“The Path of Love is like a bridge of hair across the chasm of fire.”
-- An early Christian mystic
“When I perceive the Beloved in my heart, there is no Form; it is only the Fullness of Love.”
- Darya Khan (Sind Poet)
“Man cannot remake himself without suffering; for he is both the marble and the sculptor”
- Alexis Carrell, Man the Unknown
Sufism is a way of life. It is neither a religion nor a philosophy. There are Hindu Sufis, Muslim Sufis, and Christian Sufis. The following excerpts are taken from “Daughter of fire” Author: Irina Tweedie
When you swim you keep-throwing water behind you, that’s how you propel forwards. Spiritual life is the same; you keep throwing everything behind you, as you go on. This is the only way; there is no other.
A Guru is a short-cut -- a short-cut and a ‘sharp-cut.’ By yourself you can never go beyond the level of the Mind. How can the Mind empty itself of itself?
The disciple has every right to test the Guru at first. Never have blind faith. Guru too has to be tested by the disciple before placing his faith. Once accepted, it must remain steady under any condition. Then the Guru can take over, and the disciple has no free will for a while.
When a person is attracted to the Guru and wants to become his disciple (Shishya) the Guru will decide, according to the character and the heart of the individual, on one of two Paths - Path of Dhyana (Meditation), the slow, but easier way; or the Path of Tyaga (Complete Renunciation/ Sacrifice), the Path of love, the Road of Fire that burns away all the dross. The latter is the quicker way. The Path of Dhyana is for the many; the Path of Tyaga is for the few. How many would want to sacrifice everything for the sake of Truth? The Path of love creates a great psychological upheaval; not everyone can be subjected to this pressure.
Remember, you are not given for yourselves; never. You are given for others. You are pledged to serve humanity. The more you give, the more you will receive. This is how the Essence works.
In order to become completely conscious on all levels of being you have to go through a period of unconsciousness. How else will you transcend the physical plane? Complete abstraction of the senses, complete elimination of the thinking process, represents a temporary loss of consciousness. In order to help the disciple the Guru will “switch off” the current and will paralyse the Mind temporarily, to enable the intellect to come through. The Mind cannot transcend itself. Some help is needed. When you live in your own Mind, how can it get out of itself? Activating the Heart Chakra does it very simply. As more Chakras get activated, the less assertive the Mind becomes - a painless process! The heart Chakra is unlimited; it is as large as the Universe.
You must understand that you will have many difficulties and you must be prepared to face them. So, remember that you do it from your own free will. All Karmas have to be burned up; you will suffer injustice and will be hurt where it hurts you most.
If one is pledged for spiritual life and work, there must be no reserve, no holding back. It must be a complete surrender on all the planes. What is a pledge? It is a promise, never to be broken, never.
When you are on the Path earnestly, your Karmas are taken away from you. Either you have to suffer them in your physical life, or they will come to you in your dreams. One second of dream suffering is like three years of real suffering in life. When you are on the Path, you are speeded up, and you pay for them in your dreams. If you stay away from the Path you will pay in full in your daily life all your Karmas. Once on the Path, the Grace of God reaches you, catches up with you and the mental Karmas will go away in dreams. Emotional sufferings are cleared up by the suffering Love itself can cause, but the physical Karmas have to be suffered in the physical body. There is a place where Karmas cannot reach, if it so pleases God. His Grace is infinite - Karmas ‘fall away.’
‘Suf’ means ‘wool.’ Wool is warm. If the heart is warm, then there is love. When you see a Saint whose heart is warm and soft, he is a Sufi. The teaching is given according to the state of evolution of the disciple - temperament and conditioning. As he progresses, more aspects of the Truth are revealed.
Love is always produced. By himself the disciple cannot manifest this love; this is not human love. The relationship with the Master is a very difficult one. So love is produced and it grows.
To enter the arena is to accept the Path of the Master. The world is for us as we create it. This is all ‘Manas’ (Mind stuff) which is Maya (Illusion). You want everything, but you are not prepared to make sacrifices. Always be a friend of the Almighty and you will never die. Always pray; the only real prayer is for “Oneness” with God.
Your attitude has to force the Master. Your life has to be lived in such a way that he sees that you are in earnest. Then the Master is forced to accept you. The relationship with the Master is once and forever, and there is no divorce.
If your heart has heard your prayer, God has heard it. Mohammedans pray five times a day. What’s the use if it is mechanical? Do not stick to mere words; then you will overcome the language barrier. One should always remain in prayer; one should always remember His Name. And in the time that remains, one must serve. Serve human beings, animals and nature. But human beings come first. They are most dear to God.
