There is a story Attar has written of Persia which explains this idea beautifully. There was a king and he had a beautiful parrot. The king and queen loved it, was pet and talked with it when had a moment free. Was kept in golden cage. No end of attention given to it, queen loved it, king admired it. One day when king was going to forest he asked parrot, "Going to same forest from where brought you, have any message to give to others in forest?" Parrot said, "Very kind of you, king, pray tell them that I am kept in the cage and am very kindly treated. But my constant yearning is to see myself flying free in that sphere and among you all." The king said, "Yes, I will give your message".

When king came to forest saw many parrots same tree from where had taken this little parrot. Looking up and said to parrots that, "Your brother is with me and it has sent you a word that we pay a great attention to it. But it yearns to be with you and to free in this sphere. But does not think that will ever have opportunity. So send you its love." No sooner the parrots heard it, they one after another began to drop on the earth and the king was deeply touched and moved by it. Said, "What sympathy, parrots after to hear of the pain of one of them, all of them so touched that dropped on earth". The king left the soil immediately to give this message to his parrot. Said, "O, parrot, what foolish thing to do, to send such message, dropped one after another on ground, dead". And parrot heard it and heaved deep sigh and looked up to sky and dropped.

King commanded that servants may take this parrot for its burial in golden tray, and when parrot was taken out flew and sat on roof. King was surprised. Said, "This was the lesson you brought me, brothers are not dead, are living, sent me the message". It means that in order to be free, you must first die. The rituals of the old ceremonies all have this secret as the greatest secret, and it is this which is taught through ceremony, philosophy and mysticism. This is the main secret of all those things.

But is it really dying? No, it is playing death. No one dies really. What dies is death; what lives is life. Life lives, death dies. Therefore the art of the mystic is to learn how to play death. Call it meditation, call it contemplation, call it concentration, call it worship of God, it is all playing death. And what is it in man that must die? It is not his real self; it is the false conception that he has of himself. It is that false conception which brings about all limitation. Man is not really limited as he seems to be. But because there is a cover over his soul, that cover makes him limited. That is why he sees no further. His world is himself, his own environments, his conditions, his impressions, his experiences, all concerning. That is all he knows; he knows – nothing beyond. Therefore what is to be crucified in man is that false self, not real self, and resurrection follows crucifixion. In that way soul experiences its freedom.

One might ask, "How is it to be achieved? How can one play death?" And the answer is that we have played life and we play life every day. For what is it? The life from morning till evening, if is not a play? The more we study it, the more we shall find it. the world is subject to change. Conditions that alter, situations that change from moment to moment. If it is not a play, what is it? Of course, if one thought it a play, one would not take it seriously. But if we are able to play life, we are able to play death also. Is playing after all.

There is story of a dervish. A young man met this dervish and was very interested in deep and wonderful talk with dervish. Said, "Would so much like to see again". "Yes, can I?" "Where?" "In village not far." "Where?" "There is little place near village." "Name?" "Is called the place of liars." Amazed man spoke such words of truth in place of liars. Did not think much, went asking for place. No one knew where place of liars. Understand about dervish near graveyard. First question ask was, "What did make you say place of liars?" Said, "I will show place of liars, come". And he said, "Now look here, here is the grave of a general, was called a general when lived. Here grave of the slave, who was slave when lived. King, crown, and throne, priest, greatest at that time, where are all? Buried under stone, that is the end." Were they not liars? Did not tell a lie? Did they not play life? When we are able to play life, death too. By playing death the eyes become open; the soul which becomes captive by the folding of the eyes, that soul begins to soar upwards once the eyes are unfolded.

People say that, "Here is a dead man". But in reality it is the living man. For in order to live, one must die. And what must die? The death must die, and life must live.

Happiness

(March 20, 1926)

Man does not seek for happiness, but man is happiness himself, and when seeks for happiness it only means he is seeking for himself; he has lost himself, and wants to find himself. Happiness is not called self, but in reality happiness is the self. It is not called the self because man has confused the word "pleasure" with "happiness".

Pleasure is a shadow of happiness. It is in the absence of happiness that one pursues pleasure. Pleasure is an illusion, it is a momentary illusion which creates a picture of happiness, but which in reality is not happiness.

