SANGITHA I
TASAWWUF
Man's purpose is like the horizon. As the horizon appears before the eyes, so the purpose appears before the mind. And as the horizon is in fact nonexistent, so the purpose is in point of fact a non-reality.
TASAWWUF
The heart is a window between mind and soul, for the soul to send its light to the mind, and for the knowledge of the mind to be reflected on the soul. Therefore, when the heart is closed the communication between soul and mind is closed also.
TASAWWUF
The heart of a spiritual man vibrates continually; the more alive it is the more it responds to every reflection of beauty on every plane of existence. It is therefore not right to judge the attitude or action of a spiritual person from the ordinary point of view.
TASAWWUF
It is the absorption in the Saut-i-Sarmad which is pictured in the Hindu mythology as the god flying on Garuda. Garuda is the sound, or the air; and by sitting on Garuda the adept rises above the earth and its influence, and the thought, speech or action of man's surroundings do not touch him. As soon as he, so to speak, rides upon the Word, he rises above all things which would touch him. Spiritual man is necessarily sensitive, and without this protection his life on earth would become miserable. To live in surroundings among people who are not conscious of the delicacy of his feelings may hurt him and cause him more harm than it would to a person like them. This is the only way to be among them and yet to be above them.
The adept does not hear what he does not wish to hear, he does not see what he does not wish to see, and he does not feel what he does not wish to feel. This power is attained when one has learned how to ride on the Garuda, which in the terms of the Prophet is Buráq.
TASAWWUF
God is beneath all, beyond all, within all, and without all things, covering all, surrounding all that is in Heaven and earth. God is the sum-total of all that exists and which is knowable and also of the existence which is beyond man's knowledge. God is the source of all, the beginning of all, the end of all, all-pervading, omnipotent, omnipresent, everlasting, the Only Being.
God is as pure, as beautiful, as fine, as wise, as good, and as powerful as man's imagination can conceive, and even still more than the word "most" can express.
God is the Creator, Sustainer, Destroyer, Master, Judge, and Forgiver, the First and the Last. God is the depth of each personality and yet He is the collective personality, and still beyond all personality. So God is all and all is God.
KHAWAS
There are people who show that they are willing to be corrected by your criticism, but in reality it is their clever way to find out your opinion about them. If you do not tell them what they want themselves to be considered by you, then they will dispute, discuss, and disbelieve you, also they may have a spite against you. Then naturally you will feel remorse for having told them what might better not have been told.
SALUK
Meet with everyone on his own plane.
SALUK
Do not throw your weight on others unnecessarily, for they in their turn may cast you down and tread you underfoot.
SALUK
When treading a right path, if one wonders whether it be really right, that is worse than treading a wrong path with certainty. For all paths, sooner or later, must lead to the same goal.
TA`LIM
When talking with a mureed the teacher must bring up the good side of the mureed's nature before his view. By doing so he will nurture the plant which needs watering, and no one in the world can do it better than the spiritual guide who has insight into the nature of his mureed. The teacher must deny and ignore the weak side of the mureed's nature; yet pointing it out to the mureed, and still making little of it before him, showing him every possibility of overcoming his small faults, and striving with power of mind, but little in words or deeds, to uproot the infirmities of the mureed. The good side of the mureed's nature must not be brought before him in a form of flattery or praise, but in the way of bringing that quality to the surface which is perhaps hidden and buried in the depth of his nature.
There is always some goodness in every soul, and especially in the soul that seeks after truth and tries to follow the right path, he is undoubtedly prompted to do so by the good side of his nature. In many souls their faults are not intentional but are their weakness, and such souls would be most thankful to rise above them. But who must give them a hand -- the one who looks upon their faults with contempt and prejudice or the one who overlooks their faults and pours out to them only love and sympathy?
In correcting a mureed of his faults it is not the intellect that is of much use. It is the pouring out of the stream of love which can wash away the stains; closing one's eyes to their faults, forgiving them, and yet correcting them with all tolerance, gentleness, and humility; making before them all things natural, nothing too horrible, but showing them the picture of a better life and thus drawing them toward that which is ideal and beautiful.
When the teacher finds that the mureed is wrong he will not tell him that he is wrong, but will show him what is right. If the mureed is awakened enough to realize the difference by comparison he will be helped, and if he cannot realize it he is not ready for that conception which the teacher thinks right. Right and wrong are after all only comparative terms; in point of fact all is right and all is wrong.
The teacher must have great patience with the mureed, knowing that the unfoldment of the soul can only come gradually and it is as the opening of cover under cover. When there is one cover opened then there is another to open, and it may take years to touch the pure soul of the mureed. It can only be touched by touching the covers. It is a constant endurance that is necessary, because generally the mureed, being at a different stage of evolution, must always think differently from the teacher. If he saw from the same plane as the teacher there would be no necessity for him to be a mureed. If the mureed is not ripe enough to see the answer to his question it is not advisable to disappoint him by a refusal. If his soul is yet covered you can cover your answer also. That is the way of the Prophets. The scripture is the poetry of the prophet, and it is beyond this poetry that the true knowledge abides. Not every soul is ready to look at the Truth uncovered, and the Truth must take several garbs in order to suit every mind, one different from another.
There is a mureed who is within the reach of the teacher, and there is another who keeps away from his reach. There is one whose heart beats with the heart of the teacher, and there is one whose heart is covered and unaffected by the teacher's influence. Nothing should cause annoyance to the teacher. Forbearance must be the first thing for the teacher to have when dealing with his mureeds. If a mureed is as a tuned harp it is well and good. If he be out of tune then try and tune him gently lest the string may break. If it seems difficult to bring a mureed into tune then wait patiently for the moment to arrive, for in time all things come right. If it be a hopeless case, still do not think it is impossible. Never allow your friend to turn into an enemy. Your mureed must be your mureed whether he is facing you respectfully or whether he has turned his back with bitterness. Your goodwill and blessing must reach each and everyone whose hand once you have held in the sacred initiation.
You must not under any circumstances allow yourself ever to imagine your mureed will not believe in what you say and will not look at it from a favorable point of view. For such a thought reflection from the heart of a teacher to the heart of a mureed must surely create a barrier. The psychological point between yourself and a mureed and the impression upon him solely depend upon your own strength of belief. If you fully believe in what you say you must certainly conquer sooner or later.
You must not give up a mureed if you happen to find out that he was not a right person for discipleship in the past; if he is right just now, that is what is required. If a mureed is not now so fit as you wish him to be, have patience with him. Do not give him up, thinking that he will not improve. Do every thing possible to bring out all the good in him, by rearing that in him which is good and by denying in him that which is not right.
TA`LIM
In guiding mureeds the teacher must know the points on which the mureed has fixed his mind; for instance any idea or belief he holds strongly, having cherished it for a long time in his heart. In such a case it would not be advisable on the part of the teacher to break it, however void of reason or logic that belief may be. The way of breaking an idea so hardened is to melt it gradually, and that is done by bringing the truth opposite to his belief to the notice of the mureed, not all of a sudden, but gradually and little by little, until the mureed is prepared to view it tolerantly.
TA`LIM
Guide your mureeds gently, descending to their plane of understanding and gradually helping them to rise and to realize by themselves the truth of your teaching.
TA`LIM
Act as a master and feel as a servant towards your mureeds.
TA`LIM
By accusing a person of his faults, we often strengthen the roots of his faults.
TA`LIM
When a person keeping his light high directs another person in the path of darkness he must be disappointed, for his own light will show the person he directs the right way.
WASIAT
The servant of God gives proof of his love by winning the love of others. Do not disregard it. If people speak against you take notice of it, judge it and weigh it in yourself impartially, and correct yourself, if there be in reality some fault in you. If you find the reason unfounded, and if it only comes from spite, then take care that you may not partake their poison, by returning the same to them or even by keeping some memory of it in your heart.
WASIAT
If you will preserve my words as I have spoken them, it will be as saving my life.
WASIAT
Do not bury my body nor lift the veil from my face.
SALUK
Two things are important in life: to advance in wisdom, but to keep it secret in the heart; and to try to cope with others whatever be their stage of evolution.
RIYAZAT
Akasha:
The Hindu word Akasha means the heavens, and is a capacity in man that includes all different aspects of life according to the extension of consciousness. When this body is made pure and ready, then in that capacity the light and sound are produced; and the reaction of this light and sound upon the consciousness produces ecstasy and illumination. And the tongues of flame which arose from the foreheads of the twelve apostles, so that they knew the language of all people, is suggestive of the illumination in Shaghal.
The light one sees in Shaghal exists all over. It is the all-pervading light which is allowed to manifest by the help of Shaghal, and which arises as a flame in that capacity which is made open. The sound heard in Shaghal is that all-pervading energy, especially in the realm of the air element. When the capacity is made open then there is a scope for this life to be audible and by that it brings fineness to the body, rest to the mind, and ecstasy to the soul.
It is not the light which one sees in Shaghal that is spiritual illumination. It is the reaction of that light which illuminates life as it falls upon all things, making them clear and intelligible. And the sound which one hears in Shaghal is not necessarily the exalting one. It is its aftereffect, and it is used for that purpose of exaltation. The way of using it for that purpose is to feel the presence of the all-pervading life in that sound, contemplating at the same time on the word Hu and losing the thought of one's existence in the existence of the perfect life.
People without Shaghal may see a light or hear a buzzing sound, but that is not beneficial to them in any way. It is making use of that towards the realization of perfect life which makes Shaghal important.
Shaghal:
The sun has a concentrated light; in other words, the all-pervading light concentrated in one point, the point which reacts and reflects its light upon different centers, illuminating them all. As Shamsi Tabriz has said, "When the sun arose in every atom its light became reflected." This shows that the all-pervading life is light in itself and it manifests as such when it finds a capacity where it can be concentrated, and its reaction is a further illumination, as it is said in the Qur'an, "I have created thee with My light, and from thy light all created."
It is this which is the secret of the Trinity: first, the all-pervading light; second, the light when concentrated in one point; and third, the light having reflected itself in, and thereby illuminated, all which can take its reflection.
As man is the universe in himself, in his body also there is the capacity; and the point where the all-pervading life can center itself and manifest as light is what the mystics have called the Third Eye.
When this light which the adept sees in Shaghal has manifested, its effect is to illuminate all things, reflecting in all things which will take its reflection, strengthening and invigorating all things, as it is the nature of the sun to help the plants to grow and flourish. It is therefore that the presence of a mystic becomes full of magnetism and the place where he sits becomes charged with the magnetism. It is like the light coming out of the sun and producing joy everywhere.
RIYAZAT
Abbreviated signs of Riyazat:
SM = Saum ZR = Zikr SL = Shaghal
ST = Salat FR = Fikr UN = Union
WA = Wazifa QB = Qasab PN = Purification, the twenty breaths.
SM Movements = only the movements of SM, and not the words aloud.
ZR 1 = the first Zikr, La ilaha illa `Lláh Hu. If 50 or 100 is written after that, it means repeat it 50 or 100 times.
ZR 2 = the second Zikr, Illa `Lláh Hu
ZR 3 = the third Zikr, Alláh Hu.
ZR 4 = the fourth Zikr, Hu only.
In FR 1 the Illa `Lláh Hu is inhaling, the La ilaha is exhaling.
In FR 2 the Illa `Lláh Hu is both inhaling and exhaling.
In FR 3 the Alláh Hu is both inhaling and exhaling.
In FR 4 the Hu is both inhaling and exhaling.
When some particular sacred word is given with ZR, that same word should be repeated mentally with FR also, and the numeral which is added says how many times it is to be said.
In QB, 1 means inhaling by the left nostril and exhaling by the right;
2 means inhaling by the right nostril and exhaling by the left;
3 means inhaling and exhaling by both nostrils together;
1,2,3, means the complete QB.
If a word is added that means that it is to be repeated mentally while doing QB.
In SL it is the same; only the figure shows how many breaths are to be taken.
