Hazrat Inayat Khan
Vol. 10, The Problem of the Day
1. The Problem of the Day (1)
The hustle and bustle of life leaves a man very little time to think of his general condition. The only news he receives is from the newspapers, and so he depends upon the papers for his ideas; and the intoxication of life leaves him very little time to think about the real meaning of life. When he looks around him and considers the condition of the nations today, he finds that in spite of all the progress there is an increase in ill-feeling between them. Friendship exists only for self-interest. A nation only thinks about its own interest whether it has to deal with friend or enemy; and if he considers the world as a body, he can say that poison has been put into its heart, owing to the hatred which people feel towards one another.
No period like this can be traced in the history of the world; this age has accomplished a much greater destruction than ever before. It reminds one of a spider, which weaves its web for its own comfort but cannot get out of the web it has made for itself. And if one goes to the root of this subject one sees that all this disorder has been caused by the spirit of materialism. Money seems to be the only gain and the only aim. It is undeniable that when one is continually thinking of such a subject all one's thoughts and energy will go in that direction, and perhaps in the end man awakens and finds that all his life he has given his thoughts to something which does not last, which does not even exist, and which is only an illusion.
No doubt this pessimism is the bridge from one optimism to another, and it may be said to be disinterestedness, or Vairagya, as it is called in Vedanta terms. It is not the man who leaves the world who is great, but the one who lives in the world, understanding the difficulties and troubles that belong to humanity. It is he who sees not his little self, but the whole. Jesus Christ taught us to think of our fellow-men, to love our fellow-men. And what do we see today? Difficulties arising between masters and workmen; peace conferences where nothing can be decided concerning peace. And all this because the point of view is not there which makes people say, "I will do something for you and you will do something for me." "No," says everyone, "I will look after myself and you will look after yourself." To serve one another, to love one another, to work for one another, should be the aim of life, but man has lost hold of it altogether.
Look at the central theme of the education of today. Only a short time is given to the child to prepare him for the kingliness of life and the freedom of the spirit. And when the child's intellect grows, every year more and more it sees life before it like an ocean which it has to cross, like something dark awaiting it. And later when the child has become a man, he gives all his time to his work, to his office, and there is no time even for love or friendship; yet at the end he cannot take all these things with him. After sacrificing all his life to these things, what has he really gained? Through his external life in the world the complications of life have only increased.
In spite of all the progress of modern civilization that has been made in all departments of life, such as commerce, industry, politics, and economics, the question still remains whether we have really progressed. If one observes the superficiality of the life which man lives today in the so-called civilized parts of the world, one will certainly find that he is far removed from nature both within and without, and he has become an exile from the ideal state of life. The more laws that are made, the more crimes are committed; the more mechanisms that are prepared, the more work increases, and yet little is being done; the more lawsuits that are brought in court, the more cases occur; the more physicians, the more diseases. Cupidity has come to the fore so that whether one has an aristocratic or a democratic system, justice seems to be absent.
Also, in spite of the regard for the rights of women which have been established in this age, woman's responsibility in life has much increased. She has to fight her battle in the open field, which naturally exhausts her energy and courage, causing her to lose her inherently free nature as she has constantly to rub against the rough edges of life. The prejudice, hatred, and distrust that exist between nations whether friends or foes, every nation being absorbed in its own interest regardless of the people in general, have reflected on the mentality of individuals and have made life difficult for both rich and poor. Everywhere one turns one sees material strife; every ideal, every principle has to be sacrificed for it. And yet no man can be deprived of his human inheritance. There is a treasure in himself which has to be found. Religion should have helped man, but the religious authorities have very often failed to uphold the inner qualities of their religion. The question is not what religion one follows, but how to live one's religion. When religion has lost its hold on inner life and faith, there is nothing left. Many people, especially among the intellectuals, have lost their religion, and among the younger ones there are a good many who even dread the name of God.
What is needed today is an education which will teach humanity to feel the essence of their religion in everyday life. Man is not put on this earth to be an angel. He need not be praying in church all day long, nor go into the wilderness. He needs only to understand life better. He must learn to set apart a certain time in the day to think about his own life and doings. He must ask himself, "Have I done an honest deed today? Have I proved myself worthy in that place, in that capacity?" In this way he can make his everyday life a prayer. Among politicians, doctors, lawyers, merchants it might be possible to have love as the battery behind every deed, every action, together with a sense of harmony behind all these activities.
We need today the religion of tolerance. In daily life we cannot all meet on the same ground, being so different, having such different capacities, states of evolution, and tasks. So if we had no tolerance, no desire to forgive, we could never bring harmony into our soul; for to live in the world is not easy and every moment of the day demands a victory. If there is anything to learn it is this tolerance, and by teaching this simple religion of tolerance to one another we are helping the world. It is no use to hold on to the idea that the world is going from bad to worse, that the germs of disease will spread and bring greater calamities. Every man's being is good; in the depths of his heart there is something definitely good.
There are teachings about healing, but the best way is the way of character healing, healing one's own character; in this way instead of accomplishing miracles, one's whole life can become a miracle. The lack of religion today has created strange beliefs about communicating with ghosts or fairies, and things one does not and cannot understand; but all this has very little to do with religion. The Bible is full of simple things and one would be happy if one could accomplish one of them. There has been a great demand for knowledge and for occult powers, but with all his intellectuality what has man achieved beyond the destruction of his brother?
The need of the world today is not learning, but how to become considerate towards one another. To try and find out in what way happiness can be brought about, and in this way to realize that peace which is the longing of every soul; and to impart it to others, thereby attaining our life's goal, the sublimity of life.
2. The Problem of the Day (2)
There has been a great upheaval in the world, beginning at the time of the Reformation and culminating in our own times. It seems that there is continual unrest in every direction of life; there seems to be a great turmoil; and in spite of all the progress which has been made during the last years civilization does not seem to have succeeded. The difficulty has been the adjustment of the new idea of democracy to the foundation of aristocracy on which it was based. The outcome of this difficulty is felt now more than ever before; there seems to be confusion and chaos rather than the understanding of how to live life to its best advantage. The reason is that the character of aristocracy and democracy is not generally understood from the point of view of the mystic, and as long as this lack of understanding remains, a thousand democracies or aristocracies would always fail in the end.