Therefore, man's continual pursuit is after happiness, but that happiness is man's self. If I explain it a little more it will be more clear. When man is not himself, then in whatever condition he may be placed -- it may be in the most comfortable house, it may be wealth, position, power, all he desires in the world -- still he will not be happy because he is not himself. And if a man is himself, then however further conditions may be, right or wrong, it does not matter. He will rise above all of them and still be happy; in the fire of all developments is himself.

Therefore, the greatest happiness is the knowledge of self and knowledge of knowing that one's self is happiness.

Congestion of the Heart

(March 22, 1926)

One might ask, "What do I mean by congestion of mind?" There are a thousand things in the day which bring about congestion of mind, as every nervous shock brings about congestion of the nerves. Psychologists find that many diseases come from congestion. It is the life of sensation in the absence of the life of repose which causes many illnesses.

And so often discomfort is caused by not relieving the congestion of the heart, a congestion which is caused by little things: something we dislike, we cannot endure, we cannot tolerate, which bears upon our nervous system; fear, and doubt, and anxiety, and horror, and prejudice, and suspicion, and confusion, and puzzling thought, all these things bring about congestion of the heart.

Every little shock in feeling, in affection, in sympathy, love, and devotion brings about congestion of the heart, producing a poison which comes out in the thought, word, in the action, the influence of which is not only in the inner bodies, but also in the outer expression of man.

Resistance of Pupils

(March 30, 1926)

I was very amused one day. A member who used to go from one society to another came to the Sufi Order from the Theosophical Society. This person had some influence in Holland. Therefore, her leaving of the Theosophical Society was very disappointing to many [of its] members. That was a tender spot in her heart also. After having come to the Sufi Order, she had a tender sympathy for the Theosophical Society. And Mrs. Besant was visiting The Hague. And she went with a guilty conscience to Mrs. Besant.

She said, "I regret I had to leave [the Theosophical Society]. But you understand, I was for discipleship. I went to Inayat Khan." And Mrs. Besant said, "Go. Many like you have come and gone from our society; your going is no loss to us." And would you believe, from that day all the little sympathy she had for the Theosophical Society was wiped off. And that little prick in her conscience of having left the Theosophical Society was taken off by Annie Besant. She came smiling to me, "I am very happy that she has told me like this."

You can see the psychology of this. If Mrs. Besant would have controlled [herself] more, she [our member] would have had sympathy for the Theosophical Society. She had a tender spot in her heart. And just by that one crude answer, she [Mrs. Besant ] antagonized her for her whole life. She never looks at the Theosophical Society. Imagine!

It has nothing to do with teachings, only with the attitude of the worker, how it acts upon a person. In our everyday life a psychological consideration is of the greatest importance, in spiritual work even more. You would be surprised if I tell you my spiritual experience. Every day there is no end to them. And such amusing experiences.

Some come and say, "I don't like a personal thought for any teacher. I like to study the teachings."
And another one comes and says, "It is you who are the Sufi Movement or Order. If you were not the teacher, I would not have thought of it. I am against it. It is you."
And a third person comes and says, "Murshid, if you were to teach me, I would learn from you for my whole life. But I cannot tolerate the other members."
And there the other one says, "I am most interested in learning, in taking the spiritual path, only I don't want to be bound by any discipline."
Another one says, "Yes, I believe in all you teach, but I don't want to become a Sufi." I told him that, "You do not want to become wise? Sufi means 'wise'. That only shows you don't want to be wise."
Then another one says, "I don't want to join a society." You join the membership of a nation. You cannot exist without the nation, without being a citizen. And you do not want to have the privilege of a community? You want to have the highest privilege in life, which is wisdom, and you cannot be joining a group? Imagine!
Another says, "Murshid, I cannot do mechanical practice of repeating a word; it makes me disgusted." One who goes to the teacher of voice, he makes such faces with his mouth open in order to make his voice better; in developing voice, he makes all sorts of grimaces. And when it comes to the highest and most important and valuable thing, he cannot sit and repeat hundred times something, and he says, "It makes me agitated."

