Attainment

Character

Dimensions

Dreams

Ego

Elements

Guidance

Healing

Heart

Immortality

Initiation

Mastery

Meditation

Physical Body

Planes

Power

Prayers

Purpose

Relationships

Religions

Speaking

Stages

Sufism

World

The control of one's sentimental nature is what is called chemistry, or alchemy, in mystical terms. There are nine different feelings which are as nine expressions of the sentimental nature: Weeping, laughter, anger, sympathy, love, passion, wonder, fear, and indifference. A person who has a pronounced emotional nature easily feels inclined to express his emotion in any of these nine forms. The process of alchemy is to control these expressions without killing them.

There is a difference between controlling and killing. By controlling, one possesses power without allowing it to express itself, but by killing it one loses that power which is life. As all things can be made useful, so the feelings of different kinds have their use in life, and the proper use of every sentiment is the right thing; though the life of the mystic has a certain aim to accomplish and for him the control of different emotions is most necessary. For things for which he would not ordinarily blame others he must blame himself; for control is the power of the mystic, and in the lack of control lies his error.

When every feeling is controlled from a free expression, in time it becomes a collected energy; the heart of the mystic becomes a reservoir of power, his every feeling begins to speak beyond words. The secret of the word and presence of the mystic is in the reserve of his sentimental expression. One sees in life those who freely express emotion, every sentiment that comes along, not only lose power and magnetism but become exhausted, their thought, speech and action becomes powerless.

By this it does not mean that the life of the mystic must be cold, The one who is warm by nature can never be cold. If a flame does not rise from the fire, it will spread its influence as heat; but in some form or other the fire will prove its existence, being warm. It is not word or action which is love, it is love itself which is love. Word or action limits the life of the heart, and when there is a control over word or action the power of feeling is greater. That which was feeling then becomes phenomenon. Love is life, and this is proved by this process of alchemy by which the mystic develops his heart quality.

As for the question of how this method of alchemy is practiced, the whole process was explained by the alchemists in a symbolical way. They said gold is made out of mercury; the nature of mercury is to be ever-moving, but by a certain process the mercury is first stilled, and once stilled it becomes silver; then the silver has to be melted, and the juice of a herb is poured on to the molten silver, which is thereby turned into gold. This of course gives only an outline, but one can find detailed explanations of the whole process. Many childlike souls have tried to make gold by stilling mercury and melting silver, and they have tried to find the herb; but they were deluded, and they had better have worked and earned money.

The Right Attitude

A mureed's attitude

• towards life must be hopeful;
• towards his motives courageous;
• towards his murshid faithful;
• towards the cause sincere;
• towards that object which he has to accomplish, earnest without the slightest doubt.

In every aspect of life it is our attitude which counts and which in the end proves to be creative of all kinds of phenomena. Both success and failure depend upon it, as in the Hindu saying, "If the attitude is right, all will come right."

Am I Progressing?

There is a natural tendency in the seeker on the spiritual path to wonder if he is really progressing. And very often he begins to wonder from the day he sets foot on the path. It is like asking "Shall I be able to digest?" while one is still eating. The spiritual path leads to selflessness. The more we worry about ourselves, the less progress we make, because our whole striving should be to forget the self; it is mostly the self which obstructs the path. The path is made for the soul, and it is natural and easy for the soul to find it. Therefore when a person is wondering about his progress he is wasting his time; it is like standing still on the path on which one must go forward.

Can anyone distinguish how his face and body change day by day? No, for one cannot point out distinct signs of change from one day to another; and if one cannot properly distinguish any change in the external self, then how can one expect to distinguish change in the inner process? It is not something that can be weighed on the scales as one weighs oneself on coming back from a holiday and sees that one has gained or lost several pounds. There is no such gain in spiritual progress.

Then there are some who imagine that they have progressed for a certain time but are then going backward. They are discouraged and say, "I thought I had arrived somewhere, but surely it must have been an illusion." But life is like the sea, and the sea is not always calm. There are times when the sea is rough and then the boat naturally moves up and down, and to think while the boat is moving downward that it will sink is a mistake. It is going down in order to go up; it is its movement; it is natural. A mureed is subject to such experiences in the path of life. Life will take its own course. The one who sails will have many times to meet a rough sea; he has to be prepared for this and not be frightened or discouraged. He still has to go on through life. If life's journey were soft and smooth there would be no need for spiritual development. He has to have control of the rudder to be able to go through both calm seas and storms.

Sometimes the mureed wonders what others are saying and if they are displeased or pleased; if they are displeased he thinks he is not progressing. But this has nothing to do with progress. Those who are displeased would be displeased even with Jesus Christ, and at the same time they might be pleased with the worst person. The displeasure of others does not mean that one is not progressing.

Then if conditions are adverse the mureed thinks that he is not on the right path. But does it mean that the ship is not on its right course if a storm meets it? Neither the murshid nor God are responsible if the conditions are adverse, and the best thing is to meet them, to be more brave and courageous and to make one's way through them.

Ghazali, the great Sufi writer of Persia, says that spiritual progress is like shooting at a target in the dark. We do not know where the target is, we do not see it, but we shoot just the same.

The Evidence of Progress

The Lesson of Consideration

One wonders, especially in the western part of the world, what the path of discipleship really is. Discipleship has been the path of those who followed Christ and all other teachers, but the modem trend of thought has by its new influence taken away a great deal of the ideal that existed in the past. Not only the ideal of discipleship seems little known, but even the ideal towards motherhood and fatherhood and the ideal towards the aged seem to be less understood. The consequence of this change in the ideal of the world has worked unwittingly to such an extent that we now find a world in conflict. The troubles between nations, the troubles between classes, and the troubles in social and domestic life all come from one and the same reason. If a person asks me, "What is the cause of today's world unrest ?", I will say the answer in one word, "the lack of ideal. "

The path of discipleship in the ancient times was a lesson given to use in all directions of life. One is not only one's body but one is also one's soul. The soul is not born when a child is born on earth; the soul is born from the moment that consideration is born One shows one's soul in one's consideration. Some become considerate as children; others, perhaps, in their whole life do not awaken to consideration.

People say that love is divine. Yes, love is divine, but love's divine expression is consideration. It would not be very wrong to say that love without consideration is not fully divine. Love that has no consideration loses its fragrance. Intelligence is not consideration. The balance of love and intelligence brings about consideration; the action and reaction of love and intelligence produces consideration. Children who are considerate are more precious than jewels to their parents. The one who is considerate, the friend who is considerate, and all those with whom we come in contact who are considerate are most valuable.

Therefore, it is the lesson of consideration given by spiritual teachers which is called the path of discipleship. The great teachers have not wanted the discipleship of the disciples for themselves, or the devotion for themselves, or the respect of the pupils for themselves. If any teacher expected that, he or she could not be a teacher. How can a spiritual teacher be dependent on the respect, devotion, or consideration of his or her pupil? The teacher must be above that to be above them. Rather it is taught for their own advantage, as an attribute that must be cultivated.

Until now in India there has been a custom which I myself experienced when young. When I went to school to learn the ABC's from a teacher, the first thing my parents taught me was respect, consideration, and a kindly inclination for the teacher. The modern child going to school thinks the professor is appointed to do a certain duty. The child does not know the professor, the professor does not know the child. When children come home they have the same tendency towards their parents as at school.

Mostly, children grow up thinking all the attention their parents give them is part of the duty of the parents. They think, "Perhaps if I am able, I shall pay it back." The ancient idea was different. For instance, the Prophet Mohammed taught his disciples that the greatest debt everyone has to pay was to his or her mother. If one wished one's sins to be forgiven, one must act in life so that before passing from this earth one's mother would say, "I have forgiven you the debt." There was nothing-money or service-that a person should say, "I have paid." No, one's mother must say, "I have forgiven you that debt." What does it teach? It teaches the value of unselfish love which is above all earthly passion.

We inquire within for the purpose that we have come on earth. Why have we become human beings? Perhaps it would have been better to remain angels: why this human body? The answer certainly comes to the wise from their own heart: we are here to experience a fuller life and to become fully human. That human fullness is in consideration. Every action done with consideration is valuable; every word said with consideration is precious. The whole teaching of Christ. "Blessed are the meek and the poor in spirit," culminates in one thing: consideration. Although it seems simple, it is a hard lesson to learn. The more we wish to act according to this ideal, the more we realize that we fail. The further we go in the path of consideration, the more delicate the eyes of our perception become. We feel sorry for the slightest mistake.

Not every soul takes the trouble to tread this path. Not everyone is a plant: there are many rocks. They do not want to be considerate; they think it too much trouble. Of course the stone has no pain; the one who feels has pain. In feeling there is life. Life's joy is great. Even with pain one would like to be a living being rather than a rock, because there is a joy in living and in feeling which is not expressible in words. After how many thousands of years the life buried in stones and rocks has risen to the human being! If a person wishes to stay a rock, he or she had better stay one. But the natural inclination in every person must be to develop fully human qualities.

Lesson of Confidence

The first lesson that a pupil learns in the path of discipleship is called in Sufic terms Yakin; yakin means confidence. First one gives this confidence to one's fellow human being, whom one considers one's teacher and one's spiritual guide.

There are three classes that can be distinguished.

1. One gives partial confidence and cannot give complete confidence. One is wobbling, thinking, "Yes, I have confidence: perhaps I have, perhaps not." This sort of confidence is a very difficult position. A better position would be not to give it at all. It is lukewarm: not hot, not cold. This person does the same in all things-in business and in profession. This person trusts and doubts, and trusts and fears. This person is not walking in the sky, and is not walking on the earth, but is between the two.

2. There is a second kind who gives their confidence to the teacher but is not sure about themselves. They say, "Yes, I have given my confidence, but they are not sure if inwardly they have given it. These people have no confidence in themselves and are not sure of themselves: therefore this confidence is of no value.

3. The third person gives confidence because he or she feels confident. This confidence can alone rightfully be called Yakin.

People of all these categories were with Jesus Christ.

1. Thousands of people of the first category came, surrounded the Master, and left Him. It took not one moment for them to be attracted, and not one moment for them to leave the Master.

2. The second category goes on for some time, just as a drunken man goes on. When soberness comes it becomes clear to them. "Where am I going? Not in a good direction." Do not think that those of this category did not follow the prophets! Thousands and thousands followed the masters and prophets.

3. But those who stayed to the end of the test were those who, before giving their confidence to the teacher, had confidence in their hearts first. It is they who, if the earth turned to water and the water turned to earth, if the sky came down to earth and the earth rose up to the sky, would stay the same, firm in the belief they first had. By discipleship one learns a moral: that whatever position one assumes in life - husband, wife, son, daughter, servant, or friend - a firm and steady confidence is needed.

Lesson of Sacrifice

After yakin comes a test: sacrifice the ideal in the path of God. The most precious possession is not too valuable, in fact nothing is too great to sacrifice. No one among the disciples of the Prophet, the real disciples, thought life too great a sacrifice if needed.

The story of Ali is very well known. One night enemies wanted to kill the Prophet; Ali knew about the plot. He did not tell the Prophet, but tried to get him to leave home. Ali himself stayed, for he knew that if he went also the assassins would find out where the Prophet was. He slept in the bed of the Prophet, so that the assassins might find him, but he was not ready to lose his life if he could fight them. The consequence was that the plot failed and the enemies could touch neither the Prophet nor Ali.

