SANGATHA I

TASAWWUF

God is the ideal that represents the perfection of each thing, of every being, and of all conditions.

Every impulse is a movement of God directed to accomplish a certain purpose, which is seldom intelligible and often beyond human comprehension.

Every impulse is a power in itself. And every time when the will withdraws an impulse, the will is charged with a new strength and life, which makes the self-mastered man master of all.

Every impulse that breaks out uncontrolled results in an accident and reacts seriously.

The world within you is reflected in the world without, and it is the action and reaction of the two upon one another that constitutes your life.

In the dream, the activity of mind is like a mechanism which goes on in the absence of the engineer who directs it.

The meditative process is a treatment for all illnesses. The reason is that the manifested life comes from the unmanifested. The unmanifested life is void of all activity and is full of repose; it is peace in itself. Therefore, the Name of God has been known by the ancients as Salaam, which means Peace.

No remedy, therefore, is greater than peace. Medicines can help, but up to a certain limit. For instance, medicine can help the body, but not the mind; the psychological treatment may help the mind, but not the soul. All these things such as medicine and psychological treatment come from outside, and the patient is dependent upon them, but in the meditative process the patient creates his remedy from himself.

TASAWWUF

It is the essence of life which manifests in the flowers as perfume and in nature as color and form, and even in the stones it manifests as diamonds and emeralds and rubies; and for the worshipper of the sublimity of God, who sees him in the sublimity of nature, perfume, flower, or even a precious stone, beauty in many form or color or in any sense, is a divine blessing which helps him towards the goal.

Man is a miniature sungod; in his soul the miniature god, in his body the miniature sun. The light has two aspects, drawing in, and shooting out; and both these aspects are vouchsafed to the keen observer of light and of its rays. The arms and legs are as the rays of the sun; when they are stretched out the light shoots out, when they are folded the light is withdrawn.

Man in his everyday life gives out his energies through the activity of life; and therefore meditation is taught by the wise with posture so that the energy which is always spent in activities, may be spared for some moments, and during these moments some additional energy may be taken in by the help of the breath.

SALUK

The Sufi moral is this: Love another and do not depend upon his love; and: Do good to another and do not depend upon receiving good from him; serve another and do not look for service from him. All you do for another out of your love and kindness, you should think that you do, not to that person, but to God. And if the person returns love for love, goodness for goodness, service for service, so much the better. If he does not return it, then pity him for what he loses; for his gain is much less than his loss.

Do not look for thanks or appreciation for all the good you do to others, nor use it as a means to stimulate your vanity. Do all that you consider good for the sake of goodness, not even for a return of that from God. When, by constantly trying to do so, you can do so by any effort, then you will certainly convince yourself that you have risen above the ordinary stage of the human being.

We can never make ourselves good enough for our own ideal, but it is better not to show or to act better than the so-considered good people among us. If you will show more goodness than the general standard of goodness known by your surroundings, life will become harder and harder, till you will become too good to live.

You see the beautiful side of a person's nature when you are in the habit of seeing it; but when your habit is to see evil in a person, then the evil side of man's nature must manifest before you.

Observe all that is beautiful, but stay at a distance; by drawing close to it you will limit the vision of beauty.

You must regard from a distance all that is beautiful. By approaching near, or by wanting to possess it, you may cause harm to the beauty and the beauty may cause you ruination.

It is not the path of freedom which makes you free; it is the path of discipline which leads to the goal of liberty.

There are two stages of evolution. In one stage you cannot make anybody work unless he sees a profit in it for himself in some way. As for the other person, there is another stage of evolution in which a person works and does all things without the expectation of a return for it. These few are the master-workers. And those who seek their reward in life are the servants, who are paid their wages for their work.

A SUFI does not refuse all that is beautiful in form, color, taste, or smell, delicious food, rich clothes, precious jewels, beautiful environment and surroundings. He welcomes beauty in all forms, and recognizes in all its aspects the beauty of the Countenance of his Beloved.

KHAWAS

When the deeper side of man's nature is touched what is hidden in it manifests on the surface.

KHAWAS

Nasíhat -- Human Nature

The life in the world can be pictured as everyone pushing away another who stands in his way, thus making his way towards his object. Man generally does not mind when he pushes another away, he minds when he is pushed away. When man becomes somewhat considerate, then he tries to refrain from pushing others away, and for that very reason he feels very hurt when he is pushed away by others. If a gentleman happens to be wise also he does not push away anyone, out of his gentleness, nor does he mind being pushed away, but goes on patiently in the pursuit of the object he wishes to accomplish. But when a gentleman is kind, but void of wisdom, he stands still in life, blocking the way for others and placing himself in a place from where he always be pushed away. Many are kind, but few are kind and gentle, and fewer still are kind, gentle, and wise at the same time.

There are egos who are not ready and willing to accept all that attracts them. The more something attracts them the more they rebel against it, doubting if it be not a temptation. Even if they see a reality in the thing which attracts them, they consider that tendency of being attracted a weakness in themselves. There are egos who refuse to accept what their friend has accepted, and refuse to admire fully what that friend has admired, and even if they wished to take something that they saw that their friend had taken, they would refuse to take it. For the tendency of that ego is to swim against the tides; it is strength of ego. Against this strength Christ has said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit." It was the same strength of mentality which kept some Jews to their own belief, even being impressed by the personality of Christ; and it is this power which has in most part stood against the Messenger, building a wall of fortification between the Messenger and the souls who long for guidance.

There are egos whose vanity is fed by being loved and admired, who grow in time so tyrannous that even the agony of a loving heart becomes their joy and amusement.

Man's heart is like a piece of ground. You may sow anything in it and reap it, when the fruit comes then you will see whether it be a sweet fruit or a poisonous one.

KHAWAS

There is no good person who has not a bad side to his nature, nor is there a wicked person who has not a good side to his nature; but the good side of the former covers the bad side of his nature, and the bad side of the latter generally covers the good side of his nature.

The right thing is to go forward in the path of goodness, although it is natural that as much goodness as someone possesses so much badness there is in him. It is like the surface and the side of the steps of a staircase; and if one does not take account of the side, but always steps on the surface of the steps one must surely one day reach the top, which is the goal of all goodness.

NASIHAT

The initiate must observe the law of discipleship thoroughly. As the patient must not question the prescription that is given by the physician, as the soldier must not question the command his superior officer gives, so the Tálib must carry out the orders of his Spiritual Guide without questioning why or what.

Do not think for a single moment, "My position in life is in some way exalted by my work." Certainly not; on the contrary, it is like a king in the guise of a slave, working for the cause of humanity.

Do not do anything for your Spiritual Guide as a return for what you may receive from him, nor must he do anything for you as a return for what you do for him. You must render to each other all the help and service you can, not for a return nor as a price for what you receive, but all you do for one another you must do for God.

Those who are made Khalifs or Murshids in the Order form the Embodiment of the Pir-o-Murshid and any favorable or unfavorable attitude of a mureed toward any of them chiefly affects the Pir-o-Murshid, he being the center of the Embodiment.

TASAWWUF

Qazá and Qadr

There are two forces, Qazá and Qadr. Qazá is the force which is all powerful, and Qadr is the force of an individual willpower. An individual goes on running his hoop as far as his power allows him to, but there comes a wagon which blocks the road, and the hoop cannot go further. It is that wagon which is Qazá, the all-powerful, which comes into conflict with the individual power. This idea is so well expressed in the saying, "Man proposes but God disposes."

SALUK

There are times when one can be jolly, and there are times which demand seriousness. One who is ignorant of this law does not know the rhythm of life. He will always make mistakes and disappoint himself and others, be he jolly by disposition or sad. Excess of seriousness is very often objectionable, but excess of joy is still worse, for it causes disagreement. Excess of joy is blinding, whereas seriousness is the sign of the open eye.

SALUK

It is a great fault of this age that it tries to judge God. The Roman Catholic Church has done one good thing in always giving man the idea that he is incapable of judging God.

Parents who in every way wish the best for their child may often have to do a thing the child cannot understand. Man as man cannot understand the justice of God, until he rises to the state of perfection, and then his mouth is closed.

What can be said is that, in creation, God Himself manifests. In suffering He himself suffers; He Himself is puzzled in His creation, and one day He Himself realizes His perfection. God only exists, no one else.

TA`LIM

When a pupil asks his spiritual guide, "Do you know this?" or, "Can you do this?" he certainly mars the principle of modesty for both the teacher and himself. In the first place the pupil proves himself insolent, and certainly he moves the teacher to break his principle of modesty by uttering what he would not have liked to utter.

If the pupil does not learn to show fineness of manner toward his spiritual guide, toward whom will he have the manner of delicacy? In the path of discipleship, the whole beauty of the way is fineness of manner between the teacher and the pupil, and without beauty, whatever path one treads is void of that joy for which the world was created.

TA`LIM

In the spiritual path the whole process that the Murshid takes with the mureed is the constant testing, testing of his patience and of his faith, and of his confidence in himself.

What Murshid says to the mureed is not always in plain words, but a certain sense covered in words. Sometimes he says something in a jest which can at the same time be an instruction. He says things in parables. He may say things which he himself does not believe. He can call night day or day night if he chooses to. Murshid guides mureeds through a puzzle, he takes them through the mist of illusion. He looks at the mureed with a smile or a frown, with affection or indifference; he may treat him proudly or with respect. And yet nothing he will mean. Really, it is all a process that the Murshid chooses, and it is a constant puzzle to a curious mureed. Murshid as a rule does not show if he is pleased or displeased, showing sometimes contrary to what he feels; and the mureed remains constantly expectant. The Murshid teaches him sometimes, and learns from him sometimes; and he leads him sometimes and follows him sometimes; and the mureed cannot understand which is which and what is what.

Murshidship and mureedship is a journeying of two persons, one who knows the path, the other a stranger taken through the mist by the Murshid. As near they approach the goal, so clear becomes the path; the clouds break and the path becomes easy until they arrive at a stage where neither Murshid is a Murshid nor mureed is a mureed, though the happy memory of the journey through the path remains in the consciousness of the grateful mureed.

TA`LIM

It is the sympathy between the pupil and the spiritual guide which builds a bridge between their hearts for the spiritual knowledge to pass. The unity of brains cannot bring this about.

TA`LIM

The first initiation is to crucify one's own will to the will of one's spiritual guide with a willing and patient resignation. It is the path of discipline which leads to the goal of liberty.

TA`LIM

The great virtue of the pupil in the spiritual path is to stick to the Order in which he is initiated and stick to the spiritual guide who has initiated him. A pupil who continually goes from one thing to another cannot be a true pupil. One must take root in the soil of the Order in which one is initiated in order to make one's efforts fruitful.

TA`LIM

The first important thing that a disciple must do is to give up all preconceived ideas before starting in a spiritual path under the guidance of a spiritual teacher. If he will compare his own preconceived ideas with the ideas of the teacher, it is most probable that they will not agree, and the one who is sure of his own ideas need not go under a discipleship.

KHAWAS

Some people are insolent, not because they do not know better, but because they are proud and it goes against their vanity to act better. Some act insolently, especially if they are in the presence of someone before whom they wish to be vain, by humiliating another or at least by showing equality with another whom in their mind they think their superior. Insolence is childish; really speaking, by considering another one respects oneself.

RIYAZAT

Zikr produces sensitiveness in the Zakir, and he feels more sensitive to all things around him. If the Zakir happens to be irritable by nature, the practice of Zikr can develop more irritability in him. That is why, before practicing Zikr, one must develop self control and rise above all earthly passions, developing kindness and goodness, which by the practice of Zikr emanate from the Zakir's personality as perfume coming from the burning of incense.

RIYAZAT

There is a tendency in an enthusiastic pupil to overdo his exercises in order to develop quickly. But it is like burning the food instead of cooking it, by putting it on more fire than is needed to cook it slowly.

