The Bowl of Saki Sayings and writings for daily meditation. Selected Sayings of Inayat Khan with Complements by Samuel L. Lewis and Harmonies by Matt Lippa Introduction About These writings In the early 1900's Inayat Khan brought Sufi teachings to the West. Among other practices, he instituted daily contemplations and meditations for some of his students. Later these were formalized into a little book through the work of one of his early disciples. She got the inspiration/intuition directly to continue this work in an "outer" fashion so it could be extended to more people - especially those in the West who had not been exposed to this perspective - about the same time as another disciple was also receiving confirmation of this through similar guidance. About 1920, the work of taking some of the sayings and comments of Inayat Khan and assembling them in an ordered manner, much like a "course" was begun. It took almost a year to complete, after which time it was published anonymously as "Thoughts for daily contemplation collected from the sayings and teachings of Pir O Murshid Inayat Khan, by One of His Pupils". This was in 1921. There is little actual written record of the process or the person(s) involved. The next step in the work with these "sayings and teachings" came around 1930. That is when one of Inayat Khan's students, Samuel Lewis, states that Inayat Khan appeared to him in vision and gave him the direct transmission of commentary. It seems that Samuel Lewis wrote most of these between then and no later that 1949 or 1950; but again, there seems to be no written records of that time which give specific information. Here, now is a third stage in this work. We are calling them, "harmonies"; and renaming the commentaries as "complements", for they are complementary to the original sayings. [These harmonies] "now provide more of the stages of feeling - sensing the step within oneself - the connection to the experience of the words". [They] "continue this work as a way as to provide continuity and feeling to it; and to extend it in a Universal manner". Both this third stage and this renaming of the commentaries result from a request to this writer from both Inayat Khan and Samuel Lewis, to continue it in this manner. They are done with their blessings and with their authority to do so. More details of the history of the Bowl of Saki and the purpose of this work, follow the suggested uses. This information comes through direct transmission. Suggested Uses Catch the rhythm, catch the feeling, catch the breath. It can't be taught, but needs to be caught. The words are the ladder, the breath the connection; love the means and the way. People do things for different reasons. First there may be a foundation, then a building, then decorating. Each is a part of one work. The methods may change, even be adapted differently over time or due to changing needs or emphasis. Just as a structure can be used originally for one purpose and then another, so too with this work and its components Originally used as a method for assistance and guidance of a small group of people, it was developed for use by many. This required re-ordering and selection. Later, explanation and extension toward function and process was needed; as was the correlation to various systems, terms, and descriptions. Now, later, both a harmonizing of the first two are needed as is a continuance in usage and expression of feeling, able to be touched or caught in another manner. Thus we have the framework grow from particular to general; expanded; blended and continued. In all these cases, inspiration guided the work and correlated it. This was not so much a result of personal decisions, choices, or intents, as it was the one intent and being expressing through various forms using different methods or approaches, for one coordinated work. There are thousands, practically limitless ways in which this work now can be approached. I will offer only one. If you do something different, I only ask that you attempt to do it as a result of real guidance rather than personal choice. Use this work as a means to experience the perspective, realization, intent, and truth behind and through the words. Each person writing had experience. Attempt to catch the breath and feeling of each one. Then go further, using this as a stepping stone or ladder to the reality from which it came and to which it points. In the course of doing this, you will have the opportunity and process of both looking through these others' eyes and feeling through their heart. Lose "yourself" if you can in this being. Breath is the connection. The way is this. Take some time in the morning to focus on - concentrate, contemplate, meditate - the Saying. Sometime in the middle of the day, read the saying again and then the Complement. Focus on the complement. In the evening, re-read both the saying and complement and then focus on the Harmony. Try to experience the reality of which all three refer - as great as you have capacity for. Finally, try to put into practice what you have gained. You will find, in many cases, that the writings themselves are practices or contain within them practices. Follow them as best you can. There is then a question of where to start - especially if it is not January 1 when you first take on this practice. I suggest that for this purpose, start at January 1 anyway. These sayings are ordered in a manner that each tends to build upon the previous ones. Thus starting from the beginning will, in this usage, be generally more effective than starting in the middle - regardless of other benefits. This is why the sayings are numbered sequentially in addition to by date. Start at number 1 and go to the end. Finally, I would strongly suggest that you try to actually get through them all. Make it a practice for a year. You will have greater benefit from that, at least for this purpose, then approaching them or working with them piecemeal or by other means. I would suggest in this regard, that you will find it easier to do this if you establish some rhythm or harmony in time of day and possibly even place, that works regularly and easily for you. Matt Lippa - 2004 Following is more information on the origins, additions, and purposes for the Bowl of Saki. This comes from direct transmission of Inayat Khan and Samuel Lewis. From Inayat Khan: "When I first offered these changing meditations as daily practices, I observed that they helped harmonize the entire work effort and attention through the people. At that time, several students were living in the same house with me. They were not coordinated in either their mental approach to living and being of service, nor were they harmonized and integrated with each other regarding respect, social interaction, or pointing toward the same goal and process. It was in this manner that I first approached offering these daily meditations, some of which now comprise what is call the "Bowl of Saki". I began because of the haphazard nature of these students minds and intents, and soon found a rhythm that dealt with and coordinated their daily activities into these very words. They soon found that by paying attention to them a theme would deepen throughout the day, and solve, or lead to solving of daily interactions as well. As this deepened, so too did their heart and intention with each other become more harmonized and in tune with the larger effort. It was here that I found that repetition in other means was necessary for both reinforcing the lessons that were being learned, and also for exploring and delving deeper into the subtleties inherent within each of these areas, or considerations. The needs determining the outer action or specific meditations were generally two. These are the aspects of both the outer and the inner. The inner were those qualities and lessons that I saw were needed to come to the next stage and the steps to attain or move to that. The outer was both the reactions and difficulties people were at times having with some of the concepts in absorbing them within their daily life, and what they included within the spiritual realm; and also what difficulties they had in their daily integration. Sometimes I would look for or even seek out disharmonies so I could use them as catalysts for further discussion and as themes for meditations. Eventually, after two or three years with this grouping they were no longer necessary and were abandoned. Within a short time following when I stopped asking that these "sayings" be considered on a daily basis, I was approached by one of my students who was gaining the experiences of guiding. In this phase she was learning how to associate work I was giving into a larger "teaching". In other words, the expression of the Message. She came to me one afternoon. It was raining I recall, with hints of sunlight streaming down, as rays of inspiration. She placed herself before me and asked if I had objection to using the sayings that were given to her and the others in a broader sense. I said, "No. Why did she ask this?" Because, she said, she had a dream, and in that a vision that they could be used for all the world, for people to help find a way to God. It was then that I first considered the method of transforming them into a teaching or guidance that would be useful for a larger audience. She took on this work, as she had both been guided and instructed to do, and began organizing the sayings in a way that would be more applicable and useful to a wider audience and in a more general sense. I did little of the actual work on this effort other than to review what was being done, answer a question or two as she felt was needed - for example to make an adjustment in the wording or form of the meditation or contemplation, and eventually to advise on the overall content and approve the final grouping. It then was left up to her to finish the work. I gave approval to the first copy and it was published anonymously as "a student", as she did not wish to take credit for it or have it interfere with the learning; for she did not wish to place herself between the teaching and the learner. Later she gained the knowing and ability to be an intermediary without interfering. This is the story of the creation of using these sayings as "The Bowl of Saki". She chose the name, together with both my assistance and confirmation of her intuition and vision. For she had been deeply immersed in the writings of Hafiz and felt influenced by him to extend this in the manner of his work, with his blessing and inspiration. It thus took on that name, and is also why the first Harmony relates and refers to it in the way that it does. In 1930 I appeared to Samuel Lewis, a student of mine and Murshida Martin, who was growing as a guide and teacher. He was one of the few who maintained contact with me in spirit and heart, for he had knowing which far exceeded others who were primarily in an "organization". It was him I chose to continue the next step in the transmission of the "teachings" or meditations. It became apparent to me that to be extended more, they needed to take on the next level of characteristics, those of function and process - the means and ways in which they work out in life in the multiple levels of creation. Also needed was a way to both relate these contemplations to the several different paths or religions in which they also are expressed, a little differently perhaps, but essentially similarly. There was also the need to correlate them, not only to the teaching, but also to compare the limitations of mind and individualized heart. Who better than to do all these things than Samuel, for he had traveled widely in the inner realms, and, like I, had interest in all the paths and honored all the teachers and prophets as part of the same work. Thus I appeared to him and asked him to bring forward the next step. His recognition and acceptance of this was immediate. Thus the commencement of this transmission began, also immediately. This continued several times during the process of writing, and it strengthened the resolve and conviction that the purpose was real and needed. This is how we came to you last year and requested that you also continue this work as a way as to provide continuity and feeling to it; and to extend it in a Universal manner. We had also noticed a superficiality to some of the "arguments" or rejection of commentaries as being either shortsighted or not directly applicable. Thus we ask you to continue these as "harmonies" in which they may be blended and extended anew. In this manner the "breath" continues. This is also why, at our urging you have renamed the "commentaries" as "complements", for they are complementary." Samuel Lewis spoke regarding his work of the commentaries: "This writing is complementary, the complement to the original sayings. They include some of the understanding; bringing forward the needed steps for consideration. I was given the job by my teacher and guide, Hazrat Inayat Khan to continue the work of the Bowl of Saki. He felt that there needed to be a deeper consideration of the functions and processes of the sayings, and felt that the time was right to extend that into the world - both for the benefit of the students then working with sayings and others to come later. He asked me if I would take on that focus and I accepted. Following that was a transmission of the knowing, the intention, of this work in a larger sense. As I worked with the individual writings, the sayings, I then began to get the form and focus of my own work. This was in done in constant contact, fana, with Inayat Khan so that the eyes I looked through and the taste of being were his as well as mine. I gave the understanding so people could make that next step. Sometimes in form, sometimes function, many times what was needed was a clarification for the time or people I worked with, and those I saw coming. Sometimes it was broader. So the whole world was encompassed within my heart and I felt the need of humanity. In those cases I wrote from the face of being God incarnate. In this case I had to deliberately avoid any personality of "Sam" for he would get in the way of the message needed. To extend this personality I attuned to myself as the same one you also reach when reaching out to the world within. The work that we now ask you to continue we are calling "harmonies ". These writings now provide the stages of feeling - sensing the step within oneself - the connection to the experience of the words." Bowl of Saki January 1 (1) Saying As water in a fountain flows as one stream, but falls in many drops divided by time and space, so are the revelations of the one stream of truth. ___________________________________ Complement Truth is the Universal Life which permeates and penetrates all things. It is the same as Universal Light called "Amida" by the Buddhists which should not be regarded as different from Allah or God. This difference comes from the intervention of the mind-weaving. The Universal Light penetrating through the meshes of the mind reflects in forms through the world of limitation - that is to say, where there is time and where there is space. If by cognition one means mental grasping, this is not the acquiring of truth. It can never be done by philosophy. It is only when the consciousness arises above time and space, it perceives the Grand Unity beyond the mental realm. It is this Touch which may be called Revelation, and no one who has ever experienced it will find its Essence contradictory to anyone else who has ever experienced it. Sometimes the spiritual evolution of personality reaches such an exalted stage that the one is called "Avatar" or "Rasul". This is the result of the tearing of mind-mesh so that the Divine Light penetrates into the physical body, and the life of body, mind and spirit is one. In such cases the words of the speaker are termed "Revelation", but the real revelation consists not of the words but of the personality and atmosphere of the Divine