There are a thousand such examples. The friendship between the teacher and the disciple is formed in God and truth for always; nothing in the world can break it. If the spiritual link cannot hold, how can a material link hold? It will wear out, as it is a worldly link. If the spiritual thought cannot form a link between two souls, what else could be such a strong tie that it would last here and in the hereafter.

Lesson of Imitation

The third lesson in the path of discipleship is imitation: to imitate the teacher in his or her every attitude, with a friend, with an enemy, with the foolish, and with the wise. If the pupils act as they wish and the teacher acts as he or she wishes, then there is no benefit in spite of all the sacrifice and devotion. Remember, no teaching or meditation is so great or valuable as the imitation of the teacher in the path of truth. In the imitation of the teacher the whole secret of spiritual life is hidden: not only the imitation of her or his outward action, but also of his or her inward tendency.

Seeing the Teacher in All Others

The fourth lesson the disciple learns is still different. That lesson involves turning the inward thought of the teacher outward, until the disciple grows to see in the wise, in the foolish, and in all forms, one's teacher who teaches him or her.

Respect Given to All

The fifth lesson for the disciple is to give all that one has so far given to one's teacher - devotion, sacrifice, service, and respect - to all people, because in all one sees one's teacher.

One person may perhaps not learn these lessons in their whole life; another will learn all five lessons in a short time.

There is the story of a man who went to a teacher and said, "I would like to be your disciple." The teacher said, "Yes, I shall be very glad." This man, conscious of so many faults, was surprised that the teacher was so willing to accept him as a disciple. He said, "But I wonder if you know how many faults I have?" The teacher said, "Yes, I already know your faults, yet I accept you as my pupil."

"But I have very bad faults," the man said. "I am fond of gambling." The teacher said. "That does not matter much."

"I am inclined to drink sometimes and there are many other faults." The teacher said, "I do not mind." Then he said, "I have accepted all your faults; you must accept one condition from your teacher." "Yes, most willingly! What is it?" The teacher said, "You may have your faults, but not in my presence; you have to keep that much respect for your teacher."

The teacher knew that all five aspects of discipleship were natural to him. Afterwards he was made an initiate. As soon as he went out and had an inclination to gamble or drink, he saw the face of his Murshid before him. When he came to the teacher, the teacher smilingly asked, "Did you commit any fault?" He answered, "Oh no, the great difficulty is that whenever I want to commit any of my usual faults my Murshid pursues me."

Do not think that this spirit has to be cultivated; this spirit could be found in the innocent child. The other day I was most amused to hear a little child of four say when I asked, "Have you been naughty ?", "I would like to be naughty, but my goodness will not let me." This shows us the spirit of discipleship in us.

Remember that the teacher is one who is oneself a disciple. In reality there is no such thing as a teacher. God alone is teacher, we all are disciples. The lesson we all have to learn is the lesson of discipleship; it is the first and the last.

In discipleship one has to consider the idea of sympathy. The great Lord of yoga, Mahadevi, warned against initiating or welcoming an insincere, ungrateful, or doubting pupil into the mystical cult. This was his advice to every mystic. Why was this? What concern is it of the mystic whether a pupil is grateful or not, sincere or not, as surely he has to be good to everyone? The idea is that unless a person is sincere he is not ready to benefit, and the teacher will not do him any good. He must have sincerity and faith and sympathy. How true is the saying, "He who speaks evil of another knows him not; he who speaks well of another knows him better'! This illustrates the fact that sympathy is the only thing that discloses the secret of all things. For example, if you are fond of a certain composer's work you will enjoy hearing one of his compositions far more than will a person who is prejudiced against this composer. Having closed his heart to this music he will never enjoy it. So, too, if you are fond of a certain poet you will remember everything that the poet has to say. Even if his words do not say it his spirit does, and so you understand what the poet wanted to convey to you. He may have failed to express it, but you will still read it in his words, for your heart is united to the heart of the poet.

This being true, how then can an enemy know an enemy? He can never get to know him, for he will say that his enemy is full of evil. It is only a friend who can know, not an enemy. It is love that builds a bridge during the interchange of feelings and thoughts; hatred cannot do this. In fact even the least doubt prevents it.

Thus a person who is thinking, "Let me see, what can mysticism teach me? What can this cult show me that I do not already know?", would be wasting his time. Far better that he should spend his time on something in which he has faith, otherwise he will only be creating a wall before himself, and, whether he wishes to explore this teaching or not, how then can he find out anything about it? This path is not for those who are only curious about it. They would never succeed with it.. Nor is it for those who are always changing their mind, wondering whether they will go on walking along this path, asking themselves if it is the right path or is it a wrong path. Such people might go four steps forward, and then come across something which frightens them. and so they run back ten steps! Then, perhaps, they may go forward again, but next time something like this happens they go back twenty steps. Their journey would last thousands of years, and even then they would not be arriving.

No one without confidence in himself can ever have confidence in another. One cannot have faith in another if one has none in oneself The faith taught by Jesus Christ as well as by those religious teachers who hid great emphasis on it is not necessarily faith in a particular church or creed or scripture or religion or clergy. It is faith in oneself He who has faith in himself can have

For a person to have a simple faith does not mean that he has no sense. Such a person may be the most sensible of all, while one who thinks that he is too clever to trust anybody, who will not be taken in by anyone and is proud of his cleverness, may really be the most foolish. He prides himself on his skepticism, which makes him doubt every person he meets, thinking that he is so clever. But when such cleverness prevents one from having any peace of mind and makes one always restless, going from one belief to another, one would much rather be without the cleverness. Faith is the light that kindles the same substance in another person's heart. By trusting another person one also creates in his heart the same attribute which is within oneself: trust. What peace it brings to have faith and trust!

Consider two such people as these: one gives a jewel to a friend, asking him, "Please keep it for me", and then thinks no more about it. Another asks his friend the same thing, but as soon as he has left he keeps on putting his hand in his pocket, wondering what his friend will do with his jewel. Then when he gets home his mind is still in his friend's house, in fact he may be so uneasy that he even goes hack to his friend on some excuse, though when he gets there he does not like to ask his friend to return the jewel. Better for him not to have entrusted his friend with his property, if it only means loss of peace of mind or the humiliation of his friend.

How can such a person learn occult or mystical knowledge and tread the path of spirituality. if he has this attitude of mind? Having no sense of trust or of confidence in himself how can he expect to succeed on the path? The first thing to learn then is to have confidence in oneself

Another thing to remember about entering this path is that if a person is only attracted by the word "mysticism", or by any psychical cult, he is only interested in the name and does not know what he really wishes to discover. So he asks himself; "What is this path like?", as if it were a kind of delicious dish or drink; to be tasted before wanting anymore, just to see what it is like!

No, this path is a lifelong work. There is nothing more serious that one can enter upon. One cannot attain something when one does not know what one is aiming at and is altogether undecided. How can one walk in the spirit without knowing whither one is traveling? A person who does not know his destination may think that he is walking on the mystical path, but he is not. If you should ask him about it perhaps he might say that he wants to travel this path in order to become good; but he could learn how to be good without using the mystical path at all. The mystical path does not teach any spiritual goodness; it is only our love of goodness that will make us good. People do not have to be mystics to be good; not all good people are mystics.

Another person may wonder whether he ought to realize what spiritually is before he can become spiritual. He may think that he has to disconnect himself from matter; he may think that spirit is the exalted substance, and matter only the lower. Again, another person may tell you that he is taking up the spiritual path because he wants to be able to communicate with spirits and ghosts. Yet another may say that he wants to see things and hear voices that other people cannot hear, and to discern fairies or angels or spirits or other invisible beings which other people cannot see. But if this is the motive for coming to the mystical or spiritual path then it is not for them. Discipleship is not needed for that.

So many people want to dabble in these matters, but when they come into contact with others of like mind there they are just waiting to be fooled by them. The world is full of all sorts of people, but few of them are ready for the path of discipleship. Real discipleship has just the same implication as lies in the word "baptism." It is a real baptism in itself, not just a ceremonial, something external. Spiritually it means to be our natural selves, neither exalted nor pious nor good, nothing but to be just our natural self. A person may say, "I have no natural self", and the more we look at ourselves the more we think this, yet it is the lack of realizing our natural self that accounts for our depressions, our disappointments, our weaknesses, and everything that is undesirable in us. We are only conscious of our false self and do not know our real self. The idea is to disclose that self which is our real self, our natural self; and we do this by uncovering the different planes of mortal being which hide the self. All the yoga practices, their meditations and concentrations, are aimed at uncovering this real self.

'Well then," people will ask, "how does one attain this?" The answer is: you would never understand even if you studied all your life. To take an example, supposing you were to study a textbook of music which contains everything from theory to counterpoint, and suppose you read a thousand such books, would you be able to sing well or play the piano? No, you have to train your ear; you must know which note is which, you must recognize the chords. It is just the same with life itself. It is not a matter of reading; it is a matter of realizing. One must live the life.

You may ask: does meditation help? The answer is yes; it does; it helps a great deal. If you also study at the same time it will add to your realization, so it is not that study is useless, it is only that it is of no use without practicing meditation. Meditation is like practicing music. By playing the piano your ear becomes trained in the intervals and the notes; then by further study and reading you become a master of music.

It is just the same with the music of life, which is called mysticism. Although it can be studied it is of no use unless there is practice also. What is more, if a person asks, "Suppose I play and practice with a book, can I become a great singer?", he would have to be told that he needs a teacher to show him how to use his voice, how to make music. If you have a teacher you can accomplish in ten years what you could never learn alone, by yourself, in a hundred years. That is the purpose for which the guru is intended.

More than this, the presence of the guru is an example to the pupil. Nothing can help study or meditation as much as the mere presence, the contact, the association with the teacher. By this means the pupil understands how the teacher would act under various circumstances. It is true that sympathy itself is a very great thing, for by it the pupil intuitively knows what the answer is to this or that problem. Apart from the teacher, truth cannot be spoken of in words, so if the real, essential truth cannot be expressed in words or in writing, how otherwise could you learn it? It must be learned through contact. And how can you learn it through contact? Well, you see this in your daily life. If your sensitiveness is great and delicate you can tell whether a person is pleased or displeased without his speaking a word. You can tell whether he is favorably or unfavorably inclined to you, and when this is so there is an exchange of thoughts between yourself and the other; more than this, there is an exchange of spiritual vibrations. Just by study or practice you cannot realize this truth, this feeling, this peace, this joy which is beyond words, which belongs to being your self, your natural self. In the East this is called Tawajah, which means presence, contact, association with. It is in this way that you learn what cannot be learned in any other way. Thus the disciples of Jesus Christ learned by his presence what no study or practice would ever have taught them. And in Mohammed's time his disciples Ali and Abu Bakr gained very great benefit from his presence.

But then there comes a time when the external presence is not needed any more. After having traveled along this inner path the inner presence of the master, the teacher, will inspire. Then you learn from your teacher that which words cannot teach and study will not bring and even practices cannot further. This is what the path of discipleship is.

There are four different paths to follow:

1. abstinence or Hatha Yoga,
2. devotion or Bhakti Yoga,
3. learning from life's experiences or Raja Yoga,
4. and the fourth one, Mantra Yoga, which means attaining spirituality through wisdom.

The Sufi does not give preference to any particular path. Take whatever suits your temperament best. However, in my own experience I have found it better to take one path as a special one for oneself, but to use also the other three. Thus you lack nothing. If the Bhakti Yoga suits you specially you should also get to understand something about Hatha Yoga, and about the others too if you can. By understanding these others also you gain great strength and perfection.

