Riches and power may vanish because they are outside ourselves; only that which is within can we call our own.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
Where is our wealth? It is in our knowledge. If our wealth is only in the bank and not in our knowledge we do not really possess it. It is in the bank. All desirable and great things, values and titles, position and possession, where are they? Outside? No, because outside is only that which one knows by the knowledge one has within. Therefore the real possession is not without but within. It is the self within, it is the heart which must be developed, the heart which must be in its natural rhythm and at its proper pitch. When it is tuned to its natural rhythm and pitch, then it can accomplish the purpose for which it is made.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume VI – The Alchemy of Happiness: The Meaning of Life )
The claim to be kind and sympathetic is like a drop of water saying, ‘I am water,’ but which, on seeing the ocean, realizes its nothingness. In the same way, when we have looked on perfection, we realize our shortcomings. It is then that the veil is raised from before our eyes and our sight becomes keen. We then ask ourselves, ‘What can I do that I may awaken this love and sympathy in my heart?’ The Sufis begin by realizing that they are dead and blind, and they understand that all goodness as well as all that is bad comes from within. Riches and power may vanish because they are outside of us, but only that which is within can we call our own. In order to awaken love and sympathy in our hearts, sacrifices must be made. We must forget our own troubles in order to sympathize with the troubles of others.
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
All the prophets have taught this, and urged humanity to cultivate this inner capacity. The hand can hold no more gold than it can seize, the mind can hold no more wealth or power than it can grasp; but there is no limit to the power, inspiration, and love of and in the awakened heart.