SALUK

It takes a lifelong effort to develop personality. The further you proceed in this path, the further away moves your destination. The ideal is like the horizon one can never reach.

TA`LIM

In the spiritual path, that pupil is desirable who sits in the presence of the teacher with the simplicity of a child. The pupil must unlearn all that he has known before when he wishes to be guided by a spiritual teacher. He must not have his wisdom to dispute with the philosophy of the teacher. He must not be set in his principles or ideas; if so, he will not be able to accommodate in his mind the principles and ideas taught to him by his teacher. It is not the knowledge and the piety of the pupil that appeals to the teacher, it is his simplicity and modesty that alone can appeal.

A pupil that comes today and changes his mind tomorrow must keep away from the beginning. It is no use to go under anybody's guidance, especially on the spiritual path, without a firm decision. A pupil with unwavering faith, with undoubting trust, and with steadiness and enthusiasm, is desirable.

A pupil must learn to respect the teacher before learning even the "ABC" of the mystical path. A pupil who asks a question of the teacher unassumingly and humbly, with a pure motive of learning, is the right kind; but the one who, with sarcasm, asks a question to test the knowledge of a teacher is undesirable and will never be benefited by teaching. A true pupil uses all the goodness and honesty of his nature in his dealings with the teacher; thereby he learns good manner and virtuous action, to be done to others. The worship that one gives to God, a true pupil commences it by giving respect to his teacher. His prayerful attitude begins from there, and culminates in God.

The teacher has confidence in the pupil, so the pupil should prove to the teacher in his thought, word and action worthy of his confidence. The pupil who cannot tolerate a word of his teacher, who cannot forgive his teacher for any human limitation which he sees in him that he does not like, cannot not show the generosity of the heartplane in his need or difficulty, cannot show his sympathy in his trouble, can never be forgiving, tolerant generous, serviceable, and loving to man or God.

An ideal pupil is he who considers even his life the smallest thing to offer to his teacher, and all he can do in the way of service or help to the teacher, he considers too little in comparison to what the teacher gives, and values the least little gift of the teacher more than anything else in the world. The pupil who is really devoted finds in the blessings of the teacher a greater inspiration than in the study of the whole life, and finds in the pleasure of the teacher all the bliss that ever Heaven or earth can offer.

TA`LIM

By judging what one learns, one becomes a critic rather than a student. This study begins in observation and ends in examination. According to the ancient Hindus, there are three stages of study: Observation, assimilation, and lastly, examination.

SALUK

To find out one's mistake is like learning a lesson, but to try and refrain from the mistake in the same position is like going through an examination.

TASAWWUF

One can know the grade of a person's evolution by knowing what causes him to laugh and what causes him to cry. Every person is tuned to a certain pitch, and that which causes a person to laugh or weep must be in some way in accordance with his pitch. Therefore, that which makes a silly person laugh does not always cause laughter in others, and what makes a simple person weep does not make the slightest effect upon the wise.

RIYAZAT

The practice of Zikr, like many other spiritual exercises, has a tendency to increase sensitiveness in both mind and body. The action and reaction of this act develops the sympathetic and affectionate nature; it also produces gentleness, together with a tenderness of feeling.

A Zakir is easily touched by the beauty of music or poetry, by color, line, or movement. A Zakir is easily moved by a word of kindness or an act of charity. His heart becomes sonorous, responding to the word of truth. The nature of a Zakir becomes deep, which is often expressed by his deep sigh.

There are two things very necessary to be considered during the period of practicing Zikr: self-discipline and self-control. For all that manifests in the form of beauty and attracts man may not be an uplifting aspect, and it is possible that a soul inclined to respond to beauty may be attracted to some form of it which would cause him to fall instead of rising. Therefore, self-discipline is the first thing necessary to practice, and one must be sure of being able to control oneself before attempting to tread the spiritual path.

NASIHAT

The Tálib need not follow his spiritual guide's faults, but he can benefit by them.

TA`LIM

Every teaching that a Tálib receives from his spiritual guide he must take, not as a principle, but as an answer to that situation at that moment.

TASAWWUF

The various characters of human nature can be divided into five principal divisions:

1) A character like the earth

2) A character like the water

3) A character like the fire

4) A character like the air

5) A character like the ether

Every person in the world must have one or the other element predominant in his character, and the knowledge of this helps a person in dealing with others in life, also in understanding himself.

The person of the earth character is calm and quiet, harmonious and serviceable, simple and good, also dependable to a great extent. Only, the person of the earth character must be told to do something, he will not do anything by himself. And it is better if you stand by him when he is doing a certain thing and look at him while he is doing it; then you are sure of getting it done. He is willing to do all he can, but somebody must direct him.

The person of the water character is sociable, imaginative, affectionate and loveable; only he will respond quickly to all influences, as the sea responds to the storm. By nature this person will always be desirable, he will show adaptability, response, and fineness of character. The man of the water nature is emotional, devotional, generous, but sensitive. There are moments when this person is calm and quiet, and there are moments when he is quite upset. This person is subject to be misled, and yet, if rightly guided, will prove to be most desirable.

The person of fire nature is useful but dangerous. You do not know what he will do from one minute to another. This character is just like a cracker. The silent cracker only needs the touch of a lighted match and will at once declare that it is a cracker. A fire person cannot hide his character, it takes but one moment to bring it out. A least little excuse will bring him up in a moment. This person is destructive by nature, and the trouble he causes to all others is much less than the harm he does to himself. His life is as destructive as fire, fire which burns all things and burns itself at the same time.

The person of air character is moody and imaginative and visionary. At one moment he is your great friend, at the other moment he is your enemy, as the air a moment before was blowing towards the East and at the other moment it went towards the West. This person will have material fits and spiritual fits, and spells of virtue and obsessions by evil. This person will change from time to time. When you think, "Today he is good," tomorrow he will show himself different. When you see, "This morning he was calm," in the evening you will find him upset. It is the greatest difficulty to keep that man in control. It is like controlling the air, which is always difficult. Yes, this person will show wit, quickness in grasping things, capability, efficiency in work. He will act on impulse. He will be adventurous, and, if powerful, will be influential in life.

The character of the ether person shows all the above-said qualities and yet every quality in a subdued form. This person will be serious, calm, quiet, peaceful, subject to sadness, melancholy at times, yet responding to humor, to mirth, rhythmic in action, balanced in life, deep in understanding, brave, bearing at the same time thoughtful and considerate. Ether is the essence of all the elements, and the person who shows ether in his character shows wisdom. Where there is wisdom there is beauty; wisdom is adorned with beauty. This person will have the power of attraction and expression, together with magnetism expressed through his whole personality.

KHAWAS

There are two things which cause man to praise another, and there are two things which make man find fault with another. An idealizing tendency and goodwill causes one to look at the good side of people; in the absence of these two tendencies one would not be able to see good in anybody. What makes the diamond valuable? That it is idealized. A crystal with an electric current in it can shine much more than a diamond. It is not always that the value is in things and beings; the value is according to what one makes, the way one idealizes them. A person without ideal will say, "Every man is the same to me. There is no older or younger, superior or inferior." But the one with ideal will raise a person in comparison to other persons, will idealize a person. But it is good will which sustains the ideal. In absence of good will, a person may raise his ideal high and in an instant throw it down from there and break it. In Russia once the Tsar was adored as a representative of God, not only as a monarch. There was no shop in which the picture of the Tsar and Tsarina was not exhibited in the most prominent place. And a wave came when endless suffering was caused to someone they all had adored, and the crown was taken into the street and was broken with hammers and was carried in the procession. Verily man is a child; in a moment he raises someone and another moment he throws his ideal down. Therefore, a truly idealistic person is rarely to be found in the world, and the ideal can only be maintained by the power of will.

When a person finds fault with another, insults another, he does it for two reasons. One is pride, because it satisfies his pride to know, or for it to be known, that he is better than another. The other thing is that it comes out of cruelty in nature. There is a silent cruelty in the nature of man, the satisfaction of which is in causing hurt to someone in whatever form. That person gets a kind of satisfaction out of it. There are some in the world who by causing hurt physically, by seeing a wound, get a satisfaction; so there are others who get a satisfaction out of hurting someone's feelings. And it is not a rare thing, it is so much to be found everywhere. And it must be known that there is action and reaction. Everything that one does has a reaction, it rebounds. Love brings back love, hate brings back hate, a thousandfold more. Give one grain and take back a thousand grains! A person, however rich, powerful, highly placed, capable, efficient, supported by many in life, by armies, can be thrown down to the depths of the earth by the smallest hurt he may have caused, which then rebounds. No protection, no support can ward off the blow of the reaction of any hurt a person causes to anybody. But one may say, "There are many people in the world who are quite happy in spite of all the cruelty they have inflicted on their fellowmen." But it must be remembered that their time comes, it is nothing but a matter of time. Therefore, for the Sufi there is one principle which is most essential to be remembered and that is consideration for human feeling. If one practices in his life this one principle he need not learn much more; he need not trouble about philosophy, he need not follow an old or a new religion, for this principle in itself is the essence of all religions. God is love, but where does God dwell? He abides in the heart of man.

TA`LIM

In what manner may love and devotion between Murshid and mureed be exchanged? What offering may the mureed bring to Murshid, and what gift may Murshid make to his mureed? The answer is that the relationship of Murshid and mureed, made in the path of truth and in the love of God, represents the perfection of friendship, and for the one who understands, it is the closest relationship. The love of all in life has a certain direction. Our relationships in this world have their limitations, but this relationship represents perfection, for it is in the search of perfection. Therefore, in this, all love and devotion is summed up.

Now, the question what offering the mureed may bring to the Murshid. . . There is no better offering than trust, with patience and resignation. And what gift Murshid may make to his mureed is a kind glance of benediction. It is not the study, learning, meditation, goodness, experience or piety of the mureed that answers to what Murshid requires. All those above said things may or may not help Murshid, but what chiefly he requires of a mureed is his confidence, the confidence with which an infant clings to his mother. But the confidence is tested when the mureed's patience is tried, because it may be easy to give confidence, but difficult to hold it.

There are two things in life: one thing, to follow; the other thing, to follow one's own way. But two things cannot go together at the same time. One can travel on land or on the sea, not in both places at the same time. What makes one master is discipline, not what they call self-will. Self-will is a raw fruit; it is ripened by discipline. Just as the light of the sun ripens the fruit, so discipline helps to sweeten the personality.

Lectures, exercises, classes, silences, even the contact with Murshid can help but a little. What can help the most is the moment when a certain thought, word, or action of the mureed has touched the heart of Murshid and moved it so that through his kind glance poured out benediction. One such glance is equal to the whole life's study, prayer, research in the truth or mediation. Verily, success is in store for the faithful.

TASAWWUF

Pain has a great power; the truth of God is born in pain, sincerity rises out of pain. Metaphysically, the heart is a gate, and the gate is closed when the feeling is hardened and the gate is open when there is some pain. Therefore, pain is always life-giving and inspiring.

At every step in evolution, man's belief changes, until he arrives at the final belief which becomes his ultimate conviction.

As the storm disturbs the sea and the sea in its turn upsets the boat, causing all manner of turmoil, so every earthly passion disturbs the calmness of spirit in man and restlessness of spirit upsets his mind causing disorders physically and mentally. It produces chaos through all the affairs of life.

SALUK

Everybody finds fault with others, but it is some rare one who finds fault with himself. Once man has given up finding fault with others, then he begins to find fault with himself.

Sin is something which does not fit one's life and character. Its influence on life is like the effect of some food one has eaten which cannot be digested.

