Attainment

Character

Dimensions

Dreams

Ego

Elements

Guidance

Healing

Immortality

Initiation

Mastery

Meditation

Physical Body

Planes

Power

Prayers

Purpose

Relationships

Religions

School

Speaking

Stages

Sufism

World

The power of thought, speech, and action depends upon the power of heart. A thought, word, or action prompted by the power of heart becomes a living force. The power of heart means not only the power of heart from within, but also the power of the heart of flesh. The willpower can be safely called the power of heart within; its effect takes its reaction in the physical heart. A person with a weak heart physically must also experience the same. For the heart is the root of one's being and exists in every plane of one's being.

In each plane the heart is the center, and the health, the power, beauty, wisdom and success of life all depend upon the condition of the heart.

If one could explain the real meaning of education, of true education, it would be from the beginning to the end of man's life the realization of the circulation of the divine blood through the veins of the universe-for there is no limitation of time for the study and practice of this: it is endless!

There is a story told in Arabia that the angels descended from Heaven to earth and cut open the breast of the Prophet; they took away something that was to be removed from there, and then the breast was made as before. It is a symbolical expression, which gives to a Sufi a key to the secret of human Life.

• What closes the doors of the heart is fear, confusion, depression, spite, discouragement, disappointment, and a troubled conscience; and
• when that is cleared away, the doors of the heart open.
• The opening of the breast, really speaking, is the opening of the heart.
• The sensation of joy is felt in the center of the breast, also the heaviness caused by depression.
• Therefore as long as the breast remains choked with anything, the heart remains closed.
• When the breast is cleared from it, the heart is open.
• It is the open heart which takes the reflection of all impressions coming from outside.
• It is the open heart which can receive reflections from the Divine Spirit within.
• It is the openness of heart, again, which gives power and beauty to express oneself; and
• if it is closed, a man, however learned, cannot express his learning to others.

This symbolical legend explains also what is necessary in the life of man to allow the plant of divine love to grow in his heart. It is to remove that element which gives the bitter feeling. Just as there is a poison in the sting of the scorpion, and as there is a poison in the teeth of the snake, so there is poison in the heart of man, which is made to be the shrine of God. But God cannot arise in the shrine which is as dead by its own poison; it must be purified first, and made real, for God to arise. The soul who had to sympathize with the whole world was thus prepared, that the drop of that poison which always produces contempt, resentment, and ill feeling against another, was destroyed first. So many talk about the purification of heart, and so few really know what it is.

Some say to be pure means to be free from all evil thought of bitterness against another. No one with sense and understanding would like to keep a drop of poison in his body, and how ignorant it is on the part of man when he keeps and cherishes a bitter thought against another in his heart. If a drop of poison can cause the death of the body, it is equal to a thousand deaths when the heart retains the smallest thought of bitterness. In this legend the cutting open of the breast is the cutting open of the ego, which is as a shell over the heart. And the taking away of that element is that every kind of thought or feeling against anyone in the world has been taken away, and the breast, which means the heart, is filled with love alone, which is the real life of God.

The heart is as a globe covering the light of the soul, and its different emotions are different colors of this globe. Every emotion is produced by a certain element. While experiencing life through the heart, the soul at that moment thinks: I am sad, or glad, or afraid, or humorous. In fact it is its momentary experience. When the influence of a particular element is changed the emotion has expired and the soul is as pure as it was before. Nothing touches it. It is pure by nature and it always remains pure. If ten people in turn look in a mirror, the mirror shows everyone his face reflected in it and it is clear enough to take every other reflection. In the end the mirror is as clear as before; no face that has ever been reflected in it has left an impression on it.

There are nine different emotions which the soul experiences through the heart, and these are influenced by corresponding elements, thus:

Emotions	Elements
Humor	Air
Joy	Ether
Sorrow	Earth
Fear	Ether and Air
Pity	Water
Courage	Fire and Air
Indifference	Ether, Fire, and Earth
Passion	Fire
Anger	Fire and Air

The source of our emotions is our breath, whose impurity brings confusion, and whose purity produces radiance. As the breath changes from one to the other element it produces in us an inclination towards a certain emotion; but according to the power of our will we control or give in to its unruly expression.

Every emotion has its color and its flavor. One emotion develops into the other, since the proportion of activity of mind, in its increase and decrease, produces emotions. No emotion is undesirable so long as it is under the power of the will, but when uncontrolled even the least effect of it is a sin.

• Fear has the influence of the earth element;
• affection has the effect of the water element;
• anger has the effect of the fire element;
• humor has the effect of the air element; and
• sadness has the effect of the ether element.

The nature of the elements is like colors; light in the color makes it pale and darkness in the color makes it deep. So is it with the emotions: the light of intelligence makes them faded, and the lack of intelligence makes them deeply felt.