The Sufis have never given out any special doctrines; they only consider moral conceptions, so they never ask their mureeds to accept any doctrines. The Sufi does this because he considers that his sole work is to blow upon a little spark or flame in order to make it develop into a large flame; and then this flame will show you the path. The Sufi does not interfere and say, "This is the doctrine you must accept, became I believe this or that", for instance about the life after death, the continuity of life. The Sufi master does not concern himself with the laws of nature and assert that this or that doctrine is the truth, or that this or that speculation is the truth. All he says is, "Find it out for yourself." He says, "My work is only to tell you in what way the faculty of revelation can be awakened. Do this practice, and this faculty will be awakened; you will then see for yourself. Then, whatever you see for yourself, you will believe.'

But you might say, "Well, then why do we have lessons? If there are no tenets, what are lessons for?" The answer is that it is like learning the alphabet, which is one stage. When a person can read a book, that is another stage. He needs books to practice reading: it does not matter what book you take up to read, you can practice reading with it, you do not have to take it as being an inspired scripture. Similarly the exercises which are given in the form of lessons or instructions are just lines of thought to follow until you get accustomed to these different lines of thought when inquiring into metaphysical and spiritual subjects. But you do not have to accept them as rigid tenets or doctrines or principles, and then make out that Sufism is limited to them!

Therefore I do not restrict my pupils or my friends to the exercises. They are only exercises. After these, life itself is the scripture to read; it is the only real scripture. You must get to understand it, and what you do not understand at the first reading you must read again and try to understand it then.

Raja Yoga is the best one for life in the Western world. This is because life in the West is so full of responsibilities and there is so little time to devote to solitude and practices. You have to practice wisdom and deep thought in all your affairs from morning till night; in this way you make your life into a teaching for yourself. Therefore whatever your work or business or profession, let that be your mode of progress, so that you advance through your every duty. At the same time, if you will only devote ten or twenty minutes to a practice it will prepare you for something better, and it will also help you in your work. Thus Raja Yoga, the yoga of life's experiences, is certainly the best for Western life, but if a person prefers a life of retirement, let him take it.

Why does one need yoga? Because, in the first place, Western education does not interfere with it. The church has still less influence. Necessary though discipline, reverence, and respect are, they are sometimes allowed to lapse, and then life becomes empty, drab, lacking something. Dharma is the one thing needed for the spiritual path, as both Shiva and Buddha pointed out. One should acquire the tendency to respect and to revere, and this comes from worship. This one thing that is needed is developed through devotion; that is why it is better, if possible, to add a little of the color of beauty to the Raja Yoga, and thus beautify your life. But whichever of these paths you choose, a teacher is needed. It is his blessing, his guidance, that helps; it is the contact with him that is important.

A real teacher is only an instrument of God. It is his presence, what he wishes for you, that helps; not the words he speaks. When I asked my teacher what is the sign of a real guru he replied, "It is not his form, it is not his appearance, it is not what he says; it is his atmosphere, it is what his presence conveys to you, it is what his atmosphere tells you.'

There is an English saying: actions speak louder than words, or: what you are speaks louder than what you say.

The third step in the inner life is to find someone whose guidance we can trust. We might find a spiritual teacher as great as an angel, and yet if we have no trust, he can do very little for us. Besides if we found in our life a spiritual guide who did not prove trustworthy, our loss would be smaller than the loss of the teacher. The loss of that teacher would be far greater. Nevertheless, the whole of the spiritual progress under the guidance of a teacher depends upon the extent of our trust in his guidance. Without this trust all the teachings and practice of occult laws will amount to nothing.

People seeking after truth should know the place of the teacher in their lives, the importance of a spiritual guide and of his guidance; they should value it and consider it sacred. If that knowledge is not there, then nothing is there and they are like lost sheep. Moreover the tendency of going from one thing to another, from one teacher to another, is an offence to the teacher, to God, and to oneself; in this way one accomplishes nothing.

Many wonder why it should be necessary to seek the guidance of someone else in order to arrive at spiritual attainment. If a person is self-sufficient, if he is satisfied and guided by the light from within he need not seek any such personality. But I have never seen a child born who had already learnt how to speak and who never needed help from his mother or father. And just as it is necessary for an infant to learn how to speak from someone, so also one must learn the heavenly language from someone who knows it.

In my youth my interest in the spiritual path was great, and I came in contact with the teacher by whom I was destined to be initiated. And one "thing my teacher said was, "No matter how great a teacher comes, once you have received this initiation, this blessing from my hands, your faith may not change." Having had a modern education I wondered what to think about this. I did not doubt but I asked myself what does it mean? But with every step further in my life I found out more surely that this alone is the right way.

When the mind is disturbed, when a person is distrustful and he goes first to one teacher and then tries another method, what can one find in him? There is no ideal there. In a university one may study first under one professor and then under another, and so on. That is all right for a university; it is a different kind of education; but when it comes to spiritual education, idealism is necessary.

In a village there was once a young peasant who was known to be a great seeker after truth. A great teacher came to that village, and it was announced that for whoever came into the presence of this teacher, the doors of heaven would be opened, and he would be admitted without having to account for his deeds. The peasants were very excited about this, and they all went to the teacher except this young man. The teacher said, "Everyone from the village came to me except that young man; I shall go to him myself." So he went to the cottage of this young man and said, "What is it? Is it that you are antagonistic to me, or that you doubt my knowledge? What is it that has kept you from coming to see me?" And he said, "There was nothing that kept me back except this one thing: I heard the announcement that everyone in your presence would be admitted to heaven without question. And I do not seek this admission, because although I had a teacher once I do not know where he is, in heaven or in hell. If I went to heaven and he was in the other place it would be terrible for me! Heaven would become hell for me. I would rather be with my teacher wherever he is."

That is the ideal of the seekers after truth about their spiritual teacher. And that idealism enables them to progress and gain the confidence of their teacher. Today the tendency is different. A pupil begins to weigh and measure the teacher before he has started on the spiritual path. He wants to know whether the teacher fits in with his idea or whether he does not fit in, and if the teacher does not fit in with his idea he does not come to learn. But when it comes to teaching it is quite different; they say they are seeking a teacher, but they believe they are teachers themselves. It is this attitude which is keeping thousands of people back.

It is not only the faith and devotion one has for one's teacher which counts, but also the effacing of one's self, because the teacher's work is like that of a goldsmith who melts the gold and then makes an ornament out of it. Therefore the teacher has to test and to try, to mold and to melt before he can use the pupil for a better purpose. If a pupil cannot give himself to that molding, then he will have a difficult time.

One might ask if it is not weakness to be so passive. Yes, if one were passive from weakness it would be weakness. But if one is passive from will-power then it is strength, for it requires great strength to dominate one's own self. One's self has a silent influence as is shown in the story of Daniel. It was the power of his self that tamed the lion. But it is easy to tame a lion compared with the taming of one's self. One's self can be horrible, more horrible than a lion. One may think, "How I have melted, how gentle, how thoughtful I have become!" but then there may be moments when one acts quite differently, to one's own astonishment. Really to dominate the crude nature is a melting process; then when the gold is melted one can turn it into any ornament one likes.

My Students, It is not necessary to explain in words the joy that I feel in coming and seeing you again. For in the initiation we are so linked together that distance in reality is not a distance. Nevertheless, in this physical plane to meet together is also necessary.

1. Practices
   And now I wish to explain how many things are necessary for a student. The first thing most necessary for a student is to try to keep up the spiritual exercises which are given, without any break. If you are tired, if you were occupied too much, if conditions were not favorable, I do not mean that it is urged upon you, but I mean that it is for your betterment to keep those exercises without a gap between them.

   Would you believe, if I may say so, that the effect of certain practices comes even after ten years or twelve years? A person without patience might think, "I did not have immediate results after two, three months." But he may not think so. If they are seeds which you sow in the ground, they take root and a plant comes. But in order for the plant to be fruitful it takes ten years. This is the spiritual sowing. It might take a much longer time in some cases. In some cases the next day the result might show. There are some plants which come quicker, others which take time to bear fruit. But still the spiritual sowing has its result, and a sure result. Never therefore to doubt, to be discouraged, to give up hope; but to continue, persevering in this path.

2. Study
   Now the second necessity for the student is the study part. It must not be a study only as the reading of a book: it must be a study of engraving upon one's heart the Gathas, Gathekas, all the literature that is given, however simple it might seem to grasp it. Because you will find that it is creative in itself. It is a phrase just now; after six months the same phrase will flourish, there will come branches, flowers, and fruits in that phrase. It is a simple phrase, but it is a living phrase. The more you study and grasp it, the more your hear will be creative. Therefore do not consider it a study only, but a meditation, even in your studies.

3. Balance
   The third important thing in the life of a student is to live a life of balance between activity and repose, of regularity. Not too much work, nor too much rest: a balance between activity and repose. Because when we put the idea before the world we shall be responsible to show it in our lives. Therefore our lives must be as balanced as possible. Besides that, in eating, in drinking, there must be a kind of moderation, which I am sure many of us have. And a kind of consideration from the meditative point of view. Because for the spiritual growth a certain food is more recommended than another. Therefore we in the spiritual path cannot always be neglectful of that question.

4. Attitude
   And now there comes the fourth question, how must our attitude be towards others? Towards the students our attitude must be affectionate sympathy. Towards non-students our attitude must be tolerant sympathy.

   The best thing in the world is not to force upon others what we understand and what we believe. By forcing it upon others we only spoil them. By discussing, arguing with them, we do not accomplish anything.

   Besides, for a student it is most advisable that he must keep his conversation limited so as not to say things which might seem to the others too occult, too mystical, too spiritual. Our conversation must be like an ordinary conversation. Things about spirits and ghosts and elementals, apparitions and all sorts of things--people like to talk about their past and present and next incarnation, what they were and what they will be. We must not commit ourselves in talking about these things. These things are for every individual to find out for himself. By talking we neither do good to ourselves nor good to the others.

   If we can only talk about simple things of everyday life, there are so many things that we shall have enough subjects to speak over with others. Ideas of the air must be left in the air. Standing on the earth we must talk of everyday life, leaving every individual free for himself as we like to be left free ourselves.

   Besides, the Sufi does not give a definite idea of these things because Sufism is freedom, freedom of conception, of belief. It does not give people any dogmas: that you must believe this or that. It does not present before humanity particular dogmas, and very often for the same reason Sufism is accused of being against certain dogmas. But it is not so. If we do not speak about them it is not that we are against them, but because we do not like to speak about them. We prefer being silent to talking too much about them.

   These are things of intimate conversation. When a student is conversing with his teacher, with his fellow student, perhaps one talks about it. These are not the things to talk about at the tea table. It would make the inner laws of life and nature ridiculous. When nature, when life itself covers its laws, then it means that they are best covered. When we uncover them we certainly commit a fault against the hidden nature of things. It is therefore it is called Sufism. By the word Sufism is meant keeping the cover over the hidden laws of nature which are meant to be covered. As soon as one uncovers them it means in the first place one does not know their value. Then he goes no further; he cannot go any further. It is the one who knows their value who will go further. Who has no respect for them, who brings them to the market, cannot go any further; he has a setback.

