The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan is the echo of the same Divine Message which has always come, and will always come, to enlighten humanity. This message was always aimed at Unity, at bringing together all of humanity, at rising above the differences and distinctions that have separated us…
In his uniquely western form of Sufism, there are no barriers to race, creed or religion, it is not a religion, but rather a way of life that enhances and fulfills every religion. As Inayat Khan said, “The Sufi sees the truth in every religion.” …
To further elaborate on the mission and the methods employed to develop one’s inner life, he wrote “There are ten principal Sufi thoughts, which comprise all the important subjects with which the inner life of humanity is concerned.”
1. There is One God,
the Eternal, the Only Being;
None exists save God.
The God of the Sufi is the God of every creed, and the God of all. Names make no difference to the Sufi. Allah, God, Gott, Dieu, Khuda, Brahma, or Bhagwan, all these names and more are the names of the Sufi’s God; and yet, God is beyond the limitation of name. The Sufi sees God in the sun, in the fire, in the idol which diverse sects worship; and recognizes God in all the forms of the universe, yet knowing God to be beyond all form: God in all, and all in God, being the Seen and the Unseen, the Only Being. God to the Sufi is not only a religious belief, but also the highest ideal the human mind can conceive.
The Sufi, forgetting the self and aiming at the attainment of the divine ideal, walks constantly all through life inthe path of love and light. In God the Sufi sees the perfection of all that is in the reach of humanity’s perceptionand yet knows God to be above human reach. The Sufi looks to God as a lover looks to the beloved, and takesall things in life as coming from God, with perfect resignation. The sacred name of God is to the Sufi asmedicine to the patient. The divine thought is the compass by which the Sufi steers the ship to the shores ofimmortality. The God-ideal is to a Sufi as a lift by which to raise self to the eternal goal, the attainment of whichis the only purpose of life.
2. There is One Master,
the Guiding Spirit of all Souls
Who constantly leads all followers towards the Light.
The Sufi understands that although God is the source of all knowledge, inspiration, and guidance, yet the human being is the medium through which God chooses to impart that knowledge to the world. God imparts it through one who is a human, in the eyes of the world, but God, in consciousness. It is the mature soul that draws blessings from the heavens, and God speaks through that soul. Although the tongue of God is busy speaking through all things, yet in order to speak to the deaf ears of many among us, it is necessary for God to speak through the lips of humanity. God has done this all through history, every great teacher of the past having been this Guiding Spirit living the life of God in human guise. In other words, their human guise consists of various coats worn by the same person, who appeared to be different in each. Shiva, Buddha, Rama, Krishna on the one side, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad on the other; and many more, known or unknown to history — always one and the same person.
Those who saw the person and knew God, recognized God in whatever form or guise; those who could only see the coat went astray. To the Sufi therefore, there is only one Teacher, however differently that Teacher may be named at different periods of history, coming constantly to awaken humanity from the slumber of this life of illusion, and to guide humanity onwards towards Divine Perfection. As the Sufi progresses in this view, the One Master is recognized, not only in the holy ones, but in the wise, in the foolish, in the saint and in the sinner, and never is this Master, who is One Alone, and the Only One, who can be, and who ever will be, allowed to disappear from sight.
The Persian word for Master is Murshid. The Sufi recognizes the Murshid in all beings of the world, and is ready to learn from young and old, educated and uneducated, rich and poor, without questioning from whom learning comes. Then the Sufi begins to see the light of Risalat, the torch of truth which shines in every being and thing in the universe. Thus the Sufi sees Rasul, the Divine Message Bearer, a living identity always visible in every direction. Thus the Sufi sees the vision of God, the worshipped deity, in God’s immanence, manifest in nature, and life now becomes a perfect revelation both within and without.