• With light, the influence of the earth element produces caution;
• the influence of water with light produces benevolence;
• the fire element with light produces ardor;
• the influence of air with light produces joy; and ether with light produces peace.

If you give in to an emotion, even only once in a while, remember that the other emotions, to which you may never wish to give in, will also overpower you; because it is one energy which assumes, by the influence of different elements, the garb of different emotions. In fact it is one emotion. By controlling ourselves we control all things in the world.

Man's ideal shows the height of his heart;
Man's understanding shows the depth of his heart;
Man's perception shows the length of his heart;
Man's sympathy shows the breadth of his heart;
But the fourth dimension of man's heart is seen by all that it contains within itself.

Looking at Life from the Heart

There are people who look at life with their brain, or their head as they call it, and there are others who look at life with their heart. And between these two points of view there is a vast difference; so much difference that something that one sees on the earth the other sees in heaven, something that one sees as small the other sees as great, something that one sees as limited the other sees as unlimited. These two types of people become opposite poles. No one will admit that he looks at things with his head; everyone will say that he looks at life with his heart. But if one only knew what it is to look at life from the heart! The most evolved person in the world will only go as far as to say, 'I have not yet learned to look at life from the heart; I would like to know how to do it, I would like to learn it.'

One might say that emotional and devotional people are flying in the clouds, and that the others who act with reason and logic are standing on the earth. This is true; but in the first place angels ride on clouds, and if the soul has an angelic quality the clouds are its sphere, not the earth. One may ask where then is the place for practicality in life; but what is practicality, as one calls it, and all that one is so careful about? And how long does it last, what is it worth? No doubt it is true that man is born on earth to bear the weight of his physical body and its needs, a roof over his head, and a piece of bread to sustain him. But if man believes that this is all there is to think about, he is making a great mistake, devoting all his life to what he calls practicality, practical life, and never thinking of the heavenly treasure that is hidden in the heart of man.

Heart Like Water

The heart of man is like water. Either it is frozen and then it is snow or ice; or it is water and then it is liquid. When it is frozen it has turned into a crystal; when it is liquid it is in a condition to flow, and it is natural for water to be running. Then there are two principal kinds of water, salt water and sweet water.

Heart Like the Sea

The sea, which is quite contented with itself, indifferent to all, has salt water because it is independent of all else. It gives health, happiness, and pleasure to those who are near it, because it asks nothing from anyone. It rises and falls within itself, it is independent, it is immense; and in that way it shows perfection. But with that independent perfection its water is not sweet. The ascetic who has closed his heart with the perfection of God and with the realization of truth, is like the sea: independent, indifferent to all things. His presence heals people, his contact gives them joy and peace, and yet his personality is uninteresting to others, as is the salt water of the sea.

When the sea is calm it is a pleasure to travel on it, and when the sea is rough there is no worse illness than sea-sickness. And it is through its tranquility and calmness and peace that the powerful mind, the mind of a soul which has touched perfection, opens itself to everyone, as the sea lays itself before those who journey on it with open heart. Ships and boats pass over it; those who journey enjoy traveling on the sea. But when the sea is disturbed by wind and storm it is also perfect in its annoyance, it can shake the boats and steamers; and in the same way the mind of the sage can have an effect upon all things in nature: it can cause volcanic eruptions, it can cause disasters, revolutions, all manner of things, when once its tranquility is disturbed. Aware of this quality of the heart and knowing the great powers possessed by a man who has touched divine perfection, people in the East give careful regard to the pleasure or displeasure of the sage. They believe that to annoy a sage is like annoying the whole of nature, to disturb his tranquility means to shake the whole universe. Compared with this a storm on the sea is a very small thing; the heart that has touched perfection, if once upset, can upset the whole universe.

Heart Like the River

The water of the river is sweet. It is sweet because it is attracted to the sea, it is longing to reach the sea. The river represents the loving quality, a quality that is seeking for the object it loves. A heart that loves God and His perfection may be likened to the river that seeks the sea; that is why the personality of the seeker is more pleasant than the personality of the one who is contented with what he knows.

There is little danger in traveling on the river, there is great joy in swimming in the river, and along its banks there is fine scenery to look at. And so it is with the personality which is like the river; that continual flowing of the feeling of sympathy means that the sympathy is living. As the river helps the trees and plants and the earth along it, so it is with the kind, sympathetic person whose feeling is liquid; everywhere he goes he takes with him that influence which nourishes, which helps souls to flourish and to progress.

