfaction in life, one finds its effect in one's affairs in life. For instance, a person impressed by an illness can never be cured by a physician or medicines. A person impressed by poverty will never get on in life. A person who thinks, everybody is against me and everybody troubles me and everybody has a poor opinion of me, wherever he goes will always find it so.
There are many people in the world, in business, in professions, who, before they go to their work, have as a first thought in their mind, "perhaps I shall not be successful." The masters of humanity, in whatever period they came to the world, always taught man to learn as his first lesson, faith; faith in success, faith in love, faith in kindness, and faith in God. And this faith cannot be developed unless man be self-confident. It is very essential that man should learn to trust another. If he does not trust anyone, life will be hard for him. If he doubts, if he suspects everyone he meets, then he will not trust the people nearest to him in the world, his closest relations, and it will soon develop to such a state of distrust that he will even distrust himself. But the trust of the one who trusts another and does not trust himself is profitless. Then, it is he who trusts another because he trusts himself who has the real trust, and by this trust in himself he can make his life happy in whatever condition he may be.
In the tradition of the Hindus, an idea is very well known, that of the tree of the fulfilment of desires. There is a story told in India that a man was told there was a tree of the fulfilment of desires, and he went in search of it. After going through the forests and across mountains, he arrived at last in a place, where, without knowing that the tree of the fulfilment of desires was there, he laid down and slept. And before he went to sleep he was so tired that he thought, "What a good thing it would be if I had just now a soft bed to rest upon and a beautiful house with a courtyard around it and a fountain and people waiting upon me!" With this thought he went to sleep. When he opened his eyes from sleep he saw that he was lying in a fountain and there were people waiting upon him. He was very much astonished, and he remembered that before going to sleep he had thought of all this. But then, as he went further in his journey, he thought on the subject and found, "The tree that I was looking for, it was under that tree that I slept and it was the miracle of the tree which was accomplished."
Now, friends, the interpretation of this legend is a philosophy in itself. It is man, himself, who is the tree of fulfilment of his desire and the root of this tree is in the heart of man. The trees and plants, with their fruit and flowers, and the beasts with their strength and power, and the birds with their wings, are unable to arrive to the stage that man can attain; it is for that that he is called man, which in Sanskrit means mind. The trees in the forest await, that blessing, that freedom, that liberation, in stillness, in quietude.
The mountains and the whole nature seem to await that unfoldment, the privilege of which is given to man. Therefore, the traditionalists say, that man is made in the image of God. You may call it this, that the most fitted instrument for the working of God is the human being. But from the mystical point of view, you may also say that the creator takes as his means of experiencing the whole creation, the heart of man. And that shows that no being on earth is more capable of happiness, of satisfaction, of joy, of peace, than man. And it is a pity when man is not aware of this privilege of being human, for every moment in life that he passes in this error of unawareness is a waste, and is to his greatest loss.
- THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING HUMAN (2)
But man's greatest privilege in life is to become a suitable instrument of God, and until he knows this he has not realized his true purpose in life. And the whole tragedy in the life of man is his ignorance of this fact. From the moment that man realizes this he lives the real life, the life of harmony between God and man. When Jesus Christ said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you," this teaching was in answer to the cry of humanity; one crying, "I have no wealth," and another, "life is difficult," another, "my friends are troubling me," another, "I want position, wealth." And the answer to all is, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you."
A person may ask, how, from a practical point of view, from a scientific point of view, can we understand this? The answer is, all that is external is not in direct connection with you, and is therefore unattainable in many cases. Therefore sometimes you can attain your wish, but many times you fail. But by seeking the kingdom of God you seek the centre of all that is within and without, and all that is in Heaven and on earth is directly connected with the centre, and therefore from the centre you are able to reach all that is on earth and in Heaven, but when you reach what is not at the centre all may be snatched away from you.
In the Koran it is written, "God is the light of the heavens and of the earth." Besides the desire to obtain the things of the earth there is that innermost desire unconsciously working at every moment of life, and that desire is to come in touch with the infinite. When a painter is painting, when a musician is singing or playing, if he thinks, "it is my playing, my painting, my music," perhaps he has a satisfaction, but it is like a drop in the ocean. But if he connects his painting, his music with the consciousness of God, if he thinks, "it is Thy painting, Thy music, not mine," then he connects himself with the centre, and his life becomes the life of God.
In life there is much that one can call good, and there is much to be contented with, and there is much that one can admire if one can only bring about that attitude, and it is that that can make man contented and make his life happy. Another thing is that God is the painter of all this beautiful creation, and if you do not connect yourself with the painter you cannot admire his painting. When one goes to the house of a friend whom one likes and admires, every little thing is so pleasant, but when one goes to the house of an enemy every thing is disagreeable.
Then your devotion, your love, your friendship for God can make this whole creation a source of happiness to you. In the house of a dear friend a loaf of bread, a glass of milk is most delicious and in the house of one we dislike all the best dishes are useless. As soon as one begins to realize that the many mansions of the house of the Father are this world with many religions, many races, many nations, which are yet the house of God, then, however humble and difficult the situation in life, it must become, sooner or later, happier and better, because we feel that we are in the house of the one we love, we admire, and all that we meet with we take with love and gratitude because it comes from the one whom we love.
Friends, if we can think for a moment of the condition of the world just now, how the nations, the communities, the churches, the religions, all divide humanity, the children one Father Who loves them all without distinction! Man with all his claim of civilization, of progress, seems to have fallen into the greatest error. For centuries the world has not been in such a state as it is just now, one nation hating another, looking with contempt on another. What can we call it? Is it progress, or is it standstill, or is it worse than that? Is this not the time when thinking souls should open their eyes from sleep, and devote themselves to the effort, to the work of doing what good they can to humanity to better the conditions of the world, and when each one is thinking only of his own interest, to think of the interest of all?
The Sufi Message brings to the world the message of unity, of uniting in the Fatherhood of God beyond all differences and distinctions. The chief object of the Sufi Movement is to bring about a friendly understanding between people of different nations and races, to bring closer together people of different religions in one understanding, the understanding of the Truth. Is it not then the message of Christ, the message which brought the tidings of the love of God and the unity of mankind in the love of God? There cannot be two religions, there is always one religion, and there cannot be a new religion, there is always only one, as Solomon has said that there is nothing new under the sun. Whenever the message of love and wisdom is given it is not a new religion, it is the revivification of the religion, to bring to man the realization of the truth of the religion he follows.
Therefore the Sufi Order does not bring a new religion, it brings that life and that light which is necessary to revivify that religion that has always existed. Those who have taken interest in the objects that the Sufi Order has set before itself are in America, England, France, and now some in Switzerland. Their idea is to study the questions that belong to the deeper side of life, also to receive personal guidance from the Teacher in the way of silence, in the way of meditation, in understanding the way of looking at life and of thinking of God. All are welcome in it, whatever be their faith, whatever their religion, since there is a strength to understand one's own religion and not an idea that could bring a man to leave his religion.
- SHAIKH MUSLIH-UD-DIN SA'ADI
My subject this afternoon is Sa'adi, the great Sufi Poet of Persia. In point of fact all the poets of Persia were Sufi poets, not only the poets of Persia, but also the poets of India. The works of Sa'adi have been considered in the East simple and educational, and at the same time uplifting. And in India they begin the education of children with the works of Sa'adi. His "Karima" is taught to children of nine or ten, and at the same time it is not just a legend or an amusing story, it is like a seed sown in the heart of a child of that age, that in time it may flourish and bring forth fruits of good thought and imagination. "Karima" is a poem of thanksgiving.
In it the first lesson Sa'adi gives is to learn how to be grateful, how to express gratitude, how to appreciate; and so he teaches the lesson of gratefulness and appreciation for all in the world, for the kindness and love of mother and father, and of friend and companion, by teaching first gratefulness to God for all the blessings and benefits man receives. Sa'adi begins in "Karima" by saying, "Oh Lord, most merciful, I ask Thy forgiveness, for I am limited and in this life of limitation I am always apt to err." He teaches in the first lesson, that man should recognize his limited condition, and that this limitedness makes him subject to error, and at the same time he suggests the innermost desire of every soul is to rise above limitations and keep from error, to seek divine love and ask pardon, and to appreciate all the blessings he receives in life, in order to rise towards that ideal stage of the humane man.
And as we see life today it seems this is the very thing which is lacking. When children grow up without that tendency of appreciation, they often cannot understand what their mother has done for them, what their father has done for them, what their duty is to their kind friends, to older people, to their teacher. And when they grow without developing that gratefulness in their nature, the egoistic nature which naturally develops becomes terrible. A boy who does not appreciate in his childhood all that his mother has done for him, cannot then learn to be tender and gentle to his wife, for his first lesson he has learned with his mother. Everything that by nature springs up has to be refined, and in its fulfilment it has to become perfect.
In human nature there is a self-asserting tendency from childhood. Most pronounced in the nature of the child is I and of everything that he possesses he says my. And if that is not changed, if the same attitude remains, when that child grows older, he becomes hard to those around him, for his I and what he calls my, becomes difficult for all those around him.
The whole religious, spiritual and philosophical teaching leads us towards the development of the personality. There is something that is made by nature in man, but there is something that the man himself has to make. Man is born as man, but man develops to become humane. And if man remains only man as he is born, and the same qualities with which he is born remain undeveloped, and without being refined, then he does not fulfil the object of life. With all the great Teachers and Masters of this world who have come from time to time, and whom we recognize as Saints and Sages, Masters, Teachers and inspired helpers, it is not always the philosophy they taught man, it is not always the dogmas or the form of religion they gave that was of the greatest importance. What has been of the greatest importance is their personality, their person. The teachings of Buddha are held by many millions, but more than his teachings is the life he lived and the wisdom he expressed in his life, for there is the fulfilment.
Man is born with a purpose, and that purpose is fulfilled in the refinement of his personality. This unrefined nature of the ego, when developed through life, has an effect like the sting of a thorn. Wherever, whomever, whatever it touches, it causes some harm or disturbance, some destruction. And so personalities in human beings, when they are not refined, and they have before them all temptations, all things that attract them, things they like and admire and wish to have, then they go against the conflicting activities of life, they rub up against everything like a thorn, tearing it to pieces. And what happens? No doubt when thorns rub against thorns they crush one another and they feel it less. But when thorns rub against flowers, they tear them to pieces.
If you will ask individuals in this world, in all walks of life, "Tell me, what is your difficulty in life?" Perhaps they will tell you that they lack wealth or power or position, but mostly the complaints will be that they are in some way or other hurt by others, by friend, or parent, or child, life-mate, or neighbour, or co-worker; they are disturbed or troubled and in difficulty from this thorn-like influence from morning to evening touching them and scratching them. And yet man does not seem to think deeply on this subject. Life is blinding, and it keeps man busy and engaged finding fault with others. He does not find the thorn in himself; he always sees the thorn in others.
Sa'adi, in simple language, has tried to give man a helping hand towards the development in his personality of that flowerlike quality; to train this personality which was made to be a flower and to help. His whole life's work has been to explain to man how life can turn into a flower. He has called his books "Gulistan" which means a flowerbed or a rose-garden, and "Bustan" a place of all sorts of fragrances, a place of fragrance. In this he has tried to explain to man how the heart can be turned into a flower. In reality it is a flower, it is made to be a flower, it is made to spread its perfume. If only you trained it and tended it, it would show the delicacy and beauty and fragrance of a flower; and that is the purpose of your life.
There is no mystification in Sa'adi's poetry. It is full of wit and intelligence, and at the same time original and the most wonderful thing that one sees in the poetry of Sa'adi is his humorous trend of mind. He is ready to look at the funny side of things and to amuse himself and enjoy. And how few of us in this world know what real, true mirth means, humour that is not vulgarised, not abused. It shows the rhythm and tune of the soul. Without humour life is dull and depressing. Humour is the reflection of that divine life and sun which makes life like the day. And a person who reflects divine wisdom and divine joy, adds to the expression of his thought when he expresses his ideas with mirth.
One day Sa'adi was sitting in a bookseller's shop, where his books were sold. The bookseller was absent, and someone came in and asked for one of Sa'adi's books, not knowing that he was speaking to Sa'adi himself. Sa'adi said, "What do you like about Sa'adi's books?" He replied, "Oh, he is a funny fellow." Whereupon Sa'adi made him a present of the book, and when he wished to pay for it, said, "No, I am Sa'adi, and when you called me a funny fellow, you gave me all the reward I wish."
He wanted life to be joyous. Spirituality is not in a long face and deep sigh. No doubt there are moments when you will sympathize with the troubles of others; there are moments that move you to tears, and there are times when you must just close your lips. But there are other moments when you can see the joyous side of life and enjoy its beauties. Man is not born into this world for depression and unhappiness. His very being is happiness. Depression is something unnatural. By this I do not mean to say that sorrow is a sin or suffering always avoidable. We all have to experience both in life, to accomplish the purpose of life. We cannot always be smiling. There is not spiritual evolution in ignoring either side of life. Spirituality is in every side of life. As long as one is not bound, it is no sin to stand in the midst of life. Man need not go into the forest, away from all people, to show his goodness and virtue. Of what use is his goodness and virtue if he buries himself in the forest? It is in the very midst of life that we have to develop and express all that is beautiful and perfect and divine in our souls.
- SHAIKH MUSLIH-UD-DIN SA'ADI (Cont.)
Sa'adi has expressed a wonderful thought in his work called the "Gulistan," and in simple words. He says, "every soul was meant for a certain purpose and the light of that purpose was kindled in that soul." It is one little verse, but it is a volume in itself. What does this suggest to us? That this whole universe is like one symphony, and all souls are as different notes. There activities are according to the rhythm of this symphony, and their life is purposed to perfect this symphony.
People are anxious to do something, and wait for years and years, unhappy, in despair, waiting for that moment to come. It shows that the soul knows in its sub-consciousness that there is a note to strike, and the moment when it will strike that note, that soul will be satisfied, and yet does not know what note it is nor when it will be struck. What is life, and what keeps us living in this world of limitation, this world of continual changes, full of falsehood and full of suffering and trouble? If there is anything in this world that keeps us alive, it is hope, the honey of life. There is not one soul in this world who says, "Now I am satisfied, I have no further desire."
In everyone, whatever be the position of life, someone very rich or one very poor, one full of life and the other ill, in all conditions, man is continually yearning and waiting for something to come, he does not know what, but he is waiting. The real explanation of life is waiting; waiting for something. And what is it that man awaits? It is the fulfilment of the purpose of life, which comes when the soul strikes that note; that note which is meant to be his note. And this he seeks, whether in the outer plane or the inner plane. And man has not fulfilled his life's purpose until he has struck that note which is his note.
And the greatest tragedy in life is the obscurity of purpose. When purpose is not clear, man suffers, he cannot breathe. He knows not what is the purpose, what he must do. This life will present to him things that will interest him for the moment, but the moment he possesses that thing he will say, "no this is not it, it is something else." So man goes on, in an illusion, constantly seeking, and yet not knowing what he seeks. Blessed is he who knows his life's purpose, for that is the first step toward fulfilment. And how are we to know life's purpose? Can anybody tell us? No. No one can tell us: for life in its very nature is self-revealing, and it is our own fault if we are not open to that revelation which life offers to us. It is not the fault of life, because the very nature of life is revealing. Man is the offspring of nature, therefore his purpose is nature. But the artificiality of life brings obscurity, which prevents him from arriving at that knowledge which may be called the revelation of one's own soul.
And if you ask me how one should proceed, I would advise you to study every object, whether false or true, which holds and attracts you, to which you are outwardly attracted and also inwardly attracted. And do not be doubting and suspicious. What Christ taught from morning till night was faith, but the interpretation of this word is not made clear. People have said faith in priest, in church, or in sect. That is not the meaning. The true meaning of faith is trust in one's self. A person came to me and said, "I wish to follow your ideas. Will you receive me? Will you let me follow you?" I said, "Yes, but will you tell me if you have faith?" This person looked perplexed for a moment, then he said, "Well, I have faith in you." I asked, "Have you faith in yourself?" He said, "Well, I am not sure." I said, "Your faith in me would be of no use to me. What I need is your faith in you."
Friends, what we must learn in life is first to trust ourselves. This wobbling tendency of mind, "shall I, or shall I not, is it good or is it bad," keeps man in confusion. And for years he may have the best intentions, but he will linger in the same place. He will not advance, for his own confusion will paralyse his limbs. He will not think he is going on, but he will be stopping in the same place where he is standing.
Our happiness depends on living right, and right living depends on striking that note; and the realization of that purpose is in the book of our heart. Open that book and look at it. All meditation, all concentration and contemplation is only to open this book, to focus our mind, and to see what purpose there is in our life. And no sooner do we see that our ultimate goal and our life's object and happiness, our true health and well being and or real wealth and welfare, are in the fulfilment of our purpose, then the whole trend of life will change.
- THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM OF THE DAY
The hustle and bustle of life leaves very little time to man to think of his general condition. The only news he receives in life is from newspapers, and so he depends upon the papers to have some idea, and the intoxication of life leaves him very little time to think about the meaning of life. When one looks around one and considers the condition of nations today, we find in spite of all the progress there is an ill feeling arising among nations. Friendship exists only for self-interest. One nation thinks about its own interest whether it has to deal with friend or enemy. And if we consider the world as a body, we could say that a poison has been put in the heart, owing to the feeling of hatred which arises from every person toward every other.
No period like this is to be traced in the history of the world, this age has accomplished a much greater destruction that ever before. It reminds one of a spider, which weaves its web in order to get comfort, but it cannot get out of the web it has made itself. And if we go to the root of the subject we see all these disasters, all this disorder has been caused by a spirit of materialism. Money seems to be the only gain and aim. It is undeniable that when one is continually thinking of such a subject all one's thoughts and energy will go in that direction. And in the end perhaps man awakes and finds that all his life he has given his thoughts to something which does not last, which does not even exist and is only an illusion.
No doubt this pessimism is a bridge from one optimism to another. This may be called disinterestedness: Vairagya. It is not the man who leaves the world, but the one who lives in the humanity, who is great. It is he who sees, not his little self, but the whole. Jesus Christ says, "Think of your fellowmen, love your fellowmen." And what do we see today? Difficulties arising between masters and workmen; peace conferences where nothing can be decided concerning peace. And all this because this point of view is not there, the point of view that, "I will do for you and you will do for me." "No," says everyone, "I will do for myself and you will do for yourself."
To serve one another, to love one another, to work for one another, that should be the aim of life, which man has lost hold of altogether. Look at the central theme of the education of today. Only a short time is given to the child to prepare him for the kingliness of life and the freedom of the spirit. And every year the child's intellectual burden is getting heavier, and the older the child grows the more he sees life before him as an ocean which he has to cross, as something dark awaiting him. And later on, the child, having become a man, gives all his time to work, to his office, and there is even no time for love or friendship, and yet, after all, he cannot even take all these things with him. After sacrificing all his life to these things, what has he really gained? By his external life in the world the complications of life have increased.
The more laws are given the more prisons are filled with criminals; the more contracts are signed the less peace and brotherhood are to be found among men; something more genuine in human life seems to be neglected. And yet no man is deprived of this human inheritance. There is a treasure in himself which has to be found. There is a religion which should have helped man on. The authorities of religion have very often failed to uphold the inner qualities of their religion. The question is not what religion one follows, but to live one's religion. When religion has lost its hold on inner life and faith, there is nothing else. Many people, especially among the intellectual ones, have lost their religion, and among the younger ones there are a good many who even fear the name of God.
Now what is needed today? It is the education which will teach humanity to feel the essence of their religion in everyday life. Man is not put on this earth to be an angel. He need not be praying in church all day long, nor go into the wilderness. He has only to understand life better. He must learn to take a certain time in the day to think about his own life and doings. He must ask himself, "Have I done an honest deed today? Have I proved myself worthy, in that place, in that capacity?" In this way one can make one's everyday life a prayer. Among politicians, doctors, lawyers, merchants it might be possible to have love as the battery behind every deed, every action and a sense of harmony behind all these doings.
We need today the religion of tolerance. In daily life we all cannot meet on the same ground, being so different, being in different capacities and different states of evolution, and with different tasks. In the homes we are not on the same state of evolution. So if we had not tolerance, no desire to forgive, we should never bring harmony into our soul. For to live in the world is not easy, every moment of the day demands a victory. If there is anything to learn it is this tolerance, and by teaching this simple religion of tolerance to one another we are helping the world. It is no use keeping the idea that the world is going from bad to worse. That germ of disease will spread and bring greater consequences. Every man's being is good, in the depth of his heart there is something certainly good.
There are teachings about healings, but the best way is the way of character healing, healing one's own character and instead of accomplishing miracles, in this way one's whole life becomes a miracle. The lack of religion today has created a strange belief in speaking with ghosts, fairies, etc., or about things one does not, nor can understand. But this has very little to do with religion. The bible is full of simple things, one would be happy of one could accomplish one of these things. There has been a great deal of demand for getting knowledge on occult powers etc. but what has man reached with all his intellectuality but the destruction of his brother?
- POETRY (1)
In poetry it is the rhythm of the poet's soul which is expressed. There are moments in the life of every soul, when the soul feels itself rhythmical, and the children, who are beyond the conventionalities of life, begin to dance at these moments or begin to speak to themselves words which rhyme or repeat phrases which are alike and harmonize together. It is a moment of the soul's awakening and the soul of some persons awake oftener than the souls of others, but in the life of every soul there are times when such awakening comes. And the soul who has the gift of the expression of thought and ideas shows his gift in poetry.
Among all things in this world that are valuable the word is most precious, for in the word you can find light that gems and jewels do not possess, in a word you can find an intoxication which no wine can give, in a word you can find a life that could heal the wounds of the heart. Therefore poetry in which the soul is expressed is as living as a human being. If I were to say that the greatest beauty that God bestows on man is eloquence, poetry, it would not be an exaggeration. For, as I have said, it is the gift of the poet which culminates in time in the gift of prophecy. There is a Hindu idea which explains this very well, and this idea is that the vehicle of the goddess of learning is eloquence.
Many live and few think and among the few who think, there are fewer still who can express. In those who think and cannot express, the soul's impulse is repressed. And it is in the expression of the soul that the divine impulse is fulfilled; and in poetry it is the divine impulse to express something which is fulfilled. Yes, there is a true poetry and there is a false poetry just as there is a true music and a false music. A person knowing many words, many syllables, can fit them together and arrange something mechanically, but that is not poetry. Whether it be poetry, art, or music, it must suggest life, and it can only suggest life if it comes from the deepest impulse of the soul.
But if it does not, then it is dead. There exist verses of great masters, of whatever period that have resisted the sweeping wind of destruction, which blows at every moment, always. And what is in their verse that has resisted the ever-destroying influence of time? That resisting power in their words was the life that was put into them. The trees that live long have their roots deepest. And so it is with the living verses. We only read them as we see the trees; if we only saw where the root of these verses is, we should find it in the soul, in the spirit.
Now coming to the question, what wakens the soul to this rhythm which brings about poetry? It is something that touches in the poet that predisposition of the soul which is called love. For with love, harmony comes, beauty comes, rhythm, light and life come. It seems that all that is good and beautiful and worth attaining is centred in that one spark that is hidden in the heart of man. When the heart speaks of its joy, of its sorrow, it is all interesting, it is all appealing. The heart does not tell a lie, it always tells the truth, for by love it becomes sincere and it is through the sincere heart that true love manifests.
One may live in a company where there is always amusements, pastimes, mirth and merriment, and one may live that life for twenty years, but the moment one realizes the movement in the depth of one's heart one feels that the whole twenty years of life was nothing. One moment of life with a living heart is better worthwhile that a hundred years of life with a heart that is dead. Many do we see in this world with fortune and every comfort and all that they need in life yet living a shallow life, with nothing in their lives, more unhappy perhaps than one who is starving for days together. He is more to be pitied whose soul is starving than one whose body only is starving. For the one whose body is starving is yet alive, but he whose soul is starved is dead.
Those who have shown great inspiration and who have given to the world precious words of wisdom, they were the farmers who ploughed furrows in the soil of the heart. That is the reason why there are few poets in this world, for the path of the poet is contrary to the path of the worldly man. The real poet, although he exists on this earth, yet dreams of a different world from where he gets his ideas. The true poet is seer at the same time, or else he could not bring the subtle ideas which touch the heart of the reader. The true poet is a lover and admirer of beauty. If his soul was not impressed by beauty he could not bring out beauty in his poetry.
- POETRY (2)
But now to tell you what stimulates the gift in the one who is born with the gift of poetry - is it pleasure or is it pain? Not pleasure at all, pleasure freezes the gift. It is the pain that the sensitive poet's soul has to go through in this life. One may ask, "Then would it be a good thing to seek pain, if one wants to be good poet?" It would be just like thinking crying is a virtue, to hurt oneself a little and cry. Who, with a living heart, can live in this world as it is and not suffer and not experience pain? Who with any sincerity in his nature could go from morning till evening through the insincerity and falsehood and crudity of human nature? In short, a man with tender feeling, a man with open heart cannot avoid suffering - at every step he takes suffering meets him.
A poet begins with the admiration of beauty and his gift matures in shedding tears over the disappointments that he meets with life. When he has passed that phase then comes another interesting phase, when he begins to laugh at the world. He rises beyond the tears after shedding enough. This does not mean that he becomes critical, that he sneers at life. No, he sees the funny side of things and he sees the whole of life, which was once tragedy, in the form of comedy. This stage is like consolation to him from above after his moments of great pain and suffering through life.
And there comes another stage, when he rises beyond that stage, where he sees the divine element working in all forms, in all names, when he begins to see his Beloved in all forms, in all names. This comes in the life of a poet as a joy in the life of a young lover, it brings in his life another period. Whatever his condition in life, rich or poor, in comfort or without, he is never without his Beloved, his Divine Beloved in always in his presence. When he arrives at this period he pities that lover who has only a limited beloved to admire, to love. For he has now arrived at a stage that when alone, when in the crowd, when in the North or South, in the West or in the East, on earth or in Heaven, always he is in the presence of his Beloved.
And if he reached one step further, then it becomes difficult for him to express his emotion, his impulse to poetry, for then he himself becomes a poetry. What he feels, what he thinks, what he says, what he does, all is poetry. At this stage he comes to touch that ideal of unity which unites all things in one. But in order to enjoy this stage the soul must become so matured as to enjoy it. An infant soul would not be able to enjoy the particular consciousness of all-oneness.
From this time in the poetry of the poet one will find glimpses of prophetic expression. It is not only the beauty of words and meanings, but his words become illuminating and his verses become life-giving. There are in this world souls who are pious, who are wise, who are spiritual, but among them the one who is capable of expressing his realization of life, of truth is not only a poet, but a prophet.
- MUSIC
Many in the world take music as a source of amusement or a pastime, and to many music is an art and a musician an entertainer. Yet no one has lived in this world who has thought and felt and has not considered music as the most sacred of all arts. For the fact is that what the art of painting cannot clearly suggest, poetry explains in words, but that which even a poet finds difficult to express in poetry is expressed in music. But by this I do not only say that music is superior to painting and poetry, but in fact music excels religion, for music raises the soul of man even higher than the so-called external form of religion. But by this it must not be understood that music can take the place of religion.
For, every soul is not necessarily tuned to that pitch that it can really benefit by music, nor is every music necessarily so high that it will exalt a person who hears it more than the effect that religion will have upon him. However, those who follow the path of the inner cult, for them music is most essential for their spiritual development. The reason is that the soul who is seeking for truth is in search of the formless God. Art, no doubt, is most elevating, but at the same time contains form, poetry has words, names, suggestive of forms, it is music only which has beauty, which has power, charm, and at the same time can raise the soul beyond form. It is therefore that in the ancient times the greatest of the prophets have been great musicians.
For instance, in the lives of the Hindu prophets one finds Narada, the great prophet of the Hindus, a great musician at the same time, and Shiva, a Godlike prophet of the Hindus, who was the inventor of the sacred Vina. Krishna is always pictured with a flute. There is a well-known legend of the life of Moses, a legend which tells how Moses heard a divine command on Mount Sinai, in the words "Musa ke", "Moses, hear" or "Moses, ponder", and on this the revelation that came to him was of tone and rhythm, and he called it by the same name "Musake". And the words such as "Music" or "Musiki" have come from that word.
David, whose song and whose voice have been known for ages, his message was given to the world in the form of music. Orpheus, of the Greek legends, the knower of the mystery of tune and rhythm had by the knowledge of time and rhythm power over the hidden forces of nature. The Goddess of learning, of knowledge among Hindus, whose name is Saraswati, is always pictured with the Vina, and what does it suggest? That all learning has its essence in music. And besides the natural charm that music has, music has a magic power, a power which can be experienced even now. It seems that the human race has lost a great deal of the ancient science of magic, but if there remains any magic, it is music.
Music, besides power, is intoxication. When it intoxicates those who hear, how much more it must intoxicate those who play or sing themselves! And how much more it must intoxicate those who have touched perfection in it and those who have contemplated upon it for years and years! It gives them a great joy and exaltation even than a king feels when sitting on his throne. According to the thinkers of the East there are four different intoxications: the intoxication of beauty and youth and of strength; then the intoxication of wealth and the third is of power, command, the power of ruling; and there is the fourth intoxication which is the intoxication of learning, of knowledge.
But all these four intoxications fade away just like stars before the sun in the presence of the intoxication of music. The reason is that it touches the deepest part of man's being. Music reaches further than any other impression one gets from the external world. And then the beauty about music is that music is the source of creation and the means of absorbing it. In other words, by music the world was created and it is again music with which it is withdrawn in the source which has created it.
In support of this argument you will read in the Bible that first was the word and the word was God. That "word" means sound, and from sound you can grasp the idea of music. Then there is an Eastern legend that has come from centuries ago, the legend that when God made man out of clay and asked the soul to enter, the soul refused to enter in this prison house and then God commanded the angels to sing. And as the angels sang the soul entered, being intoxicated by the song.
But now in this scientific and material world also we see an example of this kind. Before a machine, a mechanism will run, it must first make a noise. It first becomes audible and then shows its life. We can see this in a ship, in an aeroplane, in an automobile. This idea belongs to the mysticism of sound. Before an infant is capable of admiring a colour or form, it enjoys sound. If there is any art that can please the aged most, it is music. If there is any art which can charge youth to life and to enthusiasm, to emotion and to passion, it is music. If there is any art in which a person can fully express his feeling, his emotion, it is music which is best fitted for it. At the same time it is something that gives man that force and that power of activity which make the soldiers march with the beats of the drum and the sound of the trumpet.
In the traditions of the past, it was said that on the Last Day there will be the sound of the trumpets before the end of the world. This shows that music is connected with the beginning of creation, with its continuity and with its end. The mystics of all ages have loved music most. In almost all the circles of the inner cult, whatever part of the world they are, music seems to be the centre of their cult or their ceremony or ritual. And with those who attain to that perfect peace which is called Nirvana, or in the language of the Hindus it is called Samadhi, it is more easily done by music.
Therefore the Sufis, especially those of the Chishtia school of the ancient times, have taken music as a source of their meditation, and by so meditating they derive much more benefit than those who meditate without the help of music. The effect that they experience is the unfoldment of the soul, the opening of the intuitive faculties, and their heart, so to speak, opens to all the beauty which is within and without, uplifting them, and at the same time bringing them that perfection for which every soul yearns.
- BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD (3)
Brotherhood is not something that is learned or taught; brotherhood is a tendency, a tendency which arises from the heart that is tuned to a proper pitch. A tendency towards brotherhood, therefore, is the natural tendency in which is the real happiness from which rises harmony and culminates in peace. The message of brotherhood is a message of sympathy; a message of sympathy is a message of harmony. The person who is not in harmony with himself cannot be harmonious with another. With all the teaching of brotherhood, and with all his learning, he will not be able to observe the law of brotherhood.
The whole system of the world's creation is a kind of blind impulse working in a kind of mechanism of the universe. And this impulse is more pronounced in living creatures, and the most pronounced form of this impulse is agitation. If you study the lives of the lower creatures you will find that it is not only that they have a desire for food, a desire to move about with their mates. The first appetite is to sleep, but besides this there is one desire, an inclination, and that inclination manifests as agitation, and it is by this agitation that the animals, the birds fight together. Their whole life is filled with that agitation. Furthermore, the herbivorous animals are less agitated than carnivorous animals. In the carnivorous animals there is more desire for fighting. The lion and the tiger are more inclined to fight than horses and cows. That shows that the herbivorous animals show a step more advanced than the carnivorous animals. Therefore a tendency to eat or drink or seek for pleasures or enjoy comfort or agitation does not particularly belong to the human being as his special characteristic; he gets it from the animal characteristic. His special characteristic is sympathy, harmony.
And this comes only when man rises above that agitation which, so to speak, buries that spirit of sympathy which is considered to be the human characteristic. No doubt, man is educated, he is trained, he has some polish, he has been taught some manner, and therefore he is not always able to show his agitation. It is only at the time of weakness, when he cannot cover his agitations, that the agitation comes out and manifests to his own view as well as to the view of others, proving that person to be not yet ready to be called human.
One might ask, is there any time in a man's life when one gets above this? Yes, one gets sooner than the other, but a person gets above it if he tries to get above it. This spirit of agitation shows itself as intolerance, as rivalry, as jealousy, as a dominating spirit, irritability, patronizing, all such qualities, show agitation of nature. When we study the lives of those who have served humanity, that was the first thing that they had to conquer. When it is said in the life of Krishna that Krishna had a battle with Kansa, the monster, that monster was not outside of Krishna, that monster was inside of Krishna, that monster was that agitation spirit. Krishna had to fight it, and it is after conquering that spirit of agitation that Krishna became the Messenger of Love.
In the Bible we read that Jesus Christ went for forty days on the top of the mountain, at the side of that spirit. What is that spirit? The same spirit which is the greatest enemy of the human race, the spirit of agitation. And the master had to fast for forty days; then the spirit went among the creatures who were the receptacle of that spirit to whom it belongs. Halima gives the description of the Prophet - symbolical, artistic, picturesque. But what is it after all? She says that the breast of the Prophet was cut open and some undesirable stuff was taken off from there. Behind the symbology, there is only one thing, that spirit of agitation that was removed from there to make place for divine inspiration.
Does it not show that man inherits divine spirit, and yet this divine spirit is covered by the earthly characteristics? Among those earthly characteristics, agitation is the principal characteristic. A child sometimes begins it against his parents, a boy in the school begins it against his friends, a youth shows it with his companions, a person shows it to his neighbour, and yet everyone has a reason to give for his faults. Every right or wrong one does, there is a reason to justify false ego, and when this false ego is broken, when this very agitation has crushed itself, just as fire burns itself, then purification arises.
Every man notices how far this spirit follows a person in the path of spiritual progress. A person may arrive at the gate of the heavens, even to that length this spirit will travel with him. It may become weaker, but it is there. Only, this spirit has no entrance into the shrine of God, and the soul that carries this spirit with him, therefore, has no entrance into that perfect goal. He may advance as far as the gate of that inner temple, but he is not allowed, he is held back by the power of the same spirit of agitation. For the shrine of God is called "Dar-as-Salaam"; the corrupted word is "Jerusalem". And what does it mean? It means the door to peace. Agitation, therefore, is not allowed to enter the door of peace, it must stay outside. Therefore, as, in the ancient times, they used to say, "You cannot follow two masters, God and Satan." What is Satan? It is the spirit of agitation which is to be found within ourselves. God is the spirit of peace in whom is our happiness; and we cannot follow two masters.
There are many Movements and Institutions for brotherhood, and everyone is doing what he can to promote this ideal, for this is an ideal which is the essence of religion and which is the soul of spirituality. But how to attain to it? By creating in oneself, by trying to give to the others, the idea of that natural inclination to sympathy, by strengthening ourselves, and thereby giving power to others also to fight against this spirit of agitation which has always proved to be the worst enemy of mankind.
Now one might ask," What does it come from?" From disorder. From the disorder of the body, from the disorder of the mind - if the body has not got its proper rhythm and proper tune, if the mind is not attuned to a proper rhythm, and tune; these two things. If the mind and body are not in tune with one another, if they are not in harmony, then this agitation comes. Sometimes it is the reflection of mind upon the body, and sometimes it is the reflection of body upon mind. How true it is that man is his own enemy. But where is that enemy? That enemy is this spirit, this spirit, which is never contented, which does not appreciate, which does not respond, which does not sympathize, which does not agree, which does not endure, which does not tolerate, which does not harmonize - a spirit which stands against any influence of harmony, agreement, of sympathy, of kindness.
But one might ask, "What is it? Where does it come from? Is it a spirit, is it a living being, is it a Satan or devil, what is it? What is its explanation? What is its origin?" The best explanation is that it is the same smooth silken thread which at one end becomes entangled and turned into a knot. In the place where it is a knot and where it is very difficult to unravel, it is the same silken thread just the same, only it is under a condition where it is difficult for itself, because it is not free, it is difficult for others, for they cannot loosen it. And so man becomes the same soul which has divine breath in it, the same soul who has come from heaven, the same soul who represents God on earth, when it is turned into a knot, then it finds difficulty with itself, difficulty with the others, and others find difficulty with it.
And therefore it becomes disharmonious itself, it creates disharmony, it finds itself in a kind of inharmonious condition. It only means that it has lost its natural, original condition, that smoothness, that softness. And yet it remains silk, it has not turned into cotton, it is silk just the same. Call it Satan or devil or whatever you may. If you know the source, the origin, you cannot call it anything else but a condition. If there is anything most important to be done in the work of brotherhood, it is to develop that spirit in ourselves by getting above all knots and difficulties, that we may not have to follow the rules of brotherhood, that all that naturally comes out of ourselves may express brotherhood.
- ART AND RELIGION
Very few in the world link religion with art or art with religion, but, in point of fact, art is much more important than an average person realizes it to be, in spite of the saying, that art is what man makes and nature is what God makes. But I would like to say that nature is what God makes as God and art is what God makes as man. The artist who has arrived at some perfection in his art, whatever be his art, will come to realize that it is not he who ever did, it is someone else who came forward at every time. And in the perfect things that the artist produces he hardly can imagine that it is produced by him, he can do nothing but bow his head in perfect humility before that unseen power and wisdom which takes his body, his heart, his brain and his eyes as its instrument.
Whatever be that art, be it music or poetry or painting or writing or whatever manner, whenever beauty is produced it must not be thought that man produced it. It is through man that God finishes His creation. Therefore art is not only an imitation of nature, it is an improvement upon it. Therefore there is nothing that is done in this world and in Heaven which is not a divine immanence, which is not the divine creation. It is the dividing of that divine work that makes that perplexity which separates man from his Lord.
In the first place, all things that we see in this world, all our occupations that we engage ourselves in willingly or unwillingly, that all leads us to accomplish a certain purpose. No doubt there are certain things in life in which we accomplish a greater purpose, and that can be accomplished by an inspiration from within. Art is a domain through which inspiration has a great facility to manifest. In order to become spiritual it is not necessary that man should be very religious or extra good. In order to attain to in inspiration what is necessary is love for beauty. What is art? Art is a creation of beauty, in whatever form it be created.
As long as an artist thinks that whatever he creates in the form of art is his own creation, and as long as the artist becomes vain over his creation, he has not learned the true art. For the true art can only come by one condition, and that condition is that the artist forgets himself, he forgets himself in the vision of beauty. And there is one condition when his art can be still more valuable, and that condition is that the artist begins to recognize the divine in the art. As long as the artist has not realized it he has not touched the perfection of art. The artist in the true sense of the word is the king of a certain kingdom which is even greater than the kingdom of the earth.
