Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 1
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
"Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood"
There is a remarkable phrase in the Bible, where it says, "Eat My flesh and drink My blood," says Christ. What does He mean by saying this? He means in the first place that what a living being loves most is his food, what he loves most he eats. It has been proved in ferocious and dreadful famines, by people eating their own children, that food is dearer than their own child. The word of Christ, therefore, "Find out, what it is in Me that you love, which may become your nourishment, which may become your food. It is not this, My flesh and blood; this will not be sufficient to satisfy your appetite. There is another part of My being, which is in abundance and can nourish My numberless devotees. Therefore before trying to eat My flesh and blood, try to find out on what plane I really exist and what is My true being." The lives of all the great saints show that not only their adversaries and opponents but also their near and dear friends have proved to be among their worst enemies. There is a creature which loves its mate so much that it eats it.
Now as to the question what it is that Christ speaks of as his flesh and blood: His flesh is the knowledge of God and His blood is the love of God; because it is love that has a tendency, so to speak, to excite the circulation, and it is knowledge which has the tendency to strengthen, making man firm, of which flesh is the symbol. One thing without the other would be abnormal. For instance flesh without blood, or blood without flesh, both are not normal conditions. What gives normal health to the body and to the soul is flesh and blood both. In the religious custom of the sacrament of bread and wine it is this secret which is symbolically expressed.
Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 2
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
Customs of Courtesy
There was a custom in the old, aristocratic times, which is even now observed in the East and somewhat in the Western part of the world, of taking steps backward when leaving someone who was respected. It was not only a custom but it had a psychological point of view. When two people are talking to one another, facing each other, a current of sympathy is established which chiefly runs through the breath and through the glance, and necessarily, one of them is expressive, the other receptive. When their backs are turned that current is broken, and the idea of the people of old was to retain that current, which they thought was valuable, as long as possible.
There was another custom of courtesy of the ancients which still exists in certain places, that in order to show respect to someone they bent their knees. This had a psychological reason, that every influence of love, affection, or sympathy, benediction, or blessing, is poured through the glance, through the breath, and through words, and if the receiver was taller than the bestower, the influence would go into the ground instead of touching the person. Especially the influence of the glance, which surrounds one with sympathjy and good wishes, has, mostly, a downward direction, and it is naturally so with the breath also.
In the salutation made by putting one knee on the ground, the knee resting on the ground expresses readiness to receive the command and the knee that is up is ready to go forward to carry it out.
But besides their psychological influences, different manners of courtesy have been the outcome of human progress in the direction of refinement. And yet progress in every direction is like a wave in the sea --- it rises and it falls. So it is with manners. This time seems to be the time when the wave is coming back. However, doing a thing is one thing, and understanding it is another thing. Whether one does a certain thing or does not do it, that is another question, but in the understanding of all things lies the purpose of life.
Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 3
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
Customs of the Marriage Ceremony
India, the land of mysticism and philosophy, has symbolism in all its customs. Even in the marriage ceremony everything that is done as a custom or rite is symbolical. Both bride and bridegroom wear on their hand a pearl-embroidered heart; they wear saffron-colored garments for the ten days that the wedding ceremony lasts; they are anointed during the wedding ceremony on their heads, shoulders, elbows, and chins, and on their knees and feet. The bridegroom has a sword in his hand during all those ten days. On the last day of the wedding both bride and bridegroom are veiled with a low-flowing veil made of jasmine flowers and trimmed with roses, and after the conclusion of the marriage ceremony they are unveiled.
Now, the meaning of this veil of flowers is that a new phase of life begins for them. They are no more the same as before; new responsibilities, new hopes, and a new life they have to begin. The meaning of the sword in the bridegroom's hand is that the bridegroom shall uphold the honor and dignity of his family, of his wife, that he shall stand in arms to defend the honor and dignity that the union of bride and bridegroom has completed. And the heart on the hand denotes that both of them shall let their action be directed by their heart. The anointing means that the hands and feet and head of either shall be ready to serve the other when occasion arises, that they shall not be stiff at any time when their service is called for. Saffron color, in the East, is considered to be the color of all sorts of good luck. It is the imperial sign. Love-letters are written in saffron color. The invitations for the wedding are written in this color, for this color represents light. Light in heaven and gold on earth, both are yellow. Therefore yellow is preferred to all other colors to be the omen on some good occasion in life.
Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 4
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
The Horse
The horse has been considered a lucky animal in all ages, for the horse represents energy, strength, activity, and life. The horse was conspicuous in Greek art, as also in the art of the ancient Persians. In the courts of the ancient kings in the East there used to be Chama, fans made of horse hair; and the horse's head was used as a decorative emblem in the palaces, and before every entertainment something was spoken about the horse first. The comedians of India have that custom, still existing: The first item of their program is an imitation of a horse. A story of a horse is always interesting. A sportsman and thinker, who differ so much in their likes, unite in admiration of the horse. The Prophet Mohammed admired the horse as one of the objects worth attaining in life. The most interesting part of the Ramayana is where Lahu, the son of Rama, goes in pursuit of Kalanki, the ideal horse. In the sacred book of the Hindus, Mahabharata, it is Krishna who is the charioteer of Arjuna. Hassan and Hussein, the great martyrs of Islam, whose day has been celebrated year after year for ages, are represented with their beautiful horses called Duldul.
The horse is the symbol of the mind. When the mind is under control it is like a horse broken in, when it cannot be controlled it is like a restive horse, when its rein is not well in hand it is like a wild horse roaming about in the wilderness. Then the horse is the symbol of life, representing its energy, activity, and beauty. The horse, with its strength and activity, is harmless, useful, intelligent, has feeling, and is different to the donkey. The horse is the comrade in war, and is the dignity of great warriors. The unity that is established sometimes between the soul of the rider and the spirit of the horse is most wonderful. The horseshoe is considered lucky in all countries, for it reminds one of the horse and conveys the impression of the horse's vigor, activity, life, and beauty.
Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 5
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
Oracles Among the Ancient Greeks
In ancient Greece often questions were asked of an oracle, which were answered by a woman, who sometimes gave a plain answer and sometimes one the meaning of which was veiled. It was the same thing that today is called a spiritualistic s‚ance, a mediumistic answer, the interest of which is alive in all ages through in different forms. Among all the occult and mystical interests the interest in the medium has a very great attraction for the average mind. A woman was often chosen for this work, on account of woman's sensitiveness, which always exceeds that of man, and this is the secret of intuition in human nature. Especially a celibate woman was chosen for this purpose, as in her is to be found more susceptibility to intuition. The question was supposed to be asked of a god, a god who was distinguished by a particular attribute, of poetry, of the sun, or any other attribute.
The secret of all this is that the priests, by their hypnotic power and suggestion, wakened in the woman that particular attribute of the Spirit within, Who is the possessor of all knowledge, especially that pertaining to the attribute with which He is identified. God is already in the heart of every person, only, to wake Him and to make Him rise, He should be called upon. He then, so to speak, takes birth from the heart of a sensitive woman, whose innermost***was a word left out here? can easily be touched. God has many attributes, He has many ears and many tongues to speak with, and through every form He answers whenever one reaches Him. Spiritualists call Him a spirit, but even through the spirit of an individual, dead or living, when God is called upon, God answers. Those who play with spiritualistic s‚ances would give it all up in a moment if they only knew that God always answers whenever He is called upon.
Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 6
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
The Greek Mysteries (1)
The little that is known of the Greek Mysteries has been very variously interpreted. Some have supposed them to have been a course of agriculture, taught secretly, others a mummery carried on for centuries by the priests. What is known with certainty is the high esteem in which they were held and the strict secrecy which attended them. The word means silence; to be initiated was "to be made silent."
Access to the lesser mysteries was easy. Tens of thousands were initiated. The temples in which the rites were practiced were under the protection of the state. In them were enacted the lives of the gods in whose name the mysteries were celebrated, and great use was made of music. The mysteries were held to remove the fear of death and to give assurance of the survival of the departed. Those who had been initiated were believed to be happy after death, while others led a dismal life hereafter, clinging to their graves.
The preparatory training for the greater mysteries was very severe. Fasting was undergone, abstinence of all sorts, extremes of heat and cold had to be endured, and the candidates swam through water for days and had to walk through fire. The training often lasted many years. After initiation, in the beginning all was darkness, dread and dismay; then a marvelous light was seen and shining forms came to meet the initiate. The initiate experienced while on earth the state of the soul dissociated from the body. A Greek writer says, "Here all instruction ceases, one beholds the nature of things." Apuleius, who had received all the initiations of the mysteries, says, "I went to the boundary between life and death, I passed through the four elements, I stood on the threshold of Proserpina, at the time of deepest midnight I saw the sun shine in brightest splendour, I saw the greater and the lesser gods and revered them near at hand." The initiate was said to be received, while living on earth, among the immortal gods, and made as one of them.
Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 7
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
The Greek Mysteries (2)
This was really a Sufi institution, though not called by this name, for exactly the same thing is to be found today in the schools of Sufis in India and Persia.
The lesser mysteries were Ilm-i-Rabbali, the mystery of gods, in other words the mystery of the different attributes of God. For when the proper name of God is repeated a certain number of times some particular effect is produced by it, resulting in a desirable object. Before Islam the different names of God were considered to be different gods known by different names and identified with different attributes and characteristics. By invoking the names of different gods a person accomplished his object in life, as now Wazifa is practiced by the Sufis. The music which the ancient Greek knowers of mystery had as a means of their spiritual development, the same is used even now in the Chisht¡yya schools of Sufis, where the Qawwali meeting, which is called Sam , is held, in which music is played and sung for awakening the emotional nature, which is the secret of revelation.
Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 8
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
The Greek Mysteries (3)
The fasting and abstinence, and all these things, were taught in order to develop the will-power, which results in self-discipline and which is the secret of all mastery; and it is by this power that the kingdom within is attained. Once man has touched his self within, the illusion becomes dissolved. The fear of death is caused by the consciousness of mortality. As long as one is unaware of one's immortal self one has the fear of death. Once the immortality of the soul is realized and the realization is no longer in one's imagination but has become a conviction, then one rises above the fear of death. This knowledge is gained fully when an adept is able to detach his soul from his body. It is this state which is called by Yogis Samadhi and by Sufis Nayat.
Every soul that treads the path of initiation takes his first steps through the darkness; as Ghazzali says, "The spiritual pursuit is like shooting an arrow through the darkness." No doubt as one approaches the goal the light comes; as the Qur'an says, "God is the light of the heavens and of the earth." Then, once the sight has become keen, there is no further instruction needed. One gets insight into the hidden laws of nature, all things seem to speak to the seer of their character, nature and secret. This realization removes the boundary between life and death. One rises above the elements which have formed this mortal abode --- the body and mind --- for the soul's experience, when one touches one's true being, the soul. It is the soul-realized man who stands above all matter, and in this way the spirit gets victory over matter. Under all conditions of life which produce obscurity and confusion the soul-realized man sees the light, and to him all men, of lesser or greater degrees of evolution, are nothing but different forms of the Divine Immanence. In this way the man who has probed the depths of the mystery of life becomes God-realized. When he no longer has his limited self before his view then only he experiences the state of which Christ has spoken: "Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect."
Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 9
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
The Banshee
There is a very widespread belief that in certain families warning of the impending death of a member of the family is given always in the same way. In some families a certain bird is seen by some member of the family before a death, in others the churchbell rings without being tolled, in another one or more flagstones of the pavement of the chapel are seen to be wet while the rest are dry, and the number of wet flagstones tallies with the number of deaths. In Ireland such warnings are particularly frequent, and often occur in the form of what is called the Banshee, a screech heard by members of the family, but inaudible to others.
