The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan1

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Topic

Archetypes

Astrology

Attainment

Chakras

Character

Christ

Compassion

Dervish

Desire and renunciation

Destiny and Free Will

Dimensions

Discipleship

Dreams

Duties and debts

Ego

Elements

God

Guidance

Healers

Healing

Health

Heart

Immortality

Initiation

Light and Love

Lovers

Magnetism

Mastery

Material life

Meditation

Message

Mind

Physical Body

Planes

Poets

Power

Prayers

Purpose

Reconstruction of World

Relationships

Religions

Saints

School

Scientists

Sexuality

Sleep

Speaking

Stages

Stories

Sufism

Teaching Style

Voice

Women

World

Wounds of the Heart

Sub-Topic

14 to 18

Awakening

Discipleship

Fana-fi-Shaikh

Farid-ud-din-Attar

Five Desires

Five Steps

Four Personalities of God

Four stages of God Consciousness

Four Types of People

Four Ways People Evolve

Grades of Evolution

Inner Life

Outer Signs of Progress

Paramatma

Path of Initiation

Signs of spirituality

Spiritual Attainment

Steps 4-10

Steps in the Spiritual Journey

The art of personality

The Last 7 Steps

The Prophet

Three Stages

Wakening to the Message

Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?

Jinn

Four Types of People

Every person shows from his earthly heritage a nature which is one of four types.

  1. The first is that of the idealist, who lives in the world for his ideals; a man of principles, intelligent, modest, moderate in everything, patient; and a man with refined manners, dreamy by nature, or a deep thinker; a man of dignity who guards his reputation as one would take care of a thin glass. His contact with the earth is like that of a bird who builds its nest upon a tree in the air, descends to the earth to pick up a grain when hungry, and then flies off. He dwells on the earth because he is born on the earth, but in reality he lives in his thoughts. The earth and all that belongs to the earth is his need, not his want.

  2. The second type is that of the artist; an artist not necessarily by profession, but by nature. Artistic by temperament, this man shows discrimination in his love; he is distinct in his likes and dislikes; subtle, clever, witty, observing conventions, and yet not bound by them; one who notices everything, and yet does not show himself fully; elusive by nature, yet tender and affectionate; fine and simple, social and yet detached. He is like a deer in the woods, who is one moment in one part of the forest, and at another quite a distance away. One may think by coming into contact with him that one has got him, but at the next moment one will fund him far away from one's reach. This is the type of man of whom many say, "I cannot understand him.'

  3. The third is the material man, material in his outlook, devoid of the love of beauty, concerned only with what he needs, clever but not wise. He lives all through life in the pursuit of earthly gains, ignorant of the beauty life can offer, looking hopefully from day to day to that gain for which he is working. One might say that he is waiting for the day when his ships will arrive.

  4. The fourth is a man with mundane desires, who enjoys his food and drink; what he thinks about is his bodily comfort, his momentary pleasures, his passing joys; the slave of his passions and captive to the things of the earth. He is uninterested in everything but himself. He belongs to no one, nor does anyone in reality belong to him. He is happy-go-lucky by nature, yet susceptible to depression and despair. One might say that he lives to eat.

These four different qualities belong to the body that the earth offers to the soul; the third and fourth classes more than the first and second. It is thus that one can trace back the origin of this clay that the soul has adorned and called "myself"; this clay that has passed through so many different conditions while being kneeded. It developed through the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms and then of it was made the image of man.

"Verily in man is reflected all that is on the earth and in heaven."