Messenger. As the Universal Light and Life are ever one and the same, and as the process of revelation always consists of this tearing of the mind-mesh and the pouring of spiritual abundance upon the body, such experience can well be likened to the rising of a geyser or fountain, only in this case the depths of the spring are in the universal sphere. ___________________________________ Harmony Oh, Saki, from Your endless ocean comes into being "is" and "isnot". That which flows from the bottomless bowl; that wine, that spirit, reveals itself to the beholder in the realm of time and space. Disappearing and reappearing it tricks the senses and the mind. From one is all and never two. Yet mind grasps form and separates in space. This illusion denser and denser becomes more strong. To the one who knows and sees; who lives in heart above mind and separation; there is but one time, now, and is and isnot reveal the truth. These droplets lead to the stream and the stream to the ocean. The ocean exists as oneself. ******************************************************************** January 2 (2) Saying All names and forms are the garbs and covers under which the one life is hidden. _____________________________________________ Complement This Universal Life penetrates all things. It has two aspects, a rising and a falling, an expansion and a contraction. Through the heating of expansion in Love the Higher was formed; through the cooling of contraction in Beauty the Lower or external was formed. The waves of vibrations from these met and intermingled forming the mind-mesh where light and darkness both are found. The Universal Light falling between the meshes of mind upon the outer sphere gave rise to the myriad of forms which have been given names by man to distinguish them, but really the Essence is one and the same. Who understands this understands something of the Nature of Allah. _____________________________________________ Harmony Stepping forth to Be, you call it Breath. Giving all, myself to Sustain, you call it Love. Form builds, contracts, called Universal Mind. Denseness within sphere, denseness to Be. Mind separates this illusion of form. Call it what you will. Stage upon stage, breathe out, connect. Heart calls to oneself, Remember. See and know myself through life, my essence is - Ahl - Lha - in - out. ****************************************************** January 3 (3) Saying Truth without a veil is always uninteresting to the human mind. _____________________________________________ Complement Above this mind-mesh there is a Universal Condition which cannot be grasped by the human mind. Human beings can understand it through the heart faculty but not through the mind. Although mind was formed by the interplay of forces from the lower and upper worlds, and in this were the Heavens, as well as the Hells made from the earth, nevertheless the Light of Intelligence shining through the mind-mesh from above causes it to look below upon name and form. Even when it looks up it does not see anything beyond this mesh which forms the sky of Malakut, the Mental Plane, even as a fish cannot see above the surface of the water. Personality on earth looking up only so far, the light is turned back towards earth, forming again between the Mental Plane and earth the Psychic Realm which is created by the reflections and emotions of man, but is not in reality a sphere such as the Physical Plane (Nasut), the Mental Plane (Malakut) and the Spiritual Plane (Djabrut). In reality it is subjective, formed by the mind turning in upon itself and its experiences. The veil of Isis is this same sky of Malakut, and when once that is penetrated the Goddess is beheld in all Her Glory. _____________________________________________ Harmony So simple, so very plain - no substance. Oh Glory come forth and Be. The highest sound, soundless sound, come lighting layers, excitement dawns, to perceiver so small. And come forth and be bright make mansion and lightning - thought beams reflected, more solid emotion and feelings be denser behold all the substance the wonders, the things of the world. But how in attraction heart pales to forms - the smells and the sights and the touches of life. These veils of wonder attract and do hold one, 'til Universe speaks to the heart from within. And covers attract one - the ankle is showing - remembrance, return - this is simple, the Way. Waking to touch the interest behind it pulls through the yearning of Truth undefined. So veil attracts and is the key - toward coming back to simplicity. ****************************************************** January 4 (4) Saying When you stand with your back to the sun, your shadow is before you; but when you turn and face the sun, your shadow falls behind you. ____________________________________________ Complement This describes the difference between the average man and the illuminated soul. This is primarily a difference of Will, not of capability. The average man, who is under the sway of external influence, permits his will to be deceived by the mind. He looks down from above, like the man leaning over the wharf and gazing into the depths of the ocean. All he sees are reflections and shadows. So he becomes caught in this web, which is nothing but the shadow of the vibrations interpenetrating in the mind-mesh. When man turns to the path of God he begins to look upward. Therefore spiritual education is called a turning and a tuning. Then the shadow-thoughts and the shadow-words and the shadow-interests fade into nescience, and the whole attention is focused upon God and Unity. This is the meaning of the Sufi Invocation, "Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty, the Only Being; United with All the Illuminated Souls, Who form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance." _____________________________________________ Harmony So difficult to discern through the darkness. The shadow shows only the phantom image without clear line or definition. Why? I remember/sense that clarity. Becoming to come home the yearning of love turns me and I choose to go forward. I stood in my own light? I stood in my own light. I stood in my own light! No longer. Toward That Which IS I move and the shadows drop away without effort; reflecting movement toward the One. Clarity returning - remembering, sensing, feeling - the line within the line, the note within the note. Heart-in-Breath. ****************************************************** January 5 (5) Saying No one has seen God and lived. To see God we must be non-existent. _____________________________________________ Complement It is the human mind which determines the existence of man. When man rises above the mind-mesh, existence continues but man does not. That is to say, the life in God is the non-existence of human life. So long as we exist as self we remain below the mind-mesh; in the life above the mind-mesh there is no self as we understand it. _____________________________________________ Harmony Not two of one. Neither beholder not beheld. I knocked and answered. Die to be reborn? What dying? What clinging? There is nothing left. There is all. What can be said? Bless all. ****************************************************** January 6 (6) Saying The truth cannot be spoken; that which can be spoken is not the truth. _____________________________________________ Complement Truth is an Absolute, Transcendent Unity. Sounds are created out of Sound by the Universal Sound (called Logos by the Christians) which penetrates the mind-mesh giving rise to all particular sounds. Particular sounds show the existence of Universal Sound but do not explain it. This Universal Truth is Universal Sound and not Silence. It is active, it is Life, yet in a certain sense it is changeless above and including all change. Human speech comes into existence by the grasping of the rays of Universal sound by the mind-mesh, but none of such utterances can either be or describe the Universal Sound which is Truth. A chicken cannot be described by the eggs she hatches, yet it is natural for the chicken to lay eggs. Yet human speech, through the praising of God, causes a turning back to God. This is through the process of renunciation (not abolition) of thought and speech. Through such a process one becomes one with Truth, and Truth is reflected in speech and is the cause of speech but of itself it is not speech. _____________________________________________ Harmony Om, Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai, Ram Om Ya-Huu-Vaa Ah-Bwuuu-nn Ah-Lah Huuuu Refine the Breath Breathe One Let the Breath relax No-Thing Breathe One-No-Thing Relax Breathe Love Be - Exist ****************************************************** January 7 (7) Saying The only power for the mystic is the power of love. _____________________________________________ Complement This has two explanations: There is one Power in the Universe, and that Power is Love. This one Power is that Universal Energy which we have been calling Life or Light. This is a naming of it, it is not a description of it. It is this same Power which gave rise to the Universe producing the positive and negative vibrations and atoms which directly or indirectly gave rise to all planes and all forms. Now what is or was this Power? It is the Power which comes from letting go, from losing the self, the Power which arises from non-attachment to personality. And what is that Power? It is nothing but Love. God so loved, that He created, and He so loved the world that He had created that He permitted His Power to appear in fullness in a human being. This is the mystery of Christhood. That gave all men the opportunity first to witness, and then through example to attain to, the fullness of this Power of Love while in the human body in the physical world. This was the very purpose of creation. _____________________________________________ Harmony From what is Before; the Word reach out/within. The Breath outward-Be. The movement, the only called Love. From within constricted; and the heavens and the earth. Then water and the earth; then again with heavens and the earth. More solid this within. Love circles - and finally in Hu-man. But when the words drop away; when the man leaves; when the heavens dissolve; when the inbreath to the earth of form comes back; the last step - Love - lingering in the infinite joy, until ....... And in that Breath and Love, I alone exist and show my face through my only begotten. All Suns - One. It is this that is the key to all. Transform. Let go. The Love exists. Be. Heart reaches to Heart. It is the Way. ****************************************************** January 8 (8) Saying If people but knew their own religion, how tolerant they would become, and how free from any grudge against the religion of others. _____________________________________________ Complement What is this knowledge of religion? In its fullest sense it is nothing but knowledge of God. Without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of religion. There may be belief in religion but there is not knowledge of religion. Until there has been the personal experience and contact such that the mind has grasped its significance, it cannot be called knowledge. Certainly when another has learned it, it is not one's knowledge. But when it has become part of one's own life, it is one's knowledge. Now this knowledge of God, how does it bring tolerance? It brings tolerance because it makes one see all and know all. If it does not make one see all and know all it is not knowledge of God. The God of popular religion is that name given to the human thought-concept of Divinity, but that human thought-concept is not the Reality. It is the Reality which, when apprehended, causes this condition of universal beneficence and compassion toward all creatures. That is why Allah is called Er-Rahman, Er-Rahim. _____________________________________________ Harmony The ocean wave caresses the shore, and then a next, and another. Are the waves different from each other? Only in form. How one breaks and another laps. From the same ocean came I, says the wave. The ocean says see my beauty see my many forms Love the little and the large, as one of me. ****************************************************** January 9 (9) Saying The real meaning of crucifixion is to crucify the false self that the true self may rise. As long as the false self is not crucified, the true self is not realized. _____________________________________________ Complement The Cross is the symbol of Light. The vertical line is the way by which Light passes from Source to manifestation and also the way by which energy returns from manifestation to Source. This is seen in the breath. The horizontal line is caused by the action between the lower and upper currents and forms the mind-mesh. The Cross has two forms, one like the letter 'T' in the European languages. This represents the crucifixion of the soul in matter. The energy does not pass above the horizontal line. It strikes it and returns again to the earth-plane. This action is called Karma, and it brings to one the results of all speech, thought and action. The teaching of all sages was to rise above this Karma. That brought the upper part of the vertical line of the Cross. It is that portion which is the Divine Light. But one cannot carry anything through the close lines of the mind-mesh. Only light will go through. Not only are all passions and sentiments too coarse to pass through and above it to the Buddhic Condition (Nuri Mohammed), but even good thoughts and feelings cannot pass. Nothing can pass but thought and feeling of Unity, which is called Love, and this is the very essence of Soul. By this the false self is crucified and left behind. What is the false self? It is nothing but the thought of self made into a false reality, a pseudo-sun in the mental world. When one perceives the true Light this sun disappears, or by ignoring this false sun, one perceives the true sun. This is the higher crucifixion, and in the case of Jesus Christ and Moses and some others, it even caused the disintegration of the physical body, which had been kept together by the thought-form of the personality. When thought became completely immersed in God, even the physical body disintegrated. That is Parinirvana when even matter is spiritualized. _____________________________________________ Harmony Lain upon the altar of the heart, the body was stood up. Arise and be fixed to the cross. Neither forward nor back, nor up, nor down. Given in sacrifice the eye raised to the mind. Given in sacrifice, thought of self was lain upon the altar. Rise up, lifted, it was fixed upon the cross. Neither up nor down; nor right nor left - no movement, no clinging; given in sacrifice. The Heart lit in the center, it rose of its own accord; engulfing the "I" of body and mind. As the dove descended, it now spreads its wings and flies unencumbered. New I. Old I given and now included. Let go, and became. ****************************************************** January 10 (10) Saying An ideal is beyond explanation. To analyze God is to dethrone God. _____________________________________________ Complement The realm of Ideals, or what Plato called Ideas, exists above the mind-mesh. The Divine Light striking the realm of Ideals is partly refracted, and then reflected above the mind-mesh. This produces the Ideas in the realm of Pure Light, so that their Nature is Light; also they are purely God, taking on what might be called the Intelligent Aspect of God. As human mind does not and cannot reach this plane, it is impossible to express the condition there in human thought and in human words. These arise below the mind-mesh. Besides, what we call exposition or analysis is of the nature of distinction; things are known by how and to what extent they differ. The spiritual Ideas are "not" differentiated. In the same way, all that is above the mental Akasha is God, whether it is explained, or described or referred to in