NASIHAT

Those who show sympathy toward me but have antagonism toward my work, those who show me respect but insult those whom I have authorized to assist me in my work, those who receive my teaching but dislike my Order, and those who are friendly to me but hostile toward my mureeds, can never be my friends.

KHAWAS

There are some people who are by nature fussy, who take pride in showing themselves good, kind or serviceable, and force upon you their kindness, making a mountain out of a molehill, making much ado about nothing. Avoid them, gave them no chance nor encouragement.

TASAWWUF

The spirit of feeling is lost when a sentiment is expressed in words. If words did not exist, the power of man's feeling would be a thousand times greater. The heart of man is vaster than the ocean. Every feeling therein is a wave rising in the sea, and when it is put into a word it becomes a pebble. Yes, there is a beauty in words, as there is beauty in flowers. But the flowers may be called the angels of the earth. They live only in Heaven; on the earth they appear for a moment and fade away. The feelings are like angels. The one who lives in his feelings lives in Heaven, when he puts them into words he drops down on the earth. And, however beautiful his imagination and his choice of words, he turns angels into flowers. A person who really has some feeling, a person who has imagination, when he is silent it becomes a power, an ever increasing power. Do you think a person who really loves need say "I love you?" No, the word "love" cannot express his feeling, it is too small in comparison to what love means to him who truly loves.

Expression of sentiment is an outlet given to the energy of the heart, which if it had been conserved would have been a power in itself. A person who expresses an opinion about another readily, a mist is produced by his word before his own eyes; he can see no further than what he sees. If he controlled that impulse of expressing his opinion, it would be an effort at that moment, but it would open before him the vision revealing all that he would wish to know.

Sparing of words is the secret of sages. Most troubles and pains in life can be avoided by the economy of words. Silence is taught in every school of inner cult, especially in Sufism; which, plainly speaking, is quietism.***did he really say that? Besides, when a person says one word, to express his ideas, instead of ten words, that one word becomes equal to a hundred words in power. The yes or no of a serious and silent person has more weight and has a greater influence then a hundred words of a talkative person.

No study can teach more than what silence can, no meditation is greater than silence itself. When the shell closes its lips pearls are formed. It is the heart of man which is the shell of the real pearls. By closing the lips, all the beauty which is seen and heard is received in it, and there a pearl is formed which becomes as a Philosopher's Stone. It is man who is blessed with the power of self-control, not the animals, and when man shows in his character something which is beyond the power of the lower creation he proves himself to be human. It is self-discipline which leads to mastery. When the self is in one's power the whole life is in one's possession. That person becomes the conqueror of life who learns to control his tongue.

TASAWWUF

Wherever a person goes there he takes his influence, thereby creating harmony or inharmony in the atmosphere. As a person who is drunken feels most delighted to see another person also drunken in the same way as he, and enjoys his company and offers him a drink, so the inharmonious person creates inharmony and so the harmonious person spreads the vibrations of harmony, tuning the whole atmosphere to the pitch of his soul. The tendency of the inharmonious person is to create inharmony; the quarrel of two people he enjoys, every manner of inharmony he creates, for it becomes his gain, his occupation in life. There is nothing dearer to him in life than seeing others in the same inharmonious state as he himself. Partly, it is the feeling of jealousy that comes to him, seeing another person harmonious with himself or with his surroundings, or he becomes proud to feel that he is not the only inharmonious one, but there are others also travelling in the same boat. In time, a person gets accustomed to inharmony, just as some sailors on the sea during the storm do not feel it. To him, life becomes dull if it be quiet and peaceful. An association where there is not some friction, some conflict, some warm discussions, some hot arguments, becomes most uninteresting. However, whatever be man's stage of evolution, his innate yearning is for quiet and for peace. No one in the world, from the depth of his heart, desires inharmony. For a Sufi, every effort made to bring about harmony in one's own life and in the lives of others is the principle moral.

TASAWWUF

The universe is a mechanism; we all have to work through that mechanism. Even with all the knowledge we have of the world, and with all the inspiration and power and blessing behind us, yet there are limitations in our lives and there are times when conditions make us helpless. Therefore, in working even for a good cause we must not expect life to be always a calm sea.

TASAWWUF

THE MESSAGE

I do not wish to give any particular teachings to my mureeds on the subject of the Message, because it is something which must come from themselves, a realization which must spring from their own heart, that the soul may become convinced from itself and from within, without outer teaching. Only as my mureeds will grow in the realization of truth so they will realize the importance of the Message, the sacredness of the Message, and their own responsibility in the delivery of the Message of the time.

As parents do not expect from all the children a share of their responsibility, especially when the children are young -- except that they look after them -- *** object of sentence unclear so for me the service of my mureeds is my religion, my life's mission, and I do not expect from every mureed, who has not yet realized the importance of the Message that he should trouble about it. I do what I can for their progress in all walks of life and feel responsible in God for their happiness. It is just like the parents, whose happiness it is, whose duty it is, to be serviceable to their children, and there are many parents who do not expect any return, even appreciation.

But of one thing I wish to warn, and however many times I may warn it is never enough, that is to keep in control your appreciation, your enthusiasm and your sympathy for Murshid and for the cause and always to care so as not to make the Message conspicuous in the eyes of the world. I very well know the feeling of my sincere mureeds, who at the moment of appreciation of the Message, of the blessing, wish that the whole world could share with them. But then sometimes they think that the whole world must share with them in a moment, and that must not be. It will share with them, and it is sharing with them unconsciously. The light of the sun shines in the whole world, not only in Suresnes, the rain falls in all lands, not only in France. So the pouring out of God's Message, if not in words, is in the atmosphere, in the air; you will find all over, and to think others must know what we know is not necessary. It is neither for the good of the Message nor for the benefit of your Murshid. It is better for many not to know; their time has not yet come. It is better that they wait, when their time comes for knowing, they will know.

And what is there to be known? There is nothing to be known. It is the Message to glorify the Name of God. If you all help, if His Name is known and glorified in the world, that is enough. Do we wish the whole world to be members of the Sufi Movement? What is needed are some capable workers who would forget themselves and consider nothing too great a sacrifice in order to work for God and humanity. If that is done, then everything is on my side, God and the world. It is natural that it is difficult to have workers in a world cause sufficient to provide everywhere where there is need. But still this must be understood, that as many workers in the cause we possess that much more facility and strength comes to the spread of the cause.

Our activity in the line of religion is a side-activity, considering the esoteric school and esotericism as the main activity; still, that activity is the answer to the cry of the whole humanity, not the esoteric school; that is for the few. We call it the Church of All, or by whatever name it be called, it is the same. The name does not matter, it is something given. But remember that human sensibilities are delicate. We cannot expect every person to become most interested in the cause in the first moment he comes to us. It is probable but not usual. Then, it takes time for a person to grow into a thing and break the barriers of limitation, it takes time to rise above certain walls that he has built in life before him before he can see the truth of the Message and before he can understand and be sure of its mission. Therefore, every attempt must be made so as not to make especially this activity conspicuous in any way neither by giving publicity to the name nor by speaking about it to everybody at the first meeting nor by advertising it too much.

Humankind is not very far from the birds in the wilderness. You might want to give bread to a bird and the bird may be hungry and would like to have it, but the movement of your hand will frighten it and make it fly away, even seeing the bread in your hand. It has not yet faith and confidence in itself and in the one who gives. Therefore you will have to hide it, to throw the grain and hide it, and then the bird will come and take it. That is our position in the world.

And what do we want the world to know of us, Murshid, or the Order? What is necessary is service done, for our own satisfaction that the work is done that has been given to us. Among my sincere and devoted mureeds who wish to serve the cause, they will give great help who will not only help in the work, but will adopt my way of working in the delivery of the Message. We are not working for success, but success is assured for to us truth is success and success is truth.

TASAWWUF

The heart is as a root of the body, which is its plant. It is the heart which is formed first in the womb of the mother, and all other organs of the body are formed afterwards. Therefore, the condition of the whole body depends upon the condition of the heart. Every man's natural pitch of voice begins from the heart, and when it is not so the person is mentally or physically abnormal. The exercise of Zikr sets the heart to rhythm, which regulates the working of the whole system, its psychic power in this way regulating the higher planes of existence. Certainly, the heart of flesh is not the heart which is the depth of man's being. But the heart of flesh, being directly in focus to the inner, or real heart, reflects in its turn that which happens to be in the inner heart. It is therefore that this piece of flesh is called "heart," it being the only factor which represents the heart within.

TASAWWUF

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

TASAWWUF

There are certain things which one can gain by grasping them; there are other things which one can gain by receiving them. The same law works in all things of life. Sometimes by going in pursuit of a thing one gains it; sometimes it is achieved by merely waiting to receive it, when it comes it is ours. Therefore, it is not always by power and activity that one attains things; sometimes it is by patient waiting.

TASAWWUF

There is a well known saying in Hindustani, "If the attitude is solid the path becomes easy." This is the literal translation, a better translation, or interpretation, will be, "A right attitude leads to success." And the more we think of this the more we shall find in this saying a precious treasure of wisdom. Health, happiness, success, harmony, to all these things in life the attitude shows the way. Also, if a wrong attitude turns virtues into sins, a right attitude may turn what is called sin by people into virtue. As I have always said, virtue or sin are not actions; it is the attitude that is the condition of virtue or sin. Therefore, have a right attitude. There is no greater virtue than that, to think aright, to speak aright, to act aright; and there is a sure success.

But now comes the question, "What if the right of one person is the wrong of another person; and what is it that we may call right with authority?" I should say, no person must ask another person, "What is right?" because no one is capable of telling him, however great, however high in his evolution he may be. But then you may say, "We may make mistakes." Yes. We learn from our mistakes. If one is afraid of mistakes he will never learn. It is a matter of courage. Of what use is the virtue learned from others, that others tell, "That is right for you to do." It is of no use. If only you can realize God here, Who is living in the heart of man -- and no one is closer to us than God -- then no one else is capable of telling what is right. Then your God within tells you.

If you say, "Several times I thought that something was right and it turned out wrong in the end," I will say you were not sure. Perhaps your mind doubted if it were right or wrong. Perhaps you were dependent upon other people's advice. Perhaps preconceived impressions influenced your determination of right and wrong. If it simply came from the bottom of your heart and you accepted it and went on with courage through life, then it would be successful. And if it met with failure, the failure would become the stepping-stone to success.

You must remember that God never misleads His followers. Those who follow the advice of the God within are always protected by God, for their affairs God Himself is responsible. Only, what is necessary is an open discrimination for what you wish to do. You must ask yourself, "Is it my real feeling? Is it telling me to do it? Is my sense of justice satisfied with it? Is my reasoning in accordance with it? Is my deepest feeling in harmony with it? Is there any conflict with myself or is it all smooth?" If all is smooth within all is smooth without, the way is open, it is all clear.

Then you only have to have faith, trust and courage to go forward in the strength of the goodness of God. And remember, it is not your strength, or your experience, or your knowledge that can give your success. No, it is God. That is what is meant, symbolically, by the story of Arjuna and Krishna, that when Krishna consented to drive the chariot of Arjuna's heart he was free from worry and anxiety. The path was clear because God was with him. It is nothing material which can assure success. Those seeming things give a seeming success; true success is God alone and all others things added.

Remember, therefore, that in a small affair or in a big affair, first consult yourself and find out if there is no conflict in your own being about anything you want to do. And when you find no conflict there, then feel sure that a path is already made for you. You have but to open your eyes and take a step forward, and the other step will be led by God.

If success appears before you on the horizon or if it is not yet manifested to your view, in both cases be sure that constant perseverance, patience, and trust in God will lead you to the fulfillment of your desire. As it is said in the Bible, if you ask bread your Father will not give you a stone. In other words, you ask bread because you are meant to have bread -- therefore you ask bread. You ask bread because the bread is baked for you, made for you; therefore you ask. It is there for you if only your attitude is right, if you wish and you ask and you desire to attain something which you think is right and just and good.

