The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan1
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Topic ArchetypesAstrologyAttainmentChakrasCharacterChristCompassionDervishDesire and renunciationDestiny and Free WillDimensionsDiscipleshipDreamsDuties and debtsEgoElementsGodGuidanceHealersHealingHealthHeartImmortalityInitiationLight and LoveLoversMagnetismMasteryMaterial lifeMeditationMessageMindPhysical BodyPlanesPoetsPowerPrayersPurposeReconstruction of WorldRelationshipsReligionsSaintsSchoolScientistsSexualitySleepSpeakingStagesStoriesSufismTeaching StyleVoiceWomenWorldWounds of the Heart | Sub-Topic Arabic names for the ElementsAttract like elementAttract opposite elementElements of the BodyEmotions & ElementsEmotions & Elementsform and colorLiving BeingsRefreshingSensesSource of EmotionsThe SensesThe Sounds of the ElementsThe Spirit In the Flesh |
The Healing Papers2,2: the Spirit In the Flesh3: The Nature of the Sense and their OrgansThere are five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. The senses of sight and hearing are the principal ones, and of these two the principal is the sense of sight.
Each sense has its dual aspect, Jelal and Jemal, the strong and the gentle aspects of life, which are represented by the right and left side, their action being expressive and responsive. Therefore, although the sense of sight is one, the eyes are two; the sense of hearing is one, but the ears are two; the sense of smell is one, and the nostrils two. So it is with every sense. It is this dual aspect in nature which has caused the distinction of sex, for in spirit the human is human, but as it approaches the surface it becomes either male or female. The myth of Adam and Eve expresses this to those who know: Eve coming out of Adam's rib means that two came out of the one Spirit. In reality there is but one sense, and it is the direction of its experience which is perceived through a particular channel. This being so, each experience is different from the other. Therefore we may call this sense the five senses, although in reality it is one. Whichever element predominates in a person's nature, the sense relative to that element in him is the most active. And as breath changes so many times throughout the day and night, its element acts in accordance with the senses. This is the cause of every demand of the senses. He who indulges in any one of the senses makes that sense dull, just as attar, kept all the time near oneself, dulls in time the sense of smell, although it enslaves one to the smell of attar. The same is the case with all senses. The Sufi, therefore, experiences life through the senses for the sake of experience and not for indulgence, the former being master and the latter slavery. |