When one remembers Him every moment of the day and does not forget Him even for one second, then one is already there; he has arrived. He may only appear to be affected by Maya - Money, Sex, Property, but he is ever free from its hold.
To reach the Goal, one has to be turned inside out, burned with the fire of Love, so that nothing but ash would remain; and from the ashes will resurrect the new being, very dissimilar to the previous one. Never tell that it is an effortless Path. Ask for sorrow, pain and longing.
Not all disciples come here aspiring for the highest state, nor are they supposed to. Out of hundreds just one or two are selected to reach the higher state. They follow the Guru step by step. They go on pleasing him, and he will see to the rest. It is called ‘Guru Krepa,’ the Grace of the Guru. The Guru is duty-bound to give them what is demanded at the time, according to their need.
Love of the Guru is always the same - no more, no less. For him the very beginning and the end are the same; it is a closed circle. His love for the disciple does not go on increasing. However, it is very different for the disciple; he has to complete the whole circle. As the disciple progresses, he feels that the Master is getting nearer and nearer as time goes on. But the Master is not getting nearer - he was always near; only the disciple did not know that.
Everything depends on the character and temperament of the disciple. The Master must be strict; he has to be hard, because he wants the disciple to reach the high state. Absolute faith and obedience are essential; without that progress is impossible. Until the time is ripe, no one can have faith. Complete surrender is absolute faith. Complete faith must be such that you never question or doubt the Master. It is referred to as “Fana fi Sheikh” and is the most difficult stage.
When one has reached a certain degree of progress, he acquires certain capacities and powers. Some come naturally and the Master gives others. When one has this power, he has no right to refuse anyone seeking help through this power, because it is Service. His will is one with the Will of God; then he becomes an instrument in God’s hands.
Divine Power is not magic. No faith is needed for magic. Divine Power can manifest itself even when there is no faith, but It has to descend. It may descend even for worldly purposes in order to serve the public. Divine Power can never be sold. Clairvoyance and magic are worldly powers. Yogic Powers are acquired. No money can be charged for Divine Power. It is Grace given through a Great Man of the time, who belongs to Param Para.
Help is always given to us. The Help of God always unknowingly surrounds us. We must realise this, believe it. It is of not much use if we are unaware of it. The rose does not say I am fragrant. The fragrance reveals itself; it is its very nature. So is the God-Realised Man.
Criticise yourself, criticise yourself constantly, and you will get somewhere.
There can be no greater bliss imaginable than when two Souls merge into one with love; No bliss in the world is greater than when you are one with your Master.
The Goal of every Path of Yoga is to lead a Guided Life - Guided by that which is in you, the Eternal. To be able to listen to this guidance is the whole purpose of Spiritual Training. That’s why we insist on surrender and absolute obedience. This is what Christ meant when He said: “I and My Father are One; Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
If you smell the fragrance of a rose you should say, “how sweetly fragrant art Thou my Lord.” If you taste a sweet thing, say, “how sweet art Thou my Lord.” Thank, Thank, go on thanking Him always, for everything - for good things, for difficulties - that’s how you will progress.
Though it is the birthright of every human being to know how to love, you don’t know how to express it, because there is this personality, the little “self,” which does not want to go away. Until it goes, real love is impossible. For, Love is the negation of the “self.” The Guru is well aware of the difficulties on the Path, and at his feet you take refuge.
The lover must be like a dead body in the Hands of the Beloved. And it is by the Grace of the Guru that you are learning how to be contented always, in His Hands.
If you are going to love; if you can love forgetting yourself, only then can you be considered drowned in the Ocean of Love. The lane of love is narrow, as narrow as the edge of the sword. Two cannot walk on it. Where there is real love there is deep pain. Love has no reason, for the Mind knows it not... take off your head and follow the Master. Only in sorrow you will think of the Beloved.
Love will remain always. One day the “self” will go. When only love remains, you will not even say: “I love.” Even the “I” would have disappeared! When the “physical self” is present there is suffering. Once the “Real Self” belonging to the Soul is established, life in the physical plane becomes relatively unimportant.
The physical presence of the Master of course helps very much. What it means is that the body is getting used to the vibration gradually; it is “quickened.” This takes time because the physical frame of the individual is dense. In the latter stages the teaching must be communicated from heart to heart.
If there is love, there is great uneasiness; the greater the love, the more the uneasiness. Love is not the same all the time. It cannot be. At times Love is intense suffering. When one is a victim of Love, one is taken in.... sooner or later, just as a mango is picked when it is ripe. In your heart there can be room for only ONE. Your heart is like a hotel. You love this, that and the other. You can only love One Master, not two - either you love the world, or you love the Creator.
