SUFI MYSTICISM (3)

The method by which a mystic prepares his heart to tread the spiritual path

In the first place one asks, "What is the heart? Where is the heart?" And man is accustomed to say that the heart is in the breast. Yes, that is true. There is a nerve centre in the breast of man which has so much to do with the feelings that always the heart is pictured in the breast; that centre which is the most sensitive to our feelings. When a person feels a great joy, it is in that centre that one feels something lighted up, and by the lighting up of that centre, the whole person seems light. The person feels as if he flew, there is a great joy in his life. And again, if depression or despair has come into his life, this has an affect upon the centre. Man feels his throat choked and his breath is laden heavily with a load; it again means that it is that centre that feels.

But it is not that only which is the heart. It is like a mirror standing before the heart, focused to the heart, and everything, every feeling is reflected in this mirror, in the physical being of man. A man is ignorant of his soul, so he knows not where his heart is, nor where the centre is where his feelings are reflected. This is a fact which is known by the scientists, as well as that it is the heart which is the beginning of the formation of a child. But if one comes to a mystic's conception, one sees that it is in the heart, which is the beginning of form, which is also the beginning of the spirit, which makes man an individual. The depth of that spirit is in reality what we call the heart. By this we understand that there is such a thing as a heart, which is the deepest depth of man's being, and if one knows something of it first, it is from the impression which he receives in this nerve centre, which is in the breast of man, and therefore man calls it the heart.

In these days people give less importance to sentiment. They rely more upon the intellect. The reason is that when they meet two sorts of people, the intellectual and the sentimental people, they find in an intellectual man greater balance than in the one with sentiment. This is no doubt true. But the lack of balance is the very reason that there is a greater power than the intellect which is sentiment. The earth is fruitful, but not so living and powerful as the water. The intellect is creative, yet not so powerful as the heart and the sentiment. In reality the intellectual man in the end will prove unbalanced too if he has no sentimental side attached to it.

Are there not many people of whom their surroundings say, "I like him, love him, admire him, but he closes his heart?" The one who closes his heart neither fully loves others nor allows others to love him fully. Besides, the person who is only intellectual in time becomes sceptical, doubting, unbelieving, destructive, as there is no power of the heart to balance it. The Sufi considers the devotion of the heart as the best thing to cultivate for spiritual realization. It might seem quite different from what many think, but the one who closes his heart to man, closes his heart to God. Jesus Christ did not say, "God is the intellect." He said, "God is Love." And if therefore, there is a piece of God that can be found anywhere, it is not in any church on the earth, nor in heaven above, it is in the heart of man. The best place where you are sure to find God is the loving heart of a kind man. It may be said that by the help of reason man will act according to a certain standard of morals, but that does not make a person good. If they are good or righteous, they are artificially made good. All the prisoners in the gaol can be righteous.

But if a natural goodness or righteousness can be found anywhere, it is to be found in the spring of the heart from which life rises, a springing virtue and every drop of this is a living virtue. That proves that goodness is not man-made; it is his very being. And if he lacks goodness, it is not the lack of training, nor training which is very often wanted most; it is because he has not yet found his self.

Goodness is natural. For a normal person it is necessary to be good. No one needs teaching to live a good and righteous life. If love is the torch on his path, it shows him what fairness means, the honour of the word, charity of heart, righteousness. Do we not see sometimes a young man, who with his boisterous tendencies finds a girl whom he begins to love, and if he really loves her, he begins to show a difference in his life, he becomes gentle for he must train for her sake, he leaves off things he was never before willing to leave off. And in the same way forgiveness, where there is love, it is not a very difficult thing. A child coming before his mother, having offended her a thousand times asks her forgiveness. There is no other to go to. It does not take a moment for the heart of the mother to forgive. Forgiveness was waiting there to be manifested. One cannot help being kind when there is feeling. That person whose feeling goes to another person, or who sees in his child the want of his feeling, he strikes a note of sympathy in every person, because he finds that point of contact in every soul he meets, because he has love.

