The principles of mysticism rise from the heart; they are learnt by intuition and proved by reason.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
One might ask why people have lost that intuitive faculty. It is because they have become so absorbed in material gain that they have become, as it were, intoxicated by the worldly life; and intuition, which is their birthright and their own property, has been lost from view. This does not mean that it is gone from them, only that it has become buried in their own hearts.
We are vehicles or instruments that respond. If we respond to goodness, goodness becomes our property. If we respond to evil, then evil becomes our property. If we respond to love, then love becomes our possession. If we respond to hatred, hatred becomes our life. And if we respond to the things of the earth so much that our whole life becomes absorbed in worldly things, then it is quite natural that we should not respond to those riches which are within us.
As soon as intuition springs up, reason, its competitor, rises also and says, ‘No, it is not so.’ Then there is conflict in the mind and it is hard to distinguish, because there are two feelings at the same time. If one makes a habit of catching the first intuition and saving it from being destroyed by reason, then intuition is stronger and one can benefit by it. There are many intuitive people, but they cannot always distinguish between intuition and reason and sometimes they mix them up, for very often the second thought, being the last, is more clear to one than the first. Therefore, the intuition is forgotten and reason remembered. Then a person calls it intuition and it is not so.
Reason and intuition are two competitors, and yet both have their place, their importance, and their value. The best thing would be first to try and catch the intuition and distinguish and know and recognize it as intuition; and then to reason it out.
The principles of mysticism rise from the heart. They are learned by intuition and proved by reason. This is not only faith, though it is born of faith: it is faith with proof.
My intuition, has thou ever deceived me? No, never. It is my reason which so often deludes me, for it comes from without; thou art rooted within my heart.
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
The fundamentality of the heart is proved, proved by the direct experiences of the inner life. Once this is attained, the value of reason becomes evident. Although reason is of little value after the goal is achieved, there is nothing without value. We can argue for reason, we can argue against reason, we can argue with reason, we can even argue in a most irrational manner. All these mean little; but after one has the knowledge one can express it in a most reasonable manner. In other words, reason — which to the average person is a sword and not a shield — to the mystic is a shield first.