various manners and by different words. Nevertheless, these words do not really bring one any knowledge; they are symbols which indicate there are different conditions, but as all these conditions are above and beyond the human mind and larger than the human mind in scope, they are no more intelligible to it than the ocean would be to a cup. _____________________________________________ Harmony Reaching toward the Highest I can conceive; the yearning and expanding heart leaves desire, thought, and form, far below and behind. No more are there words to describe that taste of the wine. Coming closer, losing my-self toward what can be. I leave that too, and yearning for re-memberance carries me higher toward a new and ever growing one. Further, more expansive, yet closer. Giving up all search for my self I bathe in what I am and look back and include my search. What words to explain - to dissect, to convey? Nothing but what is. Breath, and Love; Joy, and Harmony; Peace, Knowing, more. These are not it and can not tell. These falsehoods, lies of separation. How can one fit the ocean into a bottle? ****************************************************** January 11 (11) Saying Where the flame of love rises, the knowledge of God unfolds of itself. _____________________________________________ Complement As it is evident that human intellect cannot grasp Deity and as it is said that God created the world to become known, there must be some other means of attaining to Divine Knowledge. As has been explained, this means is through love, through the casting away of self. Love has two aspects, the love of the greater for the lesser called 'compassion', and the love of the lesser for the greater called 'adoration'. These are pictured in the six-pointed star. Compassion is the love which seems to fall like water, or as Shakespeare has beautifully described it, "The quality of Mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven." The use of the word 'strained' is excellent for it describes the passing of the Divine Light-Love down into the sphere of sentient beings. The idea of the God Avalokita or Avalokiteshvara came from that source. But in man love is like a flame, and in adoration it rises and raises the whole personality. It is the rising flame of love which turns man around to face God, to begin the upward journey until he gets above the mind-mesh and karmic activity. Then the knowledge of God unfolds of itself, no effort is needed once man has discarded his lower self. _____________________________________________ Harmony Put symbol and metaphor aside, Seeker. Love is a flame. It licks high toward the heavens. and raises the body and mind toward the soul. Burn brightly and consume lower desires, they say. Seek the Higher and the lower is consumed with the fire of Love. It raises to the Highest, and as it does, they who seek me find. There is no effort needed, for I make myself known as the opening is there. Nothing but removal of the impediments of self. Burn in that fire of Love. And as I draw nearer, a wondrous event. The slip; the fall; the Real Rise. And to me I become and look down extended - including all. My Love is a fire - cold Light, warm heart of All Creation. I look and know. My knowledge direct, unfolded, exposed. No effort is needed. I show myself the Way, the Reason, the Secret - no secret at all. Within Love, all in known. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe Love. My only, my Self. ****************************************************** January 12 (12) Saying Peace is perfected activity; that is perfect which is complete in all its aspects, balanced in each direction and under complete control of the will. _____________________________________________ Complement Until the soul has found itself far above the mind-mesh, there cannot be peace. Peace is found at the center, at the hub of things, nevertheless it cannot be separated from activity. Cessation of activity may be called non-activity, not peace; cessation of war may be called non-war, but peace is a very inappropriate term for it. Whenever there is a change of feeling, thought or action, there is some rearrangement; and every type of change, arrangement or rearrangement causes or accompanies a dis-equilibrium. Any change of equilibrium is necessarily of the nature of war. Only when equilibrium can be maintained without change is there peace. This is only found when the will has entire control of the mind. All vibrations and atoms below the mind-mesh are constantly in motion, changing themselves and causing changes to others and being changed except where they are held in place by a stronger force. It is love or will that stand above law, which can fix these atoms and vibrations. This fixation is symbolically studied in alchemy and directly studied in the inward mystical process. It is the Divine Will, which can control all wills and all minds, and it is the Divinity that is the perfected activity. Therefore what the Buddhists call Nirvana is nothing but the natural state of God above all distinctions and differences, thus Pure Peace. _____________________________________________ Harmony The spinning top standing upon its very point, not wavering or moving appears stationary yet constantly removes itself to itself. So too the ALL; within and without in harmony. No balance is needed for in the center of the center all gives out and all returns in a constant replenishing, renewal; appearing stationary, whole, yet no/there/there; and reborn and rebirthing, re-creating anew before it is ever gone. There is no balance as the Balance of Being. It is the Peace that passes understanding. From now to eternity Not moving upon itself within it reaches to the far ends of creation and sustains itself in perfect balance. Motionless and moving forever found in the Center of Love the spiral of spirals re-upon, re-upon in all directions without effort or energy all energy, life, and love. There is only One that knows and controls; all else, illusion, separation, not peace. Seek the center of the center of the center. Tune heart to breath, to be. Where the breath turns from out to in, or in to out, peace. In this very space between, refined, no-movement-all. ****************************************************** January 13 (13) Saying Do not limit God to your virtue. He is beyond your virtues, O pious ones! _____________________________________________ Complement Virtues can only be of two natures - those conceived by God and those conceived by man. Virtue as conceived by God is nothing but Love, although it may be said to have the seed of all virtues. Passing through the mind-mesh it appears under all guises and activities and these are given names by man; and especially those he likes he calls virtues, but all really arise from one activity and one essence. Until God is perceived as All-Embracing and as All-Qualities, the virtue man ascribes to God is nothing but the virtue he himself admires raised to an ideal, which ideal is not God even in its highest aspect, so long as it is attached to name. _____________________________________________ Harmony From the endless ocean of love comes all rivers and streams. Too large for the human mind. Small enough to fit inside One Heart. Turn upwards toward that source. The pool is not the ocean; nor is the trickle of the stream the rushing river. Toward the ocean set sail the boat of self and break the ideal of the smaller to reach the larger. One reaches the ocean by leaving the stream. But the waterway, like ladders, are useful only by leaving the rung. False piety holds to the forms and stays in the stream. The truly pious leave the Ideal once reached; and yearn/move-toward, and become the replaced perceived. ****************************************************** January 14 (14) Saying A man's inclination is the root of the tree of his life. _____________________________________________ Complement Inclination means leaning and this leaning takes some direction. If man is dependent upon mind or body, he cannot rise above limitation. Yet his dependency will mark his character and influence his nature and his deeds. All this belongs to the limited personality, and the root may die when a shock or great pain or catastrophe comes. But when man leans upon God, such events cannot disturb him to the extent of breaking down his spirit. Who depends upon God will be helped by God. _____________________________________________ Harmony I grew toward the world when I sought the world. The root was shallow. The world passed away. I grew toward the heavens when I sought the heavens. The root was deeper. The heavens passed away. I turned to the Unchanging, the Source. The root sunk deep and included the worlds and the heavens. They passed away, but I was raised to That Which IS. IT rushed to my door and rescued me; and now I had all. ****************************************************** January 15 (15) Saying Yes, teach your principles of good, but do not think to limit God within them. The goodness of each man is peculiar to himself. _____________________________________________ Complement For what we call "good" comes from the favorable effects caused beneath the mind-mesh. It is our name, our thought, and not the lasting Divine Thought, which gives them life. God is the Essence of All Qualities, and is not affected by man's thought upon any quality. _____________________________________________ Harmony Love showers the seeds of beauty which bloom to the myriad flowers. Reds, blues, yellows, oranges; of many petals or few. Would one place any above the other? Yet, inclined toward the rose, or the violet; the attar and the scent lures one to their source. Find the scent of goodness. Taste it. Become it. Let it go and a finer scent comes wafting apparent. The scent and the taste lead one to the shower. The shower toward its source. ****************************************************** January 16 (16) Saying To learn to adopt the standard of God, and to cease to wish to make the world conform to one's own standard of good is the chief lesson of religion. __________________________________________ Complement Prayer is a good thing; praying "Thy will be done" is always helpful, but man also must act in such a way that the prayer becomes a reality. This is the fulfillment of prayer. To pray and then leave the matter to fate is to experience the desire of the prayer without the desired or beneficial results. Real prayer is to attune the whole being so that the Divine Light may bring about the fulfillment of prayer. This can only be done when man ceases to place any obstacle in the path of the prayer. When thought-force or logic are applied to prayer, the wish (and the breath which starts to take that wish to Heaven) is caught in the mind-mesh and either does not return, or returns in a form not always acceptable or good. This has led some people to deny the efficacy of prayer, but really this is not prayer because as soon as mental obstacles obtrude in the path of that prayer, it cannot reach Heaven, cannot touch the ear of God. It is by mental conformation, by keeping the heart pure, and controlling mind by will, that one is enabled both to reach God and also to receive from God. This identifies life and religion which is most desirable. When one is given the strength and inspiration to accomplish or cooperate in the accomplishment of the desire of prayer, that is the highest successful fulfillment of prayer. This is done by keeping the feelings awake above the mental net of Samsara. _____________________________________________ Harmony The fire warms all who come near. We do not glorify the match or the wick, nor do we raise sticks or flint above it. Yet these bring the fire to the world. Instruments and means. So too the Ways, the Prophets' words and works; the teachings, the paths. The sun shines on all. It is diffused by the prism. Does one wish all colors were blue or red or green? Not at all. We rise to the source. Together they blend to the whole. Do we work in part or pray in part? It is then of no matter and no consequence; when one says one thing and does another. The heart attuned to the One. The breath connecting the body to the soul. The actions, thoughts, feelings, aligned toward the goal. And all else let go. Rise heart and let follow the rest. Religion comes then to man. ****************************************************** January 17 (17) Saying Thought draws the line of fate. _____________________________________________ Complement This is true not only in prayer but in all things. Every exhalation sends something out, and every inhalation draws something in. That which is expelled carries a message, as a flying dove going upward. As soon as another thought is received into the mind, it impedes the upward journey of that breath-message. When any act, thought, speech or desire strikes the mind-mesh, it is propelled downward toward the earth plane and brings with it the results of a movement which is at the same time personal and individual, and also cosmic, in the sense that the whole sphere endeavors to keep its balance and sends back the compensatory vibrations to those sent out by man. To overcome this action, Fikar is practiced in some form. In daily Fikar or Darood, when a thought is accompanied by a Divine Breath it can automatically arise through the meshes of the mental net and pass through Djabrut to the Arsh, the throne of God. That is to say, the automatic wish of the average person can rise no higher than the thought or will behind it, but for the spiritual person, the initiate, whose thought and desire are accompanied by Darood, these automatically rise above the mental world into the empyrean unless another thought deliberately interferes. Practice of Concentration with Fikar perfects this process _____________________________________________ Harmony The castle of sand built near the edge of the shore is destroyed by the incoming tide. The one who can feel the rhythm and see from the ocean's eye will build it higher on the beach. The one who views the tides and the ocean and winds and storms as one being and process will build it in the form and way to accommodate all. Heart reaches to Heart Breath connects Refining in intent Rising to that ocean of Being Quiet thought Expand one heart Perceive and Be. Bless the World - within. Raise it as a castle in sand. Love. ****************************************************** January 18 (18) Saying Misbelief alone misleads; single-mindedness always leads to the goal. _____________________________________________ Complement By misbelief is not meant wrong belief. Any belief of humanity can be called right and any belief can be called wrong. Misbelief therefore does not mean wrong belief, but belief which does not carry itself through clearly to the subject of belief. That is because even when thoroughly believing, mind entertains an unconscious doubt or insufficient knowledge. A strong concentration throws ample light on the belief and rights it. That is to say, it permits the Light of God's Intelligence to fall upon it. This enables one to hold or express beliefs or opinions which are in harmony with Cosmic Truth, that is to say, with the Will of God. _____________________________________________ Harmony The traveler headed home, he said. He thought it was right - the direction, the road. "I will travel it until proved wrong", he said. He never got home. His destination otherwise. "I will travel this path", he said. Surely it will carry me home. But in every step a fear, a worry, a doubt. He arrived elsewhere. "I will go by way of sea. Surely that will lead me to my home." But afraid of mountains that stood in the way, he never reached the water. The road meanders, but the map says go this way, he read. However, he was drawn to dates, to singing, and to the lights. He did not go through darkness as it was averse. "I like these things, they will help me reach my destination". But he ended know not where. Every stop, every