You cannot say to your Beloved: “ I love you, but only so much and no further.” If you love, your love must be like giving a blank cheque, without even knowing what you will be getting in return, a blank cheque of everything you possess. Above all of yourself, in utter and complete surrender.
There is only one Spiritual Guru in the whole world, for each one of us. He alone is allowed to subject a free human being to sufferings and place conditions - only He and nobody else can do it.
First one learns how to catch a hint from the Guru. Once well attuned, the Divine Hint will be faster than lightening. The Guru will hint first; if the hint is not taken, then he orders. The Guru trains us to take hints. He can give repeated orders if the disciple cannot understand. But, when left unheeded one might end up having to wait for a long time for such opportunities once again.
The Grace of God cannot be seized; it descends. The actions of the Guru is only for the welfare of the disciple. To say “I love you” is easy, but to realise it is difficult. If only you can realise that He is in your heart and He is Everything, and that you are nothing. Then your little “self” will diminish and all external things begin to loose importance. Then on, the “self” and everything else will remain with the Beloved.
The Guru will never put conditions, but the disciple does. It cannot be helped; it is in the nature of things. When the whole life of the disciple is always in accordance to the ideas or wishes of the Master, the training is complete and will be terminated.
Saints are like rivers; they flow where they are directed. They never flow uphill; they flow to the ocean. We need not carry the burden when we flow with them. Only when the “smaller” merges with the “Greater,” will the “self” disappear. Still, something will always remain, even in Great People! As long as one is in the physical plane, some faults are bound to remain.
Knowledge without experience is a hindrance.
What is given can be taken away. But the Master does not take away the love. The love ceases by itself when one loses faith in the Master or disobeys him. The Master who planted the love in the heart of the disciple will look after it, like the gardener who looks after the plants. He does not want it to die. The Master will judge if the disciple is ready for more love, but the disciple must surrender completely.
Yes, Saints can appear to be very cruel at times. It is only for the good of the disciple, that nothing should remain - no impurity, no obstacle, no defect - to hinder the disciple’s progress on the Path. Isn’t the doctor cruel when he takes the knife to cut through the abscess?
The Goal of life is to realise the Truth. But what can you say after you have realised it? How can it be described in the human language? People run after phenomena, sensations, illusions. They know not they will remain in the cave forever. First realise who you are, where you came from, and where you are going. Then, no desire will remain; everything will be gone. One becomes silent and will have nothing more to say. People will come to you and you will take them one step nearer to the Truth. At the beginning and in the middle one has great desire to work. At the end even this desire goes and nothing will remain. If you have a desire, then you are after the desire and not God!
You prepare for every journey, but not for the last journey. When the Beloved calls you, will there be time to prepare? Learn to die when you are alive. Great ones die many times before they depart. They leave behind only their Grace. The Master is the keeper of God’s Grace on earth. Only he can give it; exceptions are extremely rare.
It is difficult to become one with the Master. Mind will fret, but keep working at it. Keep asking, persist enquiring, until the doors open. On the physical plane, quite naturally, there will always be differences between your thoughts and actions. The flood of ideas which cause a barrier or veil will bring confusion in your Mind. This flood of ideas will go, but you cannot wait. Impatiently, you turn against the Master and let the link get cut off. The wiring is there and the bulbs are there, but there is no current.
When you eat a sweet its taste is gone once it is swallowed, but the memory of the taste will remain. So it is with mental and physical desires. Even if the desire is no more the Mind can still give trouble, because its memory is not yet erased.
Ancient Karmas form part of you, and you will be dragged again and again into the womb. But from now on it will burn itself out. From time to time this fire will burn in you - the purifying fire, this suffering, and you will need a lot more. When you meet your Spiritual Guru, this is supposed to be your last Karma-bound life. But surrender and absolute obedience are needed.
But what’s the use of repeating how much you have suffered? What’s the use of being sorry for yourself? Why not say courageously: “It is nothing, I will bear more. The river has to be crossed, so let’s go on.” You can do nothing about it; it has to be like this. Otherwise you will not progress. Up and down it goes, full of love once and emptiness next. Tables get turned in moments. It happens because you love so deeply. The pain gets sharper and deeper each time. It is a good sign. Pray that you should love more and more.
Although perishable, this body is extremely important because the Atman is in the body. Without the physical body we cannot evolve. That’s why we have to surrender our physical body as well. When the body is surrendered, the progress is quicker. The Master can do with the body what needs to be done.