There is a story known in the East, that Farabi was a great singer, a singer who was invited to the court of the Sultan. The Sultan received him very warmly in the court, and as the singer entered, the Sultan went to the door to receive him. On coming in the drawing room the Sultan asked the singer to take his seat. "Where shall I sit?" said the singer. The Sultan said, "Sit in any place that may be fitting to you." On hearing this he took the seat of the king. No doubt, it astonished the Sultan very much, but after hearing his art he thought that even his own seat was not quite suitable. For the kingdom of the artist is everywhere, where beauty prevails. As beauty is everywhere so the kingdom of the artist is everywhere.
But art is only a door, a door through which one can enter into a still wider area. The religions have at different times considered art as something outside. But this has been very often a kind of fanaticism on the part of religious authorities. And it is not only in the East, but in the West and the East that one finds a kind of idea existing to separate art from religion. It does not mean that all religions do it, nor does it mean that any great teacher of religion has taught it. It has only come from people who have not yet realized the beauty of religion, except its form, they have forced its simplicity on it. No one who has touched the depth of religion can ever deny the fact that religion itself is an art, an art which accomplishes the greatest thing in man's life; and for that art to be made void of beauty - there cannot be a greater error than that.
In the first place, we can see in the ancient times in all the Hindu and Buddhist churches and pagodas there was music, there was poetry, there was sculpture, and there was painting. At the time when there were not printing presses nor could books be brought out on philosophy and religion, if one can find any scriptures expressing the ancient religious and philosophical ideas, it can be found in the ancient art. For instance, the mysticism and the religion of ancient Egypt, of which so much has been spoken, and so little has been known, if there is any sign of it to be found, it is not in a manuscript, it is found in art.
Besides, the ideas of the ancient Sanskrit age are yet to be found in India in engravings on the carved stones, rocks, and temples. Very often travellers from the Western world go to the East in order to see how far the art has attained its perfection, but very few really know that it is not only that the art came to a certain perfection, but the art has been given as something to communicate to those who can read. Besides that, the art of ancient Greece, it is the sign and proof of their great perfection - divine wisdom. Every movement that you see in the Greek pictures, it is not only a graceful movement, but it has a meaning, and every little statue in its action denotes a great meaning if only a person can read it.
But from this we come to learn that in order to make the work of art, and in order to be able to understand the work of art, for both intuition is necessary. And it is the very thing that today the human race seems to be losing more than in any time in the world's history. One might ask what is the reason that man has lost that intuitive faculty? It is because man has become so absorbed in material gains that he has, so to speak, become intoxicated by the earthly life, and intuition, which is his birthright and his own property, he has lost from view. It does not mean that it has gone out from him; it only means that it has become buried in his own heart.
We are vehicles, or instruments that respond. If we respond to goodness, goodness becomes our property; if to evil we respond, then evil becomes our property; if to love we respond, then love becomes our possession; if we respond to hatred, hatred becomes our life. And so if we respond to the things of the earth so much that our whole life becomes absorbed in earthly things, then it is quite natural that we do not respond to those riches which are within us, and yet are far removed from them. Intuition is not something that a person can read in books and learn, nor is intuition a thing that one can buy and sell.
Intuition is something which is the very self and the deepest self of man, and it can't be realized by that soberness which is desirable in life. Absence of intuition means absence of soberness. One might ask why is every person intoxicated, and what that soberness is like. I would answer, it is just like a little pool of water, when the water of that little pool is troubled, you cannot see the reflection. But when it is not troubled, then it is quiet; then you can see, when the water is clear. So is the heart of man. By the heart I do not mean the piece of flesh, by heart I mean that inner being of man which very often in the Bible is called "spirit."
It is the calmness and quietness of that spirit which quickens that tendency of inspiration. But when the mind is troubled by worries and anxieties and responsibilities, then naturally that intuition is lost. But man asks often, "How can it be possible to leave worries and troubles out of life?" That is quite true; but at the same time if one is thinking that one cannot leave out the troubles and anxieties, one is going further and further from the Truth, the Truth which is the safety of man. Many think "If we cannot be spiritual then we shall be material; of course then we shall be more and more material, because we cannot be spiritual."
But, really speaking, the right thing would be to strike the happy medium. If life forces one to go into material things so much, so much the more necessary is it to go into spirituality. It matters very little what religion a person claims and what faith he says he has, what way of prayers he adopts. What really matters is if he is really religious from his heart. The admission to that vehicle of happiness is by tickets. For at the door of the station they do not ask you whose son you are, what class you belong to, what are your ancestors, how much money you have.
What they ask is for the tickets, and the same thing is there. In that field of happiness one has no entrance by saying," I belong to a very high church," or "My prayers are better than others." No, there it is not so, it is only here we hate one another by saying, "You are of a different religion, your belief is bad, my belief is good." There is no distinction there. The question is if you are sincere, if you really are seeking after Truth. Then they do not ask what channel you are coming from. They open the door; you are allowed in.
But now coming to the question how can that art which is religion be attained. Even a religion is a kind of art. Of course, its elementary aspect makes it a religion of form. Form is the outward art, whether it is a ceremony, a ritual, a form of service, it is a form of art, no doubt. But as one goes further it is another art. Among the Sufis that art is called Akhlak Allah, which means the manner of God. The first step in life is to know and understand how to become a human being. As there are two words in the English language: man and gentleman, and there is such a vast gulf between man and a gentleman, no doubt if one bought a nice dress and put it on, he can become a gentleman very soon, but that is not what I mean.
A true gentleman in the real sense of the word is what the word itself expresses. And what makes one gentle? Man, by nature, is just like an uncut diamond; and that diamond wants cutting in order to reflect its light fully. A man becomes a gentleman, not by becoming rich or in a high position. No, when the rough edges of his character are cut, just like a diamond, then he becomes a gentleman. And if one judged oneself, and did not judge the others, one will find how very difficult it is to become a gentleman. No doubt man keeps on in a kind of intoxication, not knowing his own faults.
He is always busy finding fault with the others, always he is complaining that the rough edges trouble him from the others, and so the whole life goes, the life which is the greatest opportunity to rise and to become better. And that one who feels, after having the rough edges of the other hurt, that says, "the rough edges on my part must also hurt the others," when he begins to cut those rough edges, then he begins to learn the art. For other arts cannot be compared with the art of personality. The character is not born with man's birth; the character is built after coming here. But even if a person can call himself a human being, still he has not yet known that greater art still, which may be rightfully called a true religion.
For there is another grade to pursue, and that grade is the personality of God. As soon as one seeks for the personality of God, it is different from a human personality, for in the character of man, man has to make his point of view a human point of view, but in the point of view of God, man has to make God's point of view. And it is such personalities who whenever and at whatever time they came on earth have not only taught humanity but have given an example to humanity be their own lives. Some of them known, some of them unknown, came and went away; but each one of them was accepted by some and rejected by some, none of them was accepted by the whole humanity nor rejected. But, in spite of accepting and rejecting, the Truth will prove by itself a victory. For to nothing else victory belongs.
Victory belongs to Truth, and that victory which comes from falsehood is a false victory. The true victory only belongs to Truth, and as man more and more will probe the depth of life and its secret he will more and more realize it. Falsehood, whatever apparent success it has, has it limitations, and its end. For at every step the false person will feel falseness, and every step a person takes to falsehood he will feel his feet towards the Truth heavier and heavier. Those who will walk they will feel their feet lighter at every step they take. And it is by learning the art of life and by practising it that one is led in the path of truth, to arrive at that goal which is the longing of every soul.
- KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DIN MUHAMMED HAFIZ
The name of Hafiz, is well known to every one interested in the poetry of Persia, because, among the Persian poets, Hafiz stands unique in his expression, in his depth of thought, in the excellence of his symbolical expression of certain thoughts and philosophy. There was a time when a deep thinker and a free thinker had great difficulty in expressing his thoughts, and that time has not altogether ceased, but, at the same time, in some ways there seems to be much more freedom of expression in this age than in ancient times. At that time, anyone who expressed his thought freely about life and its hidden law, about soul, God, creation and manifestation, met with great difficulty. The difficulty was that the religious authorities of all kinds governed, and under the religious reign, the principles of the exoteric religion reigned, and therefore those who attained by the esoteric side of philosophy always had difficulty in telling it to the people. Many were persecuted; they were stoned, they were flayed, they were put to death. All sorts of punishment were inflicted upon them, and in this way the progress of humanity was retarded.
Today we do not see this. At the same time, the limited attitude of the human mind on religious and philosophical questions is to be found in all ages. The Sufis, who found by the help of meditation the source of knowledge in their own hearts, for them it was very difficult to give to the world in plain words what little they could explain of the Truth. It is true that the Truth cannot be spoken in words, but at the same time, those gifted with poetic and prophetic expression have always had that inclination and tendency of expressing what their souls experienced.
Hafiz found a way of expressing the experiences of his soul and his philosophy in verse. For the soul enjoys expressing itself in verse. Because the soul itself is music, and when it is experiencing the realization of divine Truth, the tendency of the soul is to express itself in poetry. Hafiz therefore expressed his soul in poetry. And what poetry! Poetry full of light and shade, line and colour, and full of feeling. No poetry in the world can be compared to that of Hafiz in its delicacy. Therefore only the fine soul who has the finest perception of light and shade expressed in words, can grasp the meaning of the illumination of the soul.
At the same time, the words of Hafiz have won every heart that listens. Even if they do not wholly understand it, the phrase, rhythm, charm, and beauty of expression wins them. It is the same style that Solomon adopted, but it was spoken in the language of the time. Hafiz spoke in the language which was most appropriate and most suitable to poetry. The Persian language is considered in the East the most delicious language, a language which stands supreme among all Eastern languages in poetry. It is soft, and its expression is tender. It is expressive. Every object has perhaps ten names for the poet to choose from, every little thought can be expressed in perhaps twenty different ways; and the poet has that freedom of choice. And therefore the Persian language and Persian poetry both are rich in expression.
The mission of Hafiz was to express to a fanatically inclined, religious world the presence of God, which is not to be found only in Heaven, but to be found here on earth. Very often religious belief in God and in the hereafter has kept man sleeping, waiting for that hour and that day to come when he will be face to face with his Lord, and he is certain that that day will not come before he is dead. And therefore he awaits his death, in the hope that in the hereafter he will see God, for Heaven alone is the place where God is to be found, there is no other place where God will be found. And he thinks that there is only a certain place which is a sacred place of worship, that is, the church, and that anywhere else God is not to be found. The mission of Hafiz was to take away this idea, and to make man conscious of the Heaven by his side, and to tell man that all he expects in the hereafter as a reward could be had here if he lived a fuller life.
The same ideal which one sees in all religions, which Jesus Christ taught, saying, "God is love," that was the main idea of Hafiz, the idea, that he expressed from morning to night in the Diwan. If there is anything divine in man, it is love. If God is to be found anywhere, it is in man's heart, which is love. And if the love element is awakened in the heart then God is made alive, so to speak, and is born in one's self. But at the same time Hafiz has shown in his poetry the key to this, and that key is appreciation of beauty in all forms.
Beauty is not always in an object or in a person; beauty depends upon one's attitude towards life - how one looks at it - and its effect depends upon our power of appreciation. The very same music or poetry or painting will touch one person so that he feels its beauty to the very depth of his being, and perhaps there is another person who looks at it, but he does not see it. The whole manifestation has its beauty. Sometimes the beauty is manifest to you; sometimes you have to look for it. There comes a good person - we are always charmed by the beauty of goodness. There comes another person who looks bad, but at the same time good is somewhere hidden in him, if we would look for it, if we have the desire to draw it out. The look of bad is not always in objects and persons, but in our looking. The whole trend of the poetry of Hafiz is to awaken that appreciation of beauty and love of beauty which is the only condition through which to experience that bliss for which our life is purposed.
Someone asked a Sufi the reason for this whole creation, and he answered, "God, Whose being is love itself had desired to experience the nature of His own being, and in order to experience it He had to manifest Himself." God Himself, and His manifestation, the soul and God - this dual aspect can be seen in all forms of nature, in the sun and the moon, in night and day, in male and female, in positive and negative, and in all things of opposite characters, in order that this love principle, itself the original and the only principle at the back of the whole manifestation, may have the scope of its full play. And therefore the fulfilment of the purpose of life is in the full expression of the love principle.
Very often people, by learning philosophy and by looking at this world with a pessimistic thought, have renounced the world, and have called it material and false; and have left this world and have gone to the forest or desert or cave, and have taught the principle of self-denial and self-abnegation and renunciation. That was not the way of Hafiz. He said it is like journeying over the sea and coming to a new port, and before landing one becomes frightened, saying, "But I shall perhaps be attacked by the people, or the place will attract me so much that I will not be able to go back where I have come from." But he does not know why he has taken that journey. He has not taken the journey to go back without landing. The attitude of Hafiz is to land there - risk it. If it is an attractive place, he is ready to be won. If it will crush him, he is ready to be crushed. This is a daring attitude. Not running away from this false world, but in this false world to discover glimpses of the true, and in this maze to find God's purpose.
- KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DIN MOHAMMED HAFIZ (Cont.)
Besides this, there is another great revelation which Hafiz has brought before humanity in a most beautiful form. Now, there are many people in this world who have once believed in God, in His mercy and compassion, in His love and His forgiveness, but after having suffered, after seeing catastrophes and injustices, have given up belief. Many people, after great sorrow and suffering, have given up religion. The reason is that the religion they have followed has taught them God as goodness, God as judge. Well, then they ask from a judge justice, justice to satisfy their own ideas.
They think their standard of justice is God's; they look for goodness as they understand it, and therefore there comes a time of struggle in their hearts. They do not see justice, because they are looking from their own point of view. They are looking for goodness, kindness, and mercy from their own point of view, and there are many conditions which make them think there is no justice, that there is no such thing as a forgiving element. But the way of Hafiz is different. There is hardly the Name of God to be found in the Diwan. He does not give that belief of God the Just and Good. His God is his Beloved, to Whom he has surrendered in perfect love and devotion, and everything coming from the Beloved is taken by him with love and devotion as the reward. He prefers poison coming from the hand of the Beloved to nectar from another. He prefers death to life, if it is the wish of the Beloved.
But you may say, "Is it fair?" There is no question of fairness where there is love. Love stands above law. Law is beneath love. Law is born of love. The mistake in this day is that we keep law higher than love. We do not see that the divine principle, which is love, stands above law. Man makes God a judge who is bound by law, Who cannot do His will, but has to do according to what is written in His book. God is not justice. Justice is His nature, but love is predominant. People give such importance to one's actions and their results.
They do not know that above action and result is a law which can consume the fire of Hell, which can dominate, if the whole world was being drowned in the flood of destruction, that the love power is greater than any other. Think of the hen when she takes care of her little ones. If they were threatened with danger, though it were a horse or an elephant, she would fight, because the love principle is predominant. A kind mother is ready to forgive when her son comes with his head bowed and says, "Mother, I have been foolish, I have not listened to you, I have been insolent, I am sorry."
She is ready to understand, she is ready to forgive. So we see mercy and compassion going out as love, a stream of love which can purify all the evil actions of years. Then, if a human being can actually forgive, can God not forgive? Many of the dogmatic religions have taken away the love element which is predominant, which makes God Sovereign. And they make a God who is limited, who is bound by the book, and Who cannot show His compassion. If God were so limited He could not be just. An individual would be better, because an individual can forgive.
Hafiz gives a picture of human nature: hate, jealousy, love, kindness, vanity; the play of friendly impulse, the play of pride; all aspects of life. Hafiz is not a poet; he is a painter. He has made a picture of the different aspects of life. Every verse is a picture. And in every picture, whatever be its colour - vanity, pride or conceit, love, mercy or compassion, in all its garbs - he sees only one spirit, the spirit of the Beloved. And he shows his devotion, appreciation, and love to all the manifestations of that one and the same Beloved.
There are many religions and beliefs where it is said that there will come a day when man will be able to communicate with God. But when will that day come? Life is so short and our hearts so hungry! And if it does not come today, perhaps it will not come at all. Therefore the only thing that Hafiz has pointed out from beginning to the end is this, "Do not wait for that day to come tomorrow. Communicate with the Beloved just now, He is before you here in the form of your friend and in the form of your enemy with a bowl of poison or with a rose. Recognize it and know it, for this is the purpose of life." Religions have made this like a journey of millions of miles. Hafiz has made it close at hand.
Man likes complexity. He does not want to take one step, it is more interesting to look forward to millions of steps. The man who is seeking the Truth gets into a puzzle, and that puzzle interests him. He wants to go through that puzzle a thousand times more. Just like children, their whole interest is in running about. They do not want to see the door and go out, until they are very tired. And so with the grown up people, they all say they are seeking Truth, but they like the puzzle. That is why the mystics make the greatest truths a mystery, to be given to the few who were ready for it, and to let the others play, because it is the time for them to play.
As the love principle, according to the idea of the Sufis, and according to the idea of all the Prophets and Knowers who have ever come to this world, is the first principle, so it is the last principle. There are different Yogas practised by the people of India which are the intellectual, scientific, philosophical and moral paths to God, but the most desirable path to God that the Hindus have ever found, and which makes the whole life beautiful is Bhakta Yoga, the path of devotion, because it is the natural path. Man's inclination is love. If he is cold, it is because he is longing for love; if he is warm, it is because love is alive. If one is suffering from depression, is yearning or sorrowing, it is because the love principle is not alive, The only life, the very source of inspiration, salvation and liberation, is love.
And those great souls who have brought the message of God to humanity from time to time - Buddha, Krishna, Jesus Christ, Moses, Abraham, Zarathustra - they were well known as most learned men. And what they learned, they learned from the love principle, what they knew was compassion, forgiveness, sympathy, and tolerance; that attitude of appreciation; that opening of the heart to humanity. What they taught was love, a simple Truth. If religions seem complex, they have been added to. In every case what was brought by the prophet was simple, and it was expressed in his personality and his life, and it is that influence that has remained for centuries after they have passed away. It is not the literature they have left. Most of the literature is from their pupils. It is the simple truth shown in their personalities and their lives. The error of this day and age is that we cannot understand the simple Truth, the Truth as manifested everywhere, instead of trying to find Truth covered in a shell.
Hafiz at the same time teaches one to see the ultimate Truth and the ultimate justice in one and the same thing, and that is God; that justice is not related to things; perfect justice is in totality. And he shows that the power behind manifestation is the love power, and it is by this power that this whole world was created. It is the love principle whether it works through God or man. And if that principle is at the back of the whole creation, then it is the same principle which helps man to fulfil the purpose of his life.
- THE SUFI'S AIM IN LIFE
The aim of every individual in the end is the same; in the beginning, the aim of every individual is different. In the end, man comes to a stage when his object becomes the object of his soul, and as long as he has not arrived at this object, he has several objects before him. But the accomplishment of any motive is not satisfactory for long.
According to the philosophy of the Hindus there are four motives in life. One motive is what they call 'Dharma,' which means 'duty.' There are some who consider that virtue lies in performing their duty and when they perform that particular duty, which is before them, they feel that that is the due accomplishment of their life. But if one duty is accomplished, another is waiting - life is full of duties. When a girl is young she says, "My mother, my father is my duty." Then a time comes when the pleasure of her husband is her duty; and as time goes on there is the duty of the mother towards the children. But even there it does not end - there comes the duty of the grandmother. There is no phase in life in which duty expires; it begins in one form and goes on in another.
For the one who considers duty a pleasure, for him duty is a pleasure; for him who considers it a virtue, it is a virtue; but for one who considers duty a captivity or a pain, for him it is a pain. For one person it becomes a virtue, a privilege, for another a crime. In the Hindu language there exists the word 'Ardh,' which means the acquisition or collecting of wealth. It begins with the need of daily bread and it culminates in millions and is never finished. The more one has, the less one feels one has. The attainment of wealth is never fully satisfied - there is always a lack. And there comes a third motive which is pleasure. For this one neglects, one sacrifices - it is the main object in life. But, at the same time, pleasure is such a thing that this desire is never satisfied and the more one experiences the pleasure of this earth, the more there comes the desire to experience them. This pleasure is not lasting, and costs more, usually, that it is worth.
And there is the fourth desire, which is of a different character, and that is for a kind of reward in the hereafter; for the attainment of a paradise; or reaching some bliss that one does not know. It is a desire for some kind of gain or happiness, bliss or exaltation which one does not know but hopes to experience one day. But even that, if it were vouchsafed, would not be fully satisfactory. From this the Sufi deduces, that in all these four different things that humanity is pursuing after, there is no stage where he can say it is finished - it has no end. Therefore his effort is to rise above these four different desires that humanity has. The moment he rises above these four desires, there comes only one desire, and that desire is the search for truth. Not only Sufis but every person disappointed in this world, who has been through a disillusionment, a suffering or a torture, has this only desire.
The seeker after Truth goes out into the world and he finds so many sects and so many different religions, he does not know where to go. Then the desire is to find out what is hidden under these sects, these different religions; and therefore, he begins to seek that object which he wishes to gain through wisdom. Wisdom is a veil over the Truth; but Wisdom, even, cannot be called the Truth. God alone is Truth and it is Truth that is God. And Truth can be neither studied, nor taught, nor learned; it is to be touched; it is to be realized; and it can be realized by the unfoldment of the heart.
For a Sufi belief in God is not sufficient. A belief which has no foundation underneath is just like a scrap of paper floating in the air; when there is no breeze it will fall to the ground. How many in this world, with all their belief, give it up when there is a strong influence in their surroundings of one who does not believe? If belief is such a thing which can be erased, then what use can this belief be really speaking, it is not only belief; the next step one takes after belief is the love of God. In the one who only believes in God, in him God is not living; in him who loves God, God is living. But even that is not sufficient. For what is human love? The human being is limited; his love is limited.
The more one has seen in the world, the more one knows of human nature, the more one knows of the falsehood of human love. The one who cannot be constant to a human being, who is near him, how can he be true in his love for the Beloved, whom he as never seen? Therefore, even what man calls love of God is not sufficient. What is necessary is the knowledge of God. For it is the knowledge of God which gives the love for God, and it is the knowledge and love for God which gives a perfect belief in God'. No one can have the knowledge of God and have no love for God; but one can have a love for God and no knowledge of God. No one can have the knowledge of God, love for God, and no belief in God; but there can be someone who has a belief in God, but no love for God.
Therefore, for a Sufi, these three stages are necessary for the attainment of his aim in life. In the first place, he attains by his belief, respect for the belief of others. A complete believer is he, who does not only believe in himself, but respects the beliefs of others. For a Sufi, in this world there is no one, neither heathen nor pagan, who is to be despised. For he believes in that God, who is not the God of one chosen sect, but the God of the whole world. He does not believe in a God of one nation, but of all nations. To him God is in all the different houses where people worship Him. Even if they stand in the street and pray, it makes no difference to him; that is the holy place, where he is worshipped. The Sufi leaves sectarianism to the sects. He has respect for all. He is not prejudiced against any, does not despise any; he feels sympathy for all.
The idea of the Sufi is that the one who does not love his fellowman cannot love God. He thinks, as Christ has said, "love your neighbour; love your enemy." And what does it mean? It means not, "love him, because you consider him as your enemy," but "love him, because in God you are related to him." If humanity had believed in this simple and most valuable teaching, these wars would not have taken place. Is it the work of political people, to bring this home to men, or the work of commerce? No, it is the work of the church, of religion. But as long as the religious authorities will make of themselves a sect, and divide religion, and look upon each other with prejudice, this truth, brought by Christ, is not practised.
We must know that every change that takes place in the multitude, in time comes among individuals. For instance, if two nations are against one another, opposed to one another, working to hurt one another, what will be the consequence? The result will be, that in the nations, there will be parties that will oppose each other; and then, there will come the same opposition in families; and you will see, that in time, this spirit will be found in a family of two people--two people living in the same house and both in conflict with each other. And where will it culminate? It will culminate in every individual being in conflict with himself.
Where does the Sufi learn this? He learns it in the wisdom of God. The man who does not recognize God in His Creation never will recognize God in Heaven! It was all right for those simple believers in God and religion, who quietly went to church and said their prayers, and came back with a feeling of exaltation, and did not meddle with the world. But now the conditions have changed. Now there is a great battle between Truth and Life. The illusion of matter is in the fullness of the part it is performing in life. Therefore, there is a greater battle that life is fighting with Truth, than religion has ever had to fight. On one side science cries: matter, matter, matter! On the other side politics are crying: self, self, self-interest! The religions are crying: sect, sect, sect! And where could man stop to think of the ultimate Truth, which is the only thing that the soul seeks?
The Sufi Message, therefore, has its mission, not for a particular race, nor for a particular nation, nor for a particular church. It is the call to unite in wisdom, which is sophia in the Greek words and which we call Sufi. The Sufi Movement is a group of people, belonging to different religions, who have not left their religions but have learned to understand them better; and their love is in life, as the love for God and humanity, instead of for a particular section. The principle work that the Sufi Movement has to accomplish is to bring about a better understanding between East and West and between the nations and races of this world.
And the note that the Sufi message is striking at the present time is the note, which sounds the divinity of the human soul - to make human beings recognize the divinity in the human soul. If there is any moral principle that the Sufi Movement brings, it is this: that the whole humanity is as one body, and any organ of that body, hurt or troubled, can cause trouble to the whole body, indirectly. And as the health of the whole body depends on the health of each part, so the health of the whole humanity depends upon the health of every nation. Besides this, to those who are awakening and feel that now is the moment; when they feel inclined to know about the deeper side of life, of truth; to them the Order extends a helping hand; without asking to what religion, sect, or dogma, they belong. The knowledge of the Sufi is helpful to every person, not only in living his life aright, but in his own religion. The Sufi Movement does not call man away from his belief or church - it calls man to live it. In short, it is a movement intended by God to unite humanity in brotherhood, in Wisdom.
- RENUNCIATION
Renunciation is in fact denial of the self and the denial of that is the one which will be of use. As all things in this world can be used or abused, so the principle of renunciation can be used and abused. If renunciation, as a principle, was a good thing, then there seems to be no purpose at the back of the whole creation. The creation might well not have been manifested if renunciation were the principle. Therefore renunciation in itself is neither virtue nor sin. It becomes a virtue or a sin according to the use we make of it.
When one considers it from the metaphysical point of view one finds that this principle is used as a stair to rise above all things. It is the nature of life in the world that all things we become attracted to, in time become not only ties, but burdens. If we consider life we see it is an eternal journey. The more one is loaded with burdens on one's shoulders, the more the journey becomes heavy. Think how the soul, whose constant desire is to go forward, is daily retained by the ties - continually more burdened. One can see two things: 1. As the soul goes on, it feels as if its feet were chains. 2. At every step that the soul goes forward it is more attracted; it becomes more difficult to go forward.
Therefore all the thinkers and wise who have come to the realization of life have taken renunciation as a remedy. The picture that the sage makes is like the fable of the dog and a piece of bread. The dog carrying a loaf in its mouth came to a pool, saw the bread in the water, thought that the shadow was another dog; howled, barked, and lost his own bread. The more we see our errors in life, our petty desires, the more we find we are not far from the fable of the dog. Think of the national catastrophes of recent times! How these material things of the world, ever changing and not everlasting, have been pulled at and fought for. This shows that man, blinded by material life, disregards the secret hidden things behind life.
When we come to reason out what one must renounce and in what way one must practise renunciation, there is a lesson to be learned. Because no virtue is a virtue if it is forced upon one incapable of it, a person upon whom a virtue is forced, who is forced to renounce, cannot make the right renunciation. No virtue that gives pain is a virtue. If it gives pain, how can it be a virtue? It is called virtue because it gives happiness. That which takes away happiness is never a virtue.
Therefore renunciation is rightly practised by those who understand renunciation and are capable of practising it. For instance, there is a person who has only one loaf of bread. He is travelling in the train, finds somebody hungry, in need of bread. He himself is hungry also, and he has only one piece of bread. If he thinks it is his dharma to give it and starve, and is unhappy about it, he would have done better not to give it, because it has no virtue. If he has done it once, surely he will not do it again next time, because he has suffered by it, as the virtue brought him unhappiness. This virtue will never develop in his character. That person alone is capable of renunciation who finds a greater satisfaction in seeing another with his piece of bread.
The person whose heart if full of happiness after the action, that person alone must make a renunciation. This shows that renunciation is not a thing that can be learned or taught. It comes by itself as the soul develops, when the soul begins to see the true value of all things. All that is valuable to others, a seer soul begins to see otherwise. This shows that all things that we see as precious or not precious, their value is according to the way we look at them. For one person, the renunciation of a penny is too much, for another, that of all he has is nothing.
It depends on how we look at things. All things one renounces in life one rises above. Man is a slave of all the things he has not renounced, of things that he has renounced he becomes king. This whole world can become a kingdom in his hand if a person has renounced it. But renunciation depends upon the evolution of the soul. One who has not evolved spiritually cannot well renounce. For the grownup persons little toys so valuable to children, are nothing. It is easy for them to renounce this. So it is for those who develop spiritually - all things are easy to renounce.
Now we come to the question: how can one progress in this path of renunciation? By becoming able to discriminate between two things, which is the better. A person with the character of the dog in the fable cannot renounce. He loves both things. Life is such that when there are two things before our view, it is demanded of us to lose one of them. It depends upon man's discrimination what to renounce and for what, whether to renounce Heaven for the world, or the world for Heaven, wealth for honour, or honour for wealth, whether to renounce things momentarily precious for everlasting things or everlasting things for things momentarily precious. The nature of life is such that it always shows two things.
Many times it is a great puzzle to choose between two things. Very often one thing is at hand and the other further from reach. It is a puzzle to renounce the one or how to get to the other. Very often man lacks willpower to renounce. It does not require only discrimination between two things, but also willpower to do what we think to do. It is not an easy thing for a man to do in life as he wishes to do. Think how difficult is life! When we ourselves cannot listen to ourselves, how difficult then for others to listen!
Many times one cannot renounce because one's own self cannot listen to one. Renunciation can be learned naturally. One must first train one's sense of discrimination, to discriminate between what is more valuable and what is less valuable. That one can learn by testing it as the gold is tested by the imitation gold. That which lasts for a little time and then turns black is imitation; that which always keeps its colour is real. This shows the value of things can be realized by their constancy. You might ask, "should we not recognize the value of things by their beauty?" Yes. True, we must recognize by beauty, but we must recognize beauty by its lasting.
Think of the difference of price of the flower and of the diamond. The flower with all its fineness, beauty of colour, and fragrance, falls short in comparison to the diamond. The only reason is that the beauty of the flower will fade next day, and that of the diamond will last. This shows a natural tendency. We need not learn it, we are always seeking for beauty, also for that which is lasting. Friendship that does not last, however beautiful, what value is it? Position, honour that does not last, what value? Although man is like the child, running after all that attracts and is always changing, still his soul seeks constancy.
Therefore in learning the lesson of renunciation one can only study one's own nature, what the innermost being is yearning for, to try and follow one's own innermost being. Wisdom comes by this process of renunciation. Wisdom and renunciation both go together - by renunciation man becomes wiser, by being wise, capable of renunciation. The whole trouble in the lives of people in their house, in nation, and everywhere is always the trouble of man's incapacity of renunciation. If civilization can be explained in other words, it is only a developed sense of renunciation which manifests itself in consideration for each other. Every aspect of courtesy, politeness, shows renunciation. When a person offers his seat to another or something that is good, it is renunciation.
Civilization in its real sense is renunciation. The highest and greatest goal that every soul has to reach is God. As everything wants renunciation, that highest goal wants the highest renunciation, although a forced renunciation, even for God, is not proper, not legitimate. Proper renunciation one can see by those who are capable of doing it. There is a story in the Bible of Abraham sacrificing his son. Man today is likely to laugh at some of the ancient stories, reasoning according to his own point of view. But think, how many fathers and mothers have given their children as a sacrifice in this war, for one's nation, one's people, or honour. This shows that no sacrifice can be too great a sacrifice for one's ideal. There is only the difference of ideal, whether it is a material or spiritual ideal, whether for earthly gain or spiritual gain, whether for man or God.
As long as renunciation is practised for spiritual progress, so long it is the right way. As soon as renunciation has become a principle, renunciation is abused. Man, in fact, must be the master of life. He must use renunciation, not go under in renunciation. So it is with all virtues. When virtues control man's life, they become idols. It is not idols we must worship; it is the ideal we must worship in the idol.
- FARID-UD-DIN ATTAR
Farid-ud-din Attar is one of the most ancient poets of Persia, and it is no exaggeration to say that the work of Attar has been the inspiration of Rumi and of many spiritual souls and many poets of Persia. He has pointed out the way to the ultimate aim of life by making a sort of picture in a poetic form, and almost all the great teachers of the world, if ever they have been able to show the right way to seeking souls, always have had to adopt a symbolical form of expression, in the form of the story or legend, that might give the key to one who is to know, and might interest the one who is not yet ready, and therefore both may rejoice, the sleeping one and the one awakened. And this example has been followed by the poets of Persia and India, and especially the Hindustani poets, and they have made their story in such form that it would be acceptable, not only to the seekers after truth, but also to those in all different stages of evolution.
Attar's best-known work is called Mantiq-ut-Tayr, or "The Colloquy of the Birds, from which the idea of the Blue Bird has been taken today. Very few have understood the idea of the Blue Bird, or the "Bird of the Sky." It is a very ancient teaching, through the use of the Persian word 'sky'. This points out that every soul has a capacity which may be called the sky, and this capacity can accommodate the world or the Heaven, whatever it would partake of and hold in itself. When one walks in the crowd, what does one see? One sees numerous faces. I call them various attitudes. All that you see in individuals, all that stands before you, has expression, has atmosphere, has form.
If you call it by one name, it is the attitude; the attitude they have towards life, right or wrong, good or bad, whatever attitude they have, they are themselves that attitude. Does it not show how appropriate is the sky, which means whatever you call it, whatever you may think it? Plainly speaking, whatever one makes of oneself, one becomes that. A source of happiness, or unhappiness, all is in man himself. When he is unaware of this, then he is not able to arrange his life, and as he becomes more acquainted with this secret, he gains mastery, and it is the process with which this mastery is attained, which is the only fulfilment of this life. It is that process which is explained by Attar in his work of the Seven Valleys through which this Bird of the Sky had passed.
The first valley is that of the Quest. How true it is that every child is born with the tendency to search, to know. What we call inquisitiveness or curiosity, it is born in them, and it represents that inner feeling of quest. This shows us that man is born with this, and he cannot be satisfied unless he has arrived at that satisfaction which means searching for that knowledge which he wishes to have. No doubt, what prevents man from gaining that knowledge which his soul is really searching for, is himself. It is his small self always standing against him, keeping him from the search for the only thing which is the seeking of every soul. And therefore it may be safe to say that there is no one in this world who is a worse enemy of man than himself.
In this search one thinks that one must perhaps find out from science, or from art, something which is behind it, and whether through material quest or spiritual, in the end one will arrive, and one must arrive at that goal, which is the goal of every one. The scientists and engineers, people who are absorbed in making a search of material things and never think of spiritual things, even they, after making a great deal of search, they arrive very near to the same knowledge which is the ultimate knowledge, and therefore whatever a man may seem to us, materialist, atheist or agnostic, we cannot call him so, because in the end his goal is the same, his attainment is the same. If he really reaches the depth of knowledge, if he goes far enough, whatever his search he will come to the same goal.
And when one has searched enough and found something satisfactory, still he cannot enjoy that satisfaction unless there is one faculty open, and that is the faculty of love and devotion. Do we not see in our every day life, that people of great intellect and wide interests, very often seem to miss something? When it happens to be a couple where one is very intellectual, the other may feel there is something lacking to make their lives complete, may feel that intellect alone is not enough. What is it? It is the heart which balances life, and the absence of which keeps life dry. It is just like the positive and negative forces. Knowledge and heart. It is these two things which make life balanced.
If the heart quality is very strong and intellect lacking, then also life lacks balance. Knowledge and heart quality must be developed together. And therefore, according to Attar, the faculty of devotion or quality of heart, is the second valley, the Valley of Love; and the third valley is the Valley of Knowledge, the knowledge which illuminates, which comes by the help of the love element and the intellect. It is that knowledge which is called spiritual knowledge. Without a developed love quality man is incapable of having that knowledge. There are fine lights and shades in one's life which cannot be perceived and fully understood without having touched the deeper side of life, which is the devotional side. The person who has not in his life been wholly grateful, he cannot know what it is. He who has not experienced in life humbleness, he does not know its beauty. The one who has not known gentleness, modesty, he cannot appreciate its beauty or recognize it.
No doubt a person of fine qualities is often ridiculed, if he happens to be in a place where it is not understood, where it is a foreign language. This shows there is a fineness in life for which intellect alone is not sufficient. The heart quality must become open. A very intellectual man went to Jami and asked him to take him as his pupil and give him initiation. Jami looked at him and said, "Have you loved anybody?" This man said, "No, I have not loved." Then Jami said, "Go and love first, then come to me and I will show you the way."
Love has its time in every stage of life. As a child, as a youth, as a grownup person, and whatever stage of life one has reached, love is always asked for and love has always its part to perform; whatever situation you are placed in, among friends or foes, among those who understand you, and those who do not, in ease and in difficulty, in all places, at all times, it has its part to perform. And when one thinks, I must not let the principle of love have its way, I must close myself against it, he imprisons his soul. There is only one thing in the world, and that is pure, unselfish love, which shows the sign of Heaven, which shows the divine sign, which gives the proof of God.
For all the noble qualities which are hidden in the soul will spring forth and come to bloom when love helps them and nurtures them. Man may have a great good in him and he may be very intelligent, but as long as his heart is closed, he cannot show that nobleness, that goodness, which is hidden in his heart, and the psychology of the heart is such that once one begins to know the heart, life is a continual phenomenon; every moment of life becomes a miracle; it throws a searchlight upon human nature and all things become so clear to him that he does not ask for any greater phenomenon or miracle; it is a miracle in itself. What they call telepathy, thought reading or clairvoyance, all these things come by themselves, where the heart is open.
If anyone is cold and stiff, he feels within himself as if he were in a grave; he is not living; he cannot enjoy this life, for he cannot express himself; he cannot see the light and life outside: he is in his grave. And what keeps man back from developing the heart quality? His exacting attitude. He wants to make a business of love. He says, "If you will love me, I will love you". As soon as man exacts and measures and weighs his favours, his services and all that he does for one whom he loves, he does not know love. Love sees the Beloved and nothing else. As Rumi says, "Whether you love a human being or you love God, there will come a day when all lovers, either of man or of God, will be brought before the throne of Love and the presence of that only Beloved will reign there." What does this show? In loving our friend, in loving our neighbour, even in the love that one shows to one's enemy, one only loves God. And the one who says, "I love God, but I cannot love man," he does not love God; he cannot. It is like saying, " I love you very much but I do not like to look at you face."
And after this Third Valley, where the knowledge of human nature and of the fine feelings which are called virtues, is attained, the next step is what is called in the English language "annihilation." But what we call destruction or annihilation is nothing but change. Neither substance, nor form, nor spirit, nothing is absolutely destroyed; it is only changed. But man does not like sometimes to change. He does not know that he cannot live without it. There is not one single moment of our life that change does not come; whether you accept it or not, the change is there.
