"Poetry is direct participation in the creative principle of the godhead.
We only have false prophets (and so many of them!) because people
forgot what prophecy is for: the ecstatic participation in the godhead
and the exaltation of His/Her limitless Creation."

-Tim Boucher, http://www.timboucher.com/journal/

He who is filled with the knowledge of names and forms has no capacity for the knowledge of God.

A man filled with earthly knowledge and what he calls learning is often only the knowledge of names and forms has no capacity for the knowledge of truth or God. It is the innocent and pure soul who has a capacity for learning. When a person comes to take a lesson on any subject, and he brings his own knowledge with him, the teacher has little to teach him, for the doors of his heart are not open. His heart that should be empty in order to receive knowledge is occupied by the knowledge that he already had acquired.

Intellect is the knowledge of names and forms, their character and nature, gathered from the external world. It shows in an infant from birth, when he begins to be curious about all he sees; then, by storing in his mind the various forms and figures he sees he recognizes them as an addition to his knowledge of variety. Man thus gathers the knowledge of numberless forms of the whole world in his mind and holds them... and calls that 'learning'. This becomes his world, although it neither gives him a sense of unchanging comfort, nor does he thereby gain an everlasting peace.

Wisdom is contrary to the above-named knowledge. It is the knowledge which is illumined by the light within; it comes with the maturity of the soul, and opens up the sight to the similarity of all things and beings, as well as the unity in names and forms. The wise man penetrates the spirit of all things; he sees the human in the male and female, and the racial origin which unites nations. He sees the human in all people and the divine immanence in all things in the universe, until the vision of the whole being becomes to him the vision of the One Alone, the most beautiful and beloved God.

Although the tongue of God is continually speaking through all things, yet in order to speak to the deaf ears of many among us, it is necessary for Him to speak through the lips of man. He has done this all through the history of man, every great teacher of the past having been this guiding spirit living the life of God in human guise. In other words, their human guise has been various coats worn by the same being, who only appeared to be different in each. Shiva, Buddha, Rama, Krishna on the one side; Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad on the other ... Those who knew the messenger when they saw him, recognized him in whatever form or guise; those who could only see the coat went astray. To the Sufi, therefore, there is only one teacher, whatever name he may be given at different periods in history; and he comes constantly to awaken humanity from the slumber of this life of illusion and to guide man onward towards divine protection. As the Sufi progresses in this view he recognizes his Master not only in the holy ones, but in the wise and in the foolish, in the saint and in the sinner.

The trees of the forest silently await God's blessing.

Commentary by Hazrat Inayat Khan:

The law of gravitation is working from two sides: from the side of the
earth which draws all that belongs to the earth, and from the side of
the spirit which attracts the soul towards it. Even those who are
unconscious of this law of gravitation are also striving for perfection,
for the soul is being continually drawn towards the spirit. They are
striving for perfection just the same. In the small things of everyday
life a man is never satisfied with what he has. He always wants more and
more, be it a higher rank, wealth, or fame. He is always striving for
this.

This shows that the heart is like a magic bowl. However much you pour
into it, it only becomes deeper. It is always found to be empty. The
reason why man is never satisfied is that he is unconsciously striving
for perfection. Those however who strive consciously after perfection
have a different way. Nevertheless, each atom of the universe is meant
to struggle and strive in order to become perfect one day. In other
words, if a seer happens to be in the mountains he will hear the
mountains cry continually, 'We are waiting for that day when something
in us will awaken. There will come a day of awakening, of unfoldment. We
are silently awaiting it.' If he went into the forest and saw the trees
standing there they would tell him that they too were waiting patiently.
One can feel it. The more one sits there the more one feels that the
trees are waiting for the time when there will be an unfoldment. So it
is with all beings. But man is so absorbed in his everyday actions and
his greed that he seems to be unaware of that innate desire for
unfoldment. It is his everyday tasks, his avariciousness, his cruelty to
other beings, that keep him continually occupied, and that is why he
cannot hear the continual cry of his own soul to awaken, to unfold, to
reach upward, to expand, and to go towards perfection.

It is wise to see all things, and yet to turn our eyes from all that should be overlooked.