   As we go further we shall have to face a great trial. As soon as people know that we are interested in these things, they will ask us a lot of questions. They will want us to make a prophecy, want us to say uncommon things that will interest them. We shall be put to test. So you can quite see that it is the path of silence. The more we keep our lips closed the more the way is open, the more doors are open for us. The attitude itself opens them. We do not need to open them. We only need to expect them. What is not common, is not common. When you want to make them common that means putting down Heaven on the earth, instead of raising the earth towards Heaven.

   Our attitude with others must therefore be humble, unpretentious, and ordinary.

5. Application
   Now the fifth thing. We must not leave our meditation and prayers just to those fixed times when we do, because that is only the winding of the thing. But in our everyday life we ought to bring the sense of it into our action, in everything we do at home or outside. We must use that latent power and inspiration aroused by our meditations; we should make use of it. By practicing to make use of it we shall benefit ourselves and others by all we are doing.

   [Initiation] From Vol. 10, The Path of Initiation and Discipleship, 2. The Meaning of Initiation

   The meaning of the word "initiation" can be understood from its association with "initiative." It is a fact that every child which is born on earth is born with initiative; but then, as it grows, that spirit more or less dies away, because the knowledge it gathers in its lifetime makes it doubt. This doubt, increasing more and more, very often makes a man lose the power of initiative, and then he does not want to take another step until he is sure whether there is land or water in front of him, and very often water looks like land, and land looks like water. According to the mystics life is an illusion, and thus man bases his reason upon illusion. Nevertheless, the reasoning power which he acquires helps him in his life in the world, although it is very often just this reasoning which holds him back from taking what is called the initiative.

   It is through this spirit of initiative that anyone in the world who has accomplished something great, has been able to do so. At the beginning of his efforts people call such a person mad or fanatical, or crazy, or devoid of reason, but when they see the result they think that he is most wise. Great prophets, the builders of nations, famous inventors, and great discoverers have all proved this. One may ask then if they do not see what is before them in the same way that a reasoning person does. They do, but with different eyes. Their point of view is different; it does not always agree with the point of view of the average person, and so it is natural that people should call them fanatical, although they see perhaps more than do all those around them. Those who have helped themselves to achieve success after complete failure, or to get over an illness after great suffering, have only succeeded in this by the spirit of initiative.

   There are different kinds of initiation that souls experience. One is natural initiation. A kind of natural unfoldment for which the soul cannot give any cause or reason, comes to a soul, although no effort or attempt has been made by that soul to experience it. Sometimes this initiation comes after great illness, pain, or suffering. It comes as an opening up of the horizon, it comes as a flash of light, and in a moment the world seems transformed. It is not that the world has changed; it is that that person has become tuned to a different pitch. He begins to think differently, feel differently, see and act differently; his whole condition begins to change. One might say of him that from that moment he begins to live. It may come as a vision, as a dream, as a phenomenon--in any of these forms; one cannot determine the manner in which it will manifest.

   Another initiation known to the mystics is the initiation that one receives from a person living on the earth. Every mystical school has its own initiation. In the Orient, where mystical ideas are prevalent and are regarded as most sacred, any person who wishes to tread the spiritual path considers initiation to be the most important thing. If a soul such as Jesus Christ had to be baptized by John the Baptist, no soul on earth can say, "I have risen above initiation." Is that then impossible? Nothing is impossible. It may be possible for a person to jump into the water with the intention of swimming to the port of New York, but his life will be more secure if he books his passage with the normal shipping lines. And the difference between these two souls is the same, or even greater--between the one who wishes to journey on the spiritual path by taking initiation, and the other who refuses to do so.

   Initiation by a spiritual teacher means both a trust given by the teacher to the pupil, and a trust given by the pupil to the teacher. And the progress of the one who is initiated depends upon how much he gives himself to the teacher's guidance. One might give only a finger, another even a part of a finger, while a third would give his whole hand. That makes a great difference, for if a pupil says, "Well, I will give a certain amount of my time and thought to your guidance, will that be enough?" the teacher will say, "Yes, if you think it is enough ; " but in reality it is never enough. Then one might wonder if one would not be giving up one's own point of view in order to follow someone else's point of view; but actually if one has a point of view, one never loses it. The point of view which one loses is not one's own. And by looking at a thing from another person's point of view one only enlarges one's own: then one has two points of view instead of one. If the thought of the pupil happens to be different from that of the teacher, by taking the teacher's thought his own is doubled; the pupil keeps his own point of view just the same, only now he has something for his vision from which to make his choice; the horizon of his thought is expanded. But the pupil who closes himself and says, "I will guard my point of view or it will escape me," will never derive any benefit from this attitude.

   The mystical path is the most subtle path to tread. The relationship between teacher and pupil is too subtle for words to express. Besides the language of a mystical teacher is always elusive; you cannot, so to speak, pin him down as to his words; you cannot ask him to say clearly that something is so and so, or such and such. And if a mystic does so he is not a mystic, for a mystic cannot do this. The mystic may seem to be standing on the earth, but he is flying in the air. The air cannot be made into a rock, nor can the mystic be made into a gross entity. His "yes" does not mean the same as the "yes" of another, nor does his "no" mean the same as the "no" of others. The language of the mystic is not the language of words; it is the language of meaning. It is the greatest distress for a mystic to have to use the words of everyday language, which are not his words. He cannot express himself in these words. And we find the same in the action of the mystic. His outward actions will not express to everybody the meaning which is behind them, and that meaning may be much more important inwardly than the action is outwardly.

   The teacher therefore tests his pupil continually. He tells him and he does not tell him, for everything must come in its right time. Divine knowledge has never been taught in words, nor will it ever be so taught. The work of a mystical teacher is not to teach but to tune, to tune the pupil so that he may become the instrument of God. For the mystical teacher is not the player of the instrument; he is the tuner. When he has tuned it, he gives it into the hands of the Player whose instrument it is to play. The duty of the mystical teacher is his service as a tuner.

   Dispute with a spiritual teacher is never any good. For the pupil may be speaking one language while the teacher speaks another, and when there is no common language, how can the dispute be profitable? Therefore in the path of mysticism there is no dispute.

   Also, there are no fixed rules to follow on this path. For every person there is a special rule. But there is one law which applies to everything in life: sincerity, which is the only thing that is asked by a teacher of a pupil, for truth is not the portion of the insincere.

   Several initiations may be given to the pupil whom the teacher has taken in hand, but his progress depends upon the pupil himself. Just as parents are anxious, so the spiritual teacher is naturally anxious to see the advancement of his pupil. There is no reason for the teacher to keep any pupil back from success; for as the happiness of the parents lies in the happiness of the child, so the satisfaction of the teacher lies in the advancement of the pupil.

   But then there is another kind of initiation which comes afterwards, and this initiation is also an unfoldment of the soul. It comes as an after-effect of the initiation that one had from the teacher. It comes as a kind of expansion of consciousness, and the greatness of this initiation depends upon the distance and width of the horizon of the consciousness. Many may claim it, but few realize it. Those who realize do not claim. As the more fruitful a tree is the more it bends, so the more divine his spiritual realization is the more humble a person becomes. It is the one who is less fruitful who becomes more pretentious. The really initiated ones hardly ever mention the word initiation; they find no profit in convincing others that they are initiated. They possess their real inner gains so they do not want an outer gain; it is the one who has not got any who wants recognition from outside. And if we ask what profit we derive from initiation, the answer is that religion, mysticism, or philosophy--all that we gain--should help us to achieve one result, and that is to be best fitted for serving our fellow-men.

   It may be asked whether it is desirable for every soul to take initiation. The word "initiation" and the associated word "initiative" suggest going forward, so the answer is that progress is life and standing still is death. Whatever be our grade of evolution, it is always advisable to try to go forward, be it in business or in a profession, in society or in political life, in religion or in spiritual advancement. No doubt there is a danger in being too enthusiastic.

   The nature that is too enthusiastic may, instead of benefiting, perhaps harm itself in whatever line it may have taken up, worldly or spiritual. For everything there is a time, and patience is necessary in all striving. A cook may burn food by applying more heat in order to cook more quickly, and this rule applies to all things. With little children the parents are often anxious and enthusiastic; they think their children should learn and understand every good and interesting thing on earth. Too much enthusiasm is not right. We must give time to all things; the first and most important lesson in life is patience; we must begin all things with patience.

   The Sufi Order is mainly an esoteric school. There are three principal esoteric schools known in the East: the Buddhist school, the Vedantic school, and the Sufi school. The two former use asceticism as their principal means of spiritual advancement; the peculiarity of the Sufi school is that it uses humanity as its chief means to the same end. In the realization of truth the Sufi school is no different from the Vedantic or the Buddhist, but the Sufi presents truth in a different manner. It is the same frame in which Jesus Christ has given his teaching.

   No doubt the method of helping spiritual development by contemplation and meditation is used in all three schools, the science of breath being the foundation of each; but the Sufi thinks that man was not created as man to live the life of an angel, neither was he created to live the life of an animal. For the life of an angel, angels are created, and for the life of an animal there are animals. The Sufi thinks that the first thing which is necessary for man in life is to prove to his own conscience to what extent he can be human. It is not only a spiritual development, it is the culture of humanity: in what relation man stands to his neighbor or friend, to those who depend upon him and those who look up to him, to strangers unknown to him; how he stands with those younger than himself and with older people, with those who like him and others who dislike him and criticize him; how he should feel and think and act through life, and yet keep on progressing towards the goal which is the goal for every soul in the world. It is not necessary for the Sufi to seek the wilderness for his meditation, since he can perform part of his work in the midst of worldly life. The Sufi need not prove himself a Sufi by extraordinary power, by wonder-working or by an exceptional spiritual manifestation or claim. A Sufi can prove to his own conscience that he is a Sufi by watching his own life amidst the strife of this world.

   There are some who are content with a belief taught at home or in church. They are contented, and they may just as well rest in that stage of realization where they are contented until another impulse is born in their hearts to rise higher. The Sufi does not force his belief or his thoughts upon such souls. In the East there is a saying that it is a great sin to awaken anyone who is fast asleep. This saying can be symbolically understood: that there are many in this world who work and do things and are yet asleep; they seem awake externally, but inwardly they are asleep. The Sufi considers it a crime to awaken them, for some sleep is good for their health. The work of the Sufi is to give a helping hand to those who have had sufficient sleep and who now begin to stir in their sleep, to turn over. And it is that kind of help which is the real initiation.

   No doubt there are things which pass the ordinary comprehension of man. There are things one can teach only by speaking or by acting, but there is a way of teaching which is called Tawa and this way of teaching is without words. It is not external teaching; it is teaching in silence. For instance, how can man explain the spirit of sincerity, or the spirit of gratefulness? How can man explain the ultimate truth, the idea of God? Whenever it has been attempted it has failed; it has made some confused, and it has made others give up their belief. It is not that the one who tried to explain did not understand, but that words are inadequate to explain the idea of God.

   In the East there are great sages and saints who sit quite still, with lips closed, for years. They are called Muni, which means "he who takes the vow of silence." The man of today may think, "What a life, to be silent and do nothing!" But he does not know that some by their silence can do more than others can accomplish by talking for ten years. A person may argue for months about a problem and not be able to explain it, while another, with inner radiance, may be able to answer the same thing in one moment. But the answer that comes without words explains still more. That is initiation.

   However, no one can give spiritual knowledge to another, for this is something which is within every heart. What the teacher can do is to kindle the light which is hidden in the heart of the disciple. If the light is not there, it is not the fault of the teacher.