Imagine, they will not join, they will not have discipline, they will not respect the teacher, not regard the members, they will not study, not practise, but they want to be spiritual. Do I not meet such examples every day, and how many? You cannot imagine.

And at the same time I take them all in. One by his finger, one by his wrist, one by his hand, one by his leg, some way or other they are got in. After some time they understand.

Tuning of the Heart

(May 3, 1926, in America)

In this way the five different aspects of spiritual attainment [life, happiness. knowledge, peace, ideal] are attained by one thing, and that is the tuning of the heart.

And now you might ask, what do I mean by the tuning of the heart? When a string on the violin is loose, it does not give the sound it is meant to give, and therefore, it does not fulfil the purpose for which it is put on the violin. It can only be used for the purpose for which it was put on the violin once you have tuned it to that pitch where it ought to be. And it is the same condition with the heart.

The heart must have a certain wakening, a certain amount of life in it that can only be brought about by sympathy. And when there is not that sympathy, the heart is like a loose string of the violin. It can only be used when it is tuned to the right pitch.

STAGE ONE

And many will say, "But does our heart not depend upon our everyday environments in which we live, the circumstances of life? If the environment is not agreeable, how can we make it right?" I say, "Yes, the first stage of our development depends upon environment and circumstances." But there is nothing in this world which we cannot try and make better. There are many things we can help and make better if we only try to make them better. Sometimes it is difficult, but sometimes we think it is difficult, but it is not so difficult.

The great difficulty is the loss of patience. When patience is exhausted by things, things cannot be made better. And then it remains in the same condition. But if one thinks, "I will make my environment better, sacrifice all I can in order to make my environment better," he can do so.

The one difficulty one often experiences is that one expects from others more than they can give. Therefore, one is helpless and dependent. Once a person has become so independent that without being helped by others he can keep his feelings untouched, it is just like the sun burning without the oil. This is different from lanterns with oil; when the oil is lost, then they are gone.

STAGE TWO

And now the second stage is a still higher stage. That stage is the attitude of being outgoing and having sympathy for all we meet. And that comes by understanding. The more understanding we have of human nature, the more sympathetic we become. Those who do not deserve it we pity, we have sympathy for them. In this way sympathy, which is symbolically like the water, spreads in time. We give it and just do it, and it expands like water of the ocean. It might seem like a drop, but it is an ocean, because it becomes an everlasting spring that rises and falls.

In order to teach this, the wise of India made the river Ganges and the river Jumna as places of pilgrimage, and called them sacred. The reason is, on top of the Himalaya the spring rises, and from the Himalaya it falls below and turns into a larger stream and becomes a river. Then they divide it into two parts of this river, Ganges and Jumna. And the place near Allahabad where they join, that is a place of pilgrimage. Those who go there are purified from all sin.

Now you can see the symbolism of this. The water which comes from the top of the Himalaya as a spring is love, which comes from the heart. That which rises from the heart is the first place of pilgrimage. Then it goes on like a stream as the holy rivers Ganges and Jumna, and when those rivers meet, it is called sangam. Sympathy is sangam. When it goes and meets the sea, it is called the unity with God. It is such a beautiful picture of life, just to see it in that symbolical form. And if interpreted rightly, we could have the sacred pilgrimage of the Ganges here and everywhere. The sacred river is sympathy out of our own heart, and the reaching toward God is the perfection, the spiritual attainment.

The Heart Quality

(May 18, 1926)

Besides all different professions and works and occupations, there remains another capacity which is neglected in youth, of cultivating the heart quality. Today every effort is made to train a youth to become intellectual, what they call learning. But there is a difference between intellect and wisdom. It is not necessarily the same. As we confuse pleasure and happiness, also we confuse clever and wise. But the clever is not necessarily wise. Wisdom is a different thing from cleverness. So intellect is different from wisdom.

Intellect is that which one learns by impressions, studies, and which one gathers in the form of knowledge of names and forms.
Wisdom is something which is gathered like the honey from the grape, like butter from milk. And therefore, wisdom is gained from within, also from without. This combination from within and without makes it wisdom.