When we study nature we find that there is a model of life, a design, for us to follow: the interdependence of the stars and planets and how they are sustained in heaven by each other's magnetism, how the light of the sun functions in the moon and how the light of the sun is reflected by all the different planets, and at the same time how the planets differ in their light and character and how every planet in the universe fulfills the scheme of nature. Call it aristocracy or call it democracy, there is a model of life that nature has produced before our eyes.
To some people the word aristocracy, when not understood, often sounds very unpleasant, but the real aristocracy is not necessarily the picture of its abuse, its degeneration. And what is democracy? Democracy is the fulfillment of aristocracy; in other words democracy means complete aristocracy. But when democracy is sought without aristocracy having been understood, then democracy cannot be fully understood either, for then it is not complete. Man is born in this world ignorant of the kingdom which is within himself, and true aristocracy is the attainment of that kingdom. To recognize that kingdom in another person is aristocracy, and to see the possibility of that kingdom in oneself and to try to fulfil that ideal of life is true democracy. Aristocracy means that one person is king, democracy means that all are kings; but when a person does not know one king, he does not know all kings. What I mean by this is that we should realize that the object of life does not lie in revolting against someone who is more advanced than ourselves, and by this revolt pulling him down to our own level--that is not democracy. Real democracy means recognizing the possibility of advancing just as others have done, trusting in that possibility, and trying to advance to the same level as that of the others.
The problem of the day should be studied by all sections and classes of humanity. It seems that through being absorbed in a more comfortable life, many have neglected their part in all the different aspects of life both at home and outside. There are certain classes who have been unaware of the tasks that life demands at home and in the world; and now the time has come when they meet with difficulties because they find themselves more dependent on the very things which they have neglected in their lives.
They have always shown unwillingness to do certain things which seemed beneath their idea of dignity, and now humanity is being turned upside down; what has happened is that one class is being submerged by the other class and its place is being taken by the other. In this way instead of more comfort chaos is being manifested.
The way out of it would be to imitate some of the ideas of the ancients, for if this is not done, although life will perhaps become settled in a certain way, it will become a hotel life and there will be no more of that joy and happiness and pleasure which is found in home life. The difficulties of modern living will before long bring about a situation where in every district there will be a kind of hotel arrangement, and in that way all individual progress, culture, and joy will be hampered. Man's individual choice will be sacrificed to the mechanism of living.
The method I mentioned which might be followed is a method which was used in ancient times by the Hindus, and even now some part of it exists. Among the different communities of Brahmins, a Brahmin may be in a high position and be very rich, yet he knows how to cook himself. The women in the household, even in the home of the Prime Minister, attend to the kitchen themselves. There is nothing in the home which they do not like to do. In ancient times they were trained to sew, to knit, to weave, and to cook, keeping the house neat, decorating it, cleaning it, painting it, all these things were accomplished by everyone. No one possessed a house at that time who did not know everything about taking care of the house, quite independently of the housekeeper. Perfection of life means perfecting oneself, not only spiritually but in all the different aspects of life. The man who is not capable of attending to all life's needs is certainly ignorant of the true freedom of life.
The more we study the problem of the day, the more we shall realize that it is the strict division of work at the present time that has made people helpless. What is most necessary now is to introduce into education the spirit of providing for oneself all that one needs, and arranging for oneself all that is necessary in one's everyday life. The mechanical life of our times may show progress, yet it is not a complete progress. Imagine a person living from morning till evening in a factory and only making needles! Perhaps he does this for twenty years and what does he know of life? Only how to make a needle. Perhaps the benefit goes to the owner of the factory; but what benefit goes to this man who has been making needles all his life?
The ideal of life and its progress is to become self-sufficient, and the key to the secret of democracy is self-sufficiency. Spiritual perfection is the second step, and the one who has first made himself self-sufficient is entitled in the end to spiritual perfection.
The unrest which one finds throughout the world, the difficulties among the nations, the hatred existing among people, the cry of misery which comes more or less from all sides, the commercial catastrophes, the political problems, all these make one wonder what may be done to find a solution for the general cry of humanity. What happens today is that the different institutions try to extinguish the fires burning here and there, but that can never solve the problem of the world.
The first thing that should be remembered is that all activities of life are connected with each other, and if one does not heed this one finds that while one thing is put in order another thing goes wrong. It is just like a person who is ill and who needs sleep and good diet: if he gets sleep without that diet it will not do him good, nor will a good diet without sleep help him. While trying to straighten out commercial difficulties political problems creep in; while considering the social questions moral difficulties appear. The desire to serve humanity in the work of reconstruction is the duty and responsibility of every sensible soul whatever be his rank or position or qualifications in life; and the first question to be studied is what remedy can be found for all the maladies that manifest on the surface of life today.
There is one principal remedy and that is the changing of the attitude of humanity; it is this alone which can help in all aspects of life. This attitude can be changed by moral, spiritual, and religious advancement, and the work that the Sufi message has to accomplish lies in this particular direction; for it is a method which enables man to have another outlook on life.
The chief thing that the Sufi Movement tries to avoid is sectarianism, which has divided man in all ages of the world's history.
The Sufi message is not opposed to any religion, faith, or belief; it is rather a support to all religions, it is a defence for religions which are attacked by the followers of other religions. At the same time the Sufi Movement provides humanity with that religion which is in reality all religions. The Sufi Movement is not supposed to take the whole of humanity in its arms, yet in the service of the whole of humanity lies the fulfillment of the Sufi message. The Sufi Movement, therefore, does not stand as a barrier between a member and his own religious faith, but as an open door leading to the heart of that faith. A member of the Movement is a bearer of the divine message to the followers of whatever church or sect he may belong to.