It is difficult for that person who thinks, "In order to deserve the bountiful gifts of God, in order to deserve or expect a success in life, one must be worthy." What is man after all? A child before God, whatever be his age. What are his virtues? Not even worth a drop compared with the ocean. What can he do to deserve and to be worthy? If he can only be natural, think aright, act aright, speak aright, and trust in the love and compassion of God, that is quite sufficient.

KHAWAS

There are agitated mentalities caused by some disappointment in life, or by some illness which has made the nerves very sensitive and agitated. And in the beginning of this condition they become argumentative and unwilling to come to an understanding, because argument for them is like rubbing an irritating spot, it gives them a momentary comfort, but increases the irritation and gives a desire for rubbing more.

In the next stage they show more irritability, by being over-affectionate, emotional, bewildered; and in every emotion, they show a pronounced state of sensitiveness. Those behind whose condition there is a mental cause will not agree in argument, even if the other person were in agreement with their idea, and when they meet with agreement they will at once take the opposite position. For it is in argument that their irritability is aroused, which is the only time that they feel alive; the absence of it makes them feel drowned in gloom. Those whose condition is owing to some bodily disease express in this stage a hysterical state of mind.

In the third stage they become visionary or fanciful. And this state links up with an abnormal state of mind, the influence of which also manifests in the health of the body, since mind and body act and react upon each other. The balance between both is the ideal state.

In dealing with such people, one must not consider that one is dealing with normal people, but must consider one is dealing with patients who ask of us first endurance, then tolerance, and then help. For they are in such a state that they cannot even by their virtues attract sympathy, they are worse than helpless.

TASAWWUF

It is the lack of personal magnetism which makes man look for the magnetic objects.

TASAWWUF

The influence of the spirit works through the whole life. By spirit I mean one's soul, one's personality; in Sufic terms the same spirit is called the heart. Success or failure, happiness or unhappiness, all depend upon the condition of the spirit. The mystic knows it as the physician knows the science of medicine. The outer diseases are recognized by science and treated by the physicians, but the inner disorders, which are caused by the different conditions of the heart, remain unexplored by what is called modern science.

Once there is a wound in the heart, the whole personality of the wounded becomes embittered; he feels agitated against all things, every movement around him has a jarring effect upon his life. This constant irritation keeps him agitated through all conditions of life. He shows his agitation to a friend and to a foe both. He disagrees with all he accepts and does not accept. He gets into disagreeable moods, when there is nothing he agrees with, even he cannot agree with himself. Others blame him, dislike him, avoid him, escape from him, call him a difficult person, not knowing that it is not the person who is difficult, it is some difficulty he possesses in himself, which he himself knows not, but finds every outer reason, object, or person that he touches at that moment to be the cause of his agitation. In this way the real cause remains hidden and that person turns from bad to worse.

Few will help this person and fewer still will understand. It is a matter of patience, endurance, tolerance, besides a keen insight into human nature, to understand a person's condition. It is natural that a person with a wound must fret, the wounded must show restlessness, dissatisfaction. Nothing to him is tasteful, nothing agreeable, there is nothing on which he can set his hope. It is often the case that the person himself is at a loss about his own complaint. If it were an outer wound the wounded might see for himself, but the inner wound he himself cannot realize; he only feels pain and he does not know where it comes from. While looking for reasons, everything, every being, every condition that presents itself before him he attaches all blame to, because that is human nature.

The work of the Sufi, therefore, is to stop and think before being annoyed and see what is the matter with a person, to find out what is at the back of it, to find out where is the sore, where is the wound which is hidden. Then his work is to wash that wound with the water of life and then try to heal it. What it needs is cooling, not irritating, which is mostly done by the ignorant. Annoyed with the wounded, they give back a little more irritation. No, it is cooling which is required; a word of love, of affection, a word of consoling can cool its irritation. Love which manifests as tolerance, as forgiveness, that love it is which heals even the wounds of the heart. Only patience is required and a continual work with faith and confidence in the divine power of love.

TASAWWUF

Healing

Consciously or unconsciously, every being is capable of healing himself or others. This instinct is inborn in insects, birds and beasts, as well as in man. All these find their own medicine and heal themselves and each other in various ways. In the ancient days the doctors and healers learned much from the animals in the treatment of disease. This shows that natural instinct has manifested in the lower creation as well as in the higher. The scientist of today may not, therefore, claim with pride that they are the inventors of chemical remedies, but may humbly bow the head in prayer, seeing that each atom of this universe, conscious of its sickness, procures for itself from within or without a means for its restoration. In other words, medicines were not discovered by physicians, but only instinctively found in the creation as the necessity for them appeared.

The excess of man's artificial remedies has had the effect of increasing disease. This is also mainly due to the modern artificial way of life, so different from the natural living of the ancients which is today ridiculed by so-called civilization. Thus, the luxuries and needs of life are obtained at the sacrifice of true health and comfort.

Healing without drugs and medicines is the most natural thing, although the absolute neglect of them is inadvisable. There are cases in which the tools of surgery are also permissible, but only when absolutely necessary. If the engine can move the wagons, why should horses be used? In the same way, if a disease can be cured by a simple remedy the mental power should not be wasted, for it may be used in a more serious case. If every malady were to be healed mentally, why then were all drugs and herbs created? On the other hand diseases, which will yield more easily to mental treatment should not be left entirely to material remedies, for their root must first be healed. So many patients temporarily recover by the help of medicines and again become sick, and in such cases healing is especially needed.

It is much to be deplored that such important work as healing has in the present age been undertaken by people who are in many cases most materially minded and do not understand its psychology, making a profession of it and thus bringing discredit upon it.

Self-healing is more desirable than healing by others; the former strengthens the will, the latter weakens it. Many people think that hypnotic and psychic power alone can heal; but they do not realize how the healer must first heal himself, by the practice of the strictest morality from the lowest to the highest phase of his existence. He must purify himself by Iman, or confidence. Then alone can he claim to be a healer.

There are five kinds of diseases caused by various disorders in different planes of existence. Some diseases in the physical plane are contracted from without while others spring from within. There are several supposed causes, but in reality the true cause of disease is weakness, while the cause of health is strength. Thereby is not meant physical weakness or strength only, but strength and weakness on all planes of existence. Activity causes what is called life, while the reverse brings about death. The former causes circulation and the latter congestion. Circulation gives health, while congestion causes disease.

The scientists of today are giving electrical treatment as a comparatively new discovery, and it is proved to be the most beneficial of all remedies. Healing is also electrical treatment and has been given throughout the different planes of life for ages. Every being has a natural gift of healing in a greater or less degree, but it may be developed. The physical and mental faculties should be opened out in such a way that the electric vibrations in the various planes of existence may be enabled to operate. Physical vibrations depend upon the purity and energy of the body, and they can be projected through the finer organs, such as the palms of the hands, the tips of the fingers, the soles of the feet, the tongue, the cheek, the forehead, the ear, the lips, nose and eyes. The finest of all these is the eye; it is much more useful than all the other organs for it is through the eyes that the electric rays can be emitted. The nose has also an important part to perform, it being the very channel of breath. The ears can work when the healer is spiritually advanced; and the vibrations can also pass through the tips of the fingers.

The Oriental custom of placing the eyes upon the holy hands or feet of the sage is not only expressive of humility, but it has a still greater meaning. It signifies the healing by the holy hands or feet which illuminate the devout. The sages who bless those aspiring souls by placing their hands upon the head inspire them by sending forth the rays of their power through the fingertips. In kissing the hands or feet of the holy ones, the Orientals have the same object in view. In the same way the caress of the mother heals the child of all his pain and soothes him to sleep. Courage and consolation is given to another by placing the hands on his shoulders; the vibrations in this action give a new life and courage.

TASAWWUF

Obsession PART 1

The subject of obsession receives little attention even from those who are absorbed in the subject of spirit-communication; nevertheless it is one of the most interesting in the whole field of spirit phenomena, for it involves a study of those essential points of metaphysics which are the very basis of existence. Through the study of obsession the seeker gains insight into that greatest problem of life, the question whether there is such a thing as free will.

The mind has two faculties which are called in the Sufic terms Jelal and Jemal, the one expressive, the other responsive. The expressive quality may be called power, and the responsive quality may be called perception or intelligence. These two qualities every mind possesses, and for convenience sake they may be described as the positive and negative factors of mind. When two minds meet, if the attitude of both is positive, then there results friction or conflict; and if there is harmony between them it is because one is receptive, that is to say negative, at the moment that the other is positive.

The positive mind, expressed in thought, feeling, word, or action, controls to a certain extent the mind that responds to it. It conveys to the responsive mind that which it wishes to express and the responsive mind simply reflects what has been conveyed to it, and has at the moment of response no expression. One may see this happening in either of two ways: Either one sees minds so evenly matched that there is a balance, a give-and-take between them, or else one mind is perpetually forced to give way to the other. It is as in wrestling, where one may see a match between two combatants so equal in strength and skill that every moment one of them brings the other down, and sometimes it is the one and sometimes the other who has the upper hand; or again one sees a match where the stronger at once gets the upper hand and does not lose his hold, and the weaker has never a chance to regain himself. You may watch a contest of minds between any two relations, or friends, or lovers, or enemies, and then you will clearly see the influence of one mind upon the other: one bearing the weight of another's thought, or one melting in the fire of another's agony, one mind sorrowing or rejoicing even as it is made to do by another.

But there are times when this influence is not apparent. There are times when an influence of this kind is neither perceived by onlookers, nor yet by the one who is being influenced. As we travel in trains and buses, as we sit in hotels and restaurants and clubs we unconsciously partake of influences that come from others, and we are as certainly affected by them as we are by contact with infectious illnesses. We partake of illnesses often not knowing how or where we caught them. Modern man is, however so impressed by medicine with the fact of contagion in disease that he searches for the cause of his own illness and tries to protect himself; he is not so prepared to believe that humor or grief, gaiety or depression are also contagious. And yet even a superficial study shows that the mind in an expressive, positive state must convey itself to others, if not through action yet by speech, if not through speech yet in the glance of the eye, if not through the glance yet through the very atmosphere or presence.

How many substances make up our physical body! Think of the many kinds of vegetables and fruits that we eat and the many substances of which they are composed; of the different kinds of flesh and fish we eat and the many different foods which have nourished these. A man's thought and speech and action are generally regarded as the outcome of his own free will, but when we consider carefully the composition of his thoughts and analyze them keenly we doubt how much of his thoughts belong to the thinker. We see that just as his body is composed of many different substances, and many other bodies, so his mind is composed of impressions that come from many other minds. But although we receive so many impressions from other minds, which become part of our own mind, each mind in turn sends out impressions which are reflected by others; and this proves that each mind possesses an individual power. Our minds, therefore, are not formed only of the impressions which come from others, but we each possess a mind of our own which gathers and selects the impressions that stream towards us and which in its turn conveys its impressions to others.

TASAWWUF

Forward

There are two views of life, which represent two different temperaments, and which may be compared to short sight and to long sight; to the view at short range and the view at long range. The former notices in detail and sees closely into the facts of material life, the latter touches the furthest horizon; the scientist may be said to be of the former temperament and the mystic of the latter. Each temperament may lose or gain something that the other has or has not; each may deny the importance of the life and experiences of the other; and yet both have their place in the scheme of existence.

But this is true, that the view of the scientist will always be changing, and that even if scientific research proceed for thousands of years, every moment of its history will by marked by a new discovery; while to the mystic, the end is now.