This explains the truth that life is a revelation in all forms and is not restricted to any particular form. The death of an individual is apparently the death of one person having its effect to some extent upon that individual's surroundings and on those concerned with him, yet inwardly the influence of the death of one individual reaches the whole circumference of the universe. No object, no being, is left untouched by it; only this manifests to those who are subject to be more affected by the death of someone they are related to. To them the warning of death takes some form that might be perceptible to them, and, told by them to their relations and descendants, that particular form then becomes a special alarm-clock of death for that particular family, and it continues for a considerable time, until someone is born in that family who ignores it absolutely by his disbelief.
One learns by this that life is revealing by nature; it is man who becomes blinded by nature. There is no creature in this world so absorbed in the outer life in the world as man; so man, with greater capability of knowing, knows least of all creatures. There are birds who give warning of death. Dogs, cats, and horses perceive the coming death of their friends or neighbor or of their master. If man is open to the knowledge that life reveals continually, his body and mind with his intuitive centers and perceptive faculties can know the secret and the meaning of life most.
Series II GATHA
ETEKAD RASM u RAVAJ Number 10
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs:
The Psychology of the Shadow
Among the Hindus there has been an old belief, which is now taken to be a superstition, even in India. Every Brahman avoided or in other words took great care to keep himself, his shrine of worship, his food, woman during maternity period and the new-born child away from the shadow of a Shudra or outcast.
Now, the times being different, naturally that belief is seemingly meaningless; but in point of fact there was an occult meaning hidden behind it. Shadow is caused by the wall of a person standing against the sun, the sun which is life-giving to plants and human beings, to animals and to all, and the direct rays of which give all things new life. Places which are hidden from the sun, flat or mountainous, become the center of all diseases. The personality that stands in the light of any person, causing thereby hindrance in the life of that person, is an example of this!
The difference between the true teacher and the false --- both of whom have always existed in the world --- has been distinct. The false one stood in the light of his pupil; the true one showed him the way by standing on the side.
The psychology of the shadow is very complex. The shadow of an unholy person falling upon food will certainly take away the living substance from it; if it fell upon a person in a negative state, a woman sitting aside, or a child, it would produce exhaustion and lifelessness, also in the souls who are going through a process of recuperation or growth. Very often a tree standing above a plant, keeping from it the light, hinders the growth of the plant; so is the shadow of the unholy. It can for the moment darken the soul of those passive and receptive of spirit. No doubt the power of darkness and illusion itself, as shadow, has no existence in reality. However, it is evident; so is the influence of immature souls.
The spiritual souls have a contrary influence to this. Their presence is a stimulus to intelligence; their influence is comfort giving and inspiring. The phenomenon of a spiritual personality is that in his presence the memory becomes keen, the waves of inspiration rise, the clouds of depression clear away, hope springs from the depth of the heart, and the soul within begins to feel living, love manifests through thought and feeling, and all that was once dead lives again.
This shows that personality is a mystery. It gives life and causes death; it raises one to heaven, and throws another back to the depths of earth. The influence of personality may change one's life, environment, and all affairs. Its influence can turn the wheel of life to the right or wrong side, turning thereby the trend of all the affairs of life.
Very often most innocent, good and pure-minded souls, owing to the lack of positiveness in their natures, become the victims of undesirable personalities, personalities that stand in their lives, obscuring the light for which they crave; and this may continue for a long period of time. Once a person is accustomed to being in the shade, then he is afraid to come out in the sunlight, though inwardly he may be drawn to it.
The denser a person is, the grosser is his shadow. In other words, the more material a person is, the heavier is his influence.
The whole idea of life is to live freely; to look through space freely, having nothing to hide or conceal; the light of truth to shine from within and the light of the sun without; light all around, no shadow of any kind hindering the light, which is the soul of every being.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 1
Insight:
The Reproduction of the Mental Record
Every line which is deeply engraved on the surface of the mind may be likened to a vein through which the blood runs, keeping it alive, and while the blood is running it is productive of offshoots of that deep-set line. There are moments when a kind of congestion comes in a line where the blood is not running, and there are no offshoots. This congestion can be broken by some outer influence; and when the congested line is touched by an outer influence related to that line then this sets the blood running again and offshoots arising, expressing themselves in thoughts. It is just like a waking or sleeping state of the lines. As one note of music can be fully audible at a time so one line of offshoots can be intelligible at a time, and it is the warmth of interest that keeps the blood running in that particular line. There may be other lines where the blood is alive also; still if they are not kept warm by one's interest they become congested and thus paralysed; and yet the blood is there, the life is there, it awaits the moment to awaken. The sorrows of the past, the fears of the past, the joys of the past, can be brought to life after ages, and could give exactly the same sensation that one had experienced formerly.
The more one knows the mystery of this phenomenon the more one learns to understand that there is a world in one's self, that in one's mind there is a source of happiness and unhappiness, the source of health and illness, the source of light and darkness, and that it can be awakened, either mechanically or at will, if only one knew how to do it. Then one does not blame his ill-fortune nor complain of his fellow-man; he becomes more tolerant, more joyful, and more loving toward his neighbor, because he knows the cause of every thought and action, and he sees it all as the effect of a certain cause. A physician would not revenge himself on a patient in an asylum, even if the patient hit him, for he knows the cause. Psychology is the higher alchemy, and one must not study it only without practicing it. Practice and study must go together, which opens the door to happiness for every soul.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 2
Insight:
Impression
The mind can be likened to a record of the talking-machine. But, as it is a living mechanism, it does not only reproduce what is impressed on it, but it creates as well as reproduces. There are five different actions of the mind which can be distinguished: 1) creating of thoughts; 2) the sense of discrimination; 3) memory; 4) the factor of feeling; 5) the principal faculty, the feeling of I-ness, or ego. Every thought which mind creates has some connection with some idea already recorded, not exactly similar, but akin to it. For instance, one deeply engraved line on the mind may have several small lines shooting out from it like branches from the trunk of a tree.
The Sufi, therefore, learns and practices to discern the more deeply engraved lines by the observation of their offshoots. Therefore he is able to learn more from a person's thought than anybody else, just as by looking at a leaf of a tree one can find out what tree it is. As a rule, every thought a person expresses has at bottom a connection with some deep feeling. The reading of the deep-set line is like reading the cause of the person's thought. The knowledge of the cause can give greater understanding than knowing only the thought. It is just like standing on the other side of the wall. Thought is like a wall; behind it --- the cause. Often the difference between cause and effect is like that between sour and sweet. It is often confusing, yet simple, that the same fruit may be sour when unripe and sweet when ripe. When one begins to understand life from this point of view, the opinion one forms of thought becomes different. There is a great difference between reading a thought externally and reading it from the inside, the source. The one who forms an opinion of the shade has not seen the reality. The effect of a thought is but a shade, the reality is the cause, the source.
What are these deep lines from which offshoots come? These deep lines are the deep impressions which man gets in the first part of his life. In the East, considering this theory, they observe certain rules in the family concerning the expectant mother and the child to be, so that no undesirable impressions may touch their minds. This shows how important it is that this question must be studied. The word "man" comes from the Sanskrit Manas, which means mind. This shows that man is principally his mind, rather than his body. And as mind is naturally impressionable, that means that man is naturally impressionable too. Most often his illness, health, prosperity, failure, all depend upon the impressions on his mind. They say "Lines of fate and death are on the head and palm," but I would say that it is the impressions man has on his mind which decide his destiny. The lines on head and palm are but reimpressions of the mind, and once a person has learned the lines of the mind, there is no need of the lines on hand or face.
Can this language be learned like shorthand? No, the method is different. The method is that, whereas to understand a person every man in his reasoning goes forward from the thought of another, the Sufi goes backward. All impressions of joy, sorrow, fear, disappointment, become engraved on the mind. This means that they have become man's self. In other words, man is the record of his impressions. The religion of the ancients said that the record of man's actions will be reproduced on the Last Day, and that angels write down all the good and ill done by each one. What we learn from this allegorical expression is that all is impressed on the mind; although forgotten, it is always there and will one day show up.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 3
Insight:
The Balance of Life
Every habit makes a line in man's mind, and the continuation of that habit wakens that line from sleep; in other words it gives the line sensitiveness, which is the feeling of life; and in time man indulges in his habit. If a person takes a liking to a certain phrase of music its every repetition gives him a renewed joy; when someone enjoys a certain poetry it cannot be repeated to him too often; if anyone likes a certain dish, in time he has a craving for it. Not only praise or flattery does man enjoy, but even insults, if they have made a deep line on his mind; he will try to tease others or offend somebody, in order to receive an insult. He may not outwardly seem to enjoy it, and yet he will revel in it. If a person becomes accustomed to sit on a certain rock in a garden he forms a habit of going and seeking the same rock every day; if someone has a liking for the scenery of a certain place he longs to see it every day. Of course it depends upon the depth of the line; the deeper the line the more one lives in it. When talking, a business man explains things in terms of pounds and shillings, an architect in the terms of his compass and tools. Every person has his own language and that language is made of his words which come from the deeply engraved line of his mind.
Therefore, the work of the mystic is to be able to read the language of the mind. As the clerk in the telegraph office reads letters from the ticks, so the Sufi gets behind every word spoken to him and discovers what has prompted the word to come out. He therefore reads the lines which are behind man's thought, speech and action. He also understands that every kind of longing and craving in life, good or bad, has its source in deep impression. By knowing this root of the disease he is easily able to find out its cure. No impression is such that it cannot be erased.
The mystics have two processes in dealing with these lines. One process is to renew this line by putting in some other color and therefore changing one impression into another impression. No doubt this needs great knowledge of mental chemistry. Another way that the mystic takes is to rub out the line from the surface. But often, when the line is deep, it takes the rubbing out of a great portion of the mind to destroy one line.
Naturally the mystic becomes tolerant of every sort of dealing of others with him, as he sees not only the dealing as it appears, thoughtful or thoughtless, cold or warm, but the cause which is at the back of it.
By reading the human mind a mystic gets insight into human nature and to him the life of human beings begins to appear as a mechanism working. The mystic learns from this that life is give and take. It is not only that one receives what one gives but also one gives what one receives. In this way the mystic begins to see the balance of life; he realizes that life is a balance, and if the gain or loss, the joy or pain of one outweighs that of another, it is for the moment, but in time it all sums up in a balance, and without balance there is no existence possible.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 4
Insight:
The Language of the Mind
Everything one expresses in his art, painting, verse, music, is the reproduction of the mind. Not only that, but his choice, his likes and dislikes, his habits, all show what is the state of his mind. Everything man says or does shows the lines already traced on his mind. There is no exaggeration in the saying that man's face is the mirror of his heart. It seems as if the mind begins to speak through every particle of the body. Since the head is the more predominant factor, the expression of man tells most about the condition of his mind.