Commentary by Hazrat Inayat Khan:

It is to the great disadvantage of the fault-finding man that he wishes to find fault with all he sees, for if he is not able to throw away immediately the undesirable impression received, which is not always so easy, he begins in due time to reproduce what he has received. ... If man only knew what harm is brought to one's being by letting any undesirable impression enter the heart, he also would adopt the above-mentioned policy of the wise, to overlook.

The aim of the Sufi, therefore, is to see and yet not be interested. ... Those who trouble about others' thoughts and interest themselves in others' actions most often lose their time and blunt their inner sight. Those who go farther, their moral is to overlook all they see on their way, as their mind is fixed on the goal. ... The best thing is to see and rise above, never to halt on the way, and it is this attitude that, if constantly practiced, will lead man safely to his soul's desired goal.

There is a tendency which manifests itself and grows in a person who is advancing spiritually, and that tendency is overlooking. At times this tendency might appear as negligence, but in reality negligence is not necessarily overlooking. Negligence is most often not looking. Overlooking may be called in other words rising beyond these things: one has to rise in order to overlook; the one who stands beneath life could not overlook, even if he wanted to. Overlooking is a manner of graciousness; it is looking and at the same time not looking. It is seeing and not taking notice of what is seen. It is being hurt or harmed or disturbed by something and yet not minding it. It is an attribute of nobleness of nature. It is the sign of souls who are tuned to a higher key.

Whenever we see that goodness is lacking, we may add to it from our own heart and so complete the nobility of human nature. This is done by patience, tolerance, kindness, forgiveness. The lover of goodness loves every little sign of goodness. He overlooks the faults and fills up the gaps by pouring out love and supplying that which is lacking. This is real nobility of soul.

HAPPY SPRING EQUINOX!

There is a time when toys are treasures. But the child who cries for a toy comes to an age when he gives it away. And at every step in a man's evolution the values of power and position and wealth change in his eyes. And so as he evolves there arises in him a spirit of renunciation which may be called the Spirit of God. Gradually he recognizes the real value of those fair and lovely qualities of the spirit that change not.

Every step in evolution makes life more valuable. The more evolved you are, the more priceless is every moment; it becomes an opportunity for you to do good to others, to serve others, to give love to others, to be gentle to others, to give your sympathy to souls who are longing and hungering for it. Life is miserable when a person is absorbed in himself.

In selfishness there is an illusion of profit, but in the end the profit attained by selfishness proves to be worthless. Life is the principal thing to consider, and true life is the inner life, the realization of God, the consciousness of one's spirit. When the human heart becomes conscious of God it turns into the sea and it spreads; it extends the waves of its love to friend and foe. Spreading further and further it attains perfection.

The one who in the shrine of his heart has seen the vision of God, the one who has the realization of truth, can only smile, for words can never really explain what truth means. The nearest explanation one can give is that truth is realization. At every step of man's evolution his realization changes, but there is a stage where man arrives at the true realization, a realization which is a firm conviction that no reason or logic can change or alter. Nothing in the world can change it any more, and that conviction is called by the Sufis Iman.

The realization which is attained is that there is nothing to realize any more. The process of this attainment is a sincere research into truth and life, and the understanding of 'what I am the other is', together with the contemplation of God, a selfless consciousness, and a continual pursuit after the receiving of the knowledge of God.

As life unfolds itself to man, the first lesson he learns is humility.