Today there is hardly one percent among people who has cultivated this heart-quality. But that also, instinctively there is the heart quality, but every effort is made to make that quality blunted, because what is learned today is intellectual. Now I shall tell you what I mean by the heart quality.

There is intuition,
there is inspiration,
and there is revelation.

All these things come from the culture of the heart or from the heart quality. A person may be most cultivated, may have studied much, and at the same time may not be intuitive. A person may learn all the technique of music and poetry without having the heart quality.

Heart quality is something which must be developed within oneself. And when no attention is given at the time of youth to develop that particular quality, what happens when a person is grown up? He is selfish, proud, mannerless, not ready to sacrifice. This qualification it is that guards his interest the best he can. And one calls that a person of common sense, a practical man. Imagine! If everybody is a practical man of common sense, what can one expect from life except constant conflict as it is today, as we see in life.

Besides, religion, or the devotional side in nature is also dying out for the reason that people do not need religion because there is no heart quality. Even if they went to church or call at place of worship, piety is lived in intellectuality. People can only enjoy anything intellectual. If there is an explanation of mathematics, it is something wonderful; but when it comes to feel blessed, uplifted, to feel the raising of the consciousness toward the higher spheres, that they cannot, because they live in their intellect.

The Heart of God

[In a sermon at a Universal Worship service in New York, attended by more that five hundred people, early in his American tour of 1926, Murshid Inayat Khan made the following remarks indicating the close relationship of the heart of God with the Spirit of Guidance:]

The word "divine" comes from Sanskrit word dewa, which means the divine intelligence, the celestial spirit. Therefore divinity is that aspect of God which comes out of God, and forms into the Spirit of Guidance. The Spirit of Guidance, therefore, may be called the heart of God, a heart which is the accumulator of all feelings, impressions, thoughts, and memories, of all knowledge, and of all experiences.

For an instance, there is a man at the head of a factory, who has been in that factory from the beginning; who has had the experience of all kind: of the pioneer work, and how things changed, all of the new experiences, and of the right or wrong results which came out of it. All such impressions have been collected in that one person.

In this mechanism of the world, all that happens, all that is experienced in the way of thought and feeling, it is all accumulated. Where? In the heart of God. In other words, the mind of all minds and the heart of all hearts is one heart, and that is the heart of God. "Spirit of Guidance", therefore, is the name of the heart of God. If there is such a thing as divinity, it is that heart which has all wisdom, and to which all wisdom belongs.

The heart of God is intelligence, the current of guidance in the heart of every man, because the heart of all has found one heart, and it is that which is divinity. Therefore it is not disconnected with the heart of man. The heart of man is an atom which makes the heart of God.

Class for Mureeds

Blessed Mureeds, This is a very blessed occasion that we are opening for the first time the group of our movement in Chicago. In San Francisco the first group was established in 1910; it is fifteen years now, and that was the beginning of the Sufi Movement which now extends in many different parts of Europe: in England, in Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and in Scandinavia. Since last three years a branch was established in New York, and now it is renewed during my visit. Also a branch was established in Detroit which was renewed during my visit, and a branch was established in Los Angeles which was renewed during my visit. A new branch was opened in Denver.

As pioneer members of the Movement, your duty is greater and your difficulty is greater. When there is a school established for a long time, you need not speak for it; the school itself speaks for it. Everyone speaks of it. But a school which is now starting for the first time. In the first place, I appreciate your confidence in me and appreciation of my teachings more than words can express. For the reason there was no school established, it is on this ground scale to be attracted by. It is your confidence in me that has brought your cooperation in the great cause.

And now since destiny has brought us together, let us pray that providence will keep us together, and that we shall bear with one another. There will be among us some who are on the path of evolution and some who will evolve. But we must bear with one another. If one of us is lacking something, we must think that lack is in us also. We must cover it, add to it, fill it in, this lack. It is in this way that friendship can last. You will give me a great joy and I shall be proud to see you when I come again united with one another and helping one another. And for the reason that our work is pioneer work, that it is in its infancy, it needs greater care. And therefore, you are called upon individually, each one of you, to be conscious of it.

