The knowledge of God is beyond humanity’s reason; the secret of God is hidden in the knowledge of Unity.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
The knowledge of God is beyond humanity’s reason. We only perceive things we are capable of perceiving. We cannot raise our imagination above what we are used to, and we cannot reach beyond our imagination to where the being of God is. The secret of God is hidden in the knowledge of Unity. Humans think, ‘What can Unity give me? Can it bring me happiness? What is there in it?’ They can get the answer by observing and studying life more closely. See what an atmosphere the harmony of ten people can create; the power of love and the influence created by ten people is much greater than that created by one. Think then what would be the blessing for humanity if nations, races, and communities were united!
The pairs of opposites keep us in an illusion and make us think, ‘This is this, and that is that’. At the same time by throwing a greater light upon things we shall find in the end that they are quite different from what we had thought. Seeing the nature and character of life, the Sufis say that it is not very important to distinguish between two opposites. What is most important is to recognize that One which is hiding behind it all. Naturally after realizing life the Sufis climb the ladder which leads them to Unity, to the idea of Unity which comes through the synthesis of life, by seeing One in all things, in all beings.
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
The knowledge of God precedes illumination of mind and causes it. It is not strictly speaking acquired by any accumulative method. In this sense, there is no evolution. Yet there is evolution in the sense that as the heart awakens the mind does grow. Illumination of mind is the result of knowledge of God, not the cause of it. Therefore both mystics and scholars have practiced meditation.
To the mystic, meditation means the centering of all the consciousness on Supreme Deity, the nature or characteristic of which is definite. That is to say, God is love, mercy, and all the attributes, and while knowledge of the attributes is not knowledge of God, attainment of the Supreme includes such knowledge. That is to say, Ilm or supreme knowledge includes Hakma or universal science.
Now scholars, while they do not always recognize heart as the center of the intuitive faculty, often find it advantageous to clear their mind of all concepts — not only of false concepts but of all concepts — to facilitate the mind’s operation. Therefore scholars can often be raised to a higher degree through their own processes. This is the way of Jnana Yoga, or union with God through knowledge.
Sufis include all systems in their sciences and regard the Divine Knowledge not as the only valuable knowledge but as the only knowledge. In other words, all knowledge is knowledge of God, but many people do not know it.