Someone asked me, "But why must it be in a place like Suresnes? We do not like it." A friend will not say to his beloved friend, a pupil will not say to his revered teacher, a dutiful son will not say to his venerated father, a devotee will not say to his prophet, "I love you, but I do not like the place you live."

Mecca, a place in a most uninteresting desert, which offers no earthly comforts or conveniences--neither is the ground fertile nor the climate desirable--has been the place of pilgrimage of those who went to get the blessing of that place. Perhaps they came from beautiful gardens, perhaps they lived in beautiful nature, perhaps they stayed in palaces, but when going to Mecca they did not think what kind of place it was. They only thought that it was Mecca, and that was quite sufficient.

This is not a story of the past; it is the story of the present also. My mureeds, those who go for a change, a holiday, can go to riversides, they can go to mountains; beautiful places there are, one better than the other. There are many places. But if they sacrifice all that to come to a place which perhaps is not as interesting as the other places, they must find some interest somewhere, and they really are attracted to the Message. The proof is their coming and their sacrifice of all that beauty which is sought.

But then one will say, "Why must we not have beauty? The Message of God is beautiful, and if the place were beautiful also, it would be double beauty." You can double earthly beauty, but not the Message of God. Earthly beauty is limited, and the Message of the Unlimited One, how can one compare it with that beauty?

If Murshid was not a mystic, and if there was a thought of making the Movement popular, Murshid would have been the first to say, "Yes, let us go to a place where thousands of travelers come in the summer. Or perhaps a place where people would come, if not for the Message, at least for a change. In that way we can catch them." There are some who seek beauty in the place; there are others who make the beauty in the place.

My blessed mureeds, when you look at things from a mystical point of view, you will realize the meaning of that verse in the scripture that says, "Not one atom moves without the command of God." When your Murshid was brought here, destiny settled him here. Spirits were moved to take this piece of ground, that a temple be made here. It is not without meaning. Our practical head will say, "No, this is not the right place for this business; this is not commerce."

If there is a beauty, it must create its own beauty. Many may have read in the books of the ancient mystics, of saints, of prophets, that they did not go out to show a miracle, a phenomenon. If there was a phenomenon it was themselves, their being; places flourished where they lived, the sky changed its light, the atmosphere changed. And the centuries changed it continually, the worst places growing into the best places, ordinary places turning into places of pilgrimage.

If the Sufi Message sought from a practical point of view what is best for its earthly progress, certainly we should ignore that mystical significance which is working behind our efforts. Never think that if Murshid was offered the sultan's palace in Constantinople he would change it for his hut in Suresnes. Where a mystic sits, he sits; where he stands, he stands. There is a mystical outlook, there is a mystical significance, there is a mystical point of view which is different from that which we call a practical point of view. Things of great significance are beyond what we call our practical point of view.

And now in conclusion I would like to say that we shall be content with the temple that one day will be built, and that we shall never think that the temple intended to be built can be too good or can be too beautiful for us. God Bless You.