Destruction or annihilation or death might seem a very different change, and yet there are a thousand deaths we die. Every disappointment, the moment when our heart breaks, is worse than death. Often our experiences through life are worse than death, yet we go through them. At the moment they seem unbearable; we think we cannot stand it, and yet we live. If after dying a thousand deaths, we still live, there is nothing in the world to be afraid of. It is man's delusion, his own imagination, he makes it dreadful to himself. Can anyone kill life? If there is any death, it is for death; life will not die.
Someone went to a Sufi with a question; he said, "I have been puzzling for many, many years and reading in books and have not been able to find a definite answer, tell me, what happens after death?" The Sufi said, "Please ask that question of someone who is going to die. I am going to live." The principle is that there is one sky, which is your own being. It is like the sky. In other words, you call it accommodation. And who has taken possession of this accommodation? A deluded ego which says, I. It is deluded by this body and mind and has called itself 'individual.' When a man has a ragged coat he says, "I am poor." In realty his coat is poor, not he. What this capacity contains, that becomes his knowledge, his realization, and that limits him, forms that limitation which is the tragedy of every soul.
Now, this capacity may either be filled with self or it may be filled with God. There is only place for one. Either we live with our limitation, or let God reign there in His unlimited being. In other words, we take away the home which always belonged to someone else and fill it with delusion and call it our own, and not only call it our own, but call it ourself. That is man's delusion, and all religion and philosophical teachings are given to rid man of this delusion, which deprives him of his spiritual wealth.
Spiritual wealth is the greatest wealth, spiritual happiness is the only happiness; there is no other happiness. Once a person is able to disillusion himself, he arrives at the stage described in the Fourth Valley. The Valley of Non-Attachment, and he is afraid. He thinks, "How can I give my home to someone else, even if it is God? This is my body, my mind, my home, my individuality. How can I give it away, even to God?" But in reality, it is not something he can rely upon. It is delusion from top to toe, and subject to destruction.
Does anything stand above destruction? Nothing. Then why fear to think for the moment that it is nothing? That natural fear of man comes because he is unaccustomed to face reality. He is so used to dreams, that he is afraid of reality. There is a fear in the minds of people of losing themselves, but they do not know that it is not the losing of oneself. It is losing illusion. And really, they will find themselves when they lose this illusion. In this illusion, one has lost one's soul, and the process is to come out of it, to rise above it.
When the Fifth Valley, The Valley of Unity, is reached, by that time one has disillusioned one's self, and it is that act which is called in the Bible 'rebirth,' when the soul has become disillusioned; it is the birth of the soul. There is the birth of the body and the birth of the soul. And how does this birth of soul express itself? What does one feel? It first expresses itself in a kind of bewilderment with great joy. His interest in life increases, all that he sees, he enjoys. He concerns himself little, but wonders at all things. The bewilderment is such that it is a wonderful amusement to look at life. The whole world becomes to him a kind of stage, full of players. He then begins to amuse himself with the people of this world, as one might play with children and yet not be concerned with what they do, for he expects no better. If children do something different from the parents, they are not much concerned; they know it is the stage of the child's life and one cannot expect any better of them. So with this man, likes and dislikes, favour and disfavour, they interest him, but do not concern him.
And there is another stage. This bewilderment brings him to see the someone reflected who has taken possession of his heart. To see his Beloved in everyone, even in his enemy. The beloved is seen in all things. The bowl of poison given by the Beloved is not so bitter. Those who have sacrificed themselves and suffered for humanity, such as Christ, they have given to the world an example showing a soul that has reached the stage where even the enemy appears before the eyes of the God-conscious, as friend, as his Beloved. And it is not an unattainable stage, because the soul is made of love, it is going toward the perfection of love. All the virtues man has learned, love has taught him. Therefore this world of good and bad, thorns and flowers, becomes nothing but a placed of splendour.
The Sixth Valley, The Valley of Amazement, is the valley where he recognizes and understands what is behind things, the reason of all reasons, the cause of all causes, for all intuition and power develop in man with the unfoldment. And the Seventh Valley, The Valley of Realization of God, is the peace which every Soul is looking for, whether the spiritual or material, seeking from morning until night for something which will give him peace. To some souls, that peace comes when asleep. But for the God-conscious, that peace becomes his home. No sooner has he closed his eyes, no sooner has he relaxed his body and stilled his mind, and lost from his consciousness the limited, he begins to float in the unlimited spheres.
- FATE AND FREE WILL
This is the subject which comes in the mind of every intelligent person. Very often a person asks himself if it is fate which governs his life or if it is his freewill. And there is one temperament that takes one point of view and there is another temperament that takes the other point of view. And when the people of these two opposite points of view meet together and discuss, they have a thousand reasons to give support to their own argument. For instance, the man who thinks that fate governs life, he can find a thousand reasons by examining his own life, by looking at the life of another; when we think of the mystery behind what we call coincidence, when one finds the secret of what one calls accident, and when one finds the times in life when success comes continually, other times when failure follows failure.
Besides that, when a person has perhaps a pain there are a thousand other pains attracted; often it happens that in a week's time a person has heard from several places bad news, and there are times when in one day's time perhaps from many corners good news comes. If a person wishes to see the truth behind what one calls fate, there are a thousand reasons. For instance, is it always the qualified who is successful? Not always, very often quite the contrary. And you will find a businessman, very little he knows about his business, but every move he makes there is a success. And there is another man, perhaps he has learned and experienced and understood business, and yet he tries all his life, success is never there.
And when we come to think about the point of view of those who think that there is freewill, there is no such thing as fate, we can give a thousand arguments in support of their idea also. There are many in this life who are lazy and inactive, and they will always say, it is because of my fate that things go wrong, there is no use in taking any step, they remain where they are. Besides, the person who has the chance to attain either health or wealth or power or rank or position, learning or wisdom, it is all attained by effort, by hope. One finds in the lives of individuals, as well as of the people collectively, that those who make the effort to advance, there is the advance. In support of the idea, of the belief, of the fatalist one may quote a saying of the English language that, "where there is a will, there is a way."
Now a question arises in the mind of an intelligent person, "then which to believe, the point of view of a fatalist, or the point of view of those who believe in freewill?" And we come to a mystical point of view, both are right, and yet both lack the complete idea. It is like the blind people, after having seen the elephant by touching. One day some blind people were allowed to see the elephant. As they could not see, they went near to the elephant and touched it, and, coming together, they began to dispute and fight. One had felt that the trunk was the elephant, the other had felt its leg to be the elephant. When the argument went still further there came a fight of fists; and only someone who had seen the elephant, he said, "my friends, both are right, only that you have seen part of the elephant, I have seen the whole."
The mystical point of view comes from the study of life, from the observation of life. The nature of creation is such that not only every object is an object, but even every person is an object. A chair is made to sit upon, and a table is made to write upon, and so every object is made for a certain purpose, and so there is a purpose in the life of every individual. Of course, a person would be offended if he was told that he is a thing, not a being. But one must know that a soul begins its life as a thing. As every thing, every object, is affected by the climate and the weather has its influence upon every object, so on human beings.
Then what appeals to the human senses, what appeals to the sense and what deludes man, what makes him intoxicated, all these things show that man is, so to speak, an object which is used by conditions. Where does a sorrow come from, where does a joy come from in life; and then depression and fear, doubt and confusion? In all these man shows that he is the instrument which is handled by the whole life, by all conditions. But this is one part of his life. But the next part of his life is that when man begins to distinguish, and when man has choice, and when man can attract or repel by his power, there is something, a new life, developed in man. And what does this life represent in man?
It represents heaven. The sense of distinction, and the sense of desire, the sense of attaining, and the power, together with it, of attaining, all this shows the heritage man has from heaven. The heritage that man has from the earth makes man a thing, the heritage that man has from heaven makes him a being. Then what does fate belong to? Fate belongs to the heritage in man, the heritage which he has from earth. And to what part of man's being does freewill belong? It belongs to heaven, for it is from God. It is not only that the weather and the conditions affect one and have their influence upon him, but also man is a tool in the hands of planetary influences, in the hands of visible and invisible influence. And therefore the more heritage from earth he has, and the more he holds to the heritage he has from earth, the more helpless he is and the more subject to fate.
- THE HEART QUALITY
There are people who look at life through their brain, and there are others who look at life through their heart; and the point of view of these two persons has a vast difference; so much difference that something that one can see on the earth the other sees in heaven, something that one sees as small the other sees as great, something that one sees as limited the other sees the unlimitedness of it. These two persons become opposite poles.
It is like one looking at the sky, the other looking at the earth. And no one will admit that, "I look at things with my head." For everyone will say, "I look at life with my heart." The best person in the world will say, "I have not yet learned to look at life from the heart. I would like to know it. I would like to learn it." One might say that there are emotional and devotional people flying in the clouds, there are others with reason and logic standing on the earth. Yes, it is true. But, in the first place, angels ride on clouds. If the soul has angelic quality the clouds are its sphere, not the earth.
But one says, "where is the place of practicality in life?" Yes, but what one calls in everyday life practicality; and what one is very careful about, what is it and how long does it last, what is it worth? No doubt it is true that man is born on earth to bear the weight of this physical body, with its needs, a roof over his head and a piece of bread to sustain it. And if that is all there is to think about, man is making a great mistake, if he devotes his life to what he calls practicality, practical life, and never thinks of heavenly treasure that is hidden in the heart of man.
The heart of man is likened to water. Either it is frozen, then it is snow; or it is water, then it is liquid. When it is frozen it has turned into a crystal, when it is liquid it will be in running order. It is natural for water to be running. And there are two principal kinds of water, that is the salt water and there is the sweet water. The sea, which is quite contented in itself, indifferent to everything else, has salt water, because it is independent of anything else. It gives health, happiness, and pleasure to those who go around it, because it represents perfection and asks nothing of anyone.
It is rising and falling within itself, it is independent, it is immense, and in that way it shows perfection. But with that independent perfection its water is not sweet. The ascetic who has closed his heart with the perfection of God and with the realization of Truth, is like the sea, independent, indifferent to all things. His presence heals people, his contact gives them joy, gives them peace, and yet his personality is uninteresting, as the water of the sea is salt water. And when the sea is calm it is a pleasure to travel on it; and when the sea is rough there is no worse illness than seasickness.
And there is a powerful mind, a mind of a soul that has touched perfection, it is with tranquillity and calmness and peace that the mind gives everyone a way into it as the sea lays itself before those who journey into the sea, with open heart. Ships and boats pass through, those who journey enjoy their travelling on the sea. But when the sea is disturbed, with the wind, by the storm, it is perfect in its annoyance. It can shake the boats and steamers, and so that mind of the sage can have effect upon all things in nature, it can cause volcanic eruptions, it can cause disasters, revolutions, all manner of things, when once its tranquillity is disturbed.
Knowing this nature of the heart, and knowing the great powers that a man who has touched Divine perfection possesses, the people of the East regard closely the pleasure and displeasure of the sage. They think to annoy a sage is like annoying the whole nature, to disturb his tranquillity is to shake the whole universe. Because a storm in the sea is a very small thing - the heart that has touched perfection, if once upset, can upset the whole universe.
But the water of the river is sweet. It is sweet because it is attracted to the sea; it is longing to reach the sea. The river represents a loving quality, a quality that is seeking for the object that it loves. A heart that loves God and his perfection is likened to the river that seeks the sea. It is therefore that the personality of the seeker is more pleasant that the personality of the one who is contented with what he knows.
There is little danger in travelling on the river, there is a great joy in swimming in the river, and there is a fine scenery to look at around the river. And so it is with the personality which is like the river. That running of the feeling of sympathy, that continual running sympathy, means a living sympathy. It helps the trees and plants and the earth that is around it. And so is the kind, sympathetic person whose feeling is liquid, that everywhere that person goes he takes with him that influence which nourishes, which helps souls to flourish and progress.
And there is a little stream, sometimes, that runs, which is not a river, it is a small stream, running; and it is even more beautiful to look at. For it expresses modesty, it expresses fineness of character; it expresses beauty; for always the water of a little stream is pure. The little stream expresses the nature of an innocent heart: the heart that is innocent, the heart that cannot be prevented from being sympathetic, from being loving, by any experiences of the world that make the water turn bitter. The bitter experience has not touched it, and it is pure and clear. It inspires poets, it uplifts a composer, it quenches the thirst of the thirsty one, it is an ideal spot for a painter to paint. With its modesty it has purity, and with its purity it has life.
And then there is the water in a little pool, a little pool of water. It is sometimes muddy, sometimes dirty. Why? Because of its narrowness, it is small. In this way narrowness of heart has always in it mud. Because it is narrow and because it is not deep enough, therefore all the elements of the earth come into it and take away its purity. But then there is the water of a large pool, where water lilies grow, where little fishes swim, where the sun is reflected and where moonlight produces a visible vision, where one would like to sit and look at it, because it expresses to everyone that sees it, the liquid nature of the heart, the heart that is not frozen, the heart that has water. It is still, it is calm. It is something that can make one's heart tranquil to sit by its side. You can see in it your reflection, for it is calm, it is tranquil.
The water of the spring is most healing and most inspiring, because it comes from above and falls to the earth. That is the character of the inspirational mind. The heart that springs, that like a spring pours water in the form of inspiration, be it in poetry, be it in music, in whatever form, it has beauty, it has healing quality. It can take away all the worries and anxieties and difficulties and troubles of those who come to it, as the water of the spring. It does not only inspire but it heals.
And there is the fountain that rises and falls in so many drops. This is man-made, and so personality is man-made also. When man has made a personality then through that personality the feeling that rises in the heart is like the fountain. Each drop falling from it comes in the form of a virtue. But the water that rises from the sea towards the sky in the form of vapour represents the aspiration of the heart.
The heart that spires upwards, that heart wishes to reach upwards, that heart shows the quality of vapour. It is the heart of the devotee, it is the heart of the seeker, it is the heart of the one who is always conscientious of seeking the higher ideal, touching the higher principles. In the form of clouds that heart of inspiration forms itself, and pours down, just like the rain bringing the celestial beauty in the form of art or poetry, in the form of music, in the form of anything that is good and beautiful.
There are hearts which have been impregnated by the fire for a long, long time, and there comes a sulphur water from them, purifying and healing, for it has gone through fire, it has gone through a suffering, and therefore those who suffer, it heals them. There are hearts with many different qualities, like different waters with chemical substances; those who have suffered, those who have gone through patience, those who have contemplated. They all represent one or the other kind of the water that heals, and so are personalities. Persons who had deep experiences of any kind, of suffering, of agonies, of love, of hate, of solitude, of association, of success, of failure, they all have a particular quality, a quality which has a particular use for others.
And when one knows this, one will come to this conclusion that, "whatever has been my life's destiny, my heart has prepared a chemical substance through sorrow or pain, through joy or through pleasure, a chemical substance that is for some certain purpose for humanity and that, I can only give that substance for the use of humanity if I can keep my heart watered and open." Once it is closed, once it is frozen, once it has turned from hot to stone, the person is no longer living. It does not matter what the person has gone through, for even the worst poison can be of some use. There is no person therefore, however wicked, who is of no use, if only he knew that the condition of being useful to humanity is only one, and that is to keep the heart open.
Apart from all other things, when we come to spiritual attainment, it is something we can never absorb through the head; it is something that can only be received from the heart. Let two persons, one with the heart and the other with head listen to the teachings of a teacher. One will be thinking, "is it so, or is it not so, or how is it, if it is so? How can it be? And if it is, why is it?" And there is never an end to the 'why.'
And another person will listen with his heart; and both things, logic and reason, are at his disposal, but at the same time they are not troubling him. His heart is open, he listens to it and the quality of the heart is such that whatever falls upon it, upon an open heart becomes revealed instantly. Remember, when one says, "I cannot understand you," it is just like saying, "I have my heart closed to you." There is no other reason for not understanding, that is the only reason. And when one says, "I have understood it all," that means the heart was open; that is why the person has understood.
Therefore understanding does not depend upon the head; it depends upon the heart. By the help of the head one can make it more clear, it becomes intelligible, one can express it better. But it must begin; it must come from the heart, not from the head. Besides, a person with head says, "Yes, it must be so because I think so." The person with heart says, "It is so because I believe so." That is the difference. In one person there is a doubt, in the other there is a conviction. There is one thing, a word which is very difficult to translate, that word is called Iman in the Eastern language. It is not exactly faith, belief, the nearest word one can find for it is conviction, a conviction that cannot be changed by anything, a conviction that does not come from outside. One always seeks for conviction - will anybody convince me or will this thing convince me?
Nothing convinces, nobody convinces. Conviction is something that comes from one's own heart, and it is something that stands above faith and belief; because belief is the beginning of the same thing, faith is the development of it, conviction is the culmination of belief. What is spiritual attainment? Spiritual attainment is conviction. A man may think, "Perhaps it is so." He may think about the best doctrines, or about the highest idea there is, and he will think, "It is so, perhaps." But there is 'perhaps' attached to it. But then there is another person who cannot use the word 'perhaps,' because he does not think about it. He cannot say, "It may be so," when he knows that it is so. When a person arrives at the stage when the knowledge of reality becomes his conviction, then there is nothing in the world that will change it. And if there is anything to be attained to, it is that conviction that one can never find in the outside world, it must rise from the bottom of one's own heart.
- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WILL, WISH, AND DESIRE
Will is the development of the wish. When one says that it was Divine Will, it means it was a command - a wish developed into action. When the wish becomes action, it becomes will - it becomes a command. One might think it is only his wish, but it is wish as long as it is still; it is there, it has not sprung up; it is inactive, just like a seed in the ground; it is wish. But the moment the seed from the ground is coming out as a seedling, and it is in the process of becoming a plant, then it is a will. Therefore, these two different names are the names of the same thing, the same thing in its undeveloped state and the same thing in its process of development.
And now, I would like to explain what I mean by desire. It is a weaker, or primitive state of the wish. When an idea, a thought is not yet made clear in one's own mind, that one's own mind has not taken a decision, that, "it must be so," that, "I would like it to be so," then it is a desire, it is a fancy. It comes and it goes, and a person does not care. But when that desire is a little more developed, then it is a wish. Then it stays there; then it does not go away like the clouds. It is tangible, it is there, and yet it is not fulfilled, because for the fulfilment it must develop.
Now there are some in this world, who say, "All my life I had bad luck. The bad luck was this: never in my life was my wish granted." They can also very easily imagine that there was a spirit against them, or God was against them, or the Stars were against them, or something which was keeping back their wish. But it is not always so! In the first place, God wishes the same which we wish. If God wished differently from our wish we could not worship that God, who was always against us. It is not so! Besides, there is no benefit in opposing the wish of man; there is no advantage in doing so, to God.
No doubt, there are planetary reasons; there are reasons of the universe working; there are reasons of the cosmos that oppose the wish. And they say in English, "man proposes, God disposes." God is put in the place of cosmic forces. But God, with His mercy and compassion, never has a desire to oppose anyone's wish. God apart; a good-hearted man would never like to oppose anyone's wish; he would do anything possible to make anybody's wish complete, to make a person's wish come true. But what mostly happens is that man proves to be the worst enemy of his own desire, for many reasons.
There is one reason: that he is never sure what he desires. Out of a hundred persons you will find one who knows what he desires. But ninety-nine say, "Do I desire or do I not desire? I do not know. I think I desire, but I do not know if I desire." Ninety-nine percent among mankind is in this condition. They really do not know if they desire. One day they say, "yes, I do," another day they say, "no, I do not think I desire." Therefore, the desire is decomposed in the unclearness of mind. Then, there are others who analyse their desire and they analyse it till they have broken it to pieces.
There are many analytical people who have all through their life destroyed their desires by analysing. And there is a third kind of people who have adopted a passive attitude. They say it is a sin to desire, and yet, they cannot be without a desire. And in this passive attitude they say, "Well, I will not desire;" they have crossed the desire that was there. And there is a fourth kind of people, who desire something, but by the lack of concentration they cannot turn their desire into a wish, but he goes so far and no further. But the wish must be developed into the will.
So the desire is not put through so to speak, and there never comes a culmination to the desire. Now this is a subject which is of the greatest importance in the life of every person in the world. No person in the world can exist in the world without wishing for something. And if there is a person who has no wish, he need not stay in the world. He must go out in the mountains, somewhere outside the world; he must not be in the crowd, he cannot exist there; and even there he should turn into a tree or a rock, in order to exist, because to be a living being without a wish is impossible.
The difference between persons high and low is according to the wish they have. One wishes for the earth, the other wishes for the heaven. The desire of the one takes one to the height of spiritual progress, and the desire of the other takes him to the depth of the earth. Man is great or small; man is wise or foolish; man is on the right road or on the wrong road, according to the desire he has.
And now, in coming to the question of the opposing forces, there is according to the Sufi Kasa and Kadr. Kasa is a universal will, universal power; Kadr is the individual will, and the individual power. No doubt, the individual power, in comparison to the universal power, is like a drop compared to the sea. In cannot stand against the sweeping waves of the sea that come and destroy it. Nevertheless, the drop, being of the same source as the sea, it has also a certain amount of strength and individual will to hold it against opposing forces. But if we come to make it more clear, the individual will and the universal will--it is in small things that we can make it clear.
A person who is walking in the street, and says, "I feel hungry, I should go in a restaurant, and have a meal." Now that is individual will. And a person goes in the street and sees a poor man, and he says, "Ah, this man, he seems to be poor. He must have something. Can I not do something for him? I want to see him happier looking." As soon as he thinks for the good of another person, at once his will becomes the universal will. The reason is that the boundary that limits the will of an individual is the thought of self. As soon as one has forgotten the thought of self, as soon as one thinks of another, that boundary breaks and the will becomes stronger. Those Masters of humanity, those who have been able to do great things in the world, where did they get their will? It was their own will which was extended by the breaking of the boundaries of the thought of self. I do not mean that one must give up the thought of self, that one must never think of oneself, never think of one's lunch and dinner. The self is there; one has to think about it. But at the same time, in order to expand, in order to let the will grow, the more one forgets oneself, the more one is helped.
There are some who take the path of resignation, neither doing good for themselves nor doing good for another. They say it is a kind of attitude they take - it will come from somewhere, or somebody will do it. If I am hungry someone will come and feed me, or if another person is in need, somebody will come and help him. Their wish is inactive, they do not let their wish become a will; they remain there -they are passive. No doubt, an intelligent passiveness and resignation, also, can bring about a wonderful result. But many of them do it intellectually. The quality of the saints is to be resigned to all that comes; but then, they do not even make a wish. They take all that comes, flowers and thorns, everything that comes, they take it. They look into thorns, and see that they are flowers. With praise and with blame they are contented. They are contented with the rise and fall; they take all that comes; they take life as it is. That is the intelligent way of doing it. The unintelligent way of doing it is: that anything that is difficult one says, "Somebody will come and do it." It is laziness - it is a kind of laziness.
They might think that it is passiveness, but it is laziness, when one has to do something, if one thinks somebody will come and do it. As in India there is a saying that a man was lying under the cherry tree and some ripe cherries were falling near him but he was lying. There was a man who came from a distance, and he called out, "Please come here. Will you please put this cherry in my mouth?" There are many to be found like this. It comes only by a feeling of helplessness, laziness. They give in, they have no enthusiasm, they have no courage! In that way the will power is broken down, and in the end they are helpless. Although both become resigned, the one is not resigned; he would like the cherry in his mouth, but the other must give it to him. The saint does not care if he eats it, or if he does not eat it; it is just the same to him. In that case it is allowable.
Then, there are others who are over-anxious for their wish to come true. It destroys their wish because of the greater strength, the pressure they put upon their wish. It is just like guarding a plant against the sun and the water, the very thing which should help it grow; if one guards against it then the plant cannot grow. The same thing is true with the wish. If one says, this is my wish and it must come true. No one must think about it. No one must look at it. He is always afraid; perhaps this will not come true. That person is eager. Then he is thinking with doubt, and fear, and suspicion. Therefore, he will destroy his own wish.
And again, there is a person who is willing to sacrifice anything or to persevere as much as it requires for even a small wish, which he does not value very much when it comes to value. And yet he gives every thought and he does everything in his power to make that wish come true. That person is taking the same path as the path of the Master. He must have a success, and it is success which brings success. If once a person is successful, the success attracts success. Once a person fails, then the failure attracts failure. For the same reason, that if one is on the path of accomplishment, each accomplishment gives him greater power to go forward; as when a person is on the path going downwards, then every step leads him downwards.
And now, the question: which desire and wish one must give up and which one must rear. One must have discrimination. If there is no discrimination, then one will take a wrong way. If one reared every desire and wish, and thought this must be accomplished, then sometimes it may be right and sometimes not right. The discrimination must first be developed in order to understand what leads one to happiness, a lasting happiness, a greater peace, a higher attainment. But once a person has a discrimination and one has chosen a wish, then do not analyse it too much.
Many have formed a habit of analysing everything, everyday. If a person holds a wish for ten years, if every day in his mind he analyses, he is against it; he looks at it from a new point of view; he tries to find the wrong point of his own wish and tries to crush it in every way possible. In ten years time his wish should come true but it is broken into pieces. There are many intellectual people, many people with doubt, many analytical persons, who are the greatest enemies of their wish.
Now there comes a question, "If a person expressed his wish in prayer, is it wrong?" Because many say that God knows everything, why must you tell God that such and such thing should be done? God knows the secret of every heart. Besides, is it not selfish, many ask, to bring our wish before God? If it was a good wish it must come true by itself." The answer is that prayer is a reminder to God. Prayer is a song sung before God who enjoys it, who hears it, who is reminded about something. But one thinks, "How can our prayer, our little voice, reach God?" It reaches God through our ears - God is within us. If our soul can hear our voice, God can hear it too.
The prayer is the best way because the wish is beautifully put, which harmonizes one with God, which brings about a greater relationship between man and God. And then one asks, "is it good to think about the wish one has?" I say one can never think too many times about the wish one has. Dream about, and think about it, and imagine, and keep it in mind, and retain it in mind, and do everything possible towards its fulfilment; but with poise, with tranquillity, with patience, with confidence, with ease, and not by thinking hard. The one who thinks hard about his wish destroys it, because it is just like over-heating or too much water on a plant.
The very thing which will help it, destroys it. If a person worries about his wish, he certainly has no patience, or has some fear or some doubt; all these things destroy wish. Wish must be cherished easily, with comfort, with hope, with confidence, and with patience. Doubt is like rust to the wish, it eats it; and fear is still worse, it destroys it. And when a person has no discrimination, and one is not sure whether it is a right wish or wrong, whether it should come or not, one day: "I should so much like it to come," another day he says, "I do not care if it comes;" after a week he says: "I wish it so much to come;" and after a month he says: "oh, I do not care now." It is just like making a fire and then putting it out and making a fire and again putting it out and extinguishing it. Therefore, every time he extinguishes the fire, it is gone; he will have to make it anew. And if for ten years he has cherished it, made that wish, each time it is broken, he has to make it anew.
And now, coming to the question, what wish is the most desirable to make? It depends upon one's own stage of evolution. A person who is only so much evolved that he can make no greater wish than the need of his daily life, he should do it. He must not think that because it is the need of daily life that it is nothing; I must wish for something higher. He must not think that, if he thinks that his heart is inclined to the need of daily life, he must not think of it first. But if his heart thinks, "No, I cannot think about it. I can think of something much higher, than this," then he must take the consequences of it.
The consequence will be that he will have to undergo a test and a trial; and if he does not mind, so much the better. There are many things in this world, which we want and which we need, and yet we do not necessarily think about them. If they come it is alright; and if they do not come, we feel for the time uncomfortable, but that feeling goes away. We cannot put our mind and thought upon them, if we are evolved, because if we are evolved we think of something else; we think of something higher; our thought is evolved in something much higher, greater than what we need in everyday life that slips from our grasp.
And it is therefore, that great poets, thinkers, and saints, were very often hard up of the things that one could get in everyday life. With all the power that they could command gold to come to their house and all the gold would come to their house; they have only to command. If they command that the army come to my power, it would come; anything they would command, it would come with their command. Yet they cannot put their mind to it, they can only wish something which is equal to their particular evolution. So each person can wish for something equal to his evolution, he cannot wish properly something which is beneath his evolution, even if he was told.
Very often, in order to help a person in his present situation, I have told the person, "now think of this particular object," but the person, being much more evolved, has thought with his brain, his heart was somewhere else, and so it never comes true. One can give one's heart and mind and whole being to something which is equal to one's evolution. If not equal, one cannot give one's whole being to it, maybe he gives his thought to it. What is thought? Thought without feeling has no power. If there is not the soul and spirit at the back of it, there is no power. So this must be understood, that our wish must be different from what we need in everyday life. Never mix it! Always think that what we need in everyday life is one thing, it is something practical, if it be our wish, then it is alright. And then cherish it, to maintain our wish as something sacred, something given to us by God to cherish, to bring it to fulfilment. That it is in the fulfilment of one's highest and best and deepest wish that there lies the purpose of life.
- THE POWER OF THOUGHT
There are some who by life's experience have learned that thought has some power, and there are others who wonder sometimes if thought really has some power. But there are many who listen to this subject with a preconceived idea that if ever thought had a power it has its limits. But if I were to give my candid opinion on the subject I would consider that it is no exaggeration if I said the thought has a power which is unimaginable. And in order to find proof of this idea we do not have to go very far. All that we see in this world is but a phenomenon of thought. We live in it and we see it, morning till evening, and the very thing we doubt is so. The less a person believes in the power of thought the more positive he thinks, he stands on the earth. Nevertheless, he, consciously or unconsciously is feeling his limitation, and he is searching for something that will give him strength in his belief in thought.
Thought can be divided into five different aspects: imagination, thought, dream, vision, and materialization. Imagination is that action of mind which is automatic. From morning till night either a person is working, or if he is resting his mind he is working just the same on imagination. It is the automatic thinking, what it produces is called imagination. And then we come to the word thought. Thought is that thinking which is thought with a willpower behind it. And in this way we distinguish between the imaginative and the thoughtful. And therefore these two persons cannot be confused, for one is imaginative, which means a powerless thinking, automatic thinking, the other is thoughtful, whose thinking is powerful.
And now coming to the question of what we call vision. In order to make it simple I would explain vision that state of dream which one experiences in the wakeful state. A person who is imaginative or a person who is capable to imagine is capable of making a thought. And when this thought which he has created becomes an object upon which his mind is focussed then all else becomes hidden to him, only that particular imagination that stands before him as a picture. No doubt the effect of this vision is greater than the effect of dream. The reason is that this imagination which can stand before one's mind in one's wakeful state is naturally more strong than the imagination which was working in one's state of sleep.
But then the fifth aspect is materialization of thought, and it is in the study of this subject that we find the greatest secret of life. No doubt you can make a person convinced by telling him that: is it not by the architect's imagination that the beautiful building is built? Is it not by the gardener's imagination that a beautiful garden is made? But when it comes to matter, and all things that spring from matter then man begins to wonder how far imagination or thought has a power upon it. Nowadays, as psychology is beginning to spread throughout the Western world people would at least patiently listen to what it is.
But otherwise there are many who would with a great belief take a medicine, but if they are told that a thought can cure you, they will smile at it. And this shows that with all the progress that humanity seems to have made it has gone back in one direction, and that direction is the higher thought, the elevated thought. For man today generally disbelieves in thought, and still less believes in what he calls emotion. And in point of fact if there is a soul to be found in the thought, that soul is the feeling which is at the back of it.
What convinces a thought is the power behind it, and that power consists of feeling. The general tendency is to wave off what is called imagination; that person imagines means that person amuses himself. When a person says, O, you think it, but it does not exist in reality, you think it, but in reality when one has imagined, that imagination is created and what is once created exists. And what is thought that exists and that lives longer because thought is more powerful than imagination. And what man today calls sentimentality, which means nothing; in this way he ignores that power which is the only power and the greatest power that exists.
It is with this power that the heroes have conquered battles, and it is with this power that if anyone has accomplished a great thing in the world it is with the power of heart that he has accomplished it, not with the power of brain. The music of the most beautiful composers, and the poetry of the greatest poets of the world have come from the bottom of their heart. It has not come from their brain. And if we close the doors for sentimentality, for imagination, and for thought, that only means that we close the doors for life to come in.
And now I come to the fancies and fantasies. Perhaps if not all some of you have read the stories of Fakirs, and Dervishes in the East. Perhaps you have read them as a novel, or perhaps they have been exaggerated in some way in order to make the book more beautiful. Nevertheless, it asks your attention to study the matter a little more and to understand something of a race, a nation who has for so many thousands of years devoted itself at the sacrifice of the whole life for thought. There exists perhaps in every little district, in every little village a man who is called the healer of the scorpion sting. And in the heat, as it is in India, in every house a scorpion is found, especially in the time of summer.
And it is not seldom that a child or grownup person is stung by a scorpion, and the sting is something very poisonous and very painful. But in spite of all that there are healers, and several of them. And sometimes there is a healer who says, "you are cured, it is gone." And immediately the person is well. And then we come to the sting of the snakebites. That the poison of the serpent is such that hardly a person lives after a serpent bite. There are some who by the passing of their hands have cured it. There are some, by saying, it is cured, they have cured. And then I will tell you my own experience once that there was a Dervish to whom a person came and said, "there is a case going to be in the court next week." And he said, "I am so poor that I cannot even have a lawyer to speak for me. And the other person being rich, he will use every influence and I am without it." And that Dervish said, "Tell me what is the condition." And after hearing it he said, "As you are not found guilty in this I dismiss the case." He told him to go simply, all will be well. When the man went to the court and he was asked by the judge everything, at the end the judge wrote exactly the same words that the Dervish said.
If I were to give any explanation, words fail to speak about it. Only this can be said, that the heart of the judge for this Dervish was just like a receptive machine of the wireless telegraphy. The great seer and mystic of Persia, Jelal-ud-din Rumi, he says, that fire, water, earth, and ether are dead things to those who see in them no person. But before the creator they are all living beings. They are his obedient servants. And the great thinker of the Hindus says in Sanskrit language that, this whole creation is the dream of Brahma, meaning the creator.
And now I come to Sufism. What do Sufis think of the idea of the creator and the creation? A Sufi sees both the creator and the creation in man. The limited part of man's being is the creation, and the innermost part of his being is the creator. And if that is true, then man is limited and man is unlimited both. If he wished to be limited he can be more and more limited. If he wished to be unlimited he can be more and more unlimited. If he cultivated in himself the illusion of being a creation he can be more and more that; but if he cultivated in himself the knowledge of the creator he can be more and more that.
Every kind of weakness, every kind of illness, every kind of misery, the more one gives in to it the more it comes upon one's back. And one goes into it even to such an extent sometimes the whole world falls on his back, and he is buried under it. And there is another person who gets out of it. It may be difficult, but at the same time it is possible. Little by little, gradually, but with courage and patience he can get out of it, and stand upon the same world which would have otherwise crushed him under it. The former thing is going down, the latter thing is coming up.
Both things depend upon the attitude of our mind, and it is to change this attitude that is the principal thing in life, from a material point of view, from a spiritual point of view. All that is taught in the Sufi esoteric studies and practices is to gain that mastery little by little, gradually, in order to arrive at that fulfilment which is called mastery. But you will say, it is a great struggle. But I will answer, the struggle is in both ways, in coming down and in going up, in both ways there is a struggle. It is just as well to struggle and come up instead of struggling and going down. And whenever a person goes down it only means that he is feeble in his thought. And why is he feeble in his thought? Because he is weak in his feeling. If feeling protects thought, and if thought stands firm, whatever be the difficulty in the life of man, it will be surmounted.
- EAST AND WEST
In order to distinguish East from West, it is natural that I shall give the points where they differ. Now the points that differ, if we thought about them more, we shall say the same thing as the great English poet has said, that: "East is East, and West is West, and they can never meet." I should like to first give those points which prove his saying true. The idea is that the people in the East, in all ages, had one object in view, and that object was to get in touch with the deeper side of life. Some came sooner to that point, some later; some had to struggle along, and for some it was easy. But, naturally, to the wise and foolish with the outer world there was less contact.
By this I do not mean to say that there are not people who love wealth and all that belongs to the earth. There are earth worshippers in all places, and there are hell worshippers in all places. It is just talking about the generality. Now, for instance, if you go among the most learned people in the East, they will show their great learning and knowledge about things, about silence and about art, but at the same time you will find it is all to gain the knowledge of the deeper side of life. You can see an artist there, you can talk to him; you can find that in any work he is doing, you can see that his whole motive is to gain the deeper side of life.
In the same way, the politicians and warriors of that time, their minds were always attached to the same idea. For instance, we have before us the history of the prophet Mohammed; a prophet, who was not only a mystic, but a general of his army, and a statesman. He was the first in the history of the Orientals who made a constitutional government in Mecca, the first constitutional government in the world. Those who formed the first parliament in Medina, that group was called Madina and every man and every woman in the city had the right to vote in that parliament.
Remember, it is now fifteen hundred years ago. Besides, as to policy, Mohammed was born in Mecca and was three times exiled from his place, because he was giving his people the new ideas of religion, which was not agreeable to his people. There were people who killed his disciples and made every kind of difficulty; and all sorts of sufferings were thrown upon him. There comes a time that he has a large number of disciples, when he says, "Shall I again go to my motherland? I want to go again and give the Message which I have tried to give." They said, "Prophet, we shall come with you, and we shall give our lives in the Cause and we shall see that your Message is in the same land where they have insulted you and three times you have been thrown out."
Mohammed went with his army of disciples, not for invasion, but to give the Message. But hearing that he came with an army, they prepared an army and there was a battle. In the end, Mohammed was victorious and entered Mecca. When he entered, the whole government, all the leaders, surrendered, and those people were brought before him. He asked, "What treatment do you expect from me?" "What treatment could we expect," they said, "except the fitting treatment which would come from the prophet of God?" And the answer was, "Yes, the same treatment will be given to you; all you have done to me and to my people, I have forgiven." He turned to his army and said, "Have you come for territorial ambition?" "Not in the least," said the warriors, "for the Truth and for the Ideal." "Do you then not wish any money from these men?" "No," said the warriors to the Prophet. "Then what do you want?" They said, "We have come, we have followed you to your country, but we want you." The Prophet said, "Yes, they will take my Message, but I will go with you." After all that war and bloodshed, what did the Prophet do? He left the Koran and gave the principles, left for Medina and died.
The brotherhood between the people of Mecca and Medina that was founded then still exists now; and if today you saw the effect of that teaching in the most ordinary working man in the desert, you would simply be surprised! Arabs, as a rule, are ready to fight, and it takes them not a single moment to take their knives and grab each other's necks. But in such a furious and angry race as that, when two Arabs are fighting together and if a third person says, "forgive one another," or "love one another in the name of the Prophet," they throw down their knives and shake hands. Just on hearing that, no longer do they continue their grudge or complaint; they do not judge one another. As soon as forgiveness has come, it is finished.
I have very often seen a domestic servant, a person who has never had an education, who does not know how to write his name. As soon as you begin to touch his sentiment and his heart, the worthlessness of the material life is known to him as much perhaps as to a great philosopher. He will talk to you on philosophy, perhaps for an hour, and from his deepest sentiment, with a full understanding of the worthlessness of this four days' life on the earth. It does not mean that the East did not make a particular progress in material things. Because if one takes, for instance, the science of medicine, the books of Ibn Sina gives a proof that made a foundation for the whole world.
Today I know one of my friends, a doctor in England, who has studied Ibn Sina, and who has found out that the outline of medicine was made by him, which was first introduced in Spain. Besides, music; the music of the Vedas was not only a music, but a psychological expression of sound and rhythm. And therefore, it was not only a music, but it was also a mystery for life and a help; a science so perfectly formed that not only for the worldly things it was useful, but for the meditative purpose the music became the most essential part in religious things. Now, today a man comes and tells the world about the repetition of a word which cures people from illnesses.