Every moment of our life, if we can see wisely, contains some fault or error, and asking pardon is just like purifying the heart and washing it white. Only think of the joy of humbling yourself before God! ... humbling yourself before that Spirit, that Ideal, who is the true Father and Mother, on Whose love you can always depend -- it is a spark of His love which expresses itself in the earthly father and mother -- and in whatever manner you humble yourself before Him, it can never be enough. To humble your limited self before His Perfection, that is to deny yourself. Self denial is not renouncing things, it is denying the self, and its first lesson is humility.
This is self-denial: that a man says, 'I am not, Thou art;' or that an artist looking at his picture, says, 'It is Thy work, not mine;' or that a musician, hearing his composition, says, 'It is Thy creation, I do not exist.' That soul then is in a way crucified, and through that crucifixion resurrection comes. There is not the slightest doubt that when man has had enough pain in his life he rises to this great consciousness. But it is not necessary that only pain should be the means. It is the readiness on the part of man to efface his part of consciousness and to efface his own personality, which lifts the veil that hides the spirit of God from the view of man.
As life unfolds itself to man the first lesson it teaches is humility; the first thing that comes to man's vision is his own limitedness. The vaster God appears to him, the smaller he finds himself. This goes on and on until the moment comes when he loses himself in the vision of God.

~~~ "Religious Gatheka 8, Prayer", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

Everyone says or does or thinks only according to his own particular evolution, and he cannot do better. Why not, therefore tolerate? Why not, therefore, forgive?

~~~ "Religious Gatheka, Religion of the Heart III (#44)", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)


Moses once passed by a farm and saw a peasant boy talking to himself, saying, 'O Lord, Thou art so good and kind that I feel if Thou wert here by me I would take good care of Thee, more than of all my sheep, more than of all my fowls. In the rain I would keep Thee under the roof of my grass-shed, when it is cold I would cover Thee with my blanket, and in the heat of the sun I would take Thee to bathe in the brook. I would put Thee to sleep with Thy head on my lap, and would fan Thee with my hat, and would always watch Thee and guard Thee from wolves. I would give Thee bread of manna and would give Thee buttermilk to drink, and to entertain Thee I would sing and dance and play my flute. O Lord my God, if Thou wouldst only listen to this and come and see how I would tend Thee.'

Moses was amused to listen to all this, and, as the deliverer of the divine message, he said, 'How impertinent on thy part, O boy, to limit the unlimited One, God, the Lord of hosts, who is beyond form and color and the perception and comprehension of man.' The boy became disheartened and full of fear at what he had done. But immediately a revelation came to Moses: 'We are not pleased with this, O Moses, for We have sent thee to unite Our separated ones with Us, not to disunite. Speak to everyone according to his evolution.'

Every man's pursuit is according to his state of evolution, and so each soul is in pursuit of something but he does not know where it leads him. The first sign of realization is tolerance towards others. There are the words of Christ: 'In the house of my father are many mansions' and those of the Prophet: 'Each soul has its own religion' This means that according to his evolution so man knows the truth and the more a man knows, the more he finds there is to learn.

The real abode of God is in the heart of man; when it is frozen with bitterness or hatred, the doors of the shrine are closed, the light is hidden.

Commentary by Hazrat Inayat Khan:

Everybody is working for selfish ends, not caring about others, and this alone has brought about the misery in the world today. When the world is evolving from imperfection towards perfection, it needs all love and sympathy. Great tenderness and watchfulness is required of each one of us. The heart of every man, both good and bad, is the abode of God, and care should be taken never to wound anybody by word or act.

According to the belief of a Sufi the heart is the shrine of God, and when the doors of the shrine are closed it is just like a light being hidden under a bushel. The pupil sees that God is Love. If He is love He does not stay in the heavens. His earthly body is the heart of man. When that heart is frozen and when there is no love but bitterness, coldness, prejudice and contempt, unforgiving feelings and hatred (which all come from one source: want of tolerance) the feeling I am different and you are different comes. Then that spirit and that light of God, that divine essence that is in the heart of man, is buried as in a tomb. The work that one has to do is to dig it up, as one would dig the ground until one touched the water underneath.

What the Sufi calls riyazat, a process of achievement, is nothing else than digging constantly in that holy land which is the heart of man... The first and last lesson in love is, 'I am not -- Thou art' and unless man is moved to that selflessness he does not know justice, right or truth.

The soul is the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God lives within the shrine of the heart; this shrine can be closed or it can be open. There are some things in life that open it and some that close it. The things that close the heart are those which are contrary to love, tolerance and forgiveness, such as coldness, bitterness and ill-will, and a strong element of duality. The world is more upset today than ever before; in many ways man seems to go from bad to worse, and yet he thinks that he is progressing. It is not lack of organization or of civilization; both these things he has. What he lacks is the expression of the soul. He closes his door to his fellow man, he closes the shrine of the heart and by doing so he is keeping God away from himself and others. Nation is set against nation, race against race, religion against religion. Therefore today more than ever before there is a need for the realization of this philosophy. What we need is not that all religions should be
come one nor all races; that can never be. But what is needed is undivided progress, and making ourselves examples of love and tolerance.

