Yoga, Yogis, Shiva, Prana and Vedanta in the Sufi Master Hazrat Inayat Khan Spiritual Teachings

YOGA, YOGIS, SHIVA, PRANA & VEDANTA
by Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan

This Esoteric Circulum is particularly for those who are interested and praticed both: Yoga and Sufi Spiritual Way of Life…

Sangitha I
Riyazat, Esotericism
Japa
Om: I am what I am.

I. Yoga – Hazrat Inayat Khan

The Message Papers
Peculiarity of the Great Masters
Shiva
And there is always in the book, there was a dialogue, between Mahadeva and Parvati. Parvati took it down. That shows again balance. He was ascetic, but he was not despising all that was beautiful and good. He was not ignorant of the devotion given to him. And it was he who told Parvati, when giving the science of yoga, “Never give this science to the unfaithful. Give it to the simple ones, give it to the poor ones, give it to good persons, wherever they may be, but never give it to the unfaithful.” It is often that that remark is made.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
8. The Ancient Music
The most important or valuable thing that the music of the ancient people produced, and which greatly benefited humanity, was that they distinguished the different aspects of music, and thereby came to realize that there was a certain way of expressing the tone and rhythm which brought about a greater emotion, or an inclination towards action. Together with it they found out that there was a certain use of time and rhythm which brought about a greater equilibrium, and a greater poise. This science, developing after many years of practice, formed in itself a special psychological science or art called yoga, and the special name for this science was mantrayoga.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
8. The Ancient Music
The meaning of the word yoga is unity or connection, and mantrayoga means the sacred union between the outer life and the deeper life. For the Yogis found out that there are psychological indications: one of the tendencies of the breath is to go outward, the other inclination is to go inward. These two tendencies are to be found in nature also: in the ebb and the flow, in the sunset and sunrise. One sees this difference in oneself: the vibrations of one’s own body and action are very different in the morning and in “the evening. The Yogis therefore regulated the rhythm of the circulation, of the heart and of every action of the breath, with the help of vibration, of music, of both tone and rhythm. This brought them from the audible vibrations to the inward vibrations, which means: from sound to breath, which in the language of the Hindus are one and the same. It is sura which is a name for sound and for breath. The one blends into the other, because it is the same thing in the end. It is the breath of an object which may be called a sound, and it is the audibility of the breath which may be called voice. Therefore breath and voice are not two things. Even breath and sound are not two things, if one can understand that both have the same basis.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
15. The Vina
The first vina, an invention of Mahadeva, was a bamboo with gourds attached to it. Guts were used, veins of animals, and all things that could be found in the jungle. When the Rishis went into the jungle for their yoga practices, the wish for companionship led them to take first a bamboo and a piece of gut, then to fasten two gourds to the bamboo. This was called the rudra vina, and on this the Rishis played.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
15. The Vina
2
This instrument was invented by the Lord of Yogis, Shiva , whose name is also Mahadeva. He gave to the world his lifelong experiences in the practice of yoga. He is worshipped in India as a godhead, and his literature is considered holy scripture. He was a very great master of breathing, and an ascetic. He lived in the mountains, where he sat and breathed the fresh air of the wide horizons of the East, and practiced mantras: words or phrases which change the whole being of man.

Vol. 2, The Power of the Word
1. The Power of the Word
1
When we compare this interpretation with the Vedanta philosophy, we find that the two are identical. All down the ages the Yogis and seers of India have worshipped the Word-God, or Sound-God, and around that idea is centered all the mysticism of sound or utterance. Not alone among Hindus, but among the seers of the Semitic, the Hebraic races the great importance of the word was recognized. The sacred name, the sacred word, were always esteemed in the Jewish religion. Also in Islam, that great religion whose mysticism the West is only beginning to discover, one finds the doctrine of Ismaism which, translated, is the “doctrine of the mystical word.” The Zoroastrians, who had their religion given to them long before the time of Buddha or Christ, and who have lost many of their teachings through the changes of time and conditions, have yet always preserved the sacred words. Sanskrit is now considered a dead language – but in the Indian meditations called yoga, Sanskrit words are still used because of the power of sound and vibration that is contained in them.

Vol. 2, The Power of the Word
2. The Power of the Sacred Word
It is by taking this secret into consideration that the ancient people developed the science which they called yoga. By the repetition of certain vowels, of certain words and of a particular way of breathing they touched within themselves those centers which are connected with intuitive faculties. This is not only a story of the past. The schools of the Sufis, whose origin is the ancient school of Egypt where Abraham was initiated, still exist and there are words you use, which have that power. But these schools have not made of this sacred idea an ordinary thought. They have not spread it among people who would take it and abuse it, because if you give a sharp sword into the hands of a child, the consequences will be fatal. A person who has not yet risen above his angers and passions, who has not yet risen above greed and above pride and conceit – if all the power there is is given to him, how will he use it? It is therefore that the schools first arranged that people might be taught moral culture and the attitude they should have towards their fellow-men. For they believed and they still believe, that any power that is ever attained must be used for one purpose only and that purpose is nearing God. If it is not used for that purpose, if it is used for selfish ends, then it is just as well that man remains without powers. Therefore, in the ancient schools, which have tradition behind them and which are meant to serve humanity, initiations must be taken.

Vol. 4, Mental Purification
12. Mystic Relaxation (2)
Meditation
To my greatest surprise, while travelling in the West I saw people looking for books of this kind, wanting to buy books about yoga, Yogis, spiritual attainment. Many have lost their mind by reading such books. They cannot keep balance. Trying to do what is in the book is just like going into the drug-store to get some yoga-pills in order to attain spirituality! There are also many who look into the mirror to become clairvoyant, who gaze into a crystal in order to see the depth of life. They make light of something that is highest and best and most sacred.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Mystery of Breath
If we read the history of Buddha, who was a yogi, we shall find that without yoga and without spiritual meditation, which is accomplished by breath, no one in this world has ever attained spiritual perfection. The healing power of Christ, the magnetism of Mohammed, the miraculous power of Moses, the charm of Krishna and the inspiration of Buddha — all these were attained by breath. And how did they attain them if there were not a current passing between us on the earth and the source of energy, the source of power and magnetism?