The work of the Sufi Movement is not to collect all the rainwater in its own tanks, but to make a way for the stream of the message to flow and to supply water to all the fields of the world. The work of the Sufi message is sowing; reaping we shall leave to humanity to do, for the fields do not belong to our particular Movement; all the fields belong to God. We who are employed to work on this farm of the world must do what we have to do and leave the rest to God. Success we do not trouble about; let those who strive for it seek some other direction. Truth alone is our success, for the only lasting success is truth.
3. World Reconstruction
Especially after a war and the pain that the world has thereby experienced, people begin to think again about the subject of reconstruction. But no doubt every person looks at it according to his own mentality, and in this way the ideas about the reconstruction of the world differ very much.
If we consider the condition of the world as it is today, we see that its financial condition, which is most essential for order and peace, has become so involved that many people of intellect and understanding are helpless before this most difficult problem. No doubt there are those who will tell us that there is no remedy for the betterment of humanity other than the solution of the financial problems; but at the same time it seems that these problems are becoming daily more and more difficult and bringing nations and races and communities towards a greater and greater destruction. Before a solution is reached it will be no wonder if a great deal of damage is done to many nations.
And although, absorbed by their own problems, men do not think enough about these things, nevertheless in the end the world in general will realize the weakness, the feebleness caused by this disorder and by the unbalanced condition of the financial world. Nations and people make profit out of the losses of other nations and people, and even if for the moment they may think that they are benefited, in the end they will realize that we human beings, whether as individuals or as a multitude, all depend upon one another. For instance, if because of one part of one's body another part suffers, it the end there will prove to be an unbalanced state, a lack of health in the physical body; and just as health means that all the organs of the body are in good condition, so the health of the world means that all nations, all people, are in a good condition.
Leaving this financial question and coming to the problem of education, in spite of all the progress that has been made in this field, any thoughtful person will be struck by the amount of work which a little child is given to do considering its age and its strength. It seems that in the enthusiasm for making education richer and richer, a load has been heaped upon the minds of the children. And what happens? It is like a dish which was meant to be cooked for half an hour but is being made ready in five minutes. It will perhaps be burnt, or perhaps it is underdone. The child knows too much for its age; it knows what it does not require, what it does not value, what is a load to it, what is forced upon its mind. And how few of us stop to think of this question, that childhood is a kingliness in itself. It is a gift from above that the child is growing and that during the time of its growth it is unaware of the woes and worries and anxieties of life. These are the only days for experiencing the kingliness of life, the days when the child should play, when it should be near to nature, when it should absorb what nature gradually teaches.
The whole of childhood is devoted to study, study of material knowledge; and as soon as the child has grown into a youth, the burden of life is put on its shoulders, a burden which is becoming heavier and heavier for rich and poor. The result of this is that there is strife between the political parties, that there is disagreement between labor and capital; and this life full of struggle to which the child opens its eyes never leaves it time to be one with nature, to dive deep within itself, or to think beyond this life in the crowd.
When we consider the problem of nations we become still more perplexed. The enmity, hatred, and prejudice which exist between one nation and another, and the antagonism and utter selfishness which are the central theme of the relationships and ties between nations, show that the world is going from bad to worse, and unrest seems to be all-pervading. There seems to be no trust between nations, no sympathy, except for their own interest. And what is the outcome of it? Its impression falls as a reflection, as a shadow upon individuals, turning them also towards egoism and selfishness.
Religion was meant to be the safest, the only refuge in the world; but at the present moment, with ever-growing materialism and overwhelming commercialism, religion seems to be fading away. A silent indifference towards religion seems to be increasing, especially in the countries foremost in civilization; and that being so, where can man find the solution of the problem of the day?
We can also consider this question from a philosophical point of view. What is construction and what is reconstruction? A construction is that which is already made. A newborn child is a construction. But after a disorder in the body or in the mind, there comes a need of reconstruction. In English there is an expression: to pull oneself together. The reconstruction of the world today means that the world has to pull itself together. Education, the political, social, and financial condition, religion, all these things which made civilization, seem to have been scattered; and in order that they may come together again, the secret of life must be studied. What is the secret of healing power? It is making oneself strong enough to pull oneself together; and that is the secret of the life of the mystic. The world has lost its health, and if one pictures the world as an individual, one can see what it means to lose one's health. It is just like illness in the life of an individual; and as for every illness there is a remedy, so for every disaster there is a reconstruction.
But people have different ideas. There is a pessimist who says, "If the world has got to this state of destruction who can help it, how can it be helped?" This is like a person who says, "Well, I have been so ill, I have suffered so much, I do not care. How can I be well now? It is too late." In this way he holds on to his disease and he cherishes it, though he does not like it. And then there is the curious person, who is very anxious to look at the newspaper and see whether his investments have gone up or whether they have gone down, and to see whether there is the probability of war; and he will excite his friends about it. Then there is another person who says, "Committees must be formed, there must be societies and leagues; congresses must be held, and many more meetings, many more discussions." There seems to be no end to the discussions and disputes in order to find out the ways and means of how to improve conditions!
I do not mean to say that any effort, in whatever form, towards the reconstruction or towards the betterment of conditions is not worth while. But what is most needed is for us to understand that religion of religions and that philosophy of philosophies which is self-knowledge. We shall never understand the outer life if we do not understand ourselves. It is knowledge of the self that gives knowledge of the world. The politician, the statesman, however qualified, will dispute about things for years and years, but he will never come to a satisfactory conclusion unless he understands the psychology of life and of the situation. And so the educationist will try new schemes but he will never come to a satisfactory conclusion unless he has a psychological knowledge of life, the knowledge which will teach him the psychology of human nature. But I do not mean by psychology what is generally understood by this word; I mean the understanding of the self, the understanding of the nature and character of the mind and of the body.
What is health? Health is order. And what is order? Order is music. Where there is rhythm, regularity, co-operation, there is harmony, there is sympathy. Health of mind and health of the body depend therefore upon the preserving of that harmony, upon keeping intact that sympathy which exists in the mind and body. Life in the world, and especially as we live it amidst the crowd, will test and try our patience every moment of the day, and it will be most difficult to preserve that harmony and peace which is all happiness. For what is the definition of life? Life means struggle with friends and battle with foes. It is continual giving and taking.