The Guru sees God and the disciple sees the Guru. The Guru is like a transparent glass through which the disciple sees God. The Guru gives the disciple without conditions because he wants to give.
Trouble arises when a Guru, still full of his own importance, full of his “self,” starts teaching and attracts followers before himself getting rid of the “self.” One should not teach while there is still the desire to teach. This is the rule. Before the “self” is eliminated, one is not complete; one is not perfect and cannot make others perfect.
In the whole of the Universe there are only two - The Lover and the Beloved. God loves His creation and the Soul loves God. In order to create, the One non-dual Being had to multiply, become dual. Creation was possible only because of the two opposites - positive and negative, sound and the echo, light and darkness, etc. Without the opposing forces how could the world exist? Both forces are inherent in everything.
The System keeps the disciple constantly between the opposites, ups and downs. The purpose is to create the friction necessary to cause suffering, which will defeat the Mind. The greatest obstacle in the Spiritual Path is to make people understand that they have to give up everything. Attachment is the greatest barrier. What is dearest to us must go. This is law. One cannot serve two Masters. They have to make a choice between the world or the Guru. Everything must be given up eventually; nothing should remain, nothing at all. Even the self-respect must go. Only then the Master can take them into his heart!
You come naked into the world and go naked. When you come to the Spiritual Master, too, you have to become naked. It is like being ‘born-again.’
Love is a gift. Once it is given it remains for ever. Only sometimes it is not evident, like embers covered by ash from itself. Divine Love is easy to keep up, while worldly love is hard to maintain because one has to spend time, money and energy. Divine Love is in the Heart of hearts, but the Mind (ash) is covering it. Divine Love is created effortlessly, but effort is needed to sustain worldly love, let alone control the Mind.
Ahimsa is not harming others and not harming oneself. We injure our own selves by creating habits. Ahimsa cannot really be confined to the physical plane alone. Ahimsa at the mental level has to be practised daily - i.e., saying no evil nor wishing evil to anybody, never injuring other’s feelings, never getting addicted to bad habits. Non-killing is too simple and limited a concept!
If somebody sends evil to a Saint, it will affect him only if he wills himself; otherwise it is absorbed. When you are affected by evil, pray for help; it gets absorbed somewhere else! Help comes from the Universal reservoir or directly from the Master if the link with him is established.
[Mind is confused and annoyed when the Master makes paradoxical statements] If there is such a close link with the Master, why should there be such annoyance? Because this will help the disciple to make a ‘jump’ forwards. Such things are necessary to push the disciple higher. One must have a keen desire to reach the goal. When there is keen desire, where is the Mind? If the Mind gives trouble it simply means that the desire is not keen enough. Where love is, nothing can remain.
Real anger cuts us away from Reality sometimes for months. It is beyond the power of the human being to control anger. When the anger is gone find out where it came from, why and how, and what it did to you. You might learn many things. All those thoughts of distrust and doubt are in the atmosphere. With spiritual progress the Mind can pick them up ten times easily! So, keep the Mind merged always, either in the Absolute Truth, or in the Great Man of the time, The Sat Guru. Then, nothing can come in. Even lesser disturbances coming after a long time has great power. Therefore, constant vigilance and faith are needed.
Evils are not remembered, but faults are always remembered and pointed out.
Why not keep saying: “It’s very easy.” If you think it is difficult you will create obstacles. Don’t take your eye away from the Goal; let everything else go. Trouble caused by your body, money or other people, is nothing, but if your own Mind troubles you it becomes your major obstacle.
Only things which you cannot explain are lasting. What can be comprehended by the Mind is not a high state. Only those which you cannot express, put into words, and are not of the Mind, will last forever.
If I begin to help you, you will keep on asking for help over and over again. Then, how will you learn to overcome the obstacles yourself. You must do it yourself.
You may have renounced your worldly and material possessions. Have you renounced your character or your will? Surrender at the physical plane is easy, but difficult at the mental level. Surrender is the most difficult thing in the world while you are doing it, and the easiest when it is done. Everyone says: “My character, my intelligence, etc.” Everyone desires self-expression to assert one’s individuality. You, for instance, have been successful with it in the world. Your will, your character, still runs after the worldly concepts which you are used to for so many years. Now it has to be completely changed.
Those who are always with their Guru do not possess things. They rest in their Guru and nothing will touch them. Learn to be nothing. This is the only way. Understand that you have to change completely.
Kabir said: “ When Guru and God stand in front of you who is the greater of the two? Surely the Guru, because He will take you to God.”
