The first sign of the realization of Truth is tolerance.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
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A soul shows the proof of its evolution in the degree of the tolerance it shows. The life in the lower creation shows the lack of tolerance. The tendency of fighting with one another, which one sees among beasts and birds, shows the reason at the back of it, that intolerance is born in their nature. … But when a soul has evolved still more, tolerance becomes the natural thing. Because the highly evolved soul then begins to realize ‘Another person is not separate from me, but the other person is myself. The separation is on the surface of Life, but in the depth of Life I and the other person are one.’ Therefore tolerance is not learned fully by trying to follow it as a good principle. It is learned by having the love of God, by attaining the knowledge of Self, and by understanding the Truth of Life.
The Sufis try to keep harmony in their surroundings, the harmony which demands many sacrifices. It makes one endure what one is not willing to endure, it makes one overlook what one is not inclined to overlook, it makes one tolerate what one is not accustomed to tolerate, and it makes one forgive and forget what one would never have forgotten if it were not for the sake of Harmony. But at whatever cost Harmony is attained, it is a good bargain. For Harmony is the secret of happiness, and in absence of this a person living in palaces and rolling in gold can be most unhappy.
The first step to the attainment of the Truth cannot be taught in books, or be imparted by a teacher. It must come spontaneously, namely through the love for Truth. The next step is to search for it; the third step is the actual attainment. How can one attain? In order to attain Truth one must make one’s own life truthful. … Passing from the natural state, through the state of being a lover of Truth and a seeker after Truth, one begins to express Truth … One begins to understand what the great teachers have taught. Then one becomes tolerant to the various religions.
Nothing seems strange any more. Nothing surprises. For now one begins to know the innermost nature of humanity; one sees the cause behind every action. Therefore tolerance and forgiveness and understanding of others come naturally. The person who knows the Truth is the most tolerant. It is the knower of Truth who is forgiving; it is the knower of Truth who understands another person’s point of view. It is the knower of Truth who does not readily voice an opinion, having respect for the opinions of others.
When we gain insight into ourselves we also gain insight into the hearts of others. All this desire for learning occult or mystical powers or psychic powers now disappears, because we begin to see all this power in One Truth — loving Truth, seeking Truth, looking for Truth, living the truthful life. That it is which opens all doors.
( from Supplementary Papers, Philosophy, Part V: The Knowledge of Truth [ unpublished ] )
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
Truth being of the Buddhic nature, not manasic (mental), it can never be properly expressed in words. You cannot build a syllogism about Love, neither can you describe Truth. Even the attempt to describe Truth is wrong in itself. All attempts are wrong because they are attempts, and yet all attempts are right because they are concentrations upon what is Right and thus are of the nature of Right Concentration [ ie, Muraqaba the Sufi spiritual practice of Concentration/Meditation, holding a feeling or thought or quality steady and clearly in the mind and feelings by engaging with it using the Heart’s loving interest and capacity to hold without force or preference for any particular outcome, watching over, taking care of, keeping an eye on (from the same root, RQB, as ar-Raqib, Loving Attention, and containing the images of quietly watching the stars, and watching a baby sleeping). — Muiz ].
From this point of view, it can be seen that all endeavor is good, but all expression is imperfect. The difference between right and wrong being relative and not absolute, and there being none of whom it can be said that they are always right, the spiritual tolerance comes from seeing that all expressions are part right and part wrong and that their source of error is in their being expressed and not in what is actually expressed.
This is very different from the tolerance practiced by mentalists who nevertheless feel their own view is right. It shows greatness of heart in being fair-minded toward those who differ. But the spiritual person knows that it is of the very nature of nufs, or ego-self, to differ, and that all yearning for Truth is wrong, and that all expression of Truth is nothing but this nufs, albeit there are several degrees or aspects of nufs.