The scientific and unscientific world seems to be moving about, and says, "What is this? It seems such a new thing?" If the same man happens to go to the East, every man in the poorest house will say, "We have known that, we are doing that everyday. We know what the power of the word means." They will not be able to give a definition, for that one must ask a learned man. In the form of Vedanta, religion was a science that has always existed, only it was not given to the world in an alphabetical manner; someone with an alphabetical science tells it and it astonishes everyone.
Now coming to the Western world. In the first place, a race which came from the ancient Aryan sources; in a country where they had the difficulties of climate, great responsibilities; it naturally made them more active, and being active, activity with the things of matter, gave them that communication with matter, the result of which is a phenomenon. All these inventions, that we see today, are no less than a phenomenon - a miracle. But this miracle has come from a communication with things of the earth; and as the product of things of the earth, is as visible and tangible as the earth. For instance, if a father has two sons, and one son is producing; one day he makes a rattle, another day a bicycle, a third day an aeroplane. He has something to show his father and says, "Look here, I have made something, look!" Another one is sitting, one hand upon the other hand, and perhaps, in his character, thoughts, feelings, developing something; but he has nothing to show. It is something developing in himself, which he himself cannot define very well; nor can others see it. Therefore, it is natural that progress made in the objective line is visible and tangible; in a progress in the spiritual line, it is difficult to see how far one has reached.
However, with all these differences human nature is the same. Those who have developed in their thought, in their feelings, they are not only in the East, there are many of them to be found in the West also. Besides, those who have a material inclination and produce something from the matter, they are not only in the West, they are in the East also. But in the West, there is a scope to bring it out; what one has invented, what one has found out. But in the East, there is no scope to bring it about and in this way the difficulty arises. Nevertheless, the East and West both have their actions directed in two different poles.
The material progress of the East has been hindered by one thing, which is the climate - a climate which makes the whole day useless. One would rather sit and dream than be active and work. That also makes a difference in inclinations. Besides that, very much of the Western progress is due to the uniformity of the people, and the backwardness of the East, in that line of progress is the lack of uniformity. Every man in the East has his individual progress, and whenever there is individualistic progress, it is a very free progress, but at the same time a progress which is not recognized by the ones who do not understand individualistic progress.
I mean, if a scientist comes with a new invention which is not understood by another scientist, he will certainly oppose him. Therefore, every intelligent person in the East, whenever he progresses in his own line, has a great opposition to meet with and no one he finds who can perfectly understand him. But in the West, it is the contrary. There are academies and associations, and people who understand things; there are people to understand and encourage. No doubt, uniformity pulls people back from that progress which comes from individualistic progress.
Nevertheless, the idea is this, that now the time has come when, owing to the ships and trains and all the different communications, the East and West have been brought together. This brings us to a great hope, that East and West, which depend for their progress upon their mutual exchange and understanding, will soon come to unite. In industry, in politics, in all things, they can unite and benefit from each other. But the greatest benefit that can come from the meeting of East and West together, is by the interchange of thought and ideal, in order to meet in that light which is the light of intelligence and which is divine in nature.
The Sufi Movement has directed all its efforts that the East may be able to appreciate all that is good and worthwhile in the West, and that the West may understand and sympathize with all that is worth understanding and sympathizing with in the East. Words cannot explain to what extent the world will become benefited once that idea is realized. Because, just now, the East working in its own way and the West working in its own way, is like working with one eye and the other eye closed. It is in the unity of East and West that the vision will become complete; and in this conception, the great disasters and troubles, which have kept the world in a kind of uneasiness, will be rooted out. And by the unity of East and West in wisdom, there is a real peace to be anticipated.
- THE AWAKENING OF THE SOUL
One sees that there is an awakening from childhood to youth, and from youth to a mature age and in this development one's point of view is changing, one's outlook on life is changing. And then one sees that sometimes in one's life one has gone through an illness or through a great suffering, and at the end of it the whole outlook on life has changed. One also sees that a person has taken a long journey, after having come from that journey the person is quite changed. Also one sees that after a friendship, after a pupilship, after a marriage, a sudden change in the outlook of a person comes. And then we see that we can class such changes which may be called a development into three classes.
One class is pertaining to the physical development, another class is connected with the development of mind; and the third class with the development of the soul. There are instances in the lives of many, who will rarely say or admit it, but at the same time they can recollect experiences in their childhood, that after one moment's time their whole outlook on life changed. As ripening is the desired result, it is the result of every object in life to ripen and develop. Therefore the fulfilment of life's purpose is to be expected in the wakening of the soul.
And now one might ask, what are the signs of the soul's awakening? The first sign of the soul's awakening is just like the birth of an infant. That the infant from the time of its birth is interested to hear something - any sound that comes; and to see something - if it is a colour or light, whatever it be, that attracts. And therefore, a person whose soul has wakened becomes awake to everything that he sees and to everything that he hears. Compared to that person, everyone else seems to be with open eyes and yet not to see, seems to be with open ears and yet not to hear.
And therefore though there are many with open ears yet rarely there is one who hears, and many with open eyes yet hardly one who sees. It is therefore that the natural seeing of the wakened soul is called clairvoyance, that the natural hearing of the wakened soul called clairaudience. Therefore in English there is a simple word, that word is 'the seer;' and that word explains that he has eyes, but together with the eyes a sight. The moment the soul has wakened, to that soul music makes an appeal, poetry touches it, words move it, art has an influence upon it. It no longer is a sleeping soul; it is awake and begins to enjoy life to a fuller extent.
It is this wakening of the soul which is mentioned in the Bible, that unless the soul is born again it will not enter the kingdom of Heaven. The soul being born again is that the soul is wakened after once having come on earth. And entering into the kingdom of Heaven is the same kingdom, this world in which we are just now standing, the same kingdom turns into Heaven as soon as the point of view has changed. Is it not interesting, and is it not most wonderful to think that the same earth that we walk on is earth to one person, and Heaven to another?
And this change comes not by a study, not by anything else, but only by one thing, and that is the changing of our point of view. I have seen people seeking after Truth, people studying in books about it, people having written hundreds of books on theology, and in the end they are in the same place where they have been standing before. That shows that all outward efforts, they are excuses, they are outward; there is only one thing that brings one before reality, and that is the awakening of the soul.
All tragedy of life, all miseries, all disharmony and misunderstanding is caused by one thing, and that is the lack of understanding, and lack of understanding comes from lack of penetration. When one who does not see from the point of view that one ought to see, the one becomes disappointed, because one cannot understand. It is not that the outward world must help us understand it better; it is we ourselves who should help ourselves to understand life better.
And then there is a further awakening; and that further awakening is a continuation of this same awakening which I have called the awakening of the soul. And the sign of that awakening is that upon every person and upon every object the wakened person throws a light, a light of his soul, and sees that object, that condition, in that light. It is his own soul that becomes a torch in his hand; it is his own light that illuminates his path. It is just like throwing a searchlight upon dark corners which one did not see before, and the corners become clear and illuminated again. It is like throwing light upon problems that one did not understand first; it is like seeing with x-rays persons who were a riddle before.
Since life becomes clear to the awakened soul, it shows another manifestation, and that manifestation is that every aspect of life becomes communicative with him. The idea is that life is communicative, the soul is communicative, but they do not communicate till a person is wakened. Once a soul is wakened, it becomes communicative with life. I had as a young man, a great desire to visit the shrines of saints, of great teachers. And with every desire of hearing of them something, of asking them something, I always held my tongue back, and sat quietly in their presence. And I had a greater satisfaction, and I felt a greater blessing by sitting quiet there, than if I had discussed with them and argued and talked with them, because I felt in the end that there was a communication, a communication which was more satisfactory than these outer discussions and arguments of people who know not what they discuss. For it was enlightening, it was refreshing, and it was giving that power and inspiration with which one can see life in a better light.
Those who are wakened, they become lights, not only lights for themselves, but also lights for the others. And in their light, a person may not know it, but their presence itself helps to make problems which are most difficult, easy. This brings us to realize the fact that, as the scriptures have said, "Man is light," a light whose origin, whose source, is divine. And when this light is raised, then life becomes quite different. When the soul is wakened, furthermore, the condition is then as a person sitting in the midst of night among hundreds and thousands of people fast asleep.
His picture is that he is sitting among them, he is standing among them, he is looking as them, hearing their sorrows and miseries, and of their conditions, hundreds of them moving about in their sleep, in their own dream, not wakened to the condition of the other one, who is next to them; they may be friends or relations, or acquaintances or enemies, whatever be their relation, little they know about them, each one absorbed in his own trouble. This wakened soul, standing among them all, will listen to everybody, will see everyone, will recognize and realize all that they think and feel, but his language no one understands, his thought he cannot explain to everyone, his feeling he cannot expect every soul to feel. He feels lonely, and nothing else can be felt. No doubt in this loneliness there is a sense of perfection, because perfection is loneliness.
When they say that the apostles knew all languages at the descent of the spirit, this knowing of all languages is not like knowing the languages of all countries. They knew the language of the soul, for there are several languages which are spoken in different lands, but numberless languages which are spoken by each individual as his particular language. And that brings us to realize another idea of very great importance, and that is that the outer language can convey only outward things and feelings, but there is an inner language, a language which can be understood by souls who are wakened. It is a universal language, a language of vibrations, a language of feeling, a language which touches the innermost sense. In order to support this argument I shall say that the heat and cold are different feelings which are called by different names in different countries, but at the same time inwardly it is the same feeling. And then there is love and hate, kindness and unkindness, harmony and disharmony, all these words are spoken differently in different countries, but the feeling is the same experience to all men. When in order to know the thought of another we depend upon his outer word, then no doubt we fail to understand, because we perhaps don't know that person's language, but if we can communicate with another person soul to soul, we certainly can understand his meaning. For before he says one word, he has said it within himself and that word reaches before the word reaches outwardly.
Before the word comes, the expression says it; before the thought has formed, the feeling speaks about it. And this shows that a feeling forms a thought, a thought comes as a speech; that, before even there was a feeling existing and even there it can be caught when a person can communicate with the soul. It is this which is called communication - to communicate with the innermost being of a person. But who can communicate? The one who knows how to communicate with himself, the one who is wakened, in other words. And what becomes the personality of an awakened soul? The personality of an awakened soul becomes different from every personality. It becomes more magnetic, because it is a living person who has magnetism, the dead corpse has no magnetism; it is the living who brings joy, and therefore it is the awakened soul who is joyous.
And never for one moment think, as many imagine, that a spiritual person must mean a most sorrowful, a dried up, long-faced person. Spirit is joy, spirit is life; and when that spirit has wakened there is all the joy and pleasure that exists there. As the sun takes away all darkness, so spiritual light takes away all worries and anxieties and doubts. If a spiritual wakening is not so precious, then what is the use of seeking it in life? A treasure that nobody can take away from you, a light that will always keep and never will be extinguished, that is called spiritual awakening, which is the fulfilment of life's purpose.
Certainly, the things once a person had valued and considered them more important become less important, things lose their value, and things which are beautiful lose their colour. It is just like seeing the stage in the light of the sun - all the big palaces and decorations on the stage mean nothing. No doubt this takes away that slavery to which everyone is put, because things of this world a person becomes a master of, but at the same time, he need not give them up. Optimism naturally develops, but an optimism with open eyes; a power becomes increased, a power of accomplishing things, and until the person has accomplished it, he will go after it till it is accomplished, however small it is.
It is very difficult, as they say in the Eastern language, to judge an awakened soul. For there is nothing outwardly that can prove to you that this person is an awakened soul. The best way of seeing an awakened soul is to wake oneself. And no one in the world can pretend to be awake when he is still asleep; for a little child if he puts on moustaches on his face, he will not prove to be a grown-up man. All other pretences will be taken, but not this one of the awakened soul, for it is a living light, and no one can pretend to be it. For if there is any Truth, the Truth is in the awakening of the soul, for Truth is born in the awakening of the soul.
The Truth is not taught, the Truth is discovered. Very often people make an effort, but that effort is in vain, to try to wake one's friend or one's near relation whom one loves. For, in the first place, we know not if the person is more awakened than we, we may be trying in vain. And the other thing is that it is possible that the person is asleep and needs a sleep. Wakening, therefore, would be a sin instead of a virtue. We are allowed only to give our hand to the one who is changing his side, who desires awakening, only then a hand is given.
And this giving of the hand is what we call initiation, in an esoteric word. No doubt, outwardly a teacher who is acquainted with this path may give a hand to the one who wishes to journey, but inwardly there is the Teacher who gives a hand, who has always given and always gives a hand to awakening souls, the same hand which has received the sages and Masters of all time in a higher initiation. Verily, the seeker will find sooner or later, if only he keeps steadily on the path till he arrives at his destination.
- THE POWER OF SILENCE
Apart from the meditative silence, even in our everyday life silence is the most essential thing. There is an energy which becomes accumulated, functioning in the innermost of our being, and it is in the speech that one gives outlet to that energy. And that energy may best be called magnetism; it is inspiration and it is wisdom. It is therefore that you will always find in the less talkative person a greater wisdom than the one who is talkative. Apart from wisdom, from a physical point of view, a talkative person is all the time giving out an energy which, if he conserved, he can make a great vital power in himself.
With some persons it becomes a passion to speak without purpose, without reason, they speak because they like to speak. If one knew what the Bible says about the word, that first was the word and the word was God. If one only knew what the tradition of humanity has been, it is the word. Those who have the esteem of the word, those who value the word, their word becomes precious. One word is worth millions and even millions are less than the price of their word. The great teachers of humanity have come and passed away, and what they have left behind them, which the world prizes more than anything, is their word.
If we keep anything as most sacred now, whatever be our faith or religion, it is the word that has been given to us, it is the word which we keep as the most precious thing in the world. The moment that a person begins to value his word, from that moment he begins to think what he says. The one who has no value of his word, he is of little value to himself. The great person is he who stands for his word. However great a man, if he has no honour of his word he cannot be really great. It is such a pity that in this time of materialism we are losing the idea of the most valuable thing we have, and we have got it from the Heavens.
For the word is heavenly, and what is in the word is the soul, the spirit. And when that word is uselessly used life is abused by it. Do we not see that there is one person perhaps who comes to us and speaks a thousand words, and not one word strikes us; there is another person who comes to us and speaks one word, but it penetrates, it makes impression. That word is of value. For there is a living word and there is a dead word. A living word has a life, it acts chemically, the dead word has no life, it is only a corpse. The living word will go and float in the space, it will go in the hearts of man and work, and the dead word will drop on to the earth and will be buried in the dust. And very often a person speaks because of his weakness. He is weak, he cannot control his idea, his thought, and it is helplessly that he drops a word that he would otherwise have kept and not spoken. A gossiping person, a person who criticizes another, you will always find is a person of a weak character. It is not that he likes to speak; it is because he cannot help speaking. It is just like a person who eats but cannot digest. Then a person cannot keep his own secret, when a person cannot keep the secret of his friend, he is a person who has no power of digesting, his conscience will always feel guilty, and his heart restless. There is another person who goes on like a machine, a machine which is hearing from the ears and speaking from the mouth, and it is going on all day, hearing what he speaks and it goes on like a machine.
Is it not the experience of many of us, that very often we think, "Oh, I wish I had not said that to that person!" Is it not the experience of many of us when we think that, "I should not have spoken so rudely with the other person?" Or, "Oh, what a terrible thing I have done, I have opened my heart to that person, I do not know what will become of it." Sa'adi, a great Persian poet, says in his poetry, "My intelligent friend, what use is your repentance after once you have dropped the word out of your lips?" To control the word is more difficult than controlling the most energetic horse. The one who controls his word, controls his mind.
There is another way of looking at this subject. When a person is talking to those not yet evolved to his own way of looking at things, he may say things of a greater wisdom which will prove to be as pebbles in the place of pearls. It is a loss of words of a higher ideal, of some greater truth to a person who is not capable of understanding or appreciating. You would find it more thoughtful, more wise that you did not speak to him the word at that time, but prepared him to hear that word, even if it be for ten years.
And then there are times when you meet with an evolved person for whom your words are of little importance. It is just like a child speaking to a grown person, which means very little to him. But the thing is this, that in doing so you will spoil his time as well as your own. Besides many will know how many disagreements between relations, between friends are brought about by useless talking. The talking had no importance whatever, but it has culminated perhaps in a great disharmony or separateness. There is an amusing story, that a woman went to the house of a healer, a magnetizer, and she asked him if he would tell her something, for she was in a great distress. This distress was that she had every day a disagreement with her husband. The healer said, "It is very easy, I will give you some sweets and you will put it in your mouth and keep your lips closed. Every day when your husband comes home just put it in the mouth." The remedy proved successful, and the woman came after the sweet was finished to thank him and ask for some more magnetized sweets. He said, "My dear lady, you do not need any more bonbons now. Just think that you have them and close your lips and everything will be all right." This example is for us all to learn, whether wise or foolish it is the only dignified thing possible.
And now coming to a still deeper side of silence. What is silence? Silence is something which we consciously or unconsciously are seeking every moment of our life. We are seeking for silence and running away from it, both at the same time. Where is the word of God heard? In silence. The seers, the saints, the sages, the prophets and masters, they have heard that voice which comes from within by making themselves silent. I do not mean by this that because one will have a silence that he will be spoken to. I mean that he will hear the word which is constantly coming to him once he is silent.
Once the mind has been made still, a person gets in communication with every person he meets. He does not need too many words, when the glance meets, he understands. Two persons may talk and discuss their whole life and they will not understand one another; and two persons with still minds look at one another - in one moment there is a communication. Where comes the difference between persons? It is by their activity. And when comes agreement? It comes by the stillness of mind. It is the noise which hinders a voice that we hear from a distance, and it is the troubled waters of a pool which hinder us seeing our own image reflected in the water.
When the water is still it takes a clear reflection and when our atmosphere is still then we hear that voice which is constantly coming to the heart of every person. We are looking for guidance, we all of us search for truth, we search for the mystery. The mystery is in ourself, the guidance in our own soul. Besides this, very often a person meets someone whose contact makes one restless, but by remaining calm one makes the other calm. And it is not easy to stay calm and keeps one's tranquillity in the presence of a restless, agitated person. The teaching of Christ is resist not evil, and that means give not that troubled condition or respond not to the troubled condition of a restless person. It is just like partaking of the fire which will burn oneself.
And now, how can one develop that power in oneself to stand in everyday life against all disturbing influences? For our life is exposed to this atmosphere every moment of the day. The answer is that one has to quiet oneself by the way of concentration. And now you may ask what I mean by concentration. Our mind is like a boat, a boat which is in the water, subject to be moved by the waves and subject to be influenced by the wind, both. And the waves for this boat are our own emotions and passions, our own thoughts and imaginations. And the wind is the outer influences which we have to meet with. And in order to stop the boat you ought to have the anchor to put in the water, that that anchor makes the boat still. And that anchor is the object which we concentrate upon. If this anchor be heavy and weighty then it will stop the boat, but if this anchor is light the boat will move and not be still, for it is in the water, it is in the air.
But now coming to the question, that by this we only control the boat, but utilizing the boat is another question again. The boat is not made to stand still; it is made for a purpose. To make it stand still is only to control the boat first. Although all of us do not know this, but at the same time at the end of the examination this boat is made to go from one port to another port. Now, the sailing of the boat needs different conditions. And those conditions are that the boat must not be more heavily laden than the weight that it is made to carry.
And so our heart must not be heavily laden with the things that we attach ourselves to, because then the boat will not go. The boat must not be tied and chained to this one port, for then it is held back and will not go to that other port for which it is made. The boat may be tied to one port for a thousand years, but the boat is not doing its work then. In the first place it must have that responsiveness to the wind that will take it to that port. And that is the feeling that a soul gets from the spiritual side of life.
That feeling of the wind helps one to go on forward to that port to which we are all bound. The mind who is once concentrated fully must become a compass as they have in the boat, which always points to the same side. A man who has a thousand different sides of interest, that man is not ready to travel in this boat. It is the man who has one thing in his mind, all other things secondary, that man travels from this port to that port. It is this journey which is called mysticism; it is this journey which is called Sufism.
The effort of the Sufi Message is to give the opportunity to those serious seekers after truth that they may come in touch with the deeper side of life. No doubt truth is never taught, truth is discovered. It is not the wonder working; it is not the life of phenomena that is the sign of the seeker. For it is in the search of truth that God is found, for it is in the finding of God that truth is realized. But where is God to be found? God is to be found in the heart of man.
- MAN, THE SEED OF GOD
There are various ideas and beliefs as to the realization between God and man; and it is natural that there should be various beliefs, for the reason that every man has his own conception of God. There is no comparison between God and man. The reason is that man, being limited, can be compared with another being; God being perfect, He is beyond comparison. The prophets and masters in all ages have tried their best to give man some idea of God's being; but it has always been difficult, for it is impossible to define God in words.
It is like trying to put the ocean into a bottle. However large a bottle, it can never accommodate the ocean. The words that we use in our everyday language are the names of limited forms, and we give God a name for our convenience, someone who is above name and form. And if there is any possibility of understanding God and His Being, it is only possible in finding the relation between man and God. The reason why this subject was called, 'man the seed of God,' is that it is this picture which gives, to some extent, that idea of the relationship which exists between man and God.
There is a root, and there is a stem and in the heart of the flower there is something which tells the history of the whole plant. One might say that it is for the sake of the flower that the plant was purposed, but really speaking, it is the seed which comes in the heart of the flower which continues the race of the plant, which is the source and goal of the plant. It is that seed which was the beginning, it is from out of that seed that the root came, and the seedling came out, and so it became a plant. And then that seed disappeared, but after the coming of the leaves and branches and the flowers it appeared again.
It appeared again not as one seed, but several seeds, in multiplicity, and yet it is the same. And it is this seed which told us the story that first it was the seed and then the whole plant appeared. And towards what goal, what result? - In order to come again as the result of a whole plant. To the man of simple belief, to the man who believes only in his particular idea, for him there is no relation between God and man; but the man who wishes to understand the relation between man and God, for him the proof of this argument is to be found in everything. And it is this idea which is spoken of in the Bible, in the words where it is said that, "in Our image We have created man."
If the seed out of which the plant came and which came in the result, had said, "Out of my own image I have created the seed which will come forth from the heart of the flower," it would have been the same thing. Only that seed out of which the plant came could have said that, "I shall appear in plurality, although in the beginning I am only one grain." It is this idea again which tells us of the reason why it is said that, "We have created man in Our image," when the whole manifestation, the whole creation has come from God - that the leaf and the branch, and the stem all have come out of the seed, but that is not the image of the seed.
The image of the seed is the seed itself. But not only this, the essence of the seed is in the seed. No doubt there is some energy, some power, some colour, some fragrance in the flower, in the leaves and in the stem, but at the same time all the property that is in the stem, flower, petal and leaves is to be found in the grain. This shows to us the result that man is the culmination of the whole creation. And in him is the whole universe manifested. The mineral kingdom or the vegetable kingdom or the animal kingdom, these are all to be found in the being, in the spirit of man. It does not mean that the different properties, such as mineral and vegetable, are to be found in the physical body that is made for man, but also his mind, his heart show all different qualities. The heart is just like a fertile soil or a barren desert; it shows love or lack of love, productive faculty or destructiveness.
There are different kinds of stones: there are precious stones and there are pebbles and rocks, and so there is among human hearts a still larger variety. Think of those whose thoughts, whose feelings have proved to be more precious than anything that the world can offer, the poets, the artists, the inventors, the thinkers, the philosophers, then the servants of humanity, the inspirers of man, the benefactors of mankind. No wealth, no precious stone, whether diamond or ruby, can be compared with it, and yet it is the same quality. And then there are rock-like hearts, one might knock against them and break oneself, and yet they will not move.
Then there is the wax-like quality of the heart, then there is the quality of the stone. There are melting hearts and there are hearts which will never melt. Is there anything in the nature which is not to be found in man? Has he not in his feeling, in his thoughts, in his qualities, the picture of running water, a picture of fertile soil, and a picture of fruitful trees? Is not in the heart of man the picture of the plant, of fragrant flowers? The flowers which come from the human heart live longer, their fragrance will spread through the whole world, and their colour is seen by all the people.
The fruits that human hearts can bear, how delicious they are - they immortalize souls and lift them up. And then there are other mentalities where nothing springs up except desire to hurt and harm their fellowman, producing through the fruits and flowers poison, hurting another person by thought, speech or action; and they can hurt more than the thorns. There are some whose feelings, whose thoughts are like gold and silver, and there are others whose thoughts are just like iron and steel. And the variety that one can see in human nature is so vast that all objects that one can get from this earth are too small in number. But does he only show his nature, in his qualities, in his body, in thought and feeling the heritage of this earth? No, he shows his nature also in Heaven.
Man has the influence of the planets; he has the influence of the sun, of the moon, of heat and cold, and air and water and fire, all different elements which make this whole cosmic system. All these elements are to be found in his thoughts, in his feelings, in his body. You can find a person with warmth representing fire; another person who is cold represents water. There are human beings in their thought, in their feeling, they represent the air element, their quickness, their restlessness, it all shows the air element in them. Does man not represent the sun and moon in his positive and negative character; does duality of sex not show this?
Not only this, but in every man and in every woman there is the sun quality, and there is the moon quality, and it is these two opposite qualities which give a balance in the character of man. When there is only one quality most predominant, another not to be found, then there is somewhere balance lacking. And if one goes still further in the thought of mysticism one will find that not only all the visible manifestation is to be found in man, but also all that is invisible. The angels, or fairies or ghosts, or elementals, or any imagination that man has made, if it can be found anywhere it is to be found in human nature.
The picture of the angels in all times one finds in the image of man. If all that exists in the world and in Heaven is to be bound in man then what remains? God Himself has said in the scripture, "I have made man in My Own image." In other words, "If you wish to see Me, I am found in man." How thoughtless on the part of man who, absorbed in his high ideals, begins to condemn man, to look down upon man, however low and weak and a sinner man may be. Since in man there is the possibility of rising so high as nothing else in the manifestation can rise, whether something on the earth or any being in Heaven, none can reach that height which man is meant to reach.
What point of view, therefore, had the mystics, the thinkers of all ages? Their point of view you can see in their manner, a respectful attitude to all men. Jesus Christ, the Master of mankind in his life's example one can see what compassion, when a sinner was brought before him, someone who had done wrong, what forgiveness, what tolerance, what understanding the Master showed. One can be called a religious or pious man, but one cannot be called a truly spiritual or wise man, if one has a contempt towards his fellowman, whatever be his condition. Man who has no respect for mankind has no worshipful attitude towards God.
The man who has not recognized the image of God in man, he has not seen the Artist who has made this creation; he has deprived himself of this vision which is most sacred and most holy. A person who thinks that man is earthly, he does not know where his soul comes from. The soul comes from above, it is in the soul of man that God is reflected. Man who has hatred, contempt, whatever be his belief, faith, religion, he has not understood the secret of all religions which is in the heart of man. And certainly, however good a person, however virtuous he may be, at the same time if he has no tolerance or forgiveness, if he does not recognize God in man, he has not touched religion.
No doubt there is another side of the question. As man evolves, so he finds the limitations, the errors and the infirmities of human nature; and so it becomes difficult for him to live in the world and to withstand all that comes. Also it becomes very difficult for man to be fine, to be good, to be kind, to be sensitive, and at the same time to be tolerant. And what comes is a tendency is to push away everything, and to find oneself away from everybody and every being. But the purpose of being born on earth is different. The purpose of being born on earth is to find that perfection which is within oneself. And however good and kind man be, if he has not found the purpose for what he is born on earth, he has not fulfilled the object of his life. There are as many different aspects of that purpose as many people there are in the world; but behind all different aspects of that purpose there is one purpose. It is that purpose which may be called the purpose of the whole creation. And that purpose is when the inventor looks at his invention working, when the great architect builds a house which he has designed and which was his when it is built, when he enters it and sees how nicely it is accomplished; the purpose is accomplished when the producer of a play produces the play he has desired, and when the play is produced and he looks at it, that is the purpose.
Every man seems to have his purpose, but the purpose is nothing but a step to the purpose which is one purpose and which is the purpose of God. Our small desires if they are granted today, tomorrow there is another wish; and whatever be the desire, when it is granted next day there is another desire. That shows that the whole humanity and every soul is directed towards one desire, and that is the object of God which is the fuller experience of life within and without, a fuller knowledge of life, the life above and below.
It is the widening of the outlook, that it may be so wide that in the soul, which is vaster than the world, all may be reflected. That the sight may become so keen that it may probe the depth of the earth and the highest of the Heavens. It is in this that there is the fulfilment of the soul, and the soul who will not make every effort possible with every sacrifice for the attainment of this, that soul has not understood religion. What is the Sufi Message? It is that esoteric training, working, practising through life towards that attainment which is as the fulfilment of the object of God.
- OUR ACTIVITY WHICH IS CALLED THE WORLD BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD
Today our activity which is called the World Brotherhood is more than necessary, for the activities in bringing about a brotherly feeling in humanity are of more value than any other activity in the line of culture; and although there are many societies and institutions which are established and working along this line of brotherhood, yet our contribution to this great service of God and humanity has its peculiarity, owing to its ideas being based on spiritual ideals. We believe that the brotherhood brought about by coming to an understanding of exchanging the good of one another in the interest of one another is not sufficient.
The reason is that the nature of life is changeable; where there is a day there is a night, and there is light and darkness, and therefore the interest in life is not always even. If two persons are friends with one another and they make a condition that we shall be friends and we shall love one another, if each wishes to regard justice and fairness by the others' interests they will quarrel a thousand times a day. Because who is to be the judge? When two people quarrel both are just, both think they are in the right and a third person has no right to interfere. Therefore brotherhood cannot be brought about satisfactorily only by teaching the law of reciprocity based upon self-interest.
Because even if they said, "I will give you a pound in gold, and you will give me in return a pound in notes paper notes;" and the exchange is made, there is a dispute because, "I gave you the pound in gold and you gave me the pound in notes." A friendship which is based upon selfishness is not secure, it is not dependable, because seemingly they may be friends of the other, but really they are the friend of themselves. However greatly they show friendship to one another in reality they are showing friendship to themselves. No, the brotherhood, from the spiritual point of view that may be learned is the brotherhood of rivalry in kindness, in goodness. It is not weighing "what good have you done to me," but it is trying to do more for another and not thinking, "what he will do for me."
The ideas of the Sufis in all times have been different from those of the man in the world, and yet not too difficult for a man to practise. The Sufi ideas are that when one does an act of kindness for another it is because he wishes to do it, because the action itself is his satisfaction, not looking for a return even in the form of appreciation. Any form of appreciation or any return he thinks consumes, takes away that act of goodness or kindness that one has done. And when one thinks that one does some good expecting that another must return it, then it is a business.
And a person who thinks, "perhaps I shall do twice more good to another from whom I received half the good I do for him," he is in a very bad situation; for sooner or later he will be disappointed, because he shared goodness, which cannot be shared in this way. As soon as a man begins to think, "Has another person treated me like a brother? Why would I treat him as a brother?" he does not know what brotherhood is; he will never be able to act as a brother. The Sufi point of view is that man must be concerned with himself, if he does right that is what he is concerned with, and not whether another takes it as right.
The trouble is that brotherhood at this time when humanity is so vastly divided seems so very difficult to bring into practice. And yet I do not think, if we saw the idea of brotherhood in this light, that it would seem very difficult. For no sooner does man say, "if another person will do as I wish," he creates his difficulties, but the one who says, "I will do what I think right and good and I am not concerned with the other person, whether he takes it rightly, I have determined to do what I can, I will act so that is quite sufficient," he knows true brotherhood.
- ART
Many think that art is something different from nature, but, if I were to say, art is the finishing of nature. And one may ask, "Can man improve upon nature which is made by God?" But the fact is that God Himself, through man finishes His creation in art. As all different elements are God's vehicles, as all the trees and plants are His instruments to create through, so art is the medium of God, through which God Himself creates and finishes His creation.
No doubt every so-called art is not necessarily art. By looking at the real art man is able to see that "Thy will is done on earth as in heaven." In this whole creation, from one thing to another, through evolution the Creator has worked. In man the Creator has finished, so to speak, nature, but at the same time the creative faculty is still working through man. Therefore art is the next step towards creation. In reality all creation, scientific or artistic, is art, but mainly, the object which is produced with the sense of beauty and which appeals to the sense of beauty in man is principally art.
Besides being the creative power of God it is the expression of the soul of the artist. An artist cannot give what he has not collected, although man ignores the way how the artist's soul conceives, only recognizing what the soul of the artist has produced. Once it is understood that the artist conceives also, not only produces, then it is not so difficult for a man with an awakened heart to see into the soul of an artist. For art in colour, in line is nothing but the re-echo of his soul. If the soul of the artist is going through torture, his picture gives the feeling of awe; if the soul of the artist is enjoying harmony, you will see harmony in his colours, in the lines. What does it show? It shows that the soul works automatically through the brush of the artist. The more deeply the artist is touched by the beauty that his soul conceives from outside, the greater the appeal it makes to those who see his production.
Now coming to the question, what is it in line and colour which has such an influence on man's faculty? It is the vibrations which the colour produces which thrill the centres which are hidden in the body and which are the centres of the intuitive faculties. So a person looks at a colour and immediately feels thrilled by it. Each degree of vibration that different colours produce is different and therefore the influence is different.
At the same time one person is more open to the effect and influence, another person is so blocked that upon him colours make little impression; and the same reason may be said to be the cause that makes woman more responsive to colour and to line than man. For woman by nature is responsive, man by nature is expressive; therefore while woman receives the impression of the colour man repels it. But, at the same time, the difference between a man with fine feeling, with intuitive faculty awakened and a man whose faculties are not yet opened is only this that the former responds to the colour and the latter does not.
Now coming to the question of strong colours and soft colours. Strong colours make more distinct vibrations, their effect is more distinct than that of soft colours and therefore it is natural that the strong colours can make impression upon every soul, but, at the same time, to distinguish the impression made by soft colours wants delicacy of sense. For instance, the simple words of language of everyday life are understood by everyone, but the fine shades which follow the words are not understood by everybody. Therefore, colour, which is only a colour to everybody, to a person with a fine sense has its value, its degree of influence.
The harmony of colour is based on the same foundation as the harmony of music. The reason is that music is audible vibrations, colour is the visible form of vibrations. But from the metaphysical point of view, colour has a great significance in man's life. The first important thing that is to be understood in connection with colour is that different colours come from the essence of light. No doubt there are three aspects of light and it is this which produces confusion in the mind of those who have not thought upon the subject.
If the colour can be called light, then these three aspects of light are: the radiance of the colour itself; the next aspect is the light of the sun or of something else which throws its light upon the colour, the light of the colour responds to that light; the third light is the light of the eyes which sees, therefore everybody, not for the reason that the degree of the light falls on the subject is different or that the degree of the colour is different, but also the element which that particular colour represents has a certain degree of response, to a certain extent in an individual.
According to the mystical idea there are four principal elements which can be distinguished and one which is indistinct. The distinct elements are earth, water, fire and air, not according to the sense in which a scientist would take it, but according to the meaning that the mystic sees. It will take, perhaps, time if I tried to explain the difference between the mystical conception and that of the scientist. The indistinct element is the ether. All these elements are in the body of man, in his mind and in his deeper self.
The whole building of an individual existence is built of these five elements, and it is not necessary that on every plane of existence a certain element is predominant, which continues to be dominant in every plane. I mean that it is not a certain predominant element, which is in one plane, continues to be predominant in all planes. It is possible that there can be harmony in the elements which are predominant in the inner plane with those that are predominant in the outer plane. It short, it is according to the working of the different elements in one's being that one is responsive to different colours which represent the different elements. From the point of view of a mystic, yellow is the colour of the earth, green or white the colour of the water element, red that of the fire element and blue of the air element. If the colour of the ether element was asked, the mystic answers grey. By grey you may think anything you like. It is most interesting for a student of colour to see that all colours are, so to speak, different shades of light. And what does it show? It shows that light itself has manifested in variety in the form of many colours.
Now coming on the question of line. Many lovers or students of art feel a great influence, a great effect that a line makes. A vertical line, a horizontal line, a line with a curve, a circle, it makes such a difference in the form. And the more one studies to what extent line makes a difference, the more one will find that the secret of the whole beauty is in the line. And it is difficult to say what form, what line is the right line, and man has to accept that what one cannot learn by study, intuition teaches.
The only reason, that from the mystical point of view one can give about the secret of line, is that the effect of a certain line arranges the inner and outer planes of the human being in such a condition that for the moment one looks at the line, one is, so to speak, in a kind of spell of that line. The secret of this can be found in the secret of concentration, that every object man thinks about, be it even for a moment, has an effect upon his whole being.
And there is a harmony between lines. The harmony of lines is more difficult and more complex to understand than even the harmony of colour, and the harmony of lines touches deeper than the harmony of colour. If a room is beautifully furnished with costly furniture, but if the things are not kept in order according to the science of lines, you will find a kind of confusion in the room. The same thing in dress. The dress may be costly, beautiful in colour, and if it lacks line, it lacks a great deal in beauty. Therefore in art, line is the principle thing. It is the secret of art and it is the secret of its charm, and only the artist who has conceived the beauty of line can express it in his art.
Art has three aspects. One aspect is that the artist tries to copy exactly that which he sees. That artist is contemplative, and it is not a small thing to be able to copy exactly in the object. For the success of this artist is sure. With all man's craving for something new, what really he wants is something he has seen. Is it not something wonderful, is it not great to be able to copy nature as it is, to produce the same in the soul of man as is in nature? Another aspect of art is the improvement on nature which the artist makes by exaggeration. And the benefit of this art is more attraction than impression. No doubt in this form of art the artist can fulfil his soul's purpose. But at the same time the artist may go far away from nature, and the further he goes the more he destroys the beauty of art. For nature and art, both, must go hand in hand.
Now coming to the third aspect of art, that aspect is symbolical art. Symbolism has not come from the human intellect, for it is born of intuition. The finer the soul, the better equipped in some way or other in the symbolical idea. A fine soul always dreams symbolical dreams, and when the soul becomes finer still it interprets the dream to itself, understanding the meaning of that symbolism. The artist who produces in his art a symbolical idea has learned it from what he has seen in nature and has interpreted that in his art. Certainly it is inspiration. The finer the artist is, the finer his symbolical way of producing.
In every work of art one can observe three things: its surface, its length and width, and its depth. That I do not say in the ordinary sense of the words. The surface means what the picture is, the length and width is the story that it tells and the depth is the meaning that it reveals. Therefore for the best way of appreciating and studying the works of an artist, these three faculties must be developed. Art is a very vast subject. A series of lectures is not sufficient for this subject.
- THE DIVINE BLOOD CIRCULATION THROUGH THE VEINS OF THE UNIVERSE
In the first place we must inquire what it is that reminds us of the Divine, what brings us to a feeling of the existence of the Divine Being? It is what may be called beauty, the beauty, the delicacy, the colour in the flower, and the brilliancy and the light of the precious stone. For in all that which is beautiful is intelligence, even manifesting through material objects. The definition of the secret of fragrance, the secret of the brilliancy of the diamond, of the beauty of the pearl, the secret behind all that appeals and attracts man, it is intelligence.
Only the intelligence in all things is, so to speak, imprisoned, covered; and in living beings this intelligence begins to manifest, and in man there is the great possibility of the manifestation of this intelligence. Therefore in things or beings, if anywhere there is a trace of the Divine to be found, it is in the intelligence. And as many different degrees may be found in the beautiful flowers, one better than the other, and as many different degrees may be found between pebbles and the diamond, a million more different degrees may be found between man and man.