   There is a verse by Hafiz in which he says, "However great be the teacher. he is helpless with the one whose heart is closed."

   Therefore initiation means initiation on the part of the disciple and on the part of the teacher, a step forward on the part of both. On the part of the teacher, a step forward with the disciple in order that the pupil may be trusted and raised from his present condition. A step forward for the pupil, because he opens his heart; he has no barrier any more, nothing to hinder the teaching in whatever form it comes, in silence or in words, or in the observation of some deed or action on the part of the teacher.

   In ancient times the disciples of the great teachers learned by a quite different method, not an academic method or way of study. The way was that with open heart, with perfect confidence and trust, they watched every attitude of the teacher both towards friends and towards people who looked at him with contempt; they watched their teacher in times of trouble and pain, how he endured it all; they say how patient and wise he had been in discussing with those who did not understand, answering everyone gently in his own language; he showed the mother-spirit, the father-spirit, the brother-spirit, the child-spirit, the friend-spirit, forgiving kindness, an ever tolerant nature, respect for the aged, compassion for all, the thorough understanding of human nature. This also the disciples learnt: that no discussion or books on metaphysics can ever teach all the thoughts and philosophy that arise in the heart of man. A person may either study for a thousand years, or he may get to the source and see if he can touch the root of all wisdom and all knowledge. In the center of the emblem of the Sufis there is a heart; it is the sign that from the heart a stream rises, the stream of divine knowledge.

   On the path of initiation two things are necessary: contemplation, and the living of a life such as a Sufi ought to live; and they depend upon each other. Contemplation helps one to live the life of a Sufi, and the life of a Sufi helps contemplation. In the West, where life is so busy and where there is no end to one's responsibilities, one wonders if to undertake contemplation, even for only ten minutes in the evening, is not too much when one is tired. But for that very reason contemplation is required more in the West than in the East where everything, even the surroundings, is helpful to contemplation. Besides a beginning must be made on the path.

   If contemplation does not develop in such a form that everything one does in life becomes a contemplation, then the contemplation does not do a person any good. It would be like going to church once a week and forgetting all about religion on the other days. To a man who gives ten or twenty minutes every evening to contemplation and forgets it all the rest of the day, contemplation will not do any good. We take our food at certain times every day; yet all the time, even when we are sleeping, the food nourishes our body. It is not the Sufi's idea to retire in seclusion or to sit silent all day. His idea is that by contemplation he becomes so inspired that in study, in every aspiration, in every aspect of life, progress is made. In this way he proves his contemplation to be a force helping him to withstand all the difficulties that come to him.

   The life that the Sufi ought to live may be explained in a few words. There are many things in the life of a Sufi, but the greatest is to have a tendency to friendship; this is expressed in the form of tolerance and forgiveness, in the form of service and trust. In whatever form he may express it this is the central theme: the constant desire to prove one's love for humanity, to be the friend of all.

   [Inner School] From The Message Papers, The Inner School

   (The Hague, June 6, 1924)

   The inner school is for the few who seek for truth earnestly, steadily and with patience, who are awake to the voice of truth and will have patience all along the journey. The inner school is not something man follows, a form, a dogma, or a belief. The inner school has not got a dogma, neither a a belief; the work of the inner school is to tune the soul, to raise the individual from the plane where he stands, to uplift the soul.

   This is a school where one learns to know himself, where one comes to understand life.

   It is as the picture is given in diwan in a poetry: once a lion was wandering in the woods and found among the sheep a cub of lion. He gave it a great surprise by saying to it, "Cub of lion"; but it also ran away with the sheep. The lion followed the cub and when he approached, it was much frightened. "Why?" the lion said, "You are a lion too". "No, no", was the answer. "I am a sheep; I am no lion, I am frightened, I tremble". But the lion said: "I will not let you go among the sheep, you are a lion". The cub was very much frightened but followed the lion. They came near a pool of water; the sun was clear, the water still. The lion said: "While you drink this water, see your reflection and look at me". And it saw for itself: "I am the same as this lion. Why do I run among the sheep? Let the sheep go and I'll do the works of lion".

   That is the work of the inner school. Initiation which Murshid gives to the mureed is as the call of the lion. The lake is the heart. When in the heart one begins to seek, one finds self, the secret of which one had not known fully.

   Therefore know that you have to expect nothing by initiation, that it does not give a new power, a great power or visions. No, this school does not pretend to give things of that sort. It is a school of tradition of thousands of years, to which belonged saints and sages whose names are found in manuscripts of the past, whose names are not imaginary names, whose lives can be found in the history of the past. Therefore know that behind us is a backbone of tradition of masters, prophets, wise men, and sages who have proved to have understood the secret of life.

   Knowing this, we shall be conscious of the dignity of the path of initiation in the school of the Sufi Movement. How can this dignity be observed? First by closing the lips. It is the light-hearted who throw all out what is given to them, who speak of spiritual matters to anyone. This should not be your manner. You must show the lion's heritage, keeping the lips closed on sacred matters. Mind not if another has a different belief, a different conception. The Sufi is above the differences of opinions. The whole secret of this path is to journey with the lips closed. No discussion, no argument, not too much talking on the subject of the soul which is too sacred to be talked about with everyone. Besides, if you disagree, if you feel contempt for another custom, another manner, it shows your limitation. By tolerance, by understanding, by forgiving one shows that the heart is large enough to assimilate all things. The ordinary mentality respects certain things and other things it does not like. The more one becomes spiritual, the more one is assimilating, understanding. The higher one is spiritually evolved, the greater is the willingness, the readiness to forgive. "To know all is to understand all."

   One might ask: Through the school of initiation, what does one learn? No principle? What principle has one to adopt? And I say: There is only one principle and that is the largeness of your heart. And who will judge it? You yourself. Every thought, word and feeling you must weigh, you must find out whether it is large or small, or whether it shows lack of evolution, imperfection. Success in this school depends upon the unfoldment of those who belong to it.

   Man has an earthly body but a heavenly soul. His earthly parentage is apparent; his real parentage is God's parentage. The more aristocratic and noble, the more conscious, the more there is the expression of the divine. Then whatever one thinks or feels or does, one expresses the divine. This is the right principle. There is no need for Murshid to tell you what is small or large. As the eyes can discriminate, the heart can discriminate whether what we think, say or do is small or large. A person may be in a high rank or position, he may have a great wealth; if his heart is small, he is a small person. Whatever he does is small. Another may be void of all that belongs to the world and yet if his heart is large, he is great. In this way, by struggling with the self one will find nobility, which is a divine heritage. Thus life will become harmonious, an expression of the divine.

   Besides, there is another thing and that is meditation. By that is not meant to pray on Sunday, or every evening, or to close the eyes for a few minutes. That is the beginning. That is not what I mean. But our whole life we must be in meditation, with everything we do; not one single moment should pass without. By this one accomplishes a task which is the only yearning of the soul: to seek perfection.

   Remember in which boat you are traveling - in the boat of responsibility. Keep before you the dignity of your ideal. And by persevering faithfully, you can be sure of the desired result, without doubt.

   God bless you.

   [Kinds of Disciples] From Vol. 10, The Path of Initiation and Discipleship, 8. Four Kinds of Discipleship

   There are four kinds of disciples, of whom only one can be described as a real disciple.

   1. One kind is the disciple of modern times who comes and says to his teacher, "We will study this book together," or "Have you read that book? It is most interesting," or "I have learnt from someone else before, and now I would like to learn what I can from you and then I will pass on to something which is still more interesting." Such a person may be called a student, but not yet a disciple. His spirit is not that of a disciple; it is the spirit of a student who goes from one university, from one college, to another; from one professor he passes into the hands of another. He may be well suited for such intellectual pursuits, but the spirit of the disciple is different.

   2. Then there is another type who thinks, "What I can get out of him I will get. And when I have collected it, then I shall use it in the way I think best." Well, his way is that of a thief who says, "I will take what I can from the purse of this person, and then I shall spend it for my own purpose." This is a wrong attitude, because spiritual inspiration and power cannot be stolen; a thief cannot take them; and if he has this attitude such a disciple may remain with a teacher for a hundred years and still leave empty-handed. There are many in this world today who make intellectual theft their occupation; anything intellectual they find, they take it and use it. But they do not know what harm they do by this attitude. They paralyse their minds and they close their own spirit.

   3. Then there is a third wrong tendency of a disciple: to keep back something which is most essential, namely confidence. He will say, "Tell me all you can teach me, all I can learn, give me all that you have," but in his mind he says, "I will not give you my confidence, for I do not yet know if this road is right or wrong for me. When you have taught me I shall judge, then I shall see what it is. But until then I do not give you my confidence, though my ears are tuned to your words." This is the third wrong tendency. As long as a disciple will not give his confidence to his spiritual guide, he will not get the full benefit of his teaching.

   4. The fourth kind is the right kind of discipleship. And this does not come by just thinking that one would like to go on the spiritual path, or that one would like to be a disciple, a mureed, a chela, but there comes a time in every person's life when circumstances have tried him so much that he begins to feel the wish to find a word of enlightenment, some counsel, some guidance, a direction on the path of truth. When the values of all things and beings are changing in his eyes, that is the time he begins to feel hungry for spiritual guidance. Bread is meant for the hungry, not for those who are quite satisfied. If a person like this goes in search of a teacher, he takes the right step.

      But there is a difficulty, and this is that if he wants to test the teacher first, then there is no end to the testing. He can go from one teacher to another, from the earthly being to the heavenly being, testing everyone, and in the end what will he find? Imperfection. He is looking for it, and he will find it. Man is an imperfect being, a human being, a limited being. If he wants to find perfection in a limited being, he will always end by being disappointed whoever he meets, whether it is an angel or a human being. If he were simple enough to accept any teacher that came his way and said, "I will be your mureed," it would be easier, though this is perhaps not always practicable.

   Someone asked a Brahmin, "Why do you worship a god of rock, an idol of stone? Look, here I am, a worshipper of the God who is in heaven. This rock does not listen to you, it has no ears." And the Brahmin said, "If you have no faith, even the God in heaven will not hear you; and if you have faith this rock will have ears to hear.'

   The middle way and the best way is to consult one's own intuition and inspiration. If one's intuition says, "I will seek guidance from this teacher, whether he is raised high by the whole of humanity or whether he is looked at with contempt and prejudice by thousands, I do not care," then one follows the principle of constancy in adhering to that one teacher. But if a person is not constant on the spiritual path he will naturally have difficulty in the end. For what is constancy? Constancy is the reflection of eternity. And what is truth? Truth is eternity, and so in seeking for truth one must learn the principle of constancy.

   The disciple has to have full confidence in the teacher's guidance, in the direction that is given to him by the teacher. The Buddhists who regard a spiritual teacher with great reverence say, "We do not care whether he is well-known or not; and even if he is we do not know if he will accept our reverence; and if he receives it we are not sure he needs it." Worship can only be given to those of whose presence we are conscious; and it is especially intended for the spiritual teacher, for he shows us the only path that frees us from all the pains of which this life is full. That is why among all other obligations involving earthly gain and benefit the obligation to the spiritual teacher is the greatest, for it is concerned with the liberation of the soul on its journey towards Nirvana, which is the only desire of every soul.

   The teacher does not always teach in plain words. The spiritual teacher has a thousand ways. It may be that by his prayers he can guide his disciple; it may be by his thought, his feeling, or his sympathy, so that even at a distance he may guide him. And therefore when a disciple thinks that he can be taught only by words or teachings, by practices or exercises, it is a great mistake.

