The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan      

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Volume

Sayings

Social Gathekas

Religious Gathekas

The Message Papers

The Healing Papers

Vol. 1, The Way of Illumination

Vol. 1, The Inner Life

Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?

Vol. 1, The Purpose of Life

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound

Vol. 2, Cosmic Language

Vol. 2, The Power of the Word

Vol. 3, Education

Vol. 3, Life's Creative Forces: Rasa Shastra

Vol. 3, Character and Personality

Vol. 4, Healing And The Mind World

Vol. 4, Mental Purification

Vol. 4, The Mind-World

Vol. 5, A Sufi Message Of Spiritual Liberty

Vol. 5, Aqibat, Life After Death

Vol. 5, The Phenomenon of the Soul

Vol. 5, Love, Human and Divine

Vol. 5, Pearls from the Ocean Unseen

Vol. 5, Metaphysics, The Experience of the Soul Through the Different Planes of Existence

Vol. 6, The Alchemy of Happiness

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind

Vol. 8, The Privilege of Being Human

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals

Vol. 10, Sufi Mysticism

Vol. 10, The Path of Initiation and Discipleship

Vol. 10, Sufi Poetry

Vol. 10, Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Vol. 10, The Problem of the Day

Vol. 11, Philosophy

Vol. 11, Psychology

Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man

Vol. 12, Confessions: Autobiographical Essays of Hazat Inayat Khan

Vol. 12, Four Plays

Vol. 13, Gathas

Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead

By Date

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS

Heading

#1 The Religion of the Heart

#2 The Belief in God

#3 Religion

#4 The Manner of Prayer

#5 The Present Need of the World for Religion

#6 "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

#7 Religion: Universality or Exclusivity?

#8 Humility in prayer

#9 The Need for Prayer

#10 The Prophet

#11 How the Wise Live in the World (1)

#12 How the Wise Live in the World (2)

#13 The Christ Spirit

#14 The Sufi Form of Worship

#15 Degrees in the Spiritual Hierarchy

#16 Stages in Following the Message

#17 The Message of Unity

#18-19 The Coming World Religion

#20 The Purpose of All Beings

#21 Christ

#22 Buddha

#23 Krishna

#24 Zarathushtra

#25 Rama

#26 Abraham

#27 Muhammad

#28 Is Sufism a Religion?

#29-30 The Religion of All Prophets

#31-32 The God Ideal

#33 Moses

#34 The Universal Worship (1)

#35 The Universal Worship (2)

#36 The Religion of All Prophets (3)

#37 The Universal Worship (3)

#38 The Idea of Sacredness

#39 The Universal Worship (4)

#40 Attaining the Inner Life Through Religion

#41 The Kingship of God

#42 Belief and Disbelief in God

Sub-Heading

-ALL-

Religious Gathekas

#8 Humility in prayer

If we could only know the joy of asking pardon even of our fellowman, when we realize we are in fault, however little it may be! When we ask the Father of all to forgive our fault, joy, beauty, and happiness, spring up in the heart in a way unknown until it is experienced. To think we can ask pardon of Him whose love is unlimited, while our errors are numberless and our ignorance limitless! Think of the joy of asking forgiveness from God! Every moment of our life, if we can see wisely, contains some fault or error, and asking pardon is just like purifying the heart and washing it clean. Think of the joy of humbling yourself before God!

There is a story told of Akbar. He was mourning for the death of his mother, and for a long time his grief was so great he could not overcome it. His ministers and friends tried to comfort him, telling him how fortunate he was and how great was his influence and power. He answered, "Yes, I know it, but one thing grieves me. I have everyone to bow before me, but there was one, when I came into the palace, before whom I could be humble. I could be as nothing before her, and I cannot tell you the joy of that."

Think then of the greater joy of humbling yourself before that spirit and that ideal who is the true Father and Mother, on whose love you can always depend. It is a spark of His love which expresses itself in the earthly father and mother. In whatever manner you humble yourself before Him, it can never be enough. To humble your limited self before His perfection is to deny yourself. Self-denial is not renouncing things; it is denying the self, and its first lesson is humility. The blessing one can receive by prayer becomes a thousandfold greater when it is received by some who are united in the same thought and are praying together.