In PN there are twenty breaths to be taken in the morning, standing; unless a special hint be given for a person to lie down and do it so, or sitting down. It is five breaths in and out through the nostrils, five in by the nostrils and out by the mouth, five in by the mouth and out by the nostrils, and five in and out by the mouth. Special care must be taken not to breathe longer than a normal rhythm. Should you see a person do this it is better to show him oneself by doing it before him, and not to allow him to continue the exercise wrongly.
If a word is written with PN it means that that word is to be repeated mentally with each inhalation and each exhalation. The number after the word shows the number of times that it is to be repeated.
RIYAZAT
The Wazifa given for the accomplishment of affairs is Ya Fattah, to open the door which seems closed before one, in other words, for success.
Ya Azim, to gain force, strength, enthusiasm for the accomplishment of the work.
Ya Ghani to make the situation favorable.
Ya Wahhabo, to make things go on which have stopped in their movement, to cause movement in affairs.
Ya Razzaq, for bread and butter.
Ya Vakil, in a difficult situation where a kind of pleading is needed or somebody is needed to speak for a person, or some help in words is needed or a recommendation.
For Character:
Ya Karim, to make a person kindly, of a kind nature.
Ya Rahim, to make a person mild in nature.
Ya Ghani, to make a person generous in nature.
Ya Azim, to make a person enthusiastic in nature.
Ya Wahhab, to develop in a person's nature activity in movement.
Ya Walí, to develop self-control in a person.
Ya Qázi al-Hazad, to be better able to manage one's affairs.
Ya Shakur, to produce thankfulness in a person.
Ya Sabir, to develop the faculty of patience.
For Spiritual Attainment:
For purity, Subhana-`Lláh, 33 times;
To produce beauty, Al-Hamdu Lilláh, 33 times;
To create greatness, Alláhu Akbar, 34 times;
Together 100 times.
Ya Basír, for inspiration, such as clairvoyance.
Ya Samí`, for clairaudience.
NAMAZ
Namaz consists of two prayers, Saum and Salat. Every Sufi is free to use the prayer of his own religion, whichever he belongs to, and to observe the form of his own kind of prayer, in private or in public; but if he wishes to use the Saum and Salat, the prayers which are an answer to the present time, he may use them, with or without movements, once every night before retiring. For some, those of religious attitude, twice a day would be better, but for those who wish for a quicker spiritual evolution, three times would be a good thing.
Its power is greater than words can explain, for the very reason that it is the prayer for the present age. It is the rainwater of this autumn, and therefore it comes with a renewed strength. And this form of prayers may be used when those who belong to the Sufi Movement meet together, thus making a uniformity in prayer. Though this is so, they must not make the prayer or the form of the prayers exclusive of others, but they must have respect and reverence for the prayer and forms of worship of all people.
RIYAZAT
The Proportion:
In giving the practices, one must inquire what time will be at the disposal of the one to whom they are given, and how much time he can devote to his work, and one must find out how keen he is about progress. Also one must think about his grade of evolution and what purpose he has in life, whether it is necessary that he should evolve sooner, and according to that, the practices and the number of repetitions must be given.
A tenderhearted person does not need Zikr very much; a little Zikr can suffice his purpose, 100 times is the most; but where one has to produce the love element it requires digging. There a Zikr may be given 300 times or even more. For a woman, 100 times is sufficient; for a man, more.
Wazifa is given for the accomplishment of something needed, for the development of a certain spirit in the character, but chiefly for spiritual attainment. For the Wazifa which is given for the accomplishment of a certain affair, one must give the number of repetitions according to the difficulty of the situation and according to the person's faculty of concentration, because Wazifa is to enable a person to concentrate upon a certain thought. For an ordinary necessity, a Wazifa of 300 times is given; for a greater necessity 500 times; if the necessity is still greater 700 times; but in urgent need 1100 times. To help in developing a certain character in a person, the Wazifa is given for 100 times or 300 times, and in some cases 500 times, when there is a greater need. In giving Wazifa for spiritual attainment, from 30 to 100 times.
One must not do Zikr more than twice a day, but once a day is normal. Wazifa may be given three times a day at the most, but once a day is normal.
The practice of purification of breath normally is given once, but for a person inclined to a delicate chest or any other internal disease it may be given twice, and in the case of an ill person it may be given three times.
The normal Fikr must be 300 times; but in this it must not be a deep breath, but the thought must follow the natural breathing. It must not take more than three quarters of an hour. To begin with, the Fikr can be given for 100 times at the most, the number being gradually brought up to 300 times. If it should be desired that a person should progress more quickly, then the Fikr may be given once, twice, or three times a day together with one's daily duties.
The normal Qasab is ten breaths of each kind, but to begin with, it is better that three of each kind be given -- to a strong and healthy person perhaps five -- and then increased in due time to ten of each kind. One must not increase the practice of Qasab to more than twenty breaths of each kind, and that only in case of need for a certain psychical experience.
The normal Shaghal is five breaths; seven is the most; nine is the limit beyond which one should not go. But it must begin from one breath; after a person has done it for three months, give two breaths, in six months, time three breaths. In the Shaghal practice, no thought must be given to concentrate upon. It is a practice of drawing in one's mind. The Shaghal practice must not be given to a nervous person or to a weak person. No person must do the practice of Shaghal unless perfect in health and unless fully balanced.
RIYAZAT
The first three stages in the course of Riyázat which are taught in the Sufi Order are the preparatory practices. A member of the Sufi Circle is supposed, so to speak, to go through a preparation in three ways: 1) the purification of the body; 2) the purification of the channels of the breath; 3) the purification of the mind. This is to be accomplished when a mureed is in the Study Circle. By the time he has received three initiations he must show that condition in life.
In order to make the mureed do the first part of his work, one must give him the love for beauty and purity in its external form, also by giving him objects of concentration which will react upon his soul, producing cleanliness and beauty; also by telling him the laws of physical nature and the advantage of cleanliness and purity, which result in beauty of life. The next is to give him the exercises in order to breathe correctly, that by breathing he may purify the channels of the breath.
After he has made his breath pure, which he will show in his good health and balance in life (also by the freshness and energy coming out of him), the third thing to be taught is concentration of mind; to give him objects to concentrate upon, especially objects in nature or objects in heaven, in order to make his mind tranquil by holding the particular object in his thought for a certain time. To help in giving an object to a person to concentrate upon, one must know the person and his attitude well, and know what he wants and what would be good for him, and in accordance with that the object must be chosen.
TA`LIM
If somebody asks you a question, you must not feel compelled to answer. You must first think what right he has to ask that question, what motive he has in asking that question, what answer he expects, what is his attitude in the matter, what answer he is capable of understanding. Then, if you like, you must answer, and if you do not wish to answer, excuse yourself politely.
Take every questioner as an invader and find out what he wants to get at. Does he want to probe the secrets of your heart, does he wish to learn, does he wish to examine you, does he wish to argue with you, or does he want to ask you a question for the sake of conversation or for a pastime? After you have considered these points, then do as suits you.
The one who asks a question becomes stronger than the one who is put in the position of answering the question. The one who asks a question is safe from every criticism, because he has not yet expressed his opinion. Therefore you must defend yourself in answering every question. In answering one person a question, you must think that your answer is exposed before many people; and so you must know what you are saying before answering. There are many clever people who will ask you a cross-question to get out of you a certain answer which they expect to come from you. Then they try to hit against it, for in this way they prepare a ground for a battle.
Those who ask questions and like to argue are not often the convinced ones. They themselves are in doubt and confusion about the question, therefore they ask another. But since many of them do not believe in themselves, they cannot believe in another, so their question remains always unanswered. A person who questions very much is in an unrestful condition of mind, and very often he questions in order to cover his restlessness of mind. By questioning he is, so to speak, scratching his own heart, and by the answer he does not get satisfaction, as scratching does not bring ease to the irritation. On the contrary, it increases it still more. No one is satisfied by asking questions of another unless he has an answer from himself to give him complete satisfaction, unless from within himself a support comes to give him an answer.
Every person must answer your purpose according to the position you take before him. If you are a teacher to him, he will be your pupil; if you are his friend, he will become your chum; if you are his rival he will become your competitor. Decide, therefore, fully well beforehand in what relation that person should be to you and act accordingly with him.
RIYAZAT
Shaghal:
Man is so constituted that by the help of the organs and factors of conception and perception he feels and knows all that is around him, and he connects himself with all around him by opening the factors of communication between himself and another being. For instance, his voice opens a communication which penetrates through the ears of another and so reaches the heart of the listener. In this way man (who is called man from Manas, meaning "mind") lives his life, and this life can be lived still more fully by awakening factors which have hitherto remained covered and hidden and unnurtured by the breath, which is life. Just as there may be a piece of ground which may have lain waste and barren for want of water, or a piece of ground where there is water but which the light of the sun does not reach, so these factors remain inactive.
These factors are called centers by the mystics. The practice of Shaghal gives life to these centers, and they begin to vibrate. This is not experienced in the life of ordinary people because the average person, who is unaware of these factors in his body, never thinks that he has within himself instruments which can be used for a fuller conception and perception of life. The more the centers vibrate and become active and alive, the more do they act like wireless telegraphy, receiving thoughts from all planes of life, and by that receiving knowledge from where all knowledge collects. By Shaghal these centers are helped, as the plants are helped by the sun and by the air, and bring man illumination, ecstasy and peace.
TA`LIM
Do not make your life entirely different from that of the multitude. Yes, some difference is natural and necessary. And remember that as much difference there is between you and people, so much will there be forming a gulf between you and those whom you must help.
It is an intellectual game to be able to argue a point. And, as in the Western world one meets many seekers after truth who want intellectual satisfaction, it is necessary for the spiritual guides in the Order to keep themselves equipped for this game, knowing at the same time that silence is ideal.
KHAWAS
There are five categories of souls. The main and central category out of these five is the normal one, which we call the human, and in this category one finds all that can be expected from a human being: his limitations, his perfection, his faults and his merits. There is nothing extraordinary in him; but in this category one sees the complement of God, for man is the balance of God.
There is another category of souls who are in some way more ethereal than a human being. Very often genius is found in this category. A soul of this category may show an extraordinary talent or virtue, but at the same time is liable to have an extraordinary fault or lack. This person is human and yet not all human. There is always something subtle about him which those around him cannot very well understand. One cannot very well point out his merit or fault. It is difficult to weigh them and to justify the life of that person. He may show extraordinary goodness and at the same time quite the reverse. Therefore this soul is called Djinn in human form.
In the third category, there is a soul who is more ethereal still. But in this category the virtue is more than the talent. One finds love, harmony, beauty, and goodness, together with extraordinary innocence. This person is tender, gentle, responsive, impressionable, and someone who does not know what evil means and who cannot imagine that there can be such a thing as evil. This soul, in spite of all his goodness, is apt to be led into any evil possible, and would be the last person ever to realize that he was being misled. However, this soul is not always responsible for his action. The person who leads this soul wrong is guilty of a thousandfold sin, more so than if he had led astray someone of his own kind. There are unseen hands to guard this soul, as there are unseen rays to light the path of the soul who is of the Djinn category. However, those are both helpless in this mortal world. The soul of this category is more so than the Djinn, because he belongs to the world of angels.
There is another category of souls who are more of the animal world, which they express in their appearance, action, and in their attitude towards life. This person can be recognized as such by his voice and word, and by his actions, which express coarseness, crudeness, roughness, and thoughtlessness, and in all his manner of life. This person is addicted to eating, drinking, dissipation, and indulgence of all kinds in the material life. This person can become a pet as can an animal, tamed, if one knew how to tame him, good and serviceable. Also from this soul will manifest at times anger, and he will be inclined to quarrel and fight; and after a moment this can be changed also. This soul is his own slave.