   In order to get the right disciples and the right people to come to him, a Sufi who lived in Hyderabad made a wonderful arrangement. He got a grumpy woman to sit just near his house; and to anyone who came to see the great teacher, she would say all kinds of things against the teacher: how unkind he was, how cruel, how neglectful, how lazy; there was nothing she would leave unsaid. And as a result out of a hundred, ninety-five would turn back; they would not dare to come near him. Perhaps only five would come, wanting to form their own opinion about him. And the teacher was very pleased that the ninety-five went away, for what they had come to find was not there; it was somewhere else.

   There is another side to this question. The first thing the teacher does is to find out what is the pressing need of his disciple. Certainly, the disciple has come to seek after truth and to be guided to the path of God, but at the same time it is the psychological task of the teacher to give his thought first to the pressing need of his disciple, whether the disciple speaks of it or not. And the teacher's effort is directed towards removing that first difficulty, because he knows it to be an obstacle in the disciple's way. It is easy for a soul to tread the spiritual path because it is the spiritual path that the soul is looking for. God is the seeking of every soul, and every soul will make its way naturally, providing there is nothing to obstruct it, and so the most pressing need is the removal of any obstruction. Thus a desire can be fulfilled, it can be conquered, or it can be removed. If it is fulfilled so much the better. If it is not right to fulfil it then it should be conquered or removed in order to clear the way. The teacher never thinks that he is concerned with his disciple only in his spiritual progress, in his attainment of God, for if there is something blocking the way of the disciple it will not be easy for the teacher to help him.

   There are three faculties which the teacher considers essential to develop in the disciple:

   • deepening the sympathy,
   • showing the way to harmony, and
   • awakening the spirit of beauty.

   One often sees that without being taught any particular formula, or receiving any particular lesson on these three subjects, the soul of a sincere disciple will grow under the guidance of the right teacher like a plant which is carefully reared and watered every day and every month and every year. And without knowing it himself he will begin to show these three qualities, the ever-growing sympathy, the harmonizing quality increasing every day more and more, and the expression and understanding and appreciation of beauty in all its forms.

   One may ask, is there no going backward? Well, sometimes there is a sensation of going backward; just as when one is at sea, the ship may move in such a way that one sometimes has the feeling that one is going backward although one is really going forward; one can have the same sensation when riding on an elephant or a camel. When in the lives of some disciples this sensation is felt, it is nothing but a proof of life. Nevertheless a disciple will often feel that since he became a disciple he finds many more faults in himself than he had ever seen before. This may be so, but it does not mean that his faults have increased; it only means that now his eyes have become wider open so that every day he sees many more faults than before.

   There is always a great danger on the spiritual path that the disciple has to overcome: he may develop a feeling of being exalted, of knowing more than other people, of being better than other people. As soon as a person thinks, "I am more", the doors of knowledge are closed. He will no more be able to widen his knowledge, because automatically the doors of his heart are closed the moment he says, "I know." Spiritual knowledge, the knowledge of life, is so intoxicating, so exalting, it gives such a great joy, that one begins to pour out one's knowledge before anyone who comes along as soon as this knowledge springs up.

   But if at that time the disciple could realize that he should conserve that kindling of the light, reserve it, keep it within himself, and let it deepen, then his words would not be necessary, his presence would enlighten people; but as soon as the spring rises, and he pours forth what comes out of that spring in words, although on the one side his vanity will be satisfied yet on the other his energy will be exhausted. The little spring that had risen he has poured out before others, and he remains without power. This is why reserve is taught to the true disciple, the conserving of inspiration and power. The one who speaks is not always wise; it is the one who listens who is wise.

   1. During discipleship the first period may be called the period of observation; in this the disciple with a respectful attitude observes everything good and bad and right and wrong, without expressing any opinion about them. And every day this reveals to the disciple a new idea on the subject. Today he thinks it is wrong, but does not say so; tomorrow he wonders how it can be wrong. The day after tomorrow he thinks, "But can this really be wrong?", while on the fourth day he may think that it is not wrong, and on the fifth day that it is right. And he may follow the same process with what is right, if only he does not express himself on the first day. It is the foolish who always readily express their opinion; the wise keep it back. By keeping their opinion back they become wiser every day; by expressing their opinion they continually become less wise.

   2. The second thing that is most important for the disciple is learning. And how is he to learn? Every word the disciple hears coming from the lips of the teacher is a whole sacred book. Instead of reading a sacred book of any religion from beginning to end, he has taken in one word of the teacher, and that is the same. By meditating upon it, by thinking about it, by pondering upon it, he makes that word a plant from which fruit and flowers come. A book is one thing and a living word is another. Perhaps a whole book could be written by the inspiration of one living word of the teacher. Besides the disciple practices all the meditations given to him, and by these exercises he develops within him that inspiration, that power which is meant to be developed in the disciple.

   3. And the third step forward for the disciple lies in testing the inspiration, the power that he has received. One might ask, how can one test it? Life can give a thousand examples of every idea that one has thought about. If one has learnt from within that a certain idea is wrong or right, then life itself is an example which shows why it is wrong or why it is right.

   If a person does not become enlightened, one can find the explanation by watching the rain: it falls upon all trees, but it is according to the response of those trees that they grow and bear fruit. The sun shines upon all the trees; it makes no distinction between them, but it is according to the response that the trees give to the sun that they profit by its sunshine. At the same time a mureed is very often an inspiration to the murshid. It is not the murshid who teaches; it is God who teaches. The murshid is only a medium, and as high as the response of the mureed reaches, so strongly does it attract the message of God.

   The mureed can inspire, but he can also cease to inspire. If there is no response on his side or if there is antagonism or lack of interest, then the inspiration of the murshid is shut off; just like the clouds which cannot produce a shower when they are above the desert. The desert affects them, but when the same clouds are above the forest the trees attract them and the rain falls.

   The attributes of the disciple are reserve, thoughtfulness, consideration, balance, and sincerity.

   Special care should be taken that during the time of discipleship one does not become a teacher, for very often a growing soul is so eager to become a teacher that before he has finished the period of discipleship he becomes impatient. It should be remembered that all the great teachers of humanity such as Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, and Zarathushtra, have been great pupils; they have learned from the innocent child, they have learned from everyone, from every person that came near them. They have learned from every situation and every condition of the world; they have understood and they have learned.

   It is the desire to learn continually that makes one a teacher, and not the desire to become a teacher. As soon as a person thinks, "I am something of a teacher", he has lost ground. For there is only one teacher: God alone is the Teacher, and all others are His pupils. We all learn from life what life teaches us; and the day when a soul begins to think that he has learned all he had to learn, and that now he is a teacher, he is very much mistaken. The greatest teachers of humanity have learned from humanity more than they have taught.

   [Method] From Sangatha III, Ta`lim, Teaching, Method

   What method does the Sufi consider to enlighten or to inspire mureeds?

   Zikr, Fikr, or any other exercises are given to prepare the mind of the mureed and no doubt these exercises have their great advantages, but these are the part of the mureed's work. But what Murshid can impart to the mureed is not so much in words but in what is called in the Sufi terms Tawajjuh, which means as a verbal meaning "a glance" but as its right interpretation "attention."

   Murshid's duty towards his mureed is as the work of the sun towards the plants. The sun gives its light for the plants to grow and to flourish, to blossom and to bring forth fruits and flowers. And in all these stages of the growth of the plant there is a great part that the sun has to perform. So it is with the Murshid, who does not only give his experience in the spiritual path in words but the life, the light, which silently helps the soul of the mureed to gradually unfold.

   Therefore many mureeds, ignorant of this secret, begin to wonder no sooner they are initiated, "What have I received from Murshid?" And when they begin to look in their pockets they cannot find anything. If they see in the words what he said they can find the same, perhaps, spoken in a different form by someone else in some or other book, and they begin to think there is nothing new that is being taught, it is the same old story of thousands of years, which has been so constantly repeated.

   But if one were to understand the truth about it one would know the words are the cover over that what is brought. Under that cover it is light, it is life, and one whose heart is awake to the smallest degree can perceive it.

   [Our Present Need] From Sangatha III, Advice, Our Present Need

   I was told the other day by one of our workers that what we need today is money. I said, "No, what we need today is servers, workers." Money is a dead thing, workers are living things, and more precious. When every false thing can also have money for its accomplishment, why must not a good thing have money also? It must come, and will come. But our greatest need is of workers, faithful workers, with balance, with tact, with equilibrium, and with the desire to serve the cause. What I am asking today is ten thousand servers to begin our work.

   For the whole world ten thousand is a very small number. So long as I have not ten thousand to begin with I shall not consider that my work has begun; and my mureeds who sympathize with me and have devotion for the cause are asked to do their very best in helping to spread the cause, so that before long I may have the above-mentioned number to go on to spread the Message.

   Now, as to the idea how to do it: everyone has his friends, those who know him, who can be interested without his forcing upon them his principles. The workers must learn tact and the psychology of human nature. Human nature is very delicate; one may touch it wrongly. One must be as wise as a serpent. The real good that one can do is to bring spirituality; but man is afraid of his greatest benefit; and, by understanding this psychology, I am sure that the one who is destined by God to serve humanity will certainly get the help which is so needed.

   [Science of Breath] From Vol. 6, The Alchemy of Happiness, The Alchemy of Happiness

   The secret of this is to be learnt in the science of breath. Breath is the essence of life, the center of life, and the mind may be controlled by a knowledge of the proper method of breathing. For this, instruction from a teacher is a necessity; for since the mystical cult of the East has become known in the West books have been published, and teaching which had been kept as sacred as religion has been discussed in words; but these can never truly explain the mystery of that which is the center of man's very being. People read these books and begin to play with breath, and often instead of benefiting they injure both mind and body; there are also those who make a business of teaching breathing exercises for money, thus degrading a sacred thing. The science of breath is the greatest mystery there is, and for thousands of years it has been kept as a sacred trust in the schools of the mystics.

   [Servants of the New Era] From Sangatha II, Nasihat, Advice, Servants of the New Era

   The Sufi Message is destined to reawaken the world and to be a warning.

   The power of the inner forces is constantly at work; and this promises much for the future of the nucleus of the few Mureeds formed under the name of the Sufi Movement, to be the servants of the new era in the path of God and Truth.

   I wish that my Mureeds, those who feel in their heart this trust, shall not only receive the Sacred Message for their own unfoldment, but shall feel the privilege of being a nucleus for the reconstruction of the coming spiritual world. The more they will be conscious of this, the more they will feel the responsibility of their lives and the duty they must perform. Mureeds can show their devotion to the Murshid and the Cause by doing their very best, and by devoting their thoughts and efforts in action for the rebuilding of the spiritual world.

   The Sufi also considers that every person is to him not only his brother but himself.

   At the same time, the Sufi never claims spirituality nor goodness, neither does he judge anyone, except that he judges himself as to his own doings.

   • His constant attitude towards others is that of love and forgiveness.
   • His attitude towards his God is that his innermost Being is the object of worship and the Beloved Whom he loves and admires.
   • His interest in life is art, and beauty, and
   • his task the service of humanity in whatever form possible.
   [Students] From Sangatha I, Nasihat, Advice, The Relation In Which the Mureeds Stand To Their Murshid

   Do they stand as soldiers to their general or as pupils to their professor? They stand much closer to their Murshid than words can explain. Mureeds, to their Murshid, are just like the veins of his own body, through which the blood of his Message runs continually; and in this way the Murshid gives the Message, but all the mureeds together with him. I wish my mureeds to understand what responsibility they have in the world, that by realizing this, they may feel what is their duty in the Cause.