Heart Like a Stream

And then one sometimes finds a little stream; it is not a river, it is only a small running stream; but it is even more beautiful to look at. It expresses modesty, fineness of character, beauty; for its water is pure. The little stream expresses the nature of an innocent heart, the heart that cannot be prevented from being sympathetic and loving by any experiences of the world which make water turn bitter. Bitter experiences have not touched it, and it remains pure and clear. It inspires poets, it uplifts the composer, it quenches the thirst of the thirsty, it is an ideal subject for the painter to paint. With its modesty it has purity, and with its purity it has life.

Heart Like a Pool

There is also the water of the small pool. It is sometimes muddy, sometimes dirty because of its narrowness, its smallness. In the same way the narrow heart always has mud in it. Because it is narrow and because it is not deep enough, all the elements of the earth enter it and take away its purity.

Again, there is the water of the large pool, where water-lilies grow, where fish swim, where the sun is reflected and where the moonlight produces a beautiful vision, where one would like to sit and look at it, because it expresses to everyone that can see it the liquid nature of the heart, the heart that is not frozen, the heart that is like water. It is still, it is calm. Sitting by its side can make one's heart tranquil and because of its stillness one can see one's reflection in it.

Heart Like a Spring

Spring water is most healing and most inspiring, because it comes from above and runs downhill. That is the character of the inspired mind. The heart that like a spring pours out water in the form of inspiration, in poetry or music, or some other form, has beauty, has a healing quality. It can take away all the worries and anxieties and difficulties and troubles of those who come to it, like the water of the spring; it not only inspires but it heals.

There is also the fountain which rises and falls in so many drops. This is man-made, in the same way that personality also is man-made. When man has made a personality of himself, then the feeling that rises from the heart through that personality is like a fountain. Each drop falling from it takes the form of a virtue.

Heart Like Water Vapor

Then the water that rises from the sea towards the sky in the form of vapor represents the aspiration of the heart. The heart that aspires upward, that wishes to reach upward, that heart shows the quality of vapor. It is the heart of the devotee, of the one who is always conscious of seeking the higher ideal, touching the higher principles. That heart of inspiration forms itself as clouds, and pours down just like the rain, bringing celestial beauty in the form of art or poetry or music, or of anything that is good and beautiful.

Heart Like Fire

There are hearts which have been exposed to fire for a long, long time, and there comes a sulphury water from them, purifying and healing; for it has gone through fire, it has gone through suffering, and therefore it heals those who suffer.

Many Kinds of Hearts

There are hearts with many different qualities, like water with different chemical substances: those who have suffered, those to whom life has taught patience, those who have contemplated. They all represent one or other kind of the water that heals, and so do their personalities. People who have had deep experiences of any kind, of suffering, of agony, of love, of hate, of solitude, of association, of success, of failure, all have a particular quality, a quality which has a special use for others. And when a person realizes this, he will come to the conclusion that whatever has been his life's destiny, his heart has prepared a chemical substance through sorrow and pain, through joy or through pleasure, a chemical substance that is intended for a certain purpose, for the use of humanity, and that he can only give it out if he can keep his heart awakened and open. Once it is closed, once it is frozen, man is no longer living. It does not matter what he has gone through, for even the worst poison can be of some use. There is no person, however wicked, who is of no use, if only he realizes that the first condition for being useful to humanity is to keep his heart open.

As to spiritual attainment, it is something that we can never absorb through the head; it can only be received through the heart. Let two persons, one with his heart and the other with his head, listen to the teachings of a teacher. The latter will be thinking, 'Is it so or is it not so?' or, 'How is it, if it is so? How can it be; and if it is, why is it?' And there is never an end to the 'why'. But another person will listen with his heart; and while both logic and reason are at his disposal they are not troubling him. His heart is open, he listens to it; and the quality of the heart is such that whatever falls upon an open heart becomes instantly revealed. When one says, 'I cannot understand you', it is just like saying, 'I have my heart closed to you'; there is no other reason for not understanding another person. But when one can say that one has understood it all, it means one's heart was open; that is the reason why one has understood it.

Thus understanding does not depend upon the head; it depends upon the heart. By the help of the head one can make it more clear, it becomes intelligible and one can express it better. But to begin with it must come from the heart, not from the head. Besides a person who only uses his head says, 'It must be so because I think it is so', whereas the person who has the heart quality says, 'It is so because I believe it to be so'. That is the difference. In one person there is a doubt, in the other there is conviction.

There is in Arabic a word which is very difficult to translate: Iman. It is not exactly faith or belief; the nearest word one can find for it is 'conviction', a conviction that cannot be changed by anything, a conviction that does not come from outside. One always seeks for conviction, but nothing convinces and nobody convinces; conviction is something that comes from one's own heart, and it stands above faith and belief; for belief is the beginning of that same thing of which faith is the development and conviction the culmination.