And where are we to learn this? All education and learning and knowledge is acquired, but this one art is a divine art, and man has inherited it. Because he is absorbed in the outer learning he has forgotten it, but it is an art which is known to the soul; it is his own being; it is the deepest knowledge that he has in his heart. No progress in any line that man can make will give him the satisfaction which his soul is craving for, except this one which is the art of life, the art of being, the pursuit of his soul.
In order to further the reconstruction of the world the only thing possible and the only thing necessary, before trying to serve humanity, is to learn the art of being, the art of life, for oneself and in order to be an example for others.
4. The Need of Religion
Every man is born on earth with a certain object to accomplish, and the light of that object has been kindled in his soul. The day when he finds out his life's purpose he is stronger, more successful; his life becomes easier, he feels inspired, and a greater power pours out through him. And as a man develops spiritually, so there comes with the fullness of his soul a time when his service to the world and to humanity is a sign from the higher Spirit.
Those who have come at different times to the world to enlighten humanity and to awaken souls from their sleep of ignorance, have come from one and the same source. And although they are different souls there is but one spirit in them, and thus all that they have given to humanity is the same in essence. By studying the scriptures deeply and with sympathy, not only intellectually, one will find in Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, in all these religions which have been followed by millions for ages, that in spite of having a different outer form, they all have one and the same inner sense. The inner teachings of Buddha are the same as the teachings of Krishna, although their followers may deny it. And so will the others; each one will say that the faith of the other is different from his own. This separation has always existed and still exists and it can only be removed by the understanding of the essence which is to be found in all religions.
But one might ask, "What about the different histories of the great ones, the tradition of the life of Jesus Christ, the history of Mohammed, the life and story of Krishna, the legend of Buddha? They are all quite, quite different!" Yes, they are different in appearance because they came at different times and to different people. Mohammed came to Arabia, Jesus to Palestine, Zoroaster to Persia, Buddha to India. Became they have had to give God's message to different peoples they have had to adopt different terminology and different expressions. If there is any difference, it is only in the way they have presented divine wisdom, and not in the essence of divine wisdom itself.
Then people say, "Yes, I can understand that all religions have the same essence. But at the same time I believe that one prophet is greater than another; please tell me who is the greatest." But who can tell who is greater? Apart from the prophets, how can we even judge the greatness of musicians such as Beethoven or Wagner; are we equal to any of them? When we have a better understanding of their music our lips close. Since there is but one truth there is only one religion, and the different creeds which today appear as many different religions or churches are only special covers hiding that one truth which alone is the religion. All through world-history there have been wars, for the very reason that there were differences in faiths, that certain people had faith in a particular creed or religion, or in a particular community. But the truth has always been one and the same. If the great masters such as Jesus or Buddha and all the other great ones who have given a spiritual message to humanity, had seen the Sufi Universal Worship, it would have fulfilled their ideal. And it was their prayer that one day the people of all the different religions might witness this service which includes all the different faiths. The Universal Worship, therefore, gives the promises of a world form of worship.
Religion is the greatest need at any period in the past or future. No doubt, the form of religion has changed according to the evolution of man, for the form depended upon the customs and ways of the country, and also on the psychology of the followers of any specific religion. These changes which were made in the different religions did not spring from the intellectual part of man's spirit. There is another part of man's spirit: the divine part; and the awakening of that part raises a fountain, a fountain which is religion. In the ancient history of India there are a great many examples of men who were in the position of kings and rulers and who wanted to introduce a new religion; but they never wholly succeeded, for religion does not come from that source. Its source is divine.
If truth and falsehood are distinct and different then what is the difference between them? Truth is God and the unreal is all this nature which we see before us. Therefore all that is from God is real. No doubt man's mentality has also played a part in religion, and every religion has come colored by whatever mentality was expressed; but religion itself is from the divine source. The outside may be different but the depth is always the same. In this age it seems that one has science on one side and politics on the other, and that education is aiming at supplanting religion. But nothing can supplant religion.
There is a touching story of a scientist in France who all his life did not believe or admit to any belief in God, in the soul, or in the hereafter. But as he lived longer in the world, he felt the need of religion, although he did not feel he could accept it since all his life he had not accepted it. His wife on the other hand was devoted and religious. One day, stirred by profound sentiment, they were talking heart to heart on the question of religion. The wife was anxious that he should accept it and she asked him, "Don't you ever feel the need of religion, of that devotion which is the only thing that is worth while?" And his answer was, "I do not admit it, yet I believe in your belief, I enjoy your sentiment. That is my religion, my only religion in life.'
We do not know under what guise a person preserves his religion. It may be hidden somewhere in his heart; perhaps it does not show outwardly. No doubt, if no one were able to express his religious sentiment there would be no communication possible, and that is why it is very necessary in society that we should communicate our deepest religious sentiments.
5. The Present Need of the World
No one with any sense who observes keenly the present condition of humanity, will deny the fact that the world today needs the religion. Why I say the religion and not a religion is because there are many religions in existence which might be called a religion; but what is needed is something else; it is the religion. Must this be a new religion? If it were to be a new religion it could not be called the religion; then it would be like many other religions. What I call the religion is that which one can see by rising above the sects and differences which divide men; and by understanding the religion one will understand all religions.
I do not mean that all the religions are not religion; they are the notes; but there is the music, and that music is the religion. Every religion strikes a note, a note which answers the demand of humanity in a certain epoch. Yet the source of every note is the same music which manifests when the notes are arranged harmoniously together. All the different religions are the different notes, and when they are thus arranged together they make music.
One might ask why at each epoch not all the music was given; why only a single note. The answer is that there are times in the life of an infant when a rattle is sufficient; for the violin another time in life is more appropriate. During the time of the Chaldeans, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans, different religious ideals were brought to humanity. To the few music was brought, to the many only a note; and this shows that this music has always existed, but that man in general was not ready to grasp it and so was given only one note.