   As they become more and more serious and keen as channels of the Message, so they become as the lungs through which the word comes, the lungs of the Murshid through which the Message comes. And what if there is something wrong with the lungs? It has its effect upon the whole life. The more you will think of this, the more you will realize that you have not become mureeds only for your own spiritual development. Then you might as well have become members of any esoteric society. If destiny has brought you in the Sufi Movement, then your responsibility is different.

   If one does not realize this, one has not yet come to the consciousness of one's mureedship. He has been received, but is not yet conscious of his responsibility. In order to have that, all the energy that is needed must be put into the cause of the Message. Every mureed has to share its burden, every mureed is counted, however humble his work. A mureed one does not see for the whole year, that mureed has something to do with the Message, that mureed is part of the particles of the body of the Cause, and his attitude, his life, his work, his feelings, his thoughts have an effect upon the whole Cause. It is not only that the mureeds depend upon the Cause, but it is also the Cause which is dependent upon the mureeds. The best thing, therefore, is for my mureeds to realize this, to realize their responsibility to God and humanity in this Cause.

   If only they do not think, "What am I?" Because they are not known, perhaps, or are not doing any particular work, either known or unknown. In the abstract world you all have a place, you all have your part to play in the Message. The Sufi Cause is a temple built for this time, a temple built for the worship of the future. And some will have to be built the pillars of the temple, and some will have to serve in the making of the walls, and some must help the position in the dome and minarets. All that is needed is the truth, that all must be provided and supplied. By what? By the devoted hearts of the mureeds.

   The temple built in the abstract will be indestructible. Everything else will follow, sooner or later. Every mureed contributes to the making of this temple in the abstract, a duty which is most sacred. For the more you are conscious, the more you will make the temple. Never mind if your means do not allow you, or your everyday work; never mind if your life's situation does not allow you opportunity. As long as you intend to do your best for the Cause, if the results are not for today, they will be for tomorrow. It is your intention which is really of most value in this Cause. No doubt over-enthusiasm upsets a person's balance.

   So I would not ask for over-enthusiasm on your part. Although, I must appeal to the depth of your heart, that we sorely need ten thousand good workers to begin our Movement; as long as we have not got this, I do not consider that we have made a beginning. A Cause which is for the whole humanity needs at least the number I have mentioned; and this will tell you, you must come and make every effort possible to make the number which is wanted just now, to serve God and humanity.

   Your devotion is really the only consolation I have in the difficulties, which are endless and which I can never explain, in this world, difficulties which are endless and beyond imagination. As parents I think, who do not think it necessary to bring the troubles before their children. They bear them for themselves. It is that which is the case of your Murshid. Yet I am quite well aware that if your Murshid were in need, or I were in trouble, you would all gladly help me. But this is my greatest need.

   One might ask whether, in any case quality, is not more than quantity. This might be true for an esoteric school, but not for a world Cause. If it were for an esoteric school, it would be quite a different thing. But it is the world service, and we can never have enough work done. And there is a large part of the world which should be touched, which is still untouched. When we look at the map, how poor we stand for a world Message, with all the riches from above that we have at the back of us. No doubt it is true that the Message of God must reach all people, must reach all parts of the world, but human efforts are necessary as our part. It is necessary that some people will come out from the mureeds who will be able to take up the work in other lands, in other parts of the world, where the messenger has not yet spread. Some will have to go before the Message, and try to awaken interest and prepare the ground. And others will go in places where the Movement has started, to blow the fire and keep it going. Our ideal is so high, our work, our service needs a number of souls; but our congregation is so little! This we must realize every day more and more, and find out, every day more and more, what can be done for this want, in order to promote the Cause, so dear to our hearts and so sacred to our souls.

   [Sufi Training] From Vol. 5, A Sufi Message Of Spiritual Liberty, Sufi Training

   The murshid prefers a mureed whose mind is unembarrassed by other methods of training; who is free from worldly considerations, and is possessed of whole-hearted perseverance; who is capable of committing himself with perfect faith and devotion to the guidance of his murshid.

   The practice of harmony and temperance is essential, but the murshid never prescribes for his mureeds the ascetic life; rather it is a peculiarity of the Sufi training that the mureed is quickened to appreciate and enjoy the world more than others. The murshid at first creates divine love in the mureed, which, in the course of time, develops and purifies his heart so much that it permits the virtues of humanity to develop freely of themselves. He then receives more and more divine wisdom from the appointed channel, and at last arrives at complete self-realization.

   There is no common course of study for mureeds; each receives the special training best adapted to his requirements. In other words, the murshid, as a spiritual physician, prescribes a suitable remedy for curing every mureed. There is no limit of time for the advancement to a certain degree. To one, realization may come the moment after initiation; to another it may not be vouchsafed during his whole life. Among the Sayings of Mohammed one finds: "It depends upon nothing but the mercy of Allah whomever He may kindly choose for it.'

   Still, there is hope of success: "Whoever walks one step towards the grace of Allah, the Divine mercy walks forward ten steps to receive him" (id.).

   [Ten Sufi Thoughts] From Vol. 1, The Way of Illumination, Sufi Thoughts

   There are ten principal Sufi thoughts, which comprise all the important subjects with which the inner life of man is concerned.

   1. There is One God,

   the Eternal, the Only Being; none exists save He.

   The God of the Sufi is the God of every creed, and the God of all. Names make no difference to him. Allah, God, Gott, Dieu, Brahma, or Bhagwan, all these names and more are the names of his God; and yet to him God is beyond the limitation of name. He sees his God in the sun, in the fire, in the idol which diverse sects worship; and he recognizes Him in all the forms of the universe, yet knowing Him to be beyond all form: God in all, and all in God, He being the Seen and the Unseen, the Only Being. God to the Sufi is not only a religious belief, but also the highest ideal the human mind can conceive.

   The Sufi, forgetting the self and aiming at the attainment of the divine ideal, walks constantly all through life in the path of love and light. In God the Sufi sees the perfection of all that is in the reach of man's perception and yet he knows Him to be above human reach. He looks to Him as the lover to his beloved. and takes all things in life as coming from Him, with perfect resignation. The sacred name of God is to him as medicine to the patient. The divine thought is the compass by which he steers the ship to the shores of immortality. The God-ideal is to a Sufi as a lift by which he raises himself to the eternal goal, the attainment of which is the only purpose of his life.

   2. There is One Master,

   the Guiding Spirit of all Souls, Who constantly leads His followers towards the light.

   The Sufi understands that although God is the source of all knowledge, inspiration, and guidance, yet man is the medium through which God chooses to impart His knowledge to the world. He imparts it through one who is a man in the eyes of the world, but God in his consciousness. It is the mature soul that draws blessings from the heavens, and God speaks through that soul. Although the tongue of God is busy speaking through all things, yet in order to speak to the deaf ears of many among us, it is necessary for Him to speak through the lips of man. He has done this all through the history of man, every great teacher of the past having been this Guiding Spirit living the life of God in human guise. In other words, their human guise consists of various coats worn by the same person, who appeared to be different in each. Shiva, Buddha, Rama, Krishna on the one side, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed on the other; and many more, known or unknown to history, always one and the same person.

   Those who saw the person and knew Him recognized Him in whatever form or guise; those who could only see the coat went astray. To the Sufi therefore there is only one Teacher, however differently He may be named at different periods of history, and He comes constantly to awaken humanity from the slumber of this life of illusion, and to guide man onwards towards divine perfection. As the Sufi progresses in this view he recognizes his Master, not only in the holy ones, but in the wise, in the foolish, in the saint and in the sinner, and has never allowed the Master who is One alone, and the only One who can be and who ever will be, to disappear from his sight.

   The Persian word for Master is Murshid. The Sufi recognizes the Murshid in all beings of the world, and is ready to learn from young and old, educated and uneducated, rich and poor, without questioning from whom he learns. Then he begins to see the light of Risalat, the torch of truth which shines before him in every being and thing in the universe. Thus he sees Rasul, his Divine Message Bearer, a living identity before him. Thus the Sufi sees the vision of God, the worshipped deity, in His immanence, manifest in nature, and life now becomes for him a perfect revelation both within and without.

   It is often for no other reason than clinging to the personality of their particular teacher, claiming for him superiority over other teachers, and degrading a teacher held in the same esteem by others, that people have separated themselves from one another, and caused most of the wars and factions and contentions which history records among the children of God.

   What the Spirit of Guidance is, can be further explained as follows: as in man there is a faculty for art, music, poetry and science, so in him is the faculty or spirit of guidance; it is better to call it spirit because it is the supreme faculty from which all the others originate. As we see that in every person there is some artistic faculty, but not everyone is an artist, as everyone can hum a tune but only one in a thousand is a musician, so every person possesses this faculty in some form and to a limited degree; but the spirit of guidance is found among few indeed of the human race.

   A Sanskrit poet says, "Jewels are stones, but cannot be found everywhere; the sandal tree is a tree, but does not grow in every forest; as there are many elephants, but only one king elephant, so there are human beings all over the world, but the real human being is rarely to be found."

   When we arise above faculty and consider the spirit of guidance, we shall find that it is consummated in the Bodhisatva, the spiritual teacher or divine messenger. There is a saying that the reformer is the child of civilization, but the prophet is its father. This spirit has always existed, and must always exist; and in this way from time to time the message of God has been given.

   3. There is One Holy Book,

   the sacred manuscript of nature, the only scripture which can enlighten the reader.

   Most people consider as sacred scriptures only certain books or scrolls written by the hand of man, and carefully preserved as holy, to be handed down to posterity as divine revelation. Men have fought and disputed over the authenticity of these books, have refused to accept any other book of similar character, and, clinging thus to the book and losing the sense of it, have formed diverse sects. The Sufi has in all ages respected all such books, and has traced in the Vedanta, Zendavesta, Kabah, Bible, Qur'an, and all other sacred scriptures, the same truth which he reads in the incorruptible manuscript of nature, the only Holy Book, the perfect and living model that teaches the inner law of life: all scriptures before nature's manuscript are as little pools of water before the ocean.

   To the eye of the seer every leaf of the tree is a page of the holy book that contains divine revelation, and he is inspired every moment of his life by constantly reading and understanding the holy script of nature.

   When man writes, he inscribes characters upon rock, leaf, paper, wood or steel; when God writes, the characters He writes are living creatures.

   It is when the eye of the soul is opened and the sight is keen that the Sufi can read the divine law in the manuscript of nature; and that which the teachers of humanity have taught to their followers was derived by them from the same source; they expressed what little it is possible to express in words, and so they preserved the inner truth when they themselves were no longer there to reveal it.

   4. There is One Religion,

   the unswerving progress in the right direction towards the ideal, which fulfills the life's purpose of every soul.

   Religion in the Sanskrit language is termed Dharma, which means duty. The duty of every individual is religion. "Every soul is born for a certain purpose, and the light of that purpose is kindled in his soul", says Sa'adi. This explains why the Sufi in his tolerance allows every one to have his own path, and does not compare the principles of others with his own, but allows freedom of thought to everyone, since he himself is a freethinker.