No doubt it is difficult to give a certain rule of reading this language expressed in the face, form, or movements. But two things can help one to understand it: Keen observation to study human nature, and developed intuition. Then one begins to have a sort of key to this language; but if you ask him, he cannot express it. From different compositions of composers one can imagine their character, their life and state of mind. As in the science of sound there is a tone and an overtone, so in the music of a certain composer there is a sense which stands together with the music. The one who hears the notes, he only enjoys the music; the one who understands the sense, he knows the mind of the composer. So the verse is the soul of the poet. For the poetry is not only a poetry, it has its music behind. The one who reads the verse, he only enjoys the poetry; but the one who comprehends the sense in it enjoys the music of this poetry. One who asks a question of himself on hearing a certain word, on seeing a certain movement, on observing a certain expression in a face, must receive an answer from his intuition, telling him the cause of this effect which manifests outwardly. In this way the Sufi makes his way for his journey in the inner world.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 5
Insight:
The Influence of Experience
Beneath the five senses there is one principal sense that works through the others. It is through this sense that one feels deeply, and distinguishes between the impressions which come from outside. Every impression and experience gained by this sense is recorded on the mind. This record is made up of deep lines, and the nature of these lines deeply set in the mind is to want the same thing that has already been recorded, according to the depth of the line. And it is according to the depth of these lines that one needs the thing that one has once experienced. For instance the liking for salt, sour, or pepper are acquired tastes, and the sign of this acquisition is the deep line on the mind. Each line so produced wishes to live uopn its impression, and the lack of that experience is like death to that line. Unpleasant flavors, such as that of fish, or vinegar, or cheese, become pleasant after the line is formed; tastes even more unpalatable than these may become excessively agreeable once the line is well-engraved on the mind.
The same rule is applicable to notes of music. A certain combination of notes, or a certain arrangement, when once impressed on the mind, may become very agreeable to it. The more one hears the music which has once been impressed on our mind the more one wants to hear it. And one never becomes tired of it, unless another, deeper line is formed; then the first line may be neglected and become a dead line. It is for that reason that the music that belongs to a certain people, whether evolved or unevolved, is their ideal music. Therefore it is not the music written without, it is the music written within the mind that has influence. This is the reason why composers resemble each other in their music, for the lines that are impressed upon their minds have been created by what they have heard, and as the first lines are inherited from other composers there is a resemblance in their music. In this way the music of every people forms its own character.
The same law works in poetry. One enjoys poetry from one's previous impressions. If the poetry that one reads is not in harmony with the first impressions one will not enjoy it so much. The more one reads a certain poetry the more one enjoys it, because of the deep impression on the mind.
From this we learn that not only what is desirable but also what is undesirable may become a favorite thing. Even things that one would never like to have, such as pain, illness, worry or death, if they are deeply impressed on one's mind, one unconsciously longs to experience again.
It is very interesting to find that if a man has formed an opinion about a certain thing or person and after a time there has been everything to disprove that opinion, he will still hold on to his impression and will not like to change his opinion, because of these lines deeply impressed on his mind. How true is what the mystic says, that the true ego of man is his mind! And it is still more amusing to find that after spending his life under the influece of the deep impressions on his mind man still boasts of what he calls his free will.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 6
Insight:
Intuition
The modern psychologist adopts a system of psycho-analysis in order to investigate the state of mind of his patient, and the barrister in the law court cross-examines in order to investigate the truth of the case. All these methods are more or less useful when they are rightly practiced, but the chief thing for getting to the mind of a person is to see the person, in his form, in his expression, in his movements, in his words, in his imagination and in the way of his action. And the principal thing which helps in seeing the mind of another person is the light of intuition. Nothing else, neither rules nor studies nor standard of understanding can help without the development of intuition. But one thing must be remembered, that man shows the lines engraved upon his mind in his form, expression, in his movements, words, in his imagination and action, and it is possible to detect a man from his word before his action, or from his movement before his action, or from his expression before his words, or from his form before even he had time to imagine. Therefore the knowledge of this can save a great deal of trouble in life, if man only knows beforehand how to act with different people.
The person who acts in the same manner with every person, however good or kind he may be must always meet with disappointments. As the direction of the fire is upwards and that of the water is downwards so the direction of one person is different from that of the other. Therefore if you expect a person who is going to the south to take your message to the north, you will find yourself mistaken in the end. Generally a person dealing with others thinks of the affair more than of the person. Really the person must be the chief object of study, not the affair, for the affair depends upon the person. In the East there is a superstition of a dog or a cat or a horse being lucky or unlucky for the person who possesses it, but the reality of this idea can be most seen in every human being with whom one comes in contact through one's everyday life. He must surely bring something with him, pleasure, displeasure, happiness, unhappiness, good or bad influence. Every man in himself is a world, and every new contact is a new world opened before us.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 7
Insight:
Evidence of the Thought
When a person is thinking, you can see his thought in his eyes, in his expression, in his movements. Things such as opening or closing the eyes, looking up or looking down, and looking out the corners of the eyes, turning the head to the right or left, raising it or bowing it, scratching the fingers, rubbing the hands, turning the thumbs, a half-smile, puckering the face or the forehead, sitting stiffly or at ease, sitting upright or leaning back, or leaning to one side or to the other, all show to the seer the line of thought. Especially when a person is asked a question, before he answers the seer knows what will be his answer from his attitude.
The Hindus believe that the creation is Brahma's dream, which means the Creator's dream --- in plain words, what the Creator has thought He has made. So, in proportion to his might, man makes what he thinks. What materializes we call happening, but what has not been materialized we don't know, and what we don't know still exists in the thought-world. In the Qur'an it is said, "The organs of your body will give evidence of your action on the Last Day." Really speaking, not of the action only but evidence even of the thought is given by every atom of the body immediately. The nature of the manifestation is such that there is nothing hidden except that which one cannot see, and what one cannot see is not hidden in itself, but from one's eyes.
The aim of the Sufi, therefore, is to see and yet not be interested. Suppose you were climbing Mount Everest, and were interested in a certain place which you liked, to admire it, or in the part which you disliked, to break it. In both cases you have allowed your feet to be chained to that place for more or less time, and by that have lost time and opportunity; whereas you could have gone on forever and perhaps seen and learnt more than by stopping there. Those who trouble about others' thoughts and interest themselves in others' actions most often lose their time and blunt their inner sight. Those who go farther, their moral is to overlook all they see on their way, as their mind is fixed on the goal. It is not a sin to know anybody's thought, but it is a fault no doubt if one professes to do so. To try to know the thought of another for one's own interest is not just nor beneficial; at the same time to sit with closed eyes is not good either. The best thing is to see and rise above, never to halt on the way, and it is this attitude that, if constantly practiced, will lead man safely to his soul's desired goal.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 8
Insight:
The Activity of Mind
The activity of mind can be recognized in three different aspects, mobile, rhythmic and chaotic. And the activity of mind can be seen by the speech and action of a person. If, in speech and action a person shows a friendly attitude, love and kindness, the activity is mobile, and every impulse prompted by this activity will manifest in the form of gentleness, generosity, gratitude and goodwill. If the activity of mind is rhythmic it will make a person more reasoning. He will be exacting, weighing, measuring, loving and hating; liking and dislike will be balanced. This is not an easygoing person; this person will be more businesslike. All that manifests from him in speech or action will be more substantial, reasonable, also progressive in a worldly sense. But the person the activity of whose mind is chaotic will be agitated, confused, suspicious, horrified, and all that will manifest in his speech and action will be anger, passion, intolerance, imprudence, and will be difficult for himself and for others.
No soul is by nature fixed to any of these three aspects of acitivity; it is what he allows himself to be or what the condition of his life makes him be. Therefore the principle of Sufi teaching is to regulate the rhythm of man's mind. Then the Sufi becomes the master of the rhythm of his own mind, his mind becomes his instrument. He can play on it any music of any rhythm and nothing will affect it, for he is no longer in the hand of his mind, his mind is in his hand.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 9
Insight:
Likes and Dislikes
What one dislikes in line, form, color, smell, taste, or sound, or in sense or idea, is not disliked because it deserves to be so, but because it is foreign to one's nature. Once a person becomes accustomed to anything he develops love for it in himself. Therefore, often some people have a liking for certain things which many others dislike, or a dislike of certain things which many others like. Often when travelling in the train a person feels more comfortable if no one else comes into his compartment, but once someone has come and sat there, if they have spoken together and become acquainted, then they wish to travel together. All things have their beauty, and so has every person his goodness, and one's dislike of a person very often comes from lack of knowing that person or from lack of familiarity with him. What makes one dislike things and despise men is a certain barrier which very often the one who dislikes does not know and also the one who is disliked does not know.
The work of the Sufi is therefore to investigate the truth about all things or persons whom he likes or dislikes. By a keen observation of life he gets to that barrier and understands what it is that makes him disliked or makes him dislike others. All fear, doubt, suspicion, misunderstanding, bitterness, or spite becomes cleared as soon as one touches that barrier which keeps souls apart. It is true that one need not force one's nature. It is not necessary to dislike what one likes or to take a liking to something that by nature one dislikes; only one must know why one likes if one likes a certain thing, and the reason why one dislikes if one takes a dislike to a certain thing. After observation one will come to understand, "All I like in the world is what I have always liked, and all I dislike is what I have always disliked in life." It can be said in other words, "What I know to be loveable I have always loved and all that I don't know I cannot love at once." This shows that ignorance becomes a cover over all that is beautiful and ugly, and knowledge uncovers it; liking comes from knowledge and dislike from ignorance, although both are necessary. Also it is possible that through ignorance one may like a certain thing and by knowledge one may rise above that liking. However, the higher knowledge must always give liking for all things, and things which do not deserve liking, above them a soul will rise by the help of knowledge.
Series II GATHA
KASHF Number 10
Insight:
Vipr¡t Karna¡
In man's speech and in his action, the seer sees designs: A straight line, a round, a crooked line, zigzag, oval, square, a triangle. For instance there is a person who speaks straight to the face all he feels; there is another person who proceeds in a roundabout way; there is a person who has a crooked way of mentioning a thing; there is a person who will touch two opposite angles before he will arrive at the desired point; there is another person who will go about in a zigzag way, you can't know whether he is going to the south or the north until he has arrived at a certain point. These figures represent the lines on the mind of man. Man does not feel comfortable in acting differently from the lines already engraved upon his mind. Therefore a crooked person enjoys his crookedness as much as a straightforward person enjoys his straightforwardness.
A most interesting study of this subject can be made by studying the art of different ages and of different nations. Every nation has its typical lines and typical forms, every period shows the peculiarity of expression of the art of that period. So one finds in the imagery of poets and in the theme of musicians. If you study one musician and his lifelong work you will find that his whole work is developed on a certain line as the basis of his work. Also by studying the biography of great people you will find how one thing has led to the other, different but of similar kind. Therefore it is natural that a thief in time becomes a greater thief; so the righteous after some time may become a saint.
It is not difficult to slide on the line already made on one's mind, the difficult is to act contrary to the line which is engraved there, especially in the case when it happens to be an undesirable line. Shiva, the great Lord of Yogis, has given a special teaching on the subject, which he calls Vipr¡t Karna¡, "Acting contrary to one's nature," and he gives great importance to this method of working with oneself, that by this method in the end one arrives at mastery.
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 1
Symbology:
"Die Before Death"
There is a symbolical picture known in the philosophical world of China that represents a sage with one shoe in his hand and one on his foot. It signifies the hereafter, that the change that death brings is to a wise man only the taking off of one shoe. The body of the philosopher in the picture represents his soul, or his person; the one shoe still on his foot represents his mind, which exists after death; and the withdrawal of the soul from the body is like taking one foot out of the shoe. For the mystic, therefore, the physical body is something he can easily dispense with, and to arrive at this realization is the object of wisdom. When, by philosophical understanding of life, he begins to realize his soul, then he begins to stand, so to speak, on his own feet; he is then himself and the body is to him only a cover.
