The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan

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May not the feeling of honor develop a false pride, one might ask, and how can one prevent this? This is the guardian's responsibility. Anything exaggerated and anything carried to the extreme is bad. One can become too proud and one can think too much of honor. But generally the life of the world is so wicked that instead of increasing the sense of honor it does the opposite. There are so many needs, there are so many wants; there are so many conditions and situations which instead of raising a person pull him down. Therefore the effort on the part of the guardian should be to give a hand to the soul to climb upward, instead of letting it go downward. There are many influences which pull downward. One must inspire the child with such pride and honor that in poverty or wealth, and in all conditions it may prove to be a noble soul.

  • Then there is a fourth ideal that one should inspire in the child, That ideal is thoughtfulness in speaking or in doing anything. This means the child must become conscious of its child's place; it must not try to take the place of the eider one. It is a child; it must keep its place. For instance, if two elderly people are discussing something and the child comes in and says, "No, no, it is not so," it is out of place. Maybe according to its mind it is not so, but it is not entitled to say so. It must keep its place. That is what is meant by thoughtfulness.


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