There are people who say, "But is it not unwise to give oneself in an outgoing tenderness to everyone, because people are not trustworthy?" But I should say, "If a person is good and kind, this goodness ought to be manifested to everyone, the doors of the heart should not be closed." A mystic like Jesus Christ said, "Love your friend", and he went as far as to say, "Love your enemy." It is the same path a Sufi treads. In his charity of heart towards his fellowmen he considers it is the love of God and in showing love to everyone, he considers this as giving love to God. In this method the Sufi and the Yogi differ. The Yogi is not unkind. He says, "I love you all, but I had better stay away from you, for your souls are groping in darkness, and my soul is in the light. With your friendship I shall spoil my soul. So I had better keep away and love you from afar, from a distance." The Sufi says, "It is a trial, but it is to be tried. I shall take up my everyday duties as they come to me." Although knowing how little important the things of the world are, and not giving too much value to these things, he is attentive to his duties towards those who love him, like him, depend on him, follow him.

For those who dislike, despise him, he tries for the best way to meet them all. He lives in the world and yet he is not for the world. In this way the Sufi considers loving man as the main principle in the fulfilment of the purpose of his life. How true it is that those who love their enemies and yet lack the patience, remind one of this picture of their life, which is like a burning lantern with little oil. It cannot endure. In the end the flame becomes faded. The oil in love is patience. Besides this, in the path of love, what is the oil? From beginning to end unselfishness, self-sacrifice from beginning to end. And he who says 'give and take' does not know love, he knows business.

One says I have loved dearly once, but I was disappointed, as if a man would say, I dug in the earth, but when the mud came I was disappointed. It was true that mud came. But with patience he would have reached the water one day. Only patience can endure. Only endurance makes great. The only way of greatness is endurance. It is endurance which makes things valuable and man great.

The imitation of gold can be as beautiful as real gold, the imitation of the diamond as bright as a real diamond. The difference is that one fails in the test of endurance, and the other can stand it. Yet man must not be compared to objects. Man has something divine in himself, and he can prove this by his endurance in the path of love.

And the idea is now whom should one love, how should one love? Whatever one loves, whether duty, human beings, art, friends, an ideal, his fellow-creatures, he has certainly opened the door through which to pass, in order to reach that love which is God. The beginning of love is an excuse, it leads to that ideal of love which is God alone. Many say, "I can love God, but not the human beings." It would be the same if we said to God, "I love you, but not your image." Can one hate the human creatures in which God's image is to be found and yet claim love of God? If one is not tolerant, not willing to sacrifice, can he claim the love of the Lord?

The first thing to teach is the broadness of the heart, and the awakening of the heart is the inner feeling. If there is a sign for saintliness, it is not the power of words, not the high position, either spiritual or intellectual, not magnetism that can prove that saintly spirit which only expresses itself in the love of their creatures. It is the continuous spring of love from that divine fountain situated in the heart of man. Once that fountain is open, it purifies the heart, it makes the heart transparent to see the outer and the inner world. The heart becomes the vehicle for the soul to see all within and without; man not only communicates with another person, but also with God.

SUFI MYSTICISM (4)

The fifth aspect of the nature which leads to the path of Wisdom

When the lips are closed, then the heart begins to speak; when the heart is silent, then the soul blazes up, raising its flame, which illuminates the whole life. It is this idea which shows the mystic the great importance of silence, which is gained by repose. It is so little known to the generality what repose means, because every person who experiences repose, feels that he needs it after being tired, but if one were not tired he would never see the necessity of repose. Repose has many aspects.

There is one repose, when a person retires from the action of everyday life and finds himself alone in his room. He breathes a breath of thankfulness, which means after all interesting or uninteresting experiences, 'I am just now alone by myself.' It is not an ordinary feeling, there is a far deeper feeling behind it. The meaning is the certainty there is nothing to attract his mind and nothing which demands his action; at that moment his soul has a glimpse of relief, the pleasure of which is inexpressible.

But the intoxication of life from which every man suffers, is such that he cannot very well appreciate that moment of relief, which every person expects in the time of retirement after the actions of his daily life, rich or poor, tired or not. Does this not teach us there is a great mystery in repose, a mystery which a person very often is ignorant of? Besides this, we always find a thoughtful person reposeful by nature, and a reposeful one, thoughtful by nature. It is repose which makes one more thoughtful, and it is a continual action which takes away even that thoughtfulness from a sensible person. People working in the telephone or telegraph or post office, upon whose mind there is a continual demand, in time develop impertinence, insolence, lack of patience.