What the Spirit of Guidance is, can be further explained as follows: as in humanity there is a faculty for art, music, poetry and science, so in us is the faculty or spirit of guidance; it is better to call it spirit because it is the Supreme Faculty from which all the others originate. As we see that in every person there is some artistic faculty, but not everyone is an artist, as everyone can hum a tune but only one in a thousand is a musician, so every person possesses this faculty in some form and to a limited degree; but the [ fully awakened? ] Spirit of Guidance is found among few indeed of the human race.
A Sanskrit poet says, “Jewels are stones, but cannot be found everywhere; the sandal tree is a tree, but does not grow in every forest; as there are many elephants, but only one sovereign elephant, so there are human beings all over the world, but the real human being is rarely to be found!”
When we arise above faculty and consider the spirit of guidance, we shall find that it is consummated in the Bodhisatva, the spiritual teacher or Divine Messenger. There is a saying that the reformer is the child of civilization, but the prophet is its parent. This spirit has always existed, and must always exist; and in this way from time to time the Message of God has been given.
3. There is One Holy Book,
the Sacred Manuscript of Nature,
the only scripture which can enlighten the reader.
Most people consider as sacred scriptures, only certain books or scrolls written by the hand of humanity, and carefully preserved as holy, to be handed down to posterity as divine revelation. Many have fought and disputed over the authenticity of these books, have refused to accept any other book of similar character, and, clinging thus to the book and losing the sense of it, have formed diverse sects. The Sufi has in all ages respected all such books, and has traced in the Vedanta, Zend Avesta, Kabala, Bible, Qur`an, and all other sacred scriptures, the same truth which is read in the incorruptible manuscript of nature, the only Holy Book, the perfect and living model that teaches the inner law of life: all scriptures before nature’s manuscript are as little pools of water before the ocean.
To the eye of the seer every leaf of the tree is a page of the holy book that contains divine revelation, and the seer is inspired every moment of life by constantly reading and understanding the holy script of nature.
When a person writes, the characters are inscribed upon rock, leaf, paper, wood or steel; when God writes, the written characters are living creatures.
It is when the eye of the soul is opened and the sight is keen that the Sufi can read the divine law in the manuscript of nature; and that which the teachers of humanity have taught to their followers was derived by them from the same source; they expressed what little it is possible to express in words, and so they preserved the inner truth when they themselves were no longer there to reveal it.
4. There is One Religion,
the unswerving progress in the right direction, towards the Ideal, which fulfills the life’s purpose of every soul.
Religion in the Sanskrit language is termed Dharma, which means duty. The duty of every individual is religion. “Every soul is born for a certain purpose, and the light of that purpose is kindled in his soul”, says Sa`adi. This explains why the Sufi in tolerance allows every one to have one’s own path, and does not compare the principles of one against the other, but allows freedom of thought to everyone, since a Sufi is a freethinker.
Religion, in the conception of a Sufi, is the path that leads one towards the attainment of one’s ideal, worldly as well as heavenly. Sin and virtue, right and wrong, good and bad are not the same in the case of every individual; they are according to the grade of evolution and state of life. Therefore the Sufi is concerned little with the name of the religion, or the place of worship. All places are sacred enough for the Sufi’s worship, and all religions convey the religion of the soul. “I saw Thee in the sacred Ka`aba, and in the temple of the idol also Thee I saw.”
5. There is One Law,
the Law of Reciprocity,
which can be observed by a selfless conscience, together with a sense of awakened justice.
Humanity spends life in the pursuit of all that seems to be profitable for itself, and when so absorbed in self-interest, in time even loses touch with its own real interest. Humanity has made laws to suit itself, but they are laws by which one can get the better of another. It is this that is called justice, and it is only that which is done to self by another that one calls injustice. A peaceful and harmonious life with one’s fellow humans cannot be led until the sense of justice has been awakened in one by a selfless conscience. As the judicial authorities of the world intervene between two persons who are at variance, knowing that they have a right to intervene when the two parties in dispute are blinded by personal interest, so the Almighty Power intervenes in all disputes however small or great.
