The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan
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Volume SayingsSocial GathekasReligious GathekasThe Message PapersThe Healing PapersVol. 1, The Way of IlluminationVol. 1, The Inner LifeVol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?Vol. 1, The Purpose of LifeVol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and MusicVol. 2, The Mysticism of SoundVol. 2, Cosmic LanguageVol. 2, The Power of the WordVol. 3, EducationVol. 3, Life's Creative Forces: Rasa ShastraVol. 3, Character and PersonalityVol. 4, Healing And The Mind WorldVol. 4, Mental PurificationVol. 4, The Mind-WorldVol. 5, A Sufi Message Of Spiritual LibertyVol. 5, Aqibat, Life After DeathVol. 5, The Phenomenon of the SoulVol. 5, Love, Human and DivineVol. 5, Pearls from the Ocean UnseenVol. 5, Metaphysics, The Experience of the Soul Through the Different Planes of ExistenceVol. 6, The Alchemy of HappinessVol. 7, In an Eastern Rose GardenVol. 8, Health and Order of Body and MindVol. 8, The Privilege of Being HumanVol. 8a, Sufi TeachingsVol. 9, The Unity of Religious IdealsVol. 10, Sufi MysticismVol. 10, The Path of Initiation and DiscipleshipVol. 10, Sufi PoetryVol. 10, Art: Yesterday, Today, and TomorrowVol. 10, The Problem of the DayVol. 11, PhilosophyVol. 11, PsychologyVol. 11, Mysticism in LifeVol. 12, The Vision of God and ManVol. 12, Confessions: Autobiographical Essays of Hazat Inayat KhanVol. 12, Four PlaysVol. 13, GathasVol. 14, The Smiling ForeheadBy DateTHE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS | Heading The Alchemy of HappinessThe Aim of LifeThe Purpose of Life (1)The Five InclinationsThe Purpose of Life (2)The Four Ways People TakeThe Ultimate Purpose of LifeThe Art of PersonalityThe Development of PersonalityThe AttitudeThe Secret of LifeWhat is Wanted in Life?Life, a Continual Battle (1)Life, a Continual Battle (2)The Struggle of Life (1)The Struggle of Life (2)ReactionThe Deeper Side of LifeLife, An OpportunityOur Life's ExperienceCommunicating with LifeThe Intoxication of Life (1)The Intoxication of Life (2)The Meaning of LifeReceiving the Knowledge of LifeThe Inner LifeThe Inner Life and Self RealizationSteps in the Spiritual JourneyThe Interdependence of Life Within and WithoutInterest and IndifferenceThe Four Kinds of InterestThe Four Kinds of IndifferenceFrom Limitation to Perfection (1)The Aspects of ReligionFrom Limitation to Perfection (2)The Path of Attainment (1)The Path of Attainment (2)Stages on the Path of Self-realizationStages of Belief in GodThe Stages toward PerfectionMan, the Master of His Destiny (1)Aspects of the Master-MindMan, the Master of His Destiny (2)The Three SpheresThe Law of Action2. Aspects of LawGrades of PersonalityThe Three LawsPurity of LifeAcknowledgmentResponsibilityThe Continuity of Life |
Sub-Heading -ALL-InnocenceMaturityThe SufiThree Kinds of StruggleStruggle with oneselfStruggle with othersStruggle with Conditions |
Vol. 6, The Alchemy of HappinessThe Struggle of Life (1)The SufiThen a person begins to realize that whatever comes he should take it calmly. If an insult comes he takes it calmly; if a good word comes he accepts it with thanks; if a bad word comes he takes that quietly. If it is a bad word he is only thankful that it is not a blow; if it is a blow he is thankful that it is not worse. He is ready to give his time and his services to all; to the deserving and the undeserving alike, for he sees in all the manifestation of God. He sees God in every form, in the highest, in the lowest, in the most beautiful, in the most worthless. The Sufi says that if God is separate from the universe, he would rather worship a God who can be seen, who can be heard, who can be tasted, who can be felt by the heart and perceived by the soul. He worships the God who is before him. He sees the God who is in everything. Christ said, "I and the Father are one." That does not mean that Christ laid claim to Godhood for His own person. It is what the dervishes call Humamanarn, which means all is He and He is all. There is not an atom in the universe that He is not. We must recognize Him, we must respect Him in every face, even in the face of our enemy, of the most worthless. Knowing that all is God by reading a few books on philosophy is not enough; our pity and our spirituality are valueless if we do only this. To read a religious book and feel pious is not enough. To go to some religious place and be pleased that we are religious is not enough. To give to charity and be conceited, believing that we have done something great, is not enough. We must give our services and our time to the deserving and undeserving alike, and we must be thankful to God that He has enabled us to give. For this is the only opportunity we have of giving. This life is short, and we shall never have the same opportunity to give, to serve, to do something for others. In the Sermon on the Mount it is said, "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Someone may say or think that he should hit back; but a Sufi would not hit back. Why? Because he does not want twenty blows instead of one. It is said that if a man asks you for your coat, you should give him your cloak also. Why? Because neither the cloak nor the coat are yours. If someone thinks, "This is mine, I should keep it, I should guard it", he will always be watching his goods. If they are yours, whose were they before? Whose will they be after you? Someone will take them after you, and all that you value so much will be in the hands of others. Then it is said that if someone asks you to go with him one mile, you should go with him two miles. That means, if someone makes use of our services, let us not think, "Why should I, such an important person, serve another, give my time to another?" Let us give our services more liberally than we are asked to do. Let us give service, give our time; but when the time for receiving comes, do not let us expect to receive anything. Let us not expect our friend to be as we are to him; that will never be possible. We must then practice renunciation. We must practice virtue because we like it; do good became we like to do it and not for any return; expect no kindness or appreciation; if we do, it will become a trade. This is the right way for the world in general, and the only way of becoming happy. Its moral is called the moral of renunciation. There are two different attitudes that people adopt while going through this struggle of life. One struggles along bravely through life; the other becomes disappointed, heart-broken, before arriving at his destination. As soon as a man loses the courage to go through the struggle of life, the burden of the whole world falls upon his head. But he who goes on struggling through life, he alone makes his way. The one whose patience is exhausted, the one who has fallen in this struggle, is trodden upon by those who walk through life. |