If one says he is a realised soul, he never is. It is never said. A Saint is a balanced person. He knows that this world is not a bad one and that one has to live in both the physical as well as the spiritual realms. There is nothing good or bad for him, as they are relative concepts. The body of a Saint is so purified that it decays slowly and should be buried. It is a blessing for the surroundings.
What is “Vibration?” It is the impact of power; the resistance to it that causes Vibration.
The Lane of Love is not a thoroughfare. Once entered it cannot be passed through. At the beginning, however, love is difficult. But once the way is cleared, what a wonderful thing it is, created without effort. And one cannot help but loving, and it cannot even be stopped!
The Physical Surrender is not asked from everyone. Once surrendered it is absolute and final, not just for this life alone, but for ever. If the Master is pleased (with your effort) he will clear your “room,” which is your heart. It means Samskaras are pushed away. This process will cause great suffering and people may even say the disciple is being punished. In Total Surrender (including any belief in even Karma) there is no Karma whatsoever. Everything is His. You must have belief in Karma to have Karma.
Love in the world is mere attachment. The only Real Love is between the disciple and the Master, and it is once and for ever. No divorce. The Love of the Guru takes time to stick firmly. When Real Love comes, everything else loses value. Only then greater happiness will be felt.
Your own effort is not of much use. You must have keen desire for the Goal. It is a gift to those who can take it. If you obey implicitly, respect absolutely and are faithful you are bound to succeed. From the moment you are united with the Master it becomes completely effortless. However, effort is necessary in the beginning before union with the Master.
Whoever remains with the Master all the time does not progress. That’s why you have to go away for a while. We flow where we are directed. Can there be any pride when you are there executing His ‘orders?’ All knowledge you need will come to you automatically.
Curd is the Mind; Vessel is the Body; Churning is Real Attention. Everything is achieved at a price, by pain and effort, weeping! The “self” will not go in gladness and caresses - it must be chased with sorrow and drowned in tears. As long as the self is strong it creates a barrier between you and the Master.
It’s always “I” and “Me” ... “I want” and “I don’t want” ... Even in conversation the “I” is present! It is not easy to get rid of the “I” when it has lived with you for over 50 years. If the Master removes your “I”, the ego, would there be any merit? Even so, it will be temporary. For it to last, you have to discard it yourself. Why those people (Hindus) don’t progress? They worship idols and they think they are right. The higher you go, the greater will be the ego! Until you reach the highest state, you cannot get rid of the ego. There is much “self” in every prophesy; where they show themselves as knowing better than others. Who am “I” to say that “I” did it? If you say so, there is trouble. He is the doer ... always He, never us.
People will come to you; some will try to get you on the wrong path. Once on the Path, having reached a certain stage, temptations will come your way. You will have to overcome these difficulties.
Real Happiness lies in Acceptance. Christ understood this and was content to Live the Will of God.
In violent deaths - explosion, fire, torture, etc. - the Soul has no peace after the death of the body for a while in the case of ordinary people. The terrible suffering cannot be imagined. However if such things happen to great Incarnations like Christ, Mohammed and other Masters there is no suffering. They had already died before their physical death, not once, but many times. That’s why they are beyond comparison. There is no such thing as death for anyone who has surrendered to His Will.
Where there is Bhakti even worries purify and cleanse the individual. Why not say: “The Guru gave it to me?” If he gives you the trials, he also gives you the strength to bear them. Sometimes, the Guru will say nothing; other times he would say things to confuse you. All this just to hasten the death of the Mind! Doubts take a long time to clear. When not even a single doubt remains, the disciple has achieved oneness with the Guru.
People think the more perfect you are, the healthier you become. It is so at the beginning, but not so at the later stages when the Body and Mind are left behind as quite unimportant. A perfect man is the one in whom all desires have dried up. Desire itself is designed to remove the sense of personal imperfection in the individual. We naturally revolt against imperfection. Only the Perfect can satisfy us.
The sense of possession gives pain and sorrow. A saint is the one who is always, at all times, contented.
Surrender has to be at all levels to form a closed circle. If the Mind is surrendered, the Body will automatically follow, for the Mind is the Master of the Body - Completely everything. Surrender does not mean conversion.
People are full of worldly things. Every human being is basically good. Why not tell them what they can understand? Food is very important. Sometimes they eat the wrong food; other times they talk too much - that’s why so many things go wrong.
Everything the Master says is for your good only, never for himself. He has to be severe with some disciples; otherwise how will they learn? Those who obey are taken to a high state - not immediately, but eventually. It is not always possible to obey the Master, but if you do, you cannot go wrong. Time comes when one does not need the Master any more. But Reverence, Love and Gratitude will remain always.
