The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan      

        (How to create a bookmark)

Volume

Sayings

Social Gathekas

Religious Gathekas

The Message Papers

The Healing Papers

Vol. 1, The Way of Illumination

Vol. 1, The Inner Life

Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?

Vol. 1, The Purpose of Life

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound

Vol. 2, Cosmic Language

Vol. 2, The Power of the Word

Vol. 3, Education

Vol. 3, Life's Creative Forces: Rasa Shastra

Vol. 3, Character and Personality

Vol. 4, Healing And The Mind World

Vol. 4, Mental Purification

Vol. 4, The Mind-World

Vol. 5, A Sufi Message Of Spiritual Liberty

Vol. 5, Aqibat, Life After Death

Vol. 5, The Phenomenon of the Soul

Vol. 5, Love, Human and Divine

Vol. 5, Pearls from the Ocean Unseen

Vol. 5, Metaphysics, The Experience of the Soul Through the Different Planes of Existence

Vol. 6, The Alchemy of Happiness

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind

Vol. 8, The Privilege of Being Human

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals

Vol. 10, Sufi Mysticism

Vol. 10, The Path of Initiation and Discipleship

Vol. 10, Sufi Poetry

Vol. 10, Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Vol. 10, The Problem of the Day

Vol. 11, Philosophy

Vol. 11, Psychology

Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man

Vol. 12, Confessions: Autobiographical Essays of Hazat Inayat Khan

Vol. 12, Four Plays

Vol. 13, Gathas

Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead

By Date

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS

Heading

Superstitions, Customs, and Beliefs

Insight

Symbology

Breath

Morals

Everyday Life

Metaphysics

Sub-Heading

-ALL-

1.1, The Power of Breath

1.2, The Culture of the Breath

1.3, Sending the Breath

1.4, Five Aspects of Breath -- 1: The Air Stream

1.5, 2: The Electric Current of Breath

1.6, 3: The Rhythm of Breath

1.7, 4: Breath the Bridge to God

1.8, 5: Breath the Vehicle of the Self

1.9, The Mysticism of Breath

1.10, Color and Sound

2.1, Swinging Breath

2.2, Regularity of Breath

2.3, The Life-Power

2.4, Full Breath

2.5, The Rhythmic Breath

2.6, Be Conscious of Every Breath

2.7, Direction of Breath

2.8, Breath in the Development of Mind

2.9, Contraction and Expansion

2.10, Communication Through the Breath

3.1, The Length and Breadth of Breath

3.2, Inspiration

3.3, Thought Reading

3.4, Nafs-i-Garm

3.5, The Unknown Dimension

3.6, Breathing and Meditation

3.7, Breath Is Likened to Water

3.8, Breath and Magnetism

3.9, The Subtle Waves of Breath

3.10, The Mystery of Breath

Vol. 13, Gathas

Breath

1.1, The Power of Breath

It is difficult to define breath in a few words.

  • Breath is the very life in beings, and what holds all the particles of the body together is the power of the breath, and when this power becomes less then the will loses its control over the body. As the power of the sun holds all the planets so the power of the breath holds every organ.
  • Besides this the breath purifies the body by taking in new and fresh life and by giving out all gases that should be put out.
  • It nourishes the body by absorbing from the space the spirit and substance that are necessary, and more necessary than all that man eats and drinks.

The whole mechanism of the body works by the power of the breath, and every disorder in the working of the mechanism is caused by some irregularity in the breath. Therefore physicians feel disorder in the health of a patient by feeling his pulse or the beats of his heart. The physician will say that it is the physical illness of the body which has caused the change in the pulsation and in the beats of the heart, but the mystic knows that it is caused by the breath.

The breath in its different aspects acts differently; in every direction the breath does a special work. The breath has a special work with every organ of the body, and it has its particular influence upon every element of which the physical body consists. Every movement that one makes is directed by the power of breath; at the same time the breath alone has the power to stop any motion.

  • For instance, walking, running, sitting, and standing are actions done by the power of breath,
  • and trembling, shivering, or waving the hands of feet without control show lack of power in the breath.
  • Diseases, especially such diseases as nervousness, palpitation of the heart, and paralysis come from lack of power of the breath.
  • All lung diseases are caused by unclearness of the breath.
  • Troubles in the brain and troubles in the intestines are also caused by lack of regularity of the breath.

This shows that breath is the key to health, which is all happiness in life.