There is another category of souls who will be counted among devils. This is a soul whose joy it is to cause another harm, for a reason or no reason. In the humiliation of another he feels honored; by insulting another his vanity is fed; the sorrow of another gives him joy. Treachery, deceit, dishonesty are inborn in this character; envy, jealousy, revenge are his preoccupations. Duality is the principle of this soul. He is blind to unity, as there are creatures blind to sunshine. He is an enemy of the good and hostile to the evil ones. He does not know friendship; if he makes friends it is only for his own ends. Sacrifice he does not know except in cases where his sacrifice can bring him a thousandfold profit in return. He is true to no one, he is sincere to no one. He sympathizes with no one except himself. He is sorry for no one, except for his own loss. His word is a cover of his thought, his thought is a cover over his feelings. Cover upon cover is found upon his soul, covering it constantly from the light, from within and without. And it is this soul who is called a lost soul.
The Prophet said he saw, in his vision of Miraj, Adam turning his head to see the people at his right hand and smiling, and turning to look at those at his left hand and shedding tears. That Adam is the awakened human soul, who sees on his right the desirable souls and on his left the undesirable ones.
TASAWWUF
There is a stage of evolution in one's life when one arrives at a state when every question is answered by the life around him. If there be a living being before him, or if there be nature around him, if he be wakeful, or if he be asleep, the answer to his question comes as the re-echo of the very question. As to the air certain things become as an accommodation to turn it into a sound, so for every thought of a sage everything becomes an accommodation, to help it to resound, and in this resonance there is an answer. In point of fact the answer is in the question itself; a question has no existence without an answer. It is man's limited vision that makes him see the question only, without an answer. There is a pair of opposites in all things, and in each there exists the spirit of the opposite -- in man the quality of woman, in woman the spirit of man, in the sun the form of the moon, in the moon the form of the sun.
The closer one approaches reality the nearer one arrives to unity. The evidence of this realization is that no sooner has a question arisen in the heart than the answer comes as its re-echo, within or without. If you look before yourself the answer is before you; if you look behind, the answer is there. If you look up the answer waits in the sky for you; if you look down the answer is engraved for you on the earth. If you close your eyes you will find the answer within you. It is only a matter of climbing a mountain. The name of that mountain is "Why?" Once you have climbed it, then you are face to face with your Ideal. It is not study which brings man to this realization; it comes by rising above all than hinders one's faith in truth.
TA`LIM
Do not change my word, form or phrases unless it is most necessary. Even so, most carefully avoid all changes which can be avoided; otherwise you might lose the sense of my teaching, which is as essential to the Message as the perfume in the rose. If the form in which I give my teaching seems to you not as correct as it ought to be from a literary point-of-view, do not mind, let it be my own language. There will come a time when there will be a search for my own words. Just now if my words are not accepted as the current coin, they will always be valued as the antique.
TASAWWUF
Religion is as a shade over the light which is truth. If it were not for the shade the light would blind the eyes of the awakening souls; only when they are fully awake can they face the light without the protection of this shade. In every age some form of covering has been necessary, and it is also necessary today. The shades may vary in form, color, and size, but the Light they cover is One without a second, eternal in the Heavens, from everlasting to everlasting.
SALUK
The greatest moral that a sage must observe is to refrain from self-assertion in every form, not only to refrain from pride or conceit, but even from self-assertion in the form of modesty or humility. For very often these become more convenient forms of asserting self, for modesty and humility can become a mask over one's pride and conceit. By desiring to know others' opinions about oneself, looking for people's appreciation of one's good works, expecting gratitude from others, demanding respect from others, one asserts self. Self-assertion is a Satanic attitude, even if it appeared in a saint -- for it is the only obstacle which stands as a mountain in the way of a traveller on the spiritual path.
TA`LIM
In guiding another on the spiritual path, one must thoroughly study the strength and intelligence, as well as the physical, mental, moral and spiritual condition of the one to be guided. The one who guides must be intimately acquainted with the person's life in all its aspects, and must deal with him accordingly. In teaching one must not frighten a person with the strictness of the results of action, one must not bewilder him by the weirdness of mysteries, and one must not force upon him a faith or belief; one must not startle him with ritual or dogma, and one must not puzzle him with the complexity of life and its laws.
The teacher must patiently and most kindly first sympathize with the person, whether he be in the right or in fault, and stand with him on the plane where he is standing -- not try and pull him to Heaven when he may be standing on earth -- but hold him fast first and weigh him by testing him sometimes through life, and then lift him with one swing of the arms and raise him to the higher planes. He must advise him in all aspects of his life, especially in things he is interested in and he wishes to accomplish in life. Instead of opposing his wishes, a wise teacher sympathizes with him and helps to accomplish them. Thereby he gives him encouragement and confidence in self control.
One must not make the pupil uncomfortable when he is at fault, for by doing so, one awakens revolt in him and creates a thought, "Why should I not do this or that?" But allow him to notice his mistake himself, and help him in producing such a tenderness in his nature that he may himself feel sorry for his fault. One must not try the patience of the pupil by asking him to do too much or by expecting from him more than he can manage to do, or by loading upon him more study and practice than his interest and strength enable him to carry through life.
The teacher must be more patient with the pupil than all others, because he must think the pupil's task is greater than the teacher's. For the teacher says, but the pupil does. There is a difference between saying and doing. The teacher must establish a current of sympathy between himself and the pupil, and as strong as this current will be, as easy will it be for either to fulfill his purpose in life. But at the same time a teacher must not become a chum of the pupil, for it makes the teacher small in the eyes of the pupil, which makes the knowledge, however great it may be, appear small to him. At the same time, he must not be too remote, for it makes it difficult for the pupil to reach him. In the absence of the vision of God, the pupil seeks a master whom he can easily reach and tell all he feels and needs and wants, and if the teacher is distant and exclusive it becomes hard for the pupil.
The position of the teacher toward the pupil is very delicate. He should be closely attached and yet detached, near and yet far. The teacher must be as a father, as a mother, as a brother, as a friend to the pupil, and yet as none of those. For the teacher is much closer and much higher than all relations and connections of this world.
The teacher must not expect service and reverence and respect from the pupil, but if it is the pleasure of the pupil to give it to the teacher he should not refuse it. It does not matter so long as the teacher does not indulge in it by the pupil's doing thus. It is for the benefit of the pupil more than for that of the teacher that he should be allowed to revere and respect and serve the teacher with great willingness and humility.
TASAWWUF
Every illness has one sole reason, and that is the lack of life. The healer who arrives at this realization, for him everything he touches becomes a remedy which can cure every disease.
All things are medicine to the real doctor. The master can make poison turn to nectar and nectar to poison.
RIYAZAT
If a person has willpower, by the help of Zikr there is nothing he cannot accomplish. It is the key to mastery. The planets can be mastered by it; spirits can be controlled by it; every wave of life can be set in action by the power of the heart which is made alive by Zikr. Therefore the Zikr is called in Sufic terms Sahibi-Dil, the Master of Mind.
TASAWWUF
How can the Unlimited Being be limited, since all that seems limited is in its depth beyond all limitations?
SALUK
The real proof of one's progress in the spiritual path can be realized by testing in every situation of life how indifferent one is. There are calls from every side, from all that is good, from all that is beautiful, from all that is kind, from all that is comforting. And when one has shown indifference to all these calls, then one begins to hear calls from one's immediate surroundings, and those are a wish that one's goodness may be appreciated and that one's kindness may be gratefully received, that one's knowledge may be understood by others; one's rank must be recognized; one's piety must be observed by others; one's virtue must be valued; and one's good qualities must find response; one's good actions must bear fruit. The more one makes oneself free from all these calls the more one becomes raised above life. That is the true indifference -- vairagya -- one must practice, and the strength that comes from this indifference is inexplicable and gives man mastery over life.
RIYAZAT
Shaghal:
The all-pervading life is silent in its original nature and inactive. It is this condition of inertia which is called by Vedantists "Sattva;" and the beginning of its activity is the formation of capacity, and it is this capacity which allows the activity of the all-pervading life to become audible. And therefore the first manifestation of the all-pervading life is called in the Bible "Word," and in Vedanta "Nada Brahma," meaning "Creator-Word," or "The Word of the Creator." And this is the explanation of what is said in the Bible, "First was the Word, and the Word was God."
As man is the miniature universe himself, in him also the Word is born. When the capacity allows the Word, which is breath, to re-echo itself, it manifests in an audible sound. It is this sound which the adept hears in the Shaghal, and at different times after the Shaghal. It is the breath, the life itself. When it raises itself into motion and when the capacity allows it to echo, then the sound becomes audible, which means the all-pervading life, which was silent, has been allowed to manifest itself, first in the realm of sound -- this being the original state of the whole creation -- which naturally reminds the soul of its origin. Therefore it puts the soul into ecstasy.
As the Word has been the source of all creation, so all that man wishes to create and produce in his life finds its source in this sound. As the air is the breath of all things and is the cause of all motion, so in its absence all things would turn into nothingness.
NASIHAT
To express my ideas fully my own words are necessary. When they are interpreted they seem clothed in clothes that do not belong to them.
TASAWWUF
Everything which is once felt, thought, or spoken is born as a living being with a destiny, with a purpose to fulfill; and as it has birth it necessarily has death. Therefore, besides living beings, feelings, words, thoughts, the effects of one's actions float in the air, rise up and come down, and swing hither and thither, and seek their location in objects and in living beings. Sometimes things break without reason; often fire starts without any knowledge of whence it came; freaks in nature appear in spite of a law working in nature; also accidents happen in one's everyday life which one could never have expected. All these things can be accounted for by the above-mentioned causes.
TASAWWUF
The psychology of the heart is to give resonance in response to every activity in the realm of thought, speech, or feeling which falls upon it. And it does not matter whether it is comedy or tragedy; anything is enjoyable when it can sound, so to speak, the bell of the heart. It is what is called in everyday language "striking." This word expresses the idea that the heart, like a bell, wants striking, and in the resonance of the heart the purpose of that activity is fulfilled. All that rises to some distance, but does not touch the heart, falls beneath the standard of a living activity.
TA`LIM
The disciple who listens attentively to the instructions of his spiritual guide learns more than the one who argues, for while the former assimilates the food the latter puts it out.
TA`LIM
In doing spiritual work one is always seeing friends, pupils, and strangers, with their different ideas, people of different dispositions in their various moods, and the spiritual worker has to expose himself to all natures. Therefore it is necessary to know the way of dealing with the situation, so that one may not give out one's own energy, for the secret of magnetism is in conserving one's energy.
This can be accomplished by keeping back every impulse while one is seeing people, either one single person or a multitude. Always to keep on the defensive; and, instead of feeling compelled to talk, one must keep silent, for that feeling is a weakness. It is better to allow the other person to talk; and if a word is needed to open his heart, to take away his shyness, or to make him feel at home, it should be used; if not, signify "yes" or "no," it is quite sufficient to continue the conversation. Words without purpose have no value. If you avoid nine words out of ten, your one word will be equal to a hundred words, your word will have power because you control it.
On no account must one's opinion be given on any work, institution, or affair, on any person or character. No prophesying is necessary, for a spiritual guide is not a fortuneteller. No teaching is necessary unless the person is one's pupil, and no correcting is necessary unless the person is one's own pupil. Even in the case of a child one must go gently; there are natures who become worse by being told.
Therefore there is really very little need for a spiritual teacher to speak. Argument is not his work, it is the work of the pastors and priests, for he is in agreement with all he sees, with everybody's point-of-view. No talking for pastime is necessary. No joking necessary with strangers. A spiritual worker has no time to talk about others, to be curious about people and their affairs, or to talk about what is going on in the city or in the world.
It is the heart of the spiritual worker which must speak, not his lips. All that is necessary as conversation is a word of consolation to the downhearted, a word of courage to the weak, a word of sympathy to the suffering heart, and a word of enlightenment to the seeker. The word of a spiritual person must be like shooting at the target, that one answer may uproot the question and a thoughtful person may become satisfied with that one answer instead of a long argument; but for an argumentative person "yes" is enough as a first and last answer.
TA`LIM
When the teacher is confronted with disciples who are difficult to deal with he must find out which category of difficult people they belong to. There are three categories of disciples who prove to be difficult to guide:
-- The egoist, whose pride keeps him from being guided. He is self willed, neglectful and disrespectful.
