Wisdom is attained in solitude.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
Those who lack peace, with all their possessions, the property of this earth or quality of mind, are poor even with both. … True wisdom is to be found in the peaceful, for peacefulness is the sign of wisdom. It is the peaceful who are observant. It is peace that gives them the power to observe keenly. It is the peaceful, therefore, who can conceive, for peace helps them to conceive. It is the peaceful who can contemplate; those who have no peace cannot contemplate properly. Therefore, all things pertaining to spiritual progress in life depend upon peace.
To attain peace, what one has to do is to seek that rhythm which is in the depth of our being. It is just like the sea: the surface of the sea is ever moving; the depth of the sea is still. And so it is with our life. If our life is thrown into the sea of activity, it is on the surface. We still live in the profound depths, in that peace. But the thing is to become conscious of that peace which can be found within ourselves. … the first thing is to seek the kingdom of God within ourselves, in which there is our peace. As soon as we have found that, we have found our support, we have found our self. And in spite of all the activity and movement on the surface, we shall be able to keep that peace undisturbed if only we hold it fast by becoming conscious of it.
The bliss found in the solitude is hidden within every human being; we have inherited it from our heavenly Parent. In mystical terms it is called the All-pervading Light.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume VIIIa – Sufi Teachings: Chapter V – The Prophetic Tendency )
How can one attain to the deeper side? … One method is to acquire the knowledge from the life without, and that is going to school and attaining the knowledge in that way. Another method is quite different; it is not going to school or institution and study, but closing the door of one’s room, sitting in solitude, closing the eyes, being oneself once again, and trying to put one’s mind within, seeking the source within, getting the knowledge which be gotten only from within.
( from The Message Papers: December 17, 1923 [ unpublished and circulated privately ] )
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
Wisdom is attained when the body is in solitude, which means that when the body is not overfed with earthly food, when it is not being used entirely for physical and mental labors, it becomes the temple of God.
Wisdom is attained when the mind is in solitude; that is to say, when the thoughts are no longer permitted to run at random, the light of intelligence may illuminate it.
Wisdom is attained in the solitude of heart; that is to say, when there is no love but love of God, when there is full dependence upon God and devotion to God, Wisdom is the natural result.
At the same time, Wisdom gives more scope to heart, mind, and body. This permits love for everybody or for anything, this inspires every type of mental and moral aspiration, and this gives the body such an education and stimulation that it may have a maximum of health and pleasure. In this there is no separation; it is the fulfillment of unity even in the outer life. By “solitude”, living in oneness is meant — whether alone or in the crowd, whether in the desert or forest or city.
Mystics do leave inhabited places when the influences are too strong — and rightly. The need is to find God, and when anything interferes with this, it is proper to withdraw from society.