The consequence was that the one who was given the C note fought with another who was given the G note, each saying, "The note given to me is the right note." But in reality all are right notes. Thus there is an outer substance of religion which is the form, and an inner essence which is wisdom; and when wisdom has blessed the soul, then the soul has heard the divine music. Those who tuned their hearts, who raised their souls high enough, heard this divine music; but those who played with their rattle, their single note, disputed with one another. They would have refused a violin; they were not ready for it and they would not have known how to use it.
Today the world is more starved of religion than ever before, and the reason is that some simple souls, attached to the faith of their ancestors, hold their faith in esteem, for they consider religion necessary in life; but many others, with intelligence and reason and understanding of life, rebel against religion, as the child when it grows up throws away its rattle, for it is no longer interested in it. So today the condition is that religion remains in the hands of those who have kept to its outer form through devotion and loyalty to their ancestors" faith; and those who are, so to speak, grown-up in mind and spirit and who want something better, but cannot find anything. Their souls hunger for music, yet when they ask for music they are given a rattle; and then they throw away the rattle and say that they do not care for music. Yet at the same time they have an inner yearning for the soul's music, and without it their life remains empty.
There are few who recognize this fact, and fewer still who are willing to admit it. The psychological condition of humanity has become such that a person with intelligence refuses the music, he does not want it; but because he still wants something, he calls it by another name. Travelling for ten years in the Western world, I have come into contact with people of great intelligence, thinkers, men of science; and in them I see the greatest yearning for that religious spirit. They are longing for it every moment of their lives, for they feel, with all their education and science, that there is an emptiness in themselves, and they want it filled. Yet if one speaks to them of religion they say, "No, no, speak of something else; we do not want religion!" This means that they only know the rattle part of religion and not the violin part. They do not think that anything can exist that is different from a rattle, and yet there is perplexity in their heart and a spiritual craving which is not answered even by all their learned and scientific pursuits.
Therefore what is needed in the world today is a reconciliation between the religious man and the one who runs away from religion. But what can we do when even in the Christian religion we see so many sects, one opposing the other, while the Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, and many other religions also consider that no religion is worth thinking about except their own? To me these different religions are like the different organs of the body, cut up and thrown apart. It seems as if one arm of the same person were cut off and were rising up to fight the other. Both are arms of the same person, and when that person is complete, when all these parts are brought together, then there is the religion.
Then what is the purpose of the Sufi Movement? To make a new religion? No, it is to bring together the different organs of one body which are meant to be united and not thrown apart. And what is our method, how do we work to bring about such a reconciliation? By realizing for ourselves that the essence of all religions is one, and that that essence is wisdom; by considering that wisdom to be our religion, whatever be our own form. The Sufi Movement has members belonging to many different faiths and who have not given up their own religion. On the contrary, they are firmer in their own faith through understanding the faiths of others. From the narrow point of view people may find fault with them because they do not hate, mistrust, and criticize the religion of others. They have respect for the scriptures which millions of people have held to be sacred, though these scriptures do not belong to their own religion. They desire to study and appreciate other scriptures, and to find confirmation of the fact that all wisdom comes from one source, both the wisdom of the East and of the West. The Sufi Movement, therefore, is not a sect; it can be anything but a sect; and if it ever became one it would be quite contrary to the ideal with which it was begun. For its main ideal is to remove differences and distinctions which divide mankind, and this ideal is attained by the realization of the one source of all human beings, and also the goal, both of which we call God.
6. East and West
In order to distinguish East from West, it is natural first to give the points in which they differ. The people of the East, in all ages, have had only one object in view, and that was to get in touch with the deeper side of life. Some came sooner to that point, some later; some had to struggle along, and for some it was very easy. The result naturally was that for both the wise and the foolish there was less contact with the outer world. By this I do not mean to say that there are no people in the East who are pursuing material gain and material things, and that there are no people who love wealth and all that belongs to the earth. There are earth-worshippers in all lands, and hell-worshippers too. But when for instance one is among the most learned people of the East, one finds that although they have great knowledge of science and art, yet at the same time it all serves the purpose of gaining knowledge of the deeper side of life; in any work they are doing their whole motive is to understand this deeper aspect.
Even ancient Eastern politicians and warriors thought in the same way. We have as an illustration the history of the Prophet Mohammed, who was not only a mystic but a general of his army and a statesman, and who was the first in the history of the Orientals to set up a constitutional government, in Mecca. His people formed the first parliament in Medina, and every man and every woman in the city had the right to vote in that parliament; and this happened fifteen hundred years ago!
I have often come across a domestic servant, who had never had any education, who did not even know how to write his name, but who, as soon as one began to touch his sentiment and his heart, showed that he knew as much about the worthlessness of material life as a great philosopher. A man like this may perhaps talk to one on philosophy for an hour, from his deepest sentiment and with a full understanding of life.
All this does not mean that the East did not make any progress in material things, for if one takes for instance the science of medicine, the books of Avicenna have been the foundation of medical study for the whole world. Besides the music of the Vedas was not only music but a psychological expression of sound and rhythm; and therefore it was also a mystery, a science so perfectly formed that it was not only useful for worldly things, but for meditative purposes. In fact music became the most essential part of religious practice. Today people come and tell the world about the repetition of some word which will cure people from illness. Both the scientific and the unscientific worlds believe this to be a new thing, but if one goes to the East any man in the poorest circumstances will say, "We have always known this, we do it every day; we know what the power of the word means!" They will not be able to give a definition; one must ask that of a learned man; but it is a science which has always existed in the East.
