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 1. Man, the Purpose of Creation2. Character-Building3. Human Nature4. Self-realization5. The Art of Personality6. Man is likened to the Light7. Truth8. Selflessness - Inkisar9. Indifference - Vairagya10. Independence and Indifference11. Overlooking - Darquza12. Graciousness - Khulq13. Conciliation - Ittifaq14. Consideration - Murawwat15. Tact16. Spirituality17. Innocence18. Holiness19. Resist not Evil20. Resignation21. Struggle and Resignation22. Renunciation23. Sacrifice24. Ambition25. Satisfaction26. Harmlessness27. A Question about Vegetarianism28. Unselfish Actions29. Expectations30. Be a Lion Within31. Humility31. Moral Culture33. Hope34. Patience35. Confidence36. Faith37. Faith and Doubt38. The Story of Orpheus39. Happiness40. The Privilege of Being Human |
Sub-Heading -ALL- |
Vol. 8, The Privilege of Being Human26. HarmlessnessHarmlessness Is a good moral, but the difficulty is that we cannot be good to one without being harmful to another.
We do not ponder upon it, but it is so. How many things do we make out of the bones of animals?
This shows that what we have built up and have comforted ourselves with is nothing else than tyranny - of which we never stop to think for a while. We are so placed that we cannot live one instant without being harmful. In Persian it is said: "Bandagi becharagi," "bondage is helplessness." Man cannot help being harmful, and without being that he is helpless. It is this dependence, this helplessness, which makes him the servant of God. The Quran speaks of "Abdul Allah," servant of God, and this is the highest title that can be given to man. The moral is rather to be harmful to the lower creation for the sake of the higher, rather to be harmful to the animal than to man.
By this moral a person becomes so harmless that in the end he is not harmful any more - not even to the mineral. Harmlessness is the essence of moral. |