The teaching of the Prophet is to die before death, which means to realize in one's lifetime what death means. This realization takes away all the fear there is. By the symbol of the shoe is shown also the nothingness of the material existence, or the smallness of the physical being, in comparison with the greatness of the soul, or the spirit. Hafiz says in Persian verse, "Those who realize Thee are kings of life," which means that the true kingdom of life is in the realization of the soul. The idea that one must wait until one's turn will come after many incarnations keeps one far away from the desired goal. The man who is impatient to arrive at spiritual realization is to be envied. As Omar Khayyam says, "Tomorrow? Why, tomorrow I may be myself with yesterday's seven thousand years." He means by this, "Don't bother about the past, don't trouble about the future, but accomplish all you can just now." Life has taken time enough to develop gradually from mineral to vegetable, from vegetable to animal, and from animal to man, and after becoming man delay is not necessary. It is true that the whole lifetime is not sufficient for one to become what one wishes to be. Still nothing is impossible, since the soul of man is from the spirit of God; and if God can do all things why cannot man do something?
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 2
Symbology:
Fruitfulness
There is a Chinese symbol of philosophers carrying on their shoulders peaches, which means that the object of life is to be fruitful. However good or spiritual a person may be, yet, if his life is not fruit-giving, he has not fulfilled the purpose of life. A person whose life becomes fruitful does not only bear fruit to others, but every aspect of life bears fruit to him as well; for him life becomes a fruit. If life were only for what people call goodness, life would be very uninteresting. For goodness is dependent for its beauty on badness. As a form cannot exist without a shadow so goodness cannot be without badness. If life were for spirituality alone, the soul had better not have been born on earth, for the soul in its nature is spiritual. The whole creation is purposed for something greater than goodness or even spirituality, and that is fruitfulness. Goodness and spirituality are the means, not the goal. If there is any goal, it is fruitfulness. Therefore it is the object of life which the symbol of peaches represents.
Fruitfulness has three aspects. The first aspect is when man benefits from his own life; the next aspect is when man benefits from the life outside himself; and the third aspect is when man is a benefit to himself and to the life outside, and the life outside is a benefit to him. That is the moment of the fruitfulness of life. It takes all the patience one has to arrive at this realization, but it is for this realization that God created the world, that man may enjoy fruitfulness therein. It is the absence of faith and lack of patience which deprive man of this bliss; if not, every soul is purposed for this. For instance, when a musician begins to enjoy his own music, that is the first stage; when he enjoys the music of others, that is the second stage of realization; but when man enjoys his own music and makes others enjoy too, then his life has become fruitful. There is a great treasure of blessing within oneself and there is a vast treasure of blessing outside oneself, and when one has become able to find out the treasure one has within oneself and to exploit the treasure which is outside oneself, and when there is an exchange between his own treasure, and the treasure outside, then his life has borne the fruit for which his soul was born. There comes a time in the life of the fruitful souls when every moment of their life bears a new fruit, just like a plant which bears fruit at all times of the year.
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 3
Symbology:
The Symbol of the Dragon
The best-known symbolical figure of China is the dragon. The dragon represents life and death both; life in the sense of eternal life, death in the sense of a change from mortality to eternity. Very often a Chinese dragon has an appearance of a tiger, of a seal, its body that of a snake, together with wings of the birds and the paws of the carnivorous animals, also some appearance of man --- which means that life is one but it is manifest in many forms, that life lives on life and so hungers for life. The dragon suggests mortality standing by one's side, awaiting its hour every moment of our life, and yet man is unaware of it, building castles in the air, depending upon the life of this mortal world. The dragon also suggests that there is an obstacle on the way to eternity and that obstacle is death, and that can be avoided by conquering the dragon. The dragon is also a picture of man's selfish ego, which is not only the enemy of others, but which makes man his own enemy. The dragon signifies the lower nature, and the conquering of the lower nature is the killing of the dragon, of which St. George also is the symbol. The dragon is a sign of material power, which has its transitory reign over things and beings; and often power can govern or cause difficulty even to spiritual beings, for the reason that even spiritual beings have matter which makes their being and which is dependent for its life and comfort on things of this earth. But all stories of dragons prove the dragon to be a failure in the end and the spirit alone conqueror over it. In Chinese art this symbol is kept to the fore, for this one symbol suggests and touches many things.
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 4
Symbology:
Water
In the old scriptures such as the Vedanta and the Old Testament, spirit is symbolized as water. One wonders why something which is near to the earth, as water is, should be considered symbolically as spirit. The nature of water is to give life to the earth, and so the nature of the spirit is to give life to the body. Without water the earth is dead, so is the body without soul. Water and earth both mix together, so the spirit mixes with matter and revivifies it, and yet spirit stands above matter, as water in time lets the earth sink to the bottom and stands itself above the earth. But one may ask, "Is the spirit hidden under matter as the soul in the body?" I will answer, "So the water stays beneath the earth." There is no place where water does not exist, there are places where earth is not to be found. So there is nowhere in space where spirit is absent; only the absence of matter is possible.
The symbolic way of expressing high ideas does not come from the brain, it is an outcome of intuition. The beginning intuition is to understand the symbolical meaning of different things, and the next step is to express things symbolically. It is a divine art in itself, and the best proof of it is to be found in the symbol of water, which is so fitting to express the meaning of spirit.
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 5
Symbology:
Wine
Wine is considered sacred, not only in the Christian faith, but also in many other religions. In the ancient religion of the Zoroastrians, Yima Jamshyd, the bowl of wine "from which Jamshyd drank deep," is a historical event. Among Hindus, Shiva considered wine sacred. And in Islam, though wine is prohibited when on earth, yet in heaven it is allowed. Hauz ul-Kausar, the sacred fountain of heaven, about which there is so much spoken in Islam, is a fountain of wine. Although the bowl that was given to the Prophet in the Mi`raj, the authorities of Islam say, was filled with milk, yet I doubt it. I should not be surprised if it were not the invention of the authorities, to keep the faithful followers away from wine. For it is natural that the followers should like to begin drinking the wine on earth, which the Prophet drank in heaven.
Wine is symbolical of the soul's evolution. Wine comes from the annihilation of grapes, immortality comes from the annihilation of self. The bowl of poison which is known in many mystical cults suggests also the idea of wine, but not a sweet wine, a bitter wine. When the self turns into something different from what it was before, it is like the soul being born again. This is seen in the grape turning into wine. The grape, by turning into wine, lives; as a grape it would have vanished in time. Only, by turning into wine, the grape loses its individuality, and yet not its life. The self-same grape lives as wine, and the longer it lives the better the wine becomes. For a Sufi, therefore, the true sacrament is the turning of one's own grapelike personality, which has a limited time to live, into wine, that nothing of one's self may be lost but, on the contrary, amplified, even perfected. This is the essence of all philosophy and the secret of mysticism.
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 6
Symbology:
The Curl of the Beloved
In the Sufi literature, which is known to the world as the Persian literature, there is much talk about the curls of the Beloved, and many have often wondered what it means. The curl is a symbol of something which is curved and round. The curve denotes the twist in the thought of wisdom. Very often a straight word of truth hits upon the head harder than a hammer. That shows that truth alone is not sufficient, the truth must be made into wisdom. And what is wisdom? Wisdom is the twisted truth. As raw food cannot be digested, and therefore it is cooked, although raw food is more natural than cooked food, so the straight truth is more natural, but is not digestible, it needs to be made into wisdom.
And why is it called the Beloved's curl? Because truth is of God, the Divine Beloved, and truth is God, and that twist given to His Own Being, which is truth, amplifies the divine beauty, as the curl is considered to be the sign of beauty. Then what is not straight is a puzzle. So wisdom is a puzzle to the ordinary mind. Besides, the curl hangs low down; so the heavenly beauty which is wisdom is manifested on earth. In other words, if someone wishes to see the beauty of the heavenly Beloved he may see it in wisdom. Wisdom is traced not only in the human being, but even in the beasts and birds, in their affection, in their instinct. Very often it is most difficult for man to imitate fully the work which birds do in weaving their nests. Even the insects do wonderful work in preparing a little abode for themselves which is beyond man's art and skill. Besides this, if one studies nature, after keen observation and some contemplation upon it one will find that there is perfect wisdom behind it. Once man has thought on the subject, he can never, however materialistic he may be, deny the existence of God. Man's individuality is proved by his wisdom and distinguished by comparison. The wisdom of God, being perfect, is unintelligible to man. The glass of water cannot imagine how much water there is in the sea. If man would realize his limitation he would never dare question the existence of God.
The symbol of the curl also signifies something which is there, attractive, and yet a puzzle, a riddle. One loves it, admires it, and yet one cannot fathom its length and breadth. It is that which is wisdom. Its surface is human, but its depth is divine. It could be hell or heaven, and the knowledge of it can enable man always to keep in touch with his heaven, instead of waiting for it till the hereafter.
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 7
Symbology:
The Glance
The Persian poets, in the Sufi literature, very often speak of the glance. And their symbolical expression for the glance is, very often, a sword, and it is called a sword for various reasons. In the first place the glance has a projecting effect. An intelligent glance has a crossways movement, like that of a sword. But besides this, from a psychological point of view a keen glance sees through an object, as though a thing had been cut open by the sword and manifested to view. The glance is a power, very little is known about it. The power of the glance can hold lions at bay. Therefore also it is symbolized as a sword. The glance of a brave person is very often more powerful than a sword, for the will-power works through the glance.
Besides its precious work, which makes the eye superior to every other organ of the body, it is the expression of the beauty of body, mind and soul. Sufis, therefore, symbolize the eye by a cup of wine; through the eyes the secret hidden in man's heart is reflected into the heart of another. However much a person may try to conceal his secret, yet the reader can read it in his eyes, and can read there his pleasure, his displeasure, his joy, his sorrow. A seer can see still farther. The seer can see the actual condition of man's soul through his eyes, his grade of evolution, his attitude in life, his outlook on life, and his condition, both hidden and manifest. Besides, to the passive soul of a disciple, knowledge, ecstasy, spiritual joy, and divine peace, all are given through the glance. One sees in everyday life that a person who is laughing in his mind with his lips closed can express his laughter through his glance, and the one who receives the glance at once catches the infectious mirth. Often the same happens through looking in the eyes of the sorrowful, in a moment one becomes filled with depression. And those whose secret is God, whose contemplation is the perfection of beauty, whose joy is endless in the realization of everlasting life, from whose heart the spring of love is ever flowing, it is most appropriate that their glance should be called, symbolically, the Bowl of Sƒki, the Bowl of the Wine-Giver."
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 8
Symbology:
The Myth of Balder
The Scandinavian myth tells that Balder, the god of youth, beauty, kindness and gentleness, was pursued by enemies who wanted to kill him. For his protection a spell had been cast upon all the trees of the forest and every plant that has a root in the ground and grows upward to heaven, that no weapon wrought from any of them should have power to harm him. But in this charm, the mistletoe had been forgotten, which has no root in the ground, and from its wood an arrow was made, with which Balder was hit and wounded to death.
Its interpretation is an answer to the question which often arises in an intelligent mind. "Why were godlike people treated cruelly, continually, through all periods of the world's history, and how could any person in the world think of causing harm to those who attracted the sympathy of almost every soul they met on the earth?" Their adherents spread their teachings and the beauty of their life and character among all, wise and foolish, kind and cruel. They all became more or less impressed by what they learned of the godly souls, even those whose soul had not yet risen to human evolution, who only live like trees and plants, living and yet dreaming, unaware of life, except their own activity. But the one who could not be impressed by this spell, whom, even had the spell been cast upon him, it could not have reached, and had it reached only with great difficulty, is the godless, who is like the mistletoe, living without any root. The mourning for this is continued, in memory of the death of that god. In reality it is celebrating the birth of what was born from him, it was divine knowledge.