-- The second is devilish. His attitude is that of a thief. He will come among your disciples as a sneak; he will appear frightened, or observant; he will show humility; but an atmosphere of insincerity will emanate from him and you can never feel a link with him. But in spite of his every attempt to hide his attitude he will give himself away at moments uncontrollably.
-- The third is the ignorant one. He cannot be managed, because he is confused in himself, his vision is not clear, he may honestly try, but he cannot manage to understand truth owing to the denseness of his mind.
In teaching these three kinds of pupils the teacher must handle each one differently. The first must not be given cause to become prouder than he is nor must his pride be hurt, for it will upset him so that he will not be able to understand at all. He must gently be led to see for himself the situations of life in which man is helpless, and gently made to see how foolish it is to be proud. The smallness of the false ego must be brought before his view by the comparison of the greatness of the true ego. Besides the very impression of the teacher's independence and indifference must break that frozen spirit in him which gives him conceit. In dealing with the second kind one must try to exhaust his patience; give him a long waiting, that the falsehood in his nature may die of starvation; because insincerity is fed on yielding. It is not necessary for the teacher to tell the pupil he is insincere, it is against the teacher's principle. The best thing is to give him time to realize for himself that he has been insincere, and that his insincerity was in the end profitless. Let him waste his time and effort in insincerity, and if it is not answered by the teacher he will either be cured or will leave the teacher, for insincerity has no power to endure. In dealing with the third kind of disciple the teacher must use mercy and compassion, but not necessarily show it in encouraging his ignorance or supporting it in any way, but use his mercy and compassion in tolerating and forgiving the ignorant one. Very often an ignorant disciple will act in such a way that the results of his actions may prove him to be worse than an enemy. The teacher must guard against it, but must not consider it as done by the person but only by his ignorance. It must be understood that the ignorant have no place of safety except at the feet of the wise. It is for this reason that the owl is pictured with the image of the Goddess of Wisdom, Sophia. The ignorant person is his own enemy; therefore he must rather be pitied than despised, and if anyone can save him it is the wise. It is possible for a person to be so ignorant that he may be like a rock, which can never understand. But even as a rock can be made useful, so the ignorant pupil can be made of some use in life, as long as the teacher guards himself against his ignorance.
NASIHAT
For the Initiator in the Sufi Order it is always advisable to refrain from healing anybody, or holding a spiritualistic séance, making prophecies, casting out devils, or showing anything in the way of wonder working. It does not mean that he must not do it for his own interest or for a friend whom he wishes to help, but he must not make a profession or occupation of this, or an object of interest for others. There are many semi-wise who are opposed to the wise person, and there are many ignorant people who readily answer their call, and any such thing gives a kind of handle in the hand of the ignorant, to oppose a teacher whose principal work is spiritual guidance.
TASAWWUF
Every symbolical form that the mystics of old adopted to express the mystery of their philosophy shows one principal thing, which is balance. Whether it is represented by a symbol of an instrument for measuring length or perfecting the square or designing a circle or straightening a line, in every form of weighing or measuring the mystical symbols show a tendency to bring about balance
NASIHAT
Be considerate in choosing your friends in whom you put your trust; for naturally, spiritual advancement makes one kind, friendly, and generous, inclined to trust. But very often others do not prove worthy of the trust and confidence of an advanced person. It is not their fault; one cannot expect from a child the actions of a grown-up person. It is very hard for an advanced person to find himself alone in the world, but he must expect it. It cannot be helped.
There is a fable, that a camel and a donkey formed a friendship and planned to go together for grazing. When they entered a pasture the husbandman was away. The camel began eating the leaves slowly, as his nature was. Before he had half finished eating, the donkey, who ate quickly, finished his meal. The donkey said to the camel, "Friend, I feel such pleasure and delight at our being here together that I would like to celebrate our union. Now I will sing a song, and you shall dance to it." The camel said, "I have not yet finished my meal, and do not make a noise here." The donkey said, "Your quietness annoys me, you are a most melancholy fellow." The donkey began his song in a very high pitch. On hearing it the husbandman came with a long stick. The donkey swiftly ran away, but the camel, who was left there, was whipped.
Next day the donkey came again and said, "Good morning" to his friend the camel and asked him to go with him for grazing. The camel said, "No, friend. The experience I had of your friendship is sufficient for us to separate. You go your way, and I will go mine. Neither is my way yours nor is your way my way. Goodbye."
This allegory gives the position of a spiritual and a material man, who differ in their outlook on life, in their habits, in their tendencies, and their attitudes towards all things.
The spiritual path is easiest if there is not something pulling man from behind; and that force is the life in the world, one's friends, surroundings, acquaintances, and one's foes. Remain, therefore, in the world as a traveller making a station on his way. Do all the good you can to serve and succor humanity, but escape attachment. By this in no way will you prove to be loveless. On the contrary, it is attachment which divides love, and love raised above attachment is like a rain from above nourishing all the plants upon the earth.
TA`LIM
The whole science of the inner cult is a psychology of the human sensitiveness. The one who has touched the secret of this, to him the mystery of all such things as clairvoyance, clairaudience, spirit-communication, thought-reading, inspiration, revelation, impressions, intuition, dream and vision becomes clear. It is not necessary to develop different faculties for these experiences; one's sensitiveness and the understanding of it is at the bottom of all these things.
As a rule, every man is a grave of his soul, his soul, so to speak, covered with his frozen heart, which is frozen by selfishness and his material body, with his appetites and thirsts and with the denseness of the earth-covering, his heart as a grave covers a corpse. Everyone who is inclined to seek a spiritual guidance is as a rule one in whose grave a window has been broken open; it is a dead soul who wishes to come to life. A tendency to seek truth is like the corpse beginning to move, showing that it might come to life again.
It is to help this soul to rise from his grave that is the work of the spiritual guide. That he can do by melting the heart first, the process of which is to make him collect his thought, control his body and then dig into his heart, in order to break the frozen surface until the water in the depth can be touched. All the wonderful powers will open with the opening of the heart, for then the heart will become like a searchlight; wherever the light is thrown, that part becomes clear. Besides, all virtues then will rise from his heart. Only the difficulty is in knowing how sensitive the disciple must be made and how gradually one must proceed to accomplish this. It must not be done too soon, nor should the moment be lost when the iron is hot. One can mold the wax when it is melting and so one can mold the heart when it is in the process of that sensitiveness. The work of the spiritual guide is likened to the work of a potter. If the potter were not careful, pots even after being formed might remain unfinished, for he must watch attentively every step in the progress of his disciple.
TA`LIM
To talk about sacred things to the immature soul is like singing a romance to a babe in the cradle.
TASAWWUF
There can be no evolution without change, and it is change which supports the theory of reincarnation. The only thing which contradicts this theory is the failure to prove an exclusive individuality, when the idea of individuality is X-rayed. The surface of a bubble in the water is the evidence of its individuality but not of its bottom. If man were like a drop of rain dropped down on earth, separated from the clouds, then one could prove man to be an individual. But man is more closely united with God than anything else in nature. The effect is in the cause and the cause is in the effect, as the flower is the outcome of the seed and the seed is in the heart of the flower. It is difficult to decide whether to name the flower "seed" or to call the seed "flower." Unity is the aim and object of life, the object which is fulfilled in the evolution of man. At the maturity of the human soul all the divisions fall away, for the divisions were meant to unite in one. And that purpose is fulfilled in the life of man, not with his birthplace on earth, but with the awakening of his soul.
TA`LIM
An appearance of spirituality is a garb under which Satan hides and plays the part of a spiritual guide. For a time he may attract many by wonder-working, by being overwise, by teaching superstitions and by fascinating others by his false personality. He will make false promises, give false hopes and false beliefs and will spread false doctrines. But the success of falsehood is momentary and the success of truth is certain, for truth and success are not two things, they are one.
NASIHAT
The pure and spiritual devotion of a disciple for his teacher is as beautiful as a precious jewel. The natural relation between a teacher and his disciple is that of father and child and no other relation can be appropriate. The teacher plays the part of a Cupid between the seeking soul and God.
TA`LIM
Do not try to force your broad ideas upon the narrow-minded all at once, but make your ideas so simple and small that the narrow mentality can contain them. You must not tell all things at once, but first prepare your mureed to understand them and then tell him when he is ripe. For every teaching there is a time. Untimely teaching will bear no fruit, as there is a time for sowing and a time for reaping. It is the understanding of this idea and the best way of working it out which is called the prophetic art.
TASAWWUF
If the surface of the mind is impressed with a question and the mind is put in motion, it is like knocking at the gate of God. Then from the depth of mind which is the heart of man, an answer rises in the same language in which the question was asked.
TASAWWUF
The intellectual knowledge of God is like a dome painted on a rock. It is the realization of God which is like the true dome made by the cutting and carving of the stone. Intellectual knowledge gives no scope for further progress, but the true realization of God makes a capacity in the heart of man which every moment of his life is filled and every moment needs filling.
KHAWAS
There are people who go from one thing to another saying they are searching after truth, and they say they have not yet found any. Such people are often not to be relied upon, for they have something wrong with their mental digestion. They feel they ought to eat but they have no appetite; the fire of their appetite for truth is burning low and they are looking for something appetizing. But such people always find fault with the food, ignorant of the fact that what is the matter is with their stomach. They cannot fully appreciate anything they touch, whether truth or falsehood. Therefore they are discontented after every experience they have in their search for truth. If one had appetite for truth, one would appreciate the truth in all its aspects, to whatever degree it may have been presented to him.
TA`LIM
It is necessary for the teacher to make an analysis of the physical and mental condition of his pupils. He must gain the trust of the pupil, so that the pupil may keep nothing back and may willingly consult with the teacher openly on any subject. And the work of the teacher is then to compare what he sees with his own eyes and feels intuitively about the pupil; in this way to grasp the condition of the pupil more fully even than the pupil himself may know it. As no physician can treat the patient freely without knowing all about his condition, so with the teacher whose sacred responsibility it is to help the pupil to better his condition in every form.
This work is done by the teacher most gently without causing the pupil any sensitiveness, hurt or insult, even without trying to show that one is desirous of getting into the secret of the pupil. One must know that every pupil that comes to a teacher is not always a thorough pupil. It will take him perhaps a very long time to know what "pupil" means, and the first work and responsibility of the teacher is to train a pupil first to become a pupil. For it is the full qualification in pupilship which alone is teachership. Unless the pupil has realized this he cannot really profit by any teaching given to him.
The teacher therefore must become a friend to his pupil and yet keep his place of a teacher. Once the pupil has lost by friendship that consideration that he must have for the teacher, that will deprive him of the benefit that he can receive from the teacher. Friendship between the pupil and teacher must be in the form of confidence and trust in one another, but the action between them must be that of a patient and a doctor. And the regard that a pupil has toward the teacher must be that of a child toward his parents.
TA`LIM
The teaching of Sufism is then by knowing thoroughly the psychology of human susceptibilities. When one teaches grown-up people it is not the same as with children, for grown-up people have their outlook quite fixed and it is not always easy to change it from its place. People will wish to learn, but are not willing to be taught. Taking this into consideration, one must proceed thus in guiding the initiated: one must not let them know that they are being taught, and must make them learn automatically.
There are seven different minds that must be dealt with differently, ranging from a simple mind to a most intelligent mind. They stand as seven degrees of sound. Therefore in Sufi teachings abbreviations are used to recognize their degrees, beginning from C, D, E, F, G, A, and ending in B. One may have one initiation in a year, another may finish the same in eleven months, another in ten months, another in nine months, another in eight months, another in seven months, another in six months. One who is of the B degree may be promoted to higher degrees regardless of any fixed period of time. In this way souls must be guided along, that the deserving ones may not have to wait for the reason that their colleagues are not as quick as they in their progress, though such a thing must be wisely done so that others may not take it too much to heart.
