A thought may be compared with a moving picture projected upon a curtain. It is not one picture, but it is the several parts of this picture that, changing every moment, complete the picture. And so it is with the thought. Everybody does not always hold a picture in his mind. As a rule a person makes a picture by a gradual process of completing it. In other words, the thought picture is made in parts, and when the thought is completed the parts meet to form one picture.

It is according to this theory that the mystics have made Mantra Shastra, the science of the psychological phenomena of words, which the Sufis have called Wazifa, because for a concentration of thought the holding of a thought in mind is not sufficient. In the first place, it is not possible for everybody; only some people can hold a thought as a picture. If there is any possibility of completing a thought, it is only by repetition. Eastern art also shows this tendency for the same reason. If a border around a wall is made of roses, it is a rose repeated 20,000 times, in order that the picture of a complete rose may be had when one glance is cast over it. If there are many objects before one, no single object can be held in thought. Therefore the best way of contemplating that the mystics adopted was to repeat a word suggestive of a certain thought, a word that caused the picture of a certain idea by its repetition.

Yet repetition alone is not sufficient for the purpose. In order to engrave a certain figure upon a stone, a line drawn with pencil is not sufficient; one has to carve it. And so in order to make a real impression of an idea, deeply engraved on the subconscious mind, an engraving is necessary. That is done by the repetition of a word suggestive of a certain idea. No repetition is wasted; for every repetition not only completes it, but deepens it, making thereby a clear impression upon the subconscious mind.

Apart from the mystical process, one sees people in one's everyday life who have perhaps repeated in their minds the thought of pain, of hatred, of longing, of a disappointment, of admiration, of love, unconscious of the work it has done within themselves; and yet a deep impression of it has been produced in the depths of their heart, and that becomes projected upon every person they meet. One cannot help being drawn to a loving person, and one is unconsciously drawn to an affectionate person; one cannot cover one's eyes from the feelings of hatred that come from someone; one cannot ignore the feeling of pain that comes forth from a person, for the pain is engraved in his heart.

This is the phenomenon of reflection, reflection of one mind upon another. There are people who may sit together, work together, live together for their whole lives, and yet they may be closed to one another. It is the same reflection. If the heart of one person is closed, its influence is to close the heart of another. A person with closed heart will close the heart of others everywhere he goes. Even the most loving person will helplessly feel the doors of the heart closed, to his greatest regret, not knowing what has happened. It is an unconscious phenomenon.

Therefore pleasure and displeasure, affection and irritation, harmony and agitation, all are felt when two persons meet without speaking a word. It is our words which hide reality. If it were not for our words, the phenomenon of mirror-land is such that it would seem as if the whole universe were nothing but a palace of mirrors, one reflecting the other. If we do not see it, it does not mean that we cannot see it; it only means that our eyes are not always open, so we remain ignorant of the condition.

If this is true, there is nothing in this world which a person can hide. As the Qur'an says, on the Day of Judgment your hands and feet will give evidence of your doings. But every moment of the day is a Judgment Day. We need not wait till Judgment Day to see this phenomenon. We see it, we experience it always, yet we do not pay sufficient attention to it. Whenever we have a kind feeling, goodwill towards someone, or irritation, agitation, an antagonistic, hostile inclination, we cannot keep it from another.

And this is sufficient for us to know that innermost truth, that absolute truth of the whole universe, that the source is One, the goal is One, life is One, and the many are only its covers.

Vol. 4, The Mind-World

3. Wazifa

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Vol. 4, The Mind-World

3. Wazifa