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Journey to the Goal
There are four different paths recognized as leading to the attainment of that goal. The Yogis call them Hatha yoga, Raja yoga, Mantra yoga, Bhakti yoga.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Journey to the Goal
Hatha yoga is the path of abstinence. This is a form of self control, achieved by practicing different postures, sitting quietly and trying to slow down the circulation or follow a certain rhythm, or quieting the nerves by a certain kind of breathing. This is all a process of mastery of the body and mind. Sufis call this mastery Vilayat.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Journey to the Goal
What does it mean when we see a person fail time after time, or another person succeed time after time? It is just a matter of holding the reins of our affairs in our hands. When there is no rein there is failure. Failure means that there has been lack of self control, whether it is a failure in affairs or in health. Illness always comes when a person has lost the control of self. It is because this is the main theme of metaphysics that Hatha yoga has been considered of the greatest value. All the miracles and all the wonders that have ever been known in this world have been done by those who have been able to control themselves by abstinence, and therefore to control life. However much were said upon this subject, it would still not express it. To begin with a person is puzzled by it, and he wonders whether he should believe it or not. That is why in the East the adepts never speak of their experiences in the spiritual life. They only tell their disciples to lead it and practice for years. “That will make it clear to you”, they say.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Journey to the Goal
The other path on the spiritual journey is that of Raja yoga. This is the path of life, going through all life’s experiences and accepting its responsibilities. On this path there are four stages.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Journey to the Goal
Mantra yoga, strictly speaking a system of yoga based on the repetition of and meditation on sacred words, aims at the attainment of perfection by means of wisdom, understanding life, and seeing through it. The best word to use for such a person is “seer.” He sees into life, into the depth of life, through a person, through an affair, through a thing. He sees not only the outside, the surface, but by means of concentration he sees through things as with a torch that illuminates whatever is seen. This seeing is called Jnana. The journey through life is made by that means.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Journey to the Goal
In Mantra yoga a person comes in touch with the mysticism of sound when he begins to see and understand; he begins to see that he gains power by sound, that in every vowel, word, composition, a certain effect or element is hidden, because life and the whole of manifestation is the outcome of what may be called vibrations. The scientist today says that life is motion, but the mystic has said so for thousands of years. At the same time he has worked with what the Hindus call Nada Brahma: sound-God or vibration-God. He has worked with life according to the law of vibrations, and has seen what great power vibration has. The whole of Mantra yoga is based on this law of sound or vibrations. But this is a very big subject.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Journey to the Goal
Bhakti yoga is the most important yoga, especially for those who have the quality of love and kindness, because all the beauty that there is in life is after all what we call love. From it all the virtues spring. The whole beauty of life is in it, and it is as the English song says, “The light of a whole life dies, when love is done.” Life’s light is love; and when the heart is empty of love, a man is living and yet not living; from a spiritual point of view he is dead. When the heart is asleep, he is as though dead in this life, for one can only love through the heart. But love does not mean give and take. That is only a trade; it is selfishness. To give sixpence and receive a shilling is not love. Love is when one loves for the sake of love, when one cannot help but love, cannot do anything but love. Then one is not forced to love; there is no virtue in that. One does not love because another does. It is simply there; it cannot be helped. It is the only thing that makes a person alive. If a person loves one and hates another, what can he know of love? Can you love one person fully if at the same time you cannot bestow a kind glance on some other person? Can you say you love one person fully when you cannot bear him to be loved by someone else as well? Can you hate a person when love is sprinkled like water in your heart? Love is like the water of the Ganges; it is itself a purification. As the Bible says, “God is love.” When love is awakened in the heart, God is awakened there. When a man has journeyed, he reaches the goal as soon as his heart has reached love.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Mastery
Reading the life of Shiva , the Lord of all the Yogis, one will see that after a long, long time of yoga he was tempted. Likewise Vishvamitre Rishi, after a very long time of yoga in the wilderness, was tempted by the fair ones from Indra, the decree of whose court has always been to hinder the advancement in spirituality of the rare ones. Though Machandra was a very great Yogi, he also was tempted and taken away from the desert by Mahila, a Hindu queen. Brought to her court he was married and made king, and among the flattering surroundings and luxurious environments he lost all his great powers achieved in the heart of the wilderness. It is easier to gain mastery in the wilderness, away from all temptations, but the mastery you gain in the world is of much more value; for the former is easily thrown down by a slight stroke, while the latter, achieved in the crowd, will last for ever.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Self-Control
The way to gain self-control is first of all to do the reverse of what your inclination would lead you to do. If you feel inclined to eat, sometimes do not eat, control the hunger. If you feel inclined to drink, do not drink, control the thirst. If you are inclined to sleep, do not sleep; at another time, when you are not inclined to sleep, sleep. There are a thousand inclinations, each sense has its inclinations. Do not give way to these inclinations, rule them, that they may not govern you. This is called by the Yogis hatha yoga, and the Sufis call it nafskushi.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Questions about Vaccination and Inoculation
Question: Will you, please, tell us if vaccination is desirable? Answer: All things are desirable if properly used, and all are undesirable if abused. In fact, the idea of vaccination comes from the same theory which is taught by Shiva – or Mahadeva – as Hatha yoga.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Vaccination and Inoculation
The THEORY behind vaccination and inoculation is the same as the one taught as Hatha yoga by Shiva , or Mahadeva as he is often called. It is said of Mahadeva that he used to drink poison, and by doing so he got over its effect. Mahadeva was the most venturesome among the ascetics. He is pictured carrying a serpent round his neck. If one can be such friends with a serpent as to keep it round one’s neck, one can no doubt sit comfortably in the presence of someone one does not like. The hatred and prejudice and nervousness which are felt in the presence of someone one does not like would then not arise. The soul which has forgotten its battle with everything that made it fear and tremble and run away, has conquered life and has become the master of life; it attains the kingdom of heaven. No doubt the methods which Mahadeva adopted were extreme measures; no one could recommend them to his pupils and be thought sane in this modern world!

Vol. 10, The Path of Initiation and Discipleship
6. Three Aspects of Initiation
Higher Initiation
In conclusion I shall mention what is attained through initiation. What one attains is that realization for which we are born, which is our life’s purpose. Unless we approach life’s purpose, nothing we do will help us sufficiently; it will only help us perhaps in a certain need of ours, but not any further. There is only one thing which gives complete satisfaction, and that is to arrive at self-realization. It is not simple and it needs more than just meditation and concentration, although these are of great help in the attainment of self-realization. And those who believe that by reading a book on yoga they can get to that realization are mistaken. They are mistaken because it is a phenomenon; and it is by this phenomenon that one proceeds further.

Vol. 10, Sufi Poetry
7. Shams-ud-Din Mohammed Hafiz
According to the ideas of the Sufis and of all the prophets and sages who ever came to this world, the love principle is the first principle, and so also it is the last principle. There are different yogas practiced by people of India, which are the intellectual, scientific, philosophical, and moral paths to God; but the most desirable path to God that the Hindus have ever found, one which makes the whole of life beautiful, is Bhakta yoga, the path of devotion, for it is the natural path. Man’s inclination is love. If he is cold it is because he is longing for love; if he is warm, it is because love is alive. If he is suffering from depression, is yearning or sorrowing, it is because the love principle is not alive. The only life, the very source of inspiration, salvation, and liberation, is love.

Vol. 11, Psychology
5. Suggestion by Word and Voice
It is on this principle that Mantra yoga was founded. Words which sprang from the intuition of the Yogis and thinkers, words which conveyed the meaning in a most profound manner, such words were collected for the use of the adepts, who repeated them and who profited by repeating them. Mantra yoga means a science of words, words which were sacred and helpful in one’s spiritual evolution. The Yogis have worked on this principle for many thousands of years, and have discovered a great mystery in the power of words. Sufis of all ages have followed this principle of making use of words which are suggestive of a certain sense, a sense which one wishes to bring out and make a reality in one’s life. No doubt it is necessary to know the meaning of the sacred words one repeats; this gives a thousandfold greater effect. And the spoken word has a greater power than silent concentration, provided there is power of concentration and sincere feeling at the back of that word.

Vol. 11, Psychology
5. Suggestion by Word and Voice
The mystics of all ages have attached great importance to the mystery of the word, and every adept who has persevered in the path of Mantra yoga has always arrived at the desired issue. No doubt perseverance, patience, and faith, all three, are required in accomplishing a mystical work by the power of repetition.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
Mastery (1)
It is better to receive personal help than to practice yoga; there can be no system of training in which all the pupils receive the same, for each needs a different method which is adapted to his condition of life, his type of mind, his environment, his age, his education, the spiritual development to which he has attained, and his devotional tendency. Is devotion the best method, or is study or are practices best? This depends upon the pupil’s needs and capabilities. It is exactly the same as when a physician prescribes for a person: he must use different medicines according to the individual’s type and personality. Patent medicines will not always do!