Spiritual attainment is nothing but conviction. A man may think, 'Perhaps it is so'. He may think about the best doctrines or about the highest ideas that there are, but he will still think, 'It is so, perhaps'. There is always 'perhaps' attached to it. But then there is another person who cannot use the word 'perhaps' because he does not think about it. He cannot say, 'It may be so', when he knows that it is so. When a person arrives at the stage when the knowledge of reality becomes a conviction, then there is nothing in the world that will change it. And if there is anything to attain to, it is that conviction which one can never find in the outside world; it must rise from the depths of one's own heart.

There are two important centers in the body, which are developed by the practices which are given to the initiates: the heart and head. The head is for perception and conception, the heart is for expression. It is not true when people say, that person has a powerful head. A person can have a brilliant head. Often thought power directed by the eyes makes one think that there is the power at the back of the eyes in the head. In reality it is the power of the breath and balance of sight which gives the sensation of power, although this power is nothing in comparison to the power of heart.

It is the power of heart which works through word or action. When the heart-power is less, man, however intelligent, proves to be weak. Even the influence of the presence comes from the heart-center. When the heart center is void of power a person with all his intellectual knowledge and learning shows no influence. When the power of heart is increased life becomes a phenomenon. There is nothing in the world which one with powerful heart cannot accomplish; only, before one develops any power, the ground must be prepared with moral culture, which constitutes three principles: harmony, usefulness, and harmlessness.

The heart of man is like a globe over the light of the soul. When the globe is dusty, naturally the light is dim; when it is cleaned, the light increases. In fact the light is always the same; it is the fault of the globe when it is not clear. When this radiance shines out, it shows itself not only through the countenance and expression of a man, but even in the man's atmosphere. The soul-power, so to speak, freely projects outward, and the surroundings feel it. The radiance of the soul is not only a power, but it is an inspiration too. A man understands better; there is less confusion; and if he is absorbed in the contemplation of something, be it art, science, music, poetry or philosophy, he can get inspirations clearly, and the secret of life and nature is revealed to him.

Love is the best means of making the heart capable of reflecting the soul-power - love in the sense of pain rather than as pleasure. Every blow, it seems, opens a door in the heart whence the soul-power comes forth. The concrete manifestations of the soul-power can be witnessed in the depth of the voice, in the choice of words, in the form of a sentence or a phrase, in every movement, pose, gesture, and especially in the expression of the man; even the atmosphere speaks, though it is difficult for everyone to hear it.

The heart may be likened to soil. Soil may be fertile or a barren desert, but the soil which is fertile is that which bears fruit. It is that which is chosen by living beings to dwell in, although many are lost in the soil of the desert, and lead in it a life of grief and loneliness. Man has both in him, for he is the final manifestation. He may let his heart be a desert, where everyone abides hungry and thirsty, or he may make it a fertile and fruitful land, where food is provided for hungry souls, the children of the earth, strong or weak, rich or poor, who always hunger for love and sympathy.

The third aspect of magnetism is the magnetism of heart. It is more powerful than the magnetism of mind, for the latter touches the surface whereas the magnetism of heart touches the depths of a person. The heart can be best described as a glowing fire if it is living, but when it is dead it is like frozen snow. Magnetism of heart needs no expression, for a person with a loving heart is indubitably magnetic. Therefore no one should profess to love, for love speaks for itself; it needs no words. The fire does not cry out, "I am burning!" The heat of the glow is felt without words.

The greatest and most important center in the human body is the heart, which in medical terms may be perhaps called the solar plexus. The expression of love is often made by pressing one's hand on the breast; and in the same way one expresses sorrow and joy. This shows that every kind of feeling first strikes and is felt in the heart. It is the accepted theory of the scientists of all ages that the heart was first made and around the heart was formed the body.

So it is with fruit and flowers. There is a heart in each of them and after the heart is formed, the body is formed. The heart being the origin, it has its influence on the whole body. By the practice of Zikr and Fikr this center is wakened. For there are two things which wake it -- one is to wake it by vibration, the other thing is the touch of Prana into its depths, which is done by breathing, which gives it a life. By this it becomes sensitive, and the senses become keen.

One begins to realize then the meaning of the heart being like a mirror. It is the sensitiveness of the heart which gives it the mirror-like quality. When it is not wakened it is like a closed book. This mirror is two-sided, its two sides facing opposite ways; one facing within, the other without; and the secret of working with it is to close it from one side in order to make it take the reflection from the other. Once the heart is cleared from all its dust it becomes an instrument of the living wireless telegraphy, to receive the message from within or without.

