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 A God of stoneA King and GarbageA Sigh for a PrayerA Wonderful TreeAbraham & IsaacAbraham's ideal of GodAfghan SoldierAladdinAlchemyAre you a thief?Ayaz 1Ayaz 2BedouinsBedouins UniteBijiliBowingBrother-in-law's WarningBullah ShahCatching the MindClimbing over the wallConserved energy of youthCounting YourselfCourt of IndraDervishesDestiny & Free WillDo you want more?Dog's JourneyDolls HouseDrunkard became a kingEating ChickenElephant LeaderElephant Leader 2Everyone is MurshidEverything is connectedEvolution of a JinnFour JudgmentsFuneralGive your raincoatGoing to CourtGolden SlippersGreat WrestlerHafiz!HalimHaris ChandraHeaven and HellI am your servantIndifferenceIraqiJewelled CapJinn EvolutionKaliKhalif OmarKilling in AngerKindness of a WarriorKing's ProcessionKissing FireKrishna and ArjunaLozengesMagic WandMagicianMagnetized SweetsMaharaja Ranjit SinghMan Who Knew My TeacherMohammad ForgivesMohammed ChehlMohammed GhauthMohammed in SolitudeMoses and KhidrMoses and the DrunkardMoses and the PeasantMoses Invites God to DinnerMuhammadMuhammed's CowsMureed Without ResponseMusic DownwardMyth of BalderNewspaper ReporterNo Outward SignNo ShoesNurse's DutyObsessionPalace of Seven StoriesParrot in Golden CagePope Gregory & ScriabinPower of a WordProstitutePupil with Many FaultsPuranPurifying a RoomQuarrel Over ToysRajput RajaReincarnationReincarnationResignationResurrectionSaint EliasSatiSayn AliyasSeeing While AsleepShah Alam's HaircutShameShams and RumiShankaracharyaShivajiSpeaking PersianSpirit entering AdamSpread Like InfluenzaSufi SarmadSurdasTake no notice.Tansen and AkbarTansen in RewaTeacher promises heavenThat is whyThe Chief of the RobbersThe Comedian of IndifferenceThe Court of IndraThe GlanceThe Greatest GamblersThe King Who PraysThe King's RingThe Maharajas sonsThe Spirit Of ProphecyThe time of my cureThe VinaThin and FatThrow the baggage overboardThrow the baggage overboardTie Your CamelToy CannonTree of DesireTruthful boyTwenty Thousand QuestionsWalking in the CityWho will save thee?Wine to Water |
Vol. 1, The Way of IlluminationSome Aspects of SufismAlifIn the life of Bullah Shah, the great saint of Panjab, one reads a most instructive account of his early training when he was sent to school with boys of his own age. The teacher taught him Alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. The other boys in his class finished the whole alphabet while he was mastering the same letter. When weeks had passed, and the teacher saw that the child did not advance any further than the first letter Alif, he thought that he must be deficient and sent him home to his parents, saying, "Your boy is deficient, I cannot teach him.' The parents did all in their power for him, placing him under the tuition of various teachers, but he made no progress. They were disappointed, and the boy in the end escaped from home, so that he should no longer be a burden to his own people. He then lived in the forest and saw the manifestation of Alif which has taken form in the forest as the grass, the leaf, the tree, branch, fruit, and flower; and the same Alif was manifested as the mountain and hill, the stones and rocks; and he witnessed the same as a germ, insect, bird and beast, and the same Alif in himself and others. He thought of one, saw one, felt one, realized one, and none else besides. After mastering this lesson thoroughly he returned to pay his respects to his old teacher who had expelled him from school. The teacher, absorbed in the vision of variety, had long ago forgotten him; but Bullah Shah could not forget his old teacher who had taught him his first and most inspiring lesson which had occupied almost all his life. He bowed most humbly before the teacher and said, "I have prepared the lesson you so kindly taught me; will you teach me anything more there may be to learn?" The teacher laughed at him and thought to himself, "After all this time this simpleton has remembered me." Bullah Shah asked permission to write the lesson, and the teacher replied in jest, "Write on this wall." He then made the sign of Alif on the wall, and it divided into two parts. The teacher was astounded at this wonderful miracle and said, "Thou art my teacher! That which thou hast learnt in the one letter Alif, I have not been able to master with all my learning," and Bullah Shah sang this song: Oh! friend now quit thy learning, |