When one does at this time see so many different movements working for brotherhood, one might ask what is the Sufi Brotherhood doing among all those movements of Brotherhood. And in answer to this question I say: "if there were 20,000 more movements of Brotherhood it would not be enough for the need of today." Besides, to the point of view of the Sufi Brotherhood, whatever is the form, whatever the society, this form, this society is our ideal. We think it a privilege to give our humble service in the great Cause of the World-Brotherhood. We do not think our brotherhood superior to others, there is only one Brotherhood. No doubt one service will be done by different souls; we work according to our own individual method; so we are best able to serve humanity. We consider it absurd to say: "Your method is wrong, ours is right." As long as we are doing our best, that is all we want and all we do.

And now I should like to speak a few words on the work and the ideal we have before us. There is no doubt that everywhere in the world seems to be wakened a desire toward spirituality, and there is no doubt that all over the world lives a desire for Brotherhood, for cooperation. That being the case every effort is made to answer the call of humanity, every effort is made by right and by wrong. And as there is no apparent proof, as the proof is in the result, the right and the wrong naturally are confused. For an instance, instead of Brotherhood communities, have come trade - and business-communities, and thereby fight and opposition, because of their thinking differently. They say: "we are against war," making a financial war. Besides they have only the name of the thought or the ideal, mostly they fight each one another.

They have a disposition to fight. This has occupied our thought for a long time, what is the way to avoid it? We have tried our best till now and will try always to avoid forming a community. Yes, we could not help forming a nucleus; as it is necessary to sail in the sea to have a ship, it is necessary to have a form by which you are best able to serve humanity. We tried to do our best to remain without a name, but even cats and dogs have names. People called it old, higher, new thought, and that became their name. But is there any new thought? Can there be an old thought? Every old thought is new. Besides it is difficult to discriminate between the higher and the lower thought. We have tried to do our best not to give an importance to name.

As long as one has sentiment for humanity we stand by his side. But the question comes: how must brotherhood be taught, what can help to become brothers? In every house the parents teach their children to be brothers, and it is not even in their power to produce brotherhood in their own house. And preachers go out and say:"become brothers." But it is not only by preaching that you become a brother, because you have thousand arguments against it, even poetical ones, and grudges and prejudices. When each one will remember what has been done, how can they become brothers? It is useless to preach even for years and years, it cannot suffice. Only one thing is necessary: to produce understanding. And what does give understanding?

Not the knowledge of a fact, but eternal Truth; through it we unite. So we come to the essence of religion, to the thought of uniting in Truth. The central thing is that Truth. In order to make one tolerant to another, we must not say, but waken, that he may understand. This reminds me of an amusing incident. Once I had a new pupil to whom I was giving instructions, and the last thing was, that before retiring every night he had to send thoughts of love and compassion to all living beings. This pupil was instantly horrified at the idea, and said: "yes, all, but not my neighboring country." I did not resist, took it tolerantly, understanding his sore heart. Would arguing have helped? No. So I said: "you are quite right. Forget the neighbor while thinking of humanity." The pupil smiled, he had expected an argument. Yet he felt not satisfied, and after six months he was able to think of the whole humanity. It is not preaching that is needed, but the hammering on the hearts, so that they naturally will understand.

Another abuse of this ideal is the desire to be spiritually awakened. But how do they want to be awakened? Do they want to see psychic phenomena, to have occult powers? But have we not seen great countries, ancient countries as Egypt and Northern India, possess magic, occult and mystical conceptions? What did that do? The same in their way as the scientific inventions during the war, as they used the magic powers for the benefit of their own ego. Therefore being absorbed in the attainment of the material world, trying to do things with magic to one another, has been the cause of ruined nations, of great distress to humanity in all ages.

Prophets and Saints of all ages have warned against it, in their words one finds simple things as could be taught to children. Therefore today to the intellectual seeker of complexities, the ancient Scriptures mean nothing. The accustomed thought of today is the thought of the purse of gold, and if the cabinet is favorable with one. Imagine what a great scope to evil, to lead astray. It hinders true service, respect, love, consideration for one another. But in spite of the difficulties are we not trying to do our best? I am thankful to say that in different countries we have joined together in this humble activity, an activity nearer to our heart than anything else.

Now the question is: what is the way of attaining to that Truth which teaches by itself brotherhood? That Truth is pictured in the symbol of the cross. The perpendicular line suggests diving deep in oneself, from the outer in the innermost consciousness, man reaching from the point of human to that point of the divine. And what does the horizontal line suggest? Expansion. That is the thought: "I and my neighbor are not only friends, we are only one." Then there is no doubt that the same interest exists for the neighbor as for oneself. No doubt, without rising to that conception it is very difficult to understand this. Man must realize it by meditation. When he touches the innermost self of his being, then he sees in another person himself.

And it is only then that real sympathy comes. It is as the love from a mother for her child. The mother naturally rises to that conception. She does not only know the child as her own, but sees in him her own being. And she lives in the pleasure and the happiness of the child; in the absence of happiness of the child there is no pleasure and happiness for her. What is it after all, the love of the mother, developed without consciousness: it is the realized oneness with the child. From love and continual devotion is born unity, is born oneness.

Now there is another question: a person may say, 'must we teach that, must we lecture about that, which is difficult to learn'? The answer is: the outer knowledge is not enough. It is not sufficient to say: "my neighbor and I are one," that is only imagination. There are two things: conception and conviction. Conception is the crescent, conviction is the full moon. What is learned by study is conception, but that is not sufficient. The conception must be deepened as the moon rises. As conception is deepened it results into conviction. The working of the Sufi Movement with students and workers is the idea of deepening the conception till conviction results.