TA`LIM
With every mureed the Initiator must establish a link of sympathy by his earnest and sincere interest in the initiated one, and let the initiated realize that this link which exists between the teacher and the pupil is more sacred than any relation or connection existing on the earth, a link which is unbreakable. The Initiator must see if the thread on the side of the initiated is thin and cannot endure the weight of the sacredness which belongs to the initiation, to guard it carefully and to strengthen it in every way possible. It wants an amount of sympathy on the part of the Initiator over what is generally due. Very often this thinness of the thread has a discouraging effect upon the Initiator, for it demands a great deal of consideration, interest and sympathy on the part of the Initiator to hold up something which is dropping. But it is strengthening to both parties, it is a strength developed in the character of the Initiator as well as that the thin thread that connects him with the initiated also becomes strengthened.
The Initiator's attitude towards his mureed must be as towards his own children, for the parents never allow the relation to be broken even if the children happen to prove unworthy. Besides, it is difficult for any soul however evolved really to prove worthy to the tests of the Initiator. Therefore it only depends upon his forgiveness and extraordinary sympathy which can keep the Initiator connected with all those initiated in his hand.
TA`LIM
In the training of the initiated members, the first thing one must consider is to find out in what realm you must present to them the truth. To the intellectually-minded the truth must be presented in an intellectual form. To a person of a scientific bend of mind we must try to present the truth in the realm of science. To the lover of righteousness, in the form of morals; to the idealistic person, truth garbed in an ideal; and to a devotional person in the form of Love, Lover, and Beloved. The principle thing in training souls in the spiritual knowledge is to know their psychology fully and to present the truth to them in the form in which they can accept it without hesitation. One finds many among the seekers after truth who want to learn and yet don't want to listen. Their soul wants to receive but their ego does not want to acknowledge. With such souls the Initiator ought to work very gently, not allowing their ego to think that they are learning, for it matters little to the teacher whether they acknowledge or appreciate all they receive; his duty is to give that which is his sacred trust, in all forms possible. In giving medicine to children one has to cover the bitter drop with sugar, for the object is the cure of the child. The compassion of the Initiator must be great, together with his wisdom, and he must try to put into the soul of every person, whether deserving by his action or undeserving, some of that wisdom which is the portion of every soul.
TASAWWUF
This is the key to see the secret of the Spiritual Hierarchy: Walí, Ghaus, Qutub, Nabí, Rasul. Their influence is considered as the influence of the planets, of the sun, and of the moon. And every change that takes place in the planetary system has much to do with those who, living here on earth, represent on earth that particular planet. That is what makes the Spiritual Hierarchy. And besides, as the stars and the planets have their influence on the living beings on the earth, so the influence of the living beings who represent the planets is working on the beings on earth.
TA`LIM
The voice has a great secret hidden behind it and the knowledge of this secret helps the Initiator greatly, for it is according to the magnetic power that the Initiator has in his voice that he is able to get the response of his audience. Besides, the voice is the breath and the breath is the soul. The greater the soul, the more wonderful will be the voice. The voice must have resonance to make it concrete and more fully audible. That resonance in the body is the solar plexus and the head, but in the realm of mind it is the heart and mind. In proportion, as one feels more deeply what one says, so the word rises with a greater strength.
When one thinks of the psychology of human beings one will find that the voice makes upon them an even greater impression than the appearance. For in the appearance there is radiance, but in the voice there is light. The tongues of flame rising from the words mentioned in the Bible is the power that comes from the words of the illuminated souls and so must it be. The spear of the Initiator is his word, his voice. With this spear he appears on the battlefield of life; thus conquering hearts he proves to be victorious in the service of God, the Truth.
TA`LIM
There is a certain note that every initiated soul strikes. The work of the Initiator is to harmonize with that note in order to get in touch with the soul of the initiated person. It becomes necessary therefore for the Initiator to descend often to the note of his pupil. But the descending is not necessarily tuning oneself to his pitch, but what it is necessary is to harmonize oneself or become in consonance with the note of the pupil. Thus a pupil is raised. If the teacher would stand as king on a throne and wish the pupil to rise from the place where he is standing, he will never rise. To lift the pupil either the Initiator must stand on the ground and lift him up to the level of the throne, or by bending low, sitting on the throne he should raise the pupil, lifting him up with his own hands.
The spiritual path is the balance of democracy and aristocracy. The aristocratic part is that the Initiator sits on the teacher's throne and the initiated one stands in his place in all humility. And the democracy of the spiritual path is that the teacher raises him also to the same throne upon which he himself is sitting and even higher if he can; for in raising the initiated one the Initiator himself is raised high. Verily the greatness of God is brought unto Him by the greatness of man.
TA`LIM
Teaching of the Initiates:
The first initiation in the Sufi Order, which is the Elementary Section of the Study Circle, is to admit a pupil into the Order, first, for the study of Sufism. This study is not the study of the Sufi writings of the ancient times, for the reason that there are two sorts of Sufi writings which exist in the East, poetic and prose. The poetic literature tells much more than the prose, because the writers of spiritual literature in the ancient times were persecuted and were greatly hampered in expressing their thoughts freely. Therefore they always had to adopt the Islamic terminology and take steps very gently in expressing, lest they might offend the orthodox and be accused of having said something against the law of religion, which was at the same time the government law. The other literature, which is poetic, demands a certain perception to enjoy it and get benefit out of it. Therefore no Sufi literature of the ancient times is used in the Sufi Order, especially in the Study Circle.
A special interpretation of the Sufi ideal is given in the form of Gathas, to make the Sufi ideal intelligible to the modern mentality. These Gathas have at present seven subjects, ten chapters of each subject making a series. The first series is used for the Elementary section; the second is read before the group of Junior Members and the third before Senior Members of the Study Circle, who are already initiated three times in the Order. The Shaikh who is Khalif has the power of giving these initiations.
The practices which are given to the members of these three sections of the Study Circle are the methods of ablution, purification of breath, exercises of different postures, and concentration by giving the initiated ones a certain form to concentrate upon with a certain phrase, preferably in their own language, which would work in their life as a medicine to heal all infirmities and to help them to rise to that pitch which would regulate their lives. It is, really speaking, a psychoanalysis, not exactly in the sense in which a modern scientist today understands it; psychoanalysis, not from a material point-of-view but from a spiritual point-of-view, recognizing not only the animal qualities which man has inherited from his race, but all qualities, which are man's heritage from God.
TA`LIM
Every candidate for initiation must be brought to the Murshid by a Khalif who has already made the inquiries on the following questions. Special care must be taken so as not to make the candidate think it is an examination. Without the candidate's knowing, these questions must be intuitively and most tactfully perceived, the report of which must be made to the Murshid.
General Examination:
I. Physical Condition
Recent illness, injury, operation, or chronic disease.
II. Morale
Mind, temperament (optimistic or pessimistic), attitude toward life. Observe mentality, character (whether weak or strong), self-reliant or dependent.
III. Domestic life
Does the person live alone or with others? In comfort or privation? In harmony or discord? Married or single? Any children?
IV. Worldly position
Successful or the reverse; if dependent upon others; any financial worry.
V. Daily life
What is the occupation, what are the amusements and interests?
TA`LIM
Do not let that mureed whose feeling has turned sour be mixed with the faithful mureeds, for his association must affect in the same way as sour milk turns fresh milk.
RIYAZAT
The effect of spiritual practices is gained like interest on capital. The practices do not always produce effect when a person is doing them, but practices once done are never lost. They are seeds sown on the soil of one's subconscious mind and must bear fruit in due course of time. No doubt, conditions may be against, which may delay the result of practices, but it does not often happen.
The Initiators must know their responsibility in the battlefield of the world. Even an action of unselfishness, of friendliness, plunges one into a struggle. No doubt one must be thankful when one has to face a struggle while trying to do good; for there is one consolation at least, that one is doing good. In this struggle, what is needed is spiritual power with which to combat. And as it is the responsibility of a commander of an army to take care that he has enough batteries with him, so it is the work of the Initiator to have enough power, which is gained by the spiritual practices, to help him in his battle.
The nature of practices is such that their power increases as one goes on with them; as the capital increases every year with interest, so the power increases every day more and more. One might ask, "What power?" The answer is, physical, mental, moral, and spiritual, all. The spiritual practices are just like the food for the soul. These nourish the soul, give it vitality, inspire it with wisdom, and charge it with power necessary to combat in life.
One might ask, "Is not spiritual work done calmly and peacefully? Why has a spiritual person to battle?" The answer is that a spiritual person need not battle; battle is the portion of the spiritual worker, in order to protect his own spirituality against the disturbing influences in order to share his spirituality with others. If a pious person were to say, "I am quite content with what little good I can do in my life and in my solitude," I will answer, "Yes you do not need any practices." But if a worker says, "I am working in the world to spiritualize people," I will say, "You are a soldier; you need power, and that power you will gain from your spiritual practices." An Initiator needs an extra amount of power and inspiration beyond what is needed for an ordinary good and spiritual person, for besides the battle he has to face there is a great demand from every side on his power and inspiration.
TA`LIM
You will establish a communication with your pupils by the link of sympathy. Never think, therefore, that a spiritual teacher is too superior to interest himself in the material needs of his pupils. His feelings for his pupils must be as the feeling of parents toward their children. They are not only interested in their children's welfare in life, but they are also interested in their little, unimportant fancies. Wise parents pay serious attention to the children's little demands. And so it is with the Initiator, to spare no time nor effort in taking interest in his pupils. It is not by teaching or correcting a pupil that one helps; it is by associating with the pupil, by winning the pupil's heart, by interesting oneself in his immediate needs that one gets near to his soul, and in this way one can help one's pupil best.
One must not think that by helping in a pupil's worldly affair nothing spiritual is accomplished; for, once on the spiritual path, every material and spiritual thing one does, it only leads him to the spiritual goal. A pupil's material need satisfied is one step further in the spiritual path. Of what use is that spirituality which does not help in any way the material need of the pupil? It does not mean that spirituality is for the material need, it only means that every step a seeker after truth takes, it leads him to the same goal.
The Initiator's responsibility, therefore, toward his pupils is great. He may need, with certain pupils, to keep an outer distance, but in order to make up for the outer distance he must come inwardly closer. If there is a distance between pupil and teacher outwardly and inwardly, there is no point of contact, there is no reason to be pupil and teacher. If there be a distance, it must not be a distance for the vanity of the Initiator. It must be only if it were for the benefit of the pupil.
One thing must be remembered, that with every goodwill and desire to help the pupil, one must not spoil the pupil by making him too dependent. A human being shows a childlike quality all through his life. As from childhood the soul learns to cling to his mother, when grown up the soul does the same to his Initiator. It is natural, there is nothing wrong in it. It is not in order to save oneself from his clinging, but to make him independent, to stand in the struggle he is meant to be in. You will always give a hand, but will make him stand on his feet.
You will find by observing human nature more keenly that there are many obsessed by a certain idea, a belief, a conception, a thought of sadness or pain which does not exist in reality except in their mind. These obsessed ones will intensely seek their refuge under their Initiator. By your goodwill and sympathy you can heal them or make them more ill. Both things are possible, because obsessions feed on sympathy. It is never enough. The more you sympathize the more ill the person becomes. In these cases you will keep firm outwardly and let your sympathy heal from inward. So, outwardly acting cold, with every warmth within, you will answer the need of such pupils.
You will find some pupils not willing to do the exercises; some willing to do a part of them and not inclined to do the other part. Some will give their thought and their time, but not themselves. Do not allow yourself to be impatient with them. The fruit is not the same when it is ripened; it is different when it is unripe. There is nothing better than leaving a pupil free to do what he can and to leave what he does not want for the moment to do, and so leading pupils gently on the path, without disturbing their tranquility. The work of the Initiator is a practice of self-abnegation, to make one's work everything and one's self a secondary question. It is then only that one can render unselfish service to God and His creatures.
Mostly I would use gentleness. It only depends upon the Initiator's particular temperament. If the Initiator is not naturally very gentle, he must not force himself to be gentle, although tact is a necessary thing. Besides, gentleness is one of the best qualities. In ninety-nine cases I would use gentleness, perhaps in one case I would use firmness. It depends upon the temperament. There is a temperament which can accomplish by gentleness more easily than by firmness. But in that case his gentleness must have developed a power in it, that it is outwardly gentleness but inwardly it is a power.