   Religion, in the conception of a Sufi, is the path that leads man towards the attainment of his ideal, worldly as well as heavenly. Sin and virtue, right and wrong, good and bad are not the same in the case of every individual; they are according to his grade of evolution and state of life. Therefore the Sufi concerns himself little with the name of the religion or the place of worship. All places are sacred enough for his worship, and all religions convey to him the religion of his soul. "I saw Thee in the sacred Ka'ba and in the temple of the idol also Thee I saw.'

   5. There is One Law,

   the law of reciprocity, which can be observed by a selfless conscience, together with a sense of awakened justice.

   Man spends his life in the pursuit of all that seems to him to be profitable for himself, and when so absorbed in self-interest in time he even loses touch with his own real interest. Man has made laws to suit himself,, but they are laws by which he can get the better of another. It is this that he calls justice, and it is only that which is done to him by another that he calls injustice. A peaceful and harmonious life with his fellow-men cannot be led until the sense of justice has been awakened in him by a selfless conscience. As the judicial authorities of the world intervene between two persons who are at variance, knowing that they have a right to intervene when the two parties in dispute are blinded by personal interest, so the Almighty Power intervenes in all disputes however small or great.

   It is the law of reciprocity which saves man from being exposed to the higher powers, as a considerate man has less chance of being brought before the court. The sense of justice is awakened in a perfectly sober mind; that is, one which is free from the intoxication of youth, strength, power, possession, command, birth, or rank. It seems a net profit when one does not give but takes, or when one gives less and takes more; but in either case there is really a greater loss than profit; for every such profit spreads a cover over the sense of justice within, and when many such covers have veiled the sight, man becomes blind even to his own profit. It is like standing in one's own light. "Blind here remains blind in the hereafter.'

   Although the different religions, in teaching man how to act harmoniously and peacefully with his fellow-men, have given out different laws, they all meet in this one truth: do unto others as thou wouldst they should do unto thee. The Sufi, in taking a favor from another, enhances its value, and in accepting what another does to him he makes allowance.

   6. There is One Brotherhood,

   the human brotherhood which unites the children of earth indiscriminately in the Brotherhood of God.

   The Sufi understands that the one life emanating from the inner Being is manifested on the surface as the life of variety; and in this world of variety man is the finest manifestation, for he can realize in his evolution the oneness of the inner being even in the external existence of variety. But he evolves to this ideal, which is the only purpose of his coming on earth, by uniting himself with another.

   Man unites with others in the family tie, which is the first step in his evolution, and yet families in the past have fought with each other, and have taken vengeance upon one another for generations, each considering his cause to be the only true and righteous one. Today man shows his evolution in uniting with his neighbors and fellow-citizens, and even developing within himself the spirit of patriotism for his nation. He is greater in this respect than those in the past; and yet men so united nationally have caused the catastrophe of the modern wars, which will be regarded by the coming generations in the same light in which we now regard the family feuds of the past.

   There are racial bonds which widen the circle of unity still more, but it has always happened that one race has looked down on the other.

   The religious bond shows a still higher ideal. But it has caused diverse sects, which have opposed and despised each other for thousands of years, and have caused endless splits and divisions among men. The germ of separation exists even in such a wide scope for brotherhood, and however widespread the brotherhood may be, it cannot be a perfect one as long as it separates man from man.

   The Sufi, realizing this, frees himself from national, racial, and religious boundaries, uniting himself in the human brotherhood, which is devoid of the differences and distinctions of class, caste, creed, race, nation, or religion, and unites mankind in the universal brotherhood.

   7. There is One Moral,

   the love which springs forth from self-denial and blooms in deeds of beneficence.

   There are moral principles taught to mankind by various teachers, by many traditions, one differing from the other, which are like separate drops coming out of the fountain. But when we look at the stream, we find there is but one stream, although it turns into several drops on falling. There are many moral principles, just as many drops fall from one fountain; but there is one stream that is at the source of all, and that is love. It is love that gives birth to hope, patience, endurance, forgiveness, tolerance, and to all moral principles. All deeds of kindness and beneficence take root in the soil of the loving heart. Generosity, charity, adaptability, an accommodating nature, even renunciation, are the offspring of love alone. The great, rare and chosen beings, who for ages have been looked up to as ideal in the world, are the possessors of hearts kindled with love. All evil and sin come from the lack of love.

   People call love blind, but love in reality is the light of the sight. The eye can only see the surface; love can see much deeper. All ignorance is the lack of love. As fire when not kindled gives only smoke, but when kindled, the illuminating flame springs forth, so it is with love; it is blind when undeveloped, but, when its fire is kindled, the flame that lights the path of the traveller from mortality to everlasting life springs forth; the secrets of earth and heaven are revealed to the possessor of the loving heart, the lover has gained mastery over himself and others, and he not only communes with God but unites with Him.

   "Hail to thee, then, O love, sweet madness! Thou who healest all our infirmities! Who art the physician of our pride and self conceit! Who art our Plato and our Galen!", says Rumi.

   8. There is One Object of Praise,

   the beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshippers through all aspects from the seen to the unseen.

   It is said in the Hadith, "God is beautiful, and He loves beauty." This expresses the truth that man, who inherits the Spirit of God, has beauty in him and loves beauty, although that which is beautiful to one is not beautiful to another. Man cultivates the sense of beauty as he evolves, and prefers the higher aspect of beauty to the lower. But when he has observed the highest vision of beauty in the Unseen by a gradual evolution from praising the beauty in the seen world, then the entire existence becomes to him one single vision of beauty.

   Man has worshipped God, beholding the beauty of sun, moon, stars, and planets; he has worshipped God in plants, in animals; he has recognized God in the beautiful merits of man, and he has with his perfect view of beauty found the source of all beauty in the Unseen, from whence all this springs, and in Whom all is merged.

   The Sufi, realizing this, worships beauty in all its aspects, and sees the face of the Beloved in all that is seen, and the Beloved's spirit in the Unseen. So wherever he looks his ideal of worship is before him. "Everywhere I look, I see Thy winning face; everywhere I go, I arrive at Thy dwelling-place.'

   9. There is One Truth,

   the true knowledge of our being, within and without, which is the essence of all wisdom.

   Hazrat All says, "Know thyself, and thou shalt know God." It is the knowledge of self which blooms into the knowledge of God. Self-knowledge answers such problems as: whence have I come? Did I exist before I became conscious of my present existence? If I existed, as. what did I exist? As an individual such as I now am, or as a multitude, or as an insect, bird, animal, spirit, jinn, or angel? What happens at death, the change to which every creature is subject? Why do I tarry here awhile? What purpose have I to accomplish here? What is my duty in life? In what does my happiness consist, and what is it that makes my life miserable? Those whose hearts have been kindled by the light from above, begin to ponder such questions but those whose souls are already illumined by the knowledge of the self understand them. It is they who give to individuals or to the multitudes the benefit of their knowledge, so that even men whose hearts are not yet kindled, and whose souls are not illuminated, may be able to walk on the right path that leads to perfection.

   This is why people are taught in various languages, in various forms of worship, in various tenets in different parts of the world. It is one and the same truth; it is only seen in diverse aspects appropriate to the people and the time. It is only those who do not understand this who can mock at the faith of another, condemning to hell or destruction those who do not consider their faith to be the only true faith.

   The Sufi recognizes the knowledge of self as the essence of all religions; he traces it in every religion, he sees the same truth in each, and therefore he regards all as one. Hence he can realize "the saying of Jesus, "I and my Father are one." The difference between creature and Creator remains on his lips, not in his soul. This is what is meant by union with God. It is in reality the dissolving of the false self in the knowledge of the true self, which is divine, eternal, and all-pervading. "He who attaineth union with God, his very self must lose," said Amir.

   10. There is One Path,

   the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which raises the mortal to immortality, in which resides all perfection.

   'I passed away into nothingness--I vanished; and lo! I was all living." All who have realized the secret of life understand that life is one, but that it exists in two aspects. First as immortal, all-pervading and silent; and secondly as mortal, active, and manifest in variety. The soul being of the first aspect becomes deluded, helpless, and captive by experiencing life in contact with the mind and body, which is of the next aspect. The gratification of the desires of the body and the fancies of the mind do not suffice for the purpose of the soul, which is undoubtedly to experience its own phenomena in the seen and the unseen, though its inclination is to be itself and not anything else. When delusion makes it feel that it is helpless, mortal and captive, it finds itself out of place. This is the tragedy of life, which keeps the strong and the weak, the rich and poor, all dissatisfied, constantly looking for something they do not know. The Sufi, realizing this, takes the path of annihilation, and, by the guidance of a teacher on the path, finds at the end of this journey that the destination was himself. As Iqbzl says:

   I wandered in the pursuit of my own self;
   I was the traveller, and I am the destination.

   [Two Duties] From The Message Papers, The Duty of Happiness

   (From a transcript of his lecture in 1922 in Brighton) "Mureed" refers to a dedicated student, while "murshid" refers to a master teacher. Hazrat Inayat Khan uses the male pronoun exclusively, in keeping with the custom of his time, with the assumption that the male pronoun refers to all people.

   I wish to bring to the notice of my mureeds two great duties which every one of them must consider it most important to perform. The first duty is towards himself, the second is towards God and humanity.

   1. The first and most important is towards himself. It must be known and understood that your murshid does not give particular principles, tenets, or doctrines; nor does he impose any particular belief. He keeps you free to make your lives really happy, that others may share your happiness. This happiness can be attained by thoroughly studying the nature of happiness, finding out what it is that gives true happiness, for so often in seeking happiness the soul is deceived and deluded and so remains without happiness.

      The mureeds must take care that their bodies are strong, healthy, vigorous, and ready to work, that their minds are balanced, sound and clear. Then they can have happiness and give it to those around them. If in this time of great distress every mureed would realize that he is a volunteer in an army, working for the peace of souls, a great work would be done.

   2. The second duty, towards God and humanity is to show their devotion to the Cause, to Murshid, and to God, by some service. You ask, what service can you do for the Cause? You can create an interest in the Message in those around you, in your friends. You may for instance bring your friends to this centre, where sometimes there are readings, and so you will help the movement, and by so doing, you may help humanity and the Cause of God.

      Remember, it is a world movement, the responsibility of which is too great for words to express. If anything can give you an idea of its greatness, you will show it by sympathy for Murshid and appreciation for the teachings which are given to you. Words say little. And the service must not be done in order to oblige Murshid; it must be done for God and for humanity. You must consider it as your most sacred task, given by God, therefore most important to fulfill, and the main purpose of your life.

   [Yoga and Sufism] From Vol. 10, Sufi Mysticism, 6. The Mystical Heart, Intellect and Sentiment

   Jesus Christ not only told us to love our friends; he went as far as to say we should love our enemies; and the Sufi treads the same path. He considers his charity of heart towards his fellowmen to be love for God, and in showing love to everyone, he feels he is giving his love to God. Here the Sufi and the Yogi differ.

   • The Yogi is not unkind, but he says, "I love you all, but I had better keep away from you, for your souls are always groping in darkness, and my soul is in the light. Your friendship will harm my soul, so I had better keep away and love you from afar."
   • The Sufi says, "It is a trial, but it should be tried. I shall take up my everyday duties as they come along." Although he knows how unimportant the things of the world are, and does not overvalue these things, he attends to his responsibilities towards those who love him, like him, depend upon him, follow him; and he tries to find the best way of coming to terms with all those who dislike and despise him. He lives in the world and yet he is not of the world. In this way the Sufi considers that the main principle in the fulfillment of the purpose of his life is to love man.