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

6th Initiation

Alpha and Omega

Be Perfect

Crucified

Divinity of

Eat My flesh

Give your shirt also

innocence

Light of Christ

Rasul

Realization of immortality

Resist not evil

Soul

Sufi Is Christian

Symbology

Taught Brotherhood

The poor in spirit

The Spirit of Christ

The Ten virgins

The Truth & The Way

Throw not stones

Treasure = Heart

Walking on the water

Vol. 13, Gathas

Symbology

3.9, The Symbology of Religious Ideas

The idea that is meant in the Bible by the words of Christ, "Eat my flesh and drink my blood," is suggestive of the inner being of the Master. It is the eternal life which he meant by his blood, and it is the omnipresent existence which he meant by his flesh. The idea of the Master was to make his disciples know that his physical form that they were attracted to was not his being, his true being was the all-pervading, everlasting life of God; and it is in this meaning that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one.

Christ said to the fishermen, "I will make you fishers of men," which meant, "As you spread the net and the fishes come into it, so by spirituality your personality will spread in the atmosphere, and the hearts of men hungering for love will be attracted to you as fishes."

The love of Christ for the lamb symbolically expresses that to the Master that soul made a greater appeal which was simple and harmless as a lamb.

And the crown of thorns represents tolerance of the thorn-like personalities of which there are so many in the world, constantly pricking their thorns, consciously or unconsciously, and it is this which makes the sensitive annoyed with life in the world. But the teacher, whose heart represents the divine mother and father both, cannot but be tolerant, and can take willingly all the thorns that would come to him, for that is his crown, the sign of his sovereignty in the kingdom of soul.

Christ said to Peter, "Thou wilt deny me three times before the cock crows." It explains human nature. The faith of man is generally dependent upon the faith of the multitude; if the multitude calls the pebble a diamond, then man calls the pebble a diamond, everyone will begin to consider it and say it. And if the multitude thought that the diamond was a pebble then everyone would follow the belief of the multitude.

The soul of the Messenger, that comes from above (which the dove represents), which is not made by the world nor known by the world, remains unrecognized till the cock crows and the sun rises.

His words shine and spread the light to the world; and the souls privileged with some little recognition, but with a great deal of doubt, may believe for a moment, impressed by the power and grace of the Master's personality, and yet may deny a thousand times, and doubt and suspect, being impressed by the influence of the multitude.

How true it is, the saying in Hindustani that, "Generally a soul follows the multitude."

There are rare souls who believe in their conviction, and remain steady even if it were that the whole world was against their own inner conviction.

Verily, to the faithful belongs every blessing.