Heart
 
The heart has its head on its own palm,
The face of the heart is veiled;
The heart's hands are bound with iron chains,
The feet of the heart are nailed.
The eyes of the heart are never dry,
The heart speaks only through tears.
The ears of the heart are so keen
That the voice from a distance it hears.
The voice of the heart is silent,
Yet far-reaching is heart's cry.
The heart has no question nor answer,
The heart is expressed in a sigh.
The ways of the heart are mysterious,
The heart has the mind of a child.
The heart's breath is full of tenderness,
The heart's expression is mild.
The ideal alone is heart's deity,
A constant yearning its life.
The heart's not concerned with life or death,
The heart stands firm through all strife.
Beauty is heart's only object, Its inspirer, its all.
The heart is all power that there is,
The angels attend its call.
The heart is itself its own medicine,
The heart all its own wounds heals.
And none can ever imagine
The pain that the loving heart feels.
The path of the heart is thorny,
But leads in the end to bliss.
Hope is the staff the heart holds in hand,
And the goal heart shall not miss.

When one asks, "What is the heart? Where is the heart?" the answer usually is that the heart is in the breast. This is true; there is a nerve center in the breast of man which is so sensitive to our feelings that it is always regarded as the heart. When a person feels a great joy it is in that center that he feels something lighting up, and through the lighting up of that center his whole being seems light. He feels as if he were flying. And again, if depression or despair has come into his life this has an effect upon that center. A man feels his throat choked and his breath is laden as with a heavy load.

But the heart is not only that. To understand this one should picture a mirror standing before the heart, focused upon the heart, so that every thing and every feeling is reflected in this mirror which is in the physical being of man. Just as man is ignorant of his soul, so he does not know where his heart is nor where the center is where his feelings are reflected.

It is a fact known to scientists, that when a child is formed it begins from the heart, but a mystic's conception is that the heart, which is the beginning of form, is also the beginning of the spirit which makes man an individual. The depth of that spirit is in reality what we call the heart. Through this we understand that there is such a thing as a heart which is the deepest depth of man's being.

What do I mean by the heart? Is it the nervous center in the midst of the breast, the small piece of flesh that doctors call the heart? No, the definition of the heart is that it is the depth of the mind, the mind being the surface of the heart. That in us which feels is the heart, that which thinks is the mind. It is the same thing which thinks and feels, but the direction is different: feeling comes from the depth, thought from the surface. When thought is not linked with feeling it is just like a plant rising up from the earth, the root of which has not gone deep. A thought without feeling is a powerless thought; it is just like a plant without a deep root. A tree the root of which has gone deep into the earth is stronger, more reliable, and so the thought deeply rooted in the heart has greater power. The heart therefore is the factor through which spirits and spirituality are to be attained.

In man's being three aspects can be distinguished: body, heart and soul. The heart is a globe over the soul and the body a cover over the heart. One might ask: Is the soul so small as to be covered by the heart and is the heart so small as to be covered by the body? It is not so. The soul is within and without. For instance, a light is covered by a globe and the globe by another cover-and yet, is the light covered? It shines out just the same. The light is not under the cover; it seems to be under the cover, but it shines out. Such is the soul. The globe does not shine out, but the light takes the color of the globe. It is the soul that is larger; at the same time the light is within the globe and the soul within the body. It is exactly like the light within the globe and the globe within the cover. The light is outside the cover, and the power of the globe shines outside the cover. So the power of the heart is greater than the power of the body, and the power of the soul is greater still. As long as one is ignorant of this, one does not realize truth.

Many know and some say that the eyes can tell everything that is in the heart of man, but fewer there are who know the cause behind it. The eyes are like the thermometer of the center in the head, which is focussed to the center of the heart. Every impression that the heart bears, beautiful or ugly, is mirrored upon the center of the head, and so it is reflected accordingly in man's visage, specially in his eyes, which express the most.

When we had kerosene lamps we used to have a kind of chimney, and behind, a reflector that would reflect the light outside. This piece of heart which is on the left side is the reflector of the solar plexus.

Therefore in the physical body this place feels, and what does this place feel? Every feeling -- anger, passion, wonder, laughter, grief -- all these things are felt here. But in the solar plexus they are felt more profoundly; the left side only reflects and makes it more physical, because people by great worry and anxiety begin to feel in their heart something wrong. And very often many diseases follow it. When the heart is affected then every disease follows. And there is a cure for everything except for the affected heart. When the heart is once affected, it is very difficult to cure it.

But the real light is in the center of the breast, not on the side; the side is only the reflector. The real heart is in the center. The piece of flesh which we call heart, we call it heart because, when a person is not sensitive to the center heart, then he is only sensitive to the piece of flesh. Really speaking, the heart is in the middle.

Love alone illuminates the heart. The heart is in the center of the being. When it is illumined the whole being becomes light; when it is dark the whole being is in darkness. The soul has its light, because the soul is light, but it cannot give its light to the external being if the heart that is between them is darkened, nor can the body give its experiences to the soul.