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
Discipleship (2)
Why does one need yoga? Because, in the first place, Western education does not interfere with it. The church has still less influence. Necessary though discipline, reverence, and respect are, they are sometimes allowed to lapse, and then life becomes empty, drab, lacking something. Dharma is the one thing needed for the spiritual path, as both Shiva and Buddha pointed out. One should acquire the tendency to respect and to revere, and this comes from worship. This one thing that is needed is developed through devotion; that is why it is better, if possible, to add a little of the color of beauty to the Raja yoga, and thus beautify your life. But whichever of these paths you choose, a teacher is needed. It is his blessing, his guidance, that helps; it is the contact with him that is important.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
Discipleship (2)
Raja yoga is the best one for life in the Western world. This is because life in the West is so full of responsibilities and there is so little time to devote to solitude and practices. You have to practice wisdom and deep thought in all your affairs from morning till night; in this way you make your life into a teaching for yourself. Therefore whatever your work or business or profession, let that be your mode of progress, so that you advance through your every duty. At the same time, if you will only devote ten or twenty minutes to a practice it will prepare you for something better, and it will also help you in your work. Thus Raja yoga, the yoga of life’s experiences, is certainly the best for Western life, but if a person prefers a life of retirement, let him take it.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
Discipleship (2)
The Sufi does not give preference to any particular path. Take whatever suits your temperament best. However, in my own experience I have found it better to take one path as a special one for oneself, but to use also the other three. Thus you lack nothing. If the Bhakti yoga suits you specially you should also get to understand something about Hatha yoga, and about the others too if you can. By understanding these others also you gain great strength and perfection.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
Discipleship (2)
There are four different paths to follow:abstinence or Hatha yoga,devotion or Bhakti yoga, learning from life’s experiences or Raja yoga, and the fourth one, Mantra yoga, which means attaining spirituality through wisdom.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
Discipleship (2)
So many people want to dabble in these matters, but when they come into contact with others of like mind there they are just waiting to be fooled by them. The world is full of all sorts of people, but few of them are ready for the path of discipleship. Real discipleship has just the same implication as lies in the word “baptism.” It is a real baptism in itself, not just a ceremonial, something external. Spiritually it means to be our natural selves, neither exalted nor pious nor good, nothing but to be just our natural self. A person may say, “I have no natural self”, and the more we look at ourselves the more we think this, yet it is the lack of realizing our natural self that accounts for our depressions, our disappointments, our weaknesses, and everything that is undesirable in us. We are only conscious of our false self and do not know our real self. The idea is to disclose that self which is our real self, our natural self; and we do this by uncovering the different planes of mortal being which hide the self. All the yoga practices, their meditations and concentrations, are aimed at uncovering this real self.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
Discipleship (2)
In discipleship one has to consider the idea of sympathy. The great Lord of yoga, Mahadevi, warned against initiating or welcoming an insincere, ungrateful, or doubting pupil into the mystical cult. This was his advice to every mystic. Why was this? What concern is it of the mystic whether a pupil is grateful or not, sincere or not, as surely he has to be good to everyone? The idea is that unless a person is sincere he is not ready to benefit, and the teacher will not do him any good. He must have sincerity and faith and sympathy. How true is the saying, “He who speaks evil of another knows him not; he who speaks well of another knows him better’! This illustrates the fact that sympathy is the only thing that discloses the secret of all things.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
The Life of the Sage in the East (1)
The Vairagi
The path which the Hindus follow is one of the four yogas, and it is through Hatha yoga, the path of abstinence, that the Vairagi endeavors to develop his spiritual life. In following this path, practices may be carried out which seem hideous, or at least very strange, to those who do not understand the underlying philosophy or ideal. Whatever he does, the object is to reach the spirit by killing everything that hides the spirit from his sight. One might say that he considers himself to be his own enemy, so he crushes everything that is not spirit, everything that interferes with his spiritual progress. He seeks to kill all that is mortal within himself realizing that in this way he can attain to a higher and more powerful life.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
The Word
However, yogis had worked with sound for thousands of years before any such researches were thought of or undertaken. The school of Mantra yoga is concerned with this science. The one belief that started this was that vibration is creative and that the whole universe was produced by sound, by the Word; as it says in the Bible, first was sound and then was light. This contains the mystical thought that one may understand vibrations as spreading in two directions; when audible they become intelligible, and coming from the form of the Being they become visible. But even if the Word were neither audible nor visible it would have the capacity of being both. If our power of sight and hearing is not enough to help us it is because the reality is beyond and above the range of our sight and hearing, and therefore it is not intelligible to us; we are not aware of it. But if our sight and heating allowed us to hear and see it we would know that all life is vibration.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Superstitions, Customs, and Beliefs
1.6, Bells and Gongs
The secret of the religious custom of having gongs and bells in temples and churches lies in the great science of the Hindus, which is Mantra yoga. In the first place, this custom unites several religions, since bells are rung in Christian churches, in the temples of the Hindus, and in Buddhist pagodas. Many think that it is a call to prayer, but from a mystical point of view it is something more than that. The idea of the mystic is to make his heart capable of resonance, that every voice that rises on earth or descends from heaven may have its re-echo in his heart. The Sufi prepares himself by his exercises of Zikr and Fikr to make his heart capable of producing that resonance that may be caused on earth or descend from heaven. When the centers of the body and faculties of the mind are prepared to produce that resonance, then they respond to every sound, and every time the bell is rung it has its re-echo in the heart of the mystic, and every center of his being begins to think of God and to feel God. Vibration is a greater stimulant than wine. Wine gives intoxication to the brain, but vibration produces ecstasy in the heart. Therefore Sufis have called it wine.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Symbology
2.10 The Hindu Symbolical Form of Worship
A: No, perhaps the words of the Vaishnava (followers of Vishnu) differ from the words the followers of Shiva use. Of course, the meaning is the same. And breathing exercises do not differ much. For the reason that the yoga is one yoga for all the Hindus. There are four different yogas, but one system.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Morals
2.6, The Ego Is Trained As a Horse
The ego is trained by a Sufi as a horse is trained by man. A bridle is put upon it and man holds the reins in his hand. This training is called by the Hindus Hatha yoga, which means to gain the control of one’s self by means of abstinence. Often, when man does wrong, it is not that he likes to do wrong, but that he is not able to prevent himself from acting in that way. In the first place, wrongdoing is almost always the consequence of the appetites and passions, or for the gratification of vanity. Fasting and special postures are often practiced by the mystics for the same reason. The more man gives way to the appetites and passions the more he is enslaved by them, until he reaches a state where he speaks and acts against his own conscience. Such faults as treachery, flattery, falseness, and all others of the kind come from lack of will-power and from giving way to the passions.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MYSTICISM 1
The Power of the Word
Now coming to the Buddhistic and Vedantist religions and philosophical schools, we find the words that have been used for many thousands of years, the same words even to-day are used. For the Hindus it has been a kind of science, the science which they called Mantra yoga, the science of the word, the dynamic power, the vital power that lies in the repetition on certain words. I have spoken about it in the “Mysticism of Sound,” yet it is never sufficient, there is so much that can be spoken on the subject.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MYSTICISM 5
Mastery
It is better to receive personal help than to practice yoga; there can be no system of training in which each pupil receives the same, for each needs a different method which is adapted to his condition of life, his type of mind, his environment, his age (young or old), his education, the spiritual development to which he has attained, and his devotional tendency. Is devotion the best method, or is study, or is a practice best? This depends on the pupil’s needs and capabilities. It is exactly as when a physician prescribes for a person, he must use different medicines according to the individual type and personality. Patent medicines will not do!