Once I had a visit from a mureed who came to me in a terrible rage. The man was all to pieces by anger and distress and disappointment. He came to me to say perhaps a thousand things -- "Everything is wrong, everybody does wrong. . ." I heard it all, and I did not at all take that subject, I went to quite another subject. By going to another subject I touched the feeling of the mureed. Then the mureed said to me, "Murshid, I came to you today to finish forever, but you would not let me finish. I had never thought that after I had come in such a rage you would ever want to see me again. But you have a power that disarms one. What is that power, Murshid?" I said, "Because I have disarmed myself, that is the power."
Sometimes gentleness conquers a person more than desperateness. And if a person is feeble, or in a position where desperateness will make him do a certain thing, that will only go for a moment, it will not continue. But the one whom you have won by gentleness you have won forever.
RIYAZAT
There are two external Zikrs, which the adept performs sitting or standing.
He pictures his image before him mentally and marks with his finger a horizontal line, repeating, "This is not by body," then, raising the finger upwards, draws a perpendicular line, repeating, "This is the temple of God;" thus making the sign of the Cross on his own image he has pictured before himself. This is a practice for self-abnegation, self-effacement, and proves efficacious however gross the nafs be. Also it prepares a person for the principal Zikr.
The other way of external Zikr is only mental. The adept pictures himself sitting or standing, and mentally repeats "This is not my body," while drawing a horizontal line upon his mentally pictured figure. And a perpendicular he then makes by his glance, repeating, "This is the temple of God." A finer soul profits by this, and is prepared for the principal Zikr. This practice is given to the pupil who receives the sixth initiation, rather, the third grade of the Advanced Circle.
TA`LIM
Questions and Answers at Initiations:
Q. My Murshid (Khalif), what does Sufism mean?
A. Divine wisdom.
Q. Since when has Sufism existed?
A. At all times, from the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth.
Q. Has there been a founder of Sufism?
A. God alone was the founder of Sufism.
Q. What is the religion of Sufism?
A. Sufism is the essence of all religions.
Q. What is the Sufi Order?
A. It is the nucleus formed of those who study and
practice Sufism for spiritual attainment and thereby to unite with God and humanity.
Q. What are the first necessities to be remembered by the initiate?
A. Belief in God; respect for all religions, scrip-
tures, and prophets; a recognition of Pir-O-Murshid; a sincere response to one's Initiator; and deep sympathy for all brothers and sisters in the Order.
To the Candidate for Initiation:
Q. You will respect all that is given to you as your
sacred and secret trust?
A. Yes, I will do so.
Q. You will observe the Sufi brotherhood as a nucleus of human brotherhood, beyond all differences and dis-
tinctions of caste, creed, race, nation, and religion?
A. Yes, I will do so.
TA`LIM
The responsibility of the Initiator is great, and as great his responsibility so large he must become, for it is the large vessel which will accommodate small objects. The larger your outlook the more accommodating you will be. Working with a new person in the spiritual path is like handling a raw material. You can approach him so far and no further. If you thought about it continually, then alone you will be able to mold his personality gradually.
The pupil must not be given a handle by which he could dispute and make the Initiator commit an error. One must be more on one's guard with one's pupil than with one's opponent; for once the pupil holds a mistake of the teacher he loses his regard for his teacher. And by mistake I do not mean great mistakes -- little things. In this path of esotericism you can never be too conscientious. Therefore, never give way to the impulse of expressing oneself fully. Let each word pass directed by power and wisdom, that not one word may be said that may be taken amiss by another person. An Initiator is responsible not only for all things in life but even for every word he speaks. For the priest is the minister of the Church, the Initiator is the ambassador of Truth.
TASAWWUF
The real spirituality is in living a life of fullness, in penetrating all planes of existence. It is a deep insight into life which is the sign of spirituality. Spirituality is raising of the consciousness from manhood to Godhood. Spirituality is widening, expanding of the heart as a bubble expanding to an ocean. Spirituality is in raising the soul to the greatest heights and touching the deepest depths. Spirituality is in forgetting one's false self and realizing one's real self. Spirituality is enjoying and appreciating all things, understanding and comprehending everything, using and utilizing everything to its best advantage, surmounting difficulties, solving problems, clearing clouds of confusion and depression. Spirituality is fearlessness, joyfulness, calmness and peace.
TA`LIM
In order to serve in the esoteric work the first thing one must cultivate is the trusting in the goodness of the pupil. It is not always easy. In the first place the wiser one becomes, from the worldly point-of-view, the more he begins to distrust, for then he a great deal of experience of human nature. As a person becomes more spiritual he sees still more in the soul of people that should not be trusted. He cannot close his eyes; if he closed his eyes his work would not be fruitful. He must therefore see and not see at the same time.
The work in esotericism is a continual experiment with every individual, testing and trying him, at the same time encouraging him and appreciating every little good he shows. By that you can help the person best. In the East an Initiator tests and tries his pupil to the utmost, but this may not be done in the West. Besides, now the time is different, we must act according to the time. But to appreciate and to encourage a pupil is most necessary. Your way must be the way of water, not the way of the hammer. For if there is a rock in the way, the water surrounds it and makes its way by rising above the rock. The way of the hammer is to break it down, to turn it into pieces. By this I do not mean to say that you will always restrict yourself to the way of water; the hammer has its purpose also. But as long as you can surmount your difficulties by using the method of water you need not take the hammer in hand.
TA`LIM
The studies which are given to the mureeds in Sacred Readings must be held and impressed upon them as being of religious and sacred character, for the mentality today is such that however high a subject they take it under the heading of a study and tear it in their debates. In the ancient times studies pertaining to the higher wisdom have always been attached to a religion. And the students were told that they must observe three stages in their study: to receive, to assimilate, and then to express one's idea upon it. The absence of this today makes every young student ready to form an opinion on any question. The child today begins to correct his parents even in things that his parents have a great deal of experience of and he does not know anything about.
A child must therefore be taught from the beginning that it is not as he sees just now, but when he will see differently he will find the same thing different. It is the same with a mureed. If the idea of debate is encouraged in our Gatha Readings maybe it will please some argumentative mentalities, but it will spoil the sacredness of the idea; the idea which is not received thus, with all its potentiality, will lose its spirit. Since we have our open platform for our Brotherhood activities the Sacred Readings must be conducted religiously, with a sacred idea attached to them. For if the mureed will not value them enough he will not be benefitted by them fully.
With every desire on our part to make the Message reach far and wide into the world, we must keep our esoteric school for some few worthy seeking souls. It is only this which will keep the spirit and beauty of Sufism. We must realize in this Esoteric School what tradition we represent. We represent the tradition of such souls who may be called the emperors of the world. We must keep that spirit before us and follow the work.
The scriptures read in all religions have not been considered a study, they have been considered a prayer. And what greater prayer than the words that could enlighten the soul? That is the highest prayer that there could be. When the Muslim reads the Qur'an, he goes out and makes ablutions before he touches the book. When a Hindu reads the Gita he wears sacred garments and sits in the sanctuary made for that purpose. The Zarathustrian makes a special preparation when he recites the Gathas in Zend. We can at least have silence before and after our Sacred Readings and prayers offered before and after them, in order to tune the soul to receive them in the manner that they must be received, that the soul may derive from them the greatest benefit.
The pupil who is initiated in the Order must not be immediately taught Zikr and Fikr; he must be prepared for it, except in exceptional cases. The Initiator must be convinced first of the faithful response of the pupil before he entrusts him with this great treasure of the Sufis. The Initiator must know if the pupil is in agreement with the teachings given in the Order before he prescribes to the pupil Zikr or Fikr. The pupil must be in harmony with himself in order to be properly benefitted by these exercises.
The first thing that may be given to pupils is an object to concentrate upon which will centralize their thoughts and make their minds still. Also a phrase may be given to the pupil which might answer in helping the pupil's present problem. If a soul seeking after spirituality is in the midst of a struggle, if a problem is facing him he must not be pushed into the spiritual path by his Initiator, he must be given that strength and power which will enable him to remove the obstacle from his way, thus making himself his way free he will go on forward. Therefore, by helping a pupil to the solving of his present problem, however material in character, the Initiator will be helping him in his spiritual goal. One might ask, "Even if the problem be undesirable?" The answer will be, "In the first place there is no problem which is undesirable, and if there is any the teacher must show the undesirable side of the problem, and if it is really undesirable the pupil himself will give it up. The pupil who comes to learn from a teacher of the spiritual path must certainly respond to the teacher's advice for his own benefit.
TASAWWUF
In speaking to an audience, you will keep in mind that your spirit is one, your thought is one, your purpose is one, that you must not let your mind be divided by the various persons sitting before you. Center your gaze upon one object, be it a person, be it an object. If it be a person then that person must be responsive; if it be an object, that object must be beautiful, inspiring, life-giving. It is this that will give you all power and inspiration. If you manage to make this thought clear to yourself, that there are not many, there is only One to Whom I am speaking, for Whom I am speaking, and from Whom I am speaking, then you will rise above antagonism and disagreeable influences.
Avoid looking at a criticizing person during your lecture; do not even let your mind think of him. If he is sitting to the North you must look to the South. Raise your eyes above him. By trying to look at him you will let him spoil your undertaking; by avoiding the meeting of your eyes with his you will build for yourself another atmosphere which he cannot touch. By taking notice of it, by acknowledging it you give life to antagonism, you give fuel to his fire. It is by rising above it that you will conquer.
The best way of speaking is to sit straight, not leaning on the table or on a balustrade. Also, do not close your hands while speaking. Yes, close your hands when thinking, between your speech. For it is by the open hands that you will be able to send your magnetism all round the room.
Keep close to the central theme of each subject. Extemporize on the subject constructively, skillfully, artistically, tactfully, finishing it to the accomplishment of your purpose. Do not be too conscientious in thinking what anyone will say or think, nor let yourself be too much carried away by your subject, so that you do not think of the psychology of the people to whom you are speaking. Strike a balance between those two things, then you will find it easy to speak.
Do not address a meeting from the side. Stand in front in the center. Do not speak standing in the middle of the audience, for that carries no power. Speak simply, plainly, distinctly, not in too high a pitch nor too low, in your proper tone of voice. Anything unnatural in the voice or the way of speaking which is artificial will keep back your power. Cast your glance, before you commence to speak, above the whole audience at once, so that no power will subordinate your spirit.
TASAWWUF
Hypnotism:
The question is sometimes asked whether people do not lose their free will when they have been hypnotized once. Yes, but if they are in a condition where they cannot help themselves, they may be helped. It is very good if a person walks on his own feet, but if he is in a condition such that he cannot walk, then if someone gives him a hand, it is making him dependent, but it is helping him. For instance, there are some people who after an operation have got into the habit of taking a drug, because once they had it when it was necessary. At that time it was right, but when it was continued it was wrong.
I have seen a great power, it was a spiritual healing power in a mystic, Mir Mahbub `Alí Khan, Nizam of Hyderabad. First he began by curing patients who were affected by serpent bite. They generally die; and he had given orders that any time, even in the midst of the night, if someone had been bitten by a serpent he could be brought to him. And he sacrificed his sleep in this way, because many came during the night and the king had to get up and cure them. But then after three years' time he developed that power so that he used to say through the telephone, "It's all right, you are well." I have also seen a person who used to cure people who had been stung by a scorpion. A person suffering very great pain would be brought before him, and the first thing he said was, "Now you have not got any pain, have you? It is not there." And the pain was gone at once, instantly. He did not give one moment for the person to think whether to think it was there or not.
The secret is not only in the faith of the patient, the secret is in the power and belief of the healer. The idea is this: Suppose ten persons repeat one phrase. If that phrase were drawn on a paper by a seer he would draw one line quite short and the other line one inch, and another line one yard, and another line one mile long or perhaps longer still. Where the voice comes from is the question. If it comes from the mouth it only reaches the ears of the hearer; if it comes from the heart then it penetrates the heart; if it comes from the soul then it penetrates the soul of the person and cures the person entirely. And it is not every person, therefore, who can put that power in his word, unless the soul were capable of doing it.
