And now we come to the dream of the mystic. It may be that other people have seen a mystic in a trance, or meditating with closed eyes; but this is not necessary. With open eyes or with closed eyes: the mystic can dream in both ways. He may be in a crowd or in the solitude, in both places he can dream.

To the mystic the dream is reality, although to another it might seem a dream. It is reality to the mystic because of his faith in what is written in the Qur'an, that when God said, "Be" it became, and also in what the Vedanta say, that manifestation is the dream of Brahma, of the Creator.

The mystic, who realizes the Creator within himself, thinks that his dream is the Creator's dream: if the Creator's dream is all this which we call reality, then the dream of the mystic is the same. If it is still in the mental sphere, that does not mean that it will never materialize; it will surely materialize one day.

Yet one often sees that the mystic lives above the world, and many think that he is not conscious of the world. But they do not know that for the very reason that he lives above it he is more conscious of it. One might think that a person who is flying in an aeroplane does not know what is going on in the crowd beneath him because he is in the sky, but this is not so. One who is flying in the air is more capable of seeing what is going on below, for he can see a wider horizon than the one who is standing on the earth.

Very often people misunderstand a mystic. They think that the mystic, who is dreamy, is above the things of the world, above business and industry and politics. But they are mistaken; they do not realize that a clear intelligence can do everything better if it is applied in that direction, although the question remains whether a mystic would think it worth while to put his mind to it.

I was very surprised when one day Mr Ford told me, "If you had been a business-man, you would have made a tremendous success, but I am glad you are not!"

Never, therefore, think that a mystic with his closed eyes or with his head turned away, is not looking at you. The mystic can sometimes be more conscious of the condition of those before him than they are themselves.