I have given this [word mind] as a title in order to make my idea intelligible, but when explaining the subject, instead of using the word mind, I shall use the word spirit. The word mind comes from a Sanskrit root which means mind and also man. In this way the name itself explains that man is his mind. Since the word mind is not understood in the same way by all those who use it in their everyday language, I think it best to use the word spirit instead.

The spirit can be defined as consisting of five different aspects: mind, memory, reason, feeling and ego, and each of these five aspects is of two kinds.

1. The mind is creative of thought and of imagination. Out of the work of the mind, directed by the will, comes thought, and out of the automatic working of the mind comes imagination. So the thoughtful person is different from the imaginative. Thought is concrete because it is constructed, it is made by will power. The thoughtful person therefore is dependable and more balanced, because he stands on his own feet. The imaginative person, on the contrary, floats in the air; he rises and falls with his imaginations. He may touch the heights of heaven, and he may fall deep down on to the bottom of the earth; he may float to the north, the south, the east or the west. However, both thought and imagination have their proper places.

   The automatic working of the mind which produces imagination has its power, inspiration and beauty peculiar to itself. Poets, musicians, painters, sculptors create out of their imagination, and they reach further than the ordinary man. This only shows that the power of the automatic working of the mind is very great, although there is always a danger of being unbalanced. So often one sees a great genius, a composer, a poet, a great artist with a wonderful skill, and yet unbalanced, because the imagination makes the spirit float in space. The one who by floating takes the risk of falling, also has the chance of rising further than anybody else. To a practical and thoughtful man of common sense an artist or a composer, seems to be very unpractical, sometimes he seems to be very ignorant and childish. And looking at them from this point of view he is right, for however large a balloon may be, it is a balloon, it stays in the air. It is not a wagon one can rely upon to stay safely where one has put it. A balloon will fly, one does not know where it will take one. Nevertheless, the wagon remains on the earth, it never touches space; it does not belong in the air. Being a wagon, it misses the joy of rising upwards.

   Thought has its place; it is solid, it is concrete, it is distinct. A thoughtful man seldom goes astray, for he has rhythm, he has balance. Maybe he cannot fly, but he walks and you can depend upon him.

   Now as to the spiritual aspect in connection with thought and imagination, there are two kinds of seekers after spiritual truth: the thoughtful and the imaginative. The imaginative at once jumps into religion; he does not walk, he jumps into it. He revels in superstitions, he cherishes dogmas and beliefs, he interests himself in amusing and bewildering stories and legends connected with religion, he maintains beliefs that are impressed upon him. And yet, with all faults and weaknesses, the imaginative person is the one who is ever able to make a conception of God and of the hereafter. The one who has no imagination is not able to reach the zenith of the spiritual and religious ideal. Often an intellectual or materialistic person without imagination stands on the earth like an animal compared with a bird: when the bird flies up the animal looks at it and wishes to fly, but it cannot, it has no wings. The imagination therefore is as two wings attached to the heart in order to enable it to soar upwards.

   The thoughtful seeker after the spiritual ideal has his importance too, because he is not led by superficial beliefs and dogmas. One cannot fool him, he is thoughtful and every step he takes may be slow, but it is sure. He may not reach the spiritual ideal as quickly as the imaginative, but if he wishes to reach it he will arrive there, slowly and surely.

2. The second aspect of the spirit is memory, which again has two sides. There are certain things we need not look for; they are always clear in our memory, such as figures, and the names and faces of those we know. We just have to stretch out our hand and touch them; we can recall them at any moment we wish, they are always living in our memory. But then there is a second side to the memory which is called by some the subconscious mind. In reality this is the depth of the memory. In this part of the memory a photograph is made of everything we have seen or known or heard, even just once in a flash. This photograph remains located there, and some time or other, maybe with difficulty, we can find it.

   Apart from these two sides of our memory there is still a deeper sphere to which it is joined. That sphere is the universal memory, in other words the divine Mind, where we do not only recollect what we have seen, or heard, or known, but where we can even touch something that we have never learned, or heard, or known, or seen. All that can be found there also; only for that the doors of our memory should be laid open.

3. The third aspect of the spirit is reason, of which there are two kinds. One kind is affirmation, and the other is both affirmative and negative. Affirmative reason is the one we all know. When a person is bankrupt we have reason to think that he has no money for the very fact that he is bankrupt. When a person shows his bad side we know that he is wicked, because people call him bad. Every apparent reason makes us reach conclusions that things and conditions are so and so. This is one kind of reason.

   The other kind is the inner reason which both contradicts and affirms at the same time. This means that, if a person has become poor, we say, "Yes, he has become poor - and rich." If a person has failed we say, "Yes, he has both failed - and gained." Here is a higher reason which one touches. The higher reason weighs two things at the same time. One says, "This is living", and at the same time one says, "This is dead", or one says, "This is dead and at the same time living." Everything one sees gives a reason to deny its existence and at the same time to affirm its opposite - even to such an extent that when one has a reason to say, "This is dark", by that higher reason one may say that it is light.

