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-1. Concept of God2. The Teacher3. Manner of Worship4. Morals5. Self-realization |
Vol. 6, The Alchemy of HappinessThe Aspects of Religion2. The TeacherAnother aspect of religion is the aspect of the teacher. For instance, Christ. There are those who see divinity in Christ. They say, "Christ was God, Christ is divine." And there are others who say, "Christ was a man, one like all of us." When we come to look at this question, we see that the man who says, "Christ is divine" is not wrong. If there is any divinity shown it is in man. And the one who says, "Christ was a man" is not wrong either. In the garb of man Christ manifested. Those who do not want Christ to be a man, drag down the greatness and sacredness of the human being by their argument, by saying that man is made of sin, and by separating Christ from humanity. But there is nothing wrong in calling Christ God or divine. It is in man that divine perfection is to be seen. It is in man that divinity is manifested. There are Christ's own words, "I am Alpha and Omega." Many close their eyes to this, but the one who said, "I am Alpha and Omega" existed also before the coming of Jesus, and the one who says, "first and last", must exist also after Jesus. In the words of Christ there is the idea of perfection. He identified himself with that spirit of which he was conscious. Christ was not conscious of his human part, but of his perfect being when he said, "I am Alpha and Omega." He did not identify himself here with his being known as Jesus. He identified himself with that spirit of perfection which lived before Jesus and will continue to live to the end of the world, for eternity. If this is so then what does it matter if some say, "Buddha inspired us", and millions are inspired by Buddha? It is only a difference of name. It is all Alpha and Omega. If others say Moses, or Mohammed, or Krishna, what difference does it make? Where did the inspiration come from? Was it not from one and the same spirit? Was it not the same Alpha and Omega of which Jesus christ was conscious? Whoever gives the message to the world, whatever illuminated human beings have raised thousands and millions of people in the world, they cannot but be that same Christ whom the one calls by this name and the other by another name. Yet human ignorance always causes wars and disasters on account of different religions, different communities, because of the importance they give to their own conception, their own corrupted conception which differs from another. Even now on the one hand there is materialism and on the other there is bigotry. What is necessary today is to find the first and last religion, to come to the message of Christ, to divine wisdom, so that we may recognize wisdom in all its different forms, in whatever form it has been given to humanity. It does not matter if it is Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism. It is one wisdom, that call of the Spirit which awakens man to rise above limitation and to reach perfection. |