stage, every thought, every fear; each worry, desire, like or dislike kept him from following the signposts of the path before him. Following others he came to many places, but none his home. And one day he came to a river. "I can not cross", he thought. But the desire for home was so strong he felt nothing else. He tried and kept trying, yet couldn't cross the swift current. But stronger still the yearning came, and he thought of nothing else. His actions and knowing cleared. His goal came closer to his mind and prevailed over all other things. He set his mind, his heart, his days all to this one thing; yet still he could not cross this mighty river. Yet, as he yearned for his city of gold, of light, he somehow began to see it. First, far off in the distance, but each day it seemed to come nearer to him; until finally, on the dawn of one day, it appeared across the river. Still, he could not reach the other side. Heartbroken, in despair, unable to do it himself - with all his work, his efforts not strong enough; he sat. "Oh, river, oh city of light, I cannot cross you myself. I have yearned for you so much that you yourself have come to me. What can I do? I can not do more. Guide me, and lead me: this you have done. Now, if you mighty river, if you golden home, wish me to continue my journey and reach my home, then to you I give all. Lift me, and show me the way. Provide the means and the methods". And at the very time, when despair was deepest, suddenly it also was gone. For placing himself in the hands of the river; and only seeing the golden city of light - with no other thought, no other wish, no distraction, no fear, no yearning for light, or sounds, or dates; suddenly - out of the mist, so it seemed, a raft - and upon it he climbed and was carried to the other side. ****************************************************** January 19 (19) Saying A king is ever a king, be he crowned with a jeweled crown or clad in a beggar's garb. _____________________________________________ Complement This may be paraphrased as "Ruler is he who is ruler over himself." No man can be called a king whose subjects do not obey him. Who and what are the subjects of the king? They are not only the personalities who give real or pretended obeisance; they include the thoughts and passions of the personality, and his real or potential control over affairs. Thought-concentration on a king or by a king over his dominion subtly connects the breath of that one with the affairs of the kingdom. This means that there is a strong karmic link between all movements, inner or outer, of the king, and those of the kingdom. This is true for every individual, free or slave, whether one bows to another, has others bow to him, or neither bows or is bowed before. _____________________________________________ Harmony The fragrance of the rose shows through the package. Though contained, it's beauty shines through. The kingdom of Heart extends forever; apparent to all with eyes to see. Met, one to another, they saw oneself, a single king. So too rulers of the world, one body - one breath. Breathe; and to be connected to all catch the fragrance of the rose. ****************************************************** January 20 (20) Saying To treat every human being as a shrine of God is to fulfill all religion. _____________________________________________ Complement Religion being the tie between the devotee and God, if such a one does not see - actually see - God everywhere, one has not come to the fulfillment of love. This is not a philosophy, it is a reality. It is seen and known. God may be respected by treating our fellows as brothers and sisters in the Divine Parenthood. This is one step and is called Morals. But there is a higher step which is to see God Himself as the very life under all names and forms. This may be called Knowledge and it may be called Love. If one has not this feeling it will grow automatically by practice of Fikar and Darood. _____________________________________________ Harmony What is the building block? And what is that made of? Under the microscope is not all the same? Where is this spirit? What is this Love? What makes this ALL? Is it all one? Through the microscope of the Heart Spirit is seen; love is real - so solid condensed is this one. Being exists as That Which IS making Itself to oneself you and I. Illusion of separateness passes in heart. Rising above two, one sees/knows oneself; and how could you harm one and the same? Yourself - oneself seen in the mirror. And who is the building block? Who makes that up? Breathe Love to get closer Be Love to find out So Being without end Before time and after all Showing itself in the shrine of the Heart. Be love to know and see love in all then act as a human there is no fall. ****************************************************** January 21 (21) Saying The wise one should keep the balance between love and power; one should keep the love in his nature ever increasing and expanding, and at the same time strengthen the will so that the heart may not easily be broken. _____________________________________________ Complement Power is what God gives naturally to man, and love is what man should give naturally to God. Power enters with every breath. This can easily be demonstrated without any knowledge of metaphysics, for the person who does not breathe will surely lose the connection between the physical body and the subtle bodies and pass from form. It is the use of breath, which can be the most valuable thing in life. If the body tries to collect power and express power without love, it will be like a balloon bag being filled with gas. It has only a certain capacity and to exert it beyond that capacity will cause damage or destruction. Likewise the love for God, which is unbalanced, which makes one mad with love or fervent with devotion, does not give God the opportunity to use the pious person as his instrument. He wants to express His power through the pure vehicle and the person has not made the vehicle ready. This shows weakness of will even in the midst of love, which is intoxicating. Will is strengthened by keeping the balance between power and love, which are both aspects of will. Urouj and nasoul, inhalation and exhalation, the upward and downward currents must be kept in balance and rhythm in order to secure maximum efficiency. If there is too much power, even the physical heart will be strained; if there is too much love, it will experience pleasure and pain, ecstasy and suffering. But if the love is ever expanding, ever growing and made sober by the desire to do God's will, then the person will also be a receptacle of power expressed or concealed. Even the gentlest saint may be a most majestic person through the attunement of will and breath to God. _____________________________________________ Harmony Breathe in Breathe out Attention AHL - LAH Breathe in Breathe out Count breaths Quiet thought No thoughts Attention Breathe Love in Breathe Love out Attention - Be Give oneself to Love/Breath In Out Be Attention Heart to Heart Love to Love Be Count breath Be breath Feel oneself breathed In and out Expand Contract Be - Live Add Love Be Love Identify with Love Be breathed, O'Love In, out, Be Inbreath - out Love InLove - out breath No thought - Quiet self In breath - Be This is not my body It is the Temple of God Used for what is needed Consecrated in Love Connected, powered through Breath ****************************************************** January 22 (22) Saying Failure comes when will surrenders to reason. _____________________________________________ Complement Will is the Divine Energy, which penetrates the mind-mesh and has capacity to rise above it. When the mind begins to turn its thought upon particular experiences, it seizes the will power and prevents it from returning to God, keeping it in the mind. This is the murder of Abel by Cain. This causes all suffering and also prevents further will power from entering the sphere. Mind cannot use that beyond its capacity, but can misuse anything and everything. The great weakness in reason is that every person may use it for some particular end and even wickedness can be defended by an argumentative mind. _____________________________________________ Harmony Inspired to be a musician, he gave it up and did not try, for he had been told "no, that is only for the 'gifted'. You are to be a baker". And he believed that lie. Only to be and experience He created Mind Grasped the forms and Called Himself "I"; holding to substance and thought, Forgot. Awakening Heart brought Him from slumber and returned to Will. By Love and Breath there is no "why not". ****************************************************** January 23 (23) Saying Success comes when reason, the store of experience, surrenders to will. _____________________________________________ Complement This is a natural process. The first movement of will is a downward current from Allah, through the heavens, to earth. This downward current pulls other things with it. It attracts other vibrations and collects them on the physical plane. If the will is not hampered on its return journey to God, it can descend again and bring more. This rise and fall of will is the Power and Love of God expressed through the Cosmic breath. It operates automatically through Fikar and Darood and in that way they are the greatest aids to concentration. Concentration collects the mental atoms, but only keeps them in place when feeling controls thought. If this is persisted in, it will sooner or later force an accommodation in the physical sphere. This is success. So you see success is a positive action of will, while failure and evil are both due to weakness. Even from the selfish point of view selflessness proves to be the highest and best form of selfishness. _____________________________________________ Harmony He turned his heart - awakening, remembering, to more - no longer limitation; soaring like the eagle rising in the currents, "no you can not fly" so far below - insignificant. Bonds of thought fall from him as anchors cut from lines of doubt. To his Ideal he rose; to It he became. Casting off inclinations, letting go of desires small, the Great desire/yearning lifted him toward Unity - letting go of lesser to the Higher. What limitation puts in the way of the path is lifted when the rock is rolled toward the goal. He wrote the symphony yet something was lacking. He became the instrument attuned, and the harps and lyres of the Universe experienced through him in Divine Inspiration. To catch the Breath, to follow the Heart, to lose one self to find Oneself. "Thy will be done", a stepping stone. "Mine and yours" - illusions, separation. When one Becomes, two wills are no longer. Heart to Heart becoming Breath to Breath becoming Toward the One means One Let self fall from being until seeking is no more - Express - let soar the eagle of the Heart Bridging the heavens, to the earth and throne. ****************************************************** January 24 (24) Saying There is an answer to every call; those who call on God, to them God comes. _____________________________________________ Complement Jesus Christ has said, "Not every one who saith 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the Will of the Father." This is very important and a mighty teaching. To call upon God one not only needs to use a Name of God - or the Name may be dispensed with under certain conditions - but other names, thoughts and desires must be rejected at that time. Nevertheless, every call, whether expressed in speech or thought, rises to its proper sphere and returns to earth. If it is confined to the karmic sphere, it brings its natural fruit, but if it is united to pure will, it brings something Divine. So the speech or prayer to God, not coupled with any thought, feeling or emotion, which would return to the nufs, reaches God. This does not bring God to one, God is already there; but it enables the person to recognize and realize God and to serve Him so that God's success and man's success are one. _____________________________________________ Harmony Seeking wealth, wealth came, led to it. Passed the desire for it, and it went. Doubting prosperity led to loss of goods and stagnation. Embracing right led to justice. It came and went - passed away as secondary. Leading heart to water came as thirst called; to dust, as sated was that step. They both passed. Upon the thousands, millions, wants, dislikes, abhorrences, fears, yearning, lusts, came all the answers and the filling - until none mattered and all passed as less. Until finally came the heart to Truth; not in word, but calling in deed. Toward That Which IS - Oh Love become. Calling yonder filled. For no distance was traveled that filled that cup; emptied of the desires of less. "Let heart open and bloom; let the Being of which I am, fill and use this one as the instrument in the way." And seeking nothing, but providing the means, expression rose to its Heart - Itself. The Way fulfilled when it calls to itself. ****************************************************** January 25 (25) Saying He who thinks against his own desire, he is his own enemy. _____________________________________________ Complement Once a thought or wish is released, its effect is influenced most by the original thinker, who is always attuned to it. If such a one says or thinks something against it, it immediately reaches the mental plane on the breath and destroys all the concentration that has been set up there. No accommodation being made on the mental plane, there can be no success on the physical plane. This is a wonderful law which makes man the master of his own destiny, and gives him what is erroneously called freedom of will, but which is strictly speaking, continuous opportunity to do good, no matter how many the shortcomings or how often the repetition of serious mistakes. That is to say, the Mercy and Forgiveness of God are characterized by the Wisdom, which enables man to "see", not by any blind relief from mistakes. But neither is man punished other than in his failure to succeed until he understands and practices the Law - mental, moral or spiritual. _____________________________________________ Harmony In the restaurant sat three - hungry. One, looking at the menu kept changing his mind; could not order; and never got food to eat. Another chose the food yet changed his tastes: more salty this, sweeter that, smaller this, rarer that. Many times to cook and get, but finally with much waste he ate. Hungrier far more than needed. The third selected and received. And also had desert. Breath and Heart are simple. Order and Receive Control, Imagine, and Conceive. ****************************************************** January 26 (26) Saying The brain speaks through words; the heart in the glance of the eyes; and the soul through a radiance that charges the atmosphere, magnetizing all. _____________________________________________ Complement In the explanation of the idea of "Logos" included particularly in the Christian religion, it has been forgotten that each word or doctrine has three discrete interpretations according to the "degree of understanding" and according to the "plane of application". Really these two mean the same thing, for accordingly as the understanding is expanded, so will the subtler plane be contacted. However, when man lost the power and ability to contact the higher sphere, the mind began to consider the manifestations of three Logoi, as if they were all separate, and spoke of the triune God This trinity has no reality except in the human mind; at the same time it is a very real thought and arises from the natural tendency of the human mind to analyze. And so it can be said at the same time that God is Triune, yet in the absolute sense He can be and is nothing but Unity above all explanations. Mentally interpreted, Logos means word, or perhaps reason or doctrine. The brain, as the delegate of mind, expresses physically through