Duality will disappear between disciple and the Master. The disciple has to make a sacrifice of himself. To surrender all possessions is easy, but to surrender the Mind is very difficult. A disciple can sacrifice himself only to a certain degree. If he is still in want of something, it means duality still exists between him and the Master. When he wants nothing, it is Pure Love.
Karmas are accepted as Law of Nature. But God in His Infinite Mercy can overrule them at any moment. The Master, by the Order of God, will do away with them absolutely.
If one loses faith one can come down from every level, even from the highest. But a stage is reached when faith is never lost. It is like a stone which never returns to the ground when thrown high enough ( freeing itself from gravity); Similarly the Soul goes on and on to God.
If you are completely surrendered why would you even want to speak with him? Or, be hurt or cry? Once the understanding is there one gets all the answers. Even the Love which is given to us is truly a gift, and everything ends there. The wonderful thing about Love is that it is such a Natural State.
The Guru does not communicate in explicit language; something will be missing. He does it by giving ‘direct’ knowledge. You cannot go to a higher state when you stick with your beliefs. Let them go. Logic reflects lack of faith and will not help you. Only unwavering faith will carry you through. Without faith the Mind will always revolt. Reason? You cannot progress by reason.
At some stage when the disciple begins to believe in his divinity and says: “I am God,” an ordinary teacher will caution: “No, be careful; with those lips that are not pure, with the heart not yet limpid as the Waters of Life, it is blasphemy to say you are God!” But a great Master will not say so directly - he simply would teach humility and make you less than the dust at his feet.
No Master will tell any disciple that the training is finished and the disciple has learnt all that is to be known. This is to protect the disciple from pride. The more the obstacles are on the disciple’s path, the greater will be the perfection. Very few reach the ultimate perfection. For the sake of training the Master is outwardly very harsh. How else can he strike at the disciple when the Mind rebels? Harsh words from the Master will help, but his sweetness never will.
Love is great suffering at the beginning and in the middle; later it is sheer joy. If one loves, and then loves not, this is not love. It must remain unaffected by whatever that happens.
When people talk too much, they tend to show how clever they are or how well they have understood the subject. The Master pays no attention to these. Only in silence things can be assimilated. The Master infuses Spiritual knowledge; they are not explained.
In Spiritual matters things can never be forced, however correct the attitude of the disciple is. It is given as a gift. There can never be any question of forcing the Guru or God.
One should not even say Almighty God. Many people object to that. None, regardless of their religion, will object to ‘Absolute Truth.’ Zarathustra was the first to coin the word ‘God.’ ‘God’ is a good word; ‘Absolute Truth’ is better.
Some people do not know how to show respect to others. Without regard, nothing can be done. Even a sales-person in a shop will not serve you if you show no respect. No one likes a rude or quarrelsome person.
A Saint is an ordinary man who does not indulge in anything. He too has desires just like others; only he is not after them. If they are fulfilled there is no pleasure; if not there is no pain.
God is your friend. But the Guru is the task-Master. It takes some effort to reconcile with the Guru as a person and to relate with him in a way which is not worldly.
Suffering? Isn’t Love alone enough suffering? When the Guru treats you badly, he has much love for you. His kindness will not help you; his severity will.
If the Mind is restless it picks up every current from the atmosphere. You should never think of the future. If you worry about the future and make plans, it means you don’t have trust in God. Don’t trust yourself, but trust where trust is. It means - don’t trust the Mind, trust the Higher-Self, the heart-of-hearts.
Emotions are nothing. They are not at all a sign of spirituality.
You have to care about what you do and want to be successful. When you do something you must do it as best as you can. If not you will be letting down your Master; you will be letting down Sufism.
At the beginning and in the middle one wants to work, to share, to teach. Later this desire also goes. It is then that one really begins to teach. You are not ready to be a teacher if you feel the need to teach. Wait till you feel the need is no more. Then you will be successful.
The road to him is to forget all knowledge, to leave all preoccupations behind. Put yourself in His Hands and trust; then you will know.
Beliefs can be great traps, they imprison us. Facts are unreliable, we outgrow them. But, there is such a thing as the Supreme Fact - only to that we must arrive by a long road; it can take a life-time.
One does injustice to people by comparing them. Nobody can be compared with anybody else.
The cause of hatred is pride. Because you think you are better than the others. The diamond does not proclaim its worth; it’s for others to judge.
Gold become pure when it is put through fire. During training the disciple is put through suffering. It takes away the dross. Suffering has a redeeming effect.
The disciple is nourished with the Essence of the Guru and will have the answers when he needs one.
Truth that is not said gently is not truth. Never say anything for the sake of personal gain or advantage. When you hurt others, you have to think badly of them. Thus, you really hurt yourself.