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 9
Symbology:
The Tree of Wishes
There is an old Hindu belief, found in the ancient myths of India, that there is a tree which they call Kamana Kalpa Vriksha, a tree that bears all fruits that one can imagine, and if a person is under that tree he has but to wish for what he would like, and in the same moment all fruits, all flowers, everything he can imagine, he will find brought forth by the tree as its fruits; he has but to wish and it will fall into his hands. If it is within one's reach one has to raise one's hand to pluck the flower or fruit of that tree; if it is beyond one's reach one has only to wish and the branch will reach one's hand, that one may pick it without any effort.
And there is a story about that tree, that a wanderer, while journeying in deserts, by chance happened to sleep under that tree. And when, after a good sleep, he opened his eyes and looked up at that tree, he thought, I suppose it must be a pear tree." No sooner had he thought that than two good ripe pears dropped near him. While lying there he picked them up. "Oh," he said, "what a wonderful tree! If it were a grape tree, what a splendid thing it would be!" As soon as he said it, the tree seemed full of grapes, and before he raised his hands, the branches bent low and, without any effort, he was able to pick the grapes. But when he thought, "What a wonderful tree!," he wondered if the tree would yield some roses. And no sooner had he given a thought to it than the whole tree seemed to blossom into roses. This man became so surprised, so amazed and perplexed at this magical tree that he wondered if it was true or if it was only a dream. As soon as he thought of a dream and he looked up at the the tree, the tree vanished in a moment.
There cannot be a better example to demonstrate the idea behind the symbolical tree than this story. For this tree is this whole universe, the miniature of which is one's own self, and there is nothing that you ask that this universe will not answer, for it is the nature of the universe to answer your soul's call. Only, if you ask for the pears, there are pears, if one asked for a cactus, there is a cactus, if you ask for the rose there will be the rose and its thorns together. And it is the lack of knowledge of this great secret hidden in the heart of the universe which is the only tragedy of life. When a person seeks for something in the universe and he cannot find it, it is not true that it is not there, the fact is that he does not see it. Besides, he sees something within his reach, he sees something which he desires, and yet he thinks whether it is possible for him to get it or whether it is beyond the reach of his effort and power. And at the same time the end of the story solves the whole question of life, and that is, it is all there and nothing is there. If we think it is everything, it is everything, but if we realize that it is nothing, it is nothing. It is something of which you may say that it is and it is not. However, beyond all things of this universe, above all things that this life can offer, there is only one thing and that is God. And what is God? God is truth.
Series II GATHA
NAQSHBANDI Number 10
Symbology:
The Hindu Symbolical Form of Worship
Puja is the name of the Hindu form of worship, which is from the beginning to the end a symbolical expression of what the seeker has to perform in the path of spiritual attainment. After bathing in the running stream of water, which the Hindu calls the Ganges (whatever be the name of the river he at that time believes that it is the Ganges, the sacred river), he proceeds with flowers to the shrine of the deity. He puts on to the deity the flowers, and repeats the mantrams, and stands greeting the deity with folded hands, and prostrates himself before the deity. Then he rings the bell and repeats the sacred word. Then he takes rice in his hands and puts it at the feet of the deity. Then the red powder, Kumkum, he touches with the tip of his finger and makes a mark with it on the shrine of the deity and then on his own forehead. Then he touches the ointment with the tip of his finger and, after touching the deity, he touches his forehead with the ointment. He then prostrates himself and makes three circles around the shrine. Then he rings the bell, and thus the service is finished. Afterwards he goes and stands before the sun and does his breathing exercises while adhering to the sun, and that completes the next part of his worship.
However primitive this form of worship, at the back of it there seems to be a great meaning. The meaning of the bath in the Ganges is to become purified before one makes any effort of journeying on the spiritual path. The purification of the body and of the mind both are necesary before one takes the first step towards the God-ideal. One must not approach the deity before such purification, the outer purification as well as the inner purification, for then alone, when once a person is pure, he will find it easy to attain the desired presence. The meaning of the flowers which he takes is that God is pleased with the offerings which are delicate, beautiful and fragrant. Delicate means tenderness of heart, beautiful in color is fineness of character, fragrance is the virtue of the soul. This is the offering with which God is pleased. He stands with the thought that his self is devoted in perfect discipline to the supreme will of God. His hands folded express no action on the part of himself, but complete surrender. The meaning of prostration is self-denial in the right sense of the word, which means, "I am not --- Thou art"; whispering the words and ringing the bell is that the same word is rung in the bell of one's heart. His touching the red powder means touching the eternal life and when he touches the deity with that powder it means that from this source he is to gain eternal life. When he touches his forehead with it, it means he has gained it for himself. And the ointment means wisdom, and the touching of the God with it and then to his forehead means that true wisdom can be obtained from God alone, and touching his own head with it means that he has gained it. Then making three circles around the shrine is the sign that life is a journey and that journey is made to attain his goal which is God, that "Every step I take in my life," the Brahman thinks, "will be in His direction, in the search of God." In the second part of the service when he stands before the sun, by that he means that God is to be sought in the light. And by the breathing exercises he welds that link of inner communication between God and himself.
Questions and Answers
Q: Do the Vaishnavas and Shiva-followers and the worshippers of all the different deities worship in the same way?
A: It is almost the same. There may be little differences; not much. Just some differences which will perhaps distinguish one from the other. But at the same time mostly this is the form.
Q: Have they all the same sacred words and breathing exercises?
A No, perhaps the words of the Vaishnava (followers of Vishnu) differ from the words the followers of Shiva use. Of course, the meaning is the same. And breathing exercises do not differ much. For the reason that the yoga is one yoga for all the Hindus. There are four different yogas, but one system.
Q: Who gives them the words and breathing exercises? Are the priests Murshids?
A: First of all, a Brahman is a priest by birth; a Brahman is a born priest. Therefore the first lesson he receives is in his own family, of the sacred word. But when he takes an esoteric path, at that time he needs the guidance of a Murshid. What the Brahman calls a Guru. And it may be the same word perhaps which he has learned from his parents. Still when that word is given by the Guru, that has a different value again. Perhaps he has repeated that word in his life, but when it is given by the Guru the value of the word is different.
Q: And for the non-Brahman?
A: The manner of their worship is the same. But the worship of the other persons is done by the mediumship of a Brahman, because only a Brahman was entitled to perform the service. Brahmans were the community of priests. And for Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas, and Shudras, which are three different castes of the Hindus, the Brahmans had to perform services. The others had no power to perform the service anywhere.
Hindus are all those who live in India. They have to take Brahman as a medium; through Brahman they are entitled to have a service. Brahman is the one who will perform the service; and they will have to stand there and partake in the service.
Q: Do they know the meaning of all the different actions they perform?
A: Not everybody. An advanced Brahman knows it.
Q: Has it not changed the customs of the other classes?
A: Yes, they do prostrate. But going near the deity, and putting the red powder and the ointment, that they do not do. Sometimes they bring for the Brahman the red powder and the oil, and leave it there. But that is Brahman's work to do.
They have many different marks of the caste. But the caste-mark denotes the third eye, the inner sense.
Q: The Catholic Church . . . ?
A: One thing is very admirable in the Hindu religion. It is so very vast in its ways of worship, and in its doctrines and ideal and forms and philosophy, that it gives a scope for a person of every grade of evolution; he has an answer in the religion of the Hindus, whatever grade of evolution he has reached. For every person Hinduism will give an answer, because it is very vast. If a person will try in the philosophical field, he will find an answer; in worship, in symbology. Therefore it is something which answers the demand of every individual's life. If one takes the whole religion of the Hindus, from the beginning to the end, so vast and deep, and yet so simple that it answers the need of every person. Hinduism is not one religion; Hinduism is many religions itself.
Q: Is that the reason that the Jains and Sikhs have so grown?
A: The religion of the Jains is Buddhistic, and of the Sikhs is a modern reform of Hinduism.
Q: Does the ancient . . . ?
A: There is no direction of life which is not expressed.
Q: . . . .
A: It is the spiritual effort of the word. At the same time when the Guru gives it, at that time the Guru has charged this word with his own spiritual power. That is the same thing in Sufism.
Q: What is the meaning in the worship of the Brahmans of putting rice at the feet of the deity?
A: That all the love and light that they will gain from the deity, they will spread in the world, as the seeds thrown in the furrow.
The name of the red powder symbolizes eternal life.
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 1
Breath:
Fikr
The breath is like a swing which has a constant motion, and whatever is put in the swing, swings also with the movement of the breath. Fikr, therefore, is not a breathing practice. In Fikr it is not necessary that one should breathe in a certain way, different from one's usual breathing. Fikr is to become conscious of the natural movement of the breath, and picturing breath as a swing, to put in that swing a certain thought, as a babe in the cradle, to rock it. Only the difference in rocking is an intentional activity on the part of the person who rocks the cradle. In Fikr no effort must be made to change the rhythm of the breath; the breath must be left to its own usual rhythm. One need not try even to regulate the rhythm of the breath, for the whole mechanism of one's body is aready working rhythmically. So the breath is rhythmical by nature and it is the very breath itself which causes man to distinguish rhythm.
What is important in Fikr is not the rhythm but the concentration. Fikr is swinging the concentrated thought with the movement of breath, for breath is life and it gives life to the thought which is repeated with the breath. On the rhythm of the breath the circulation of the blood and the pulsation of the heart and head depend; which means that the whole mechanism of the body, also of the mind, is directed by the rhythm of the breath. When a thought is attached to the breath by concentration, then the effect of that thought reaches every atom of one's mind and body. Plainly speaking, the thought held in Fikr runs with the circulation of the blood through every vein and tube of the body, and the influence of that thought is spread through every faculty of the mind. Therefore the reaction of the Fikr is the resonance of the same thought expressing itself through one's thought, speech and action. So in time the thought one holds in Fikr becomes the reality of one's self. So he who contemplates on God in time arrives at a state where his self turns into the being of God.
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 2
Breath:
Regularity of Breath
As the mechanism of the body depends upon the breath for its subsistence as well as for its health, so the breath is important in sustaining the mind and keeping its work regular. Mostly confusion, depression, or any other disorder of the mind arises from the disorder of breathing. All such diseases as hallucinations and delusions are caused by wrong breathing. For instance, if a person comes running or is hurried for a moment, he loses the regularity of his breath for that moment, and at that moment he is incapable of thinking rightly. If science and the State knew this, they could surely cause some change to be made in the present law. Many who are put in prison for some crime caused by them during moments of irregular breathing, the State would send to be cured and taught how to breathe, instead of sending them to prison. For neither does the prison cure them nor does it benefit by their presence there. By this I mean to say that not only a disorder of mind that comes at a certain time is caused by irregular breathing, but also a disorder which comes and goes so often during the day, whenever breathing is not rightly done. People who become impulsive, or show irritability in nature, who become impatient at times, who get fits of anger, passion, or laughter, who get spells of tears, all have an irregularity of breathing as the cause of all this. The physician has no remedy for their ills, modern psychology has not found the link, but the mystics of old have for years believe it --- not only believed it, but practiced it --- and have found in the end that balance of mind entirely depends upon regularity of breathing.
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 3
Breath:
The Life-Power
On breath depends the capability and efficiency with which one thoroughly does one's work. Shortness of breath gives man impatience, lack of endurance; and irregularity of the rhythm of the breath gives man confusion, and makes him inclined to be easily upset. Breath being the life-power, it is the same life-power which gives man strength to endure all things. One always will find that those who easily get cross, quickly upset, instantly annoyed, have something wrong with the breath. People, not knowing their difficulty, get annoyed with them; they are put aside, and are considered disagreeable people. What they need is the training of breathing. When their body and mind is so repaired, one will find no more disagreeableness in their nature. Then, the artist who gets tired of his work and feels a lack of enthusiasm to complete his work and feels a lack of interest and feels absence of inspiration --- it all is often caused by some disorder in the breath.
