The tendency of brotherhood is instinctive in living beings, not only amongst men, but even among birds and animals. In the lower creation where the ego begins its work and where the ego rises against its brother, even in that stage there are birds and animals which can be brought together. At the same time by studying the lower creatures we can understand that in the lower stages even the destructive creatures can unite; and that gives us an idea that even in the lower stages there is already a tendency towards a higher stage of evolution.

When we think of the higher creatures we see that brotherhood can be developed and this brotherhood has developed in man. The proof of this we see in the life in towns, that people would rather live together than live scattered in the forests. There are large cities, such as New York, London, Paris, where there is difficulty in finding housing accommodation; and on the other hand the vast open spaces, woods and forests; yet people prefer to live together. This is, however, no virtue; for nothing is a virtue which is not consciously acted up to. Therefore when human beings live together this is no great thing; but when they consciously live together, then begins the tendency towards human brotherhood.

Now the conscious recognition of brotherhood requires a link; and that link awakens a feeling of brotherhood. For instance, in ordinary language when someone says, "This is my brother" it means only that the other is born of the same parents. There can also be a brotherhood of professions; there can also be a brotherhood in ideas, and a brotherhood of those born in one city; and to the extent that a person is conscious of the link that binds one with the other, so far will one realize brotherhood. If he does not feel conscious of that link, even if they are brothers, they will feel strangers. So that the strength of brotherhood does not lie in the claim, but in the consciousness of that link; not in the profession that brotherhood exists, but in the conscious recognition.

The idea of brotherhood has manifested differently in the East and the West. In the East it has manifested in unity in God; in the West in national feeling; it has appealed in the East to religion, and in the West to national feeling. But at the same time in the East, when Hinduism was predominant, especially in India, religious restrictions were taught in connection with hygiene, so that people ate and drank separately, so that the wife even had to prepare her own food separately; things are different in the West, where there also exist hygienic questions, and life is different from that of the East, where it did not prove in the end the ideal life; and the degeneration of the Hindu race began when the different limitations began.

There were four castes among Hindu: Brahmans, Kshattriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras; the caste of the student, the caste of the warrior, the caste of the merchant, and the caste of the laborer. Nobody can deny that there was great wisdom in this division; for there are four different tendencies in man. But in the end it resulted in disaster; the people became weak owing to these divisions, and the link of brotherhood was destroyed. This example of the Hindu race is in itself an example for human beings in the reconstruction of the world.

In ancient times Arabia and Persia were split up in parts, each part with its own gods and goddesses, and many different gods and goddesses; and as the Hindu race was most blessed by Shankaracharya, their teacher, so the Arabs were enlightened by the coming of Muhammed. And one can see that even fifteen hundred years ago there existed the tendency of forming a human brotherhood by the teachings of Muhammed, that tended to form a universal brotherhood. The various families amongst the Arabs began to live together and began to eat together, to shake hands, and worship together in the same house of God.

There is a story of Khalif Omar, that he was greatly hated by a certain criminal; and on a certain day this man came to the town and asked where Omar was. He was told that the Khalif was in the forest, looking after his cattle.

The assassin thought this a splendid opportunity to accomplish his plan. As he approached Omar he saw no warrior there to protect him, but he was sitting alone clad in a worn out robe. The assassin could hardly believe that the Khalif was so near and within his power; he could not trust his eyes that the Khalif whom he had pursued so long was now so near, unprotected. But the nearer he approached, the more nervous did he become, so much so that when he was quite near the dagger fell out of his hand.

Omar said. "Peace be unto you; what do you want?" to which the assassin answered, "Tell me why I tremble before you." Omar said, "Just as I tremble before God when I think of doing wrong, so dost thou tremble before me."

Another story told about Omar is that after a war, at the peace negotiations Omar represented the armies of Islam. The enemies were told by their astrologers that they must make peace when Omar arrived. But as the enemies had never seen him before, they asked "How shall we know him?" The reply was: "You can recognize him when you see a slave on the camel, and Omar walking at the side."