They do not become less sensible, it only means that lack of repose, which weakens their sense of control and makes them give in to such things. This shows that repose is not only necessary for a person, who walks through the spiritual path, but for every soul living on the earth, whatever be his grade of evolution, whatever be his standard in life. This is the one thing which must be developed in nature. And not only for grown-up people, this is something which should be taught from childhood. Education nowadays thinks so much about the different intellectual things the child will want in life, so little about the repose, which is for the child the greatest necessity. Sometimes cats and dogs prove more intuitive than mankind. Are animals capable of more things than man? No, man is more capable. But man does not give himself time to become more intuitive; he does not give enough time to it.

It often amused me to see in New York, where one easily becomes exhausted by the noises of trains and trams and elevators and factories, that at that time when a person has a little time to sit in a train or tube, he is looking at newspapers; all that action is not enough. If not in the body, then there must be action in the brain. What is it? It is nervousness, a common disease which has almost become normal health. If everybody suffers from the same disease then this disease may be called normal. What is called self-control, self-discipline, only comes from the practice of repose, which is helpful not only on the spiritual path, but also in one's practical life, in being helpful and considerate.

The mystic therefore takes this method of repose, and by this he tries to prepare himself to tread the spiritual path. The spiritual path is, as I have said, not an outward path, it is an inward path one has to tread, and therefore the laws and the journeying through the spiritual path are quite contrary to the laws and journey through the outer path. To explain in plain words, what the spiritual path is, I should say, "It begins by living in communication with oneself." Because it is the innermost self of man, in which is to be found the life of God. This does not mean that the voice of the inner self does not come to everyone. It always comes, but not every person does hear it. Therefore to begin one's effort in this path, the Sufi begins to communicate with and address his self within; and when once he has addressed the soul, then from the soul comes a kind of reproduction, as the singer could hear of his song on a disc which has been produced from his voice.

Having done this, he has taken the first step in the direction within, when he has listened to what this process reproduces and this process has wakened a kind of echo in his being, either peace or happiness, light or form, whatever he has wished to produce, it is produced as soon as he has begun to communicate with himself. Now you can compare the man who says I cannot help being active, being sad, being worried, as it is the condition of my mind and soul, with the worker, who communes with himself, and it is not long before the self begins to realize the value of it.

This is what the Sufis have taught for thousands of years. The path of the Sufi is not to commune with fairies and God, it is to commune with one's deepest, innermost self, as if one blows one's inner spark to a divine fire. But he does not stop there, he still goes further. He then remains in a state of repose, and that repose could be brought about by a certain way of sitting and breathing and by a certain attitude of mind. Then he begins to become conscious of some part of his being which is not the physical body but above it. The more he becomes conscious of this, the more he begins to realize the truth, which is a sure truth of the life hereafter. Then there are no longer his imaginations, nor his belief; it is his actual realization of the experience which is independent of physical life; and it is in this state that one is capable of experiencing the phenomena of life. The Sufi therefore does not dabble with different wonder-workings and phenomena. Once he realizes this, his whole life is a phenomenon. Every moment, every experience brings to him a realization of that life he has found in his meditation.

SUFI MYSTICISM (5)

The fifth aspect of the nature which leads to the path of Wisdom (cont.)

The being of man is a mechanism of body and mind. When this mechanism is in order there is happiness, fullness of life; when anything is wrong with the mechanism, the body is ill and peace is gone. And this mechanism depends on winding. Just as a clock is wound and then goes on for twenty-four hours, so also in meditation, when a person sits in a reposeful attitude and puts the mind in a condition of repose and regulates the work of this mechanism by the process of meditation, it is like winding. Its effect is felt all the time, because the mechanism is put in order.

It is therefore that the belief of a mystic is not an outward belief in a deity he has not seen; the mystic's worship is not only an outer form, that by saying prayers, his worship is finished. He makes the best use of the outer things, but at the same time his pursuit is logical, scientific and he will, if possible, unite them with the mystical conception; but mysticism is the scientific explanation, also the realization of things taught by religion, things which otherwise would have no meaning to an ordinary person. When an ordinary person reads about the kingdom of God and Heaven, he reads these names but he does not know where heaven is; he feels there is a God, but there is no evidence. And therefore a large number of intellectual people who really are seeking the truth, are going away from the outer religion, because they cannot find the explanation, and consequently then become materialistic. The mystic says the explanation of the whole religion is investigation of self. The more one explores oneself, the more one will understand all religions in the fullest light and all will become clear. Sufism is only a light thrown upon your own religion like a light brought in a room where all things you want are; the one thing needed was light.

