It is wise to see all things, and yet to turn our eyes from all that should be overlooked.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
It is to the great disadvantage of fault-finding people that they wish to find fault with all they see, for if they are not able to throw away immediately the undesirable impressions received, which is not always so easy, they begin in due time to reproduce what they have received. … If we only knew what harm is brought to our being by letting any undesirable impression enter the heart, we also would adopt the above-mentioned policy of the wise, to overlook.
The aim of the Sufi, therefore, is to see and yet not be interested. … Those who trouble about others’ thoughts and interest themselves in others’ actions most often lose their time and blunt their inner sight. Those who go farther, their moral is to overlook all they see on their way, as their mind is fixed on the goal. … The best thing is to see and rise above, never to halt on the way, and it is this attitude that, if constantly practiced, will lead us safely to our soul’s desired goal.
There is a tendency which manifests itself and grows in people who are advancing spiritually, and that tendency is overlooking. At times this tendency might appear as negligence, but in reality negligence is not necessarily overlooking. Negligence is most often not looking. Overlooking may be called in other words rising beyond these things: we have to rise in order to overlook; those who stand beneath life could not overlook, even if they wanted to. Overlooking is a manner of graciousness; it is looking and at the same time not looking. It is seeing and not taking notice of what is seen. It is being hurt or harmed or disturbed by something and yet not minding it. It is an attribute of nobleness of nature. It is the sign of souls who are tuned to a higher key.
Whenever we see that goodness is lacking, we may add to it from our own heart and so complete the nobility of human nature. This is done by patience, tolerance, kindness, forgiveness. The lovers of goodness love every little sign of goodness. They overlook the faults and fill up the gaps by pouring out love and supplying that which is lacking. This is real nobility of soul.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume IX – The Unity of Religious Ideals, Part II: The God-Ideal )
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
It is the soul which sees, the heart which understands. Mind of itself is nothing, but mind properly trained and controlled gains the whole world without losing one’s soul. In this condition one sees because God sees through one; one does not have to see for the sake of sight or for the sake of self, but for the sake of God one has to see. Now if we reflect upon what we have seen, if we give much thought to what we have seen, this is sight for the sake of self; it is not sight for the sake of God and our saying so does not make it so.
That sight which is Insight (Kashf) sees the attributes and essence together and has no need to analyze persons or situations. It sees the complete unity with all its parts, and yet does not attribute moral valuation to any condition or thing. This is having Right Views, where the fruits of sensation are left to God.