In fact he came as had been foretold; and the first question put to him was, "Why were you walking and your slave on the camel?" to which he replied, "I have not walked all the way. The first part I rode; and the second part it was my slave's turn to ride and mine to walk."

And when one thinks of this one realizes the beauty of the human heart, this perfume which resides in the human soul. There is another example of human brotherhood.

When the Prophet Muhammad was waging war against some people, the Prophet was compelled to flee three times from Mecca, and each time a great deal of harm was done to his family and even he himself had scars and was bleeding from various wounds when he fled. But later, when the Prophet was victorious, these enemies were brought before him, and he asked them, "How shall I deal with you?"

They answered, "Deal kindly with us." Muhammad said, "Yes, I will deal with you in the same way in which Joseph dealt with his brethren." And at once they shook hands, and were friends, and all the feelings of hatred were forgiven.

By this I wish to say that it is not the intellectual teachings of the great ones that we need, but the example of their lives which is so important to us.

Now, the effect of that example can be seen even down to this day in the peoples of Arabia.

The Bedouins, who spend their lives in fighting and robbery and are found everywhere in the deserts of Arabia, - if two of them are found fighting and on the verge of killing each other, and if a third person says, "Unite, in the name of the Prophet Muhammad", immediately they throw away their weapons, shake hands, and become friends.

How much do we wish that what such wild people do would be followed by us the so-called civilized nations? If people can move from one country to another and cannot find the link which binds them to each other, what use is that to us? This does not mean that we have to ignore national distinctions; but that we have to ignore the narrow boundaries of the nations.

Any person with some heart will wonder, and say, "Will there ever come a time when hearts will become united, and the barriers be removed, and so men will become united in some higher link which binds them all together?" Considering the question from the psychological point of view we shall find that no family can be happy where there is a difference of feeling, or a feeling of reciprocal ill will. The atmosphere of such a house can cause all manner of diseases and all sorts of misery. Where there is disagreement, disharmony, perhaps one is in a better position than the other, but the suffering will be divided amongst them all, and each will have to bear his share of it. The old stories and legends that there came down fire from heaven, that there came floods and volcanic eruptions, show us that these disasters came as a result of disharmony.

Now the national disharmony is more prevalent than ever before on earth; for the small communities have now become nations and peoples, so that they can now have a greater power for evil or good. From the psychological point of view all the nations are one family, so that the consequences of what one nation does against another, the whole world experiences, and so that the actions of races and communities are the same as the actions of individuals of the past.

Every nation only interested in its own affairs, ignoring the conditions of the others, is equally responsible for the suffering and troubles that they suffer.

Just think of the great suffering and pain which the larger part of humanity is going through in different regions of the world today. If it were not for the fact of illusion and the blindness of mankind for others than themselves, the world would be in a different condition from what it is.

But to see life as a whole is not the work of everybody. Man has too much to think of in his own affairs, his own worries and troubles. Today is a time such as the world has never seen before. Mankind is divided ignoring the truth that they depend upon one another. To the person who would think from a human point of view even the wise and clever are acting as children.

What is required today is this: that some souls, unselfish, strong, confident of the truth of their ideals, should join hands in serving humanity.

Not that there are not some hearts and heads who see life from different points of view; but it is such as these that are required. The Sufi Movement is devoted to this ideal, and is an answer to the call of the earth to the heavens. It is not necessarily a religion or a philosophy, but it is the essence of all religions and all philosophies. It is understanding which will unite mankind, and its great link is wisdom.

It is not the claim or wish of the Sufi Movement that this shall be the only Movement working for the brotherhood of man, but that the work be shared by everybody who feels called upon to take part in this task. The Sufi Movement does not make restrictions upon people coming from other religions, Christian, Buddhist, or Jew, because it looks upon all as one, coming from the same divine source. Everybody is welcome in the Sufi Movement, whose aim is to unite people in that feeling of the Unity which is their Source and Life.