At this present time when man has disregarded this beauty, and the value which is hidden in human personality, by this he has disregarded that divine substance which is hidden in man. Today there is no place, there is no recognition of human culture, whereas every other object is classified and a value has been fixed to it. There are different studies and different practices, and different degrees in the universities and colleges. There are ranks and divisions in all other parts of life, but there is no distinct place for the understanding, for the intelligence of man in its true aspect.
There is no loss to the person who possesses this wealth, only by this before the world where is nothing distinguished, and there is no chance for every man to find out what is behind the veil. If one could explain the real meaning of education and a true education, it would be from the beginning to the end of man's life: realization of the circulation of the Divine blood through the veins of the universe. For there is no limitation of time for the study and practice of this, it is endless.
The secret behind magnetism, which has its different aspects, is one and the same. No doubt magnetism, personal magnetism is divided into several different parts. There is a physical magnetism, which comes with the youth, with energy, with the healthiness of the body, the more healthy the person is. Especially at the time of youth, the person begins to show a certain energy in every action and in his every movement, and by this he expresses magnetism. Then there is a greater magnetism than that, and that is the magnetism of the mind.
A person with a living mind is like a light, and as light attracts and its warmth comforts, so does comfort come out of this person as a radiance. Besides, there is a magnetism of culture. A person who is well trained and has a certain culture, then his action, his word, his thought, all become rhythmic. And the fourth magnetism is the magnetism of the soul, the soul which is living. By living I mean which is not closed or covered with a grave, but which manifests outwardly as well as inwardly. It is this soul which has another magnetism, a magnetism which is greater still, and greatest of all other aspects of magnetism.
Now the question is that how can one attain to this highest magnetism which alone is the endurable magnetism? It is by watching the Divine Essence, by noticing the Divine essence in all things. You will always find the difference between two men of different temperament. There is one man appreciative of music, poetry and art, responsive and ready to admire all that is good and beautiful and there is another person who closes himself, he is not open to appreciate anything, not ready to respond to anything or willing to admire anything.
And when the door is closed from the Divine Manifestation which is in all things, then that continual source of attracting new magnetism is closed, then the soul dies of poverty. For the physical body, since it is limited, its sustenance is also limited, but the soul, as the soul is not limited, so its sustenance is not limited. Soul is not satisfied with one moment's meditation only, nor is the soul satisfied by one good action in the week, nor is the soul satisfied by attending one prayer, perhaps, in a week's time.
The soul's hunger is greater than the hunger of body or mind. Its hunger is satisfied by beauty, beauty in all its aspects, beauty of colour, beauty of thought and imagination. Therefore naturally the soul of the artist, of the poet, of the musician, of a thinker is always living. But, at the same time, the difference is that the one who is fond of beauty and derives that nourishment which comes from beauty also, has only a limited food. For the perfect satisfaction can only come when one knows all beauty to be One Beauty, and that one beauty to be the Divine Beauty.
Very often man questions the idea of communication, of Divine Communication. But it is not an impossible thing, it is the most desirable thing there is, only the person who thinks that the Divine Communication can be made by going to Heaven and leaving this earth, he may well wait for some time. As for the example, we have no lack of examples in the world, if only we can see. For instance, a true musician, a real musician, the music is not only an art, a symphony, it is something which speaks to him, it is something with which he communicates.
A musician who arrives at this stage, he may be perhaps striking one chord, and the continual striking of that one chord will bring him to an ecstasy. For another person it is only striking a chord, but for him it is speaking with the piano, he is conversing with it. Besides all the great men I have seen in my country, I recall having seen one of the great pianists of the Western world, Paderewski, and I valued my privilege of hearing him at his house, when there were not many people, when he was by himself, when he began to play. And his play, it seemed as if there was a question of his soul and an answer of the piano, the whole time it was a question of his soul and an answer of music. In the end it seemed as if at the close of the whole thing that the soul of the player and the music became one and perfect.
Now this is an example, but there can be many other examples such as this. In order to attain to this perfection one need not be a musician, the whole life from morning to evening before us can speak to us, if we are able to speak to it, if we establish the communication with life. When man is not open he is not even open to himself, he cannot communicate with life, then he is lonely, but the man who is in communication with himself, he may be in the forest, in the wilderness, yet he is in the world, the whole universe is around him. How many souls are among us, friends, who, living in this crowded world, yet are lonely, when it is so natural and possible that a man outside the world may keep in communication with the whole Being.
A scientist has discovered that by touching an electric current, or by attaching oneself to it, one can obtain more energy in a certain part of the body where there is less energy. If this material aspect of electricity can give a new life, a new vigour to the body, then, if one came in contact with that continual battery of life, could one not attain from it all one desires? An energy which is everywhere, and with which one can get in touch everywhere, if one only knew how to communicate with it; an energy which is not without intelligence, but which is the perfection of intelligence. Mind and soul can become more and more intelligent by coming into contact with it.
But now one might ask, "How can one attain it?" As it is necessary that in order to sing well one must cultivate one's voice, and as it is necessary in order to get muscularly strong one has to make physical exercises, so it is most necessary to get in touch with the Divine Life which is all around and about us, which is within and without us, to practise to get in touch with it and to keep in touch with it. We see that in all different occupations of life, whether it is scientific inventions or in industry or in business, one must be so absorbed in it in order to do something worthwhile in life.
The same can also be applicable to the spiritual work as it is to the material work. Concentration is the main thing, and when the concentration is not attained, then whatever a person will do, it will not bring about worthwhile results. You can find in all different occupations the cause of failures in ninety-nine among a hundred cases is the lack of concentration. When a student fails in passing his examination, when a businessman fails in making his real success, when an industrial man fails to bring about a success, in all this it is lack of concentration which causes the failure.
A spiritual or religious attitude apart, even from a material and selfish point of view, one cannot deny the greatest value of concentration in life. But when we come to realize that there is one energy, an energy which is not only an energy but Intelligence itself, and which is Divine and which is all over, then one has come face to face with the object one is searching for. All that remains for him then is to know that intellectual knowledge does not satisfy his purpose, for him it remains to try and find out how he can communicate, how he can come into touch with this all-pervading energy. And the answer is, one has to mould oneself, one has to prepare oneself in order to become a fitting instrument, in order to fit in with this all-pervading energy. And the question is, "How has one to prepare?" The answer is that every soul has been made to answer in this symphony of the whole universe as a certain note. And when he will not give that note he will not be fulfilling his life's purpose, and thereby he will always feel dissatisfied with himself and others. And how will he be able to attain or attune himself to that note? By the ear training, in symbolical expression, plainly speaking, by studying the law, the nature, and the secret of harmony in life.
Does it not teach us that there are two important things to remember? One is to develop the sense of harmony in one's everyday life and to develop the sense of rhythm in everything one does. If one has developed the sense of harmony and yet has not known the secret of rhythm, he will still have difficulties. And if one knows the rhythm and how to fit in with the rhythm of the universe, and yet has no sense of the nature and secret of harmony, then also will he meet with failures. It teaches us that the whole life is as a music, and to study it we must study it as music. It is not only study, it is practice that makes man perfect. If anyone told me, "that person is a miserable, or a wretched person, or a distressed person," the answer will be, "he is out of tune."
A distress or disappointment or failure is caused by falling short of answering one's own duty in playing the part in the symphony. Very often people will ask, "There is a good man, why must he suffer? There is a very nice person, a religious person, why has he distress?" And there are others who will answer a thousand different reasons. They will say that perhaps in the life before he has done something wrong, therefore he has to pay his debts, or some will say that goodness must always suffer. But when we come to the practical side of the question, the answer is simple, that man-made goodness is not natural goodness.
Nature demands, life demands a certain standard of understanding, of thinking, of living and that can be learned by learning the tune and the rhythm, not only by learning, but by putting oneself to that tune and setting oneself to that particular rhythm which makes the music of life. It is by this, in this manner that the happiness is attained, that happiness which is the seeking of every soul. And it is in this manner that one will progress continually until he will touch the Divine Spirit, the Spirit that pervades all through and which is everywhere.
- THE POWER OF THE WORD
The word is in itself a profound mystery in every sense, and every scripture has considered the mystery of the word as the most profound mystery as compared to all other secrets of life. Coming to the scripture which is most known to the Western world, we read that "first was the word and the word was God." And then again one reads that it was the word which was first and then came light. These two phrases convey to us two things. The first conveys that if anything existed that we can express, we can only express it by the name "word."
And when we come to the second phrase it explains another phase of the mystery, and that is that in order for the soul surrounded by the darkness of this world of illusion to come to the light, the word was first necessary. Which means that the original Spirit was in the mystery of the word, and by the mystery of the word, the mystery of the Spirit was to be found. And when we come to the Vedantist scriptures which existed many thousands of years, there also we realize the same thing. For instance, there is a phrase in the Sanskrit language which says 'Nada Brahma,' which means, 'the mystery of creation was in Nada,' which means, 'in the word.'
In the Koran one reads in Arabic the word, "Kunfa ukun," that first was the exclamation "Be," and it became. The One Who said "Be," and it became, was not a mortal being; He was and is and will be all the life there is. And if that is so, then the word was not the mystery of the past, but the word is a continual and everlasting mystery. And at this time, when man has engaged himself in the material phenomena and has progressed very far, compared with the past, in industrial and commercial activities, this one aspect of discovering the might which lies under the word is still unexplored.
In the first place, the mystic who knows the value of the word finds that word in himself first. For the secret of all knowledge that one acquires in the world, whether worldly knowledge or spiritual knowledge, is the knowledge of the self. For instance, music is played outside, but where is it realized? It is realized within. A good word or a bad word is spoken outside, but where is it realized? It is realized within. Then where is the realization of this whole manifestation, all this creation that stands before us in all its aspects? Its realization is within.
And at the same time the error of man always continues. Instead of finding it within he always wants to find it without. It is just like a man who wants to see the moon and looks for it on the ground. And if a man sought for thousands of years for the moon by looking on the earth, he will never see it. He will have to lift up his head and look at the sky. And so with the man who is in search of the mystery of life outside; he will never find it. For the mystery of life is to be found within. There is the source and goal, and it is there that, if he seeks, he will find. What is sound? Is the sound something outside or is it something within? The outside sound also becomes audible because the sound within is continued and the day when the sound within is closed, then the body is not capable of hearing the outside sound.
Man today, living in the life of externality, has become so accustomed to the outside life that he hardly thinks of sitting alone. When he is alone he engages himself with a newspaper or with something. Always working with the life which is outside, always being occupied with the life outside, in his way man loses his attachment with the life within; his life becomes superficial, and the result is nothing but disappointment. For there is nothing in this world which is so attractive in the form of sound that is visible or audible, as the sound within. For all that the senses touch and that is intelligible to the mind of man, has its limitation of time and of effect. It does not make effect further than it does.
The mystery of life does not concern only the material plane, but it goes still further. The mystery lies in the breath; it is the breath and the pulsation that goes on that keeps this mechanism of the body going. And it seems that the people of the ancient times had a greater knowledge of this mystery than man today. For what is meant by the lute of Orpheus? It means the human body; it is a lute, it is meant to be played upon. When this lute is not realized, when it is not understood, when it is not used for its proper purpose, then that lute remains without the use for which it was created, because then it has not fulfilled the purpose for which this lute was made.
The breath is not alone as far as the man of material science knows it; he only knows the vibrations of the air going out and coming in, and he sees no further. Besides this, pulsation, the beating of the heart and head, the pulse, all these things which keep a rhythm, man very rarely thinks what depends upon this rhythm. The whole life depends upon this. Besides, this breath which one breathes is certainly a secret in itself; it is not only a secret but the expression of all mystery, something upon which the psychology of life depends. The science of medicine for thousands of years has to some extent depended upon finding out the physical complaints of the body by the rhythm and by the breath.
The ancient medicine knew that health depended upon the rhythm of vibrations. And now again a time is coming that in the modern world physicians are striving to find out the law of vibrations, upon which depends man's health. But a man absorbed in the material life goes so far and no further. The mystery of vibrations does not concern only the material plane, but it goes still further. If the human body is a lute, then every word man speaks, every word he hears has an effect upon the mind. For instance, if a person repeats or hears himself called by the name foolish, even if he was wise, in time he will turn foolish. And it is true also that a man who is simple, call him wise and in time he will become wise.
The effect of the name that man has, has a great deal to do with man's life, and very often one sees that the name has an effect upon man's fate and his career. The only reason is that he hears so often in the day that particular name being called. And is it not true that a man saying a humorous thing bursts out laughing, and a man saying a sad thing breaks into tears? If that is true, then every word that one speaks in one's everyday life what effect has it upon one's self and upon one's surroundings! And the superstition that has existed in all times about not saying an unlucky word, an undesirable word, one can see that that superstition has a meaning.
In the East there has always been a training given to a child that he must think before he utters a word, for it has a psychological meaning and effect. Very often people reading a poem or singing a song with great love, a song of sorrow or tragedy, are affected by it, and very often their life takes as turn and is affected by it. Besides, a person who speaks of his illness certainly nourishes his illness. Very often I have heard people say that, if there exists a pain it is a reality, and how can one deny it? It is so amusing to hear them say this, because reality is so far away, and our everyday life is such that from morning to evening we do nothing but deny it. If one only knew where lies the Truth, if one only knew what is the Truth, if one only were to know it and see it, one would think that all else is non existent in reality.
But besides that there is a power of the word according to the illumination of the soul, because then that word does not come from the human mind, that word comes from the depth, from behind, that word comes from some mysterious part that is hidden from the human mind. And it is in connection with such words that one reads in the scriptures of words such as "swords of flame" and "tongues of flame." Whether it were a poet or whether it were a prophet, when that word came from the burning heart then the word rose as a flame. In accordance with the Divine Spirit which is in the word, that word has life, power and inspiration.
Think of the living words of the ancient times, think of the living words that one reads in the scriptures, the living words of the holy ones, of the illuminated ones, they live and will live forever. It is a music which may be called a magic, a magic for all times. Whenever such words are repeated they have that magic, that power. What the sages of all ages have said, these words have been kept by people, by their pupils. In whatever part of the world they were born or lived, what they have let fall as words that has been taken as real pearls, that has been kept as a scripture. And therefore wherever one goes in the East one finds the followers of different religions wherever they pray have the words of the illuminated ones, and they do not need to put them in their own language. And one finds in this way that the words said by the great ones have been preserved for ages in order to use them for meditation.
Besides this, there is a still more scientific and a greater mystery of the word. It is not only what the word means, it is not only who has said the word, but the word in itself has also a dynamic power. The mystics, sages and seekers of all ages, knowing the mystery of the sacred word, have been always in its pursuit. The whole meditative life of the Sufis is built upon the mystery of the word. For the word 'Sufi,' according to the explanation of the initiates, comes from 'Sophia' which means wisdom, but wisdom not in the outer sense of the word, because worldly cleverness cannot be wisdom.
The intellect which man very often confuses with wisdom, is only an illusion of wisdom. Wisdom is that which is learned from within, and intellect is that which is acquired from without. The source of wisdom is above, the source of intellect is below. And therefore it is not the same method, it is not the same process one adopts in order to attain wisdom as that which one adopts in order to acquire intellect. In short the attainment of that wisdom is made in various ways by various people, but at the same time the great mystery of attaining the Divine wisdom is in the mystery of the word.
- CONCENTRATION
Concentration is a simple word, in practice it is most difficult. Everyone knows the word concentration; if he knows how to do it he knows everything. Sometimes people think to sit with closed eyes means concentration, but whether you close your eyes or whether you open your eyes, concentration has nothing to do with it. If you concentrate, you concentrate, with open eyes or with closed eyes, in the midst of the crowd or in the solitude; and if you do not, you do not. But concentration is one state, a state which leads to contemplation. And so one goes through the meditative process to achieve that in which is the fulfilment of every soul's purpose in life.
Therefore it is that the ancient people called it 'alchemy' from which the words 'chemical,' or 'chemistry,' or 'chimie' come. Only now there are simple persons (even in the East we find many) who by alchemy understand the turning of iron into gold. But when we consider it symbolically the meaning that we find in alchemy is to turn this very personality, which is human personality, from the base metal into gold. But by alchemy it is not the gold which is made in order to possess, the gold of the soul is made, one becomes oneself gold, and it is that gold which is incomparably of greater value than the gold of this mortal world.
Then there are people who still remember the stories of the ancient times, the stories of the alchemists, and it is even till now most interesting to get the meaning out of these symbolical stories, for they are always instructive. There is a story of a king who was very fond of finding out ways of alchemy, of turning base metal into gold, and everyone that professed knowing alchemy had a welcome at the palace, but in the end of examination he found their profession futile. And then they found someone, and they said to the king, "Here is a real alchemist," and to the king's great sadness, when this alchemist came before the throne, he said, "No, King, I am not the man who knows the alchemy which you are looking for."
The king said, "No, you know it. I feel confident in my heart that you are the person who knows it and you must teach the study to me." The man continued refusing; the king continued persisting. And then he said, "Do you know that I am a king, and here I command you to do so, and if you still refuse, you know what I can do. I give you forty days limit. If during this time you did not tell me, then do you know what is waiting for you? You will be beheaded." The man was taken to a prison. And the king visited him every morning, telling him, "Man, change your mind. Remember life is greater than gold. You can still teach me and save your life."
And at night the same king came in the form of a working man, in the form of a servant; and he swept the floor and he made the bed for him and he cleaned the table for him and he served his dinner, and he did every little thing possible to make this prisoner feel comfortable. And so every day this went on. In the evening the king visited as a servant, and in the morning he went as a king, and gave him a warning again and again. And there comes that last day, the day after which was waiting the death of this man, and the king gave him the last warning and said, "Now, tomorrow is the day, be ready; for a king's command is his command." And in the evening this servant shed tears at the thought of this poor prisoner being taken to be beheaded.
"Don't shed tears," he said, "life is such, but remember that which I refused the king, to you I most willingly give, if you will keep it in confidence. And now you will see how great a trust it is, how sacred the thing is to me which I have guarded more than my life, that I have sacrificed my life in order to guard this, that you will keep it in the same way." This servant said "Well, I appreciate most what you give me, although I do not know its value, at the same time, for you to be killed tomorrow, this I cannot bear, it tears my heart to pieces." "Be not sad, man," he said, "life is such. I give you this secret: gold that will make you gold." And he whispered in his ears, and enlightened him with his secret. And the morning came and the king came for his last warning.
There soldiers were waiting to take him to be beheaded, and there he was awaiting his death, and the king is there to ask him for the last time if he will obey the command. "No," said this prisoner, "find someone else, King; I am not the person you are looking for." But the king said, "But you have given me that; don't you remember?" "Did I?" said the prisoner. "If I have given it, it is to the servant, not to the king." To the hungry food is given, and to the seeker Truth is given. But one who is not hungry, even if the food is given, he cannot eat; and one who does not seek the Truth, even the most ultimate Truth given to him he will not appreciate. Those Great Ones who came to illuminate souls and who lived on this earth, they have touched millions, but did millions get that illumination? No. What remained afterwards and was modified, lost its fragrance perhaps after thousands of years. Then, when it was dust, people began to talk, but at the time when it was given people did not appreciate. It will always prove true, man is the worst enemy of his best friend. Whom he strikes first is his best friend. He has crucified him, he has imprisoned him, he has killed him, he has beheaded him, he has flayed him; and yet without meaning, without intending, with goodwill and with reason, what he calls reason, in his head.
Now coming to the actual subject of this alchemy, what is it and how is it made? What they say in legends is that alchemists used to take mercury, and by putting some chemicals they used to still it; and in stilling that mercury it turned into silver; and then, by putting it into a fire, the silver itself turned in the flame and took on that flame colour which we call gold. Coming to the question, what is this mercury symbolically? The mercury is a condition of the heart, the condition of the mind. It is never still.
Automatically one's mind takes up any impression and thought, and without intention may hold it as a despair, as a depression, but as soon as one intentionally takes up a thought the mind goes on in its active way and loses it. As soon as man wishes his mind to take up a thought the mind fails and that is the nature of mercury; mercury is never still and the mind is never still. The more you wish the mind to become still, the more active the mind becomes. But this mind can become still - it is that process which is called concentration, and it is by this process that this mercury can be turned into silver.
The Sufis have different ways of postures, different ways of standing or sitting. All these different things are in order to still that mercury, not only in the mind but also in the body, which keeps mind always active, moving, restless. Hardly one thinks how little power man has upon his body. As soon as you tell a man to sit still, the moment he knows that he must control his body, the body will begin to move and be restless. And since mind and body are connected one with the other, the stilling of the mind needs stilling of the body at the same time. There are just now many Movements, schools, where they will teach the way how to move gracefully.
But it is not the stilling of the mercury, the stilling of the mercury is how to sit restfully. That is another subject in life to learn, and much more important too. As essential as it is to keep awake, so essential is it to sleep; and as important as it is to move, so important is it to take repose. But once one's mind is controlled, one's body is made still, it has made man valuable, it has made that personality precious. And yet it is not gold, for the gold is gold because it has light in it. This tranquillity which one has learned, is in order to make one a vessel, a pitcher which can hold, but that pitcher must hold divine light in it. And when the pitcher has that divine light, then there is a value of that pitcher.
This shows that it is not only an intellectual conception of God or of life which is sufficient for man, the first thing is that one must develop that tranquillity in one's body and mind, so that this vessel may contain in itself the life and the light of God. Sometimes it amuses me very much when I meet people who tell me, "Well, what is your conception of God? Please tell me." Here for years and years people have to train their bodies and their mind in order to get in tune, in order to find a glimpse of that Truth of which a person, with his intellect, comes and asks, "Please tell me how do you believe, in what way do you consider God?"
As in other theories and different things he reads and learns in books, everything he thinks - that even God is a conception, an idea which can be explained in a sentence. Sometimes a person comes and asks me, "Well, do you believe in a personal God or do you believe in an abstract God?" And before the answer he tells himself that, "I do not believe in a personal God. I only believe in an abstract. I can only believe in that idea." He comes with his preconceived ideas of which he is not sure, he is asking only to be sure whether that fits in with his ideas, if it does not fit in, then he goes away. Another man comes and says, "What do you think of the here after? What is your idea?" He wants in one sentence what will be after death; whereas in order to die that death here in life people spent days and years in studying, in practice, in meditation, in order to experience themselves what is after death; and they have experienced by dying a death here on earth. It is not impossible to know it, but it is not so easy to know as a person thinks. In order to keep man quiet the wise had to tell them a thousand things in order to fit in with their particular conceptions. That cannot be the Truth, and if they say the Truth, they cannot say it. Truth cannot be said in words. What is Truth? Truth is life itself, and it is the realizing of life that is the discovering of the Truth. If Truth is such a small thing that it can be spoken in words, then Truth is no Truth. And what are words? Words are something that covers Truth.
When one comprehends beyond words, it is then that one realizes Truth. To become gold is to become light, and the light in this precise sense is Truth itself. Light and life are two words, in point of fact it is one. In the essence it is one, call it light because it is knowing, call it life because it is living. To a dervish a person went and said, "Please tell me what happens after death." The dervish said, "Go to someone who is going to die, who is mortal, he will tell you what happens after death. Neither do I die nor do I know what happens after death." And that explains the central thought of Sufism and that thought is that life lives, it is death that dies. In spite of all the great Master Jesus Christ had to teach to the people to satisfy their fancies, to help them in their lives, the central theme of the Master's teaching is one, and that is to distinguish the immortality of the soul.
The Sufi, therefore, is the pupil of wisdom and since he is the pupil of wisdom he is the pupil of the All-Wise. In philosophical form or in mystical forms and scientific or artistic form in all its forms it has one Source, and it is that Source which is the Master. And therefore he is not in any disagreement with any religion, with any sect or with any community. People have adored their own Teachers and their own Scriptures that they worship and respect; for the Sufi they are all the same.
The Sufi's church, therefore, is every place where he stands, the dome of that church is the sky, and the floor of that church is his thoughts. The whole Scripture of the Sufi is all this life that teaches lessons from morning till evening. Therefore the literature of all those great prophets and Teachers for him is the interpretation which they have taken from this life, interpreted in the language of the people of that time. And yet that wisdom for the Sufi is not limited to a certain period, that wisdom has always been, therefore is and will always be, for he finds the Source of that wisdom, which he considers most sacred, is to be found in the heart of man.
- THE INNER LIFE
There is one aspect of life which is known to us, which we call our everyday life, the consciousness of doing all that we do in our everyday life, it is called the outer life; and there is a part of our life of which we are unconscious very often, and it is that part of our life which may be called inner life. To be without inner life means to be without one arm or one leg or one eye or one ear; but even this simile does not sufficiently illustrate the idea of the inner life. The reason is that the inner life is much greater and nobler and much more powerful than the outer life.
Man gives a great importance to the outer life, being absorbed in it from morning till evening and not being conscious of another aspect of life, which may be called inner life. It is therefore that all that matters to man is what happens to him in his outer life, and the occupation of the outer life keeps him so absorbed that hardly he has a moment to think of the inner life. The disadvantage of not being conscious of the inner life is incomparably greater than all the advantage that one can derive by being conscious of the outer life, which one is always.
The reason is that the inner life makes one richer, the outer life poorer. With all its richness and treasures that the earth can offer man is poor; and very often the richer, the poorer, for the greater the riches, the more the limitation he finds in his life. The inner life makes one powerful, whereas the outer life, its consciousness makes one weak. It makes one weak because it is the consciousness of limitation. The consciousness of the inner life makes one powerful, because it is the consciousness of perfection.
The outer life keeps one confused. However intellectual or learned a person may be, he is never clear. His knowledge is based upon reasons which are founded upon outer things, things that are liable to change and destruction. That is why, however wise that person may seem to be, his wisdom has limitations. What today he thinks right, after four days he thinks, perhaps, wrong. The inner life make the mind clear. The reason is that it is that part of one's being which may be called divine, the essence of life, the pure intelligence.
The phenomenon of it is that wherever the light of pure intelligence is thrown things become clear. The absorption in the outer life without what the inner life gives makes one blind, all one says, thinks, or does is based upon outer experiences and no one can realize to what extent the power gained by the inner life enables man to see through life. There exists the belief of the third eye. In reality the third eye is the inner eye, the eye that is opened by one's wakening to the inner life.
Therefore inner life in other words may be called the spiritual life. One can see it in the forest, that it is the rain from above that makes the forest beautiful, which means that what forest needs is not all that it has, but it needs something that comes from above, the light, the rain. It is the sun and rain that makes the forest complete. And in the desert there is no rain, and therefore it is only one aspect, there is the earth, but there is no water, water from above. The water that gives life to the forest, that water is not to be found in the desert.
The desert is unhappy as the man in the desert is unhappy, looking for a shade from the hot sun; because the desert is longing, and the man in the desert is longing too for something he cannot find; whereas in the thick forest there is a joy, there is an inspiration, the heart is lifted up, because the forest is the picture of the inner life. It is not only the earth, not only the trees and plants, but it is something that it needs has been sent upon it. And so it is with man. Man who is solely occupied with the things of the world is in the outer life; in the midst of the world he may be, but he is in the desert; but it is the inner life which produces in him, not artificial virtues and not man-made qualities, but such virtues which only can rise from inner life, besides that that insight which makes the eyes see more than the mortal eyes can see.
If one only knew that besides what one says or does or thinks and the effect of what one says, does, or thinks which is manifest to him, there is another action which creates something in a person's life, which makes his world. And perhaps in a week or in a month, or perhaps in a year or ten years that which he has created one day comes before him as a world, as a world created by him. Such is the phenomenon of life. How insignificant a human being appears to be, just like a drop in the water, and at the same time what effect he creates by every thought, by every feeling, by every act!
And what influence it spreads, and what influence it has on the lives of the others! If one only knew one would find that the outer life and the results of all one thinks, says, or does in the outer life are much smaller, incomparably smaller than the results produced by everything one thinks, says, or does in the inner life. It is, therefore, the inner life that makes man more responsible than the consciousness of the outer life. The responsibilities of the outer life compared with the responsibilities of the inner life are much smaller.
For the moment they might appear to be heavy burdens, but they are nothing compared with the responsibilities one has with one's inner life. If one sees what one creates, the responsibility is much greater. As they say in the Eastern language of the Chakor (Chakor is supposed to be a bird) that the donkey seems to be much happier than the Chakor, which is the most intelligent bird. Man in the outer life seems quite pleased, because his responsibilities are less, his outlook small, his horizon narrow, what he sees of the world very little; but when the horizon is opened, when the heart has penetrated through the barrier that divides the here and hereafter, when one begins to see behind the veil and all that appears on the surface becomes a screen behind which something else is hidden, then one experiences life quite differently.
The view of the one who stands on the top of the mountain is quite different from the view of the one who stands at the bottom of the mountain. Both are human beings, both have the same eyes, but the horizon of one is different from the horizon of the other. Inner life, therefore, means the widening of the horizon and the change of direction of seeing. In the English language they call a mystic a seer; seer means the one who sees. In the East there is a quotation of a great Yogi, who says, "In order to see what is before you, you must see within yourself." And that means that within yourself there is a mirror and it is that mirror which may be called the inner world, the inner life.
It is in this mirror that all that is before you is reflected. But when the eyes are looking outside, then one has turned his back to the mirror which is inside, but when the eyes are turned inside, then one sees in this mirror all that is outside reflected. Therefore all seeing by this process is so clear and manifests to such fullness that in comparison the vision that one has before one's eyes is a blurred or confused vision. Two person may live together for 25 years, for forty, fifty years, and may not be able to understand one another for the lack of the inner life, and the inner life would enable one to understand one another in one moment. When they said that the twelve apostles began to understand the language of all nations, did they learn the grammar of all nations at that moment? No, they learned the language of the heart. The language of the heart speaks louder than words can speak. If the ears of the heart were open to hear that language the outer words would not be necessary.
With all the progress that humanity is making it still is most limited; and the more you see the limitations of this process, the more you find that it is limited because of the absence of the inner life. When you see in the traditions and histories of the past how many thieves there used to be and robbers and murderers, and how many murders there were committed, one thinks, "what a horrid time it was." And yet when one thinks more about it one sees that the time at present is much worse, the time of robbers and murderers was much milder. One or two persons in a village were murdered, now towns and countries are swept away. One war has swept away such a large number of humanity. Imagine if another war comes what will be the result? They say people have progressed, they are more thoughtful, but with all thoughtfulness we have progressed to cause all destruction and disasters that we find in a much greater degree. Does it mean that humanity is not progressing? It is progressing, but in which direction? Downwards.
The condition of going in the path of the inner life is to be free first, in order to walk in that path. If the feet are pinned, the hands are nailed by beliefs, by preconceived ideas, by thoughts that one has, then one stands; one has every desire to go, but he is not going, because he is holding on to something. Certain beliefs he has, what he believed, or what he thought, he is holding on to them, he is not going on from them, he is not going forward. And therefore many with many good qualities and high ideals and with religious tendencies, with devotional temperament, with all the spiritual qualities that one may have can still stand in the same place. Either their ideas are holding as pins or nails in the feet, or the hands are somewhere leaning on the railings and holding it and not going further. What the inner life requires first is the freedom in proceeding. The old meaning of freedom is very little understood, although everyone is seeking freedom. They say so much about freedom that one can be free of all things except of one thing, that is the self, that is the last thing one thinks about. The conception of freedom is quite different at this time. Therefore while seeking freedom man becomes anything but free, because he is caught in the trap of his own self.
That is the greatest captivity there is, there he remains as a djinn in the bottle. Besides that the inner life requires sacrifice. As man considers his learning, his qualification, everything in his life is in order to be better qualified to gain all that he can in the world, power or possession or wealth or anything, and sacrifice is quite a contrary way to gain, therefore one develops in him the nature of gaining instead of sacrificing. Besides, sacrifice requires a large mind, sacrifice requires deep sympathies, sacrifice requires great love, sacrifice is the most difficult thing.
Inner life is something which is within oneself; it has been called a chamber of divine light in one's own heart. And the door remains closed till an effort is made to open it, and that effort is a sacrifice. In biblical terms there is a word - self-denial - but it is always misinterpreted by people. Self-denial, as people think generally, is to deny all that is good and beautiful, all that is worth attaining. Really self-denial is not to deny all that is good and beautiful to the self, but to deny the self and that is the last thing one wishes to deny. And the automatic action of this denial opens this door of inner life. Inner life requires sacrifice.
And now coming to the path of sages. The sages who have realized the inner life have realized it by the contemplative method. Man from his infancy is unaware of something in him which is more than a faculty. By experiencing life through the outer senses this faculty, which is the faculty of inner life, (I use the word faculty because it expresses it a little better), this faculty, by not using it, becomes closed, just as if a door of a chamber of joy and light and of life is closed.
And because from infancy one has not experienced the joy and the life and the light of this chamber which may be called a celestial chamber in the heart of man, one remains unaware of it, except that the feeling that sometimes one has and that one is unconscious of. This feeling remains; and sometimes when one is deeply touched or sometimes when one has deeply suffered, sometimes when life has shown its hideous face, at such times, or after an illness, or by the help of meditation this feeling which is unconsciously working there as a longing to unfold itself, this feeling becomes manifest. In what way? In love for solitude, in sympathy for the others, in a tendency to sincerity, in the form of inspiration of all that is good and beautiful.
It may manifest in the form of emotion, love, affection, in the form of inspiration in the form of a revelation, vision, art, or poetry, or music; in whatever form one allows it to express itself or one happens to be busy with, in that form it begins to manifest. And therefore it is all spiritual when this door of the chamber of the heart is once open. If a man is a musician, then his music is celestial, if he is a poet, then his poetry is spiritual, if he is an artist, then his art is a spiritual work; whatever he may do in life that Divine Spirit manifests. He need not be a religious person, he need not be a philosopher, he need not be a mystic. Only that which was hidden in him and which was keeping him incomplete in life, this begins to manifest to view. That makes life perfect, that enables man to express life to its fullness.
Every attempt made today to better the condition of humanity by politics, by education, by social reconstruction and by many other ways, all these, with excellent plans, can only be fulfilled if this something which was missing was added to them, but in the absence of this all efforts of many, many years will prove to be fatal. For this something which is missing is the most essential of all things. The world cannot remain a world without rainfall. The world cannot progress without a spiritual stimulus, a spiritual awakening. If that is not the first thing, it is natural that it is not the first thing; still it can be the last thing; and if it is not even the last thing, then it is a pity.
Now I should like to explain what reason I will give for the wakening of the meditative souls, how are they wakened, how would they experience the inner life. In the first place the adept values his object of attaining the inner life more than anything else in life. As long as he does not value it so long he remains unable to attain to it. That is the first condition, that man values the inner life more than anything else in the world, wealth, or power, position, rank, or anything.
It does not mean that he must not be in pursuit in this world of things he needs, it means he must give the greatest value to something which is really worthwhile. The next thing is that when one begins to give value to something one thinks it is worthwhile to give time; because today in the modern world time, they say time is money, and money means the most valuable thing. If that which is money, of that which is precious, a person gives to something he considers most worthwhile, more than anything else in the world, then no doubt that is the next step towards the inner life.
And the third thing is that the condition of his mind is relieved of that pressure which always is in a person's heart while thinking that, "I have not done what I ought to have done towards my fellowman," (be it one's father or mother, child, husband, wife, brother, friend, whoever it is), or "what I was expected to do towards the persons with whom I am put or in the condition I am in, I have not done it", if that pressure is troubling the mind, then that mind is not yet fit. A person will give time to contemplation and spiritual life, but at the same time the mind is disturbed, the heart is not at rest feeling, "I have not done my duty, I have a debt to pay to someone."
It is a most essential point that the adept considers that any debt to be paid in life, does not remain unpaid. When we look at life, is it not a marketplace? The give and take is to be seen in everything, and for what one has not paid just now, the bill will be presented afterwards. What one thinks, I have gained without paying, he must wait till he realizes that he will have to pay it with interest added to it. In what form one takes, in what form one gives he is seldom aware of it. In giving service, kindness, sympathy may be that he gives service, sympathy, kindness, his money, all he has to the north, from the south it comes, it comes back, when once he takes from the west, to the east he has to pay.
Only man does not know in what form he has to pay, in what form he takes; very often he does not know when he takes, what he gives; but in give and take every moment of his life is occupied. And with all the injustice of the word, it all adjusts itself in the balances. If there were no balance of this the world would not exist. This ever-moving world, turning round and round, what holds it, what makes it stand? It is the balance. It is not only the world that is going on, but everything is going on, the whole of life in its own way. What deeps it existing? It is the balance that holds it. We do not know that balance, being occupied by our worldly life.
But when the inner life is opened and one sees life keenly, one will find that it is a continual balancing process going on and we are as particles on one mechanism constantly busy keeping this balance. When once the heart is at rest by the thought that one has paid, or one is paying one's debts, then one has come to a balanced condition. That balanced condition brings about a balance in one's life. That balance creates a condition in which the heart, which is likened to the sea, becomes then not a restless sea, as it is in the storm, but a calm sea, undisturbed water; and it is that condition which enables man to experience inner life even better.
Do we not see in our everyday life the presence of persons who have not that tranquillity, that peace, that calmness, what influence it has? Terrible influence upon themselves, disastrous influence upon others. One realizes it in one's everyday life if one sees it. One may be sitting in the office with someone, one may be standing in a place, one may be staying in the house where other people are standing or sitting, one can realize by their atmosphere whether that person has reached a state of balance, tranquillity, calm and peace or whether that person is in a state which is not rhythmic, not balanced.
This again gives us an idea that what we call happiness and unhappiness is the state, a balanced state or unbalanced state. When a person is in a normal state in which his mind and heart ought to be, in that state he is in a normal state, he need not seek for happiness, he is happiness itself, he radiates happiness; when that state is disturbed he is unhappy, it is not that unhappiness comes to him but he himself is unhappiness.
In Hindu terms a Hindu idea is that self means happiness, the depth of the self is happiness. Which means all this structure which is outside, the physical body, the breath, the senses of perception, all these which make man, all these stand out, but his inner being can only be called by one name, and that is happiness. It is natural, therefore, that everyone is seeking after happiness, not knowing where to get it, always seeking for it outside of himself. Therefore instead of finding that happiness which is his own he wants to take away the happiness of another.
And what happens? That neither can he get the happiness of another nor can he give it. By trying to get it from the other he causes sorrow to the other and the sorrow comes to him. There are very few robbers who go in the houses of others and steal, but there are so many robbers of happiness, and they seldom know they rob the others of happiness. But the robber of happiness is more foolish than the robbers who are after wealth, because when they are successful they get something, but the robber of happiness, he never gets something, he only gives sorrow to the others.
Inner life therefore must not be considered, as many have thought it to be, a life which is in the forest or in the cave of the mountain or a retired life. Yes, there is a need for a certain person who seeks for a solitude, he prefers to be away from the midst of the world, whose inspiration is stimulated by being alone, who feels himself when he is by himself, but it is not a necessity of attaining to that happiness. One can be in the midst of the world and one can stand above the world. Life has many woes, and the only way of getting rid of it is to stand above them all; and it is this that can be attained by one and only thing, and that is the discovering of the inner life.
- THE MATURITY OF THE SOUL
The maturity of the soul may be pictured in the same way as a little girl, coming towards her youth, no longer giving importance and attention to her dolls; her sentiment, her desire is changed from that idea. It does not mean that she did not have love before, she had it; it does not mean that she did not have sentiment before, she had it. But here with the maturity a consciousness has developed; the development of that consciousness has made all the toys and dolls and all different things to which she used to pay such attention, to not matter.