words. But on the heart plane, Logos means Light and Law (Latin "lex", "legis") and one can see the resemblance between these words showing that they came from one root. The actual root was this Divine Light as expressed in the mental plane. As Jesus Christ said, "The light of the body is in the eye," so that Divine Light from the heart plane, passing through the mental plane is divulged in the physical eye of man. But while Logos means word or thought or reason or doctrine mentally, and Light or Law spiritually, it is also true as the Bible teaches, that first was the Logos, and the Logos was with God and the Logos was God, the Logos was in the very beginning with God. That is to say that Logos was and is the very emanation from the Arsh-throne of God and is this universal Power-Love ocean-stream of vibrations. Emanation individualized is called "Ruh" by the Sufis, but it is nevertheless one with this Universal Ocean of Love, and when vivified cannot be confined to any part of the human personality. So when the soul awakens, this energy magnetizes the complete atmosphere of the person, and even a much greater area around one. _____________________________________________ Harmony Water, Ice, and Steam: Each level a corresponding form, Each form a corresponding means, Each perception a perceiver and perceived. There is Love, Lover, and Beloved. Our bodies, reflections, means to interact. Do we divide light or sound and say it is only that which is perceived by the eye or ear? To perceive it we extend our perception and use the corresponding receptors. At relative solidities all is solid. The breath condensed - still breath. The light condensed - still light. Heart condensed - still Heart. "And when I speak - the Sound of Creation; I Light the Heaven, Make the earth, or come out of the voice of Man. Identify with the part or the whole. Hold to the organ, the process, the means, or the effect; or know me as myself. Then all parts take their rightful place and uses." ****************************************************** January 27 (27) Saying Love is the merchandise, which all the world demands; if you store it in your heart, every soul will become your customer. _____________________________________________ Complement The first explanation of this is that there is no explanation, as Love is its own explanation. Also it is self-explanatory, and without this Love nothing conveyed to the mind will clarify it. At the same time the mind cannot be thoroughly efficient without it. Concentration cannot be accomplished without feeling, without power. When the concentration takes one into this Universal Ocean of Love, it is found to be the essence of the heart stream. Then everything and everybody will be attracted. This living evidence is the only clarification. _____________________________________________ Harmony The desires, goals, and aspirations - breath of intent - all point toward one thing: Love. When all else falls away and one is left with the Great Yearning - toward the impulse Divine - return home and Be: only Love. Daily, as one does chores and gives attention to the needs of life, things and items fill them, but all this comes from Love. Love, is love, not any thing else. The storehouse of the Heart is as the ocean. Giving to the customers the stream. It can not be kept, contained. Only in letting go, the flow is more received. Endless ocean, bottomless river without banks; giving as needed to all. Breath/Heart Touch mind. Rise/fly/soar/refine Intention toward the Great Love Bathe, express, Become. Need is given - uplift within one. Inhale - Exhale ... ****************************************************** January 28 (28) Saying Sincerity is the jewel that forms in the shell of the heart. _____________________________________________ Complement This being a condition of the heart, mind cannot grasp it. It is one of those truths which have to be posited without being explained. To test it in one way is to enter Darood, or better yet, Fikar, and concentrate on sincerity. You will find it in the heart. Or concentrate on the heart; you will find sincerity at its very core. _____________________________________________ Harmony Layered and grown from the tiniest of pure intention Brilliance of diamond Clarity of being Developed upon action Naturally by Breath with the medium of Love This is the Jewel. This is the Gem. Straightforward with intent, expression, and being Above thought From the center The arrow toward the goal The expression of the All The clearest of channel Through which the purest Water flows Without taint or impurity Not thought Not acting nor doing No I to intercede Toward the One From the One As One ****************************************************** January 29 (29) Saying Self-pity is the worst poverty; it overwhelms one until nothing is seen but illness, trouble and pain. _____________________________________________ Complement This is a concentration upon nufs, the cause of all disharmony. When one concentrates upon God, nothing but love will be found, but when the attention is centered around the thought of self, all ugliness, pain and illness will rise. Of course in a certain sense they were always there, but this concentration gives them more life. It deprives the body and mind of the usual life which is naturally bestowed upon them by the Grace of God. It feeds the elementals who derive their potency from the excrescences of man, and these elementals in turn increase his trouble. Concentration upon darkness does not increase the darkness, but it does impede the opportunity for light and health to reach the place of sickness. _____________________________________________ Harmony "Woe is me" - spiral deeper down, like the waterspout or typhoon Tighter, darker, more solid "Why me"? And darker, tighter denser, as the whirlpool, and so it goes, to heavy, dark, and dense. Turn toward heart and light, or sink to being solid, self-absorbed, dark to oneself until awakening: a new dawn, comes again. ****************************************************** January 30 (30) Saying The heart is not living until it has experienced pain. _____________________________________________ Complement The angel lives in the heart-sphere but does not know pain. There is not strength in the love, it is something like the natural love of the infant. It is only when love is tested that love can show its strength. If it turns to hate or any emotion, that shows there was no life there. Sufis are able to experience pain in the heart without being drowned by it. The various spiritual practices are exercises to the heart-muscles and to the heart faculties. This endows the heart with life; that is to say, it enables the heart to partake of experiences and to shed the Divine Light upon them, showing the proper way through all intricacies of external existence. _____________________________________________ Harmony Living in the world - experiencing Awakening and letting go - tenderizing Breath of purification - revitalizing Partaking of the world and lifting other as oneself - transmuting. The first pain: Separation The second pain: Loss The third pain: Awakening The fourth pain: Remembering and Letting Go The fifth pain: Yearning The sixth pain: Return and Abeyance The seventh pain: Creating anew The eight pain: Lifting oneself The ninth pain: Expansion of the world And through it all; Joy, Music, Love, Fulfillment. Be a person To Be. ****************************************************** January 31 (31) Saying The pleasures of life are blinding; it is love alone that clears the rust from the heart, the mirror of the soul. _____________________________________________ Complement Pleasure is the effect upon nufs of the radiations from the mind-mesh, which through the falling current of breath form the emotions. But all these are of indirect light, which is subject to the elements and becomes controlled by them. To rise above the elements it is necessary to touch the heart-plane. This is a realm of pure light not contaminated by the karmic swirl below the mind-mesh. This is the metaphysical explanation, but the explanation of the heart is clear - when it loves, all the rust and dust are purged from its bosom. This is its blessing. Its life is its own blessing - heart is the medicine for heart. _____________________________________________ Harmony As the clock spring tightens in winding, the coil of becoming gets denser, until, in excruciating closeness there is a click: a sound, the chiming of awakening, and a loosening from oneself toward the state unwound. We come into the worlds denser and denser, tightening the spiral of becoming 'til denseness and solidity and excitement become the norm. Taking eons - and in the blink of an eye - moving from, and through, and as, the light/love/breath to being of form. The pleasure trove excites and satisfies the senses - organs of perception growing, turning toward oneself far deeper, stronger. Transitory joys, we lose sight and remembrance from where we come and what one is; until light shines reflected and we think the jewel glistening in that mirror of the world is the sun. But it too passes and this mirror is broken to dust. What remains is the true mirror of the heart, and as the unwinding of the spring is like love - turning from oneself the little - away attention toward what is; self grows and polishes, cleans. The reflection of the light/breath grows and Love both opens and leads the way to true joy - until Love the way become the Way to Itself. Breath/heart lived becomes - from little to large - remembering no more, but shining as the sun. Express then, upon oneself, all joy; and one can partake of the senses and pleasures as within. To start now, breathe Love in the Heart - toward your Ideal. ****************************************************** February 1 (32) Saying The pain of love is the dynamite that breaks up the heart, even if it be as hard as a rock. _____________________________________________ Complement The natural condition of the heart is to be soft, ever in a state of living expansion and contraction. When the breath is confined to the region of gross vibrations which are beneath the mind-mesh, there are no finer vibrations which can reach the heart, which slowly hardens like cooling rock. Then it ceases to be pliable and may be brittle like hardened rubber. Nevertheless it is never entirely dead. If the heart is called into action after it has lost its mobility, it will suffer pain even as a muscle long in disuse will suffer pain when it resumes activity. But the only energy that can touch the heart is love, and this often comes in a shock, surprise or catastrophe. Be it ever so hard, there is always the possibility of the heart awakening, and sometimes people who have fallen very low will be shocked into great activity by a disaster. This would not be necessary if the person had lived a holy life. The kindlier person sometimes suffers pain without this deeper experience, but arrives much sooner at the state when the ordinary disturbances of life no longer cause hurt. The indifference of the sage, far from showing absence of heart activity conceals his greatness of heart and his wisdom. _____________________________________________ Harmony Love Heart Breath open and give unto this one. Calling and feeling, I turn toward the One. The deep massage of Being lifts me - using my heart as its own. Put oneself in the hands of the Divine. It will soften and soothe as love expands and loosens. Not metaphor or simile, but real, seen, and felt. The pain is in the holding on; The thought of smaller self. Oh heart, open with love Divine. Soothe and soften this one, my Love, my Ideal, my Beloved. As the knotted muscle is massaged by hands, let Love loosen the bonds of selfishness. Use me as an instrument at your need, and raise me from two hearts, as I dissolve into One. ****************************************************** February 2 (33) Saying Our virtues are made of love, and our sins are caused by a lack of it. _____________________________________________ Complement As the Sufi Thoughts teach, there is one moral, there is one virtue, which is Love. Particular virtues arise from the qualities displayed by love in everyday affairs. Thus arise courage, mercy, kindliness, compassion, adoration, friendship, fidelity, charity, brotherhood and many other virtues. Yet all are aspects of Love. So soon as the heart ceases to be active, so soon as mind gains control over will, the Love-Life energy from the higher spheres no longer touches the personality. This brings about the reign of sin over one. This is the fall of man, true of Adam and true of all his descendants. ________________________________________________________________ Harmony Water of the earth Sustainer, cleanser forms the bays, the rivers, oceans, streams falls from the sky, forms the lakes; Contained within the cells, the cups of life, one water, cycling, recycling, Known in different shapes and acts. The light of the sun shines and is divided by the prism. The prism of mind and activity divides that one Great Giving of Oneself to need. We call it love, and it is called and known by its thousands of voices and faces. Without the water, desert, Without the light, darkness, Without that Love, the void. ****************************************************** February 3 (34) Saying Love is the essence of all religion, mysticism and philosophy. _____________________________________________ Complement What is religion? It is our relation to God. What is mysticism? It is our realization of God. What is philosophy? It is our consideration of God. But what connects man with God and God with man? It is the Love-Light-Life described as Logos. So soon as any speech, thought or feeling connects man with God, some of this Universal Energy touches a man or returns to God. This connecting nexus is the very Elixir of Love. _____________________________________________ Harmony From love to love through the medium of mind the message adapting through the means, the words, the framework; from heart to heart, from one to many to one. There is nothing more to write. Experience. The only thing left: to do. To be. Turn toward the highest heavens you can conceive. Turn toward the greatest ideal you can believe. Find the breath and turn your love to That Which Is. And as you breathe, rise higher toward your ideal, toward that one of love sublime, with neither beginning nor end. Do. Become. On the in-breath ideal toward yourself becomes. On the out-breath dissolve the "I", the "You" toward that one, the highest. And as you do, rise above the mind Rise above heaven. Become. Find the breath and be. Break the ideal of the lesser and go toward That which now can be conceived. Until there is only one. No more of seeking, yearning - Be. Between the in-breath and the out-breath Become. Be breathed. Flip over. Be. Yet still more - Breath become Breathe love. ****************************************************** February 4 (35) Saying The fire of devotion purifies the heart of the devotee, and leads unto spiritual freedom. _____________________________________________ Complement Vibrations, which reach the heart, are of finer nature than those that touch the mind sphere. They cannot be conveyed on the breath ordinarily, but through Fikar, Zikar and Darood, as well as through certain practices of refining the breath, the Divine Thought enables the Cosmic Energy to pierce the mind-mesh and return toward the source. This is the first resurrection, this is the beginning of the process of initiation. It has been explained, when man, in adoration or supplication, turns toward God, the feeling is of the nature of fire in that it rises. But also it gives strength and courage and faculty to the devotee. This puts back into the heart the life, which naturally belongs there. The giving of this life to the heart is the restoration of it to its normal condition, which is nothing but freedom. Real freedom of the will does not consist of