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MYSTICISM 6
The Path of the Mystic
Living with God is immortality. The Bible from the beginning teaches us to look for immortality within ourselves. Therefore the mystic’s path is not one of study, but of meditation. In eastern language this is called yoga, which means connection, yoke, and this is to connect oneself with the Divine Spirit. And what disconnects one is the realization of one’s separate entity, and what connects one is the thought of God. Sufis, as all other mystics have had their schools in all ages of this inner cult. And it must be considered a privilege that East and West are coming closer together, that the poetry and music and philosophy of East and West are becoming known to each other. And the happiness of humanity lies in friendship and harmony between East and West. And there are many ways of doing this, but there is none better than the thought of God, and love between men. It is the essential spirit, and by this all can unite.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
METAPHYSICS 2
The Mysticism of Color and Sound
But the power of sound is greater than the power of color. Why is this? It is because sound arises from the depth of one’s being, and because sound can also touch the depth of one’s being. The Mantra yoga of the Hindus is based on this principle. The Sufi term for this is ‘Dhikr,’ that is the use of words for the unfoldment of the soul. But it is not merely for bringing about any desired result that words can be used in Dhikr. People often make the mistake of using the word without any spiritual ideal behind it, simply for the attainment of some magical power. The Sufis of all ages have warned against this mistake, and have constantly taught that here is only one object worth striving for, the essential object of life, namely God. It is only when the science of words is being used for the attainment of Truth, for the attainment of God, that it is being used in the right manner. To use it for any other purpose whatever is just like paying out pearls to buy pebbles.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
METAPHYSICS 4
The Culture of the Soul
How many in the Western world, working on their own by reading books of Hindu yoga, have lost their track and confused their minds, for there is always the danger of losing one’s mind when a person plays with the great cult without the personal guidance of a teacher. Even in order to sing the producer of voice must be consulted; when ill a physician’s advice is necessary. Man himself is not self-sufficient, in every walk of life guidance is necessary. But there comes another important phase which has little to do with the teacher, it is the responsibility of the pupil. The teacher shows the way, but the pupil must journey. If the teacher shows the way and the pupil sits still, after a thousand years he is still there where he was, and it is not the fault of the teaching.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MISCELLANEOUS 4
Q & A After Gatha II, No. 10, Nakshi Bandi, “Brahman…”
Q. Have they all the same sacred words and breathing exercises? A. No, perhaps the words of the Vedanta, followers of Vishnu differ from the words the followers of Shiva use. Of course, the meaning is the same. And breathing exercises do not differ much, for the reason that the yoga is one yoga for all the Hindus. There are four different yogas, but one system.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
ART AND MUSIC 1
The Vina
This instrument was invented by the Lord of Yogis, Shiva , or whose name is Mahadeva, who gave to the world his lifelong experiences in the practice of yoga, and who is worshipped in India as a godhead. His literature is considered as holy scriptures. He was a great master of breathing and an ascetic. He lived in the mountains, where he sat and breathed the free air of the wide horizons of the East and practiced mantras, words and phrases which changed the whole being of man. There he wanted to make some instrument to be used for higher exaltation by the help of music. In the forest what he could do was to cut a piece of bamboo. He took two pumpkins, made them hollow and tied them around the bamboo. Gut strings he got from animals, and these gut strings he tied upon it. In this way he made his first vina. And he practiced on it in solitude. There is a quotation, that when the deer in the forest used to hear him play the vina, they used to say, “Make the gut strings of my own entrails and put them on your vina, but as long as I live, continue to play.”

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
CLASS FOR MUREEDS 3
The Son of the Murshid in Delhi
There are four different paths to follow: abstinence (hatha yoga), devotion (bhakti yoga), learning from the experiences of life (raja yoga), and the fourth one, dhyana yoga or mantra yoga, which means attaining spirituality by wisdom. But in every one of these paths a teacher is needed. It is his blessing, his guidance that helps; it is the contact with him that is important. A real teacher is only an instrument of God. It is his presence, his wish for you that helps, not the words which he is saying.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
CLASS FOR MUREEDS 3
The Son of the Murshid in Delhi
So many people want to dabble in these matters, and there are many who are waiting to fool them. So when they come in contact with others of like mind, there they are waiting to fool them. The world is full of all sorts of people, but few of them are ready for the path of discipleship. Real discipleship has just the same implication as lies in the word “baptism.” It is a real baptism in itself, not just a ceremonial, an external. Spiritually it means to be our natural selves, neither exalted, nor pious, nor good, nothing but to be just our natural self. But a person may say, “I have not a natural self.” The more we look upon ourselves, the more we think, “I have not a natural self.” But it is the lack of realizing our natural self that accounts for our depression, our disappointments, our weakness, and everything that is undesirable in us. We are only conscious of our false self and do not know our real self. The idea is to disclose that self which is our real self, our natural self, and we do this by uncovering the different planes of mortal being which hide the self. All the yoga practices, their meditations and concentrations are aimed at uncovering this real self.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
CLASS FOR MUREEDS 5
Questions and Answers
Why does one need yoga? Because in the first place it does not interfere with western education. The church has still less influence. Necessary though discipline, reverence, and respect are, they are allowed to lapse, and life becomes empty, drab, lacking. Dharma is the one thing needed for the spiritual path, as both Shiva and Buddha say. One must get the tendency to respect and to revere, and this comes from worship. This one thing that is needed is developed by devotion. That is why it is better, if possible, to add a little of the color of beauty to raja yoga, and thus beautify your life.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
CLASS FOR MUREEDS 5
Questions and Answers
Raja yoga is the best one for life in the western world. This is because life in the West is so full of responsibility. There is so little time to devote to solitude and practices. You have to practice wisdom and deep thought in all your affairs, from morning till night; in this way you make your life a teaching for yourself. Therefore whatever your work or business or profession, let that be your mode of progress, so that you advance through your every duty. At the same time if you will only devote ten or twenty minutes to a practice, it will prepare you for something better, and it will also help you in you work. Raja yoga, the yoga of life’s experiences, is certainly the best for Western life. But if a person chooses a life of retirement, let him take it.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
CLASS FOR MUREEDS 5
Questions and Answers
A. The Sufi does not give preference to any particular path. Take whichever path suits your temperament best. However, in my own experience, I have found it better to take one path in particular as a special one for oneself, but also use the other three. Thus you lack nothing. If bhakti yoga suits you specially, you should also learn to understand something about hatha yoga, and also about the others if you can. By understanding these others also you gain great strength and perfection.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
CLASS FOR MUREEDS 7
Mastery
If you read the life of Shiva , the lord of all the yogis, you will see that after a long, long time — sixty years of yoga — he was tempted. Rishi Vishnamitri after forty years of yoga in the wilderness was tempted by the fair ones from Indra, the decree of whose court has always been to hinder the advancement in spirituality of the rare ones. Though Machandra was a very great yogi, he was tempted and taken away from the desert by Mahila, a Hindu queen, to her court, and there he was married and made a king, and among the flattering surroundings and luxurious environments he lost all his great powers achieved in the heart of the wilderness.

Githas
Concentration
2.2, Observation
The first step to concentration is observation. The one who lacks observation cannot concentrate well. Observation depends upon steadiness of mind, and this steadiness can be brought about by interest. Those who have no interest in anything or anybody have no steadiness of mind, and those whose mind is not steady cannot observe properly. Bhakti yoga among the Hindus and Tasawwuri Murshid among Sufis both teach this secret.

Githas
The Path Of Attainment
1, Attaining Perfection
The words hatha yoga mean abstinence, or sternness, to want what one wants, and nothing else in its place will satisfy one. Those who are discouraged and come back from half the way will never arrive at a destination. Especially in the path of God, a person who takes one step forward with hope and two steps backward in doubt will go back or will linger on in the same place. By the sincere pursuit of the object, be it heavenly or earthly, with a willingness for all sacrifice, one attains to what to what the soul longs for — perfection, the only satisfaction in life.

Githas
Esotericism
4, Wazifa(1)
Wazifa means the repetition of a word, and this has been the secret of the Oriental mystics, practiced by them for thousands of years. In Wazifa such words are used which have a a certain meaning for a physical, mental, moral, or spiritual purpose. In the Vedanta it is called Mantra yoga, and the importance of this yoga is great, for its effect is quick. There are words used in a Wazifa, the effect of which is in their numerical value; there are words also which either have been practiced or have been spoken by great inspired souls, which have their value.

Githas
Esotericism
6, Zikr(1)
Zikr is the process of repeating the sacred word with concentration, that it may impress on the entire self of the one who repeats it the meaning of the word. The Vedantists have called this process Mantra yoga or Japa. The Sufis have in all times given great importance to this, for it is not only the mind, but the word with a motion in every part of the body which makes a perfect concentration. For a sincere worker, it does not take more than six weeks to see its effect upon oneself. It is wonderful in giving power and realization.

Sangitha 2
Riyazat, Esotericism
Rest
As there is a great deal of nervousness seen among people they need not be given night vigils nor fastings; even a vegetarian diet must not be forced upon pupils. The reason is that a nervous body needs rest. To all such persons long hours of sleep must be prescribed, and even if they cannot sleep the mere fact of lying in bed would be most helpful; for rest of the body regulates its circulation and the rhythm of pulsation and gives much of the same result which yoga practice produces.