Is this maturity dependent upon a certain age? No. Does it depend upon certain environments? Yes. It is just like a fruit put in the warmth ripening, so environments help the maturity of the soul. Nevertheless the ripening of the fruit on the tree is ideal, for that is the place for the fruit to ripen. And all different attempts made in order to make the soul ripen, they all help, but they are like a fruit being put in some warmth, it is no longer on the tree.
There are people who think that by renouncing the world one will arrive at the maturity of the soul. There are others who think that by suffering all kinds of torture, by inflicting torments and suffering upon oneself, one will arrive at the maturity of the soul. Often friends came to me and asked me if they had some kind of suffering, some kind of torture, whether they would arrive at the maturity of the soul. I told them that if they wanted to torture themselves I would tell them a thousand things, or they may themselves find out a thousand things, but as far as I know, there is no necessity. If one wants to torture oneself for the sake of torture one may do so, but not for spiritual perfection.
As the ripening of the fruit is in the course of nature, so it is in the course of nature that the soul should mature, and there is no use being disappointed, being disheartened about oneself and about those near and dear to us, worrying over the question, why my husband, my wife, my father, my mother, does not look at spiritual things in the same way as I do. In the first place no man, however great or pious, has the right to judge another soul. Who knows behind what action, what appearance, what speech, what manner, what is hidden? No one knows it. And when a person begins to know what is hidden behind the human soul, he, in spite of all deluding appearances, will have a respect, a respect for mankind, thinking that in the depth of his soul there is He Whom one worships.
There is a story told in the East, that a wife was very much troubled, thinking that her husband was not religious enough, and the reason was that despite all the goodness that the man had, she had never heard him say the Name of the Deity. She continually prayed and prayed for a long, long time, and after many years it happened that she heard her husband utter the Name of the Deity while asleep, when changing sides. The simple wife, she was full of joy. In the morning as the husband awoke she began to prepare all sorts of ceremonies and everything in the house, celebrating the day that her desire had arrived. After the whole celebration the husband asked, "My good wife will you tell me what it is all about?" But she said, "It is too sacred and secret to say." He said, "No, you must tell me." She said, "I have been in a kind of illusion, and now I was disillusioned. For I was most unhappy knowing you, my husband, to be a good man and yet I thought you godless. But last night I happened to hear you utter the name of the Deity while changing sides, and this has made me most happy." "Did I?" said the husband, "Ah!" and he was finished. That was the last breath he took on the earth. He had no desire for it to be known that he loved the Beloved Whom he had concealed in his deepest heart.
Who knows what is a person's inner religion, his inner conception? No one knows it. And many true souls one will find whose heart is in a kind of shell, a hard closed shell, no one knowing that the very essence of God is in their heart. The outer shell of the heart is so hard that no one can understand it. Therefore a Sufi from Persia said, "I went among the pious and the godly and was so often deceived, and I went among those looked down upon by others and I found among them real souls." It is easy to blame, it is easy to look down upon someone, but it is difficult to really know how deep is the soul of a person.
No doubt there are signs of maturity, but who knows, and how does one know them? The signs of maturity are like the subtlety there is between the youthful lovers. When the soul is matured a passion has wakened in it, a passion for what? - A passion for the incomprehensible, for that which is the longing of every soul. And what is that passion like? That passion is like Gulliver's travel. The life on the earth is just like Gulliver's travels. All souls, all persons, all seem to be of a different world, they all seem to be of a different size, they all seem to be different from what they claim to be. Before him there are many little children, before him there appear many drunken people drunken souls. There is a saying of the Prophet that there will appear in the hereafter, on the Day of Judgement, a being in the form of a witch, and man will be frightened at the sight of this witch, and will cry out, "O lord, what a horrible sight is this! Who is this?" And he will receive the answer from the angels, that this is the same world, the world which all your life attracted you, whom you have worshipped, whom you have adored, and have esteemed and valued most and desired. This is the same world that is before you. All people's desires, whether wealth, rank, possession, position, honour or pleasure, all these fade away when the maturity of the soul comes. All claims of love, I am your brother, or your sister, or your son, or your daughter, all these claims mean very little to the mature soul. A mature soul does not need to wait for the day in the hereafter to see the world in the form of a witch, he sees it now. No sooner has the soul matured than he sees the unreality of the world which man has always considered real, and all such words that one uses in the language every day, all these words become meaningless, they have no meaning as soon as the soul has matured. All distinctions and differences, such as those of sect and creed and community, and all different sections, they all mean little to the soul who has awakened. And the experience of the mature soul is like the experience of the man who looked at a play performed on the stage at night, and in the morning he saw the same stage in the sun and saw all the palaces and gardens and all actors, that they were unreal.
When a person has arrived at this stage, this maturity, what happens? It happens in the same way as a mature person, a grown-up person, either takes the right way or the wrong way. There are three aspects of the reaction it makes upon a person. There is one reaction such that it makes a person say in answer to every claim of love and attention and respect, "Oh no, no. I don't believe you, I have had enough. I understand what your claims are. I don't belong to you. I won't listen." All that attracts him he thinks is a temptation, telling it to go away from him., wanting to be alone. And in this he becomes more and more indifferent to the world, and becomes isolated in the crowd. He feels solitary. Either he goes to the cave of the mountain or to the forest. He retires from the world, he lives the life of an ascetic, at war with the world, at peace with God.
There is another reaction. In this reaction the man who understands the unreality of all things, becomes more sympathetic to his fellow men. It is that man who out of sympathy sacrifices his love for solitude, his love for being exclusive, and goes in the crowd and stands amidst those who do not understand him, but he continually tries to understand them, from morning till evening. And the more he goes on in this path the more he develops love. He mourns over the unreality, over the falsehood of life, but at the same time he is there, he is in the midst of it. Only his work is to help those who may be disappointed at the result of every little expectation they had in their love and devotion, as for every soul every disappointment, every heartbreak is a surprise, is a shock, something suddenly comes upon them. For him it is continually so, it is not new, it is the nature of life. He stands by the side of the disappointed ones, he comforts them, he strengthens them. He sees, for instance, in the realm of religion, if he happens to be among those who have a form, who have a certain belief, a dogma, he may be above it, but he will stand with them in that particular form, that dogma. He does not consider that he is different, above them, no, he stands with them. If he happens to be in a business, in some industry, in a worldly affair, although he has not in his view any monetary affair, any profit in it, but at the same time in order to keep harmony, he stands with them. He will sacrifice his life in this way, and he enjoys doing all things and caring nothing for it.
There is a manner to this, the manner of an actor who acts on the stage. If he is made a king he is not very proud of his kingship, if he is made a servant, he is not impressed by that, for he knows and understands that in his robe of a king or of a servant, neither am I a king nor am I a servant, I am myself. And it is such souls really who come to save the world. They are as the elder brothers of humanity, who help the younger brothers. To them there is no impression of that position, that title, that spiritual grade. They are one with all and they take part in the pain and joy of all.
But then there is a third reaction upon the soul, and that soul reacts by thinking that if all that I touch, all that I see and all that I perceive is unreal, then I must find out in whatever way I can, what is real. This one is a warrior for he has a battle before him to fight. And what is this battle? This battle is that he is going to seek the truth, just like a person swimming in the water, making his way. But every step that he advances in the sea, the waves of the sea coming in his face, push him back, and at every effort he makes in going forward the bellows come to push him back and this is a continual struggle for the seeker after the truth. Imagine, the industrial and business and domestic life apart, even things that might seem to be covering the truth, even in such things the seeker may be deluded, for there is a very important thing that the seeker has to consider. As Christ said, "I am the truth and I am the way." That shows that there are two things, there is the truth, and there is the way. The way may lead a person and the way may become a puzzle for a person. It is how careful one has to be that even though the way seems to lead to the truth, even in that way he may be puzzled. For in reality life is a puzzle, a continual puzzle, and it is the love of the puzzle that man seems to have, and therefore he goes into this puzzle. And even a seeker after truth has in his nature to go into the puzzle first. For instance, if a man of truth calls the seeker, who has the love of the puzzle and tells him, here is the truth, he would say, "O, this is something unheard of. Truth at the first step, how is it possible? It must be a thousand years before I can arrive at it. One life is not sufficient, a thousand lives I must live in order to realise the truth." But verily the lover of the puzzle, for him even a thousand lives are not enough. Besides every man is not ready to accept the bare truth, he is not accustomed to it. On hearing the truth, he says, "It is too simple. I want something which I cannot understand."
In point of fact certainly it is simple; it is man who makes it difficult for himself, because all other aspects of knowledge one has to get from outside, while the truth is something which is within man himself. It is something which is nearest to us, we imagine to be farthest from us, it is something which is within we imagine to be without, it is something which is knowledge itself we want to acquire. The seeker therefore has a continual struggle, struggle with himself, struggle with others, and struggle with life. And always the end result is that the one who has journeyed finds in the end that I have journeyed because it was my destiny to journey, but in the end I found out that it was the starting point which was my final goal.
- PHYSICAL CONTROL
Life may be recognized in two aspects: the known and the unknown. What is generally called life is its known aspect as its other aspect is unknown to many. The unknown aspect may be called the immortal, the eternal life, and the known aspect may be called mortal life. What we generally know of life is its mortal part; the experience we have through our physical being gives us the evidence of life, and therefore the life we know is the mortal life. The immortal life exists, but we do not know it; it is our knowledge which is absent, not the immortal life.
In this life known to us everything we have, whether an object, a living being, a thought, a condition, a deed, or an experience - all break and die away. Each of these things has birth and death; sooner or later what is composed must be decomposed, and what is visible now will disappear.
This shows that there is a struggle between what we call life and the life which is behind it. In Sufi terms we call these two aspects of life qadha (Kaza) and qadr (Kadr): qadha is the unlimited aspect of life, qadr is the limited aspect. Qadr draws upon the life of qadha for its existence, and qadha wakes with its mouth open to swallow what comes into it. Therefore the thinkers and the wise men, those who are called mystics or Sufis, have discovered the science of how to withhold the experience of life - which alone gives us the evidence of life from the mouth of qadha, the ever-assimilating aspect of life. If we do not know how to withhold it, it will fall into the mouth of qadha; for qadha is always waiting with open mouth. As an illness awaits the moment when a person is lacking in energy, so in all different forms qadha is waiting to assimilate all that comes to it, and which then is merged in it.
The question arises: how can we withhold, how can we keep something from falling into the mouth of qadha? And the answer is: by controlling our body and our mind. Much is known about physical culture, but what is known is what can be obtained by action, by gymnastics, by movements. Very little is known about what can be obtained by repose, by poise and posture.
I have seen in the East a man lifting a heavy stone on one finger. One might think: how can a man's little finger - these fine bones - stand such a heavy weight? It is the power of will alone which sustains the heavy stone, the finger is only an excuse. I have seen myself those who experiment in the field of spirit and matter jumping into a raging fire and coming out safely, cutting the muscles of their body and healing them instantly. It is not a story that mystics know how to levitate; the demonstration of this has been seen by thousands of people in India. I do not mean to say that this is something worth learning or following, I only wish to tell you what can be accomplished by the power of will. And in order to obtain the reign of will over the physical body the first thing necessary is physical control.
Among the different kinds of physical culture known to the modern world there is nothing that teaches the method, the way, the secret of sustaining an action. For instance, to be able to sit in the same posture without moving, to be able to look at the same spot without moving the eyes, to be able to listen to something without being disturbed by something else, to be able to experience hardness, softness, heat, or cold, keeping even vibrations, or to be able to retain the taste of salt, sweet and sour. Since all these experiences come and go, man has no control over his means of pleasure or joy. He cannot enjoy any experience through any sense as long as he wishes to enjoy it. So he depends upon all outer things, and has no control sustaining the experience he has. If there is any way of sustaining experience, it is through control.
There is another side to this question. Being unconsciously aware that every experience which is pleasing and joyous will soon pass away, man is over-anxious and, instead of trying to retain the experience, he hurries it and loses it; so for instance his habit of eating hastily, or of laughing before the mirthful sentence is finished. He is over-anxious that his joy will pass away, but so his joy is finished even before the mirthful sentence ends. In every experience man loses the power to sustain it because of his anxiety about losing the pleasure it gives.
The great joy of watching a tragedy in the theatre lies in experiencing it to its fullness, but some people are so thrilled that they have already shed their tears in the beginning, and then nothing is left for afterwards. Once the zenith is reached, there is no more experience to be had and so, instead of keeping it away from the mouth of eternal life, man throws every experience he makes, without knowing the secret of it, into the life behind.
The mystics, therefore, by sitting in different postures and by standing in different poses, have gained control over their muscles and nervous system, and this has an effect on the mind. A person who lacks control over his nervous and muscular systems has no control over his mind; he eventually loses it. But by having control over one's muscular and nervous systems one gets control over the mind also.
The means by which life draws its power is breath. With every breath one draws in, one draws life and power and intelligence from the unseen and unknown life. And when one knows the secret of posture, and draws from the unseen world energy and power and inspiration, one gets the power of sustaining one's thought, one's word, one's experience, one's pleasure, one's joy. Thought-power is necessary with both posture and breath in order to gain physical control.
One must rise above one's likes and dislikes, for they cause much weakness in life. When one says, "I cannot stand this, I cannot eat this, I cannot drink this, I cannot bear this, I cannot tolerate, I cannot endure" - all those things show man's weakness. The greater the will power the more man is able to stand all that comes along. It does not mean that one has no choice; one can have one's choice, but when one gives in to one's choice then life becomes difficult. There is a false ego in man, called nafs by the Sufis, and this ego feeds on weakness. This ego feels vain when one says, "I cannot bear it, I do not like it, I do not look at it". All this feeds the ego and its vanity. It then thinks, "I am better than others", and thereby this ego becomes strong, and so man's weakness becomes strong. But the one who has discrimination, distinction, choice, while at the same time having these all under his control, the one who enjoys sweet but can drink a bowl of something bitter, that person has reached mastery.
Someone asked a wise man what was the cause of every tragedy in life. The wise man answered, "Limitation; all miseries come from this one thing, limitation". Therefore the mystics have tried by exercises, by practices, by studies to overcome limitation as much as possible. There is no worse enemy of man than helplessness. When a person feels, I am helpless, I cannot help it, it is the end of his joy and happiness.
Impulses also weaken a person, when he helplessly gives in to them. For instance, when he has an impulse to go to the park, instead of waiting till it is the right time to go to the park, he quickly puts on his hat and goes along. He follows his impulse immediately and loses power over himself. The one who subordinates his impulses, controlling them, utilizing them for the best purpose, attains mastery.
Besides, indulgence into every comfort, seeking convenience, always looking for the path of least resistance, also brings weakness. However small the work may be, if a person takes it seriously and finishes it with patience, he gains much power over himself. Patience is the principal thing in life, although patience is as bitter, as hard, as unbearable as death. Sometimes one prefers death to patience.
It is a great difficulty that the people in this land of America are losing this quality of patience more and more every day, because Providence has blessed them so much. They have conveniences, they have comforts, they are the spoilt children of Providence, and when it comes to having patience, it is very hard for them. Individuals have to practise this spirit, for we do not know what may come to follow. We live in this world of uncertainty, and we do not know in what condition we may be placed to-morrow; if we have no strength of resistance we may easily break down. Therefore it is most necessary for the human race to develop patience in all conditions of life, in all walks of life, in all positions in life. Whether we are rich or poor, high or low, this is the one quality that must be developed. It is patience that gives endurance, it is patience that is all-powerful, and by lack of patience one loses so much. Very often the answer to one's prayer is within one's reach, the hand of Providence not very far off, but one has lost one's patience and so lost the opportunity.
All such things as mastery and patience are acquired by physical culture. Physical control can build a foundation for character and personality, a foundation to be built in order to bring about spiritual attainment.
Question: Would you please explain something more about posture?
Answer: The fantasy of the whole creation lies in the direction of every movement. It is in accordance with this direction that its fantasy takes form. Where do all the opposites such as sun and moon, man and woman, pain and joy, negative and positive, come from? Since the source is one and the goal is one, why such differences? They belong to the direction; the secret of every difference is direction. It is an activity, an energy working in a certain direction which makes a certain form. So it makes a difference whether you sit this way or that way, whether you sleep on the right side or on the left; whether you stand on your feet or on your head makes a difference.
Mystics, therefore, have practised for many, many years, and have found out different postures of sitting while doing certain breathing exercises. They have made a great science out of this. There is a warrior's posture, an artist's posture, a thinker's posture, an aristocratic posture, a lover's posture, a healer's posture: different postures in order to attain different objects. By those postures it becomes easy for man to attain these objects, for then he has arrived at the science of direction. Posture does not denote anything but direction.
- SEEING
One can see, one can look, and one can observe. These three words denote the same action, yet each word suggests something different. By observing we understand something about that which we see, by seeing we take full notice of it; by looking, whether we understand it or not, whether we take notice of it or not, we have at least cast our glance on something. So there are three conditions: looking at a thing on its surface, seeing a thing properly, and seeing a thing with complete observation, understanding it while looking at it.
Every person notices things in these three ways. That which interests him most he observes keenly; that which attracts his thought he sees, he takes notice of, that upon which his glance falls he looks at. There are therefore three different effects made upon man by all that he sees: a deeper effect of that which he has observed fully, a clear effect of that which he has seen, and a passing effect of that which he has glanced through. So naturally among all those who live under the sun there are thinkers, there are seers, and there are those who have two eyes.
There is another side to this question: a person who is walking has a certain experience of the way he has gone through; the one who goes the same way in an automobile has a different experience, and the one who flies through the air in an airplane has a still different experience. Perhaps the one who was walking was not able to reach his goal at the same speed as the one in the automobile and the one in the airplane, but the observation he made, the sights he saw, and the experience he had are not to be compared with those of the other two.
In this way our minds work: there is one man whose mind works at the speed of the airplane, and there is another man whose mind works at the speed of an automobile. The one whose mind works at the speed of a man walking will perhaps not think as quickly as the other persons, but what he thinks he will think thoroughly, what he sees he will see thoroughly. It is he who will have insight into things, it is he who will understand the hidden law behind things, because the activity of his mind is normal.
Of course quick thinking does not always depend upon the quick activity of the mind: sometimes it is a quality of the mind. An intelligent person also thinks quickly, but that is another thing. As there is a difference between two stones, such as a pebble and a diamond, the one precious, the other dull, so these are two different qualities of the mind: one person thinking quickly and intelligently, the other thinking quickly and being always mistaken. The latter is mistaken because he thinks quickly, the former has that quality of mind which, even in quick thinking, makes him think rightly.
The rhythm of thinking has a great deal to do with one's life. When the three, who have travelled the same way on foot, by automobile and by airplane meet together and speak of their experiences, there will be great differences. And so it is that people who have gone through the same life, who have lived under the same sun, who have been born on the same earth, are yet so different in their mentality. The reason is that their minds have travelled at different speeds. Their experiences are quite different though they have gone the same way.
A seer is the one who has not looked, but who has seen. And how has he seen? By controlling the impulse of walking quickly, by resisting the temptation of going to the right or to the left, by going steadily towards the object that he has to reach. All these things make one a seer.
There are wrong interpretations of the word seer. Sometimes people say, "This person is a clairvoyant or a spiritualist, he sees fairies, ghosts or spirits." But that is a different kind of person; he is not a seer. The seer need not see the world unseen. There is much to be seen here in the visible world; for there is so much hidden from the eyes of every man which he could see in this objective world that, if all his life he was contemplating upon seeing in this objective world, he would find sufficient things to see and to think about. It is a childish curiosity on the part of some persons when they want to see something that no one has seen. It is out of vanity that they tell they see something which others do not see; it is to satisfy their curiosity that they see something which is not to be seen in this world of objects. The world seen and the world unseen, both are one and the same, and they are here. What we cannot see is the world unseen, and what we can see is the world seen. It is not that what we cannot see hides itself from our eyes, it is because we close our eyes to it.
Then there is long sight, short sight and medium sight. There are some who can see far beyond, far back, or long before things happen. These also are forms of sight. Another person only sees what is immediately before him, what is next to him, and sees nothing of what is behind him. His influence is limited, because everything that stands next to him influences him; he cannot see far behind, nor can he see far before him. There is another person who reasons about what he sees; this is medium sight. He reasons about it as far as his reason allows. He cannot see beyond his reasoning; he goes so far and no further. Naturally when these three persons meet and speak together, each has his own language. It is not surprising if the one does not understand the point of view of the other, because each one has his own sight, and according to that sight he looks at things. No one can give his own sight to another person in order to make him see differently.
If in all ages spiritual people have taught faith, it was not because they wished that no one should think for himself and should accept everything in faith which was taught to him. If they had had that intention they would not have been spiritual people. Nevertheless, however clever a person may be, however devoted and enthusiastic, if he is without faith the spiritual persons cannot impart their knowledge to him, for there is no such thing as spiritual knowledge in the sense of learning. If there is anything spiritual that can be imparted to the pupil it is the point of view, it is the outlook on life. If a person already has that outlook on life he does not need spiritual guidance, but if he has not then words of explanation will not explain it to him, for it is a point of view, it cannot be explained in words.
However much a person might explain the sight he saw when he was on the top of a mountain to a man who never climbed the mountain, that man will hear it and perhaps refuse to believe all that the other says; or if he has trust in this person who explains to him what he saw from the top of the mountain, then perhaps he will begin to listen to his guidance. He will not see the sight, but he will listen and he will benefit by the experience of the one who has seen it. But the one who goes on the top of the mountain will see it for himself, he will have the same experience.
There is still another side to this question, and that is from which height one looks at life. When a person looks at life standing on the ground his sight is quite different from that of a person who is climbing the mountain, and it is again a different outlook when a person has climbed on to the top of the mountain. What are these degrees? These are degrees of consciousness. When a person looks at life as I and everything else, that is one point of view. When a person sees all else and forgets I, that is another point of view. And when a person sees all and identifies it with I that is another point of view again. The difference these points of view make in a person's outlook is so vast that words can never explain it. One gets an idea of what is called Nirvana, or cosmic consciousness, by reaching the top of the mountain, and an idea of communicating with God a person gets when he has climbed the mountain, and the idea of "I and you and he and she and it" is clearer when a person is standing on the ground.
Spiritual progress is expansion of the soul. It is not always desirable to live on the top of the mountain, because the ground also is made for man. What is desirable is to have one's feet on the ground and the head as high as the top of the mountain. A person who can observe from all sides, from all angles, will find a different experience seeing from every angle; looking at every side will give him a new knowledge, a knowledge different from what he had known before.
Then there is the question of seeing and not seeing. This is understood by the mystics. It is being able to see at will and being able to overlook. It is not easy for a person to overlook, it is also something one must learn. There is much that one can see, that one must see, and there is much that one may not see, that it is better one does not see. If one cannot see, that is a disadvantage, but there is no disadvantage in not seeing something that one may not see; because there are so many things that could be seen, one may just as well avoid seeing them.
That person lacks mastery who is held by that which he sees. He cannot help seeing it, although he does not want to see it. But the one who has his sight in his hand sees what he wants to see, and what he does not want to see he does not see. That is mastery. As it is true of the eyes that what is before them they see and what is behind them they do not see, so it is true of the mind: what is before it, it sees and what is behind it, it does not see. And so a person who sees may see one side, while always the other side is hidden. Naturally therefore, if this objective world is before his eyes, the other world is hidden from his sight, because he sees what is before him; he does not see what is behind him. And as it is true that what is behind him a person can only see by turning his head back, so it is also true that what the mind does not see can be seen by the mind when it is turned to the other side. What is learned in esotericism, in mysticism, is the turning of the mind from the outer vision to the inner vision.
You might ask: what profit does one derive from it? If it is profitable to rest at night after a whole day's work, so it is profitable to turn one's mind from this world of variety in order to rest it and to give it another experience, which belongs to it, which is its own, which it needs. It is this experience which is attained by the meditative process. A person who is able to think and not able to forget, a person who is able to speak but not able to keep silent, a person who is able to move and not able to keep still, a person who is able to cry and not able to laugh, that person does not know mastery. It is like having one hand, it is like standing on one foot. To have complete experience of life one must be able to act and to take repose, one must be able to think, and one must be able to keep silent.
There are many precious things in nature and in art, things that are beyond value, yet there is nothing in this world that is more precious than sight, and that which is most precious is insight: to be able to see, to be able to understand, to be able to learn and to be able to know. That is the greatest gift that God can give, and all other things in life are small compared to it. In order to enrich one's knowledge, in order to raise one's soul to higher spheres, in order to allow one's consciousness to expand to perfection, if there is anything that one can do, it is to help oneself in every way to open the sight, which is the sign of God in man. It is the opening of the sight, which is called the soul's unfoldment.
- SUFI MYSTICISM
Mysticism is neither a faith nor a belief, nor is it a principle or a dogma. A mystic is born. Being a mystic means having a certain temperament, a certain outlook on life. It is for this reason that many are confused by the word mystic, because mysticism cannot be explained in plain words.
To a mystic, impulse has divine significance. In every impulse a mystic sees the divine direction. What people call free will is something that does not exist for a mystic. He sees one plan working and making its way towards a desired result, and every person, whether willingly or unwillingly, contributes towards the accomplishment of that plan; and this contribution to the plan is considered by one to be free will and by another accident. The one who feels, 'This is my impulse; this is my idea; this I must bring into action', only knows of the idea from the moment it has become manifest to his view. He therefore calls it free will. But from whence did that idea come to him? Where does impulse come from? It comes, directly or indirectly, from within. Sometimes it may seem to come from outside, but it always starts from within, and thus every impulse for a mystic is a divine impulse. One may ask, why is not every impulse divine for everybody, since every impulse has its origin within? It is because not everybody knows it to be so. The divine part of the impulse is in realizing it is divine. The moment we are conscious of the divine origin of the impulse, from that moment it is divine. Although all through life it has come from within, it is the fact of knowing this which makes it divine.
A mystic removes the barrier that stands between himself and another person by trying to look at life, not only from his own point of view, but also from the point of view of another. All disputes and disagreements arise from people's misunderstanding of each other, and mostly people misunderstand each other because they have their fixed point of view and are not willing to move from it. This is a rigid condition of mind. The more dense a person, the more he is fixed in his own point of view. Therefore it is easy to change the mind of an intelligent person, but it is most difficult to change the mind of a foolish person once it is fixed. It is the dense quality of mind which becomes fixed in a certain idea, and that clouds the eyes so that they cannot see from the point of view of another person.
Many fear that by looking at things from the point of view of someone else they lose their own point of view, but I would rather lose my point of view if it were a wrong one. Why must one stick to one's point of view simply because it is one's own? And why should it be one's own point of view and not all points of view, the point of view of one and the same Spirit? For just as two eyes are needed to make the sight complete and two ears are necessary to make the hearing complete, so it is the understanding of two points of view, the opposite points of view, which gives a fuller insight into life.
A mystic calls this unlearning. What we call learning is fixing ideas in our mind. This learning is not freeing the soul; it is limiting the soul. By this I do not mean to say that learning has no place in life, but only that learning is not all that is needed in the spiritual path; there is something besides, there is something beyond learning, and to this we can only attain by unlearning. Learning is just like making knots of ideas, and the thread is not smooth as long as the knots are there. They must be unravelled, and when the thread is smooth one can treat it in any way one likes. A mind with knots cannot have a smooth circulation of truth; the ideas which are fixed in one's mind block it. A mystic, therefore, is willing to see from all points of view in order to clarify his knowledge. It is that willingness which is called unlearning.
The sense of understanding is one and the same in all of us, and if we are willing to understand, then understanding is within our reach. Very often we are not willing to understand, and that is why we do not understand. Mankind suffers from a sort of stubbornness. A man goes against what he thinks comes from another person. And yet everything he has learned has come from others; he has not learned one word from himself. All the same he calls it his argument, his idea, and his view, although it is no such thing; he has always taken it from somewhere. It is by accepting this fact that a mystic understands all, and it is this which makes him a friend of all.
A mystic does not look at reasons as everybody else does, because he sees that the first reason that comes to his mind is only a cover over another reason which is hidden behind it. He has patience, therefore, to wait until he has lifted the veil from the first reason, until he sees the reason behind it. Then again he sees that this reason which was hidden behind the first reason is more powerful, but that there is a still greater reason behind it. And so he goes from one reason to another, and sees in reason nothing but a veil to cover reality. And as he goes further, penetrating the several veils of reason, he reaches the essence of reason. By touching the essence he sees the reason in everything, good and bad.
Compare a mystic with an average person who argues and disputes and fights and quarrels over the first reason, which is nothing but a cover. Compare the two. The one is ready to form an opinion, to praise and to condemn; while the other patiently waits until reality gradually unfolds itself. A mystic believes in the unknown and unseen, not only in the form of God, but the unknown that is to come, the unseen that is not yet seen; whereas the other has no patience to wait until he knows the unknown, until he sees the unseen. A mystic does not urge the knowledge of the unknown or unseen upon another, but he sees the hand of the unknown working through all things. For instance, if a mystic has the impulse to go out and walk towards the North, he thinks there must be some purpose in it. He does not think it is only a whim, a foolish fancy, although the reason for it he does not know. But he will go to the North, and he will try to find the purpose of his going there in the result that comes from it.
The whole life of the mystic is mapped on this principle, and it is by this principle that he can arrive at the stage where his impulse becomes a voice from within that tells him 'go here', 'go there', or 'leave', 'move', or 'stay'. Therefore while others are prepared to explain why they are doing something or going somewhere or what they wish to do, the mystic cannot explain, because he himself does not know. And yet he knows more than the person who is ready to answer why he is going and what he is going to accomplish, for what does man know about what will happen to him? He makes his program and plans, but he does not know.
Man proposes and God disposes. Many say this every day, yet at the same time they make their programmes and lay out their plans. A mystic is not particular about it. He is working on the plan which is laid out already and he knows that there is a plan. He may not know the plan in detail; but if anyone can and will know the plan, it is the mystic. This again tells us something: that the one who knows little, knows most; and those who seem to know more, know the least.
The outlook of the mystic is like that of a man standing on a mountain-top and looking at the world from a great height. And if a mystic looks upon everyone as being not much different one from another, because they are all like children to him, it is like what we see from the top of a mountain. All people whether tall or short seem to be of the same size; they appear like little beings moving about; and an average man is frightened of truth in the same way that a person who has never been on a great height gets frightened at the sight of the immensity of space. The truth is immense, and when a person reaches the top of understanding he becomes frightened and he does not want to look at it.
Many have told me, 'Eastern philosophy interests us very much, but the conception of Nirvana is very frightening.' And I have answered, 'Yes, it is frightening. Truth is just the same: truth is also frightening, but truth is reality.' Besides man is so fond of illusion that he so to speak revels in it. If someone awakens a man who is having an interesting dream, that man will say, 'O let me sleep on!' He likes looking at his dream; he does not want to wake up to reality because reality is not as interesting as the dream. Thus among the seekers after truth we find only one in a thousand who is courageous enough to look at the immensity of truth. But there are many who take an interest in illusion, and they are inclined, out of curiosity, to look at mental illusions, because these are different from the illusion of the physical life. And they are apt to call this mysticism, but it is not mysticism.
No one can be a mystic and call himself a Christian mystic, a Jewish mystic or a Mohammedan mystic. For what is mysticism? Mysticism is something which erases from one's mind all idea of separateness, and if a person claims to be this mystic or that mystic he is not a mystic; he is only playing with a name.
People say that a mystic is someone who dreams and who lives in the clouds; my answer to this is that the real mystic stands on earth, but his head is in heaven. It is not true that the wise man is not intellectual, or that the wise man is not clever. A clever man is not necessarily wise, but the one who has the higher knowledge has no difficulty in gaining knowledge of worldly things. It is the man who has knowledge of worldly things only who has great difficulty in absorbing the higher knowledge. Mr. Ford was very wise when he said to me, 'If you had been a business man, I am sure you would have been successful.' Furthermore, he said, 'I have tried all my life to solve the problem which you appear to have solved.' This again gives us an insight into the idea that higher wisdom does not debar a person from having worldly wisdom, though worldly wisdom does not qualify a person to attain to the higher wisdom.
And now let us come to the mystic's vision. People think that to see colours or spirits or visions is mystical. But mysticism cannot be restricted to this, and those who see these things are not necessarily mystics. Besides those who can see and whose vision is clear, say so little about it. The mystic will be the last to claim that he sees or does wonderful things; his vision and his power would be diminished as soon as he began to feed his vanity by claiming to know or do things which others cannot know or do. The main thing that the mystic has to accomplish is to get rid of the false ego, so that if he feeds it on claiming such things he will lose all his power and virtue and greatness.
To a mystic every person is like an open letter, just as to an experienced physician a person's face tells his condition. And yet a mystic would never say to someone else, 'In this person I see this or that', for the more he knows the greater trust is put in him by God. He covers all that should be covered; he only says what has to be said. A mystic will know most and yet will act innocently. It is the ones who know little who make a fuss about their knowledge. The more a person knows, the less he shows to others. Besides a mystic is never ready to correct people for their follies, to condemn them for their errors, or to accuse them of foolishness. He sees so much of errors and follies and foolishness that he never feels inclined to point them out; he just sees life in its different aspects, and understands the process an individual goes through in life.
It is by mistakes and errors that one learns in the end, and a mystic never feels that he should condemn anyone for them; he only feels that they are natural. Some are advancing rapidly, others are going slowly. Foolishness is just like light and darkness: it is through darkness that the sun rises, and through ignorance wisdom will rise one day. A mystic, therefore, need not learn patience; he is taught patience by life from the beginning till the end. A mystic need not learn tolerance; his outlook gives him tolerance, it is natural for him. He need not learn forgiveness; he cannot do anything but forgive.
Man loves complexity and calls it knowledge. A great many societies and institutions in the world which call themselves occult and esoteric and psychic and by various other names, knowing that everyone is interested in complexity, cover the truth; and instead of covering it with one cover they cover it with a thousand covers to make it more interesting. It is just like customs which were followed in ancient times when people came to worship and asked the priest how they should do it, and he would say, 'How far do you live from the shrine?' And when they said, 'Two miles,' he answered, 'You must come on foot to the shrine and walk around it a hundred times before you may enter it.' He gave them a good exercise before they were allowed to come in. And even today they do the same thing. When a person says, 'I want to see truth', but wishes to look for truth in complexity, they cover truth under a thousand covers and then they give him the problem to solve. Are there not many people interested in the Mahatmas of the Himalayas, are there not many interested in the holy souls in remote places of Persia, many who look for a master in the centre of Australia? Perhaps next year an article will appear declaring that a great soul has been born in Siberia. What is it all about? It is all the love of complexity, queer notions, strange ideas which do not lead souls any further.
Therefore a mystic very often appears to be simple, because sincerity makes him feel inclined to express the truth in simple language and in simple ideas. But because people value complexity, they think that what he says is too simple and that it is something which they have always known, that it is nothing new. But, as Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.
Besides truth belongs to the soul and the soul knows it, and as soon as the truth is spoken the soul recognizes it; it is not new, not foreign to it. If a person says, 'This is something I already know', even if his soul has known it, it can never be repeated too often for him. The great saints of the East have repeated one phrase, for instance, 'God is One', perhaps a million times in their lives. Should we believe that they were so foolish as not to be able to understand the meaning of it by saying it once? Why then do they repeat it a million times? The reason is that it is never enough. We live in the midst of illusion from morning till evening when we go to sleep. What we do not know is the illusion in which we are from morning till evening. It is not the truth we do not know; truth is all we know-, if we know anything fully. The mystic, therefore, instead of learning truth, instead of looking for truth, wishes to maintain truth; he wishes to cling to the idea of truth, to keep the vision of reality before him lest it may be covered by the thousand veils of illusion.
Does the mystic make any effort to reach the highest realization? Yes. It is an art which is passed on from teacher to pupil, and so this art is handed down through the ages from one person to another. One might ask why, if truth is within oneself, is there any necessity for such an art. But, after all, art is not nature. The animals and birds do not need an art; they are happy, they are peaceful, they are innocent, they are spiritual, really spiritual. They live in nature, their life is natural. We live far away from nature, we have made our artificial world to live in; and that is why we require an art to free ourselves from it. I do not mean to say that we must abandon life, or that we must not have anything to do with life in order to be mystics, but we have to practise that art which enables us to get in touch with reality.
That art is in the first place concentration. Concentration does not mean closing the eyes and sitting in church on Sunday. Many know how to close their eyes and sit there, yet their mind wanders about, specially when they have closed their eyes. Concentration means that every atom of the body and of the mind is centred in one spot.
The next step is contemplation; that is to be able to retain an idea which raises one's consciousness from the dense world. The third stage is meditation, and that is to purify oneself, to free oneself, and to open oneself to the light of truth, in order that it may abide in one's spirit. And the fourth step is realization. Then the mystic is no longer the knower of truth, but is truth itself.
- COSMIC LANGUAGE
What is it that makes some people know beforehand the coming of floods, the coming of rain, the change in the weather, all the different changes in nature? No doubt there are signs beforehand, signs which become words for those who read them, and by those signs they understand the coming events of nature. For them, therefore, these are the language of nature; for others who do not know this language it is gibberish. What is it that makes those who understand astrology know about people, their past, their present and their future from the change of the planets and the stars? It is only that there are signs which indicate to them the past, present and future just as words do, and from these signs they learn of coming events. There are phrenologists who can see signs in the muscles of the head. Those who know physiognomy can see from the face of a person, things that no one has told them, but which they read from his face. There are others who know a science such as palmistry, of a small part of man; even in that case the signs of the hands are for them just as loud words, just as is the form of the face.
Then there are the natural conditions, such as the mother knowing the language of the little child who is not yet able to speak. His tears and his smiles, his looks explain to the mother his moods, his pleasures and displeasures, his aspirations and his wants. It is also known that the heart of the lover knows the pleasure and displeasure, the change of moods in the beloved without one word having been spoken. There are physicians who, through their experience in life, have become so advanced that before the patient has spoken one word they have already found out what is the complaint, what is the matter with the person. There are businessmen who are so engrossed in business that, as soon as a person has come to their shop, they know whether he will buy or whether he will go away without buying. What does this tell us? It shows us that, whatever be our walk in life, whatever be our profession, our business, our occupation - through it all there is a sense within us, a sense which can understand language without words.
There is also another point closely connected with this, and that is that everything in life is speaking, is audible, is communicative, in spite of its apparent silence. What we call 'word' is only the word that is audible in our everyday language. What we consider hearing is only what we hear with our ears, and we do not know what else there is to hear. In point of fact there is nothing which is silent. All that exists in this world - whether it seems living or not living - it is all speaking, and therefore the word is not only what is audible to us, but the word is all. This is supported by the Bible where it is said: 'First was the word, and the word was God'. But it is not only that the word was first, but always when there was anything it was the word, and always the word will be.
The real meaning of the word is life, and is there anything that is not life, whether silent objects or living beings? For instance a person not knowing the secret of the planets, not knowing their influence, their nature, their character what do they say to him? Nothing. He knows that there are planets, and that is all. As far as the science of astronomy goes, a person who has studied it may say that the planets have a certain influence upon the weather and upon the season, but the astrologer will perhaps hear a louder sound from the planets; he can say that the planets have a certain influence upon the individual and upon his life. What do we understand by this? That to one the planet does not speak, to another it speaks whispering, and to yet another it speaks loudly.