As to the Western world, in the first place the race which came from the ancient Aryan sources to countries with difficult climates, giving rise to greater responsibilities, became naturally more active. Being obliged to concern themselves more with material things these people found the means of communicating with matter. The result of this is in itself a phenomenon. All these inventions that we see today are no less than a miracle, but a miracle which has come from communication with the things of the earth, as the product of earthly things, and it is as visible and tangible as the earth. It is like a father with two sons: one son produces something all the time, one day a rattle, another day a bicycle, a third day an aeroplane; he always has something to show his father; but the other son may sit quietly, and white perhaps his thoughts and feelings are developing, he has nothing to show. Something may be developing in him which he himself cannot very well define, nor can others see it. Therefore it is natural that progress made in the objective world is visible and tangible, whereas in the spiritual realm it is difficult to see how far someone has progressed.
However, with all these differences human nature is always the same. Those who have developed in thought and in feeling are not only to be found in the East; there are many to be found in the West too. Also those who have a material inclination and produce things from matter, do not exist only in the West; they exist also in the East. In the West there is more scope for producing what one has invented or discovered, while in the East there is much less scope; and this is the cause of many difficulties.
Nevertheless, the actions of East and West are directed towards two different poles. The material progress of the East has been hindered by the climate, a climate which makes part of the day useless for active work. One would prefer to sit and dream rather than be active and work, and this also makes a difference in inclinations. Moreover very much of Western progress is due to the uniformity of the people, and much of the backwardness of the East is due to lack of uniformity. Every man in the East may have his own individual progress; but whenever there is individualistic progress, it may be very free, yet it will not be recognized by those who do not understand this particular way. It is like a scientist who comes with a new invention which is not understood by another scientist, who then will be sure to oppose him. In the East, therefore, whenever an intelligent person progresses in his own line, he has to face great opposition, and he finds no one who can quite understand him. But in the West it is the contrary. There are academies and associations and people who understand things and who can give encouragement. Yet on the other hand uniformity pulls people back from individual progress.
Now, owing to modern communications, East and West have been brought closer together, and this gives us great hope that East and West, which depend for their progress upon mutual exchange and understanding, will soon unite. In industry, in politics, in all things they can unite and benefit from each other; but the greatest benefit that can come from the meeting of East and West is through the interchange of thought and ideal, through meeting in that light which is the light of intelligence and which is divine by nature.
The Sufi Movement has directed all its efforts towards this goal, that the East may be able to appreciate all that is good and worth while in the West, and that the West may understand and sympathize with all that is worth understanding in the East. Words cannot explain to what extent the world would benefit by the realization of this ideal. Just now the East is working in its own way and the West is working in its own way; this is like working with one eye open and the other eye closed. It is in the unity of East and West that the vision will become complete, and it is in this conception that the great disasters and troubles which have kept the world in such uneasiness will be rooted out. And by the unity of East and West in wisdom, one can look forward to a real peace.
7. Brotherhood (1)
One can see the beginning of the spirit of brotherhood when one looks at flocks of birds flying together in the sky, or at the herds of animals in the fields and the swarms of insects all living and moving together. No doubt this tendency of brotherhood is more pronounced in man, for man is not only capable of realizing the spirit of brotherhood, but also of fulfilling the purpose which is hidden in this natural tendency. There is one secret behind all this diversity which we call good or bad, right or wrong, sin or virtue; and it is that all that leads to happiness is right, good, and virtuous; and all that leads to unhappiness is wrong, bad, and evil; and if there is any sin, it is the latter which may be called sin. Brotherhood is not something which man has learned or acquired; it is something which is born in him, and according to his development of this spirit he shows the unfoldment of his soul.
Coming to the religions which have been given to the world, we read for instance in the Bible the words of Jesus Christ, admonishing us from beginning to end to love our fellow-man, our neighbor. It was the moral of brotherhood that the Master taught and repeated constantly. If one studies what is the central theme of all the different religions which exist in the world, with their millions and millions of followers, we will find that it is brotherhood: to love one another, to serve one another, to be sincere to one another.
But while man is capable of loving his friend, he is still more capable of hating his neighbor. The first tendency, that of brotherhood, of love, brings satisfaction to him and happiness to the other. The other tendency of hating his brother brings dissatisfaction to lure, and unhappiness to the other. Brotherhood creates happiness, and the spirit which is contrary to it produces sorrow.
When we read the scriptures of the great world religions, whether the Bible, the Kabala, the Qur'an, the Gita, or the Buddhist scriptures, we find that in some form or other, in the manner best suited to the people to whom the religion was given, it was the same moral, the same symphony, it was the same music which was performed before there. Were the great teachers specially engaged in giving mystical or occult teachings to the world? Were they engaged in discussing philosophical problems? Not at all, although they were mystics and knew philosophy and occultism, that was not the principal thing that they had to give. What they gave to the world was that simple philosophy which is never new to anyone and which even a child knows: to love one another, to be kind, to be sincere, to serve one another.
But if it is such a simple thing, so simple that even a child knows it, when was it necessary for the great ones, the godly souls, to come and teach it? Life is most simple and yet it is most difficult to live, and man will not accept any teaching from someone who does not live it, or if he accepts it, he will not hold on to it for long. Therefore they came on earth with the love from above, and they lived that simple moral, that simple philosophy of brotherhood. A Mogul emperor, Ghasnavi, who was a great poet, wrote, "Born in a palace, and having reigned from the first day that I came on earth, I saw nothing but thousands and thousands of people bowing before me. But on that day in my life when I learned my first lesson of love, my proud head bowed as a servant before every slave that I saw standing before me. Then I felt that I was their slave." What does this show? It shows that coldness of heart hardens one's feelings and closes one's eyes to that light which illumines the path of brotherhood.
There are many relationships, there are many connections in this world, by blood and also by law, but the greatest relationship is friendship; and it is the culmination of friendship which is called brotherhood. Brotherhood means perfect friendship.
But now comes the question: how may this principle of brotherhood be lived, how may it be practiced? It is very difficult to teach this principle to anyone. The best way of teaching it is by living it oneself. The parents, either father or mother, who show their children that feeling of brotherhood, can best express themselves to their children in this way, and the children too are able to express themselves best to their parents through this feeling. A father may be most kind, a mother most loving, but as long as he or she maintains the attitude of considering himself or herself only as father or mother, as beings which are different from the child, it will perhaps grow to love them but it will" never look upon them as friends. The child will look for friends elsewhere. And a teacher may be respected by his pupils, he may bear himself with great dignity before his pupils, but at the same time there cannot be established that communication of inspiration, of love, of sympathy, of understanding until he has practiced the manner of brotherhood with his pupils.