II. YOGIS by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Social Gathekas
2. Sufism–The Spirit of All Religions
The Sufi is a Brahmin, for the word Brahmin means knower of Brahma, of God, the Only Being. The Sufi’s religion lies in believing in no other existence than that of God, which the Brahmin calls Advaita. The Sufi has as many grades of spiritual evolution to go through as the yogi. There is even very little difference to be found in their practices, the difference being chiefly in the names. Of course, the Sufi chooses a normal life in preference to that of an ascetic, yet does not restrict him/herself either to the former or to the latter. The Sufi considers the teachings of the avatars as true manifestations of the divine wisdom and is in perfect sympathy with the subtle knowledge of the Vedanta.

Social Gathekas
17. Sufi Mysticism, III: Preparing the Heart for the Path of Love
A mystic like Jesus Christ said, “Love your friend,” and he went so far as to say, “Love your enemy.” The Sufi treads the same path. In charity of heart to one’s neighbors, the Sufi considers it the love of God; and in showing love to everyone, the Sufi considers this as love to God. In this, the method of the Sufi and the yogi differ. The yogi is not unkind. The yogi says, “I love you all, but I had better keep away from you, for your souls are always groping in darkness, and my soul is in the light. With your friendship I shall spoil my soul, so I had better keep away and love you from a distance.”

Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?
Jinn
The soul is a current. We may call it an electric current, yet one unlike the electric current we know on this physical plane, different from it in its power and phenomena; a current which runs more speedily than anything we know; a current which is beyond time and space; a current which runs through all the planes of life. If manifestation is the Breath of God, according to the conception of the yogi, there is one Breath and there are many breaths. The one, or central, Breath is called by yogis Prana, and all other breaths which have a certain part to play in the mechanism of the human body are lesser breaths; and again Prana and all other breaths when put together make one Breath, which man calls life. Souls therefore are different breaths of God. This idea may be pictured as a tree which has a stem and various branches; each branch in its place representing the stem.

Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?
Jinn
Five Spheres
Now there is the question if a soul by rising to all these spheres becomes conscious of the sphere of the jinn and of the angelic heavens, or if it only sees within itself its self-made world of mind, and the spheres of joy and peace within itself. The answer is, first it sees its own world by rising to the sphere called Malakut. It experiences the joy and peace which belong to its own heart, and which are of its own being. But that is only one part of spiritual attainment. This part of the attainment is the way of the yogi. The way in which the Sufi differs from the yogi is in his expansion; and it is these two sides of the journey which are pictured by the two lines of the cross, the perpendicular and the horizontal.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
9. The Divinity of Indian Music
There are two aspects of life: the first is that man is tuned by his surroundings, and the second is that man can tune himself in spite of his surroundings. This latter is the work of the mystic. The Sufis in the East work for years together to tune themselves. By the help of music they tune themselves to the spheres where they wish to be. The yogis do the same. Therefore the beginning of music in India was at the time of Shiva, Lord of the yogis. This great yogi teacher taught to the world the science of breath. Among the Sufis there was a great saint, Moin-ud-Din Chishti of Ajmer. At his grave music is played and Hindus and Moslems go there on pilgrimage. This shows that the religion of the knowers of truth is the religion of God, and the prayer of the greatest devotee rises from his heart in the realm of music. All different methods of bringing about calm and peace can be attained through the help of music.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
18. The Voice
Question: Would you tell us how it was that Tansen kindled candles by singing? Answer: It is told that Tansen, the great singer, performed wonders by singing. Tansen was a yogi. He was a singer, but the yogi of singing. He had mastered sound, and therefore the sound of his voice became living, and by his making the voice live everything that he wanted happened.

Vol. 5, Pearls from the Ocean Unseen
Sufism
The Sufi’s idea is to view life by raising himself above it. If a man is in pain, how can he relieve the pain of another? If a person is already burdened with a load, how can he take on another person’s burden? If a person is quarrelsome himself, how can he bring peace between others who are fighting? Therefore a Sufi considers it necessary to live in the world and at the same time to be not of the world. Where the yogi lives the life of an adept in the forest or in a mountain cave, the Sufi lives it in the world. For he considers that to awaken one’s heart to human sympathy, one must experience oneself the struggles and responsibilities of life in the world, and realize that man lives not for himself alone, but that his greatest joy must be to share every benefit and bliss he has in life with others.

Vol. 6, The Alchemy of Happiness
The Inner Life
The view of the one who stands on top of the mountain is quite different from the view of the one who stands at its foot. Both are human beings, both have the same eyes, but their horizons are different. Inner life, therefore, means the widening of the horizon and the change in direction of seeing. A mystic is often called a seer; and a great yogi has said, “In order to see what is before you, you must first see within yourself.” This means that within oneself there is a mirror, and it is that mirror which may be called the inner world, the inner life. It is in this mirror that all that is before one is reflected. When the eyes are looking outward one turns one’s back to the mirror which is inside; but when the eyes are turned inward then one sees reflected in this mirror all that is outside. By this process all seeing becomes so clear and manifests to such fullness that compared with it the outer vision is a blurred or confused vision.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Mastery
Reading the life of Shiva, the Lord of all the yogis, one will see that after a long, long time of Yoga he was tempted. Likewise Vishvamitre Rishi, after a very long time of Yoga in the wilderness, was tempted by the fair ones from Indra, the decree of whose court has always been to hinder the advancement in spirituality of the rare ones. Though Machandra was a very great yogi, he also was tempted and taken away from the desert by Mahila, a Hindu queen. Brought to her court he was married and made king, and among the flattering surroundings and luxurious environments he lost all his great powers achieved in the heart of the wilderness. It is easier to gain mastery in the wilderness, away from all temptations, but the mastery you gain in the world is of much more value; for the former is easily thrown down by a slight stroke, while the latter, achieved in the crowd, will last for ever.

Vol. 8, The Privilege of Being Human
5. The Art of Personality
The Art of Jesus
The Sufis of all ages considered the art of personality of the greatest importance. The yogi principle of asceticism has nothing to do with it; it is another ideal. The wise ones of all ages thought that God manifested Himself in the form of man and, from an individual to a person, developed as a soul, and that herein lies the fulfillment of life’s purpose. Therefore this was not only the main purpose of education, but also the central theme of religion and of life as a whole. What is religion taught for if not in order to make of man a personality? For every man is not a personality!