By talking about it, by discussing and arguing it will not come, but by self-realization, by making ourselves the examples of what should be, by giving love, taking love, and showing in our action gentleness, consideration and the desire for service for the sake of God in whom we can all unite beyond the narrow barriers of race and creed.

Question: To crush the ego is what one would think and feel is necessary to identify more with the 'Greater Source' or 'Universe' How would a student of the dream go about accomplishing this!
Answer: A mirage can only seem problematic when its true nature is not recognized. When the mirage is known for what it is, it does not suddenly disappear, nor does it have to. To know that one cannot fetch water from it is enough.
Likewise, the ego illusion is not in its appearance, but in the way it is perceived. When there is the conviction that what we are is limited to the ego, we are under a sort of hypnotic spell.
Once it is clear that our thirst for insight and liberation cannot be quenched at the mirage of the ego, the investment lessens. This understanding does not depend on erasing the ego, but simply sees through it to its illusory nature. What is more, attempts to do away with the ego, are now recognized as the ego illusion itself.
Ultimately, the personal 'I' and the 'Impersonal Self' are not two. It is the One Universal Self appearing as this 'I'. Self-re-cognition shows that there is no one to accomplish anything, yet everything unfolds presently as this. There is no independent separate character to identify with the 'Greater Source.' There is only the 'Greater Source' regardless of how it appears. Many waves may rise and fall, but they are the expression of a single ocean. There may be a variety of ornaments, all crafted from the single substance of pure gold; there may be many appearances, but there is only One Consciousness.
In clarity the student of the dream is recognized as part of the dream, and all studying of the dream is known as nothing but the dream. Obviously the dream character cannot dream her self beyond the dream in which she appears and disappears. THAT -in and to which the whole dream appears- does neither come nor go. IT does not need to wake up as IT is fully awake to the dream.
IT appears as you in the dream, and IT is the common ground of all phenomena. This 'singularity' is the True Self, closer than close and presently aware of the reading of these words. THIS Presence/Awareness is the father and mother of all dreams, even the dream of awakening. You, as an assumed, dreamed up individual, cannot become or reach 'the Greater Source', YOU -as Totality- are THAT.
____________________________________________________________

The trees of the forest silently await God's blessing.

Commentary by Hazrat Inayat Khan:

The law of gravitation is working from two sides: from the side of the
earth which draws all that belongs to the earth, and from the side of
the spirit which attracts the soul towards it. Even those who are
unconscious of this law of gravitation are also striving for perfection,
for the soul is being continually drawn towards the spirit. They are
striving for perfection just the same. In the small things of everyday
life a man is never satisfied with what he has. He always wants more and
more, be it a higher rank, wealth, or fame. He is always striving for
this.

This shows that the heart is like a magic bowl. However much you pour
into it, it only becomes deeper. It is always found to be empty. The
reason why man is never satisfied is that he is unconsciously striving
for perfection. Those however who strive consciously after perfection
have a different way. Nevertheless, each atom of the universe is meant
to struggle and strive in order to become perfect one day. In other
words, if a seer happens to be in the mountains he will hear the
mountains cry continually, 'We are waiting for that day when something
in us will awaken. There will come a day of awakening, of unfoldment. We
are silently awaiting it.' If he went into the forest and saw the trees
standing there they would tell him that they too were waiting patiently.
One can feel it. The more one sits there the more one feels that the
trees are waiting for the time when there will be an unfoldment. So it
is with all beings. But man is so absorbed in his everyday actions and
his greed that he seems to be unaware of that innate desire for
unfoldment. It is his everyday tasks, his avariciousness, his cruelty to
other beings, that keep him continually occupied, and that is why he
cannot hear the continual cry of his own soul to awaken, to unfold, to
reach upward, to expand, and to go towards perfection.