The Teachings of
Hazrat Inayat Khan

The Chemistry of Emotions

The control of one's sentimental nature is what is called chemistry, or alchemy, in mystical terms. (The word 'alchemy' comes from an Arabic word, al-Kimia, which means the art of making gold.)

There are nine different feelings which are as nine expressions of the sentimental nature:

  1. Weeping,
  2. laughter,
  3. anger,
  4. sympathy,
  5. love,
  6. passion,
  7. wonder,
  8. fear, and
  9. indifference.
A person who has a pronounced emotional nature easily feels inclined to express his emotion in any of these nine forms. The process of alchemy is to control these expressions without killing them.

There is a difference between controlling and killing. By controlling, one possesses power without allowing it to express itself, but by killing it one loses that power which is life. As all things can be made useful, so the feelings of different kinds have their use in life, and the proper use of every sentiment is the right thing; though the life of the mystic has a certain aim to accomplish and for him the control of different emotions is most necessary. For things for which he would not ordinarily blame others he must blame himself; for control is the power of the mystic, and in the lack of control lies his error.

When every feeling is controlled from a free expression, in time it becomes a collected energy; the heart of the mystic becomes a reservoir of power, his every feeling begins to speak beyond words. The secret of the word and presence of the mystic is in the reserve of his sentimental expression. One sees in life those who freely express emotion, every sentiment that comes along, not only lose power and magnetism but become exhausted, their thought, speech and action becomes powerless.

By this it does not mean that the life of the mystic must be cold, The one who is warm by nature can never be cold. If a flame does not rise from the fire, it will spread its influence as heat; but in some form or other the fire will prove its existence, being warm. It is not word or action which is love, it is love itself which is love. Word or action limits the life of the heart, and when there is a control over word or action the power of feeling is greater. That which was feeling then becomes phenomenon.

Love is life, and this is proved by this process of alchemy by which the mystic develops his heart quality.

The Institute for Applied Meditation, Inc.