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
History of the Sufis
Sufis and yogis can respect each other, as the only difference between the yogi and the Sufi is that the yogi cares more for spirituality and the Sufi more for humanity. The yogi thinks that it is better to be God; the Sufi thinks that it is better to be man, because if one is only spiritual, there is always the danger of a fall; our body has the tendency to fall down. The Sufi says that as all the needs and desires of this body and its senses exist, one should satisfy them; he says that we should have whatever we can have, but if we cannot have it, we should not care. Yet there is no inner difference between the Sufi and the yogi. In wisdom there is no difference; if there seems to be any it is only a difference of form.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Renunciation
It is much more meritorious and much more difficult to live in the world and yet to be spiritual; to have the responsibilities of life, to give attention to friends and relations, to serve friends and enemies, and yet to remain spiritual. To be troubled by one’s surroundings, to be loaded with responsibilities, and to be exposed to opposition, is much harder and greater than to be an ascetic in the jungle. Both courses have their dangers. If one leaves the world, the innate inclination to enjoy and to experience the world may at any moment draw one back; like the yogi Mahachandra, who was a great saint and had many chelas, and yet was taken away by the Queen Mahila and made a king. He fell in a moment from the great height which he had reached by many years of hard perseverance. The yogi says that it is better to leave the world; but the Sufi chooses a life in the world with renunciation. He prefers to experience the world in the service of all while at the same time practicing renunciation.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Karma And Reincarnation
There are some who pretend, or at least imagine, that they can recollect their past incarnations; but in many cases they say so in order to create a sensation and for the sake of notoriety; or it may be just in order to give expression to their whims and delusions. In India one will not find much talk about reincarnation; people there will speak more about Karma. The yogis, who are among the principal exponents of the idea of reincarnation, do not for one moment believe that reincarnation is for them. If one asks a yogi he will say, ‘No, I am striving for Mukti, salvation. It is you who want to be born again, and therefore you will be born again; you would be very disappointed if you were not.’ This, however, needs to be seen from a subtle point of view; the yogi applies ‘you’ to what he knows to be the self in the person he addresses. This theory opens up a vast field of interest and curiosity for the imagination of those who can see the objective world. But, again, there are some who always seek for something new. This desire grows to such an extent that even if a new God were produced, they would still seek for another.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
The Message and the Messenger
iii
It only means changing one’s outlook on life, and recognizing the divine in man. But man has ignored the divine spirit that manifests in humanity, and always prefers an idol, a painting, a picture, to the living God, who is constantly before him. For the sage, the seer, the saint, and the yogi who begin to see the master, and see him living, there is no place where he cannot be seen. Then everywhere the beloved master is ready to answer the cry of the soul coming from friend, father or teacher. And if we go a little further forward, we will find that the teacher speaks aloud, not only through living beings, but through nature. If the eyes and ears are open, the leaves of the trees become as pages of the Bible. If the heart is alive, the whole life becomes one single vision of His sublime beauty, speaking to us at every moment.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
The Spirit of Sufism
The Sufi is a Brahmin, for the word Brahmin means “the knower of Brahma”, of God, the only Being. His religion lies in believing in no other existence save that of God, which the Brahmin calls Advaita. The Sufi has as many grades of spiritual evolution to pass through as the yogi. There is very little difference to be found even in their practices, the difference lying chiefly in the names. No doubt the Sufi chooses a normal life in preference to that of an ascetic, yet he does not limit himself to either the former or the latter.

Vol. 10, Sufi Mysticism
6. The Mystical Heart
Intellect and Sentiment
Jesus Christ not only told us to love our friends; he went as far as to say we should love our enemies; and the Sufi treads the same path. He considers his charity of heart towards his fellowmen to be love for God, and in showing love to everyone, he feels he is giving his love to God. Here the Sufi and the yogi differ.The yogi is not unkind, but he says, “I love you all, but I had better keep away from you, for your souls are always groping in darkness, and my soul is in the light. Your friendship will harm my soul, so I had better keep away and love you from afar.”The Sufi says, “It is a trial, but it should be tried. I shall take up my everyday duties as they come along.” Although he knows how unimportant the things of the world are, and does not overvalue these things, he attends to his responsibilities towards those who love him, like him, depend upon him, follow him; and he tries to find the best way of coming to terms with all those who dislike and despise him. He lives in the world and yet he is not of the world. In this way the Sufi considers that the main principle in the fulfillment of the purpose of his life is to love man.

Vol. 10, Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
13. Poetry (3)
The poetic wave from Persia came to India, and it was with this wave that the poetry of India changed its character. The Hindus, who have always been exclusive and remote, and followers of tradition, did not at first adopt the Persian form, so that in India two different aspects of poetry were developed. One aspect was the poetry written in one of the Prakrits, the vernaculars which had superseded Sanskrit both as a spoken language and in some forms of literature. It is said that the Prakrit languages were formed by yogi powers and spiritual inspiration. The poets expressed wonderful ideas in Prakrit poetry, and they generally followed the same meters as in Sanskrit; they used many Sanskrit words, although the languages as a whole were Prakrits. Only in rhythm a new form was introduced, in which the vowels attached to different consonant letters were not heeded any more, and words and ideas were arranged so as to follow only the beat of the rhythm. In this way they were quite free to express themselves as long as they could beat the time in their minds, without being tied to the rigid system of syllables prevalent in Sanskrit poetry, as explained in the previous chapter.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Morals
3.10, Inkisar (Selflessness)
The Sufi gives more importance to this subject than a yogi, for the way of the yogi is asceticism. The way of the Sufi is the development of humanity in nature. But according to the prophetic point of view the only way of pleasing God is Inkisar, which is greater than so-called goodness. A good person proud of his goodness turns his pearls into pebbles. A bad person, full of remorse for his faults, may turn his pebbles into jewels. Selflessness is not only pleasing to man but it is pleasing to God.

Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead
The Dance of the Soul
This legend is symbolic of the human soul, which originally belonged to Indraloka, the kingdom of God, the sphere full of peace, joy and happiness. Life there is nothing but Joy, it is a dance. Life and love come from God and raise every soul till it dances. It is therefore that the yogi term atma means the soul of man as Joy itself. In its pure condition it is a joy, and when it is without joy its natural condition is changed: it depends upon the names and forms of the earth and is deprived of the dance of the soul. Therein lies the whole tragedy of life. The wrath of Indra, the God of paradise, is nothing but breach of law, as it is natural that the soul is attracted to the Spirit and that the true joy of every soul is the realization of the divine Spirit.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
PSYCHOLOGY 3
The Art of Personality
The Sufis of all ages considered the art of personality of the greatest importance. The yogi-theory of asceticism has nothing to do with it (the art of personality). It is another thing. But the wise of all ages who taught that God Himself has manifested in the form of man who from an individual develops into a person, they see in this the fulfillment of life’s purpose.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
CLASS FOR MUREEDS 7
Mastery
If you read the life of Shiva, the lord of all the yogis, you will see that after a long, long time — sixty years of yoga — he was tempted. Rishi Vishnamitri after forty years of yoga in the wilderness was tempted by the fair ones from Indra, the decree of whose court has always been to hinder the advancement in spirituality of the rare ones. Though Machandra was a very great yogi, he was tempted and taken away from the desert by Mahila, a Hindu queen, to her court, and there he was married and made a king, and among the flattering surroundings and luxurious environments he lost all his great powers achieved in the heart of the wilderness.

Sangatha II
Nasihat, Advice
Ecstasy
It is a kind of opposite method to that of the yogi. The yogi, in order to elevate himself, leaves the world, goes to the forests. Being by himself, he naturally soars upwards, and reaches the highest ecstasy. The Sufi takes the contrary path; he stands in the midst of the world, and sees all the ugliness and beautiful side of it, looks into human nature on its surface, in its depth. And such great artists as Hafiz help him by giving before him pictures, what beautiful pictures they have made of the very life of the world, which frightened the yogi, who ran away from it. No doubt, the highest ecstasy is in the communion with God, and that ecstasy is completed when one has forgotten oneself to that degree that there remains nothing of himself but God. And it is in that ecstasy that the purpose of life is fulfilled.

Sangitha 2
Ta’lim, Teaching
Observing the Mureeds
When a yogi says to his pupil, “Go there,” “Come here,” the Sufi teacher observes silently: “Did he come when I expected him to come? Did he go when I expected him to go?” The yogi’s teaching is a teaching in words, the Sufi’s teaching is a teaching without words.

Sangitha 2
Riyazat, Esotericism
Designs Illustrating Fikr
The Vedantic or yogi terms equivalent to the Sufic:

III. Shiva – Hazrat Inayat Khan

Sayings
Gayan: Song
Gayatri: Prayers.
Salat
Most gracious Lord, Master, Messiah, and Savior of humanity, We greet Thee with all humility.
Thou art the First Cause and the Last Effect, the Divine Light and the Spirit of Guidance, Alpha and Omega.
Thy Light is in all forms, Thy Love in all beings:
in a loving mother, in a kind father, in an innocent child, in a helpful friend, in an inspiring teacher.
Allow us to recognize Thee in all Thy holy names and forms;
as Rama, as Krishna, as Shiva , as Buddha.
Let us know Thee as Abraham, as Solomon, as Zarathushtra, as Moses, as Jesus, as Mohammed,
and in many other names and forms, known and unknown to the world.
We adore Thy past; Thy presence deeply enlighteneth our being,
and we look for Thy blessing in the future.
O Messenger, Christ, Nabi, the Rasul of God!
Thou Whose heart constantly reacheth upward,
Thou comest on earth with a message, as a dove from above when Dharma decayeth,
and speakest the Word that is put into Thy mouth,
as the light filleth the crescent moon.
Let the star of the Divine Light shining in Thy heart
be reflected in the hearts of Thy devotees.
May the Message of God reach far and wide,
illuminating and making the whole humanity
as one single Brotherhood in the Fatherhood of God.
Amen.