Faith and obedience are possible if the love is great. Sooner or later, very subtly, the Master puts the disciple against himself; then he will subject him to a severe test. Sometimes the test is impossible or too difficult to fulfil. And if he accepts it, thinking he cannot do more but die, then he is ready for a high state.
When complete control of the Mind is achieved, you will know which thoughts are your own and which ones you have picked up from the atmosphere around you. You can keep the ones you want and discard the rest. Thoughts come and go. A great satisfaction and peace will be experienced once the Mind is brought under control. Then you become the Master and not the helpless victim.
Good and bad are everywhere. They will have no effect if you don’t dwell upon them. The Sufis are always absorbed somewhere. Hence they don’t notice them.
If you think you are doing something great, there it goes! It has no value. Why not think you did it because it was your duty? Doing ones duty has lasting value.
A Saints is Pure Love. He is evolved like the Master. He obeys and is content with the Will of God. He is God’s instrument. If a Saint commits a mistake, God will always give him the opportunity to correct it, because he is completely surrendered. He has no will of his own except the Will of God. But a Sage has to come back if he commits a mistake!
Only He knows everything. Remember, you know nothing. If people speak highly of you, beware of pride. Just pray, it is He who is speaking highly of Himself. If they flatter you, it is He, who is in their body, doing it, flattering Himself! If you are abused it is the same - He is abusing Himself.
Life in this world is speeded up constantly; everything is going faster and faster. Our children are even faster than us. They are not disturbed by the pace of life, the pressures, noise etc., but we are because we are slower than them. New discoveries in science are happening at hair-raising speed. The day must come when Spirituality and contemporary life on earth are bound to meet; they are like two ends of the same stick. They will meet in the middle and become one.
Nobody is a beginner. We are all beginners, beginners from our relative stages and swimming in this infinite ocean. So, who can be nearer the shore?
A bad teacher will always behave according to the expectation of his followers. The conventional idea of a spiritual teacher is that he is always kind, benevolent, compassionate, dignified, uttering wise statements, etc. So, the bad teacher will act accordingly because he is after personal prestige and material gain. But, a good teacher always obeys the Law of which the world has no notion. He will follow his Swadharma. The Sat Guru may do things the people do not understand and may even condemn. Love does not always conform to conventional beliefs. It can appear in the shape of great cruelty, injustice, or even calamity. In this respect one could say that the Sat Guru is like God. He cannot be judged by worldly standards.
It is very difficult to please the Master, because He wants you to develop to your maximum potential. You may say, “God’s Grace is needed.” But, the Grace works through the Master, who helps you effortlessly towards Realisation.
God can be known only through the Master who is complete in every way. The Master is the sole dispenser of Peace. The nearer you are to him, the greater the Bliss and Peace you will experience.
For some time the Mind needs to remain dipped. It must happen to all disciples at some point. The disciple must fill his thoughts with important ideals, but for the rest of the time he must try and keep his Mind empty. Only then the Master can infuse something.
Books are all like mud. We create the books, books do not create us. Subtle and secret things cannot be communicated through books. If you have a good Spiritual Guide, stick to him and forget all the book knowledge. Sometimes, the Master himself can throw your Mind into confusion. Without churning the Mind, how will you get the Pearl?
There is nothing auspicious or inauspicious about anything. Those are man-made superstitions! We create them and then get ourselves entangled in ignorant beliefs. Sufis are free from them.
Body attracts body. But with Sufis, Soul attracts Soul. For us the physical body is of secondary importance. Sufis don’t care much about it. The body can die, but you never die. In all Sufi Systems, surrender to the Master is demanded. You go to the Absolute Truth in Silence, for it can be found only in Silence.... and IT is SILENCE!
Saints can heal anything, but cannot heal everybody. Being one with God, the Saint knows if it is the destiny of the particular individual to suffer. The fate which is allotted to a human being cannot be changed.
Sometimes, women suffer undue cruelty. A woman can never be so cruel like men. But a man can be terribly cruel to women.
When the Master puts you in the mud, you will try to get out. Understand the more the obstacles you face, the greater will be the perfection. Even if you want to commit suicide, show him how you will do it. If He does not want it, can you ever do it?
When you came to the Master with some clairvoyance and psychic powers, of course, the Master took them away from you. You were “blown” up like a balloon then! Are you after Absolute Truth, or are you after illusions? How will the “self” go if you are after them.
The time will come when Love and Faith become one and the same (when the Master is no more). Now it is impossible for you to understand this. Finally, even Love will go and ‘Nothing’ remains.
