THE SYMBOL OF THE CROSS

The symbol of the cross has many meanings. It is said in the Bible that first was the word, next came light, and then the world was created. And as the light is expressed in the form of a cross, so every form shows in it the original sign. Every artist knows the significance of the vertical line and the horizontal line, which are the skeleton of every form. This proves the teaching of the Qur'an, in which it is said that God created the world from His own light. The cross is the figure that fits every form everywhere.

Morally the cross signifies pain or suffering. This means that in every activity of life, which may be pictured as a perpendicular line, there come hindrances, which are represented by the horizontal line. This shows the nature of life, and the truth of the saying that man proposes and God disposes. Somebody asked the great master, Ali, what made him believe in God who is beyond human comprehension. Ali said, 'I believe in God because I see that when I alone wish, things are not accomplished.' According to the metaphysical point of view, this shows the picture of limitation in life.

The symbol of the cross in the life of Christ not only relates to the crucifixion of the Master, but also the crucifixion that one has to meet with by possessing the truth. The idea behind this, which is to be found in Hindu philosophy, is that life in the world is an illusion, and therefore every experience and knowledge of this life is also illusion. The Sanskrit word for this illusion is Maya; it is also called Mithea, from which the word myth comes. When the soul begins to see the truth, it is as it were born again; and to this soul all that appears truth to an average person, appears false, while what seems truth to this soul is nothing to the average person; all that seems important and precious in life to that average person has no value or importance for this soul; and what seems to this soul important and valuable, has no importance or value for the average person.

Therefore he naturally finds himself alone in a crowd which lives in a world quite different from his own. Imagine living in a world where nobody uses our language! But he can live in the world, for he knows its language; and yet to him the life in the world is as unprofitable as the world of children playing with their toys to a grown-up person. A human being who has realized the truth is just as much subject to pain and suffering as all other people, except that he is capable of bearing them better than the others. But while in the crowd everyone hits the other and also receives blows, the knower of truth has to stand alone and only receive them; this in itself is a great torture. Life in the world is difficult for everyone, rich or poor, strong or weak, but for the knower of truth it is still more difficult, and that in itself is a cross.

Thus for a spiritual messenger the cross is a natural emblem, which explains his moral condition. But there is a still higher significance of the cross which is understood by the mystic. It is self-denial; and in order to learn this moral, gentleness, humility and modesty should be the first lesson. Self-denial is an effect of which self-effacement is the cause. It means that a man says, 'I am not; Thou art.' For instance an artist, looking at his picture may say, 'It is Thy work, not mine,' or a musician, hearing his composition may say, 'It is Thy creation; I do not exist.' Then that soul is in a way crucified, and through that crucifixion resurrection comes. There is not the slightest doubt that when man has had enough pain in his life, he rises to this great consciousness. But it is not necessary for pain to be the only means. It is the readiness on the part of man to deny his part of consciousness, and to efface his own personality, that lifts the veil which hides the spirit of God from his sight.

SHAQQ-I SADR, THE OPENING OF THE BREAST OF THE PROPHET

There is a story told in Arabia that the angels descended from heaven to earth and cut open the breast of the Prophet; they took away something that was to be removed, and then the breast was made as before. It is a symbolic expression, which gives to a Sufi a key to the secret of human life. What closes the doors of the heart is fear, confusion, depression, spite, discouragement, disappointment, and a troubled conscience; and when that is cleared away, the doors of the heart open. The sensation of joy is felt in the centre of the breast, as is the heaviness caused by depression. Therefore as long as the breast remains choked with anything, the heart remains closed. When the breast is cleared of it, the heart is open. It is the open heart which receives the reflection of all impressions coming from outside. It is the open heart which can receive reflections from the divine Spirit within. Also, it is openness of heart which gives power and beauty to express oneself; and if it is closed a man, however learned, cannot express his learning to others.

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

So many talk about the purification of the heart, and so few really know what it is. Some say to be pure means to be free from all evil thought, but in reality there is no evil thought; and if there is any such thought, which one could call evil or devilish, it is the thought of bitterness against another in his heart! If a drop of poison can cause the death of the body, it is equal to a thousand deaths when the heart retains the smallest thought of bitterness. In this legend the cutting open of the breast is the cutting open of the ego, which is like a shell over the heart. And the removing of that element means that every kind of thought or feeling against anyone in the world has been taken away, and the breast, which means the heart, is filled with love alone, which is the real life of God