Sayings
Gayan: Song
Talas: The rhythmic expression of an idea.
What Brahma creates in years, Vishnu enjoys in a day and Shiva destroys in a moment.

Social Gathekas
2. Sufism–The Spirit of All Religions
The Sufi appreciates the Jain conception of harmlessness and considers that kindness is the only true path of purity and perfection. Shams Tabriz, the Shiva of Persia, was flayed alive by the people because he had been accused of declaring that the Godhead existed in his mortal body. From his decayed flesh small vermin grew and waxed larger and larger as they devoured it and he, when while walking saw any of them fall from him would pick them up and place them again upon his body saying, “Your food has been created in this.” From past times until the present Sufis have shown great renunciation in their lives. Now most of them are as Jains or Brahmins, leading a most harmless life.

The Message Papers
Peculiarity of the Great Masters
Shiva
Shiva

The Message Papers
Peculiarity of the Great Masters
Shiva
And then we come to the peculiarity of Shiva. Shiva has given an example of vairagya. Do not think it an asceticism. Very often people say, “Vairagya means asceticism.” But it is not so. Asceticism is a crude interpretation of vairagya. The word vairagya comes from tyaga; in Sanskrit tyaga means renouncing. And when it is said vairagya, it means success in renouncing. Shiva showed it in his life. For years he did meditations; he stood for hours and for days on his head; for hours and for days he held his breath in; he went without food for days and months. All those things that one can do in order to master matter and life he did.

The Message Papers
Peculiarity of the Great Masters
Shiva
When one hears Shiva’s philosophy, it is all tyaga: give it up, indifference, independence from all things — from food, water, air, breath, sky, from all things — renounce it, renounce it. And do not be surprised, with all that, the best philosophy he gave was to his consort Parvati. She asked him questions, and he answered her gently. Through all this asceticism he never gave a philosophy out, he lived out; he lived it all his life, and by being an example. It was sometimes that he opened his mouth, and Parvati took down what Mahadeva gave.

The Message Papers
Peculiarity of the Great Masters
Shankaracharya
And then we come to the life of Shankaracharya, the last prophet of India, the Hindu prophet, who was not really the prophet but who was the representative of Rama, Krishna, Shiva, and Buddha. He had the four different aspects of wisdom gathered in him, because it was his time to give the message to his country. He mixed the four aspects; of this Brahmanism came. Therefore Buddhism went out of India, it only remained in China and Japan, but mixed; and in India again Buddhism came and enriched Brahmanism, which was disapproved by the followers of Rama and Krishna.

The Message Papers
“Superhuman” and Hierarchy
Now this hierarchy can be seen in traditions in two different forms: the Hindu and Buddhist form, and the form which belonged to Jerusalem, that of Christianity, of Judaism, and of Islam. There are two divisions of the Hindu form. One division is the claim of godhead; for instance, Mahadeva, Shiva, claimed to be the godhead. And so it was with Rama, and the same with Krishna. And then there was another division, that of Buddha. Buddha did not claim to be the godhead. His claim was that he found the key to the mystery of life, that he found the road to perfection, that he found the remedy to the disease of the soul; that was his claim. No doubt, it was most democratic is its essence. He showed to every person that the key is in himself, that the mystery is in himself, that the road he can find within if he will look for it. And Buddha was destined to serve the world in this manner.

The Healing Papers
1,1: Magnetism
5: The Magnetism of the Soul
Another soul quality is harmony. It is a natural inclination of an illuminated soul to create harmony, for it is in harmony that an illuminated soul finds peace; the one who is without illumination finds his satisfaction in struggle. Fearlessness is also a soul quality. It is the light of the soul, falling on problems that trouble us, which makes us see life more clearly and which gives us the power to surmount our difficulties. Soul quality gives bravery, courage, as we see in the image of Shiva, the Lord of the Yogis, who has a snake round his neck, which means that he is not afraid of keeping the enemy he has conquered curled round him. That is bravery.

The Healing Papers
1,4: Insight
3: The Glance of the Seer
This is quite natural, as we see in the ordinary course of life that by fear we create in others dreadful qualities, and when we love, we create kindness. It is possible to turn a friend into an enemy by thinking that he is an enemy, and also it is possible to change an enemy into a friend by expecting him to be a friend. Therefore, the tendency of the mystic is to turn everything into that which he wishes it to be. To turn what is ugly into beauty, and beauty into ugliness, this is what the vision can accomplish. This proves to a deep thinker that things are not what they appear to be, but we make them as they are. The whole life may be made into a thing of complete ugliness or it may be made into a sublime vision of perfect beauty. The lord of the yogis, Shiva, is pictured with a cobra on his neck, which means that death, which frightens everyone else, is accepted by him as life. That shows that even death can be made into life, and it is only the difference of the point of view that makes life death.

The Healing Papers
1,4: Insight
20: Viprit Karnai
It is not difficult to slide on the line already made on one’s mind; the difficulty is to act contrary to the line which is engraved there, especially in the case when it happens to be an undesirable line. Shiva, the great Lord of Yogis, has given a special teaching on the subject, which he calls Viprit Karnai: “Acting contrary to one’s nature.” And he gives great importance to this method of working with oneself, that by this method in the end one arrives at mastery.

The Healing Papers
1,6: Purity
5
One must not judge another person’s spiritual evolution by seeing what he eats and drinks, because this has nothing to do with a man’s evolution, for Shiva, the great Lord of the Yogis, had fish for his food, and wine was given in the church of Christ as a sacrament. Therefore no one has the power to estimate his fellow men from what they eat and drink. But everyone who wishes to tread the spiritual path may observe the mystical law, which certainly enables one to progress speedily. It must be remembered that it is the spiritual ideal which is the first thing to be held fast; what to eat and drink is a secondary thing. Any dispute about this proves to be unnecessary.

Vol. 1, The Way of Illumination
Sufi Thoughts
2. There is One Master,
The Sufi understands that although God is the source of all knowledge, inspiration, and guidance, yet man is the medium through which God chooses to impart His knowledge to the world. He imparts it through one who is a man in the eyes of the world, but God in his consciousness. It is the mature soul that draws blessings from the heavens, and God speaks through that soul. Although the tongue of God is busy speaking through all things, yet in order to speak to the deaf ears of many among us, it is necessary for Him to speak through the lips of man. He has done this all through the history of man, every great teacher of the past having been this Guiding Spirit living the life of God in human guise. In other words, their human guise consists of various coats worn by the same person, who appeared to be different in each. Shiva, Buddha, Rama, Krishna on the one side, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed on the other, and many more, known or unknown to history, always one and the same person.

Vol. 1, The Way of Illumination
Some Aspects of Sufism
The Masters
Rejection of the stranger, and belief only in the one whom he has once acknowledged, has kept man in darkness for ages. If he believed one message he would not accept the succeeding message, brought by another Master, who was perhaps a stranger to him. This has caused many troubles in the lives of all the Masters. Man refused to believe the Masters and their teachings, whether of the past or future, if their names were not written in the particular tradition he believed, or if he had not heard their names in the legends handed down for ages among his people. Therefore the people of that part of the world who have acknowledged the Hebrew prophets do not for instance recognize Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, or Vishnu and Shiva simply because they cannot find these names in their scriptures. The same thing occurs in the other part of humanity, which does not count Abraham, Moses or Jesus among its Devatas, as it does not find those names written in the legends with which it is familiar. Even if it were true that Brahma was the same Devata whom the Hebrews called Abraham, and if Christ was the same Master whom the Hindus have called Krishna, yet man would not recognize as one those whom he has distinguished as different, having a higher opinion of one of them and a lower opinion of the other.