In what way did the great ones, the prophets, the seers, the mystics, treat their pupils, their disciples? The story is known to all of Jesus Christ calling the fishermen to come and sit and talk with him. The Master never felt comfortable when they called him good. He said, "Call me not good." What he meant was, "Do not consider me superior to you, I am one of you." Think then of the Master washing the feet of his disciples; what does it teach us? It teaches us brotherhood. No miracle, no great power, no great inspiration, occult or mystical, can equal the phenomenon of that humility, of that fraternity, of that brotherhood with which the great ones have become one with all men.
The world appears to be going from bad to worse; it seems that the suffering that has been caused to humanity has not yet ended. No doubt life in the world is so intoxicating that man hardly stops to think about this; life such as it is just now has so many responsibilities; everyone, whether rich or poor, is so absorbed in his affairs that he hardly has a moment to think what is going on in the world. Nevertheless illness is illness, and the world is ill. A person may neglect his illness and engage his mind in something else, but if that illness is not attended to, it remains just the same. When we look for the cause of all these disasters we may be able to find a thousand causes, yet there is one principal cause and that is the lack of brotherhood.
One could have endured the absence of anything else; but the world can never be happy, nor can order or peace ever be maintained, in the absence of brotherhood. This brotherhood can be learned, and every person has facilities for learning it in his life. The master who is kind and loving to his servant, who considers his servant as his brother, is blessed. A family in which all the members, whatever be their relationship, realize the idea of brotherhood in sharing pain and pleasure with one another, how happy, how blessed that family will be! How blessed would be a nation, in which, whatever its government, whatever its constitution, there were this spirit of brotherhood between people of different position, of different rank or occupation. From whence does injustice come, from whence unfairness? It all comes from the lack of brotherhood. Think of the conditions today, the courts full of cases, the prisons full of prisoners! How many disagreements there are between people and inharmony between nations, all caused by the lack of brotherhood.
When we consider this question from a still deeper point of view, we shall find that in the spirit of brotherhood is hidden a way to illumination. A man who may live by great principles, or who prays all day or meditates in the caves of the mountainside, if he does not show the spirit of brotherhood, is no good to himself or to others, because brotherhood is the way to develop spirituality. It is not exclusiveness, it is not running away from the world which is the way of the really spiritual ones. Their way is to consider one's obligations, to keep one's word, one's honor, and to prove sincere in whatever minor capacity one may be working, faithful to friends and true to everyone. These are the merits which develop by themselves when the spirit of brotherhood has matured in man.
But when we come to the metaphysical point of view we see that an element attracts its own element. For instance two streams of water will be attracted to one another. But although there will come a time when they join together, efforts will have to be made by both. When fires start at two sides of a certain place, each fire will be attracted to the other and in the end they will meet and become one. In the same way an artist is attracted to an artist, a thinker to a thinker, a scientist to a scientist, and the man of action to the man of action. They are not only attracted because there is the same element in both of them, but because there is a comfort, a happiness in being attracted by the same element. Think of the joy when two people of the same thought meet together. It is greater than a joy, greater than a satisfaction, it is that happiness which is promised in heaven.
But behind all this world of various names and forms there is one life, there is one spirit. This spirit which is the soul of all beings is attracted towards unity, and it is the absence of this spirit which keeps the world unhappy. To a person who has just had some unpleasantness with his brother or sister, his food is tasteless, the night without sleep, the heart restless, the soul under a cloud. This shows that we do not necessarily live on food; our soul lives on love, the love that we receive and the love that we give. The absence of this is our unhappiness, and the presence of it is all we need. Nothing in the world is a greater healing power, a greater remedy, a greater happiness, than to be conscious of brotherhood and to be able to give that feeling to one's child, master, neighbor, and friend.
The humble efforts made by the Sufi Movement in the service of God and humanity, are towards brotherhood. In the form of devotion, of philosophy, of mysticism, of metaphysics, art, or science, in whatever form the Sufi Movement presents the ideal to the world of which the central theme is always brotherhood.
8. Brotherhood (2)
Brotherhood is not something which is learned or taught. Brotherhood is a tendency, a tendency which arises from a heart that is tuned to the proper pitch. And it is in this natural tendency that the real happiness lies from which rises harmony and which culminates in peace. The message of brotherhood is a message of sympathy, a message of harmony. But the person who is not in harmony with himself cannot be in harmony with another, with all the teaching of brotherhood and with all his learning, he will not be able to observe the law of brotherhood.
In the whole system of the world's creation one sees a blind impulse working like a kind of mechanism of the universe. This impulse is more apparent in living creatures, and its most pronounced form is agitation. If we study the lives of the lower creatures we find that they not only have a desire for food or a desire to move about with their mates; their first desire is to sleep. But besides this there is an inclination which manifests as agitation, and it is because of this agitation that the animals and birds fight among themselves. Their whole life is filled with that agitation. Furthermore, herbivorous animals are less agitated than carnivorous ones, while in the carnivorous animals there is more desire for fighting. The lion and the tiger are more inclined to fight than horses and cows, which shows that the herbivorous animals are a step more advanced than the carnivorous animals. The tendencies to eat or drink, to seek pleasure or enjoy comfort or become agitated, do not belong specially to the human being; he gets these characteristics form the animal. His special characteristic is sympathy, harmony; but this comes only when man rises above that agitation which, so to speak, buries the spirit of sympathy. No doubt man is educated, he is trained, he has some polish, he has been taught some manners, and therefore he does not always show his agitation. It is only at a time of weakness, when he cannot control his agitation, that it breaks out and manifests to his own view as well as to that of others, thereby proving that he is not yet ready to be called human.