The mystic will always say as Solomon said, "There is nothing new under the sun." The mystic will say, "I have not known anything more than a mystic of a hundred, or of ten thousand years ago; nor will any mystic of the future know more than I." A scientist will say, "Today I know more than a scientist of a hundred years ago," though yet at times he will be puzzled to find, through deep research and study of the traditions of the past, that something which he claims as a discovery and as a fact still unknown to the people around him would seem to have been known in the past also.

The mystic has never been able to explain in such detail and with such knowledge of the substances as the scientist; but he will say, "What you call new is new because you explain it in a new way," and he will not necessarily see in scientific discoveries and theories any contradiction to the law he knows. For he believes that the light which is concentrated in each man, making each an individual entity, shows to each his own kingdom and line of activity; and what it is by holding this light high that each man arrives at the destination of the soul. The Sufi believes that the divine blessing is given in the sight becoming keen; and that the wisdom vouchsafed to man will be great according to the greatness of the object which man holds in view. It is his belief that there is at bottom one science of all things, and that the whole is in every part. And therefore the complete knowledge of the past will be a knowledge of the whole; just as a modern brain specialist may perhaps say that every part of the body is represented in each nerve center, and that the condition of each is relative to the condition of the whole body.

The difference in outlook between the two temperaments comes from this, that the mystic starts from the spiritual side, according to the direction given. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you," while the other begins his research from the substance. This makes a difference on the road of research that is like the difference between walking downhill and climbing uphill. The mystic lives at the top of the hill and the wide horizons are ever before his eyes. It becomes easier for him to travel downhill in his search into the substance than for the one who lives at the bottom of the hill to climb upwards to the heights, so he searches into the same substance, upwards to the view which shows in its proportions the whole stretch of the land he inhabits.

It is said that the vague ideas of the mystic cannot satisfy the intellect and do not give any substantial evidence of his conviction, while the scientist on the other hand sees and therefore knows; and that what the scientist knows can be perceived by the intellect and shown to another, and that his experiments and inventions are the proofs of his knowledge. But the mystic says, "That which seems vague and in a mist to others is real and apparent to me. If one seeks for the moon on the earth he may search all his life in vain; but my contemplation is turning my face from that side to this side, from the life of the substance to the life of the spirit; and I cannot give the evidence of my vision on this side to one who will not turn his face this way. It is not possible to make a thing intelligible to a mind to whom that thing is entirely new and unknown. Can you make another who has never felt pain think what pain may be? And moreover, language, which is the collection of names of forms and objects, is inadequate to explain my vision and my experience, which lie beyond these." What the mystic can give of his vision is, therefore, but a glimpse of something lying beyond the grasp of language; though it is something which is the desire of every soul and within the reach of every soul. And while mystical explanations may or may not tally with scientific knowledge, it may still convey to the intellect something of that hidden law of nature which is called philosophy, or moral law, or prophecy, or religion.

While the materialist says that consciousness has evolved from matter and that consciousness is dependent upon matter and upon the body, the Sufi says that consciousness has evolved substance. The Sufi believes that consciousness has, so to speak, produced matter, or the substance, out of itself while yet remaining itself in its original state. He believes that because the substance is the outcome of consciousness, it further developed consciousness in itself. Thus the Sufi sees, in successive gradual stages of evolution, consciousness arising from the substance, and believes that matter arises from consciousness and returns to consciousness; or, as it is expressed in the verse of the Qur'an, that "All is from God, and therefore to Him all has its return."

TA`LIM

When a disciple begins to judge the teacher or his actions, to criticize his teachings, or try to test his inspiration or power, however cleverly he may do it, he ceases to be a disciple in the right sense of the word. It may not seem very bad to many, but there is a thin thread connecting the pupil with his spiritual guide, and at any moment this can easily break. Once broken it can never be mended. It does not mean that the teacher would not forgive. If he did not forgive he could not be a teacher. But the thread which connects them is the thread of the ideal, which is as delicate as thin glass. It can easily break. Therefore one must be more careful about maintaining this delicate thread than about one's study or meditation.

TA`LIM

The disciple who listens attentively to the instruction given by his spiritual guide learns more than the one who argues. For while the former assimilates the food the latter puts it out.

TASAWWUF

Obsession PART II

The expressive power of mind is greater when it is free of the body than when it is still encased in the body. During life on the earth, when the mind is encased in the body, it is through his bodily senses that a man gathers experience. It is the senses which convey their experiences to the brain (which is not necessarily the mind, but which is the vehicle of mind). Consequently, when the mind is separated from the physical body and from the bodily senses, its receptive capacity to perceive and respond is lessened, and thus it ceases to be a responsive force, so that it becomes almost entirely an expressive force.

The body with its senses forms, so to speak, a barrier, a wall between the minds of human beings in this life, preventing direct communication between mind and mind. When the mind is separated from the body, then no barrier stands before it; the mind is then like a sword unsheathed it is in its full expressive power. And since it lacks a physical body it must use the physical body of another on earth if it wishes to express earthly longings or desires. It must make use of the body of another to gratify its yearnings, to fulfill its appetites, to accomplish its hope. If, in its desire to express itself, it inhabits the body of another for a short period of time, the effect will perhaps not be noticed; but if it inhabits the body of another for a length of time, then its influence becomes perceptible, so that more than one personality can be traced in the same person. If these personalities are similar, then the person who is obsessed is perhaps thought of as a moody person, but if they are dissimilar or opposite, then the obsession is apparent to all.

The idea of obsession, of possession by spirits, being an ancient one, is usually regarded as a superstition by the modern scientific or materialistic mind; and thus obsessed persons are generally reckoned amongst the insane. I have seen many cases of obsessed persons in lunatic asylums in western countries who live uncared for, without help and succor, for a disease of mind of this type can never be ended through remedies applied to the body.

TASAWWUF

The Four States of the Absolute

"The world was created out of darkness," says the Qur'an. This darkness may be explained as the Unknown, the Unseen, as that which is beyond human perception and imagination and explanation, as that state of existence which language fails to describe. The Knowers have spoken of One Only Being; the absolute, omnipotent and omnipresent, nameless, formless, birthless and deathless, while the mystics speak of a perfect restful and peaceful state; it is this background of the universe that is meant by the word darkness, the beginning and end of all.

Within it there awakened, of its own innate nature, the Consciousness of its existence, unlimited by knowledge of form and space -- as a mirror in which as yet nothing is reflected. This state the Sufi calls `Ilm; that is, the Pure Intelligence.

It is the tendency of the intelligence to seek an object; even as the eyes seek something to look at, and the ears desire to hear. This first activity of the intelligence may be called love, or will, or desire; the Sufis name it `Ishq. It is this Love, or Will, inherent in Intelligence, that spread forth its power and caused the manifestation of itself; and passing through various grades of names and forms, arrived at that physical plane called Insán by the Sufis, where it experiences life upon earth, under many shapes and forms, and finally as the human being. This state of the experience of Intelligence is called Wujud.

And when the human being in his turn arrives at the knowledge of the original state of existence, he becomes the ideal of creation; that is to say, man becomes the ideal being when he becomes conscious of that original existence in which the spirit that is within him was not conscious of anything in the absence of any object to view. Out of Himself, God produced His manifestation, His means of becoming conscious; and now each manifestation of Himself calls out, "I," not knowing its True Self. But when the individual intelligence frees itself from this delusion, and recognizes its immortal existence, then it becomes master of all states of being; it becomes that ideal being whose bliss cannot be equaled on earth nor surpassed in Heaven. This state in the experience of Intelligence, when the knower becomes known to Himself is called Shuhud; and in this the aim of life is accomplished.

TASAWWUF

Physical Healing

A patient can be healed only if he has sufficient faith in the power of healing and confidence in the healer. In the case of self-healing, self confidence, the power of breath, and concentration are most necessary. There is a well known story told among Sufis that Shamsi Tabriz (the Shiva of Persia), was once most respectfully entreated by the priests of the day to awaken the Crown Prince from his last long sleep. The Shah, his father, issued a decree that, if there was any truth at all in religion his only son must be restored to life by prayer, otherwise all the mosques should be destroyed and the mullahs be put to the sword. In order to save many lives Shamsi Tabriz complied with their request and sought the dead body of the prince. He first said to the dead body of the prince, "Qum bismi`Lláh," "Awake at the call of God." The dead body did not move. He then, under the spell of ecstasy, exclaimed, "Qum bismi`ná," "Arise at my command." At this suggestion the prince immediately arose. The story goes on to relate that this abrupt command, although it restored the prince to life, brought the charge of the claim of Godhead upon Shamsi Tabriz, and according to the religious law, he was condemned to be flayed alive. He gladly submitted to this punishment in order to keep religion intact, as it is the only means of governing the masses.

By this we understand that Shamsi Tabriz in his first suggestion to the dead spoke conventionally, entreating God as a third person, which had not the slightest effect on the dead body. But in his next command, he lost his individual self from his consciousness and felt himself to be the whole Being of God. This story makes it clear that the healer must be confident of his at-one-ment with God, and during the time of healing he should most assuredly feel the power of the Almighty working through him, thus absolutely losing the thought of his individual self.

The electric battery which heals is recharged in three ways:

1. By controlling the breath.

2. By strengthening the will.

3. By absorbing the electricity of the sphere.

In order to make use of the healing battery, it is most essential that the eyes should be made to work as projecting the electricity. They must be first cured of their nervousness, that ever-moving condition to which they are addicted from birth. The eyes are naturally weakened and tired by being allowed to respond from morning to night to every attraction which invites their attention. The healer, in order to make use of them for healing, first trains them to be steady. The electricity can be absorbed by striking, with the fingers, the finer vibrations in space, and it can be discharged in the same way, by slowly passing the tips of the fingers in the space above the affected part of the patient's body. Sometimes passing the fingers closer to the body and sometimes slightly touching the affected part is helpful. It depends upon the intensity of pain suffered by the patient and the amount of electricity required. It is very necessary that each time the fingers have passed over the affected part, they should be shaken in order to disperse the poisons collected there, in other words that the poisonous germs collected on the fingers may be thrown away. It is advisable to shake the fingers over a fire so that the germs may not be left on the floor; and also to have incense burning in the room. Some healers, in order to protect the fingers, make use of peacock's feathers, which sweep away all such germs.

The healer can test his healing power by feeling the electric current running through his fingers as he shakes them. A healer, even when playing an instrument, can heal his listeners with his music. If his fingers touch either food or drink it becomes a sacrament, powerful to heal. If the healer gives a gift with a good wish it brings good luck, and if he writes a word it becomes a charm, a healing in itself, which heals the possessor and keeps him free from death and disaster.

TASAWWUF

Obsession Part III

The question arises, "What gives a spirit an inclination to obsess a human being?" The answer is that man's life is formed on his habits. He becomes accustomed to eating certain foods and drinking certain drinks; he becomes attached to his pleasures. And what he once delighted in, he wishes to experience again. Through force of habit his interest increases even in things that are not useful to him, and in things that are not naturally delightful. For instance, opium is one of the worst possible things to taste, and yet a man may grow so used to it and addicted to it that even to smell it becomes a pleasure to him. Thus, as the human being lives on earth and depends for his happiness and pleasures upon the things of the earth, his heart becomes attached to them; and yet he does not belong to them. It is this attachment of the mind to earth that draws it back to the earth, as it is written, "Where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also." It is this attachment to the earth that causes what is called the descent of the spirit, in all its forms, in manifestation, in reincarnation, in transmigration and in obsession.

An obsessed person may simply be the temporary instrument of another spirit, until some purpose is accomplished. I knew a lady who, as she lay dying, was tormented by the thought of leaving her youngest son without anyone to care for him. Her nearest relation was a sister-in-law who had never had any friendship for her nor taken any interest in the children, her nephews. And as the mother lay dying her thoughts turned again and again to this relation, and she was heard often deeply regretting that she could not trust her children to her. Soon after the mother's death, the sister-in-law came forward and offered to take charge of her nephews, and from that time filled the place of the mother to the youngest boy. Not only did she show the utmost devotion to him, but it seemed to him and the elder children also, that in her face there was something of their dead mother's expression, and in her presence some reminder of her whom they had lost. And to me, who knew them both well, it seemed clear that the mind of the dead woman had for a time influenced that of her sister-in-law.