catering to every desire; freedom of the will consists of freeing it from all the excrescences of conditioned existence (Samsara) so its actions will not be hampered. This is only attained on the heart plane. _____________________________________________ Harmony The wave that holds to itself crashes on the shore; all power lost, dissipated. When the water in the wave turns toward its source it becomes the ocean. One spark can light the fire that consumes the wood. Oh, my Love, my Divine; if you have created all out of yourself, then I who thinks, who perceives as separate, apart, must be of You also; only I do not know it, experience it. Why, my Greater, Being of Love? I can only hold myself or put me in Your arms of love. Raise me, and guide me, my Love. Lift me from me, this falseness of identity. I give all to You: my breath, my heart, my life, my being. Consume me, my only source and sustenance. With no thought of self, do with me as you will and raise me from the world of two. Action then comes of what is needed. Freedom to do what there is to be done. He then does as I call him to do: like a suit of clothes, like a tool of my love. ****************************************************** February 5 (36) Saying Mysticism without devotion is like uncooked food; it can never be assimilated. _____________________________________________ Complement Mysticism means recognition of God. But how can one recognize God until the heart is awakened? It is only when through the fire of devotion and love that the whole life force is returned to its source in fervor and contemplation that the spiritual life can be experienced. _____________________________________________ Harmony Seeing the flowers through the window is pale indeed to touching the petals and inhaling deeply of the fragrance. The sound of the music is completed by the presence of the musician. The recording a pale imitation. He knocked at the door and voice asked "Who is there?" "It is you, my love", he answered, and was only then allowed to enter. Knowing the Heart and Breath of the Beloved is more than "I love you". To be of the "Great Stew" one must be cooked and blended. ****************************************************** February 6 (37) Saying He who stores evil in his heart cannot see beauty. _____________________________________________ Complement Evil, being of the nature of shadow or darkness, this destroys spiritual vision, and so blinds one to the beauty which was the purpose of creation. This condition should be called "avidya", blindness or ignorance. There is, however, a difference between one who has evil in the mind and evil in the heart. The average person who does not know or seek truth may be called evil in mind. This person is under the sway of sin, as the Christians explain and has been demonstrated. But there is another sort of person called diabolical, who may be mentally alert but who has deliberately turned the heart into a charnel house, a hidden chamber where evil is planned, to be committed in the world. These people can put wicked thoughts into the minds of others, and can command evil elementals to influence others so that they may never perform any particular vile act directly. This shows that all evil thought, desire or speech is responsible for the wrong acts of others. In this there is universal karma, which was the explanation of the Buddha. So long as anybody sows karma, it prevents others from being delivered from pain, disease, injury and death. _____________________________________________ Harmony The darkness grows and the veils of the world cover the light of the heart. Then, the view of beauty dims. But as the heart is polished and the veils thin, beauty reappears. For the one who holds to darkness, and keeps from this light; who stores the disease and poverty of being and spreads it through the world; beauty is out of sight for this one. Sinking into the depths away from the light, darkness hides That Which IS. Spiraling, it is countered by the Light of Love. One thousand darkened caverns can be lit by one sun. Be not a storer of darkness; for at each stage the choice is to another level of light. Beauty abounds and grows without end. ****************************************************** February 7 (38) Saying The wise man, by studying nature, enters into unity through its variety, and realizes the personality of God by sacrificing his own. _____________________________________________ Complement It should not be supposed that Allah has not a physical body. All nature, all the physical world, constitutes this body just as all the mental world constitutes the sheath of His Mind. Man cannot so easily see the inside of his body, cognizing the various activities going on in the organs and cells, in the nerves and blood stream. In some mysterious way these constitute a unity, but the unity is fundamental to their existence. Similarly, all the functions and species of nature are dependent upon a cosmic unity, which is reflected in them and is causal to them, but which does not consist of them. To understand this more fully, man must find out God's Mind in order to understand God's Body. This can only be done when his own mind, and so his own personality, is left behind in his spiritual unfoldment. _____________________________________________ Harmony How many ways I show myself. He of me who looks, sees. How many ways I love myself. One with heart, knows. How many ways I say, "I am here" my only ones. Come back, perceive and breathe as one. My, Breath, Remember, Be. Come ride the ladder of my being from the many as my own. Let go the view from other wise Return is what you own. ****************************************************** February 8 (39) Saying Love manifests towards those whom we like as love; towards those whom we do not like as forgiveness. _____________________________________________ Complement The love we feel toward friends and relatives and heroes is natural. Although Christ said, "Love ye your enemies," this does not mean to entertain the identical feeling toward them. Why? Because feeling is that which connects parties and unites them. We are united to our dear ones by love. By whatever the feeling we hold to those we do not like, they may not feel friendly toward us. The proper attitude is therefore selflessness, to refuse to hold the feeling of dislike. They, not appreciating our love, could not see it as love or friendship but could perceive it in the spirit of forgiveness. From our point of view it would be the same in both cases, but the object of love and the connection between ourself and the other would be different in each instance. _____________________________________________ Harmony One breath of air raises the flower's petals, and silken seeds soar high, lifted in its arms; while the same wind loosens stiffened stems. One gentle rain falls and for the healthy, full, give sustenance for growth and bloom; yet for the parched, it provides the means to live and grow. One love shows itself in many faces and forms. Reflection of light and love itself to the pure; a giving and helping to those in need; exchange and balance for the capable; bliss for the lover; a kiss for the loved; a step up for the kindly; forgiveness to the unkind; and always there for all. Seek not of yourself to find the face. It comes through as needed, to the end. When the pipe is empty the music can be played. Self-less-ness extends the source. ****************************************************** February 9 (40) Saying Love brought man from the world of unity to that of variety, and the same force can take him back again to the world of unity from the world of variety. _____________________________________________ Complement First came God, and then the object of His Love which is called Creation. Then God in Love entered into union with this Creation and all the living forms appeared, the Highest being man, which is the one resembling the Spiritual Parent most. But God, not being man, loves and can enter into union with all creatures, as soon as that creature - atom, rock, earth, stone, plant, vegetable, bird, beast, fish, crawling creature, human being, djinn, spirit or angel - turns toward God. The difference between this second kind of union and the first is that in the second instance one becomes entirely united with God, without producing any further fruits of union necessarily. _____________________________________________ Harmony From the deep spring wells the water from its source. It runs and grows and divides to many streams and rivers. Finally to the ocean, which feeds the source. Pick any stream, any river, and follow it back to the spring, its source, and the ocean beneath; connected to that above. Follow the stream of breath to That Which IS. Begin with the heart and love - one another, any thing. Follow it as it grows: to the Heart and Love. Of the little, one step to the large. The little is part of the large. And when you return to your source, when love becomes again itself - remembering, aware - there is no separateness in the multitude. The variety is one. The ladder of creation is here for all to climb, with breath connecting the rungs and love the energy, the movement of Being. ****************************************************** February 10 (41) Saying Whoever knows the mystery of vibrations indeed knows all things. _____________________________________________ Complement As aspiration this may appear to be a nice saying or we may appreciate it intuitively as truth. That is the first stage of appreciation. That is only subjective, it has no objective vitality. One has no knowledge, one does not know it to be true although one may firmly believe it. Nevertheless, if one were to say to such a one, "Whoever knows the mystery of vibrations does not know it or through it know God," how would you disprove such a statement? Suppose it were said, "God is above vibration, above all vibrations and so long as we deal with vibrations we are not contacting reality." A little meditation shows the need for greater growth and understanding. It would be evident that one could read a thousand aphorisms and have a billion beliefs and this would not bring one any nearer the truth except that it might put one in a proper receptive mood. Then how is one to learn the mystery of vibrations? Mostly through the breath, by watching the breath, but also by watching the heart and learning through the heart's awakening. As this is a practice and not a study, a deeper explanation without application would not help much. _____________________________________________ Harmony Within Oneself a movement: breath of love. AHL and LHA. A wave of plus and minus Becoming Becomes. The clay is formed from the image the image from the thought the thought, the inspiration aspiration - breath/heart. The rock falls in the lake and the wave splashes on the distant shore. I thought of you. The telephone rang and you were there. I thought of the forest and smelled the fresh trees. The rain of Being cleansed my soul. The song of the whale is heard round the world. He read a book and saw through the author's eyes, and knew his intent and means. The blessings of the saint come from his grave. Hearing the wind, he felt the source of the weather. What is the voice of the rock? What is the breath of the plant? Sound HU and re-sound followed above. Hear AHL and LHA. The wave flowed on yet the cork bobbed up and down and remained in the same place. Where does matter end and energy begin? Breath and heart attuned, refined follow above thought above mind more than up and down including the wave letting go of the movement from which I am comes Be. Taste the wine Drink heavily Lose oneself in Heart Become and ....... ****************************************************** February 11 (42) Saying He who arrives at the state of indifference without experiencing interest in life is incomplete and apt to be tempted by interest at any moment; but he who arrives at the state of indifference by going through interest really attains the blessed state. _____________________________________________ Complement This is very important. Sages all extol the value of indifference. This indifference comes with awakened heart. Many people are indifferent in the sense of being callous. Nothing moves them, they are like sticks or stones. That is not indifference, that is sloth; that shows the soul is asleep, there is no love, there is no God-vitality. Now the sage is very different, who knows through his own experience the value and the lack of value in attachment, friendship, emotion and all the vicissitudes of life. He surrenders all these forms of clinging, he no longer clings to anything and he makes an actual surrender. That shows the Divine Indifference. _____________________________________________ Harmony Such Joy to partake of this world through the means of senses. The body in balance touches the heart of form. To experience beauty in its depth: Do what needs to be done; When and how it needs. No more, no less. Give water when needed; Right time, right place, right way. No more, no less. Such a short time to be in this way. A breath now of air. Holding nothing I have all. There is none better nor worse; nor greater nor lesser. I look upon myself and let go of that. Experience I am, and releasing the world have it all. No desire separate, all action is mine. I have within me, as me, all; To do what is needed as it is to be done no more, and no less, in Love. ****************************************************** February 12 (43) Saying Wisdom is greater and more difficult to attain than intellect, piety or spirituality. _____________________________________________ Complement Intellect and piety are both connected with the mind and show attachment to name and form. Spirituality is a higher state, which shows the heart awakening, but not necessarily awakened. Wisdom is the fruit of spirituality, when the heart condition is sustained, and the Divine Love-Life-Light is expressed and divulged through the personality. _____________________________________________ Harmony When you seek proper health and balance in your body through correct nutrition, thinking and talking about it is a start. Handling the raw foods comes next, and is followed by cooking. Tasting the product one gains more, but it is only by eating that it enters the body. The taste and experience of the dinner is not the end. The food must be assimilated and the waste expelled. Only then, if all the conditions are met, and the correct balance and blending of foods, for the person, are eaten, assimilated, and excreted, can the be correct balance and nutrition for the body. So too with the soul. The nutrition of the soul is love. The dinner of love is carried on the plate and utensils of breath. The result of correct balance and assimilation is wisdom. As you would not seek proper nutrition by only speaking or thinking about it; you would not stop at preparation or tasting. Nor would you be satisfied by eating alone. So too, to reach the correct balance and harmony of the soul, one would not stop - be attached to or accept as a substitute, the lesser stages of intellect, piety, or spirituality. Breathe love, become it. Then in balance one can express the health of Being - the Beloved, Ideal through oneself. ****************************************************** February 13 (44) Saying Wisdom is intelligence in its pure essence, which is not necessarily dependent upon the knowledge of names and forms. _____________________________________________ Complement This intelligence is the natural faculty and condition of the heart when it is not veiled by the mind, when the activity of the consciousness is focused in the depths of one's being. Wisdom may be considered as the apperception or grasping of the fundamental principles which lie beneath name and form. While these principles can be perceived through particulars and do operate through particular forms, atoms and vibrations, they are