It is the law of reciprocity which saves a person from being exposed to the higher powers, as a considerate person has less chance of being brought before the court. The sense of justice is awakened in a perfectly sober mind; that is, one which is free from the intoxication of youth, strength, power, possession, command, birth, or rank. It seems a net profit when one does not give but takes, or when one gives less and takes more; but in either case there is really a greater loss than profit; for every such profit spreads a cover over the sense of justice within, and when many such covers have veiled the sight, one becomes blind even to one’s own profit. It is like standing in one’s own light. “Blind here remains blind in the hereafter!”
Although the different religions, in teaching humanity how to act harmoniously and peacefully with fellow humans, have given out different laws, they all meet in this one truth: do unto others as thou wouldst they should do unto thee. The Sufi, in taking a favour from another, enhances its value, and in accepting what another does to self, one makes allowance.
6. There is One Family,
the human family
which unites the children of earth indiscriminately in the Parenthood of God.
The Sufi understands that the one life emanating from the inner Being is manifested on the surface as the life of variety, and in this world of variety humanity is the finest manifestation, for we can realize in our evolution the oneness of the inner being even in the external existence of variety. But we evolve to this ideal, which is the only purpose of our coming on earth, by uniting self with another.
A person unites with others in the family tie, which is the first step in one’s evolution, and yet families in the past have fought with each other, and have taken vengeance upon one another for generations, each considering one’s cause to be the only true and righteous one. Today we show our evolution in uniting with our neighbours and fellow citizens, and even developing within ourselves the spirit of patriotism for our nation. We is greater in this respect than those in the past; and yet people so united nationally have caused the catastrophe of the modem wars, which will be regarded by the coming generations in the same light in which we now regard the family feuds of the past.
There are racial bonds which widen the circle of unity still more, but it has always happened that one race has looked down on the other.
The religious bond shows a still higher ideal. But it has caused diverse sects, which have opposed and despised each other for thousands of years, and have caused endless splits and divisions among people. The germ of separation exists even in such a wide scope for community, and however widespread the religious familial community may be, it cannot be a perfect one as long as it separates any person from another.
The Sufi, realizing this, frees self from national, racial, and religious boundaries uniting within the human family, which is devoid of the differences and distinctions of class, caste, creed, race, nation, or religion, and unites humankind in the universal family.
7. There is One Moral,
the love which springs forth from self-denial and blooms in deeds of beneficence.
There are moral principles taught to humankind by various teachers, by many traditions, one differing from the other, which are like separate drops coming out of the fountain. But when we look at the stream, we find there is but one stream, although it turns into several drops on falling. There are many moral principles, just as many drops fall from one fountain; but there is one stream that is at the source of all, and that is love. It is love that gives birth to hope, patience, endurance, forgiveness, tolerance, and to all moral principles. All deeds of kindness and beneficence take root in the soil of the loving heart. Generosity, charity, adaptability, an accommodating nature, even renunciation, are the offspring of love alone. The great, rare and chosen beings, who for ages have been looked up to as ideal in the world, are the possessors of hearts kindled with love. All evil and sin come from the lack of love.
People call love blind, but love in reality is the light of the sight. The eye can only see the surface; love can see much deeper. All ignorance is the lack of love. As fire when not kindled gives only smoke, but when kindled, the illuminating flame springs forth, so it is with love; it is blind when undeveloped, but, when its fire is kindled, the flame that lights the path of the traveler from mortality to everlasting life springs forth; the secrets of earth and heaven are revealed to the possessor of the loving heart, the lover has gained mastery over self and others, and not only communes with God, but unites with God.
“Hail to thee, then, 0 love, sweet madness! Thou who healest all our infirmities! Who art the physician of our pride and self-deceit! Who art our Plato and our Galen!” says Rumi
8. There is One Object of Praise,
the beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshi pers through all aspects from the seen to the unseen.
It is said in the Hadith, “God is beautiful, and loves beauty.”