There is a story told in the East of Nizámuddin Auliya, the great spiritual teacher of Delhi, which illustrates the same point. It is told that once, when in a difficulty, he longed earnestly for the help and advice of his own dead teacher; and, coming into an assembly that had gathered together to listen to him, he was astonished to see his own servant rise up suddenly before him and take the seat of honor reserved for him. Then the servant, to the surprise of all, began to speak, and as he spoke, his words suggested to his master a way out of his difficulty. Having spoken, the servant seemed suddenly to realize where he was, and with some confusion stepped down to his own more humble seat, without having any clear recollection of what he had said. Nizámuddin Auliya never doubted, from the words that he had heard, that the spirit of his dead teacher had made use of the servant in order to help him in his difficulty.

When a spirit wishes to warn a friend of danger or trouble, it may speak to him through another. Sometimes one who is being guided by a spirit feels inspired in his actions, or knowledge, or in the advice that he gives. Sometimes when a spirit speaks directly, its advice is thought of as intuition. Often what is called intuitive knowledge is actually knowledge imparted by a spirit. Women are especially open to this kind of influence, for the female sex is naturally the responsive sex, and a woman usually responds more readily than a man.

There was a well known case in Bombay of a Parsi lady who normally knew no language but her own, but at times spoke in Arabic and Persian, and in her dual personality she was learned and literary. And I have known a case of a young English girl, who in a sudden illness spoke only German, a language she had never learned and had heard spoken only very seldom. There are often cases when a young girl will suddenly change her personality and use foul language such as she could never have heard in her own life; in such times the obsessed often becomes violent in the extreme. The explanation of this is that seekers after comfort and beauty, who in this life have developed in themselves nothing but selfishness, will often after death obsess the unknown and beautiful.

Just as it is possible for a servant to obey more than one, so also persons are found who respond to several spirits. Sometimes a person is found responding to several, but at different times, and as many as five personalities have been traced in one human being in a case of this kind. And where many personalities are reflected in one person at one and the same time, his actions and thoughts become so confused that no one personality stands out with distinctness.

Not only the physically beautiful but also poets and thinkers and artists and musicians, who are devoted to the pursuit of beauty in knowledge and art, are liable to become obsessed; and, many times, by spirits who were themselves devoted to the same pursuit, but who were separated from their bodies before their interest and hope in this life was ended.

In short, we may say that as a man sows so he reaps, and what a man thinks that he is, and his condition and character and activity in the next life are just the results of his character and activity in this life. Omar Khayyam expresses the same idea when he says,

Which is to say, that thing, or that nothing, which you are in this life, that same shall you be in the next. And if you are not then more than now, at least you shall not be less.

TASAWWUF

Mental Healing

Mental healing is performed by suggestion. Mostly the parents are the first healers, for they convey their thought to the child by the knitting of the brow or the looking at him fixedly. Even the animals can be trained in the same way.

There are many diseases of the human mind produced by self-consciousness. They develop unconsciously, and are such as love of praise and flattery, intolerance of insult, irritability, infatuation, jealousy, anger, passion and greed, besides the craving for alcohol and drugs. In order to cure such diseases the healer must first have a great control over himself, for his own shortcomings may keep the patient back. The Holy Prophet was once requested by an aged woman to speak to her son, who spent all his daily wage on dates, leaving her penniless. The Prophet promised to do so after five weeks interval. On the appointed day the boy was brought before the Prophet, who spoke to him very kindly, saying, "You are such a sensible lad that you ought to remember that your mother has endured much suffering for your sake, sacrificing all her wages in order to bring you up. And now she is so old and you are in a position to support her, you are squandering your money on dates. Is this just or right? I hope, by the grace and mercy of Alláh, you will give up this habit." The boy listened very attentively and profited by what he heard. The disciples of the Prophet wondered and asked why the reproof was delayed for thirty-five days. The Holy Prophet explained saying, "I myself am fond of dates, and I felt as if I had no right to advise the lad to abstain from them until I had myself restrained from eating them for five weeks." The healer of character should never for a single moment try to heal another of weaknesses to which he himself is addicted.

TASAWWUF

Manifestation: The Seven Heavens

Consciousness passes through seven heavenly planes before manifesting as matter; and then through seven other planes to arrive at the plane of the human being. This evolution does not take place through the individual, but the Whole evolves as a whole.

In the first plane there is no other but the only existing One, free of form and matter. This Heaven the Sufis name Ahadíyyat.***check spellings

Then the innate quality of consciousness shines forth, conscious of its own existence and conscious of being; this is the second Heaven, Wahdat.

In the third Heaven, consciousness manifests to its own view. This is the plane of the Abstract; in which consciousness evolves into waves of activity, into vibrations that are first audible and then become visible. The first activity of consciousness produces Sound, and the clashings and groupings of vibrations produce Light. This third Heaven is called Wahdaníyyat.

The Light which is the Eternal Spirit spreads forth its rays, each ray containing attributes differing in quality and quantity under the influence of time and space. Each ray is equally the potential soul of a thing, or living being. Each ray is detached; and each distinguishes itself as an individual soul, separate from the Universal Spirit, upon which, nevertheless, its existence as an individual depends. This world of rays has been called the world of Farishta, or angels. In this Heaven are souls that will proceed further, and also souls who have not sufficient desire to manifest farther. In ancient tradition the beings of this Heaven are described as spending their lives in listening to the Sound of the Abstract, which is Divine Music; and in rejoicing in the Divine Light, the Nur; and therefore these are depicted as holding harps, and trumpets, or flaming torches, the symbols of sound and light. Moreover, they assist in furthering manifestation, since their lives are incomparably longer than the lives of earthly beings. This heaven has been called the spiritual plane, of Arwah, which means Light.

In the next grade of manifestation, the soul, with its collected attributes, waits to turn into matter. Into this Heaven each ray has projected itself from the spiritual plane in diverse forms, under the influence of the five elements already produced by activity, `Ishq.***awkward sentence This state of being may be described as a negative state. This plane corresponds to the realm of the soul of each being on earth, it is the realm of ideas. In it reside the experiences of earth. It has been called the astral plane, or Ajsám; and those beings who inhabit it, but who do not proceed further, have been called Djinn, or Peri, in tradition.

The next plane is the mental plane, in this the mind is formed, and even a form is designed, in matter as yet invisible in comparison with the matter of the physical world. Those who are capable of perceiving this heavenly plane, which is called Mithál by the Sufis, speak of spirit-phantoms.

The seventh is that physical existence called Insán by the Sufis, in which manifestation works out through matter until man, the ideal of creation, is evolved. The first three manifestations in the physical existence form the Heaven of the sun, moon, and stars; the light of the sun shines in the moon, and the same light illuminates the whole planetary system. The last four manifestations are the mineral, vegetable, animal, and human kingdoms.

The distinct vibrations, coming from the plane of the Abstract, grow perceptible with every step towards manifestation. For example, the vibrations of thought are more material than the vibrations of feeling; and as the vibrations pass through each plane they develop as atoms, in order to proceed forth; and therefore with every step in development they become objectively more visible and concrete. They materialize through gas and liquid; they become atoms that pass through the mineral, and then through the vegetable and animal kingdoms, and appear on the surface as life.

Every step towards manifestation is through the activity of the Spirit in matter and by means of matter. Therefore every successive plane is more radiant than the plane that precedes it, since the spirit has penetrated further. This is also the very reason and cause of delusion; for with each step towards fuller manifestation the vision has become more concrete, and correspondingly, those inner planes, which are long-lasting and yet dim in comparison with the picture of the objective world, become lost to view.

Physical Manifestation

There are three degrees of existence, namely, essence, activity and expression. The vibrations of the ether (the essence) cause activity, which produces air, and the activity of the air, through clashings, produces fire; the melting and condensing tendency of fire produces vapors and water; and the solidifying process of water creates the earth; and a reverse process consumes these elements, converting the grosser into the finer.

The first aspect of earth is the rock, which in time breaks into fertile soil, and during this change various substances are produced -- metals, precious stones, and so on. The soil manifests as the vegetable kingdom, and the things of this plane (trees, fruits, flowers,) derive one from the other, or, according to the laws of time and space, produce variations under the influences of the five elements.

From the vegetable the germ arises, either from fruit, leaf, or flower; the vegetable appears decayed when the germ is born, but this apparent decay is a further step in evolution. The form of the germ signifies its origins, whether it be of leaf, fruit, flower, branch or seed. By qualities such as its stillness, its immobility, and the deadness of its skin, the germ shows its kingship to its antecedent plane, the mineral, while it also exhibits qualities that show its relationship to nut, or fruit, or flower, or leaf, and thus to the vegetable world.

The germ may produce its like; and thus the development of germ-life brings it into the insect world, and the further development of insect-life leads to bird-life. Birds show that they inherit from the plant world by their branching wings, leaf-like feathers, nut-like beaks, fruit-like bodies; whilst qualities such as lightness, nimbleness, and diversity of hue, and color, show their inheritance from the insect-world, as do such tendencies as keeping in flocks.

The birds in their turn evolve to the eagle, then becoming heavier and coarser, their wings change, to become finally the two forelegs of the animal; the beak, passing through forms such as the duck's bill, widens into the animal mouth; and the crested tuft of the bird becomes the horn of the animal world. Among the animals there arose first the herbivorous animals, but the animals becoming in time the prey of their own evolution, there arose also carnivorous animals, who possess in their teeth the strength of horns.

And the animals retain marks of their inheritance from the birds. The bird-mark may be seen for instance on the leg of the horse. As the beasts approach human evolution, they show a tendency to stand upright on their hind legs, evolving to the monkey, the ancestor of primitive man.

The very diversity of Nature's forms witnesses to her freedom; and therefore no given order such as that given above need necessarily be her course -- that is to say not every animal derives from a vegetable, nor every human being from an animal, nor every vegetable from the mineral; but animals derive also from animals, as do vegetables from vegetables, and human beings from human beings, varying under varying influence of the elements and according to the laws of time and space.

Every step in evolution marks an increase of consciousness, until in man consciousness is perfect. This consciousness shows itself as self-interest or selfishness, which increases until selfishness is perfected in the evolution of the creature as man. Man, who kills even his own brother out of self-interest, creates cruelty and destruction on earth such as no one of the lower creatures creates. Thus man is found most material of all; and for the same reason, because consciousness is most fully awakened in him, he is capable of becoming the most spiritual of all.

Man may be called the seed of the whole existence. As the seed comes last, after the life of trunk, branch, fruit and flower. And, as the seed is sufficient in itself and capable of producing another plant, such as that of which it was but a small product, so man is the product of all the planes, spiritual and material, a being small in comparison with the mountains and rivers and seas, or even in comparison with many beasts and birds, and yet in him alone that shines forth which caused the whole -- that primal intelligence, the seed of existence -- God. Therefore is man termed Ashraf-ul-Makhluqát, the Ideal of the Universe.

NASIHAT

You must not oppose any antagonism shown by one of the adversaries or even by one of your co-mureeds, for an attempt to win a person by an argument only makes him firm in his view.

