One virtue is more powerful than a thousand vices.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
There is a Gujerati saying, “By the virtue of one, thousands may be saved, liberated; by the vice of one, thousands may be lost.” This is what is meant when it is said that Christ saves his followers from their sins. By the goodness of one, thousands may be benefited and by the evil of one a whole land, nation, may be ruined. But we should not depend upon another to save us. Our soul is the same as the soul of the Prophet, of the Pir, of the Murshid. We must not say, “I cannot be as they.” Our soul is the same. … We should think that there is in our soul the same power, that our influence extends to others.
( from Supplementary Papers: Chapter 16 – Metaphysics IV [ unpublished ] )
Those who are afraid of vice are subject to vice;
Those who are addicted to vice are its captive;
Those who acquaint themselves with vice are the pupils of vice;
Those who learn their lesson from vice, who pass through it and rise above it, are master and conqueror.
People may realize all the various weaknesses in themselves, and be very sorry about them, and they would like to give them up if they could. But they find that whether they like some little weakness or not, they cannot hold themselves back from doing certain things, whether it is weakness of mind or weakness of action. This shows that though the desire of the soul is always to direct us on the right path, on the path of virtue, on the good path, yet at the same time we have lost our control, and we are led astray by some force we cannot control. This weakness of character is shown when a person says, ‘I do not wish to be angry; after being angry I am very sorry, but at the same time I cannot help it. I do not wish to hurt others, but when the moment comes, I cannot help myself, I am abrupt.’ Then even vices such as drink, or thieving, or any weakness, are all caused by weakness of the mind. When the mind has no control over its thoughts and feelings, when it is not mastered, all these things come to pass.
From all this it is plain that humanity has two aspects of being: the servant aspect and the master aspect. When only the servant aspect is nourished and the master aspect is not, then the master aspect of our being longs to be master, and cannot be; and the whole conflict in life depends on that. When people are interested in the master aspect and wish to be master, then they become master of themselves. And they become not only master of their thoughts, feelings, and actions, but they become master of their affairs. Then the key to what we call fate is in their hands. They become the ruler of the realm that has been given to them from God.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume VII – In an Eastern Rose Garden: Chapter 22 – The Master Mind )
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)Samuel L. Lewis
The real secret of virtue is strength, is life. Vice is weakness; vice shows the absence of strength and of life. Virtue is born of the True Self, vice is the offspring of nufs; this is the only standard for measuring vice and virtue. Although humankind often selects particular moral and legislative codes, these are only scientific and sure insofar as they harmonize with those highly spiritual codes given by Moses, Rama, and the other great lawgivers. There is no great virtue in praising law and there is no great sin in breaking law; the merit comes from understanding law, while lack of understanding keeps one back on one’s journey.