The more elevated the soul, the broader the outlook.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
There are many different opinions how the condition of the world should be bettered: some think by religious reform, some think by educational reform, and some think by social reform. Every reform made with the idea of doing some good is worthwhile, but the reform most needed today is spiritual reform. Today the hour has come when narrowness should be abandoned, in order to arise above those differences and distinctions which divide human beings.
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The way to spirituality is the expansion and the widening of the heart. In order to accommodate the Divine Truth the heart must be expanded. With the expansion of the heart the Divine Bliss is poured out.
( from Enquirers’ Gathekas: Paper 11 – The Truth and the Way [ unpublished ] )
The eyes of those who neglect their duty to their fellow beings, absorbed in life’s intoxication, will certainly become dazzled and their minds exhausted before the presence of God. It does not mean that any soul will be deprived of the Divine Vision, it only means that the soul who has not learned to open its eyes wide enough will have its eyes closed before the vision of God. All virtues come from a wide outlook on life, all understanding comes from the keen observation of life. Nobility of soul, therefore, is signified in the broad attitude that we take in life.
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
This is both a maxim and a dictum. It is a maxim in the sense that as one progresses in any direction the vision increases. If one travels far physically, the physical vision increases and one becomes more tolerant of people. If one studies much and learns the world’s knowledge, it often broadens the mental vision, increases the understanding, and frees one from the toils of time and space.
But if one loves much — or better be it said, if one truly loves — there is no horizon; the whole universe is one’s play toy.
Conversely, this is a dictum to the Sufi — to see from all points of view as though one had traveled in every country and understood all speech, habits, and traditions; also to be tolerant and humble as if all worldly knowledge were but an idea of the possible knowledge of humanity. Finally, to know through love that it is love which can give us the widest outlook in life and that there is no limit to that outlook.