Yes, the mystic is not always ready to give his answer to every person. Can parents always answer every question of their infant children? No. There are questions which can be answered, and some there are for which we should wait until that person shall come to that point, until he understands. I used to be fond of a poem which I did not understand, and yet I could not find a satisfactory explanation. After ten years, all of a sudden, in one second's time a light was thrown upon it, and I understood. There was no end to my joy. Does it not show that everything has its time?

When people become impatient and ask for an answer, something will be answered, something cannot be answered; and the answer will come in its time. One has to wait. Has anyone in the world been able to say what is God to the full, with all the scriptures and prophets? God is an ideal too high and great for words to explain. Can anyone explain such a word as love, or say what is truth?

Very often people ask what is truth? I often felt as if I should like the word truth on a brick in charcoal and put it into their hands and say, "There, hold this, then you can hold truth!" If truth is to be attained, it is only attained when truth itself has begun to speak, which comes about in revelation. Truth reveals itself; therefore the Persian word for truth is Khuda, which means self-revealing, for this word unites God with truth. So God is truth. Neither can one explain the first nor the second word. The only help the mystic can give is how to arrive at this revelation. No one can teach or learn this; he has to learn himself. The teacher is only there to guide him to this revelation. There is only one teacher, who is God; and the great masters of the world, they were the greatest pupils, they knew how to become a pupil.

How is it all taught or brought to the consciousness of those who tread the path of truth? By Bayat, by initiation. It is a trust from someone, who guides someone, who is treading the path. The treader of the path must be willing to risk the difficulties of the path; to be sincere, faithful, undoubting, not pessimistic nor sceptical, else his efforts will not reach his aim. He must come whole-heartedly, or else not come. Half-heartedness has no value. And then what is necessary is some intellectual understanding of the metaphysical aspect of life, which some have, but not all. What is necessary besides are the qualities of the heart, love as the first principle, which is known to be divine. Then action, such action as will not hinder in the path of truth; such action as creates greater and greater harmony, and then repose. - That which is learned by the study of one year is learned by the silence of one day, if one only knows the real way of silence.

SUFI MYSTICISM (6)

The way reached by action

Very often a man is apt to think that it is study and meditation and prayer which alone can bring man to the way leading to the Goal. But it must be understood that there is a great deal done by action. Few indeed know what power one's action has upon one's life, what power a right act can give and what effect a wrong action can have. What man is concerned with is that he is only on the lookout for what others think of his actions, instead of thinking what God thinks of them. If man knew what effect an act produces upon himself, he would understand that if a murderer has escaped the hands of the policeman, he has not escaped from the fault he has done. For he cannot escape his self; the greatest judge is sitting in his own heart. He cannot hide his acts from himself. No doubt, it is difficult, almost impossible, for a man to judge the acts of another person for man knows not what is the condition of another. But man can best judge himself. Man, however wicked, is not pleased himself with his wrong actions, and if he is pleased for a moment, this pleasure will not continue.

But one might ask, what is right and what is wrong? No one can stamp any deed as right or wrong. But there is a natural sense in man which distinguishes between right and wrong, just and unjust, a sense which is even in the child. He also sees the line and colour in art and decoration; he sees if the tablecloth is not laid straight on the table, when a line that should be straight is not straight. Even a child knows when things should be harmonious in line and colour. There is a natural tendency in the heart of man, the natural instrument that masons use for building a house.

Different religions have taught different morals and it was right for the multitude for that time. No doubt the law of the masses must be respected, but the real conception of right and wrong lies in one's deepest self. The soul is not pleased with that which is not right. The soul's satisfaction is always something which gives it entire happiness. The whole method is based on the practice not only of thought, but of action. All religions have been based not only on the truth, but on action. Things either material or spiritual have been accomplished by action. For the mystic therefore action is the most important thing. During my travelling from place to place, having come in contact with different people, having had the opportunity of staying with them, I have met some who perhaps have never in their lives read a book of theology or studied mysticism, their whole life having been spent in their work, their business and industry, and yet I have felt that spiritual advancement made naturally by their right action in life. They had come to a state of purity which perhaps another might find in the way of study and meditation.