One might ask if there is any time in a man's life when he rises above this. One person will get it under control sooner than another, but one will always master it when one really tries to. This spirit of agitation shows itself as intolerance, as rivalry, as jealousy, as a domineering spirit, as irritability, or as the tendency to patronize; all such qualities show agitation. When we study the lives of those who have served humanity, we see that this was the first thing that they had to conquer. When it is said that Krishna fought a battle with Kamsa, the monster-man, that monster was not outside of Krishna; that monster was inside him. It was this spirit of agitation. Krishna had to fight it, and it was only after conquering the spirit of agitation that he became the messenger of love.
In the Bible we read that Jesus Christ went for forty days into the desert, and that Satan was at his side. What is Satan? It is the same spirit which is the greatest enemy of the human race, the spirit of agitation. And Halima gives a symbolical, artistic, and picturesque description of an experience of the Prophet. She says that the breast of the Prophet was cut open and that some undesirable matter was removed. Symbolically this means that the spirit of agitation was taken away to make place for divine inspiration. This shows that man inherits the earthly characteristics, and among those earthly characteristics agitation is the principal one. A child sometimes shows it against its parents, a schoolboy against his friends, a youth against his companions, a grown-up person against his neighbors--and everyone has a reason to justify this wrong attitude. Agitation, therefore, is the sign of the false ego, and when this false ego is broken, when this very agitation has crushed itself, just as fire burns itself out, then begins the process of purification.
Man does not really notice how far this spirit follows a person on the path of spiritual progress. A person may arrive at the very gate of the heavens, and even to that length this spirit will travel with him. It may become weaker, but it is there; only, this spirit has no entrance into the shrine of God, and the soul which carries this spirit with it has no entrance into that perfect abode. He may advance as far as the gate of the inner temple, but he is not allowed in; he is held back by the power of that same spirit of agitation. For the shrine of God is called Dar-e-Sala'm, which is the same as Jerusalem. It means the door of peace, and agitation is not allowed to enter through the door of peace; it must stay outside. When the ancients said, "You cannot follow two masters, God and Satan," this meant that Satan is the spirit of agitation which is to be found within ourselves, while God is the spirit of peace in whom is our happiness; and we cannot follow both of these masters.
There are many movements and institutions for the promotion of brotherhood, and they are all doing what they can to further this ideal, for this is an ideal which is the essence of religion and the soul of spirituality. But how can one attain to it? By creating in oneself, and by trying to give to others, the idea of a natural sympathy; by strengthening ourselves, thereby giving power to others also to fight against this spirit of agitation which has always proved to be the worst enemy of mankind.
Where does this agitation come from? From disorder, either of the body or of the mind; if the body is not in its proper rhythm and proper tune, or if the mind is not in its proper rhythm and tune. And if the mind and body are not in tune with one another, if they are not in harmony, then also this agitation comes. Sometimes it is the reflection of the mind upon the body, and sometimes it is the reflection of the body upon the mind. How true it is that man is his own enemy; but where is that enemy? That enemy is this spirit; a spirit which is never contented, which does not appreciate, which does not respond, which does not sympathize, which does not agree, which does not endure, which does not tolerate, which does not harmonize. A spirit which stands against any influence of harmony, agreement, sympathy, or kindness.
Is this spirit a living being, is it Satan, a devil, or what is it? What is its explanation? What is its origin? The best explanation is that it is like a smooth silken thread which becomes tangled at and ties itself into a knot. But in the place where it is a knot and where it is very difficult to unravel, it is still the same silken thread; only, it is in a condition where it is difficult for it because it is not free, and it is difficult for others because they cannot unravel it. And so the same soul which has divine breath in it, which has come from heaven, which represents God on earth, when it is turned into a knot has difficulty with itself, difficulty with others, and others have difficulty with it. In this way it becomes inharmonious, and it creates inharmony; it finds itself in a kind of inharmonious condition. This only means that it has lost its natural, original condition, its smoothness and softness; and yet it remains silk, it has not turned into cotton, it is still silk. Call it Satan or devil or whatever you like, but if once one knows the source, the origin, one cannot call it anything else but a condition. Thus what is most important in the work of brotherhood, is to develop that spirit in ourselves by getting above all knots and difficulties, in order that we may not only be able to follow the rules of brotherhood, but that all which comes naturally from ourselves may express brotherhood.
In working towards the establishment of brotherhood, the main object of the Sufi Movement is to bring about a better understanding among the different classes, among the followers of different religions and the people of different races and different nations; but by this we do not mean mixing them up. If this were our idea, it would have been quite a different thing. We want to let the farms of wheat be farms of wheat; on the farms where rice grows, let rice grow; where there are woods, let there be woods, where there are gardens, let there be gardens--all are necessary. Our ideas have not reached to the extreme of wanting to cook everything in the same dish. We do not wish to stretch the fingers so as to make them all even, for their natural size is the proper size for them; our conception of equality does not conform with such an idea. Our only motive is that the East and the West, the North and the South, instead of turning their backs upon each other, may turn their faces towards each other.
We do not wish all the people in the world to be of the same religion or the same education, or to have the same customs and manners; nor do we think that all classes must become one class, which is impossible anyhow. We wish that all classes may blend with each other, and yet every individual have his own individual expression in life; that all nations may have their peculiarity, their individuality, but at the same time express good-will and friendly feeling towards one another; that different races may have their own manners and their own ideas, but at the same time understand one another; that the followers of different religions may continue to belong to their own religions, but at the same time become tolerant towards each other.
Therefore our idea of brotherhood is not in any way extreme. The motive is not to change humanity, but to help humanity on towards its goal. People may belong to one church and yet fight with one another; it is just as well that they should belong to different churches and yet understand each other, respect each other's religion, and tolerate one another. People may belong to one institution, and yet disagree with one another. Then what is the use of that institution? Therefore it is not at all the mission of the Sufi Movement to try and make the whole of humanity followers of one special movement, but to give to humanity what God has given us, so that we may serve in His cause.
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