When we devote ourselves to the thought of God, all illumination and revelation is ours.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
The whole aim of the Sufis is, by thought of God, to cover their imperfect selves even from their own eyes, and that moment when God is before them and not their own selves, is the moment of perfect bliss to them. My Murshid, Abu Hashim Madani, once said that there is only one virtue and one sin for souls on the path: virtue when they are conscious of God and sin when they are not. No explanation can fully describe the truth of this except the experience of the contemplatives to whom, when they are conscious of God, it is as if a window facing heaven were open, and to whom, wherein they are conscious of the self, the experience is the opposite. For all the tragedy of life is caused by being conscious of the self. All pain and depression is caused by this, and anything that can take away the thought of the self helps to a certain extent to relieve us from pain, but God-consciousness gives perfect relief.
The Sufis realize the Truth of their beings, and their whole life becomes an attitude of prayer, in spite of their free thoughts and their rising above good and bad, right and wrong. When people love, they may be in the crowd, and yet be unaware of those around them, being absorbed in the thought of the beloved. And so it is with the love of God. Those who love God may be in the crowd, yet, being in the thought of God they are in seclusion. To such a person the crowd makes no difference. Saadi says, ‘Prayer is the expansion of the limited being to the unlimited, the drawing closer of the soul to God.’ … those who realize the Truth of their being recognize their God ideal in all of creation. They see their Divine Beloved in all manifestations, in every name and form.
The ultimate freedom of the soul is gained by concentration, by meditation, by contemplation, and realization. What concentration is needed for the freedom of the soul? The concentration on that object which is prescribed by one’s spiritual teacher, that by the thought of that particular object one may be able to forget oneself for a moment. And then what contemplation is necessary? The contemplation that ‘this, my limited self, is no longer myself but God’s own instrument, God’s temple, which is made in order that the Name of God be glorified’. What meditation is required? The meditation on the thought of God, the Being of God, forgetting absolutely one’s limited self. And the realization is this, that then whatever voice comes to one is God’s voice, every guidance is God’s guidance, every impulse is Divine impulse, every action is done by God. It is in this way that the soul is made free, and in the freedom of the soul lies the purpose of life.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume VII – In an Eastern Rose Garden: The Freedom of the Soul (3) )
Is not God enough for our souls, and is God not sufficient to inspire us and to illuminate our wills and guide our souls? Is God any less of a friend here or in the spirit life? God is the great well-wisher, in whom Mercy is complete. God is the Soul of all souls. When we devote ourselves to the thought of God all illumination and revelation are ours.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume VII – In an Eastern Rose Garden: Spirits and Spiritism )
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
For it is the thought of God that obliterates the thought of self, as light coming into a chamber terminates darkness. It is the practice of Wazifa, Darood, Fikr, Zikr, and Shaghal which bring revelation ‐ not any philosophical consideration of them, but the actual practice. This can only be understood through the experience.