SALUK

How to Progress in the Spiritual Path in Everyday Life

In order to progress in the spiritual path in everyday life, in the first place one must keep one's heart tuned. Intuition becomes closed when the heart is out of tune. Every individual is meant to have a certain pitch. One cannot be too good, and one need not be. The question is that one has to be harmonious, friendly and pleasant. You will always find as a sign of evolution that one agrees easily; if there is a lack of evolution one will agree less. The more one is evolved, the more one can agree. This shows that someone who is out of tune cannot agree. To agree one must have harmony within oneself. Depression, ill-luck, bad influences are removed just by keeping oneself in tune. If one is tuned, one agrees; disagreement shows a lack of tune. If one is in tune one will have health of mind and body both; it is the greatest healing. There are difficult natures and people of different grades of evolution, but we must try to agree to all. But one need not be dishonest in agreeing with another. The difference is that it is more difficult for a person of a lower state of evolution to understand a person of a higher evolution. By harmony one can hold oneself. The most important thing is to be in tune. When one person is in tune he will tune all others in time. Someone who is advanced and whose opinion is counted is responsible to keep himself in hand. Then he will rise above all conditions, he will tune the others.

Sometimes it is difficult to get on with people; the best thing is to endure. The endurance of gold, for instance, makes gold precious. Flowers are beautiful for some time, but they soon fade away; they have no endurance. If a person has all good qualities but he has no endurance, then he has no control of himself. A child is helpless, but the sign of being grown-up is that one is independent. An unevolved person is in the hand of conditions. Freedom comes with true evolution. Freedom is an illusion as long as a person is not evolved; it can be attained by evolution. Man begins as a machine, he works by influences. As he evolves there develops in him the faculty of the creator, the faculty of the master, to make his own destiny. The greater master he becomes the greater the faculty will be. First he is the slave of destiny, but in the end man becomes master of his destiny. One has no choice when one is the slave of destiny, but afterwards, when one has become master of destiny, one has choice. Our motive is that the soul may evolve every moment of the day. The stage of the master is the fulfillment of destiny.

TASAWWUF

Manifestations

Fatherhood and Sonship

Every being knows himself as possessing two tendencies -- one of expression, the other of response -- which are the positive and negative faculties of activity. To speak is expressive, or positive; to listen is responsive, or negative; to eat is expressive, while to taste is responsive; and so on. Beyond his physical nature, his thought is expressive, his perception a responsive faculty; emotion is expressive, while the heart is responsive. His consciousness of being, that which makes him say "I," is expressive, while his state of being is responsive. It is through this double activity of expression and response that his life and experience as an individual is built up.

These two aspects of activity may be traced more or less clearly throughout nature. They are represented by the sexes in organic life. They are mutually attracted to each other; each is the complement of the other; each satisfies the other, and in their mutual satisfaction lies completion, or the vision of perfection.

But the sphere of the negative is a limited one when compared with the sphere of the positive. The legend of the dance of Krishna with a thousand gopis teaches this fact under a symbol. The story tells that Krishna was beloved of all who knew him. In his village, high and low, young and old held him in their hearts with admiration and friendship; and each peasant girl, each gopi, who saw the divine youth hoped that it would be with her that he would dance. And so one asked him and another and another, and to each he gave his promise. And at the full moon, at the appointed time of the dance, there assembled all the peasant girls or gopis; and then it was that the gentle Krishna seemed to cause a miracle to happen, for each peasant girl danced and believed that it was with her that he danced. One burning light casts innumerable rays, each shining surface that responds to it is a limited aspect of that light. A song may reach ten, or a hundred, or a thousand, but the experience of each one who listens is confined to himself alone, and is a limited aspect of that song. The scope thus of the negative is a limited one as compared with that of the positive.

Also, in every expressive force there is seen a responsive force; and responsive force contains an expressive one. Thus the female sex is regarded as the responsive sex; but the attraction that her beauty and personality exerts upon the male acts as expressive in his heart; and in so far as he yields to her attraction and influence he shows himself responsive. Thus there is expression in response, and response in expression.

In the terms of the Sufis, Zat is the positive aspect of the Absolute, and is that expressive power which speaks; while Sifat is the negative aspect of the same power, and harkens and obeys. These two are called Alláh and Mohammed in the Marifat of Islam; and in the Vedanta they are called Shiva and Shakti.

Through that innate activity of Intelligence, which may be called Love, or Will, or Desire, the successive heavens or planes of existence were created, being projected from each other. A jet of water sprays into countless drops; and if the same force which projected that jet were applied to each separate drop, each drop will in its turn spray into another such shower. In this way was Sifat created by the expression of the Absolute; Sifat, which is this world of variety.

Sound is both the first and the most powerful of all expressive forces. The Sound, or Divine Music of the Abstract, projected from itself Light; and this Light, responsive and yet expressive, broke again into the rays that form Arwah, the spiritual heaven of souls. And the souls, each responsive and yet in itself expressive, bringing forth and partaking of the various attributes of the Abstract, grouping them together in manifold forms and variations, created this world, Sifat, the expression of the Absolute.

Thus each individual soul is a limited aspect of the expression of Zat, of the Power which says, "I am."

The Soul

To the heavens speed the souls departing this earth; and as the soul goes on its journey, it imparts its impressions to whichever planes it traverses. Thus, while forms and names multiply upon earth, their manifold impressions are retained and absorbed by the spiritual spheres, as the souls return and pass through them. Semitic tradition has sometimes explained this by teaching that first was the world, and after the world the heavens were created.

In the spiritual heaven of Arwah each ray awaits to manifests itself as matter. In Ajsám reside the experiences of earth, and in Ajsám the ray finds its attributes. From Ajsám, the realm of ideas, the ray focuses itself upon an earthly object akin to itself, and it penetrates directly to that plane of the physical existence where it finds its own attributes. Thus a soul with the attributes of a tiger will seek its means among tigers, and a sparrow-like soul among sparrows; the tiger-like and the sparrow-like attributes having been received from the impression cast by some returning tiger-like, or sparrow-like soul. It is this that some have explained by the theory of reincarnation.

There exists a spirit of affinity between the negative and positive which inclines the one towards the other, and towards the union which results in a fresh conception of beauty. Ancient mythology has beautifully expressed this in the figure of Cupid, whose wings show that he is a spirit, and who coming in the guise of a child, represents childhood. Cupid, the spirit of affinity, draws two of opposite sex together for the purpose of a birth of beauty, or the furtherance of perfection. In other words, the ray which is in itself energy created by that innate energy of Intelligence, `Ishq, which is Love, seeks to manifest further, but can only advance by means of its own energy, which is that same love, or will, or desire.

Thus it happens that creatures feel an attraction for their opposite, so that the one seeks the association of the other. Thus it happens that humankind, with health, freshness, vitality, and power, is strongly attracted to its opposite; and when the expressive and responsive tendencies of both awaken through love and passion, (which is the materialized activity of `Ishq,) a third being is created, and a ray finds its abode in the mother's womb.

The ray, attracted by the energy upon earth, proceeds from the spiritual sphere towards manifestation, and projects from itself waves of activity; and as the unseen life of the ray develops into a seen form, these waves or vibrations of activity turn into atoms that pass successively through the five elements. The ray thus manifests as energy that seizes its subjects; and descending from the ether as air, pouring into their breaths becomes fire or passion; that passes into water; and from fluid becomes flesh of the earth. Out of darkness, out of an enshrouding blindness and mist arises desire, which goes through the fire and agony of passion, before it becomes material and incarnate.

Thus it is seen that it is the spirit that possesses the sexes, to attract them together for its own purpose of manifestation. And therefore many religions and philosophies have considered the sex-relationship the most sacred of all; since it is thus that the spirit manifests itself. And for the same reason, the sex-relationship may become the most sinful of all, if this purpose of the spirit is lost to view; and whatever nation or race has disregarded this purpose of the spirit, the curse of God has fallen upon that race or nation in some way or other, to crush their root out of the world, as in the days of Noah. And through social and moral conventions allow men to disregard this purpose of the spirit, to disregard it is a sin; for it causes man's downfall, individually and collectively. And every caste and class -- kings, saints, nobles, the great, wise, or good -- are subject to this law, and have experienced its force. Some, through sex-hatred, prevent manifestation, and theirs is a greater sin; but greater still is that which is called perversion, for this is the absolute breach of nature's law. The punishment of such deeds is not delayed till the hereafter, but follows immediately. When disregard by the outer world crushes the inner world, it is a defiance of the law of the whole mechanism, which drags the structure to ruin.

There is nothing on earth more valuable than the seed of man, which is the seed of further manifestation; through its preservation, every treasure of heaven and earth becomes man's; and by its loss every door of happiness in life is closed to him. Thus it is that among celibates are found some of the greatest of men, and many who are brighter and more intelligent than the average; since the semen, being preserved, creates inwardly, making mind and body radiant.

WASIAT

The Work of the Movement

It is the first thing for my mureeds to know the real object of our work. We have three objects in view: Brotherhood; second,the Message; and the Esoteric School as the third object.

The more we notice the condition of the world at the present moment the more we shall recognize the necessity for human brotherhood. There has never been a greater need of human brotherhood than at the present moment. There are trade unions, political institutions, and socialist institutions. They all work toward the same object. Still, there is a very great necessity of spiritual work being done toward the unity of mankind. We are doing this work in different places, in America, in England, in Holland, in Belgium, in France, in Italy, in Germany, and in Scandinavia, and in Switzerland, where the center of the Sufi Movement is established. No doubt we should prefer if we could do the work without an organization or a center, but it is impossible; it is just like imagining the soul walking on earth without a physical body. To be without a center means for a person to live in the cold and heat without having a house. Even the insects need a home to live, even the birds need nests.

The second object of the movement is the spreading of the Message in all parts of the world, and mureeds who really value the Sufi message and who recognize the destiny of our Movement must try to help, in every way, this main center, which is made to collect the Message given in different places, to record it, to reproduce it, to circulate it, and to preserve it for the coming generation. Whenever a spiritual message was given to humanity there has been a struggle between people to whom it was given. A few recognized, and still fewer understood, but many opposed it and it has always been difficult to find the authentic records of the messages of the wisdom of God which have been given at different times in the world's history. The mureeds cannot show a greater sympathy to their teacher and devotion to the cause than by receiving the Message, following it, giving it to the others, and preserving it for the future generation.*** is the following duplicated elsewhere?

The third work of the Movement is the study and meditation in the school of inner cult, the Sufi Order, which has originated from the ancient school of Egyptian mysteries,***did he really say that? a school which existed even before Abraham, the father of three great religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Those who know Sufism from superficial writings, and, sometimes, from translations of the Arabic or Persian literature, are apt to think that Sufism is the mystical side of Islam. In reality, it is not true. Sufism existed before Mohammed, before Jesus Christ, before Abraham. It is true that the mystics in the world of Islam are Sufis, but that does not mean that Sufi means the mystic of Islam. For instance, the green color is the national color of the Irish, but that does not mean that everybody who dresses in green is from Ireland. The green color existed even before people inhabited Ireland.

There are initiations, one after the other, which are given as a trust to those who are sincere and who wish to tread the path steadily, full of faith and confidence.

The Sufis of all nations are one. They are a nucleus made for human brotherhood. It is not our wish that all people in the world must become members of our movement, but it is our wish that we, the members of the Sufi Movement, may be able to serve the world. Our Movement, no doubt, is in its infancy, but the power that gives us courage is Truth. There is no question about the success of the Sufi Movement. It is certain, since it is no man-made enterprise, it is the Message of God and Truth must be successful. We, at the same time, do not work for success, we work for the sake of the work. It is the direction that we are given from above. We take it, and we shall go on through life, making a way until the Message of God is fulfilled.

