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 Circulation of the Divine BloodClosed and OpenDepth of MindDwelling place of GodEmotions and ElementsFour Dimensions againGod is born in oneselfHeart & MindHeart Like SoilHeart Like WaterHeart, Mind & EyesLove is will-powerMagnetism ofOpening the Breast of the ProphetPower to open heartsRel. to MindRel. to Soul & BodyRel. to Third EyeReligion of the HeartRumiSahib-e DilSoul & HeartSpirit-MindStretching the HeartThe Heart of GodThe Throne of GodThe Work of the HeartTuning of the HeartTypes of heartsVoice of 9 Emotions |
Vol. 6, The Alchemy of HappinessThe Stages toward Perfection2. The Work of the HeartThe second stage is the work of the heart. The first is of the head. To make God great intellectually, with thought and imagination, is really the painter's work, but still more important is the work of the heart. In our everyday life we see the phenomenon of love. The first lesson that love teaches us is: "I am not; thou art." The first thing to think of is to erase ourselves from our minds and to think of the one we love. As long as we do not arrive at this idea, so long the word love remains only in the dictionary. Many speak about love but very few know it. Is love a pastime, an amusement, a drama; is it a performance? The first lesson of love is sacrifice, service, self-effacement. There is a little story of a peasant girl who was passing through a field where a Muslim was offering his prayers. And the law was that no one should pass by a place where somebody was praying. After a time this girl returned by the same way, and the man said, "O girl, what a terrible thing you have done today." She was shocked and asked, "What did I do?" He said, "You passed by this way! It is a great sin. I was praying, thinking of God!" She said, "Were you thinking of God? I was going to see my young man! I did not see you; how did you see me when you were thinking of God?' To close the eyes for prayer is one thing, and to produce the love of God is another thing. That is the second stage in spiritual realization; where in the thought of God one begins to lose oneself the same way that the lover loses the thought of self in the thought of the beloved. |