I have spoken in my lecture once that my spiritual teacher, my murshid, one day spoke to me that, "Once you have received in my hands, I hope that you will keep to it, considering it a sacred trust, and will not wander about even if there came an angel from heaven." I have not understood it at that time; only I was impressed by it. But as years passed by I understood the meaning of it. And today I realize the benefit of that ideal that my murshid has given me. For I have seen those who go from one thing to another. They arrive nowhere. But those who have full trust and confidence and faith and take the path they have taken, they certainly reach their desire, which is the yearning of every soul.

And now I would like to tell you something more of the Sufi activity in the world. The headquarters of this activity is in Geneva, which is the international centre for the very reason that people of different countries, specially representatives of different countries. Therefore, it is more neutral for headquarters of a world movement.

This movement has three different activities. (1) One activity is that of the brotherhood of humanity, to work in every direction and in every way possible and to choose methods that may be practical in order to make different nations, which today distrust one another, and different races, which are not united even today at this time of civilization, that to do everything in our power to bring about better understanding and to remove barriers between sections of humanity which are today divided.

(2) And the second object is the Universal Worship, that there are so many different churches and houses of worship which are devoted for some certain reason: Christian religion, or Muslim religion, Buddhist, Hindu or Zoroastrian religion. And this movement is trying the same thing which Jesus Christ would have approved the most, and Muhammad would have encouraged the most, Buddha would have liked the most, Krishna would have served the most, of Universal Worship being benefited by all different religions.

What does it matter if we keep by Muhammad or Moses? It is the great ones who have come time after time and wakened millions of souls. It is to have regard for them, to light candles in their names on the altars, and in this way to bring about a fellowship between the followers of different religions. Our ideal lets them be whichever religion they are, only makes them tolerant to one another, to not oppose on Muhammad, to be Buddhist or....

It is not necessary anyone to be this or this. It is not necessary. What is necessary is to understand the wisdom given by the same source to one another, and to create adherence or respect for wisdom, of divine wisdom. That is the object to be received by Universal Worship.

(3) And now the third thing is the esoteric school, which is the most important thing, in which you are initiated. The work of this esoteric school is to waken those who are changing their sides to the deeper knowledge of life by giving the breathing practices, by giving the sacred names of God, by developing in them the desire to seek the ultimate truth. There is a continual unfoldment of the soul.

Therefore, this initiation you have taken is a responsibility, although no particular discipline is forced upon you. But at the same time, it is a responsibility you have taken of yourself, it is not of anyone else, it is your own responsibility of your spiritual unfoldment because you have taken a step in the path. A person who sits in the house and says, â€œI do not wish to journey,â€ but once he has prepared his bundle and started to go, it is his responsibility to make a success, because he has started on the journey. As long as we do not seek for anything, we are not responsible. As soon as we begin, we are responsible for every step we take in that direction.

No doubt, you keep the advice given in initiation, you do not speak of practices to the others. At the same time, a punctual and regular practice every day will bring desirable results. One thing must be understood. Sometimes some seekers after truth continue to do practices perhaps for three months, perhaps for six months, perhaps for a whole year. They donâ€™t realize anything. When there is time enough, in the life of one in a weekâ€™s time development manifests; in the life of another, after some months. But at the same time, no time is lost. Even if after three years, if the effect is beginning to show, the three years are not lost. Perhaps you will not see the effect, but it is there just the same. It is as putting money in the bank. You donâ€™t see the money, not the interest. But after three years you see the money with the interest. The same thing with these practices. I have seen among my own relations one person who practised one certain practice for forty years. I think very few would have patience to continue a practice for forty years. But the effect for that practice was most wonderful. After forty years it became living. The motive with which it was started began to manifest in every move this man made.

Besides that, since it is my destiny to give the message to the Western countries, I have tried my best not to inflict upon my friends any special disciplines as they are enforced in the East.

You shall not be surprised if I were to tell you, just twenty years ago in Hyderabad there was a teacher who was very interested in his intelligent pupil and who very graciously answered him his curious questions every time the pupil went to the teacher. One day he was in a condition of ecstasy and this pupil as usual began to argue on philosophical subjects. And the teacher said, "Silence." And he kept silence, and never again he spoke before the teacher and never again before anyone else. Years passed. And what happened? That his one glance would heal and one glance would inspire anyone he would meet.