   When one arrives at this higher reason one begins to unlearn - as it is called by the mystics - all that one has once learned to recognize as such and such, or as so and so. One unlearns and one begins to see quite the opposite. In other words, there is no good which has not a bad side to it, and nothing bad which has not a good side to it. There is no one who rises without a fall, and no one who falls without the promise of a rise. One sees death in birth, and birth in death. It sounds very strange and it is a peculiar idea, but all the same it is a stage. When one climbs above what is called reason one reaches that reason which is at the same time contradictory. This explains the attitude of Christ. When a criminal was taken to him he had no other attitude towards him than that of the forgiver; he saw no evil there. That is looking from a higher reason.

4. Feeling is the fourth aspect of the spirit. Feeling is different from thought and imagination; it has its own vibrations and its own sphere. Thought and imagination are on the surface, feeling is at the depth of the spirit. Feeling also has two sides: one is likened to the glow, and the other to the flame. Whether one loves or whether one suffers, there is intense feeling, a feeling which cannot be compared with the experience of thought and imagination. A feeling person has a different consciousness, he lives in a different sphere. A person who is feeling has a different world of his own. He may move among the crowds and live in the midst of the world, and yet he does not belong to the world. The moment feeling is awakened in man, his consciousness becomes different. He is raised up, he touches the depth, he penetrates the horizon, and he removes what stands between man and the deeper side of life.

   Is there anyone in this world who will own that he has no feeling? And yet there are hearts of rock and of iron, of earth and of diamond, of silver and of gold, of wax and of paper. As many objects as there are in this world, so many kinds of hearts there are; one heart is not like the other. There are some objects that hold fire longer, there are others which burn instantly. There are objects which will become warm and cold in a moment; others, as soon as the fire touches them, will melt, and others again one can mold and turn into ornaments. So is the heart-quality. Different people have different qualities of heart, and by the knower of hearts each is treated differently. But since we do not think about this aspect of feeling, we take every man to be the same. Although every note is a sound, all notes are not the same, they differ in pitch, in vibrations; so every man differs in pitch, in the vibrations of his heart. According to the vibrations of his heart he is either spiritual or material, noble or common. It is not because of what he does, nor because of what he possesses in this world - he is small or great according to how his heart vibrates.

   All my life I have had a great respect for those who have toiled in the world, who have striven all through life, and reached a certain greatness, even in a worldly sense, and I always have considered it a most sacred thing to touch their presence. This being my great interest, I began to make a pilgrimage to great people in the East, and among these wonderful visits to writers, sages, philosophers, and saints I came in contact with a great wrestler, a giant man. Since I had this admiration for great toil, I thought that I should go and see this man too. And would you believe it: this in appearance giant-like man, with that monstrous muscular body, had such a sympathetic outgoing nature, such simplicity and gentleness connected with it, that I was surprised and thought, "It is not his giant-like look that has made him great. What has made him great is that which has melted him and made him lenient."

   Feeling is vibration. The heart which is a vehicle, an instrument of feeling, creates a phenomenon, if one only watches life keenly. If one causes anyone pain, that pain returns; if one causes anyone pleasure, that pleasure returns. If you give love to someone, loves comes back, and if you give hatred, that hatred comes back to you in some form or other. Maybe in the form of pain, illness, health, success, joy, or happiness - in some form or other it comes back, it never fails. Generally one does not think about it, and when a person has got a certain position where he can order people about and where he can speak harshly to them, he never thinks about those things. Every little feeling that rises in a man's heart, and directs his action, word and movement, causes a certain reaction and rebounds; only it sometimes takes time. But do not think that you can ever hate a person - even have the slightest thought of it - and that it does not come back; it surely comes back some time. Besides, if you have sympathy, love, affection, a kind feeling for a person, even without telling him so, it returns in some form or other.

5. The fifth aspect of the spirit is the ego, and again there are two sides to the ego: the false and the real. They are just like the two ends of one line. If we look at the line in the center, it is one line; if we look at the line on the ends, it is two ends. So the ego has its two sides: the first is the one we know, and the next the one we must discover. The side we know is the false ego which makes us say "I." What is it in us that we call "I"? We say, "This is my body, my mind, these are my thoughts, my feelings, my impressions, this is my position in life." We identify our self with all that concerns us and the sum-total of all these we call "I." In the light of truth this conception is false, it is a false identity. If the hand is broken off, or a finger is separated from this body, we do not call the separate part "I", but as long as it is connected with the body we call it so. This shows that all that the false ego imagines to be its own self is not really its self.