Regular and rhythmic breathing gives health to body and mind both. Inspiration comes from above, but as a light. It is the work of the mind to receive it. If the mind is not ready to receive it, the inspiration will come but will not be realized. It is just like the difference between the gong of metal and the gong of wood. The former will resound, the latter will not resound. It is not the fault of the one who strikes the gong, it is the gong itself which does not resound. So it is with the mind which is receptive to the inspiration and the mind which cannot conceive it. But to every mind inspiration comes; the only difference is that one receives it, the other rejects it. Right breathing makes the mind vibrate, and vibration is the sign of life. All that vibrates more is more living; what vibrates less is less living. So it is with trees and animals, they show their life in their vibration. India's greatest scientist, Jagadish Chandra Bose, had the other day spoken at a university in England on the subject of trees breathing. Among horses, the horse one chooses as the best is the one whose nostrils are fully open and whose breath is fuller, which the horse shows in its expression in the eyes. A good horse shows vibrations by the quivering of its skin when its back is patted. It is not like a stone-like horse which takes one step after ten whips given on its back. In man in the same way that life can be seen which is termed in Hindustani Pani, which means water. They say that a horse, or a man, has "a watery nature," which means a liquid nature, living, pliable; and this life breath gives to body and mind.
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 4
Breath:
Full Breath
The importance of the breath in the body is like the influence of the weather in the world. As the body and mind act and react on one another, so the influence of the breath takes the chief place in directing mind and body both. Every emotion is caused by the breath flowing in a certain direction, also the degree of the force of the breath. There are three different rhythms of breath which have influence upon the mind. Slow breath gives tranquillity to the mind, and all the creative faculties of mind have scope of work given by this rhythm. Moderate breathe helps the mind to continue its activities. If one wanted to make out a plan of work, or wished to accomplish a certain work, the slow activity of breath spoken of above would not be helpful; though for poetry or music the activity of breath which is slow is more helpful. But quickness in the rhythm of breath produces confusion, although it gives a force to physical activities. One can run better or swim well when the breath is in fairly quick rhythm. When the rhythm of the breath is too quick, it brings confusion to the mind and exhaustion to the body.
One who does not breathe fully, in other words freely and deeply, can neither be well physically nor make use of his mental faculties. Very often one finds most learned and intelligent people unable to work as they wish and incapable of finishing a work which they have taken up. Sometimes a person thinks it a bodily weakness or mental weakness or lack of enthusiasm or loss of memory, not knowing that it is very often a matter of regularizing the breath. Most often people think that it is the external senses being tired or exhausted that prevents their thinking, but in reality it is the absence of right breathing, for right breathing can make the mental faculties clearer and the outer organs of the senses more capable of perceiving. This shows that the mind can live a fuller life by what I call full breath. For a Sufi, therefore, breath is a key to concentration. The Sufi, so to speak, covers his thought under the breath. This expression of Rumi's I would interpret that the Sufi lays his beloved ideal in the swing of the breath. I remember my Murshid's saying that every breath which is inhaled with the consciousness of the Divine Beloved is the only gain, and every breath inhaled without this consciousness is the only loss there is.
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 5
Breath:
The Rhythmic Breath
Thought is conveyed without speech through the breath. The true wireless telegraphy is the rightly established current of breath. It is difficult for every man to try it, without practice in concentration and in absence of the development of breath, though unconsciously thoughts are always exchanged through the agency of breath. The scientist is ready to believe that contagious diseases are spread by means of breath, but it is the part of psychology to realize that thoughts and mental states --- such as humor, depression, energy, or sloth --- are conveyed by means of breath. In the presence of an angry person one feels excited and inclined to anger, the contact of a humorous person spreads around an atmosphere of humor, in the presence of a cold person one becomes cold, the contact of a warm-hearted person warms one; and all this is done by the medium of breath. If an angry person were to close his breath while angry, much less of his feeling would affect another; if a person who is subject to humor would close his breath in the presence of an expert comedian he could protect himself from being influenced by him.
Yogis, who rise above the thoughts and feelings of those around them, attain power by the control of the breath. So the method of the inner cult of Sufis also depends upon the science of breath. Knowledge of another person's pleasure or displeasure, the message of affection, the warning of hostility, all are received by the way of the breath. The one who is conscious of the rhythm of breath and whose breath is pure from grossness, begins to perceive a sense which becomes, in time, a language to him. Thought-reading is not necessarily intuition, although many confuse thought-reading with intuition. There is not much difference between the working of these two faculties; the difference is like that between the telephone and the telegraph. Thought-reading comes from without, intuition comes from within; yet for both rhythmic breath and a clear mind are necessary. The rhythmic breath helps the mind to be clear. Breath breaks the congestion which in the head produces confusion and in the heart depression, which covers the thoughts of others from one's perception, even from one's own intuition. A thought is better conveyed to another through breath than by speech, for a feeling put into words becomes half-dead. Feeling, in its own sphere, is fully living, and when conveyed from there through the breath, it reaches the mind to which it is sent. When a person has not developed his mind by concentration and tries to send his thought by breath he is not always successful. He is like a person trying to hit the target without ever having practiced in his life. It is practice which makes man perfect.
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 6
Breath:
Be Conscious of Every Breath
It is by the power of breath that the animals search for their food, through breath they perceive what they must eat, what they must not eat, through breath the carnivorous animals search for their prey. It is through breath that certain animals receive warning of dangers and again it is through the breath that some animals, when ill, find their remedy. If the lower creation can do so much by the power of breath how much more can man do, if he only knows the right way of the development of breath! It is through the breath that birds receive warnings of the changes of the weather, and accordingly they migrate in flocks from one place to another. Through the breath the herds of deer perceive approaching storms or changes of weather or the approach of a lion or a tiger. Man, who is more capable of perceiving by breath still deeper things, warnings and calls from the earth and from heaven, which places are meant for him to dwell in or to settle in, of discriminating between friend and foe and discerning their pleasure and displeasure, owing to his interest in the superficial things of life cannot fully benefit by the power of breath.
Yogis and Sufis, therefore, and all students of the inner cult, believe that breath is the means of receiving all intuitive knowledge from every direction of life. Absorbed in a thousand things of daily life man gives very little thought to breath. Therefore he keeps his heart closed to all the revelation that can be received by the help of breath. Man as a rule is never conscious of his breath, of its rhythm, of its development, except at the time when he is so tired that he is breathless or when he is so excited that he feels choked up, or when something keeps the breath from flowing. For a Sufi it is desirable to be conscious of every breath. In the schools of the Sufis in the East the members of a certain association take up as their duty to remind the whole assembly of the same. So one after another, in turn, takes it up as a duty. They call aloud "Hosh dar Dam," meaning "Keep conscious of the breath." "Nazar bar Qadam" --- this sentence is added when the Sufis are walking, and means, "Look down and see whose feet are these that are walking."
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 7
Breath:
Direction of Breath
It is said that the cobras, enormous animals living in dense forests or in the mountains, attract animals or birds by the power of the breath. When the cobra is hungry, which is once in three months or six months, by inhaling the breath it draws its prey near. In its exhaling there is magnetism, power, and influence; in its inhaling there is attraction. The mystics of ancient times have learned much from cobras. Mahadeva, the Lord of Yogis, had the cobra as his necklace. The peace and stillness of this animal, the contentment with which it waits for its sustenance, are wonderful, and most instructive for an adept on the spiritual path.
One who masters breath becomes invigorated and strengthened in his mind, becomes quiet and peaceful and achieves self-control. In the cobra there is a far-reaching breath. So is the breath of the mystic. The mystic's breath is not what is called deep breathing. His is the breath reaching inmost, which touches every plane of his being. Every movement robs one of a great portion of breath, every excitement takes away a great deal of life force. Therefore those who master breathing first learn control, not only over every passion and emotion, but over every movement. By trying first to make the body still one can practice the breath better. Therefore among Yogis different postures are taught. Every posture allows the breath to take a certain direction, for every direction the breath taken has a different result. It is posture and thought, both together, that help to direct the breath in a certain direction. As breath is a life-power, whatever center it is directed to it brings to a new life.
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 8
Breath:
Breath in the Development of Mind
Different conditions and the changes that take place in the world have their effect upon the mind, and the different conditions of the mind have their effect upon the body. As bodily illness makes man irritable, confused and exhausted in mind, so different conditions of the mind cause health or illness in the body. The link between the body and the mind is the breath, a link through which the influences of the body and the mind are exchanged and work upon one another. By the use of breath in physical culture the health and vigor of the breath is projected, so to speak, upon the mind. By the use of concentration through the breath the light of the mind is thrown upon the body, which takes away from the body all heaviness and stiffness, making it light and exhilarated.
Breath in this way acts like a ball in tennis thrown from one side to the other, and the force of its movement comes from the side from which it is directed. Therefore when it is directed from the body to the mind the mind becomes subject to the influence of the body, but when from the side of the mind it is directed toward the body, in this case the body becomes subject to the mind. Very often dervishes and fakirs in the East, many of whom live upon alms and go several days without food and spend many nights in sleepless vigil, do things which are difficult for a wrestler, a boxer, or any other muscular person. Some dervishes practice jumping into fire, standing for hours in the water, sitting or lying on iron pricks, thrashing their bare arms and legs, cutting themselves with knives and swords, and all such things beyond the power of a physically strong man. Often a physically strong man suffers in proportion to his strength when he is exposed to pain or torture. This explains that though the power of breath is the main source of physical development, yet breath is the principal thing in the development of mind, in which the influence of the breath is more valuable.
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 9
Breath:
Contraction and Expansion
The breath has a great influence and entire control over two principles which work by the power of the breath: Kabs, or contraction, and Bast, or expansion. The former absorbs, attracts, and gathers energy from outside, the latter tendency expels energy from within. In this way body and mind are sustained, nourished, enriched, and made light, easy, clear and pure by the power of breath. Inhaling is contraction and exhaling is expansion. It is upon these two principles and their regular working that the health and happiness of man depend.
A man who has not gained power over his breath is like a king who has no power over his domain. Once man has gained the power of contraction and expansion then what he needs in life is to know what to attract and what to repel, and this the master of breath intuitively understands. Even the birds and animals know what they must eat and drink and what they must not. By a close study of the lower creation students of nature have learned that animals and birds abstain from food and drink when it becomes necessary for health.
I am often asked the question, why there should be pain in childbirth. And the answer is that our life has been removed far from nature. Man today lives an artificial life to such an extent that he can hardly understand what real life may be. Man considers the accustomed the natural, he does not think how far the natural is removed from the present life we live. The domesticated animals are also beginning to show the birth-pain, through their association with human beings.
Fikr, practiced for some years, helps to regulate the rhythm of breathing, and it helps in all aspects of life to attract and repel all one wishes. By the help of Fikr not only the digestive faculty and the circulation of the blood and the pulsations of the body are made regular, but the concentration that is developed through the development of breath enables man to repel all disagreeable impressions which cause despair and depression. By the power of Fikr one helps the power of memory, also the power of retention of thought. At the same time one is enabled by the power of breath to forget any thought one wishes to put out of one's mind and to erase from one's heart any impression deeply engraved.
Series II GATHA
PASI ANFAS Number 10
Breath:
Communication Through the Breath
Breath is the medium between the outer life and the inner life. By the help of breath the elements necessary for the body can be attracted and by the help of breath thoughts and inspiration can be gained. By the help of breath all that is undesirable in the body and mind can be expelled. The secret of telepathy, of reading the thought, has the science of breath as its mystery. When one wishes to draw from within inspiration, breath is the key. Breath is a life-current; its value is known to so few! Breath in itself is a phenomenon, but the phenomenon becomes manifest when once the breath is fully mastered.
