There is one Teacher, God; we are all God’s pupils.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
According to the Sufi point of view there is only One Teacher, and that Teacher is God. We cannot teach others. All we can do for others is to give our own experience in order to help others to be successful. For instance if we happen to know a road, we can tell others that it is the road which leads to the place they wish to find. The work of the spiritual teacher is like the work of Cupid. The work of Cupid is to bring two souls together. And so is the work of spiritual teachers: to bring together the soul and God. But what is taught to those who seek after Truth? Nothing is taught. We are only shown how we should learn from God. For no one can ever teach spirituality. It is God alone who teaches it. And how is it learned? When these ears which are open outwardly are closed to the outside world and focused upon the heart within, then instead of hearing all that comes from the outer life we begins to hear the words within. Thus if one were to define what meditation is, that also is an attitude: the right attitude towards God. The attitude should first be to seek God within. And, after seeking God within, then to see God outside.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume VI – The Alchemy of Happiness: The Secret of LIfe )
If Truth is to be attained, it is only when Truth itself has begun to speak, which happens in revelation. Truth reveals itself; therefore, the Persian word for both God and Truth is Khuda, which means self-revealing, thus uniting God with Truth. One cannot explain either of these words. The only help the mystic can give is by indicating how to arrive at this revelation. No one can teach or learn this, one has to learn it oneself [ ie experience it, realize it ]. The teacher is only there to guide one towards this revelation. There is only One Teacher, and that Teacher is God. The great masters of the world were the greatest pupils, and they each knew how to become a pupil.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume X – Sufi Mysticism, Part I: Sufi Mysticism – Repose )
‘There is One Master, the Guiding Spirit of all Souls, Who constantly leads all followers towards the Light.’
To the Sufis therefore there is only One Teacher, however differently It may be named at different periods of history, and It comes constantly to awaken humanity from the slumber of this life of illusion, and to guide us onwards towards Divine Perfection. As Sufis progress in this view they recognize this Master not only in the holy ones, but in the wise, in the foolish, in the saint, and in the sinner, and never allow the Master who is One Alone, and the only One who can be and who ever will be, to disappear from their sight.
The Persian word for Master is Murshid [ from the same root as ar-Rashid ال رَشِيد, Unerring Guidance which is infinitely and in an unlimited way, manifesting into each and every thing. Murshid is the one who is constantly evolving in order to manifest this state. — Muiz ]. The Sufis recognize the Murshid in all beings of the world, and are ready to learn from young and old, educated and uneducated, rich and poor, without questioning from whom we learn. Then we begin to see the Light of Risalat, the torch of Truth which shines before us in every being and thing in the universe, thus we see Rasul, the Divine Message Bearer, a living identity before us. Thus Sufis see the vision of God, the worshiped Deity, in God’s immanence, manifest in nature, and life now becomes for them a perfect revelation both within and without.
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
Knowledge is not the fruit of the mind; knowledge comes when mind itself is the fruit of the tree of Knowledge. It is not particular names and forms that constitute Knowledge; it is the successful grasping of affairs through the Living Intelligence, which is the very essence of our self.
And what is this Intelligence? It is the Spirit of Guidance within us, that is to say the reflection of God which is the one thing that gives us strength and inspiration. Beyond even that is God in Essence Who is continually pouring forth love and knowledge. When we are receptive we become God’s disciples.