essentially aspects of Nuri Mohammed, that is to say, of the Divine Mirror of God into which He gazed. When man gazes into that mirror, this knowledge, called by the Sufis "ilm", is identical with Wisdom, God-knowledge or Tassawuf. _____________________________________________ Harmony Tell me, what is the taste of chocolate? What is the breath of Love? Place your heart upon the path and keep to the Truth. The rest will come from that. ****************************************************** February 14 (45) Saying Man forms his future by his actions; his every good or bad action spreads its vibrations and becomes known throughout the universe. _____________________________________________ Complement The physical and mental creation may be considered as one personality. Man forms the Grand Man, sometimes known as Adam. This includes all the Life beneath the mind-mesh. The world above the mind-mesh, called by the Sufis Djabrut, is identical with Eden. Adam expelled from Eden is all of the humanity functioning in the worlds of limitation. Whatever any personality does affects this whole kingdom of man as well as himself. Of course each man's actions affect himself most of all. His every word, speech and thought strike the dome of Malakut and fall back again to their natural place. This return of energy not only touches the individual but touches the whole of humanity. Thus if a person spreads germs or disease, every man might be liable. This show the inclusive nature of Karma. Likewise kindness spreads abroad and the tales of good deeds often bear fruit in faraway places. _____________________________________________ Harmony Into the grand chorus of life the song of each contributes. A composite results. The sensitive conductor can pick out the singer, the instrument. Add a note or tone and the quality of the whole changes. It is known by the perceiver; and affects all, whether perceived or not. Add a drop of sugar to the stew and it becomes sweeter. To the singer, the dome of personality resounds the sound of thought, action, feeling, desire - felt more strongly than afar - just as the sound reverberates with the dome of the mouth and head. Tuned to this it becomes more strongly perceived and sets the pattern which is felt by the singer. It is only when he or she finds the underlying resonance of the whole that it blends immediately and without reflection. This is the heart. Each thought, feeling action, want, like, dislike, is a note to the song - a spice to the stew. Each determines the flavor, and brings its effect more closely to the singer or spicer. The intention carries the pattern for the result. As one sows, one reaps. These are the fruits of karma. Below the dome of the universe is the reflection of intention - the prayers of actions returned filled - to all the actors, and to the one impelling, most of all. Add a drop to the universe of activity - the pebble in the pond - and it resounds and ripples throughout. It carries the wave and washes back upon the thrower. It is the song then that the singer hears, or stew available for the spicer to eat. ****************************************************** February 15 (46) Saying The universe is like a dome; it vibrates to that which you say in it, and answers the same back to you; so also is the law of action, we reap what we sow. _____________________________________________ Complement Mankind was placed in an enclosure where he was given full command over everything within. This is in the story of Adam. But to regain Eden he has to work out his destiny. For this purpose he was given the faculty of knowledge over name and form. Having this faculty he is responsible for his use or misuse of it. But within certain limits there is the law of the equality of action and reaction. This means that if we suffer without doing evil, in time this will lead to compensation; while if we seem to escape punishment, we are only preparing a greater blow for ourselves. The effect of Karma is escaped by speaking, thinking and acting in the name of God. Through the spiritual practices, man rises to wisdom above knowledge and suffering. _____________________________________________ Harmony Within the dome of the tabernacle the spoken word echoes back. Outside it raises high. The world of form and names, the heavens and the earth, are like within the dome of the cathedral. The cathedral of the heart is as the outdoors, which contains the church. Rising higher, one's action, will, aligns with the Ideal. That Which IS becomes and expresses. The sound is within and the echo is no more. Bringing oneself to the church is one step; to the heart, the next. As intention is the key to capacity, so too the breath of love. Focus on your Ideal; for what you put your attention on, you become. ****************************************************** February 16 (47) Saying We are always searching for God afar off, when all the while He is nearer to us than our own soul. _____________________________________________ Complement Differences in planes are not differences in time and space but differences of rates of vibrations. One plane is formed from another in the same region, called akasha or accommodation, by change of rate of vibration. Consequently all planes may be regarded as all spaces. God, being the source of formation and the essence of energy, is therefore in all times and all spaces and places and can be found by a change in pitch, by a tuning of the soul. So long as soul is regarded as something different than material, something different from mental existence, one finds differences not soul. Since God is to be found in the mental and material, God is therefore the nearest thing. Really it is God Who is searching for God, and we are the very thing we are looking for, only in our ignorance we do not know this. _____________________________________________ Harmony I sought high and low, near and far, yet I could not find. I looked in cracks and crannies, caves and rock, yet the voice was missing. I climbed to the highest mountain top and went to the farthest heaven, yet the forms did not fill me. In despair I cried out "What do I have left? I have gone everywhere." And in giving up I heard a voice say quietly, "Look within your heart. I am there." And I sought no longer and became the Heart: finding myself as the land and sea, high and low, near and far, in all forms and heavens, and beyond. For within my heart I called and answered "See, I am here always." Beloved, Love, and Lover. Sea, Wave, and Drop. Lose three for One. What three, or many, when there is One - When I am? ****************************************************** February 17 (48) Saying Concentration and contemplation are great things; but no contemplation is greater than the life we have about us every day. _____________________________________________ Complement It is very easy to build dreams of ideals. It is very easy to imagine happiness in Heaven but that brings no strength, it never brings that great satisfaction when one feels one has accomplished something. This satisfaction is greatest in the physical sphere where there is so much to overcome, yet this is the greatest battle it is possible to wage and its victory is the finest victory, the victory over great obstacles. It is easy to imagine Nirvana far away from turmoil; it is marvelous to imagine and attain Nirvana in the midst of trouble. Therefore if the sage once finds the Universal Peace in the midst of strife, it will be natural for him to find it anywhere and everywhere. The descent of Jesus into Hell is nothing but the willingness of the awakened soul to face all and fear nothing for the sake of God. _____________________________________________ Harmony To swim, one plunges into the water: greater than practicing the stroke, or visioning the swim. To learn to learn is one thing. To read the Book of Life one Lives. Preparation is just that. What is greater, the journey or the tale of it? The swimmer able to make his way in the rough seas has greater strength and ability than one not tested, who paddles in the quiet pool. The mirror of life deepens as the lens is focused into this world. The heavens, quiet and light by comparison - easier to traverse, closer. But in the depth, if one can keep the connection, the greatest joy, fulfillment, peace - for the tones are richer, deeper stronger, as the music/colors are bright and solid - full. Completed is the painting/composition. ****************************************************** February 18 (49) Saying He who expects to change the world will be disappointed, he must change his view. When this is done, then tolerance will come, forgiveness will come, and there will be nothing he cannot bear. _____________________________________________ Complement Change of view does not mean alone to accept another person's view. Particular view is the standpoint of the nufs; accepting another's idea is to fall under the sway of nufs, in this case the nufs of another. The Sufi point of view is to perceive God's position, and when one can view life from the universal aspect as God sees it, it will include all points of view. This brings tolerance naturally, not as a moral, not as a discipline, but as the very part and portion of life. Then one will tolerate and forgive because one will not only see the other's viewpoint, he will know how and why the other came to that conclusion and will not separate the ideas from the whole life's experience of another. This is tolerance with wisdom and understanding. _____________________________________________ Harmony The lover of music and teacher of instruments does not force his particular views upon another. Even though he knows the glory and joys of music, and loves all kinds, he knows that some do not wish for these sounds at all. Others are drawn to a bit, or a particular tone. For others a harmony or crescendo lifts their spirits. He supports them all - and provides the music. When a student struggles with learning and playing, sounds a note too flat or sharp, he does not chastise him for trying. He guides to what is needed, within the capacity, the range of this student. He helps what is needed to do: to make the next step. The learner of life is like the aspiring musician. He tries to master the instrument and tunes himself to the music. The teacher of music is as the guide or worker within the realm of this world. His instrument is the heart; the breath as the sound, and the music is love. Tolerance comes, for he sees through the eyes and hears through the ears of himself: his love, Divine - the other, not other at all. To touch the heart one does what is needed, when it is needed. The music raises all, and the harmony plays out. ****************************************************** February 19 (50) Saying To renounce what we cannot gain is not true renunciation: it is weakness. _____________________________________________ Complement As in the story of the fox, who abandoned his quest for the grapes on the high branch, the person who calls it surrender or renunciation when he cannot obtain an object sought has made the prime error of assuming that he is that thought of self called nufs by the Sufis, but which is not really the true Self. Whatever be the true cause of failure, it is due to lack of concentration and some weakness. Of course, very often ignorance leads us to believe that we might secure some unwarranted prize, which later knowledge shows is beyond our reach. In this case it was the weakness, which was the cause of ignorance. Spiritual renunciation is of a very different character, being surrender of that which we can easily obtain; or sacrifice of something which we possess and prize; or giving away something we have earned at great cost; or abandoning the fruits of action for some higher ideal. This is the true renunciation, the real spiritual sacrifice. _____________________________________________ Harmony What is it that you do not have? How then can it be given? Seeking solitude, can you enjoy the masses? Giving love to the Divine, are you able to love another? Of things and wealth given, do you have available the comforts of life and no regrets? To give in service, have you gotten over the greed of rewards, feeling good, obligation? Of leaving the world, are you able to partake easily and fully of its wonders and joys? What is it that you seek? Are satisfactions taken in release? Is anything left undone? Then how can you give it with no regret? Not giving - holding on. How is it that one can give up the kingdom and feel it cheap; and another a penny and find it too much? Look within yourself for the kingdom of Truth. To find oneself the heart is given freely and fully. The life is given with no regret - in service all and fully. The smaller self is given and upon its true release, realness, Oneself. Practice in the small ways, immediacy of being. Doing what is needed, when it is needed to be done. Giving what is needed, as it is to do. Leave little things and the rest will take care of itself in growth. ****************************************************** February 20 (51) Saying The religion of each one is the attainment of his soul's desire; when he is on the path of that attainment he is religious; when he is off that path then he is irreligious, impious. _____________________________________________ Complement Religion in its highest and truest sense being that which relates us to God, it is the fulfillment of this relation which alone satisfies the soul. This means the renunciation and abandonment of everything belonging to the three worlds of body, mind and spirit. So long as we hold any earthly or heavenly attachments our love is not for the Zat of God. When love is other than for the Zat of God, the person may be called irreligious. He is impious in the sense that this failure to keep on the right path will lead him sooner or later to error and sin, and this keeps him bound by karmic ties. _____________________________________________ Harmony Oh Heart, becoming, re-mem-bering, unity and one ness expression of the All. The recollection/feeling/yearning toward that Joy, Oh Love, Oh Love, the Peace. Awakening the heart toward soul's remembrance living in the Land of Bliss, Expressing all as Joy and Love. Breath - connector of life, of being Journey to the worlds of self, Retracing and express anew, so old, always. And to my heart I yield for it draws me higher to my heart's heart. To-ward this I pledge myself, my actions, mind, and lesser selves. Toward coming home, to being, united - all fulfilled - From which all comes, and is, Toward which all goes, and is. Yet as union comes and grows I notice all about me - me and to this feel and know the uplift of one, as one; complete is only when there is one all in joy, and love, and peace. Toward this end the soul moves unto itself/myself incomplete, 'til all raised free-high, One. Of the earth, the skies - heavens - mind Breath connecting linking to that Love through love, Joy, Peace. Do I fall away when I walk a path not remembering? I do, yet love, and joy and peace are there and bubble back; remind me of my self. True religion from away - toward Heart. Seek the highest of Ideal - Higher as I closer Be. Oh Heart, becoming, re-mem-bering, unity and one ness expression of the All. ****************************************************** February 21 (52) Saying The reformer comes to plough the ground; the prophet comes to sow the seed; and the priest comes to reap the harvest. _____________________________________________ Complement In the physical world we find these stages. First one comes to combat evil, often failing. Then another comes who moves the hearts and minds of man, and finally the third person becomes the leader in the righteous cause. On the mental plane we have the one who exhorts but does not move; this is the reformer, although some reformers are very successful in moving the emotions of man, but they do not always touch the mind or heart. The prophet is of another