The law of transmutation is also the secret of breath. What we give, or gain from another, without seeing or hearing, which we only realize as a result of the contact of someone, that is the effect of breath, for by the medium of breath there is always something given and taken; yet so few are aware of it! In the presence of one person one feels an inclination to laugh, in the presence of another one has a desire to cry; contact with one makes a person feel cheerful, with another sorrowful. Sometimes without there being one word spoken between two people thoughts and feelings are transferred, without people knowing it, through the current of breath. Breath is a link through which one individual is connected with another individual, and space does not make a difference if once connection of breath is established. The communication will be sure and clear, if only the wire is tied to sympathetic hearts. There is much that is common to the science of electricity and the science of breath. The day is not very far off when science and mysticism both will meet on the same ground in the realization of the electricity which is hidden in the breath.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 1
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
Necessity and Avidity
In the satisfaction of bodily appetites there are two things: Necessity and avidity. A satisfaction which is necessary for existence is one thing, and ever-increasing joy in the satisfaction of bodily appetites is another thing. When man acts regardless of this, in either way, in satisfying the appetites or in abstaining from satisfaction, he makes a mistake. In order to train the ego it is not necessary that cruelty be done to nature; discrimination is necessary, to understand how far one should satisfy the appetites and how far one should refrain from being addicted to such satisfactions.
Intense desire for bodily satisfaction has a bad influence on one's mentality, which acts, psychically, unfavorably on oneself and one's surroundings. It produces jealousy, envy, and greed in the nature, and if the thought-currents are strong, it produces psychically poisonous effects. There is a belief in the East which is known by the name Nazr, a belief that any food or drink can have a poisonous effect upon the one who eats or drinks it if it has been exposed to an evil eye. This superstition is known in almost all parts of the East in some form or other, and the psychical idea behind it is that the intense feeling of envy produces a thought-current which must surely spread its poison, which causes harm to the one against whom the feeling works.
When we consider the whole unrest of the present time in the world, we find that it is caused by the physical ego. The wars and revolutions seem to have the desire for comfort and pleasure and for more earthly gain behind them. And, since the happiness of the world depends upon the moral standard of the majority, it is upon the education of the human being in the psychic law of happiness that the peace of the world depends.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 2
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
Training by Abstinence
There is no better way of training the ego than denying it what it wants for the satisfaction of its vanity. It is painful sometimes, and it often seems hard, to deny the ego all it demands, but it always results in great satisfaction. Spirituality may be called a capacity; plainly explained, it may be called a depth. In some people naturally there is this capacity, this depth; and in some it may be made. In order to collect the rainwater people dig the ground and make a capacity for the water to collect. So in order to receive the spiritual life and light, one must open within oneself a capacity. The egoistic has no capacity, for it is his ego which makes the heart, so to speak, solid, giving no accommodation to the essence of God. The more one denies the demands of the ego, which satisfy its vanity, the more capacity one makes to be filled by the life of God.
When the will is able to rule one's life, and not one's bodily appetites and mental fancies, then there is the reign of the Golden Age, as the Hindus say; there is no injustice and there is no reward. When man finds disturbance in his life, a lack of harmony in the external life, he must take refuge under the reign within, which is the kingdom of God. To a Sufi this body is the Temple of God and the heart His shrine; and as long as man keeps God away from His temple, from His shrine, his limited ego reigns, and that reign is called the Iron Age by the Hindus. A person who has not opened his heart to God to abide in may yet be a good person, but as his life will be involved in the activities of the world, his ego will turn from bad to worse, culminating into the worst state of mind, and it is that condition of mind which is personified in the religious term Satan.
In order to learn to realize "I am not, but God is," one must first deny oneself for his fellow-men. Respecting another, enduring a person or an action which is uncongenial to oneself, tolerating all, overlooking the faults of others, covering the weaknesses that one finds in one's fellow-men, willing to forgive, all these things are the first lessons in self-denial.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 3
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
The Two Sides of the Human Ego
The human ego has two sides to its nature; one side is to strive for its nature's demands, and that side of the ego may be classed as the animal ego; but there is another side which manifests when the ego shows its agitations for no other reason than intolerance. This feeling is a kind of blindness, or intoxication, and it arises from an excess of energy coming out from the soul quite unrestrained; it covers, so to speak, the light of the soul as the smoke may cover the light that comes from a flame. In order to allow the Divine Spirit to guide one's life one must clear the soul of its smoke part, leaving there only the flame to illuminate one's life. It is the nature of the ego during its period of ignorance that all that is very beautiful or powerful and all that is below the standard of its ideal agitates it. This sensitiveness may increase to such an extent that all that does not bring any comfort or joy or happiness to the ego may become repugnant to it. It is this ignorant stage of the ego which in the Sanskrit language is called by the wise Ahankar, and the whole method that the wise have taught in any age and in any part of the world has been for recognizing and understanding this ignorance which is the primary nature of the ego, and then for purifying one's ego from this, by gentleness, humility, by self-control, by tolerance and by forgiveness.
Man can dissimulate this ignorance, but that is not enough; often outward manner may become a mask over something ugly hidden behind. There is only one thing that can free the ego from this ignorance and that is the love of God, the contemplation of God and the knowledge of God. Love of God comes from belief in God. Belief is the first thing necessary, but belief needs support. It can be kept up by the belief of others around one or by learning or study which will strengthen it. But he to whom the love of humanity is unknown can never know the love of God; as you can see the painter in his picture, the poet in his poem, the musician in his music, so in humanity you can see God.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 4
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
Training Is As Well a Science As an Art
It is a science and an art to understand the nature of the human ego and to train it. One can understand the nature of the human ego by a study of human nature; but one can learn the way of training it by training one's own ego. Man can train his ego by being patient with all around him that has a jarring effect upon him. For every jar upon the soul irritates the ego. When man expresses his irritation he develops a disagreeable nature; when he controls it and does not express it, then he becomes crushed inwardly. The idea is to rise above all such irritations.
Life has a jarring effect by its very nature which every sensitive soul can feel. If a person wishes to keep away from all jarring influences, he had better not try to live, for life is a constant jarring. Life is motion, and it is the nature of motion to strike against something. It does not require strength to stand against the jarring influences of life --- there is no wall of stone or of iron that can always stand against the waves of the ocean --- but a small piece of wood, little and light, can always rise and fall with the waves, yet always above them, uninjured and safe. The lighter and the littler man's ego becomes the more power of endurance he has. It is two strong egos that strike against one another. The little ego, the light ego, just slips over when a powerful wave of a strong ego comes for it to knock over itself against a stronger wall that may throw it over.
The art of dealing with egos of different grades of evolution is to learn gentleness, tolerance, and forgiveness, which all come from charity of heart. When man stands on the same plane as the other, then he is subject to the influence of the other ego. But if he rises above it, then every effort of the other ego falls flat. There is a poem in Hindustani, the verse of Ghalib: "The world seems to me a playground of children. How constantly busy the infants seem with their toys!"
Verily the secret of peace is hidden under the cover of the ego.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 5
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
Training by Refraining from Free Impulses
The wise, knowing the nature of the ego is to rise and to move and to disturb the atmosphere, practice in their lives to restrain the ego from its free impulses. The tendency of the ego to rise shows itself in the desire of standing when others are sitting, and running when others are walking, and dancing when others are standing; in the mental plane the desire to be proud, the desire to be vain, to show conceit, to show one's superiority over others, all come from the ego. The wise, therefore, by learning the lesson of humility, of gentleness, of mildness, make their spirit, as it is called in the Bible, poor --- "Blessed are the poor in spirit." These manners are sometimes taught, but if one does not feel them within oneself they become forms and conventions without spirit or life or effect in them. It is only love which can teach these manners that keep the ego under control. If one does not learn them from love, then one learns them from suffering. Pain naturally crushes the ego, and if one has had much pain in one's life it has a softening influence on the ego. Wisdom is a great teacher, it shows man what he is when he lets the ego be free and uncontrolled and what one gains by control of the ego. Imagine a rider sitting on a horse without reins in his hand, letting the horse go free wherever it likes. He risks his life at every moment. The happiness is his who rides on the horse and controls it and has the reins in his hand, and he is the master of his journey.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 6
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
The Ego Is Trained As a Horse
The ego is trained by a Sufi as a horse is trained by man. A bridle is put upon it and man holds the reins in his hand. This training is called by the Hindus Hatha Yoga, which means to gain the control of one's self by means of abstinence. Often, when man does wrong, it is not that he likes to do wrong, but that he is not able to prevent himself from acting in that way. In the first place, wrongdoing is almost always the consequence of the appetites and passions, or for the gratification of vanity. Fasting and special postures are often practiced by the mystics for the same reason. The more man gives way to the appetites and passions the more he is enslaved by them, until he reaches a state where he speaks and acts against his own conscience. Such faults as treachery, flattery, falseness, and all others of the kind come from lack of will-power and from giving way to the passions.
For training the ego it is not absolutely necessary to abstain from all physical desires; the idea is to master the desire instead of allowing it to master one. The complaint of every soul and the remorse of every soul is always of the same thing, the enslavement of man through yielding to his desires. One allows the desire to master one when one identifies oneself with the desire; and one pities oneself, which makes things worse. And the desire for the momentary joy becomes an excuse for having given way. For instance, a person who gets up later makes the cold an excuse; he had to, he says, because it was cold. Reason always supplies an excuse for everything. But one cannot escape the consequences, and the remorse that follows proves that a fault has been committed. And once a person has accustomed himself to his faults, the sense of his fault becomes less keen; then he no longer troubles about them. Then he becomes a slave to his faults, he is like a worm, and his faults become his life. That is why in the language of the Hindus the word for hell means a place full of worms. In other words, he feeds on his faults and his faults find their nourishment in him. To a keen sight such cases are not rare. There are some cases that everyone can see, others are hidden.
Those who know its value consider the training of the ego the most important thing in life. The first lesson in this training is to ask, "Why must I have a certain thing? Why must I not have it? If it is not good for me why should I have it? And if it is good for me why should I not have it?" What a person has acquired the habit of speaking with his ego in this way about every physical appetite, he will always be able to do what he ought to do.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 7
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
Training by Not Gratifying Vanity
The first form of the ego is that which the body helps to form and the next is that which is formed by the mind. This aspect of the ego lives for vanity, which causes a person to do good and also to do evil. Its desire is always the satisfaction of its pride, and when this increases, in the end it results in tyranny and cruelty. A person expects others to see him as he thinks he is, and often his self-esteem is excessive and it is impossible for others to admire him as much as he wants. One wishes to be admired for his clothes, his jewels, his possessions, his greatness and position, and naturally when this desire increases it makes a person blind and he loses sight of right and justice. It is natural that the desire for things that gratify vanity should have no end; it increases continually. The tendency to look at others with hatred and prejudice, to consider them inferior to oneself, and all such tendencies come from this ego. There are even cases when people spend money in order to be able to insult another. To make someone bow before him, to make him give way, to put him in a position of inferiority, to make him appear contemptible, sometimes a person will spend money. The desire for the satisfaction of vanity reaches such a point, that a person would give his life for the satisfaction of his vanity. Often someone shows generosity, not for the sake of kindness, but to satisfy his vanity. The more vanity a person has the less sympathy he has for others, for all his attention is given to his own satisfaction, and he is as blind toward others. This ego, so to speak, restricts life, because it limits a person. Coldness, pride, jealousy, all come from this ego. There is nothing so displeasing to the surroundings as conceit in whatever form, and what is the use of an opinion that is pleasing to us and unpleasing to all our surroundings? In reality a person's true satisfaction comes from the opinion that others have of him, not from his own opinion of himself. There is nothing more repellent than a thorny ego. The outward manner cannot hide an ego that is not soft, even if the manner is very humble. It shows itself suddenly, unconsciously, in a word or an action that jars upon another.