   Besides, it must be remembered that all that is composed, all that is constructed, all that is made, all that is born, all that has grown, will be decomposed and destroyed, will die and will vanish. If we identify our ego with all these things which are subject to destruction, death and decomposition, we make a conception of mortality, and we identify our soul which is immortal, we identify our self, with all that is mortal. Therefore that is the false ego.

Now coming to the most important truth about spiritual attainment: those who are thoughtful and wise, those who go into the spiritual path, do not take this path in order to perform wonders or to know curious things, to perform miracles or other wonderful things. That is not their motive; their motive is to rise above the false ego and to discover the real. That is the principal motive of spiritual attainment; for no one will consider it wise to be under a false impression, to be under the impression that "I exist", when one has nothing to depend upon in one's existence. Therefore striving in the spiritual path is breaking away from the false conception that we have made of ourselves, coming out of it, it is realizing our true being and becoming conscious of it. No sooner do we become conscious of our true being and break the fetters of the false ego, than we enter into a sphere where our soul begins to realize a much greater expansion of its own being. It finds great inspiration and power, and the knowledge, happiness and peace which are latent in the spirit.

I have loved in life and I have been loved.
I have drunk the bowl of poison from the hands of love as nectar,
and have been raised above life's joy and sorrow.
My heart, aflame in love, set afire every heart that came in touch with it.
My heart has been rent and joined again;
My heart has been broken and again made whole;
My heart has been wounded and healed again;
A thousand deaths my heart has died, and thanks be to love, it lives yet.
I went through hell and saw there love's raging fire,
and I entered heaven illumined with the light of love.
I wept in love and made all weep with me;
I mourned in love and pierced the hearts of men;
And when my fiery glance fell on the rocks, the rocks burst forth as volcanoes.
The whole world sank in the flood caused by my one tear;
With my deep sigh the earth trembled,
and when I cried aloud the name of my beloved, I shook the throne of God in heaven.
I bowed my head low in humility, and on my knees I begged of love,
"Disclose to me, I pray thee, O love, thy secret."
She took me gently by my arms and lifted me above the earth,
and spoke softly in my ear,
"My dear one, thou thyself art love, art lover,
and thyself art the beloved whom thou hast adored."

The harmony of life can be learned in the same way as the harmony of music. The ear should be trained to distinguish both tone and word, the meaning concealed within, and to know from the verbal meaning and the tone of the voice whether it is a true word or a false note; to distinguish between sarcasm and sincerity, between words spoken in jest, and those spoken in earnest; to understand the difference between true admiration and flattery; to distinguish modesty from humility, a smile from a sneer, and arrogance from pride, either directly or indirectly expressed. By so doing the ear becomes gradually trained in the same way as in music, and a person knows exactly whether his own tone and word, as well as those of another, are false or true.

Man should learn in what tone to express a certain thought or feeling as in voice cultivation. There are times when he should speak loudly, and there are times when a soft tone of voice is needed; for every word a certain note, and for every speech a certain pitch is necessary. At the same time there should be a proper use of a natural sharp or flat note, as well as a consideration of key.

There are nine different aspects of feeling, each of which has a certain mode of expression:

• mirth - in a lively tone
• grief - in a pathetic tone
• fear - in a broken voice
• mercy - in a tender voice
• wonder - in an exclamatory tone
• courage - in an emphatic tone
• frivolity - in a light tone
• attachment - in a deep tone
• indifference - in the voice of silence.

An untrained person confuses these.

• He whispers the words which should be known, and
• speaks out loudly those which should be hidden.
• A certain subject must be spoken in a high pitch, while
• another requires a lower pitch.

One should consider the place, the space, the number of persons present, the kind of people and their evolution, and speak in accordance with the understanding of others, as it is said: "Speak to people in their own language."

• With a child one must have childish talk,
• with the young only suitable words should be spoken,
• with the old one should speak in accordance with their understanding.

In the same way there should be a graduated expression of our thought, so that everybody may not be driven with the same whip. It is consideration for others which distinguishes man from the animals.

The heart is as a root of the body, which is its plant. It is the heart which is formed first in the womb of the mother, and all other organs of the body are formed afterwards. Therefore, the condition of the whole body depends upon the condition of the heart. Every man's natural pitch of voice begins from the heart, and when it is not so the person is mentally or physically abnormal.

The exercise of Zikr sets the heart to rhythm, which regulates the working of the whole system, its psychic power in this way regulating the higher planes of existence.

Certainly, the heart of flesh is not the heart which is the depth of man's being. But the heart of flesh, being directly in focus to the inner, or real heart, reflects in its turn that which happens to be in the inner heart. It is therefore that this piece of flesh is called "heart," it being the only factor which represents the heart within.