Well, why are you disgusted? It is good to be disgusted with yourself; it helps humility. But, really, there is nothing to be disgusted about. If you cannot do your Sadhana, leave it. It is the Will of God. It is God testing you... All His Will. What happens inside and outside us is His Will. So why the disgust?
DISCIPLE’S OBSERVATIONS
Because of the link which binds you (Master) and me like is an arc of a glorious Rainbow thrown from one Eternity to another; in the name of this Old Relationship, which always was and always will be, and which gave you the right to do to me what no one can do to a free human being without paying a high price for doing it; because of this love you have lit like a Sacred Torch in my heart, I am controlling my Mind....
You know it is not easy. I live in an atmosphere of doubts and suspicions; and to keep my Mind fixed firmly on the Point of Light, still so far away, is so much more difficult. It is a gigantic task, a full-time job, from morning till night. But I am not alone; you are helping me by saying the right word from time to time.
The secret is not to say it will pass; the secret is to say and believe that it does not matter - those people around the Master, those unbearable conditions. Only he matters, the one to whom my heart flies in mute prayer to help me to the Truth.
We don’t get more than what we can bear. If I am given trouble, it means somebody, somewhere, knows that I can bear it; that somebody has faith in me. I should not disappoint this “Somebody.” I have to bear it.
The Master is the representative of the Beloved on earth. By doing the Will of the Master, one learns to do the Will of the Beloved. That’s how one becomes like him and merges in Him. The disciple for the time being loses himself; his work becomes the Master’s Will. Bye and bye he learns to lose himself in God.
I am a fool. I should stop trying to understand everything. He does all this deliberately to me because I am still after knowledge, not experience or wisdom. I should forget about it, not even want this knowledge.
I will accept the unjust treatment. And the word, “unjust” gave me a clue; injustice is the worst thing for me. That’s why he is testing me with the emphasis on all kinds of unjust treatments. If I am able to accept it, I would make a great step forwards.... And I became full of peace.
I was thinking that I have three helpers - Love, Longing and feeling of Nothingness; my standby. And I need to sink into Nothingness to be able to bear anything and everything. Nothingness is only a stranger to the personality. It must also become familiar to a feeling of peace for the Personality to surrender. At first, ‘Nothingness’ was neither pleasant nor unpleasant; later it was like a sorrowful happiness with a stillness in it. Now it is bliss; it is beginning to be glorious with a transcendent feeling of ecstasy.
I was reflecting that the feeling of Nothingness was not only in his presence. It stays with me all the time. I feel that before God, before Life and it seems to become slowly my very being.
Three tests in one week; the pressure increases. He tightens the screws. The most surprising thing is that it did not hurt me at all. It was not so long ago that I was desperate when the Master was angry with me; the world seemed to crash to pieces, disproportionately to the occasion. And now, nothing!! He must have given some help. Has the feeling of Nothingness something to do with it? There is simply nobody here to be upset in this ‘Nothingness.’ Or, perhaps, I am more detached.
As Consciousness expands and understanding deepens, one begins to see Him in everyone and everything. There is nothing but He. One is surrounded by Him... everywhere. So, one begins to surrender to Life, to People, to things - all as being Him, and Him alone.
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THREE THINGS ARE DIFFICULT TO GET: ACCORDING TO SHASTRAS (SCRIPTURES)
1. A Human birth 2. Desire for Realisation 3. A Sat Guru
FROM IDYLL OF THE WHITE LOTUS: There are three truths which are absolute -
The Soul of man is immortal, and its future is the future of a thing whose growth and splendour has no limit.
The Principle that gives life dwells in us; it is undying and eternally beneficent; it is not heard or seen or smelt, but perceived by man who desires perception.
Each man is his absolute Law-giver, the dispenser of glory or gloom to himself, the decree of his life, his reward, his punishment.
“The Divine Thread is so subtle and thin, not easy to see... not easy to catch. It is not for everybody
Only for those who can sacrifice. Not the physical possessions are meant here, this is not sacrifice.
It is relatively easy and is only part of it.
Sacrifice means merging into the Great Man of the time, Who is the Sat Guru (From PERSIAN COUPLET)
“Who made you a king and me a beggar is the same God! Those who are defective, those who are sinners, are supplied with clothes and worldly possessions, but those who are Saints, do not need all these, for they are Beloved of God!” - Said Sarmad
“From people to people, from Saint to God. And the Saints don’t hang in the calenders on the wall, but are here with us, Living with God, and in God amongst people, and helping them.”
“The world would not be the same if you were not in it - a little note in the Symphony of Life.” -Inayat Khan