The training of this ego requires more care than the training of the other ego, for it is more difficult and a subtler matter to be aware of the desires of the mind and to weigh them than to be aware of and to weigh the desires of the body. No doubt vanity is natural to the ego and the ego is natural to every human being. But there are desires of the mind that are necessary and there are desires of the mind that are not necessary. And the more one controls the ego the more one allows the virtues and merits that are in one's heart to manifest. This ego gives a false idea of greatness, but the effacement of this ego results in the true greatness.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 8
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
Humility
Humility is the principal thing that must be learnt in the path of training the ego. It is the constant effort of effacing the ego that prepares man for the greater journey. This principle of humility can be practiced by forgetting one's personality in every thought and action and in every dealing with another. No doubt it is difficult and may not seem very practicable in everyday life, though in the end it will prove to be the successful way, not only in one's spiritual life but in one's everyday affairs. The general tendency is to bring one's personality forward, which builds a wall between two souls whose destiny and happiness lies in unity. In business, in profession, in all aspects of life it is necessary that one should unite with the other in this unity, in which the purpose of life is fulfilled.
There are two forms of effacing the self, which in other words may be called giving in. One way is by weakness, the other is by willingness, the former being a defect, the latter a virtue. One comes by lack of will, the other by charity of heart. Therefore in training the ego one must take care that one is not developing a weakness, presuming it to be a virtue. The best way of dealing with the question is to let life take its natural course, and at the same time to allow the conscience to keep before it the highest ideal. On one side life taking its natural course, on the other side the conscience holding its highest ideal, balancing it, will make the journey easy. The words of Christ, which teach man to walk with another two miles if the other wanted him to walk one, prove the great importance of harmony in life. And his words, "Resist not evil," show still more the importance of harmony in life, namely that if you can avoid evil, in other words keep it away, that is better than to want to fight it. And the idea of Christ's teaching of giving in is also expressive of harmonizing with the wishes of another person. No doubt in this discrimination is necessary. That harmony is advisable which develops into harmony and culminates in a greater harmony, not that which may seem in the beginning to be harmony and would result in greater inharmony. In training the ego balance must be taken as the most important principle.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 9
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
Forgiveness
In order to learn forgiveness man must learn tolerance first. And there are people whom man cannot forgive. It is not that he must not forgive, but it is difficult, beyond his power to forgive, and in that case the first thing he can do is to forget. The first step towards forgiveness is to forget. It is true that the finer the man is the more he is subject to be hurt by the smallest disturbance that can produce irritation and inharmony in the atmosphere. A person who gives and takes hurts is capable of living an easy and comfortable life in the world. Life is difficult for the fine person, for he cannot give back what he receives in the way of hurt, and he can feel it more than the average person. Many seek protection from all hurting influences by building some wall around themselves. But the canopy over the earth is so high that a wall cannot be built high enough, and the only thing one can do is to live in the midst of all inharmonious influences, to strengthen his will-power and to bear all things, yet keeping the fineness of character and a nobleness of manner together with an ever-living***loving? heart. To become cold with the coldness of the world is weakness, and to become broken by the hardness of the world is feebleness, but to live in the world and yet to keep above the world is like walking on the water. There are two essential duties for the man of wisdom and love; that is to keep the love in our nature ever increasing and expanding and to strengthen the will so that the heart may not be easily broken. Balance is ideal in life; man must be fine and yet strong, man must be loving and yet powerful.
Series II GATHA
SALUK Number 10
Morals:
The Training of the Ego ---
"Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit"
Jesus Christ says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Why is not the word "ego" used instead of "spirit"? Man's glance, expression, posture, etc., all speak of his ego, and tell to what extent it is hard and to what extent soft. People seek to disguise the true nature of the ego by diplomatic language and by good manners, but this does not really hide the ego, which is expressing itself in everything they say and do. Every particle of man's body and every atom of man's mind is controlled by this ego. If there is anything that is meant by the word "spirit," as used above, it is this. The least word spoken against it rouses man's anger; praise tickles his vanity and goes to the heart of the ego.
And now the question arises: "If this ego is the chief thing in man's development why should we fight against it?" Is it not the essence of man?" The answer is that there is the spirit of man and the spirit of God. These two are different and yet the same. Think of the sea and of the bubble, how vast the one, how small the other! How dare man claim that he is God! Only the emptiness in which the echo is noise is found in a heart that can claim such greatness as that. The true emptiness is filled by the divine light, and such a heart it is which in humility is turned to nothingness, so that that light shines out. Man's ego is a globe, and the spirit of God is the light. "Poor" is said in the sense of thin; and when the ego is poor, or thin, the spirit of God shines out. "Rich in spirit" would mean thick, or dense, in the ego-nature, which would stand as a wall against the divine light hidden in the heart.
Series II GATHA
TAQWA TAHARAT Number 1
Everyday Life:
The Purity of the Body
The purity of the body is more desirable than bodily strength. Purity of body consists of three things: Pure blood, sound muscles, and skin in proper condition. One might ask, how can one be strong without a pure body? But I should say, one can be. There are many strong and vigorous-looking people with something wrong in their flesh, blood or skin. Health, from a spiritual point of view, does not mean a strong muscular body, health means a body sound in all its aspects. The standard of normal health is different for a mystic from what a scientist today thinks. To the scientist the emotional side of man is not of interest; if the body is perfect according to his idea, he thinks the man is healthy. But from a mystical point of view if, bodily, man is strong, but his emotional nature is buried beneath, he is not healthy, there is something wrong with him. Therefore a physician will find many not in proper health, but still more a mystic will find not in proper health. The person who is healthy to a physician is not necessarily healthy to a mystic, but good health from the point of view of a mystic is also good health from the point of view of a physician.
The illness that humanity has today is lack of that emotional nature which is productive of sentiment. In the East, though times are changed, still there is a recognition of that healthiness which is recognized by a mystic as good health. They name these qualities by beautiful names, as considerate, thoughtful, mild, gentle, sympathetic, harmonious, selfless. When these things are lacking in a person, the mystic considers it lack of health. Even an animal can be materially strong. If man were strong he would be no better than an animal. It is purity which is necessary, in the body first, in the mind afterwards; which produces in a person a state of health which alone can be truly called good health.
Series II GATHA
TAQWA TAHARAT Number 2
Everyday Life:
Purification
The nature of the memory is to hold an impression, agreeable or disagreeable, and therefore a person holds a thought in mind, whether it is beneficial to him or not, without knowing the result which will come from it. It is like a child who holds a rattle in his hand and hits his head with the rattle and cries with the pain, and yet does not throw the rattle away. There are many who keep in their mind a thought of illness or a thought of unkindness done to them by someone and suffer from it, yet now knowing what it is that makes them suffer so, nor understanding the reason of their suffering. They go on suffering and yet hold on in memory the very source of suffering. Memory must be one's obedient servant; when it is a master then life becomes difficult. A person who cannot throw away from his memory what he does not desire to keep in mind is like a person who has a safe, but the key of that safe he has lost. He can put in money, but he cannot take it out. All faculties in man become invaluable when a person is able to use them at will, but when the faculties use the person, then he is no longer master of himself.
Concentration is taught by the mystics in order to exercise the will, making it capable of making use of all faculties. A person with will-power can remember what he wishes to remember and can forget what he wishes to forget. All things that deprive one of one's freedom in life are undesirable. The mind must be free from all bad impressions of life, which take away the rest and peace of life. By concentration one is able to hold a certain thought one desires and to keep away all other thoughts, and when one is able to keep away all the thoughts one does not wish to think about, it becomes easy to throw away the impressions of years, if one wishes to forget them. Bad impressions, however old and intimate, are like rubbish accumulated, which should be removed in order to make the house clean. The human heart is the home of the soul, and upon this home the comfort and peace of the soul depends.
Series II GATHA
TAQWA TAHARAT Number 3
Everyday Life:
Purity of Mind (1)
Purity of mind requires the detroying of all bad impressions which are already collected there or which the mind receives instantly. One can destroy these impressions by five ways, and the way is adopted according to the impression one has to destroy. Some impressions want to be washed off from the mind; some require to be erased from the surface of the mind; some want to be shaken off like dust from the clothes; some require burning like the wood in the fire, which, after its test through fire, turns into ashes; and some impressions must be drowned, so that they will never come up again. Bury certain impressions like a corpse; find every way of annihilation which is suited for that particular impression, so that your mind may be clear. The mind is not only a means of thinking or reasoning, but it is the king of one's being; and upon the condition of mind one's health, happiness, and peace of life depend.
Now the question is what to destroy and what to keep in mind. Collect and keep all that is beautiful, and destroy all that is void of beauty. Collect and keep all that is agreeable, and destroy all that has a disagreeable effect upon you. Collect and keep all that is harmonious, and destroy all that creates inharmony in yourself. Collect and keep all that is restful, and destroy all that disturbs the peace of your life. As some dust gets into the mechanism of a clock and stops it from going, so the effects produced by all impressions which are void of beauty and harmony and which disturb your peace keep you from progress. The mind cannot act properly when it is hindered by impressions which have a paralyzing effect upon it. Life is progress, and stopping from progress is death. Failure does not matter in life for a progressive person, even a thousand failures do not matter. He has before his view success, and success is his even after a thousand failures. The greatest pity in life is the standstill when life does not move further. A sensible person prefers death to such a life. It is as a paralysis of the soul, of the spirit, and is always caused by holding bad impressions in mind. No soul is deprived of happiness in reality. The soul's very being is happiness. Man brings unhappiness upon himself by holding in his hands the clouds of bad impressions, which fall as a shadow upon his soul. Once a person is able to clear from his mind, by whatever process, the undesirable impressions, a new power begins to spring from his heart, opening a way before him to accomplish all he wishes, attracting to him all he requires, clearing his path of all obstacles, and making his atmosphere clear, for him to live and move and to accomplish all he wishes to accomplish.
Series II GATHA
TAQWA TAHARAT Number 4
Everyday Life:
Purity of Mind (2)
Purity of mind is the principal thing upon which the health of both body and mind depend. The process of purifying the mind is not much different from the process of cleaning or washing any object. Water poured upon any object washes it, and if there is a spot which cannot be washed away by the water, some substance which can take away that spot is applied, to wash it thoroughly. The water which washes the heart is the continual running of the love-stream. When that stream is stopped, when its way is blocked by some object which closes the heart, and when the love-stream is no longer running, then the mind cannot keep pure. As water is the cleansing and purifying substance in the physical world, so love is on the higher plane. Sometimes when it is difficult for love to take away some impressions that are disagreeable, which block the way of the love-stream, they may be washed away by some element that can destroy them. The whole life is a chemical process, and the knowledge of its chemistry helps man to make life happy. An unhappy person, being himself unhappy, cannot make others happy. It is a wealthy person who can help the one who is hard up, not a poor person, however much desire of helping he may have. So it is with happiness, which is a great wealth; and a happy person can take away the unhappiness of another, for he has enough for himself and for others.
Earthly pleasures are the shadows of happiness, because of their transitory character. True happiness is in love, which is the stream that springs from one's soul; and he who will allow this stream to run continually in all conditions of life, in all si