This expresses the truth that humanity, who inherits the Spirit of God, has beauty within and loves beauty, although that which is beautiful to one is not beautiful to another. We cultivate the sense of beauty as we evolve, and prefer the higher aspect of beauty to the lower. But when we have observed the highest vision of beauty in the Unseen by a gradual evolution from praising the beauty in the seen world, then the entire existence becomes to us one single vision of beauty.
Humankind has worshiped God, beholding the beauty of sun, moon, stars, and planets; we have worshipped God in plants, in animals; have recognized God in the beautiful merits of people, and have with our perfect view of beauty found the source of all beauty in the Unseen, from whence all this springs, and in Whom all is merged.
The Sufi, realizing this, worships beauty in all its aspects, and sees the face of the Beloved in all that is seen, and the Beloved’s spirit in the Unseen. So wherever one looks the ideal of worship is before one. “Everywhere I look, I see Thy winning face; everywhere I go, I arrive at Thy dwelling-place.”
9. There is One Truth,
the true knowledge of our being,
within and without, which is the essence of all Wisdom.
Hazrat Ali says, “Know thyself, and thou shalt know God.”
It is the knowledge of self which blooms into the knowledge of God. Self-knowledge answers such problems as: whence have I come? Did I exist before I became conscious of my present existence? If I existed, as what did I exist? As an individual such as I now am, or as a multitude, or as an insect, bird, animal, spirit, jinn, or angel? What happens at death, the change to which every creature is subject? Why do I tarry here awhile? What purpose have I to accomplish here? What is my duty in life? In what does my happiness consist, and what is it that makes my life miserable? Those whose hearts have been kindled by the light from above, begin to ponder such questions; but those, whose souls are already illumined by the knowledge of the self, understand them. It is they who give to individuals or to the multitudes the benefit of their knowledge, so that even those whose hearts are not yet kindled, and whose souls are not illuminated, may be able to walk on the right path that leads to perfection.
This is why people are taught in various languages, in various forms of worship, in various tenets in different parts of the world. it is one and the same truth; it is only seen in diverse aspects appropriate to the people and the time. It is only those who do not understand this, who can mock at the faith of another, condemning to hell or destruction those who do not consider their faith to be the only true faith.
The Sufi recognizes the knowledge of self as the essence of all religions; traces it in every religion, sees the same truth in each, and therefore regards all as one. Hence the Sufi can realize the saying of Jesus, “I and my Father are one!” The difference between creature and Creator remains on the lips, not in the soul. This is what is meant by union with God. It is in reality the dissolving of the false self in the knowledge of the true self, which is divine, eternal, and all-pervading. “Those who attain union with God, their very self must lose,” said Amir.
10.There is One Path,
the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which raises the mortal to immortality, in which resides all perfection.
“I passed away into nothingness, I vanished,
And lo! I was All Living — Only God I saw.”
All who have realized the secret of life understand that life is One, but that it exists in two aspects. First as immortal, all pervading, and silent; and secondly as mortal, active, and manifest in variety. The soul being of the first aspect becomes deluded, helpless, and captive by experiencing life in contact with the mind and body, which is of the next aspect. The gratification of the desires of the body and the fancies of the mind do not suffice for the purpose of the soul, which is undoubtedly to experience its own phenomena in the seen and the unseen, though its inclination is to be itself and not anything else. When delusion makes it feel that it is helpless, mortal and captive, it finds itself out of place. This is the tragedy of life, which keeps the strong and the weak, the rich and poor, all dissatisfied, constantly looking for something they do not know.
The Sufi, realizing this, takes the path of annihilation [of false perceptions, false identities], and, by the guidance of a teacher on the path, finds at the end of this journey that the destination was one’s own self. As Iqbal* says “I wandered in the pursuit of my own self; I was the traveler, and I am the destination!” [ *Allama Sir Mohammed Iqbal, philosopher, politician, poet, and one of the most important figures in Urdu and Persian literature of the 20th century, having written numerous volumes of poetry in both languages. 9 November 1877 – 21 April 1938 — Muiz ]