It is the same thing with physiognomy. To one a person is a mystery; another may know something about him, and to a third he is like an open letter. For one physician it is necessary to make an examination of a patient with all kinds of machines and mechanisms; another physician likes to ask the patient about his condition, and a third physician looks at the patient and knows perhaps more about him than the patient does himself.
Is it not the same thing with art, when we see that one person goes to a picture gallery, looks at different pictures and thinks that there are different colours and lines? He is pleased to see the colours, and that is all; he knows nothing more about it. There is another person who sees the historic facts behind the picture, and is more interested in it, because the picture has spoken a little more to him. Then there is a third person for whom the picture is living. The picture which he sees, which he appreciates, is communicative. He reads in it the meaning which was put into it by the artist; it is revealed to him by looking at it. Therefore through the medium of the picture the thought, the ideal of one person is made known to the other.
In the same way to one person music is a noise, or perhaps a harmonious group of notes. For him it is a pastime, a certain amusement. To another person there is some joy coming from it; he is enjoying some pleasure, he feels the music which is coming to him. Then there is a third person who sees the soul of the artist who is performing the music, who sees the spirit of the one who wrote the music. Even if the music were written a thousand years ago he hears this spirit in the music.
Is it not all communicative? In art or in science, or in whatever form, life expresses its meaning, if only man is able to understand it. The one who does not understand this will not understand life's meaning. His inner sense is closed; it is just like being clear. In the same way his sense of communication with things has become dull, he does not understand them. But if a person does not hear he may not say that life is not speaking. In the same way, if a person cannot sense the meaning of life, he may not say that life has no meaning. The word is everywhere, and the word is continually speaking.
There is an ancient belief that the word was lost, and then found again. Out of this belief was made a great mystery, a mystery which exists up till now among people of old civilizations. Up till now they are looking for that word which was lost, and they consider that in gaining that word lies the fulfilment of their life. There are many who have tried to mystify this idea, so much so that a person may go on and on and never come out of it again. But the truth is not found in mystification; the truth is to be found in simplicity, for there is nothing more simple than the ultimate truth. The idea is simply that all that exists has come out of the word, and goes back to the word, and in its own being all is a word.
By word is not meant a word which is audible only to the ears; by word is meant all that is conveyed to you, all that is expressed and comes to you as a revelation. It means that what you hear with the ears, what you smell with the nose, what you taste, what you touch, what you perceive through all the different senses and through all that becomes intelligible to you - that is a word. It is life's mission to convey something to you, and everything that it conveys to you is a word. Through whichever sense you experience it, through whichever sense it is conveyed to you, it is a word.
It is not only upon the five senses - taste, hearing, seeing, smelling and touching - that the word depends; we call them five senses because we experience them through five different organs. In reality there is only one sense, a sense which experiences life through the vehicle or the medium of the five external senses. As life is experienced through these five different directions, the experience of life becomes divided into five different experiences, for the word - or life - becomes visible to us, tangible, audible, it can be smelled and it can be tasted. But besides these five aspects in which we are accustomed to hear the word there is another aspect of hearing the word, independently of the five senses, and this way of hearing the word is called the intuitive way.
When a person comes before you, you cannot say - by only seeing or hearing him - that you have recognized him, whether you are satisfied with him or dissatisfied, whether you feel sympathy for him or antipathy; you can only say that you had a certain impression of that person. This shows that there is a language which is beyond the senses, a language which we are capable of understanding if the inner sense is open to a certain degree. There is not one person who has not experienced this; maybe some have experienced it more, others less. Some are conscious, some are unconscious, but when a disaster is coming, a sorrow, a failure, a success, then a feeling comes. No doubt a person with a tender heart, with a greater sympathy, with love awakened in his heart is more capable of experiencing this sentiment. It is this feeling which may be called intuition, something which does not depend upon senses. A woman feels it more perhaps than a man. Often a woman will say to a man: 'I feel it. I feel that it is going to be a success', or, 'It is going to be a failure'. And when he asks her what is the reason - for a man is very reasoning - she will still say, 'I feel it'. There is a language that she understands; the man has not heard it.
Then there is another experience. It is not only an experience of spiritual or most advanced people, but it is known even to a scientist, to a material person, to an inventor. He may not believe it, but this experience comes all the same. It is a sense of how to work out his invention, or how to form his system, how to make a plan, or how to arrange something he wants to arrange. One may say that these great inventors have studied mechanics and technique, that it is the outcome of this study that gives them their ability, but there are thousands of students who have studied mechanics and not every one of them is an inventor.
The one who accomplishes something surely accomplishes it through the help of inspiration. You may ask all kinds of artists - a painter, a drawer, a singer, a dancer, a writer, a poet - 'Can you always do the work you wish to do so perfectly, so excellently as you are able to sometimes?' The answer will be, 'No, I never know when it will be done. It comes, and sometimes I am able to do it; I do not know when nor whence it comes'. A poet may try for six months to write a poem - the poem that his soul is longing for, his soul's desire - and yet never finish it. But it is finished in six minutes if that time comes, if the moment comes. The poet cannot imagine how such a thing could come in the space of six minutes, something which is wonderful, which is complete in itself, which gives him the greatest satisfaction, which is living. The great musicians have not written their most beautiful compositions, their masterpieces over a period of six months. What has taken them a long time to write is of little importance; it is what they have written at moments and finished in five minutes which is living and which will always live. It is the same thing with all aspects of art: creative art depends upon inspiration. Mechanical art may be developed, and a person may be most qualified in it, but it is a dead art. The only living art is the art which comes from a living source, and that living source is called inspiration.
What then is inspiration? Inspiration is that same word which has been spoken of all this time; it is the hearing of that word which comes from within. A person hears it and expresses it in the form of line, colour, notes, words, or in whatever other form. The most interesting and the most wonderful thing in connection with this subject is that the same inspiration may come to four persons. It is the same word which comes to four persons: one draws it in the form of lines, another puts it in the form of notes, a third writes it as words, and a fourth paints it as colours. This shows that artistic inspiration, inventive genius, whatever form in which the meaning of life wishes to express itself within, has another aspect different from what we see in the life outside.
Where does this inspiration come from, the soul of which we know to be the word? It is beauty in itself, it is energy, wisdom, harmony in itself. It is energy because it gives the greatest joy when expressed by an artist, by an inventor; it is wisdom because it comes with the understanding of accomplishment; it is light because the thing that one wants to make becomes clear to one - there is no sign of obscurity; it is harmony because it is by harmony that beauty is achieved.
There is another form of inspiration, a form which a person attains by a greater enlightenment, by a greater awakening of the soul. This can be pictured as a person going through a large room where all things are exhibited, but where there is no light except, in his own hand, a lantern with a search-light. If he throws his light on music, music becomes clear to him, notes and rhythm become clear to him; if he throws his light on words, the words become clear to him; if he throws his light on colour, all colours come near to him; if he throws his light on line, all lines in most harmonious and beautiful forms come near to him.
This searchlight may become greater still and may reach still further. It may be thrown on the past, and the past may become clear, as it was clear to the prophets of ancient times. It may be cast on the future, and it is not only a sense of precaution that a person may gain, but a glance into the future. This light may be thrown upon living beings, and the living beings may become as written letters before him. This light may be thrown on objects, and the objects may reveal to him their nature and secret. And when this light is thrown within oneself, then the self will be revealed to a person; he will become enlightened as to his own nature and his own character. It is this form of experience, it is this way of knowing which may be called revelation. It is by knowing revelation that one accomplishes the purpose of life, and that the word which was lost - as the mystics have said - is found.
Every child is born crying; his crying conveys that he has lost something. What has he lost? He has lost the word. This means that all he sees conveys nothing to him. He knows not what it is, he seems to be lost in a new country to which he has been sent. As he begins to know a little - his mother, those around him, the colours and the lines, and all things of the world - these begin to communicate a little with him. He begins to know things a little with the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and in this way he begins to know the word which is within. It is this communication which is the sustenance of life. It is not food or drink which keeps man alive, it is this communication through the different senses to the extent that he understands what they have to say. It is this that makes man live.
When we think of our life, and when we compare the pain that we have in our life with the pleasure, the portion of pleasure is so small. Besides, what little pleasure there is, it costs also, and therefore it resolves into pain. If that is the nature of life, how could we live in this life if there were not this communication, if there were not that word which to a smaller or greater extent we hear from all things, from nature herself? It is the fulfilment of this communication that no wall nor any barrier should stand between us, nor between the life within and without. It is this which is the longing of our soul, and it is herein that revelation comes. It is in this that lies the purpose of our life.
- SPIRITUALITY, THE TUNING OF THE HEART
Before speaking of spirituality I must first explain what I mean by it. There are people who consider spirituality as orthodoxy or piety: to be religious, to be a priest, a monk, a hermit, to fast, or to live a life of a certain discipline, to adopt a certain form of worship. A person may have all these outer forms without being spiritual, and a person may have nothing of these and be spiritual. Those who seek spirituality in such outer forms are mistaken, for it is more than that: real spirituality is spirit-consciousness. To be spiritual means to be conscious of spirit, just as a material person means a person who is conscious of matter. So it is not religion, orthodoxy, outer forms, or a certain kind of life which means spiritual life; it is to be conscious of the spirit that makes one spiritual.
There are others who think that those who perform phenomena, miracles, who work wonders are spiritual. It is not so. Many who are capable of performing phenomena are not different from a magician. Then others say that to be spiritual means to tell fortunes, or to be clairvoyant, to see wonderful things. It is not necessary to do or to see wonderful things in order to be spiritual. Others imagine that to be spiritual means sitting in the caves of mountains, or roaming about in forests, or to appear and disappear. All these things are but fancies of the imaginative. To be spiritual means to be one's self, to be one's natural self.
How many of us are our self? If we were our self we would all be spiritual. We are not our self, we are far from it! A great Indian poet expresses this idea in this way, "Apart from accomplishing things, for man to be a man is the most difficult thing." It means that for a human being to be human is the greatest difficulty. He is born a human being; yet the first thing he ought to be is what he is not, he is anything but a human being. He is willing to be a solicitor, a doctor, a professor, but to be a human being - that is the thing he thinks of last, and mostly he does not even think of it at all.
People say that nowadays there is a great tendency in the world to discover spiritual truth, that there is an inner spiritual awakening. Yes, I admit it, but what direction does it take? Very often it takes wrong directions. Those searching after truth often think that the best way to find belief in the spirit and the hereafter is mediumship; to become a medium themselves, or to go to a medium and when they have found proof, to communicate with the dead. Then they think they have found proof of the spiritual. They wreck their nervous system, many go out of balance. In this manner the way that would lead to spirituality leads to destruction.
There are others who wish to pursue the spiritual in the same way as a person in a university or college. They want to read all things in a book. They think, "If there is anything like spiritual attainment one book must tell us about it." If they go to the library and read throughout their whole life all the books there are, they cannot touch spirituality, because it does not come from books. Reading helps one sometimes to awake; yet every person does not know how to read. What is happening today is that there are thousands and thousands of people who read one book, then another and still another, until their mind is so confused that they do not know what to believe and what not to believe. Among them there are many who think that the best way is the intellectual way. But what is intellectual? Is reading really intellectual? Are all books the same? Many times they only confuse a person. Very often books with ten errors on the same line puzzle a person's mind so much that he does not know where he is.
Often people come to me and tell me, in order to help me, to have confidence in them, that for ten years they have been reading my books. Instead of having confidence I have to guide them on the path and to erase what they have learned first. Perhaps they are not willing to erase; they think that they have gained this knowledge by reading a hundred books. What knowledge? Is it spiritual?
Besides, very often intellectual pursuit gives them the idea that there are such masters and such mahatmas and saints in the Himalayas, in the caves of the mountains. They never think that such a person can be in the crowds. It interests them most when he is in a place where nobody can reach him. They think he cannot be in a restaurant taking his dinner; he must be in a cave of the mountain. Imagine! Why was this world created? Why are we born in this world, in the midst of this world, if this world were not a school to develop the soul and to arrive at the stage which is life's purpose? Man has lost confidence in his fellowmen. He expects spirituality from the dead, from the trees, not from men. He has no confidence in his brothers.
Others are interested in the meaning of symbology: this particular symbol means this, another gives a great revelation, another is a great mystery. Where is spirituality to be found? Is it not in the heart of man? Instead of in their own heart people want to look in different places, or in certain symbols. Yes, symbols are expressive of it, but the direct way is within oneself.
I had an amusing experience one day. Travelling in England near Bournemouth I was brought to a place where they said I should speak. They said it was an important place; so I went there. The man who brought me there said, "Now here in this corner you can feel that here is the secret." Imagine, in that place was spirituality, not in man!
Those who make their occupation in spirituality take advantage of people's ignorance. They cater for them, they feed them, they say to every person, "You are a medium." So those who take this as a profession tell everyone, "Come along. Be more fanciful, more imaginative, more superstitious." They feed curiosity. Does it lead anywhere? In this way people get lost and will never be spiritual. This is to be found everywhere.
Now coming to the actual subject, the difference between spirit and matter: once a young Italian who did not believe in God or soul was travelling with me in the same ship, and he thought that perhaps I was a priest. He asked, "Do you believe in anything?" "Yes" I said. "What is your belief?" I answered, "It cannot be said." Since he was antagonistic he said, "I do not believe in anything. If there is anything in which I believe, it is in eternal matter." I replied, "My belief is not far from yours. What you call eternal matter I call eternal spirit. What you have named matter I have named spirit."
It is a dispute over words, the understanding is the same. The difference has come by disputing over words. What is spirit is fine matter and what is matter is dense spirit. In other words, there are two names and there is one subject: call it water, call it snow. When it is crystallized it is snow, and if you do not like to call it water, call it snow. If you wish to distinguish you may call it by two names, there is no objection to it, it is a question of choice. If you choose that there be no matter, as Christian Science also says, then matter is spirit just the same. And if you choose to call spirit matter, then spirit is matter just the same. If you say both things that is right too. Truth is in understanding, not in expression.
People have strengthened their truth, they have taught and fought and arrived at nothing. Very often those who do not understand a subject argue for the reason that they want to know about it, but they do not honestly want to know about it. Their way is to argue; then they know the other's idea also. They oppose the other to hear what he has to say; it is a kind of robbery. They have a thirst for argument. He who will not understand will never understand, however much it is true. He who understands - you tell him and he will understand. It is a matter of evolution.
Besides, there is a tendency in everyone to think, "The other one must look at things as I do. If it is a friend, if it is a wife, a husband, a brother, a sister, or a companion, they must understand things as I do." But that is impossible. Maybe they are at different stages of evolution, they cannot understand. Leave them alone! For some it is good to sleep, for others it is good to awake. It is no virtue to awake everybody; it is the greatest crime to awake those who ought to sleep. To make everyone spiritual is not a right mission. The best thing is to help a person wherever he is and not to try to bring him to a certain pitch. He will come naturally; to put him on the right track is enough. Often people who are interested in spirituality urge it on those in their surroundings. They are mistaken; those urged are sometimes more spiritual. Man is a great mystery and we know so little about it.
I have travelled in India for nine years in the pursuit of the illuminated ones, the living wise men of the East. You would be surprised to know how various illuminated souls live under the guise of an ordinary person, so that no one can ever distinguish them as different from others. Many of them bear themselves in the same way as everybody does, sitting in the same places, saying the same things that anyone else would say; neither do they show any difference in outward appearance, in speech or claims. At the same time, if you could see behind those great beings, they are as different from others as the sky is different from the earth.
I will tell you something about my own teacher. Once I met a learned man, a doctor of philosophy with a great many degrees. I spoke to him on the deeper side of life and he became so interested in me that he thought much of me. So I thought, if I were to tell him about my teacher, how much more interesting that would be for him. If I make such an impression upon this man, how much more my teacher will be for him, and how much will he appreciate my teacher," and I told him, "There is a wonderful man in this city, he has no comparison in the whole world." "Yes?" said he, "Are there such people? I would so much like to see him. Where does he live?" I told him, in such and such a part of the city. He said, "I live there too. Where is his house. I know all the people there. What is his name?" So I told him, and he said, "For twenty years I have known this man, and you are telling me about him!" I thought, "In a hundred years you would not have been able to know him." He was not ready to know him.
If people are not evolved enough they cannot appreciate persons, they cannot understand them, they cannot understand the greatest souls. They sit with them, they talk with them, there is a contact of the whole life, but they do not see. Another person in one moment, if he is ready to understand, makes a benefit out of it. Imagine, the learned man had known my teacher for twenty years and did not know him. I saw him once, and became his pupil forever. One might ask, "Was this man not learned, not intellectual?" Yes, he was. Then what was lacking? He saw my teacher with his brain, I saw him with my heart. People pursue spirituality with their brain; that is where they are mistaken. Spirituality is attained through the heart.
What do I mean by the heart? Is it the nervous centre in the midst of the breast, the small piece of flesh that doctors call the heart? No, the definition of the heart is that it is the depth of the mind, the mind being the surface of the heart. That in us which feels is the heart, that which thinks is the mind. It is the same thing which thinks and feels, but the direction is different: feeling comes from the depth, thought from the surface. When thought is not linked with feeling it is just like a plant rising up from the earth, the root of which has not gone deep. A thought without feeling is a powerless thought; it is just like a plant without a deep root. A tree the root of which has gone deep into the earth is stronger, more reliable, and so the thought deeply rooted in the heart has greater power. The heart therefore is the factor through which spirits and spirituality are to be attained.
In man's being three aspects can be distinguished: body, heart and soul. The heart is a globe over the soul and the body a cover over the heart. One might ask, is the soul so small as to be covered by the heart and is the heart so small as to be covered by the body? It is not so. The soul is within and without. For instance, a light is covered by a globe and the globe by another cover, and yet, is the light covered? It shines out just the same. The light is not under the cover; it seems to be under the cover, but it shines out. Such is the soul. The globe does not shine out, but the light takes the colour of the globe. It is the soul that is larger; at the same time the light is within the globe and the soul within the body. It is exactly like the light within the globe and the globe within the cover. The light is outside the cover, and the power of the globe shines outside the cover. So the power of the heart is greater than the power of the body, and the power of the soul is greater still. As long as one is ignorant of this, one does not realize truth.
Imagine what a power the heart quality has. The little hen, when it is with its young ones and a horse comes or an elephant, is ready to fight them. Otherwise it would run away, but with its young ones it is ready to fight with the elephant. The heart quality is blooming at that time, it is feeling; at that time its power is so great that the little hen is ready to fight with anyone. In India a hunter's story is told about a she-deer that was pursued by a hunter and ran far away into the woods. When she came near her young ones who were waiting for her she did not run further, she forgot the hunter. As soon as the heart quality was awakened in the presence of her little ones she had no fear.
There is nothing one will not sacrifice, accomplish, or face when the heart quality is awakened. All cowardice and weakness, misery and wretchedness come when the heart quality is covered and man begins to live in his brain. Lions turn into rabbits when they are not lion-hearted. Very few understand the power of the heart. Once the heart is awakened there is nothing that one does not accomplish. Besides inspiration and illumination it gives all the force and power one needs to attain anything one wants.
One might ask, is it not natural to attain spirituality? Does it not come without any effort on our part? And if it is not natural, then what is the use of attaining spirituality? These are right arguments, and my answer is that spirituality is not only for human beings, but also for the lower creation, for every being; not spirituality in the sense we understand, but in that of being tuned to one's natural pitch. Even birds have their moments of exaltation. At the setting and rising of the sun, the breaking of dawn, in the moonlight, there come times when birds and animals feel exalted. They sing and dance, they sit on the branches of the trees in exaltation. Every day they feel this exquisite joy. If we go still further and have eyes to see life in those forms in which others do not see it, in the rock, in the tree, we find that there are times when even the trees are in a complete state of ecstasy. Those who move in nature, who open the doors of their heart, whose soul comes in contact with nature, find nature singing, nature dancing and communicating.
It is not only a legend, a story of the past, that saints used to speak with trees. It is an actual fact, and it is the same today as in the past. Souls are of the same nature, they are the same. The only difference is that we have become unbelievers, we have no confidence in life, we have become material, we have closed our eyes to what comes before us. Today souls can become saints and sages just as before. Are the stars not as before? They communicate also today with the one who is able to respond to nature. But we have turned our back to nature, we live in an artificial world; there is no self-confidence in us, no belief. Naturally we have not only become materialistic, we have become matter! Therefore those who ever have attained to spirituality have attained by awakening the quality of heart.
Sufis in all ages, mystics of India, Persia, and Egypt have considered the awakening of the heart quality to be the principal thing in life. For all the virtues that the priest can teach and prescribe, the virtues that one is told to practise in life, come naturally when the heart opens. Then one need not learn virtue, virtue becomes one's own. All virtues as taught by people and how long do they last? If there is any virtue it must come by itself; spirituality is natural. And if animals and birds can feel spiritual exaltation, why not we? But we do not live a natural life. We have tried in our civilization, in our life, to be as far removed from nature and natural life as possible, breathing an artificial atmosphere to withstand climatic influences, eating food that we have prepared and improvised, turning it into something quite different from what nature had made and given us.
Besides that, the deeper we go into the life of the community, the more we find that we are not on the track as we ought to be. We seem to have lost our individuality. We have called it progress - a progress towards a certain condition. And there we begin to feel that we are in a maze. Now has come the time, and more and more so every day, that thoughtful people, wise people who are just and honest realize, "We are not progressing, we are in a maze and we are looking for the door. " I spoke with a great scientist, and in spite of all his knowledge what did he say? "We do not know where we are. We have made inventions, but we do not know how to control them to the best advantage of life."
Invention apart, the first question is how to make the best of our life, how to make the best of this opportunity which is passing us by. Every moment lost is incomparably more valuable than the loss of money. As man will realize this he will more and more come to the conclusion that he has gone on and on thinking he was progressing, but that he has been moving around in the same maze. If only he found the door, that door which is called by the wise, spiritual attainment! However well educated one may be, however much progress one has made, however much one has collected or accomplished, however much power and position one has gained, only one thing is everlasting and that is spiritual attainment. Without this there will always be dissatisfaction, an uncomfortable feeling. No knowledge, power, position or wealth can give that satisfaction which spiritual attainment can give.
There is nothing easier and nothing more difficult in the world - difficult because we have made it difficult, easy because it is the easiest thing possible. All other things we have to buy and pay for, even water. For spiritual attainment we do not need to pay a tax, it is ours, it is our self, it is discovering our self, finding our self. Yet what one values is what one gets with difficulty. Man loves complexity so much! He makes a thing big and says, "This is valuable." If it is simple he says, "It has no value." That is why the ancient people, knowing human nature, told a person when he said he wanted spiritual attainment, "Very well, for ten years go around the temple, walk around it a hundred times in the morning and in the evening. Go to the Ganges, take pitchers full of water during twenty or fifty years, then you will get inspiration." That is what must be done with people who will not be satisfied with a simple explanation of the truth, who want complexity.
Often having been asked, "Show us a tangible truth," I asked myself how it would be if I wrote TRUTH on a little brick and gave it to people saying, "Hold it fast. Here is tangible truth." Fine people, when they write a letter, expect their friend to read between the lines. Even subtle feelings of the human heart cannot be expressed in words. How then can anyone expect truth to be spoken in words? That which is spoken in words can never be truth. People do not distinguish between the meaning of fact and of truth; they always muddle truth with fact.
Often the greatest error is made when a person who has a crude or insolent nature or a brain of stone says, "What do I care how anybody takes it? I simply tell the truth. It does not matter whether a person is hurt." But truth is the finest thing and most beautiful. If one tells the truth must it hurt? If it hurts anybody can it be truth? Truth must raise a person, must illuminate him, it must be the most beautiful thing on earth, harmonizing, uplifting, inspiring, it cannot be hurtful. If it is truth it is the greatest healing there is. But people interpret truth in the form of facts, and muddle truth with fact, just as they confuse pleasure with happiness.
When people are pleased they say, "I am happy" and when they are happy they say, "I am pleased." But pleasure is far from happiness. A small thing can give pleasure, but in order to be happy one ought to arrive at that pitch where there is everlasting happiness. Pleasure comes and goes; it is the shadow of happiness, it is not happiness.
In the same way people muddle cleverness with wisdom. Of a wise person they say, "What a clever man and of a clever man they say, "How wise is he. "A worldly person is not wise, he is clever, and a wise man is not necessarily clever, although he is perfect wisdom. Cleverness is a shadow of wisdom. Wisdom is light.
In the East no doubt seekers after truth in all ages have sought the direction of those who had already acquainted themselves with the path, in order to tread the path under their guidance. Today a man comes and says, "I do not wish to follow any guidance or advice. If a book can tell me something I shall read it. Tell me just now what I should do, and I shall do it." Imagine! In order to develop your voice you go to a teacher of voice-culture and do a thousand practices with open mouth and make a thousand kinds of grimaces you would never like to make. In order to develop the voice you have to do a thousand things which sound foolish in order to sing one day. What comparison is there between spiritual attainment and singing? If singing rightly takes so many years' practice and so much concentration and discipline under the orders of a teacher, how can a spiritual teacher tell at the dinner table what spirituality means? People ask, "Would you tell us in one word how we can attain spirituality?" Is it such a simple thing?
Who then can tell it and how can it be told? It is something to discover for oneself. The teacher can only put one on the track to attain to that realization which is called spirituality. No doubt according to the idea of the people of the East the responsibility of the spiritual teacher is still greater than that of parents towards their children. From the time of his birth the parents' thought is centred on the well being of the child. Even when he is grown up the child is the same in the heart of the parents; they are interested in everything he does. The child may not care for them, but they will understand. He may be far away, yet from a distance the heart of the mother will always be craving for the welfare of her child. So it is with the teacher. The spiritual teacher under whose guidance a pupil places himself will fulfil to him the place of both father and mother, and even more. His welfare is the teacher's religion, it is his spiritual responsibility; for the spiritual teacher there is no other religion. He is not necessarily a priest; all the duty he has is to be anxious about the welfare and well being of those who sought his guidance, who come under his direction.
It is therefore that the service of the great ones such as Jesus Christ, Buddha, Moses, Muhammad, or any others who came from time to time to serve humanity in a small or in a great way, has been a service of love and affection in order to raise humanity by their own example, their own ideas, their own love. What they have taught is not so important as what was given beyond words as love and light. That is the sacrament in the church, the same in the form of love and wisdom. What has come in words, or from the lips, is very little, so simple.
There is no comparison between the Bible or any such spiritual book and a writer of today, because the value of the book is not in the capability of the writer; its value lies in the personality of the teacher. The wonderful souls who from time to time served humanity helping it to progress - whether known or unknown, whether mankind has forgotten them or still holds them - have done their duty and always do so. Those who take such an opportunity of benefiting by their teaching, by their thought, are blessed ones.
Spirituality is not necessarily intellectuality, nor is it orthodoxy or asceticism. Orthodox, ascetic or intellectual pursuit after truth, all these are the ways people have taken in order to reach a spiritual goal, but the way is not the goal. If there is a definition of spirituality it is the tuning of the heart.
In this material age of ours the heart quality is totally forgotten and great importance is given to reason and logic. When we argue with a person, he says, "Argue with reason, be logical." Sentiment and idealism have no place; it is therefore that humanity is getting further and further from spiritual attainment. The main quality, the best in man, is ignored and by ignoring that quality it becomes dead. For instance, if a poet happens to live in a village where no one understands poetry, if an artist lives in a town where no one cares for his pictures, if an inventive genius has no opportunity of bringing out his inventions, these faculties become blunted and in the end they die. So it is with the heart quality; if it is not taken notice of, if it has no opportunity to develop, if it is ignored, then this quality becomes blunted and in the end it dies. As it is said in a song, "The light of life dies when love is gone."
When feeling has become blunted then what remains? Nothing. Then there is no sign of life. What remains is intellectuality expressing itself by the power of egoism. It is difficult to live in the world because selfishness is ever on the increase. Business and industry apart, even in friendship, in relationship the give-and-take has the greatest importance, worldly interest takes part in it. There is a certain fineness that belongs to human nature, a certain nobleness, a certain independence, there is a certain ideal, a certain delicacy, a certain manner that belong to human nature, and all these become blunted when the heart quality is left undeveloped.
I have been travelling for many years seeing people busy in the pursuit of truth and to my very great disappointment I have found many of them, although interested in higher things, yet arguing, discussing, "Do you believe what I believe" or, "Perhaps my belief is better than yours" - always that intellectual side. They said, "We have so many things connected with our life in the world in which we can use our intellect: business, industry, domestic affairs." In seeking God, in attaining spirituality we do not need to use so much intellect, because this does not come by the intellect; it comes by the tuning of the heart.
People will say, "Yes, but all the same there are emotional persons, affectionate and loving people." But I do not always call emotional people loving people. They may be so outwardly, but very often the more emotional they are the less loving, for one day their love is on the rise, next day it is on the fall, one day very loving, next day just moved with emotions like clouds. One day the sky is clear, next day it is covered. One cannot depend upon emotions, they are not love. It is the feeling nature that is to be developed, the sympathetic nature.
Besides, there exists, especially in the Western world, a false conception of the strength of personality. Maybe many have understood it wrongly; under the guise of strength they want to harden their hearts. For instance, many men think that for a man to be touched or moved by anything is not natural or normal. On the contrary! If a man is not touched or moved it is not natural; he is still in the mineral kingdom and not yet in the human kingdom. To be human and not be touched or moved by something touching or appealing only means that the eyes of the heart are closed, its ears blocked. This heart is not living. It is a wrong understanding of a high principle. The principle is that man must be feeling and at the same time so strong that as much feeling he has, so much strength he must have to cover it. It does not mean he must not be feeling; man without feeling is without life. Those who are afraid of feeling think that the right, the normal thing to do is to keep away from feeling. However much they study psychology, theoretically and methodically, they will not attain to spirituality. Spirituality does not belong to intellectuality, it has nothing to do with it. In connection with spirituality intellectuality is in so far useful that an intellectual person can best express spiritual inspiration.
Many people say, "I had a deep feeling, but that feeling is all gone, it is lost. Now I have no more feeling." That means that something in them has died. They do not know it, but something of great importance has died, for they were affectionate, loving, kind. Perhaps they have met with the disappointing qualities of human nature and have become disappointed, and so the feeling heart has taken the bowl of poison and died. Or perhaps some began to dig the ground in order to find water, but before they could reach water they saw mud. Having no patience to go on digging still they became disappointed with the mud and lost their enthusiasm to dig. There are others who, out of self-righteousness or keen perception of human defects or out of their critical tendency, begin to hate before they can love someone, and so hate comes first giving no chance to love.
What is necessary is to develop a sympathetic nature and to sustain its gradual growth. As it is difficult for the student of voice-culture to practice his voice and not to let it be spoiled, for even practice may spoil it, so it is with the sympathetic person: while developing the faculty of sympathy there is a chance of spoiling it. In other words, the more loving a person, the more chance he has to be disappointed. The greater the love, the finer the fragility and the more susceptible to everything; therefore the greater the love, the more fragile the heart - at any moment it can break. The one who walks in the path of sympathy therefore must take great care that his way may not be blocked. It is his own perseverance that will keep him from everything that is trying to block his way.
There is one principle to be remembered in the path of sympathy: we must do all we can with regard to the pleasure of those whom we love and whom we meet, but we must not expect the best from those whom we love and meet, for we must know that the world is as it is. We cannot change it, but we can change ourselves. The one who wants others to do what he wishes them to do will always be disappointed. That is the complaining soul; all day long, every day of the month, that soul is complaining. He is never without a complaint; if not about a human being, then it is the climate; if not about the climate then about the conditions; if not about someone else then about himself. Something is hurting that person all the time.
He must remember that self-pity is the worst poverty. The person who takes life in this way, saying, "My poor self, crinkled, forgotten, forsaken, ill treated by everybody, by the planets, even by God" - that person has no hope; he is an exile from the Garden of Eden. But when one says, I know what human nature is, I cannot expect any better, I must only try and appreciate what little good comes from it, I must be thankful for it and try and give the best I can to others" - that is the only attitude that will enable man to develop his sympathetic nature. The one who keeps justice on the foreground is always blinded by it; he is always talking about justice, but never knows it. As to the one who keeps justice in the background; the light of justice falls on his way and he only uses justice for himself. When he has not done right to others he takes himself to task, but if others do not do right towards him he says that this is justice also. For the just person all is just, for the unjust everything is unjust. Remember that the one who talks too much of justice is far from justice; that is why he is talking about it.
One may think, "Is there any reward in sympathy if it leads only to disappointment?" I shall answer, "Life's reward is life itself." A person may suffer from illness or disease, be most unhappy and sad, but ask him, "Shall I turn you into a rock?" and he will say, "No, let me live and suffer." Therefore life's reward is life; the reward of love is love itself. Loving is living, and the heart that closes itself to everyone closes itself to its own self.
The difference between human love and divine love is like that between drill and war. One has to drill in order to prepare for war. One has to know the phenomenon of love on this plane in order to prepare to love God who alone deserves love. The one who says, "I hate human beings, but I love God does not know what love means; he has not drilled, he is of no use in war. A loving person, whether he loves a human being or whether he loves God, shows no trace of hatred, and the one who has hatred in him loves neither man nor God, for hatred is the sign that the doors of his heart are closed.
Is it not a great pity that we see today among the most civilized nations one nation working against the other, lack of trust between nations and this fear of war? It is dreadful to think that humanity which appears to be progressing so much is at the same time going backward to such an extent that never in the history of the world such bloodshed has been caused as during the last war. Are we evolving or going backward?
What is missing is not intellectuality, for people are capable of inventing things and imagining governments every day better and better. Then what is missing? It is the heart quality. It seems it is being buried more and more today. Therefore the real man is being destroyed and the false part of his being is continuing. A better condition can be brought about by the individual who will realize that the development of the heart and nothing else brings about better conditions.
The other day I lectured in Paris and after my lecture a very able man came to me and said, "Have you got a scheme?" I said, "What scheme?" "Of bettering conditions. " I replied that I had not made such a scheme, and he said, "I have a scheme, I will show it to you." He opened his box and brought out a very large paper with mathematics on it and showed it to me saying, "This is the economic scheme that will make the condition of the world better: everyone will have the same share." I said, "We should practise that economic scheme first on tuning our piano: instead of saying D, E, F, we should tune them all to one note and play that music and see how interesting that would be, all sounding the same, no individuality, no distinction, nothing." And I added, "Economy is not a plan for construction, but it is a plan for destruction. It is economics which have brought us to destruction. It is the heart quality, it is the spiritual outlook which will change the world."
Very often people coming to hear me say afterwards, "Yes, all you say is very interesting, very beautiful, and I wish too that the world was changed. But how many think like you? How can you do it? How can it be done?" They come with that pessimistic remark, and I tell them, "One person comes into a country with a little cold or influenza and it spreads. If such a bad thing can spread, can not an elevated thought of love, kindness and goodwill towards all men spread? See then that there are finer germs, germs of goodwill, of love, kindness, and feeling, germs of brotherhood, of the desire for spiritual evolution, which can have greater results than the other ones. If we all have that optimistic view, if we all work in our little way, we can accomplish a great deal."
There are many good, loving and kind people whose heart goes out to every person they meet, but are they spiritual? It is an important question to understand. My answer is that they are just close to spiritual attainment, but unconsciously spiritual. They are not spirit-conscious. Often we meet a mother, a father or a child in whom we see a deep loving tendency; love is pouring out from them, they have become fountains of love. They do not know one word of psychology, of mysticism, but that does not matter. After all what are these names? Nothing but nets for fishes to be caught in, which remain in those nets for years. Sometimes these are big names with little meaning to them, of which much is made by those who want to commercialise the finer things. Very often it is a catering on the part of so-called spiritual workers to satisfy human curiosity and to create sensation even in the spiritual world. But truth is simple. The more simple you are and the more you seek for simplicity, the nearer you come to truth.
The devotional quality needs a little direction; that direction allows it to expand. The loving quality is Just like water. The tendency of water is to expand, to spread, and so the loving quality spreads. But if a person is not well directed, or if he does not know how to direct himself then, if instead of deepening that quality flows, it is without root and it becomes limited. The love quality must be deepened first before it spreads out. If not, what generally happens is that those who set out to love all human beings end in hating all human beings. Because they did not first deepen themselves enough they did not have all the strength to draw more.
The Sufis have therefore considered the development of the heart quality as a spiritual culture, and have called it the culture of the heart. It consists of the tuning of the heart. Tuning means changing the pitch of the vibrations. Tuning the heart means changing the vibrations, bringing them to a certain pitch which is the natural one where you feel the joy and ecstasy of life, which enables you to give pleasure to others even by your presence because you are tuned. When an instrument is properly tuned you need not play music on it; just by striking it you will feel a great magnetism coming from it. If an instrument well tuned can have that magnetism, how much greater should be the magnetism of hearts that are tuned. Rumi says, "Whether you have loved a human being or whether you have loved God, if you have loved enough you will be brought in the end into the presence of the supreme Love itself."
Question: Is there a science of culture of the heart?
Answer: The science of the Sufis teaches that in the mind and in the body a blockage is produced by the lack of development of the sympathetic nature. In the physical body are some nervous centres which are awakened by sympathetic development and by lack of sympathy they are closed. It is therefore that a butcher is less intuitive: everything that keeps man away from sympathy robs him of intuition, because sympathy develops a life in the finer centres, the nervous centres, and the absence of sympathy takes away that life.
So it is in the mind; when the heart is not sympathetic something is missing in the mentality of man, and it is sympathy which opens it. Sufis have the medicine for this disease: it is the practice of a certain art which in our language is called dhikr (zikar) or mantram. By practising that particular art in the right way one works with vibrations on these fine centres. It is a process of vibrations by the help of certain mystically prescribed words; by the repetition of these mystical words the centres begin to vibrate. Very often after six weeks' practice a person feels quite different. Then with that vibration a thought is held in the mind and so concentration is developed at the same time. It helps the love nature or sympathetic nature to be deepened and centralized in the person. As the love nature develops it begins to flow out, and its out-flowing creates an atmosphere, a spiritual atmosphere.
That is why in the East you will always find that the presence of a Sufi is sought by Hindus and Muslims, by people of all different creeds, because the Sufi is all. He is not solely a Hindu or a Muslim, he has not any other religion, he is all, and this comes from the development of feeling. During my pilgrimage to the holy men of India I have seen some whose presence could illuminate you more than reading books for your whole life, or than disputing over any problems a thousand times. They do not need to speak, they become living lights, fountains of love. And if there is infection in disease so there is also infection in spiritual attainment. It is infectious, a person feels uplifted, he feels full of joy, ecstasy, happiness, enlightenment.
Of course the one is more impressed than the other; upon one the influence is much greater than upon another. It all depends upon the person. I will tell you an amusing instance. I remember a lady telling me, "Since you have come my husband is very, very nice." I said, "Yes." But eight days after I had left that town she wrote to me that the man was just where he had been before. The effect of influence is very different, because it is just like the effect of fire. The effect of fire on stone, on iron, on wax, on paper, on cloth, on cotton, upon every object, is different. So on every person the effect of a spiritual personality is different.
- THE FOUR PATHS WHICH LEAD TO THE GOAL
There is one path which may be called the way of the intellectual. When an intellectual person has risen above his intellectuality it is then that he may be called an intelligent person. For there is a difference between the intellectual and the intelligent. An intellectual person is he who has gathered knowledge by impressions, by studies; and he is the king of the domain of his intellect. What he has learned, what he has studied, what he has experienced, he has kept in the book of his mind; and that is his world. But it makes him captive to a limited horizon of knowledge, and it is the rising above that knowledge which may be called intelligence. Yet it is the intellectual person who is capable of being intelligent; intellect is a cover over intelligence, and when this cover is taken off then a person becomes intelligent. The intelligent one is he who perceives for himself, who learns for himself, who understands for himself, who recognizes things by himself, who is a pupil and who is a teacher within himself at the same time.