Therefore, friends, there are hard disciplines in the East. But they have their result also. Since in the Western world every soul has so many responsibilities and difficulties, knowing this I give very few exercises, no rules about diet, life, nothing, for the very reason that life in the Western countries is difficult. But it does not matter. As long as you will continue your practices regularly, there will always be a development. And the greatest sympathy you could show me is to uphold the honour of our infant Movement which is started here in Chicago.

And now I wish to speak about the work that is done at the centre. Besides the practices which are given to each of you according to his need, powers, and reason, that I do not consider the development of the realization of the ultimate truth as only necessity in a person's life, but is the last necessity. The other necessity is whatever problem is pressing in his life just now. I do not wish to overlook that.

Everyone of you has two objects. One is to answer your present problem, your other to help in your realization of the ultimate truth. Naturally, the practices of one are not as the practices of another. Therefore, each one has his own practices.

As to the time of development, also each one has his own time of development. But it is better to develop naturally and not hurriedly. And one must not think that any practice given brings one further than others. As long as one can practise, as many months, so much more benefit one derives by them.

For instance, when doing physical culture exercises it is not necessary to be more strong. Some will suffice the purpose for your whole life. The same thing in singing. The same exercises perhaps which a beginner must do, the same are done by Caruso. The greatest singer will do the same as everybody else. Paderewski will play the same scale which a child begins to play. He will never be tired of it. It is the most necessary thing. The same with spiritual practices. You must not think addition to this means development. You must think this will take you further and further and will again be of the greatest importance.

And now I will give you one more example of my own study in this line. When first I saw my teacher, I had a great enthusiasm and was also in a hurry to advance, as everybody is. And having for the first time in life a spiritual teacher, I thought I will go up in the air like a balloon. But to my surprise, I went to have to do with my teacher, who lived at a long distance from the place I lived, and would you believe, for about six months continually I went to the house of my teacher, and every time he spoke to me about ordinary things, about vegetables, fruits, about flowers, gardening, about something else. I in the end realized that my teacher was trying my patience.

But the most amusing thing is that after six months, one day my teacher opened his lips to speak about some planes of metaphysics. And six months absence of teaching and going every day such long distance had made me so eager. I took my notebook out and was beginning to write. As soon as I took the notebook my teacher passed to another subject, again to vegetables, fruits, and flowers. And I understood that it did not please my teacher. He did not want me to be so impatient. He did not want me to write in the notebook something that should have been written on the heart. That was the test of the ancient teachers.

But you must know that why that test? Their teaching has great effect because it is living teaching. Then when I once pondered on the subject that, "These six months, did I benefit by it or not?", and when I pondered, I thought, "Without one word of teaching I benefited just the same, much more than words had taught me. Even to see the living example is a greater benefit than reading thousand books. What is intellectual teaching, after all? Learning and learning and learning. Besides, spiritual attainment does not come by learning things." And then I began to see every day more and more that the presence of my teacher uplifted the consciousness, inspired and blessed, and enforced the powers and inspirations that were latent in me. And others began to notice it. I was unaware of it for many years before others noticed it. Even to such extent that in my music it would come, it would express itself. And yet, I did not know. For six months I did not know what was taught.

Therefore, spiritual growth is quite a different thing. You must not think that in order to be spiritual, one must grow taller. It is not necessary that any outer manifestation should be viewed. And very often we do not know our inner growth. Often we are unconscious of it. Even under the teacher, under different circumstances, during illness, during trouble very often we grow. And yet what we see is difficulty, we don't see the growth. What is before us is difficulty. But this difficulty made us something we don't know. So it is with spiritual growth.

Therefore, my friends, you will have patience and confidence in the words I have said. And again you will know that if I have gone away, I am still nearer to you for the very reason that I am away. But at the same time, I very often come to America, and the friendship and devotion of my friends will draw me still oftener. There is no reason to think that I am going. You may just as well think that I am staying with you all.

God bless you.