character, who places the seed of righteousness in the mind and heart that it may fructify. The movement that he has founded becomes organized, often as a religion, and the priest is the leader in religion. From another point of view, the reformer helps to clear away emotional rubbish, the prophet helps to keep the mind pure, and the priest helps to preserve the purity in the heart after it is once attained. _____________________________________________ Harmony The pattern repeats itself, on many levels: preparation, sowing, reaping. You invite guests for dinner. When you shop, you are the shopper; cook, the cooker; serve, the server. Three faces, three functions, one person. How is it that the workmen build a house? Attention to the order, process, timing. All follow the direction, from the blueprints: effects of the intent and needs. How is it that the prophet, seer, or worker combine their effort? Attunement to the blueprint, means, and need. Carrying forth the teaching to fulfillment. One Being, many faces, parts of the whole one as oneself in many garbs and functions. You may, if you seek, place yourself amid the work. To do what is needed, as you can; ask, receive, then do. The same within yourself each stage. Prepare, Sow, Reap Ask, Receive, Do. Breath connects Heart. ****************************************************** February 22 (53) Saying Life is an opportunity given to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul. _____________________________________________ Complement If the soul continued to exist only in the highest state, it would never experience hunger and thirst. This comes through the separation, its departure from its home, whence it passes through the phases of hunger and thirst. This is the theme of the opening of the "Masnavi," the allegory of the flute. After the soul has suffered thoroughly in the pain of separation, it recovers step by step its lost province. As it throws off the deceiving desires, as it abandons the fruits of action, as it surrenders all the thoughts and attachments of incarnate and disincarnate experience, it comes again to the full satisfaction of love and the end of hunger and thirst in its reunion with God. This reunion, however, is only apparent; it has always existed but the soul has not realized it during its journey away from home. _____________________________________________ Harmony "I yearn and hunger/thirst for that re-union", calls the soul apart. On drawing near, the polished heart proclaims, "I am the mirror, heart in myself to polish, and union is no more or less than always". I yearn for life to mirror myself, for to see and know/experience of "I". Myself lost within myself, created of my heart and breath - spoken and solid: creating and created, creator and mirror upon reflection; extending into it I find myself - heart polished heart, in thirst no more, hunger satisfied. ****************************************************** February 23 (54) Saying Truth alone can succeed; falsehood is a waste of time and a loss of energy. _____________________________________________ Complement Truth metaphysically connotes all that is beyond the mental sphere, while falsehood is all that lives upon the shadow forms of the lower worlds. Truth is of the nature of light and therefore of energy, while falsehood is of the nature of passing or incidental phenomena. The cause of falsehood is the nufs, that thought of self; where it does not exist there can be no falsehood. Therefore angels always tell the truth, but there is no merit in it. The successful person is one who has the ability to cling to falsehood and does not. He becomes master of all the energy and dominates the three worlds. _____________________________________________ Harmony Falsehoods are like castles built of sand, where great effort may go into their construction, but are washed away when Truth, like waves, meet them. Eventually they return to the ocean. The mountains are ground down to the seas. Thoughts give way to feeling. Feeling to archetypes to Truth. The ocean of the mind and heavens so large, yet a drop in the ocean of Truth - That Which IS. The seeker puts away the separation, falseness of intent, toward the One. Drops the thoughts, attitudes, actions of falsehood toward that Light of Truth. Through love climbs toward oneself. While intention is the key to capacity; sincerity is the key to intention. Teachings or attitudes may last for years or thousands of years, like pyramids, but will eventually give way to Truth. That Which IS makes itself known and re-members upon and into IT AS. No thing stands in the way of this ocean and lasts. The sincere seeker places himself or herself within the current of absorption - willingly easing the way toward dissolution of self identification; gives way to the ocean of Being, Love, Peace, Truth. How is it that "truth will out"? It is its nature. All else a diversion, hindrance, temporary - lesser aspects, all lessons, pointing toward their source. ****************************************************** February 24 (55) Saying Do not fear God, but consciously regard his pleasure and displeasure. _____________________________________________ Complement Fear is an emotion, which results from the failure of breath to touch the heart plane. This is the natural condition of man. In the opposite condition, or that of love, the breath reaches but does not penetrate the heart-plane (Djabrut). However, the light of Intelligence confers upon such a one vision into that sphere so he or she can perceive the Divine Will. Thus one can, through the practice of Darood or Fikar, discover all that is in harmony or disharmony with God, and in a very practical (not theoretical) manner, perform His Will. _____________________________________________ Harmony The soaring bird effortlessly follows the pleasure of the wind, carried along, and chooses its actions aligned in natural ease. What fear is there of the beloved parent or friend; the lover supporting one? We place our heart within the flow and consider; and do naturally that which continues that love. Thankful for the compassion and support of the Divine, Friend of Friends, we turn our heart toward this; and soar effortlessly on love carried by the wings of breath - toward this our Ideal - Lover, Beloved. There is no unknown, no fear. For we turn ourself as the expression, the pleasure of This - aligned through love, conveying the joy of the Universe through action - mercy incarnate. ****************************************************** February 25 (56) Saying He who has failed himself has failed all; he who has conquered himself has won all. _____________________________________________ Complement Failure is due to the domination of the false self. It alone puts out the thought of failure, of weakness, of limitation. It is not capable of sustaining concentration or effort. When one has controlled this self and its passions, and especially when one has performed the spiritual practices which link one to God, the True Self, one has conquered this false lower self. This is the great victory of life. All other victories are unimportant in comparison with it and not essential to mundane existence. Once the nufs is mastered, the key to every success is at hand. This is conveyed in the allegory of "The Thief of Baghdad." _____________________________________________ Harmony If I go to the store to purchase bread and come home empty handed or with milk, or peaches, I have failed my task. Myself to come to this land to see, and know, and - thousands of things - but one, of all frees me to do. "Know yourself", says the sage. "The truth shall set you free", says another. "Victory", chants one. There is one victory, one task to fulfill. First to know oneself. To this all things are added. And if you have not love, you are empty. All things are taken away. Fail all - one task undone: one heart, one body. Raise all - one heart, one being. Re-member, be, do/be. Carry water as it is needed To whom it is needed When it is needed. Satisfy the Great Thirst. ****************************************************** February 26 (57) Saying As man rises above passion, so he begins to know what is love. _____________________________________________ Complement What is passion? What is love? This is the same force, in the former instance operating in the sphere of plurality, in the latter case in the world of unity or principle. When the Universal Love-Light is caught in the image of self, it is reflected in myriad pieces, each of which the self desires to grasp and keep as its own. Not recognizing the Supreme Unity and failing to find all its desire in any one of these fragments, the false self flits from false love to false love. This is because it only recognizes falsehood and not truth. Passion is therefore the shadow of love; it is not to be condemned. It is the selfishness, which must be eradicated. _____________________________________________ Harmony One sorts through the pile of stones to find their source. It is hard to discern. One filters them smaller and smaller. Made of the same building blocks, they become more prevalent and discernable as one filters finer and finer until finally the makeup is clear. One does not disparage the rock, for it is more of the finer, only not identified as easily. The bird sings behind the noise of the city. It is noticed more as the quiet grows. The smell of the rose is overpowered by that of the refinery, but it is still there. The salt in the ocean becomes stronger as the water evaporates. One turns the heart and breath toward the Source and rises to it. In refinement and concentration it becomes more noticed until that is all that remains. And along the way it is perceived and felt that this makes up all the stages also. Turning from self toward self-less-ness is the movement toward love expressed. When concentrated upon oneself, solid, passion rules and is pressing. When one turns away from personal desire to the desire of the Song, the flute is born - to sing the song and produce the music the hearer needs. One can not inhale through the flute and hear the music at the same time as the outward breath. One becomes small, the other large and flows to the sky and beyond. As the mirror of the heart is polished, the fragments grow and coalesce - no more a kaleidoscope - and the image of love is there. ****************************************************** February 27 (58) Saying Believe in God with childlike faith; for simplicity with intelligence is the sign of the holy ones. _____________________________________________ Complement Complexity is born of man; mankind loves complexities. This is due to the activity of the mind-mesh, which splits truth into fragments, the shadows of which appear as facts. Not all the facts combined will present the truth, nor can all facts be combined until the essence of truth is discernible. It is this perception of unity, very simple in itself, very intelligible, yet quite un-analyzable, which is the natural aspect of the heart, characteristic of children and angels and possible in all souls who have escaped the network of the mind-mesh. _____________________________________________ Harmony The way is like a road map with thousands of routes to the city of Gold. We can know all the paths and try to find our way through any of them; but aware of that, the wise one trusts the One who made the city and the roads and the map to follow the route most appropriate. The way is like a grand concert, a harmony divine. A musician seeks to take part in it. He may play a thousand instruments and tones, and is aware of the written music and the variations. Yet the wise one places his trust in the conductor and writer of the music, who knows and hears the symphony. In this way he listens and can play to become part of the whole. And in so doing can reach the view, the sound of the conductor playing them as need be. The way is like the parent supporting the child in a great love. The small child may do any thing, yet when he turns his heart to his loving guide and protector, will find the right action and step safely. We turn our heart to the Divine Ideal; Guide, Beloved One, who speaks and leads as needed, always present. With actions unlimited available, there is only one for the Person of Heart - that which is needed; for the wills are not two, it is one. Oh, my Love, Divine, Ideal of Being toward You only do I look, and upon You only do I rely. Guide me and lead me, provide the way for your love. Oh, Creator of the way and the Way itself, the signs to the goal - to You - One - Maker of the map, Singer of the symphony of Life, Supporter and Lover, to You only do I listen; and follow Your every word, every sign. To You only do I pledge each movement, each breath. And to You only I give myself to be raised and carried until no longer is there me and You. Until we are no longer We: until only One. ****************************************************** February 28 (59) Saying One who can live up to his ideal is the king of life; one who cannot live up to it is life's slave. _____________________________________________ Complement It is better to be obedient to a simple standard than to strive for some unattainable goal. Success does not depend upon the goal, success depends upon our overcoming obstacles. Many think that if they claim some noble ideal or moral standard they are fulfilling duty in life. This is a conclusion of man. Success comes from mastering our own weaknesses, and if we do not coordinate the efforts of thought, speech and deed, we cannot accomplish much. It is this unity of our self with our self that brings us sooner or later to full realization of unity. _____________________________________________ Harmony One steps toward the horizon. It is still away, afar. The only way to reach the horizon is to become it where one stands, for that also is the horizon. Each step brings one closer to where one stands. How high, my Beloved, afar, away. You, my Being towards which to strive, become. What are your tones, your qualities within me? Reflected as Yourself I strive no more. Yielding I become, hollow and empty of myself. I become the chalice of Yourself. Filling me I live and do. All else, less within my heart. To take the next step is all I ask. Let this breath be Yours. I can do what I perceive, the highest of myself - grown - no difference now - express and be. All life within me. Giving of myself I am the slave of my Ideal - master of myself - kingdom within, the throne my heart. ****************************************************** February 29 (60) Saying Every moment of our life is an invaluable opportunity. _____________________________________________ Complement Every breath brings with it something from heaven; every breath takes with it something to heaven. There are the thoughts we get and the thoughts we give, there are the words we get and the words we give, there are the things we get and the things we give. All this is part of life, but there is more: according to our union with God every moment of our lives is permanent success obtained or lost. _____________________________________________ Harmony All action, non-action, now available. Do or not do, think or not. Breathe, Love, Be - or not. When can we make the choice? Now. Not the next breath, nor that breath past, Not the next heart beat, not the one gone by. What to see, how to live, Victory or not. Union or separation. What price can be placed upon this opportunity? Breathe, Heart, Be. Align, and Do. ****************************************************** March 1 (61) Saying Nature speaks louder than the call from the minaret. _____________________________________________ Complement This is the call of man to man in the name of God, but in nature we find the call of God to man in the Name of God, which is really the call of God to God in the Name of God. It is through the speech or call of God that the universe was made, and one reason that it was created was so that