Coming to the subject of action one might ask, what is the best way, the best road to take in every day life, that might lead one to the Ideal of life? The best way of action is to consider harmony as the first principle to be observed; that in all circumstances and situations and conditions to try and harmonize with one's fellow-creatures. It is easy to say, but most difficult to live - it is not always easy to harmonize. But if we question ourselves why it is so difficult, the answer is that it is not always that people are difficult and not pliable, it is we ourselves - we cannot bend. The palm tree that grows straight up, and the stem of which is so straight and strong with all its strength and goodness, cannot harmonize with the other trees. There are many good people, but they are not harmonious. There are many true people, but their truth is not always comforting. They may tell the truth, which is like a slap given to a person. They are just like the palm tree straight and righteous, and at the same time inharmonious. An harmonious person can bend, is pliable, he can meet with another. No doubt in order to harmonize one has to make sacrifice, one has to bend to people one does not want to bend to; one has to be more pliable than one is by nature, one has to be more clever than one really is; and all these efforts will not succeed unless one makes an effort, unless one realizes that harmony is the most essential thing in life.

Why does a mystic give such great importance to harmony? Because for a mystic his whole life is one continuous symphony, a playing of music, each soul contributing to the symphony his particular part in this music. The success therefore depends upon the ideal of harmony the person has. Very few people in the world give attention to harmony. They do not know that without this there is no chance of being happy. It is only the harmonious ones who can make others happy and partake of that happiness. Otherwise it is hard to find happiness in this world. The fighter has no peace. Battle will be ever increasing. It is the peacemaker who is blessed. No doubt in order to make peace he will have to fight with himself and so will he be able to make peace with others. Whatever a person's education or position in life, he may possess all he wants, but if there is one thing lacking in his life and heart, nothing can bring him peace. Think of what value it would be if one knew what a thing it is to create harmony, what the main thing is in life, in everything one thinks and does.

SUFI MYSTICISM (6) CONT.

The way reached by action (cont.)

Now coming to action. There are certain actions as eating, drinking, sitting, walking which are not different from those of the animals. Therefore if man in his actions does not show something which is not found in animals, then he has not awakened to human nature; he cannot show something of the characteristics of a human being. One might ask, what are these?

The very same actions such as eating, drinking, sitting, sleeping have at the back of them a light to guide, because the instant a man thinks he must not push another back when he is walking and says, "I am sorry," he shows a tendency to be different from the animal, for they must rub against one another and man shows he will not do so. Animals will pass before one another and instead of bowing to one another, show their horns and their greeting will be a howl. Man will be different. What is the special characteristic of man but consideration, refinement, patience, thoughtfulness? And once he has practised these, it leads to another action, that leads to the practice of self sacrifice which leads to Divine Action. When man sacrifices his time, his advantage in life for the sake of another he loves, he respects, he adores, this sacrifice raises him higher than any standard of ordinary beings, which is the Divine nature, which is not human. Because the human being begins to think as God thinks and because his actions become more and more divine and become the actions of God, that person is greater than the person who merely believes in God, for his own actions have become the actions of God.

The one of awakened soul, he sees all the doings of grown-up people as the doings of children of one Father. He looks upon them as the Father would look upon all human beings on the earth without thinking that they are Germans or Englishmen or Frenchmen. They are equally dear to him. He looks at all full of forgiveness; not only at those awakened souls who deserve it, but also at the others, who do not deserve it. He understands, for he understands the reason behind all.

By seeing good in everyone and everything, he begins to develop the Divine Light, which expands itself, throwing itself upon the greater part of life, making the whole life as a scene of the Divine Sublimity. What the mystic develops in life is a wider outlook, and this wider outlook changes his action. He develops in himself a point of view which may be called a Divine Point of View. You cannot help calling this the Divine point of view. When a person rises to the state when all that is done to him, he feels that it is from God; and when he feels that when he does right or wrong, he feels that he does right or wrong to God. Once arrived at this, this is true religion. There can be no better religion than that, the religion of God on earth.

This is the point of view which makes a person as God, divine. He is resigned when badly treated. But he will take himself to task if he happens to find a shortcoming in his own action, for that is the action to God. Then the conception of the mystic of the Deity is not only of a King or Judge or a Creator, the mystical conception of God is the Beloved, the only Beloved there is. To him all the love of this world is like little girls playing with their dolls, loving them. In that way they learn the lesson they have to realize later in their life of taking care of the home.

The mystic learns the same lesson by proving sincere and devoted to all sorts of creatures, and he must devote and make himself devoted, to waken himself to the Beloved, the only Beloved there is and to Whom all love is due.