WASIAT

The first essential thing is that the Readings taking place every week or fortnight should be attended by the mureeds who wish to develop themselves and share in the development of others. A delicious dish is not enjoyable when a person eats it alone. The joy of all things is in company. Eating, drinking together gives more pleasure than doing these things alone. One who has a contrary tendency shows something unnatural in life. Besides that, sincere mureeds should remember that the life of Murshid has been dedicated to the Cause, and they can only show their sympathy by doing in every way possible what may promote the Cause in the world. But in this sympathy they not only give their life to Murshid but to God and humanity, to whom Murshid has dedicated his life. Those who care little whether the Message is spread or not will benefit just the same, there will be no blame for them, but they really do not know their benefit. Their greatest benefit is in the sharing of their good with others.

The reason of the great disaster going on today in the world, the world's unrest, is that the evolution of humanity is not on one level; and the main object of the Message is to bring about such conditions, by the knowledge of Truth, that man may understand man without distinctions of race and belief. Unless mureeds will view life from this point of view, however great their sympathy for Murshid, they will never be able to help Murshid in his blessed Cause. A doubt may come to a mureed that an object so great might not be possible to attain. It is easy to understand that we can learn by studying these ideas, but the other conception seems to be beyond human reach. Let them remember that they can trust, with all the faith they have, the world of Murshid. This faith is the first condition to a mureed. What they are learning now is words, before long there will come a moment that these words will bring their fruit. For it is not my Message, not a human thought, it is the Message of the Almighty and the protection and power of the Almighty Himself.

If no one stood by my side, I shall work in the direction where I am destined to work. If the whole (*** original paper stops here)

TASAWWUF

The Soul's Manifestation

There arises a question: "What is the cause of the different stages of evolution that one sees in the world of variety?" The answer is that there are three principal causes. One, the heritage of the soul which it has brought from the angelic world and from the djinn world; second, the inherited qualities that a soul possesses, having received them from its parents and ancestors, and the third is what the soul acquires after coming on earth. It is these three things which make what can be called individuality, which in its result culminates in a personality.

There are five principal stages of evolution recognized by the Sufis, named as five conditions of Nafs, the ego. Every condition of the ego shows its pitch of evolution. As there are five elements, and five notes recognized by the ancient musicians, so there are five egos, each showing a certain pitch.

Ammara is the condition of ego when it is blinded by passions. This shows the animal in man, and it is its fullness which is meant by the word "devil." Man absorbed in his passions and emotions is a kind of drunken person. He cannot always see the right, the right way in thinking, saying, or doing. No doubt there are moments when every drunken person is sober, when he realizes his follies. But very often the longing for being intoxicated again sounds louder in his head, above the soft murmuring of his follies.

Lawwama is the condition of the mind which is full of thoughts, good and bad, over which the ego reigns, self covering the truth. He has bitterness or spite against another, or he has his ways of getting all he desires cleverly, or he finds fault with the others. He is worried about himself, anxious about his affairs, troubled about unimportant things; he struggles along through life, being confused by life itself. It is not that his passions and emotions trouble him, what troubles him is his own thoughts and his feelings.

Then there is the third, Mutmainna, the person who, after his troubles and struggles through life, has arrived at a certain state of balance, of tranquility, and, by having arrived at this stage, is beginning to enjoy, to some degree, the happiness which is within. He then concerns himself little with the others for his own happiness. He then troubles little with the others for their faults. He knows then how to throw off oneself the load of anxieties and worries that life in the world puts upon one's shoulders. He is then able to harmonize with others, to agree with others, and thus he brings harmony within himself, in his own atmosphere, and spreads harmony around and about him, harmonizing the whole atmosphere.

The fourth is Salima, who has arrived at a point where, though he be in the midst of the life of the world, yet he can rise above it. So life does not trouble him so much as it can trouble others. To him life is of no importance. Yet he fulfills his obligations, his duties in the world in the same way as everyone else. He is the one of whom it maybe said that he is in the world but is not of the world. His love embraces every soul that seeks refuge under his influence. His peace stills the mind of all he meets, regulating it to the same rhythm as his own. When the soul has arrived at this point, it becomes a blessing to oneself and to the others.

And then there is the fifth, Alima, or God-consciousness. His language becomes different. You cannot understand what his "no" means, what his "yes" means. You cannot very well comprehend the meaning of his smiles or of his tears. He may be sitting before you, but his is not there. He may be speaking with you, and yet communicating somewhere else. He may be among all and yet absent. You may think you hold him; he is not there. It is this soul which proves the fulfilling of that purpose for which it came on earth.

The soul has not come to the earth to die the death of helplessness or continually to suffer pain and miseries. The soul has not come on earth that it may remain all through life perplexed and deluded. The purpose of the soul is that for which the whole creation has been busied, and the fulfilling of that purpose it is which is called God-consciousness.

WASIAT

The Message for which we have been preparing so long, as the workers of the Sufi Movement is in reality now being born. We do not need to think or trouble about its greatness, when it is yet so small. For the greatness of everything is according to our own idea; and there is One only Who can be called Great, and that is God.

As to the devotion of many among my mureeds I have not the slightest doubt. In order for me to know the devotion of my mureeds I do not need words or any outer expressions. For devotion itself is a living thing; if there is anything living, it is devotion. But there is something more that could be done, thus utilizing that power of devotion to its best advantage. The Sufi Order is an embodiment, a body which is being composed to deliver that Message which is the Message of God. Therefore my mureeds are the particles of that body, the organs of that body; and the more they will realize that, the more they will know their responsibility. But as long as they will not realize they will stand apart in spite of all devotion, thinking that the Message is the work of the Murshid. But in fact it is not so. The Message is the Message of God, and you all, including Murshid,make that embodiment. It is the embodiment which is to give the Message.

But now, there are rules to keep this embodiment in perfect health, and in a condition that the Message may be easily delivered in the world. And that can be learned by understanding how one hand is dependent upon the other hand to help it; how one finger bends with the other finger when it bends, in order to help the finger which is next to it; how the nerves of the body are in sympathy with one another. So my mureeds must work harmoniously, with the thought of cooperation. If they thought, "If I am not harmonious with my co-worker, what does it matter; as long as my Murshid is harmonious within himself, that is quite sufficient!" But if Murshid wishes to walk forward, and if one leg goes to the south and the other to the north, he cannot walk one step, because his legs are disappointing. So my mureeds can see -- something which very few might think about -- how important it is in the working of the Order that there should be harmony among my mureeds, among the workers.

NASIHAT

No mureed will I consider as my true mureed who will cause any hurt or harm to the Khalifs or Murshids who are at one with me in the cause.

NASIHAT

Whoever among my mureeds will speak against the Khalifs and Murshids in the Order will be speaking against me. Who will show indignity to them will show indignity to me. Whoever will show any hostility to them will be considered hostile to me; for they are the rays of my spirit.

NASIHAT

How can this harmony be brought about? When we consider faults, every person has his faults; you will find unlimited faults even in your Murshid. And if that is the condition of life, we shall be always in agitation about another because of the faults of the other. If your Murshid himself admits having numberless faults, you can naturally expect many more faults, or at least as many, in the mureeds. In order to meet with such conditions in life, the only thing is to tolerate, to endure, and to forgive. And that one can do by thinking, "I am subject to faults also, and therefore if I will endure, tolerate and forgive the trespasses of the others, I shall be forgiven also." That you can do, not only with your co-workers, also with your Murshid. For you know that Murshid does not claim to do it, but tries it just the same.

Now, coming to the actual working, we can work as an institution by considering one principle. And that principle is that the mind has its influence upon all its organs and the health of the body. And the secret of anything that can be accomplished depends only upon the influence of the desires of the mind, which are carried out by the body. Therefore, your trust and confidence in your Murshid must give you that desire, in this institution, to become an organ of this institution, and to think and consider thoughtfully what is the desire of the Murshid. It is just like in the army. When a general says, "Go forward," and one troop goes forward, another troop to the right, another to the left, others retreat, that army will never have a success. Or, if among themselves there is a revolution: "Why is this one a colonel, and I a captain? Why is he a general, or a lieutenant?" Then there will never be a victory. In the Persian language there is a saying, "When two hearts become one, they can remove mountains." We, by the favor of God, in the Sufi Movement are more than two hearts. If we are really united, in the real sense of the word "unity," however small our group, the great purpose which is the purpose of God, by His might and help and wisdom, will become real. Think of the history of France. One person had started what ended in the new France. What was the power? That power was of sincerity and of the high ideal. There is no doubt about the sincerity of my mureeds, it is only for them to consider what ideal this is. The more we shall consider the more able we shall be to accomplish that ideal.

What is our need? Our need is of active workers who are ready to sacrifice their time and take every trouble that can be taken to do what they can in order to spread the Message. And how can one be a successful worker? By forgetting the self. Once a person starts to work in the cause of God and humanity, he does not consider himself. And the moment one has forgotten himself, he is already on the right road, and his success is sure. We need among us some who should practice to become speakers, and it will not do for us to say, "I cannot do it, another will do it." No, each one must think, "If Murshid desires me to do it, I will do it whatever happens." That is our greatest need today.

The other need is writing. A practice must be made in order to develop the faculty of putting into words the ideas which are given by the Message. We ought to have a great many among us who will be able to give the interpretation of the Message, and we shall never have too many workers for the cause. It is something to be thankful for, that there are now, after many, many years of patient waiting, some among us who are able to do something tangible in order to help the cause. And it must be our prayer, of every one of us, that we may be enabled to do everything possible in our life to serve the Message of God.

NASIHAT

He who is unfriendly to my Khalifs and Murshids can never be my friend.

TASAWWUF

When holding things you are held by them. As you loose your hold on them, so they will be attracted to you as steel is attracted to a magnet.

NASIHAT

(Urs, Summer School)

Life is an opportunity, and to know this, in itself, is making the most of this opportunity. Everything in this life has its joy, pain, or pleasure. For it is a privilege to live. To unite here, at this season, to discuss the spiritual ideas and to meditate together and to offer our prayers to God, this no doubt is a privilege, a privilege, perhaps, which is greater. The more deeply one thinks of it the greater it will appear to be.

The prophets in the past, we read in history, had adherents -- some more, some less -- and followers. The word, however misused, has a deeper meaning, even deeper than the word disciple, if only one knows what is really meant by a follower. Following is following; whether one is led to life or death, it is following. And therefore you can understand that the millions of followers, and the thousands and thousands of followers of the prophets, they were not the followers of the prophets, they were the followers of the followers. Therefore there is a difference between the followers and the followers of the followers. It is easy to become a follower of the followers, for that is what the sheep do, that is what the birds do. Wherever two or three are going, fifty or a hundred will follow them. But the real following is the imitation of the prophet. And what is it? It is greater than study, and even greater than meditation. Among a thousand disciples, perhaps there will be nine hundred for study, one hundred for meditation, but hardly one who will follow.

It need not be said what one must follow in one's teacher. It must come naturally out of the heart of the pupil, what is in one's teacher that should be followed. It is hopeless when one says, "The teacher is a teacher, and I am what I am." There is no use in thinking like this. The real Murshid and mureed. . . the relation that exists between them is the desire to do one's utmost to follow the Murshid. And this is the most difficult thing, more difficult than study, and even more difficult than meditation. And it is in connection with this disciple that it is said that, for him, one moment's presence of the Murshid is equal to one month's meditation and one year's study.

When you will go in your countries, in different places, among your friends, what will you take with you from this Summer School? If you would allow me, I would suggest some patience, some endurance; trying to like, to love, and become friends with those who are repellent to you; hopefulness in the face of every possibility of failure; patient waiting for the good tidings to come. Tolerance must become your nature, knowing that human nature is full of faults. And how will you meet it? You will meet it with forgiveness. And then to understand that one mystery of life, the greatest mystery and so little understood by people, that the self must be the last person to sympathize with. For the more we sympathize with ourselves, the heavier becomes the burden for the soul to lift. We must try to be absorbed in the welfare of the others, and every moment we have spent in that blessed task, that moment alone is precious in life. Always a friendly attitude; and every effort must be made to retain that relation of f