Once a person has risen above the boundaries of his limited knowledge, then the higher knowledge begins to come to him by itself. He begins to learn more in one moment than an intellectual person would learn after having read all the books in the library during many years. When once an intelligent person has got an insight into the hidden laws of nature, he begins to see a way opening to the higher knowledge. His reasoning changes its nature; it becomes the essence of reason. He does not see things through the reason he has learned from the world, but he begins to see the reason of all reasons, the reason which is covered by ordinary reasoning.
Man is born intelligent; it is afterwards that he covers his intelligence and that he is glad to call it intellect. Then he is recognized as being learned, and he thinks that he has acquired some knowledge, but it is at this point that he makes his intelligence limited. And as long as his intelligence is limited, he cannot see further than he sees.
There is a time in a person's life when he is learning, and there comes a time when he himself is knowledge. It is at the time when the soul becomes knowledge itself that it begins to have glimpses into the hidden laws of nature; and this illumination may develop so that a person sees the whole of manifestation clearly and fully in the light of intelligence. The Qur'an says, 'God is the Light of the heavens and of the earth'; and if there is any spark of God that can be found in man, it is his intelligence. Naturally, therefore, when this divine light which is hidden in man, is once brought to a blaze and has risen as a flame, it illuminates his path towards perfection.
The second path to perfection is the path of righteousness, of duty, of good actions. A person may not be intelligent, but conscientious in what he does and what he should do, always using his goodwill to do a righteous action; and by doing so he is fulfilling that law of harmony which automatically raises his soul to perfection. Very often one wonders about friends or relations who one thinks are goodness itself, their actions being righteous actions, and yet they never seem to show any tendency towards religion or meditation; and then one often thinks what a pity it would be if they did not arrive at spiritual perfection. But it is quite possible that they will arrive at that perfection before the seeker who makes too much fuss about it and does little; before a person who talks too much about spiritual things and knows little; before the one who is clinging to the outer signs of religion and spirituality. Merely by his righteous actions, by his good deeds, such a person will attain the goal. He may not know it, but it will work automatically, because he is taking the path of righteousness which will surely lead him to perfection.
The third path is the path of discipline, and it is in this path that concentration, meditation, contemplation, and all different forms of discipline are necessary, in order to bring about that realization which is the ultimate goal. The path of meditation enables man to experience different planes of life, not always classified as people do when speaking about this plane and that plane, this grade and that grade. The real experience of inner life cannot very well be classified. For instance, if one asks a meditative person, 'Are there seven planes of existence?, he will say, 'Yes it is so.' But when another person says, 'I have read in a book on Greek philosophy that there are nine planes of existence; can it be true?' he will answer, 'Certainly'. Then another one comes and says, 'I think that there are only three planes', and again he will agree. He does not say this to please; he is able to see these planes as five, seven, nine, in as many forms as he likes, because he actually sees them so. Go to a beginner in music and ask how many notes there are. He will answer, seven; and perhaps he will mention the semitones besides. But if you asked of an experienced musician who has given all his life to music and has come to understand the essence of sound, 'Is it not true, as the Chinese say, that there are twenty notes in the octave?' he will say, 'Yes, it can be true, but when the Indians say that there are twenty-four notes in the octave, that is true too; it is how you look at it.'
All that man learns intellectually about metaphysics keeps him limited to book learning. He derives no benefit but a passing interest; it is a surprise to him to know that there are so many different planes of our being. He does not go further, and if he wanted to see them and know what they are, he could not. But by meditation he can realize them, and by this realization he can give the interpretation of any philosophy, whether Buddhist, or ancient Greek, or Vedanta philosophy, any philosophy you put before him, for he knows what he has experienced through meditation.
No doubt the way of self-discipline is a very difficult way. It is the way of mastery, of power; but it is a hard and difficult path. Practising discipline by sitting in a certain pose or posture is very difficult to keep up for a long time. If one makes a vow to refrain from eating fruit, sweet or sour things, a vow of silence, of fasting, of standing so many hours, or walking, or staying up for part of the night or the whole night, it is not always easy to keep to it. Self-discipline is learned by going against one's own inclinations. Why should one go against them? Are inclinations not natural? One cannot say what is one's own inclination; all inclinations are borrowed here, and what one calls natural is what one has become accustomed to.
The word 'natural' is a word that one can study for years and years, and one will find at the end of the study that there is no such thing as natural. There are natural inclinations to pleasure and comfort which clash with the still greater and deeper inclinations we have for more power and strength, for more light and for more life. So the inclinations can be divided into two aspects: the innermost inclinations, and the inclinations which one feels in everyday life. There is always a conflict between them; and the innermost inclinations are sometimes undermined by the outer inclinations. By learning self-discipline one learns to suppress the outer inclinations in order to make way for the inner inclinations to rise and to flourish, which finally culminates in what we call mastery.
The fourth path of perfection may be called the path of devotion, a path that cannot be compared in value or in depth with any other path. The reason is that devotion touches the Spirit of God. Not everyone is capable of this method, for in some people the heart is closed by the head quality, by intellect, but in others the heart quality is foremost. The first step on the path of devotion teaches selflessness; it makes one unselfish. Devotion is the tuning of the heart to its natural pitch; in other words, the healthiest condition possible in man is that in which devotion has blossomed.
It is devotion alone that buries man's false self, be it devotion to a human being or to God. If truth is ever to be seen it is in devotion; for the world of heart is a different world from the world in which we all live; its law is different, the weather there is different, its sky is different, its sun and moon are different. The nature of that world is different; it is a world in itself. By devotion, heaven is brought to earth. And yet how very often a person says, 'But is it not a simple devotion?' It is in simplicity that the greatest subtlety is to be found; for it is the heart of the devotee which is liquid compared to the one which has become crystallized. It is awakened to sympathy, it is open to appreciate all beauty.
Women are more attracted to devotion than men, for generally the nature of women is to be more respectful towards human beings. This is natural, for if it were not for the love of the mother the world would not go on. This is the principle of devotion; it is in the quality of devotion which exists in women that the secret of the whole creation resides. Krishna has said, 'I am with my devotees'. And therefore if one says, 'Where is God? Is He in the sixth heaven or in the seventh, or a certain paradise or palace in which people imagine Him to be?' the answer is that the paradise or the palace or the dwelling-place of God is in the heart of His devotee. No doubt it is not easy for man to rise to devotion to God. It is on this account that the Sufis in all ages have practised devotion gradually, by their sympathy for their teacher, by the devotion to their Lord, and by the culmination of that devotion in God.
It is devotion which raises the object of its devotion, or its ideal, to the highest heaven. It is by devotion that the rocks have been turned into gods. Someone asked a Hindu, 'By worshipping a God made of rock, what do you gain?' Do you really believe that you have made a God?' 'Yes,' said the Hindu, 'my hands have made this God of stone, and my devotion has given life to it. If you believe in a formless God and have no devotion, you have not yet reached him. He is far away from you. My God is before me; your God is far away from you.' As the Bible says, God is love. If God is to be found anywhere, he is to be found in the heart of man. And when is He to be found? When the heart is awakened to sympathy, to love, to devotion.
- INTELLECT AND WISDOM
Often people confuse the two terms intellect and wisdom; sometimes they use the word intellect for wisdom, sometimes wisdom for intellect. In point of fact these are two different qualities altogether. The knowledge which is learned by knowing names and forms in the outside world belongs to the intellect; but there is another source of knowledge, and that source of knowledge is within oneself.
The words 'within oneself' might confuse some people. They might think 'within oneself' means inside one's body; but that is because man is ignorant of himself. Man has a very poor idea of himself, and this keeps him in ignorance of his real self. If man only knew how large, how wide, how deep, how high is his being, he would think, act, and feel differently; but with all his width, depth, and height, if man is not conscious of them, he is as small as he thinks himself to be.
The essence of milk is butter, the essence of the flower is honey, the essence of grapes is wine, and the essence of life is wisdom. Wisdom is not necessarily a knowledge of names and forms; wisdom is the sum total of that knowledge which one gains both from within and without. An intellectual person will argue, will dispute, but very often about a subject which he himself does not know fully; and frequently one finds that he does so for the very reason that he does not know the subject fully. Superficially the argument of such people makes one believe that they know it, but for the very reason that they argue it is evident that they do not. The one who knows does not need to argue; he knows and he is so satisfied with this knowledge that he does not have that hunger which is felt by the person who argues.
In nature a trace of wisdom can be found by studying instinct: among birds, the art of making a nest, among fishes the art of swimming, and the science that exists among animals and birds, which know their medicine when they are ill. In the ancient traditions of the East there exists a belief that medicine was first learned by the bear. The reason was that the bear knew, when it was ill, where to go and what herb or remedy to find and to take, in order to bring about a cure.
What we call intellectual study is a collection of knowledge which has been given to man as something to learn, and he thinks of it as something to depend upon; but that is not all knowledge; it is only a limited part of knowledge. There is another aspect which can be drawn from the essence of life. That which is called instinct in the animals and birds, in the lower creation, that same instinct when developed in man becomes intuition. It is not true as some psychologists say that all that a child knows it has learned, whether it be a favourable or an unfavourable attitude, whether a good manner or an ill manner. If two children of different parents or different races were brought up without special training, one would find that each would exhibit different manners and tendencies. If one were to consider how much one learns from the outside world and how much one learns from within, it would not be an exaggeration to say that one learns ninety-nine per cent from within and one per cent from without - if that. It is not the outer learning which causes a man to become a really great person or personality in the world; it is the inward learning that helps him to become that. This does not at all mean that outer learning is not required, outer learning as the means of expressing in a better form that learning which one gets from within; yet, if anyone has ever learned anything, it is from within that he has learned it.
Intellect, in every phase of its development, is a step towards the knowledge of truth, and therefore intellectual activity should not be condemned as an unworthy means of reaching the truth. All the same, it is presumptuous on the part of man to try to estimate the truth by means of the intellect. Intellect is the mould which is formed by all that we have learnt and experienced, and through this mould intelligence works; intelligence is the knowing quality.
Intellectual knowledge has much to do with the brain, while wisdom comes from within the heart. In wisdom both head and heart work. One may call the brain the seat of the intellect, and the heart the throne of wisdom; but they are not actually located in the brain or in the heart. Wisdom may be called spiritual knowledge but the best definition of wisdom would be perfect knowledge, the knowledge of life within and without.
How does one pursue the wisdom which is within? By first realizing that intuition exists within oneself. It is perhaps not every person who even believes in intuition; and among those who do, not all trust their intuition. No doubt they have a reason for not trusting it, for an intuition often seems to be futile knowledge; but for what reason does intuition prove to be wrong? It is because it was not an intuition; they only thought that it was. Not every person is able to catch his first impulse, for the activity of the mind always goes from one thing to another. As soon as a thought comes from within, the activity of the mind makes it go to another thought, and thus the mind believes it has thought of one idea while in reality it has gone on to another idea.
In this way one begins to distrust intuition; and when one distrusts one's own intuition one has no confidence in oneself, and the meaning of faith is self-confidence. Whatever be the faith or belief of one who has no confidence in himself, it will not be substantial. If a person came to a wise man and said, 'I believe in you, I trust you, but I cannot trust in myself', he would say, 'I appreciate very much your trust and belief, but I cannot depend upon you'. If, however, another person comes and tells him, 'I trust myself, but do not yet know if I can trust you', he will say 'There is hope for that man', for he will know that that person has already taken his first step; he has now to take the next step. The man who cannot trust his own intuition is perplexed, he does not know what he wants. He will always depend upon outer things which give him reasons; but the things of the outer life which are subject to continual change, to death and destruction, are not dependable. These things are called by the Hindus Maya or illusion. A person who calls himself a positivist because he depends upon outer reason, is depending on something changeable and subject to death.
It is not easy to recognize an intuition. The thought-waves are just like voice-waves. It is quite possible for the thought of another person to float into that field of which one is conscious, and one may hear it and think it is one's intuition. Very often a person feels depressed or hilarious without any particular reason. This may be a kind of floating thought or feeling from another person which passes through his mind and being, and he, for that moment, begins to feel happy or unhappy without any reason. And it happens frequently to everyone during the day that there come thoughts and feelings and imaginings which he has never had himself or which he had no reason to have. It would not be right to call these intuition. Water which is found in a shallow pool is not the same as the water which is in the depth of the earth. Therefore the thoughts which come and go, floating on the surface, are not to be depended upon; real intuition is to be found in the depth of one's being.
There is also a difference between intuition and impulse. Impulse is just like a straw floating upon the surface of the water; and this straw becomes an impulse itself when it is pushed by the wave coming from behind. That is why a man gets credit for a right impulse and is accused for a wrong impulse. If one saw what is behind an impulse, one would be slow to express one's opinion on the subject. Impulse when it is pure is intuition, but it is seldom pure because it is spoiled by reason.
The first thing one must learn is to believe in the existence of such a thing as intuition. The next is to be able to follow one's intuition, even at the cost of something valuable. Even if one is deceived for some time, one will not continually be deceived. Therefore in the end one will find oneself on the right path. But the third thing is to make one's mind one-pointed by the help of concentration, which will permit one to perceive intuition properly. Just as for hearing the ears are so made that the voice waves resound in them and become clear, so the mind should be made a kind of capacity, or mould, in which the intuition may become clear. The difficulty is that outwardly the work of the ears is different from the work of the eyes; but the mind does both seeing and hearing at the same time.
The mind is perceptive as well as creative, but it cannot at the same time perceive and create; for creating is expressing, and perceiving comes by receptivity. There are two temperaments among men, called in Sufi terms the Jelal temperament and the Jemal temperament. The Jelal temperament is expressive and the Jemal is receptive. That is why there are some people who like to listen and others who like to speak; there are many who like to be active, while others like to see others act. The one who works is glad to work; the one who remains seated prefers to sit. Both enjoy what is akin to their temperament. The one is creative, the other receptive. But one can master one's life by taking these two different faculties in hand, and by trying at times to be creative and at other times to be receptive. The one who is creative needs, no doubt, action and a knowledge of action; but the one who is receptive needs concentration and the attitude of mind which is receptive. There is a third temperament which is at the same time receptive and creative; this temperament, called Kemal, does not give results.
The mind can become a receptacle for the knowledge which comes from within. If we look at people, we shall find that among a hundred there are ninety-nine who are creative by nature, but only one who is receptive enough to receive through his intuitive faculties. The difficulty with the mind is that when one wishes to receive, the mind wishes to create; when one wishes to create, then the mind wishes to receive. The Hindus liken the mind to a restive horse. A horse, unless one has put reins on it, will not be controlled and will not go in the direction which one wants it to take. Therefore that wisdom which is like the essence of life and which is to be found within oneself can only be attained by first making the mind obedient; and this can be done by concentration. People will easily understand if one tells them about voice production, how necessary it is in order to sing well to train the voice; also they can easily understand why it is necessary to learn physical culture in order to make the muscles strong; but when it comes to training the mind a person asks, in the first place, 'Is there a mind? ' I thought that there was only a brain', and even if he happens to believe in the mind, he does not know what can be done with it.
Anything else he will find more valuable than the training of the mind. He may even think that it is an occupation for lazy people, who have all sorts of luxuries to give their time to. The greatest mistake that a man can make is to keep away from a child that culture which is most necessary as a training. One may ask if a child does not learn concentration when he goes to school; but on the contrary, he mostly loses his concentration in school. When a little child begins by learning mathematics, he loses his concentration. The child never has an opportunity to sit quiet for a moment; he has no opportunity to think of only one thing at a time. Then what happens? Children become nervous; today one finds that nervousness everywhere.
Besides after being educated one has to make use of that education. If a person's mind is not under control, how can he use it? It is one thing to learn, and another thing to make use of the learning. It does not suffice to learn a song; that does not make a person into a singer; he must learn to produce his voice also. And so it is with intuitive knowledge. When a man has become qualified by studying for a long time, and yet cannot use his knowledge, what was the good? There is a sufficient number of learned people; what we want today is people with master minds, those who do not only see the outer life, but also the life within, who do not only draw inspiration from outer life, but also from the life within. Then they become the expression of that perfect Being which is hidden, hidden behind the life of variety.
It is not meant by this that everyone should become a kind of super-being. It is not meant at all that people should be able to perform wonders or miracles; it is only intended that they should live a fuller life and become real human beings, in order to bring about better conditions in the world. What do we want? We want human beings. It is not necessary that everyone should become religious, or exceedingly pious, or too good to live. We want wise men in business, in politics, in education, in all walks of life; those who do not live only on the surface and those who do not believe only in matter, but who see life both within and without. It is such souls who will produce beauty; it is such souls who will harmonize the world, who will bring about the conditions we need today. We do not only need the knowledge of matter or spirit, we need living in all walks of life, so that in one's business, in one's industry, in every art or science one may practise, one can use that wisdom which is perfect in oneself. When the individual and the multitude find beneath their feet a solid foundation on which they can stand, from that day we may hope for better conditions in the world.
- THE AWAKENING OF THE WORLD IN THE NEW YEAR
By circumstances and by the time that is to come the East and West, the world's two poles, are wakening and are coming together. The East is wakening to life's needs, the West is wakening to life's purpose. The East is changing its side and the West is rubbing its eyes. The East is realizing the end of commercial and industrial development and is considering social and political problems; on the other hand the West is thinking, wondering about occult and mystic science, and is trying to waken to religious and spiritual ideals. You may call it involution or evolution, or may see it as the East going downwards and the West going upwards, but it is a circle, and action only makes a step forward in evolution.
Now taking the circumstances before our view, we see that all such things as the wars and disasters and conflicts between nations and races which the world has experienced recently, all these things have wakened man to think and to pursue the deeper side of life. No doubt the all-prevailing materialism and commercialism as they are today, keep man still absorbed in his daily occupations, so that he has not sufficient time to attain something his soul craves after. Nevertheless the people in Europe and America, whatever be their occupation, more or less are inclined toward the spiritual ideal. No doubt very often seekers after Truth, who give their precious time to spiritual things, become disappointed before they come to realization when these things are not presented as they ought to be. And when they find that it is not real, what they were seeking after, they think, what is reality? Worldly occupation is not real, and under the cover of something real there is also falsehood. Then where is reality? A wise person who has become disappointed says, "I shall pursue my material life. I am craving for reality, but I give it up. Perhaps some day I shall find it myself."
It seems that there are four different kinds of persons who pursue the spiritual path. The one kind is the person who is after phenomena. He thinks, "In order to strengthen my faith in the hereafter, in the soul, in the deeper side of life, I must have some proof." He is willing to make any sacrifice or to pay any price for it. But when once he sees a proof that there is something wonderful and something different from what he experiences in every-day life, he meets with people who are clairvoyant or mediumistic or who have some such occupations as to tell the future or to see at a distance, he sometimes thinks it is true, and sometimes he is disappointed. But at the same time nothing of these things brings him nearer to reality; they keep him on the surface, he remains groping on the surface, or perhaps his patience becomes exhausted and he has found nothing. Today, when materialism is prevailing, people think that the best way to give belief in the spirit and in the hereafter is to have some proof of the life of the other side and that they can have this proof by spirit communication. And what has happened is that many have become curious, ten times more curious, and perhaps after one year they are still more curious. And where does curiosity end? It ends in outer communication. They communicate with a relation, and then with a king, and then with a prophet. There is no end to it. And when there is one proof there are ten mistakes; and in this way it goes on. Those who are not ready to believe, after having thousands of messages they will not believe in the soul and the hereafter. And only spirit messages and plays and phenomena, if they could attract a wise and serious person, it would be different. But this is not so. It is the sincere seeker who is the first to doubt; and before he comes to the right thing he has perhaps met ten wrong examples and is finished with them.
And there is another kind of person. This kind is wanting a certain knowledge, a knowledge which he does not find in the ordinary learning such as is given in colleges and universities. He has finished the learning of grammar and all these books concerning knowledge and learning. Now he wants another learning of an intellectual type - that in the moon there is a shrine, and on the top of the Himalayas, in a remote place, there is a sacred centre, that there are planetary influences over the world, and that a thousand years ago mankind had a different sense and after a thousand years mankind will be still another sense, the features will change and mankind will become quite different. Then he believes more in the book than in a living person; and that which tickles his curiosity he is pleased with. He must have something to think about which is not every-day knowledge.
And there is a third person; for him the letter counts, for him what is first is the law. He wants to know about different religions, dogmas and principles, and fixed virtues and sins, and what is wrong and right as it is written in the record; and that this belief is older than the other, and that great teacher is not so great as another teacher, and the other teacher is different from another teacher. He proves it by their lives, he sees their differences from what history tells him or he sees it in one book or another book. This is something he considers spiritual knowledge. Besides that, the meaning of different symbols, as to which perhaps, if ten wise men were asked, each wise man would give a different answer. These things interest him, he considers that spiritual knowledge. Out of this, what he can find is nothing but the difference between aspects of wisdom, which is one and the same. You will find this person very often learned and well versed, knowing all the differences that exist between different religions. This knowledge we will call the classical knowledge of spiritual beings.
There is a fourth person; and he has no interest in all those things. He says, "I only see the need of the world, and I am waiting, waiting for an extraordinary event to occur." Either he is looking to the sky, that from there should drop something, from space, which not everybody had seen, or he is expecting that something will happen, so that everybody would be shaken and everybody would kneel down and would begin to pray. But these things never happen. Jesus Christ came and spoke to a few fishermen and has gone. Muhammad was driven out of his country. Moses taught and gave the law; but the world did not know him. Nevertheless what they have given has reached the world, directly or indirectly. Some think that the world must be changed in a moment. It is a great ideal, but it is a question if it comes true. They are waiting and will continue to wait.
And then there is a fifth person who really thinks rightly on the spiritual subject, that what is the need of the world and of every individual is that the spirit may waken to reality, that the latent inspiration and power may manifest, that man may find eternal life within himself, that every possibility of expanding one's sympathy and love may be attained. It is by this ideal, if individuals will proceed in the spiritual path, that they will fulfil the words of Christ: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all things shall be added unto you."
Now to tell you, how does one purse the right spiritual course? In the first place we must find out, physically, what are the possibilities of experiencing the inner life as closely as one experiences the outer life. There comes the spiritual culture, that these very eyes, that only can see things of matter, are then able to see beyond. There is quite a different sensation, a liberation. There is one experience one makes with the physical body which one calls sensation; but that experience which is made by the senses and yet which penetrates and reaches further than the ordinary senses and touches deeper than average sensation is that experience which allows one to attain the first step in the spiritual path. Never think that these two eyes can only see what they see. No, they are capable of seeing further than what they see if one were to explore the truth of life. Besides that, the physical organs such as the head and the body, one thinks that the head is for thinking and the body for working; but one does not see the other possibilities in the physical body. The body is so constructed that the study of ordinary anatomy is not sufficient to understand it. There are nervous centres which are finer than what material instruments can examine and feel, there are finer fluids, there is a finer life which can be experienced, there is a joy, there is a peace, there is a greater knowledge which can be obtained by the help of some particular organs situated in different places of the human frame. And that shows that as capable man is of acting outwardly with the organs of the body, so capable he is of using his physical frame to make intuitions and inspirations clear to himself.
One knows from a scientific point of view that the brain registers thought-forms, impressions. But that is what comes from without. But man does not know that there are centres in which intuition is born, instinct is born, not in the human being alone, but also in the lower creation. What teaches fishes to swim without sinking, and birds to fly? It is instinct. And where does it come from, what in mankind we call intuition and which in the lower creation is instinct? The source of instinct and intuition both is to be found within and not without. And the body which is made as capable as it is of working outwardly, so capable it is to perceive intuition. And when that sense is overlooked naturally one lives but a half life and a certain part in man becomes blunted, when he no more can feel intuition he no more can believe that he has something like intuition. Therefore the real source of knowledge is stopped, because his intuitive faculty does not work. Then he finds knowledge outside, in books, in discussions. But no words can give that knowledge that one's self can teach when intuition is awakened. The great gurus and teachers of humanity, the knowledge they have given is little, but their work is to waken the knowledge that the real Teacher from within may teach.
Now coming to another aspect, and that is the faculties of mind. The mind has five faculties: memory, thinking, judging, feeling, and reasoning. Feeling is the most important faculty. Therefore that part of mind is called the heart. Thinking comes on the surface, and that part is called mind. Heart and mind is one and the same thing. It is the surface of the heart which is mind and the depth of the mind which is heart. When a person says, "I feel in mind a great affection," it is in the heart; when he says, "I think very highly of someone," it is his mind. A great mystic of Hyderabad said in his poetry that the whole cosmos can become as a bubble in the heart of man if it is sufficiently enlarged. If there is such a possibility that the heart can become like an ocean in which the universe may seem to be a bubble, how great and how mysterious is man himself. His pursuit after little mysteries is in vain. Man is a mystery himself and such a great mystery, if he can explore his mind, dive deep into his own heart and see its phenomena. Then the whole life becomes a phenomenon. Every moment he would see nothing but a phenomenon; no other wonder in the world would surprise him, for this wonder in himself is much greater.
And then there is a moral world which is greater still, and which is to be explored within ourself also. If one knew what a bitter feeling makes and what an affectionate feeling makes; how one separates, and how they expand and penetrate through the space and what they bring about, one would marvel in life. You see so many living beings, people moving about with their eyes open, and yet their heart is closed to this truth. There is a psychological action which is caused by every person in the whole cosmos. Every little thought and feeling arising in a person's heart, before it is materialised, manifest on the surface, has its action in the inner world. Whether it is joy or sorrow or harmony or disharmony, it creates that in the inner world, and it all acts upon those who know and those who do not know. A person may feel and not say, or he may say and it may not be heard, or he may do something and it may not be seen, and yet what is done has its effect, whether it is a wrong or right or good or bad effect. And though man thinks that it is his individual action or thought or feeling, it can have an effect upon the whole cosmos. One never thinks about it, and yet it is so, a person may do something in the North Pole, and he may go to the South Pole; it is waiting there for him. With all the thieves and criminals and treachery and deceit in this world, can you say, with open eyes, that anyone can get away with anything that was not his right, that did not belong to him? Perhaps on the surface. But then there is a government, an inner government, and that government has officials everywhere, who will catch a person wherever he goes. Every grain of feed we eat and every drop we drink, every breath of fresh air we take, all has its tax which we shall have to pay. That is the moral phenomenon, which so few think about. We live in this world intoxicated by what we want to do, and that intoxicates us so much that we do not see further. And there is much to be seen which is worthwhile.
And then we come to the spiritual aspect of our being to be explored. And that aspect is connected with our Source and with our Goal. Call it God or call it Spirit, or call it our real self, or the Absolute, it is one and the same. And by knowing that relation we can know and understand many things, we can understand why we come here and why we go back, and what is there to fulfil in this world, and where lies our real happiness and peace. We can understand the meaning of Truth, which words can never explain, and the relation with and the difference that kept us distant from God.
If man explores the faculties which can be explored in his body and in his mind and their moral effect and influence, if he can realize this, he can attain to that spiritual bliss which connects him with God and which keeps him connected while on earth with the Heavens, and which makes him an entity which is connected with the whole cosmos. It is with this realization that man lives a fuller life. We need not live the life of a wonder worker or of an empty, curious man. What is needed today is for us is to live a fuller life by discovering inspiration. If that is our occupation, it is a part of our occupation in life, we ought to think, we have come here to accomplish.
- THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF COLOUR AND SOUND
It seems that what science realizes in the end, mysticism reaches from the beginning. This accords with the saying of Christ: 'First seek ye the Kingdom of God and all will be added'. When one hears of the present discoveries about sound and colour on the scientific side, one begins by being surprised. One says, 'what a new discovery! Something we have never heard of. It is something quite new'. And yet, when you open the Bible there it says: 'First was the word, and the word was God'. And if you open still older scriptures of the Vedanta, you read in their verses that in the Creator there was that word, or that vibration. When we come to the Qur'an we read that first there was the word 'Be', and then there became.
The religions of the world, the prophets and mystics who existed ages ago knew these things. Today a man comes with a little photographic plate and says: 'Here I have a photograph of sound; that shows how important is vibration and its action upon the plate'. He does not know that this is something which has always been known, and has been spoken of by those who knew it, but in spiritual terms. Therefore man does not think about what was spoken of in the past; he thinks that what is being spoken of today is something new. But when we realize that, as Solomon has said, there is nothing new under the sun, we begin to enjoy life seeing how, time after time, the same wisdom is revealed to man. The one who seeks through science, the one who searches through religion, the one who finds it through philosophy, the one who finds it through mysticism, in whatever manner they seek the truth, they find it in the end.
I was once introduced in New York to a scientist, a philosopher. The first thing he said about his accomplishments was: 'I have discovered the soul'. It amused me very much! All the Scriptures have spoken about it, thinkers have spoken about it, mystics have spoken about it, the prophets have spoken about it, and this man comes and says: 'I have discovered the soul!' I thought: 'Yes, that was the new discovery that we were expecting, something that we never knew!' Such is the attitude of mind today, the childish attitude. When one looks into the past, the present and the future one sees that life is eternal, and what one can discover is that which has always been discovered by those who seek. Philosophy or science, mysticism or esotericism will all agree on one point if they touch the summit of their knowledge, and that point is that behind the whole of creation, behind the whole of manifestation, if there is any subtle trace of life that can be found, it is motion, it is movement, it is vibration.
This motion has its two aspects. There are two aspects because we have developed two principal faculties: sight and hearing. One aspect appeals to our hearing, the other to our sight. The aspect of movement or vibration which appeals to our hearing is what we call audible and what we term sound. The aspect which appeals to our sight we call light, we call it colour, and we call it visible. In point of fact, all that is visible, all that is audible, what is it in its origin? It is motion, it is movement, it is vibration, it is one and the same thing. Therefore, even in that which is audible, in that which is called sound, those who can see trace colour, and to those who can hear, even the sound of the colour is audible.
Is there anything that unites these two things? Yes, there is. And what is it? It is harmony. It is not a particular colour which is harmonious, or which lacks harmony. It is the blending of that colour; it is in what frame it is fixed; how the colour is arranged. In accordance with that it has its effect upon the one who sees. So it is with sound. There is not any sound which is harmonious or inharmonious in itself; it is the relation of one sound with another sound that creates harmony. Therefore harmony is not a thing that one can point out; one cannot say, 'This or that certain thing is harmony'. Harmony is a fact. Harmony is the result of the relation between colour and colour, the relation between sound and sound, and the relation between colour and sound.
The most interesting part of this knowledge is how to different persons different colours appeal, and how different people enjoy different sounds. The more one studies this, the more one finds its relation with the particular advancement of man's evolution; for one will find that at a certain time of one's evolution one loved a certain colour, and then one lost contact with that colour. With one's growth and evolution in life one begins to like some other colour. It also depends upon a person's condition, whether he is emotional, passionate, romantic, warm or cold, whether sympathetic or disagreeable. Whatever be his emotional condition, in accordance with that he has his likes or dislikes in colours. Therefore that makes it easy for the seer, for the knower, to read the character of a man, even before he has seen his face, only by seeing his clothes. His liking for a certain colour expresses what the person is like. His liking for a certain flower, for a certain gem or jewel, for a certain environment in his room, the colour on his wall - all that shows what a person is like, what is his fancy.
As man evolves spiritually through life, so his choice of colour changes. With each step forward he changes, his idea about colour becomes different. There are some to whom striking colours appeal, to others pale colours. The reason is that the striking colours have intense vibrations; the pale colours have smooth and harmonious vibrations, and it is according to the emotional condition of man that he enjoys different colours.
Now coming to sound, every person, whether he knows it or not, has a certain choice of sound. Although everyone does not study this subject, and man mostly remains ignorant of this idea, yet every person has a liking for a certain sound. It is therefore that there is a saying, a belief among people, that each person has his note. It is a fact that each person has his sound, a sound which is akin to his particular evolution. Besides the divisions that the singers have made, such as tenor, bass or baritone, each person has his particular pitch, and each person has his peculiar note in which he speaks, and that particular note is expressive of his life's evolution, expressive of his soul, of the condition of his feelings and of his thoughts.
It not only has an effect upon children to hear certain sounds and to see certain colours, but it also has an effect upon animals. Colours have a great effect and influence upon all living creatures: animals, birds and human beings. Without knowing it, the influence of colours works in their lives, turning them towards this or that inclination. Once when I was visiting a house which had been taken by a certain club, one of the members told me, 'It is a very great pity that since we have taken this house there is always disagreement in our committee'. I said, 'No wonder. I see it'. They asked, 'Why?' I said, 'The walls are red, they make you inclined to fight. A striking colour from all around gives you the inclination to disagree. The emotions are touched by it, and certainly those inclined to disagreement are helped by it'.
It is from this psychological point of view that one finds among the ancient customs of the East that a certain colour is chosen for the time of wedding, and certain colours for other times of different festivities. It all has its meaning, there is a psychological significance at the back of it.
Since both colour and sound are perceived differently and we have different senses through which to perceive them, we have distinguished between visible and audible things. But in reality those who meditate, who concentrate, those who go within themselves, who trace the origin of life, they begin to see that behind these outer five senses there is one sense hidden, and this sense is capable of doing all that which we seem to do or experience.
We distinguish five external senses because we know the five organs of sense. In reality there is one sense. It is that sense which, through these five different organs, experiences life and distinguishes life in five different forms. And so all that is audible and all that is visible is one and the same. It is this which is called in Sanskrit Purusha and Prakriti. In the terms of the Sufis this is known as Dhat (zat) and Sifat. The manifestation of this, the outer appearance, is called Sifat. It is in the manifestation of Sifat that one sees the distinction, or the difference between that which is visible and that which is audible. In their real aspect of being they are one and the same. That plane of existence where they are one and the same is called Dhat (zat), according to that knowledge of the inner existence of the Sufi mystics, in which one sees the source and goal of all things.
What I wish principally to explain is that colour and sound are a language which can be understood not only in the external life but also in the inner life. For the physician and for the chemist colour has a great significance. The deeper one goes into the science of medicine and into the science of chemistry, the more one recognizes the value of colour. Each element, the development of every object, or the change of every object is distinguishable by the changing of its colour. The physicians of old used to recognize diseases by the colour of face and form, and even today there exist physicians whose principal way of recognizing a man's complaint is from the colour in his eyes, on his tongue, on his nails, on his skin. In every condition it is colour which is expressive of man's condition. Also in objects their condition and their change are recognized by their change of colour.
Psychologists have recognized the condition of objects by their sound and of persons by their voice. What kind of person a man is, whether strong or weak, what his character is, what his inclinations are, what his attitude is towards life, his outlook on life, all this is known and understood by his voice.
Colour and sound are not only the language in which one communicates with the life without, but also the language in which one communicates with the life within. One might ask how it is done. We can see the answer in certain scientific experiments. Special plates are made, and by speaking near such a plate marks are made upon the plate with sound and vibrations. Those marks make either harmonious or inharmonious forms. If that is true, then every person, from morning till evening, is making invisible forms in space by what he says. He is creating invisible vibrations around him, and so he is producing an atmosphere. Therefore it is that one person may come into the house, and before he speaks you are tired of him, you wish to get rid of him. Before he has said or done anything you are finished with him, you would like him to go away, for in his atmosphere he is creating a sound; a sound is going on which is disagreeable. There is another person with whom you feel sympathy, to whom you feel drawn, whose friendship you value, whose presence you long for; harmony is continually created through him. That is sound too.
If that is true then it is not only the external signs, but also the inner condition which is audible and visible. Though not visible to the eyes and not audible to the ears, yet it is audible and visible in the soul. We say, 'I feel his vibrations. I feel the person's presence. I feel sympathy, or antipathy towards that person'. There is a feeling, and a person creates a feeling without having said anything or done anything. Therefore a person who is in a wrong vibration, without doing or saying anything wrong, creates the wrong atmosphere, and you find fault with him. It is most amusing and very funny to see how people may come to you with a complaint, 'I have said nothing, I have done nothing, and yet people dislike me and are against me'. That person does not know that it is not because of his saying or doing anything: it is because of his being. 'What you are speaks louder than what you say'. It is life itself which has its tone, its colour, its vibration. It speaks aloud.
One may think, 'Where is it? What is it? Where is it to be found?' The answer is: what little man knows about himself is only about his body. If you tell a man to point out where he is, he will point out this arm, this hand, this body. He knows little further than that. There are many who, if asked: 'Where is it in your body that you think?' will say: 'Thinking? In my brain'. They limit themselves to that little physical region which is called body, thus making themselves smaller than what they really are. The reality is that man is one individual with two ends, just like one line with two ends. If you look at the ends, it is two; if you look at the line, it is one. One end of the line is limited, it is limitedness; the other end of the line is unlimited. One end is man, the other end is God. Man forgets this end, and knows only that end of which he is conscious, and it is the consciousness of limitedness which makes him more limited. Otherwise he would have a greater scope for approaching that Unlimited which is within himself, which is only the other end of the same line, the line which he calls, or which he considers to be, himself. When a mystic speaks of self-knowledge this does not mean knowing how old I am, or how good I am, or how bad I am, or how right or wrong I am. It means knowing the other part of one's being, that deeper, subtler aspect of one's being. It is upon the knowledge of that being that the fulfilment of life depends.
One might ask, 'How can one draw closer to it?' The way that has been found by those who searched after truth, those who sought God, those who wished to analyse themselves, those who wished to sympathize with life, is one way, and that is the way of vibrations. It is the same way as of old; by the help of sound they prepared themselves. They made these physical atoms, which in time had become deadened, live again with the help of sound. They worked with the power of sound. As Zeb-un-Nissa says, 'Say continually that sacred name which will make thee sacred'. The Hindus have called it mantra yoga; the Sufis have termed it wazifa. It is the power of the word which works upon each atom of the body, making it sonorous, making it a medium of communication between the external life and the inner life.
What one begins to realize as the first experience of one's spiritual development is that one begins to feel in communication with living beings, not only with human beings, but with animals, with birds, with trees, with plants. It is not an old tale that the saints used to speak with the trees and the plants. You can speak with them today if you are in communication. It was not only the ancient times which were blessed; the blessing which was of old is there today. The old blessing is not old today, it is new! It is the same old one that was, that is, and that will be. No privilege was ever limited to a period of the world's history. Man has the same privilege today, if he will realize that he is privileged. When he himself closes his heart, when he allows himself to be covered by the life within and without, no doubt he becomes exclusive, no doubt he becomes cut away from this whole manifestation which is one whole and is not divided. It is man himself who divides himself; if not, life is undivided, indivisible.
It is the opening of the communication with external life which makes man wider. Then he does not say of his friend: 'This is my friend, I love him', but he says: 'This is myself, I love him'. That is the time when he can say that he has arrived at the realization of love. As long as he says: 'I feel sympathy with him because he is my friend', his sympathy has not yet fully awakened. The real awakening of his sympathy is on that day when he sees his friend and says 'this is myself'. Then the sympathy is awakened, then there is the communication within one's self.
Man does not close himself only from the external life, but also from the inner part which is a still more important part of his life. That inner part is also sound, that inner part is light; and when one gets in touch with this sound and this light, then one knows that language which is the language of heaven, a language which is expressive of the past, the present and the future, a language which reveals the secret and character of nature, a language which is receiving and giving that divine message which the prophets have tried at times to reveal.
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December 2007 
Heartmaster
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