In the Bible we read, "First was the Word, and the Word was God." This will always prove true in every sense. But when they do not see God in the word, then it becomes hypnotism and mesmerism and all such things. But when God is realized in the word, then it is no longer that, then it is much greater than that. It is how we look at things. And if God is left out then the soul is left out from it. Many play with hypnotism and its effect, but they do not go any further. When God is not as a person's ideal and when it is not done in God and for God then it is only done mechanically, it has not life. A machine can go on without an engineer for some time, but it cannot go long, there is not life. Therefore to do things right there ought to be God.
TASAWWUF
Is effacement of personality taught in Sufism as a moral principle? No, it is something which causes all virtues to spring; it is not in itself a moral principle, it is truth itself. The thought of personality fades away in the light of Reality. Therefore when once Truth has made anyone's vision clear, personality naturally will be effaced. This principle is not taught in Sufism as a principle of politeness or of humility, but this is a natural outcome of the unfoldment of the soul.
There cannot exist two beings, God and oneself, in Truth. Either oneself or God, one can exist. Oneself, as one knows self, is a limited part of Being like a bubble in the sea, which has no existence of its own. It is only a temporary condition, and so is the conception of self which man has. By effacing oneself one does not annihilate oneself. It might seem so, but it is not so in reality. Really speaking, it is the finding of the self, a self which is perfect. And in this is the fulfillment of that teaching of the Bible: "Be ye perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect."
TASAWWUF
The word "intellectual" has been used for two different mentalities. One mentality is a seeking mentality, and what it finds in name and form it takes as knowledge. It collects the knowledge it studies in books, and that is its treasure. As that treasure is limited, so this mentality is limited. Although this mentality is called "intellectual," yet real intellectual mentality is the intelligent one who thinks for himself, who observes and who expresses all that he observes, who studies looking at Nature, who comprehends life's mystery by looking at life, who fathoms the mysteries of life, inspired from within, and who throws his light upon all things he sees and makes them clear. It is he who is really intellectual. In order to define these two different mentalities, if I called the former intellectual the latter I would name intelligent.
TA`LIM
The Initiator must give to his pupils his own meaning of the Sufi teachings, with added definitions in order to make that teaching fully comprehensible to the pupil. It is better to give pupils no tendency to dispute over sacred teachings containing the mystery of life. One is entitled to dispute only when one has assimilated the teaching; but then one does not feel inclined to dispute.
Pupils must be told not to study the teachings but to meditate upon them; in that way to make the teaching a living thing, not only a book knowledge. The oral teachings given in Gathekas, Gathas, Githas, Sangathas, Sangithas, are as a line to tread upon. As one goes along the line one observes different things which are necessary to be observed on the spiritual path. For instance, there is a map of the city which only shows the different ways that lead to different places, but by travelling on the roads given on that map one will see for himself interesting sights to ponder upon and to appreciate, and by the help of which to accomplish one's purpose in life. In short, a pupil must be taught how to benefit himself by the teaching in his everyday life, and how to see for himself the beauty and complexity that he will find in the paths of life, by taking those lines that are as roads leading to the desired goal.
KHAWAS
In mystical terms there are four principal hearts, termed the heart of gold, the heart of silver, the heart of copper, and the heart of steel or iron. It is the Initiator's work to train the heart; therefore first he must distinguish which it is. You cannot use the same tools, nor can you use the same method to make something out of these four different hearts.
The heart of gold is precious, for the reason that gold reflects more light than any other metal. Gold is responsive. Gold is firm as a metal and yet soft. Gold is beautiful to look at and fine to work with. Gold has weight. Gold proves real in the end of the test. Gold ornament is the best ornament. Gold embroidery stands, proving the best embroidery; gold coin is the most valuable, and gold dust more precious than any other dust. There is a man of that quality. He does not need to do good, what he does must be good. His thought, his speech, his action, in all there is beauty, there is truth, there is light. The gold-hearted person will prove true to the end of the test.
There is silver, which is costly, and it reflects light also, though not as beautifully as gold. It stands next to gold, and yet has much in common with gold. One can make ornaments of silver. Silver embroidery is beautiful. Silver coin comes next to gold. Silver dust is valuable. The heart with silver quality shows purity and virtue, and will always bring its value.
If it were not for the copper, very many things, for which neither silver nor gold could be used, would not have been made. If it is not as precious as silver or gold, it is useful. The same is to be found with iron. It is hard, but its very hardness makes it useful, though it will not reflect light like gold or silver, it will not have the fineness of gold or silver. Such is the heart of man. One with the copper heart is useful, if we know how to use it. The heart of iron has its use also, and a great use too. Yet as a heart it is hard; it cannot be penetrated.
There are two aspects of heart known to the mystic poets, the heart of wax and the heart of stone. The former becomes soft by warmth and hard by cold, the atmosphere has such an effect upon it. The heart which is like stone cannot be softened; it remains hard in the warmth and the cold. Yes, warmth makes it warm, cold makes it cold. No doubt even in the heart of cold stone there is a spark of fire hidden, but that spark manifests by striking.
The knowledge of these gives an Initiator insight into human hearts. Once he knows what the quality of the heart is he begins to understand the way of making use of it to the best purpose.
TA`LIM
Tasawwuri Murshid:
Tasawwuri Murshid, or the thought of Murshid, is not given only that a mureed may concentrate on a form from which he seeks his inspiration, but also that he may keep before himself an ideal, not only to look up to but to come up to. And this can be done by trying every moment of one's life to think as Murshid thinks, to see as Murshid sees, to feel as Murshid feels, and to act as Murshid acts in different situations. This means a perfect self-effacement, which makes the soul a mirror. The Murshid, reflected in that mirror, becomes the spirit of the mirror, and therefore one becomes the same spirit which one holds in one's soul.
There have been several Buddhas in the tradition of Buddhism, not only Gautama Buddha who is known to us as Buddha. The other Buddhas were the ones who did not only look up to Buddha, as the other Buddhists did. They came up to Buddhahood and become Buddha themselves. That is the ideal to arrive at. After the Prophet Mohammed's time there came Khalifs who succeeded him. Every Khalif of the four Khalifs of the Prophet showed one or the other quality of the Prophet to perfection, if not all qualities, proving thereby that he did not only follow Mohammed but he became Mohammed. This is the whole secret of mysticism, which is neither studied in books nor merely attained by meditation. The whole secret of it is to make an ideal, to follow an ideal and to become it. It is in this that the purpose of esoteric work is fulfilled.
TA`LIM
People will come to you asking for guidance on the unknown path, wondering in their minds if there really is some truth in it, hiding their skepticism, which shows out from their eyes, by the words which show their interest. Do not confide to them your secret and sacred teaching. Never think that when they will develop they will understand and then they will appreciate; for it is a wrong process. For no one will understand and appreciate unless he came to you with his sincere feeling and trust.
RIYAZAT
Shaghal 1:
Shaghal means "an occupation," to penetrate through the inner planes. The first Shaghal is to close one's ears with the tips of the fingers for about five seconds, not longer. This must be done after having inhaled a full breath; and it is necessary to control the breath, in other words to hold the breath in, while doing this exercise. One must concentrate on the word Hu during this practice; in other words hear the sound which comes to one on closing the ears, as Hu, and interpret it to oneself as a sound of the inner working of the whole universe.
This practice brings one to stillness of mind, and raises one above the disagreeable noises of the world, and gives one peace in the midst of the crowd. The best time for this practice is late at night or early in the morning, and the best place for this is the solitude.
Shaghal 2:
One must close one's eyes very gently with the first finger of both hands, closing the opening between the eyelids. Care may be taken that one does not press one's eyes by it, not put the weight of one's fingers upon the eyes. One must breathe softly and slowly, holding the breath, as one can easily hold it without straining the breathing vessels. One must think while doing this practice that one is looking at the universal light which is the cause of the whole manifestation and out of which have come all the visible forms of this world before our view.
Shaghal 3:
This practice can be done by closing the two nostrils after having inhaled through the right nostril. The breath must not be retained longer than one second. This practice must not be continued too long. When this is mastered, one is able to absorb from the space the vital power, the essential energy of life. It does not only invigorate one physically, but it makes the mind brilliant and the perception clear.
Shaghal 4:
Lips closed signify peace, lips open signify sorrow, greed, discontent. The mouth has a higher significance than what we know in general. It is not only a receptacle for eating and drinking but it is with the lips that we pray and repeat the sacred word. With the open mouth the word is sent out, with the closed lips the word is retained within. Then that retained word becomes the primal Word, as it is said in the Scripture that first was the Word and the Word was God. The Word which is God is not the expressed word, it is the word which is retained within, it is that Word which may be called God. Therefore the adepts had the vow of silence; and some did not only abstain from speech, but closed their lips tight, that neither in word, not in whisper, nor even through the breath the word should be let out. And they practiced it often by closing their lips with the fingers upon them, and some by tying a piece of cloth on the lips. It has always proved to be an excellent practice of Shaghal to close the lips tight, and by that to retain every bit of strength and vitality, allowing it to function in the centers within. This gives the adept the taste of the higher life and develops in him the latent power, wakening in him at the same time intuition and inspiration which helps the adept on the path.
RIYAZAT
Shaghal 5:
An adept who practices Shaghal, after some time will have an experience of that Shaghal during times when he is not practicing. He will hear sounds of the sphere in ten forms: in the form of the buzzing of the bees, in the form of the bells ringing in the ears, in the form of whistles blowing, in the form of the fluttering of the leaves, in the form of the running of the water, in the form of the sound of Vina, in the form of the cooing of the wind, in the form of the crashing of the thunder, in the form of the music of the spheres, in the form of the song of the angels. Many other experiences will be vouchsafed to the one who practices Shaghal. And the less he will speak of them to others the more powerful he will become. Shaghal helps one to be in the world and not be of the world. It raises one from the limitations of the earthly life.
Shaghal 6:
When the four divided parts of the Shaghal are done together, in other words when the eyes are closed, the nostrils closed at the same time, the ears closed, and the lips closed, then the Shaghal will be complete. Once an adept begins to do the Shaghal completely, he need not do the same in parts, but experience each thing, such as the sound and the light and the fragrance and the taste, at one and the same time, trying at the same time to keep the consciousness undivided.
With the sound one must feel that one is hearing the working of the mechanism of the whole universe; with the light one must feel that one is seeing the light of the whole universe; with the fragrance one must feel that one is perceiving the fragrance of the whole universe; with the savor one must feel that one is tasting the savor of the whole universe. At that time one must feel, "I am one with the whole universe; nothing can divide me, my consciousness." And one must do these four things all at the same time, and that one can only do by feeling, not thinking. When one says it, one can only say one thing after another; and when one thinks of these things, then also one can think one thing after another; but when one feels them, then all things one is capable of feeling at one and the same time. For instance, in nature there are several trees, different flowers and fruits, each having its special fragrance, and, at the same time, there comes a fragrance of the essence of all, as one fragrance.
This will develop in the adept a wonderful physical vitality also, bringing in a person a new strength and vigor, making one's thoughts stronger, one's words more impressive, and atmosphere more powerful. In comparison to the one who does Shaghal, other persons who do not do it seem like clocks which have not been wound. This develops tremendously all intuitive faculties, also the psychic influence of the person who does Shaghal becomes great. It is after the mastery of Shaghal that a person begins to see and know the phenomenon of life in its fullness.
TA`LIM
As this is the age of democracy when the idea of democracy is carried too far, so that the virtue of the spirit of democracy threatens to culminate in a terrible disaster, that shows to us that the world is going on quite a different path; and at the same time, to say a word on this subject is like swimming against the tides, which means our own defeat. It is natural that the teachers of the Sufi Movement will feel as the professors at the university feel, that they will be as friendly with their students as possible. The work of a spiritual guide is different from that of a professor at the university. For the professor of the university has a duty, and the spiritual guide has a responsibility. His way of guiding his pupils is different from the way that students are trained under a professor. With all the sympathy and kindness that a teacher will show, and with all friendship and affection that the teacher will have, he must give the mureed an idea of looking up to the teacher, not for his own pride's sake but for the sake of the mureed. The pupil who feels equal to his teacher may just as well not be a pupil. He had better call himself a teacher, but not come as a pupil -- pose as a mureed and feel as a teacher. There are many specimens of such mureeds who continually seek for the teacher's seat. They have not come to learn, they have come to sit in that place. And you will be careful not to grant them their desire, for in doing so you will harm them more than yourself.
