The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan

Create a Bookmark

Many, content with their honesty, speak just as they like at the moment. They do not mind what effect it will produce as long as they are sure that what they say is true. The truth that strikes like a hammer on the head of the listener is not desirable; one would be better off without it. This shows that it is not only a thing to consider that what one says is true, there is another consideration which is most necessary, and that is what effect it will make on the other. The seer sees the lines made on the mind of his listener he first takes the road which is already made there, and when once he has entered the mind of his listener then he will make another road, not before. It is just like the person is going to buy something in a shop and saying before entering, "I have not got more than four pence," instead of going into the shop and finding out what he can buy with four pennies. Action is one thing, and prudence is another thing. Even the animals are active, even they work for what they need in life. What one expects in man is prudence. Man must have forethought, before he utters one word about its effect upon another. Some say spiritually wise is not worldly wise; some think that these two worlds are different. But it is not so. The worldly wise is capable of being spiritually wise, but spiritually wise is already worldly wise. He may not care for worldly things, therefore, he may be lacking in experience in worldly affairs. Yet for him, worldly wisdom is not a foreign thing, he has only to open his eyes and see. Those who know nothing of the world and those who are called spiritual are known more for their goodness than for their balance. The complete spiritual life is not a dreamy one, but wide-awake, full of thought and consideration.


 
Topic
Sub-Topic