Your work in life must be your religion, whatever your occupation may be.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
The purpose of life is to become more living, to allow the soul to live more, and that is the limit given by Christ when he says, ‘Raise your light high’. This means allowing the soul to express itself. It does not matter what your life is, what your pursuit is; in order to fulfill the purpose of life you need not be in a temple or a church. Whatever your life’s pursuit — art, poetry, sculpture, music, whatever your occupation may be — you can be as spiritual as a priest or cleric, always living a life of praise. Your work in life must be your religion; let the soul express itself in every aspect and it will surely fulfill the purpose of life. The soul’s life comes naturally if we open ourselves for the spirit to rise.
Every living being has a purpose in life and it is the knowing of that purpose which enables every soul to fulfill it. As it is said in the Gayan, ‘Blessed are those who know their life’s purpose.’
Be not surprised if you find many groping in darkness all through life, doing one thing or another, going from one thing to the other, always dissatisfied, always discontented. And everything they undertake remains without result. The reason is the absence of that knowledge, the knowledge of the purpose of life.
Individuals apart, every object has its purpose. The mission of science is to discover the purpose in objects, and it is for this that science has come into being. Be it medical science or philosophy, all the various aspects of science are the result of the desire to discover the purpose of things. But the aim of mysticism is to find the purpose in the lives of human beings — the purpose in one’s own life and the purpose in the lives of others. So long as people have not found this purpose, though they may have success or failure, though they may seem to be happy or unhappy, in reality they do not live. For life begins from the moment we find the purpose of our life.
Religion in the ordinary sense of the word, as known by the world, is the creeds. There are not many religions in the world, but there are many creeds. And what does creed mean? Creed means a cover over the religion. There is one religion and there are many covers. Each of these covers is called ‘Christianity,’ ‘Buddhism,’ ‘Hebrew Religion,’ ‘Muslim Religion,’ etc., and when you take off these covers, you will find that there is one religion, and it is that religion which is the religion of the Sufi. And at the same time the Sufis do not condemn a church or creed or a certain form of worship. They say it is the world of variety. Everyone must have their choice of food, their choice of dress, their choice of expression. Why must the followers of one faith think that the others are heathens or pagans? The Sufis think that we all follow one religion, only in different names and different forms; but behind names and forms there is One and the same Spirit and there is One and the same Truth.
( from from Religious Gatheka #66: The Sufi’s Religion )
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
In other words, your work in life is your Dharma. This is the purpose of every person’s life, for which purpose they sojourn on the earth plane. To divide part of life — dedicating some to God, some to self, some to family or friends — is to misconstrue the purpose of life, which is to seek first that Dharmic purpose and not to divide at all.
There is a great deal of difference between piety and real religion. Piety considers self and God. True religion does not consider self. Even unbelievers who are free from heedlessness and thoughtlessness are on the way to the goal, though they walk backwards or with their eyes closed. By the practice of Darood, a person practices religion at all times.