Man today looks at this idea in a strange way. He says, "Everyone has a vote, and everyone is good enough for the vote, and it is kind that everyone has a vote," but he does not know that it is kind that the one must have a vote but it is unkind to the one who must have a thousand votes. He never looks at it in this way. He always looks at the less worthy, or the one who must have one vote, but he never takes notice of the worthy, who deserves greater attention. And to recognize this means to elevate humanity and to ignore it means to push mankind along downhill. Since we do not interest ourselves in the affairs outside, we must at least keep this idea in doing our work in the Sufi Order. It only means either to recognize the superiority of the soul, that the souls of others may come to it; or to ignore it, that even a superior soul may fall in the range of the others.
TA`LIM
The Receiving of the Candidates in the Sufi Order:
The candidates may be divided into two classes: those who are ready, and those who are not ready yet. We may initiate those who are not yet ready, expecting that they will be ready; and we may not initiate those who are ready, expecting that they will be more ready. By this I mean to say, that, by a good discrimination, we may or we may not received mureeds into the Order, qualified or unqualified. When you see any possibility for a mureed who is not yet ready but by being given the initiation and instructions can be ready, in that case you may give the initiation. But in the case where a person is not ready and you cannot hope for him to be ready soon, it is better to delay his reception into the Order. Sometimes a teacher feels kindly towards a person who is not yet ready, and it is natural for a teacher to be compassionate. But, when looking from another point-of-view, we shall see that it does a great deal of harm to the others who join the Order. And when speaking about those who are ready by the development of their mind and may still wait, it is better for them to wait for a time than to have access to the Order immediately, because an immediate access to the Order makes them feel that they are wanted. Vanity might come up in a person, and instead of thinking, "I shall be blessed by having the privilege," he thinks, "I have favored the teacher." Besides that, there are some who need a loud speaking in the ears, that "I am going to give you an initiation in the Sufi Order," that every atom of the body may hear it, and they say, "Yes, I know it now;" and there are others -- it is just as well that you avoid speaking too much about it -- you give the initiation, and it is received.
TA`LIM
The Receiving of Candidates in the Sufi Order:
It is advisable to consider the manners of the candidate before receiving him in the Order. Whatever qualifications he may show and however important the person may seem to be, you may keep him in probation until he has bettered his manners. Mannerless mureeds bring a bad example to the group, and if unfortunately you have a member in a group who is ill-mannered, still keep him away as much as possible, considering him as a germ of disease. If you felt it necessary that he must be helped, you can always give him a personal help, yet keeping him an outcast till he has learned to show a better manner.
A good manner is a foundation of spiritual progress, and if a mureed does not offer good manner to the Order, to the teacher, anything else he offers must be considered as dust. Let our Order be poor, rather than rich with ill-mannered members. Truth is not only reason, Truth is not only logic, Truth is beauty, Truth is love. When love is kindled in the heart of man, when beauty has sprung from his mind, then harmony is born. The harmony shows itself in good manner.
There is nothing which a mureed is allowed to speak before others from the teachings which are trusted to him. If he can show anything of the training given to him in the Order, it is his manner; and if he does not show it, then he is a bad representative. To think, "Let us take him in the Order, he will improve," is a risk. It is better that we give him probation for some time, to be better first before he comes in. Let one's actions be judged before God, let one's feelings, sentiments, be weighed by his friends, but the good manner of a person is the thing that he offers to his teacher, and that is the best offering he can bring.
TA`LIM
The Khalif or Shaikh, who has it within his power to give a certain number of initiations, must use his judgement fully before promoting a mureed from one initiation to the other. The first thing he must see in the mureed is his attitude towards the Order, his attitude towards mureeds in the Order, his attitude to those who are authorized to take groups, such as Leaders and Conductors, his attitude to different activities, such as Universal Worship or any other activity of the Movement. Taking this all into consideration, the Initiator must find how far he has progressed, morally, spiritually, intellectually.
A mureed must not be promoted with a thought that he has been in the Order too long, now he must be promoted in order to be encouraged. A mureed can never be too long in one grade of the Order. If the mureed is not ready to be promoted to high initiations, apart from the disadvantage to the Order, it will not prove advantageous to the mureed himself. High rank is nothing if a mureed is not qualified for it.
In seeing qualification in a mureed one must not consider what he knows, says, and does first, one must consider first what he is. Never give that mureed a higher initiation who will speak about it with pride to the others, antagonizing them towards the Order. Initiation is a sacred thing, and the mureed must be told that he may not speak before others about this promotion, it is only for his soul. And if the Initiator finds out that he has used that promotion in telling others proudly how quickly he has advanced, then know that the soul is not ripened, and take time till you are quite convinced that now the mureed is ready for the initiation.
RIYAZAT
There are some mureeds who have no capacity of breathing deeply, and there are some whose breathing organs are affected a little. In that case the rhythm of breathing must be changed. No doubt for those whose breathing is not good or whose organs of breathing are not in a good condition, the practice of Fikr is most essential; but it must be done very slowly, and to begin with, they must take a few breaths, and the breathing must be natural, not deep breathing.
In the practice of Fikr one must sit cross-legged; if it is not possible, then in the chair, with spine erect, head upright, hands on the knees. The rhythm of inhaling and exhaling must be: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. One must not hold the breath between inhaling and exhaling. When once a person has formed a habit of rhythmic breathing, then he may be given the word that he must mentally repeat to concentrate. And when these two things are done by the person properly, then the third thing is to give a particular concentration which makes the meaning of the word given in Fikr more concrete.
There are three different ways of Fikr. One Fikr is that which we always give to mureeds: sitting at their leisure time, closing their eyes, and concentrating upon a certain subject. But there is another Fikr which may be given to mureeds to do while walking, that with each step or with two steps or with four steps as the speed of their walk happens to be, they may fix the rhythm of their inhaling and exhaling and concentrate upon a certain word which is given to them. In this case they do not need to have a concentration, because their eyes must be open. And they must not be asked to do a walking Fikr in the street. It must always be done in the field and in a place where they do not meet cars and so on.
Also a Fikr may be given to people to be done with their physical exercises. They must do their physical exercises with the rhythm of the Fikr, getting the benefit of breathing and of thought, together with physical culture. Also Fikr can be given to people to be used in sports, that they may have exercise and meditation together at the same time. But in this Fikr the eyes are open. And the third kind of Fikr is to be done with everyday occupation. A person who draws, or whose work is that of a carpenter or an engineer, or whatever be his work, he must do Fikr with his work, whatever he is doing, if not all the time even for half-an-hour or for an hour. And this, in the end, will give him the habit of doing Fikr all the time.
TA`LIM
The Responsibility of the Initiator:
The Initiator is not only responsible for the spiritual progress of his pupil but he is responsible for the life of his pupil from the moment the pupil has given him the hand of trust, from the moment he has taken the hand of the pupil. Bayat, or initiation, is most sacred, in this way -- that it binds the teacher, here and in the hereafter, to rejoice together and to suffer together. And therefore it is the Initiator's work to find out from the pupil not only his spiritual need but the necessity of the present moment. His difficulties, his needs, his troubles, his wants the teacher must know. If the Initiator thinks, "I am concerned with the spiritual progress of my pupil, I have nothing to do with his worldly difficulties," he will not be able to help his pupil fully. The reason is that the pupil's worldly needs and difficulties will keep him occupied with the world, and will not give him a moment to practice; or if he practiced, then he will not be able to benefit by it fully. If from one side the pupil is drawn towards spiritual things, from the other side pulled to material things, he never can make progress and never can arrange his worldly affairs.
It must be found out gently and most carefully what a pupil needs, what difficulty he has in his life, and it is the teacher's sympathy that draws it out; the pupil cannot help but open his heart to the teacher. Therefore the Initiator must be promising to relieve him of the difficulty. By the practice of concentration, by meditation, also by ordinary methods that one takes in the everyday life of the world one must try to help one's pupil as much as possible. It is not expected of a teacher but it is not out of place for an Initiator, if he went so far as to go, for the pupil, to different places to find out what work he could do. The Initiator must fill the place of the friend and of the teacher in the life of the pupil, that there is no relationship in the world, no connection in the world, that is so important and so sacred as the connection between the teacher and the pupil. To think, in the trouble of the pupil, how to get him out of it, to try and do everything possible to get a pupil out of his difficulty, to give a pupil a consolation in his time of distress, that is the Initiator's most sacred task. It is the worldly troubles and problems which must be first attended to, in order to relieve the mind of the mureed, giving him the opportunity, ease, and that peace which is necessary to meditate on God properly. Very often a mureed whose heart is torn by the difficulty of the world is agitated against anything spiritual. It may not be his nature, but that condition produces that agitation. And that is the time which is most difficult for the teacher, because it is a delicate time. It is easy to say to say to the pupil, "Well if you are agitated, that shows you have no interest. Please go. Goodbye." But by lifting him up at that time and surrounding him with sympathy, without minding slightly his agitation, the teacher will make an everlasting impression upon his pupil.
TASAWWUF
There are two aspects of fullness: completion and perfection. Every element -- earth, water, fire, air, and ether -- inhaled, absorbed, drunk or eaten, brings a greater completion and at the same time it causes lack of that much perfection, because perfection means self-sufficiency, lack of want. The same is with the mind. Every new experience, a thought, an imagination, a principle, an ideal, adds to one's knowledge that makes man complete. At the same time, this completion achieved, the more limited the mind becomes, because of its forming itself of outside cells; and to keep these cells living the mind must seek its subsistence outside itself. This mars self-sufficiency. Completion means want satisfied, desires answered. In this way, by being complete man becomes imperfect. By trying to self-sufficient within oneself, void of all things outside, perfection is attained.
TASAWWUF
In order to exist, every thing and being must accustom itself to one's atmosphere and one must make one's environment accustomed to one's own existence. The whole life is against anything that it is not accustomed to. Even an elephant allows a chicken to move in its surroundings, once it gets accustomed to its restless, disturbing atmosphere. All we are and all we do can only be accommodated by life's environments if we make ourselves and our doings tolerated by others so much that not only the beings on the earth but also the unseen beings tolerate us; in other words the whole cosmos including each atom of the world, seen and unseen, must be made accustomed to ourselves and our life. Hindus and Chinese invoked the spirits of the ancestors, the spirits of trees and plants, in order to make them sympathetic to themselves and their lives. So harmony is brought about by getting in tune with the finite as well as with the infinite.
TA`LIM
The Wrong Attitude of a Mureed:
That is the time when the Initiator is most tested. The half-test of the Initiator is when a person asks to be initiated and the Initiator knows that this person will not do, but in that case the Initiator has some little facility. In our particular Sufi Order it is difficult for the Initiator to refuse anyone, whoever comes, and however much difficulty the Initiator may find with him. But in the Sufi schools in the world it is not difficult for the Initiator; he simply says, "I am sorry, I will not take you," because while they have the esoteric school, we have a Movement. We cannot refuse a person who comes to us, they can. But when one finds that it is most unwise to take a person whose influence will spoil mureeds, in that case we may also refuse the person, saying, "Please wait till your period of probation is finished." And naturally a person who is not fit for the initiation will not have patience enough to wait. But when a person is initiated and then he begins to show himself, that is a still more difficult position. And it is not necessarily that the Initiator has not known him before; but very often the Initiator's compassion, sympathy, optimism, his hope will accept him. The greater the Initiator the more he will risk difficult mureeds, but at the same time he ought to be conscientious that the mureed who is not yet ready to be trusted with good practices must not be given thos