Vol. 1, The Way of Illumination
Some Aspects of Sufism
The Masters
It was most necessary for the Messengers to claim some exceptional position which might attract humanity to receive the message they had to give. Some were called Avatar, an incarnation of Brahma, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Rama, and Krishna, while others were called Payghambar, prophet, intercessor. Their followers have had foolish disputes about the greatness of their assumption, or about what they did and taught, or about the sort of life they led while admiring and hating according to their personal liking.

Vol. 1, The Purpose of Life
2. The Desire for Life
If the desire to live is his innermost desire, if it is a divine substance in him, then there is the answer to this desire also; there is a possibility of the fulfillment of this desire. But when one does not dive deep into the secrets of life, without the knowledge of life and death one becomes subject to disappointment, and that disappointment is death. One may say, “If the desire to live is natural, would it not be better to live and prolong the youthfulness of body; and how can that be done?” There are three aspects the Hindus have personified, as Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheish (Shiva), the Creator-God, the Sustainer-God, and the Destroyer God. In retaining youth there comes the conflict between the two Gods, the Creator-God and the Destroyer-God, because the Destroyer-God is destroying, the Creator-God is creating. If the Creator-God in you is stronger, then he will win a victory over the Destroyer-God. Nevertheless, there is nothing which is void of beauty in this world. If the soul has received the divine blessing, it will enjoy every aspect of life.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
1. Music
2
That is why in ancient times the greatest prophets were great musicians. For instance, in the lives of the Hindu prophets one finds Narada, the great prophet who was at the same time a great musician, and Shiva, a godlike prophet who was the inventor of the sacred vina. Krishna is always pictured with a flute.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
5. The Mystery of Sound
The first element in rhythm – mobility – is gentle, productive, creative and progressive. The second element is active, supporting and controlling. It is also productive and creative in a more advanced state of things, and it is sustaining. The third element leads to inactivity, decay, destruction and death. The idea of Trimurti – three aspects of God – is the symbol among the Hindus of these three powers working as main principles in life. They are named Brahma – Creator, Vishnu – Sustainer, Shiva – Destroyer.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
9. The Divinity of Indian Music
There are two aspects of life: the first is that man is tuned by his surroundings, and the second is that man can tune himself in spite of his surroundings. This latter is the work of the mystic. The Sufis in the East work for years together to tune themselves. By the help of music they tune themselves to the spheres where they wish to be. The Yogis do the same. Therefore the beginning of music in India was at the time of Shiva, Lord of the Yogis. This great Yogi teacher taught to the world the science of breath. Among the Sufis there was a great saint, Moin-ud-Din Chishti of Ajmer. At his grave music is played and Hindus and Moslems go there on pilgrimage. This shows that the religion of the knowers of truth is the religion of God, and the prayer of the greatest devotee rises from his heart in the realm of music. All different methods of bringing about calm and peace can be attained through the help of music.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
15. The Vina
2
This instrument was invented by the Lord of Yogis, Shiva, whose name is also Mahadeva. He gave to the world his lifelong experiences in the practice of yoga. He is worshipped in India as a godhead, and his literature is considered holy scripture. He was a very great master of breathing, and an ascetic. He lived in the mountains, where he sat and breathed the fresh air of the wide horizons of the East, and practiced mantras: words or phrases which change the whole being of man.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound
8. Abstract Sound
Moses heard this sound on Mount Sinai when in communion with God, and the same word was audible to Christ when absorbed in his heavenly Father in the wilderness. Shiva heard the same anahad nada during his samadhi in the cave of the Himalayas. The flute of Krishna is symbolic of the same sound. This sound is the source of all revelation to the Masters to whom it is revealed from within. It is because of this that they know and teach one and the same truth.

Vol. 3, Life’s Creative Forces: Rasa Shastra
13. Passion
In all aspects of life, through the animal kingdom to humanity, it is the only source and cause of generation; and that of itself discloses to the thinker its importance. The great teachers of humanity have therefore wished man to look upon every expression of passion as sacred; and as most sacred of all that passion which exists in the love of the sexes for each other. The desire to make sex passion a most sacred thing is seen in the teaching of Shiva; and the origin of phallic worship lay in the desire to raise in the sight of humanity the sacredness of passion, and to free it from the shame and contempt with which men viewed it.

Vol. 4, Healing And The Mind World
5. Various Methods of Healing
Physical Healing
There is a well-known story that Shams-e-Tabrez, the Shiva of Persia, was once most respectfully entreated by the priests of the day to awaken the crown prince, who had just died, from his last long sleep. The Shah, his father, issued a decree that if there was any truth at all in religion his only son must be restored to life by prayer, otherwise all the mosques would be destroyed and the mullahs be put to the sword. In order to save many lives Shams-e-Tabrez complied with their request and sought the dead body of the prince.

Vol. 4, Mental Purification
15. The Secret of Breath
Using Breath to Accomplish
The Yogis have learnt very much about the secret of breath from the serpent; that is why they regard the serpent as the symbol of wisdom. Shiva, the Lord of Yogis, has a serpent around his neck as a necklace. It is the sign of mystery, of wisdom. There are cobras in the forests of tropical countries, specially in India, which sleep for six weeks; and then one day the cobra wakens, and it breathes because it is hungry; it wants to eat. And its thoughts attract food from wherever it may be; food is attracted from miles away by its thoughts. The breath of the cobra is so magnetic that the food is helplessly drawn; a fowl, or a deer or some other animal is drawn closer. It is so strongly drawn that it even comes down from the air, and falls into its mouth. The snake makes no effort. It just breathes; it opens its mouth, and its food comes into its mouth. And then it rests again for six weeks.

Vol. 5, A Sufi Message Of Spiritual Liberty
Ecstasy
Male and Female Aspects of God
Mankind is born with a worshipful attitude, and as all attitudes demand satisfaction by expression, so the attitude of worship ŹŁreels its object of adoration. The ancient Greeks and Shiva Bhaktas of India worshipped both aspects of manifestation in the names of gods and goddesses. Sufism, being the essence of all religions and philosophies, looks upon both the opposite aspects of nature as one in reality, and calls it Safat Allah. Sufis reach realization of God by adoring His nature, calling on Him saying, “Kull-i shayin Hal-i kull”, which means, “Everything will perish except His own Face.” They look upon all names and forms as the means of realizing the One, the only Being.

Vol. 5, The Phenomenon of the Soul
7. Reincarnation
Two Groups
When we study religions, comparing them, we find that part of the world has believed in reincarnation, but most of the world has not held this belief. Krishna, Shiva, and Buddha are said to have taught the doctrine of reincarnation; Moses, Christ, and Mohammed have said nothing about it. This divides religions into two groups; but when we make a deeper study we see that we can combine the two, for the tendency of the Sufi is rather to unite than to differ.

Vol. 5, Pearls from the Ocean Unseen
‘Blessed are They that Mourn” (1)
Shiva is sometimes pictured with the sacred river flowing out of his head, showing that man becomes Shiva -like when his thoughts come not only from the head, but from the heart also. It is the thoughts that spring from the depths of the heart which become inspirations and revelations, and these come from the hearts of the awakened souls, called by the Sufis, Sahib-e Dil. The bringers of joy are the children of sorrow. Every blow we get in life pierces the heart and awakens our feelings to sympathize with others, and every swing of comfort lulls us to sleep, and we become unaware of all. This proves the truth of these words,

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
Love, Harmony, and Beauty
In this way God becomes the lover and the manifestation or object of love at the same time. In Sanskrit this is called by mystics Shiva and Shakti, or Purusha and Prakriti, or Ishwara and Maya, these three pairs of words. The one part is love, and the other part is beauty. Love has created beauty in order that it may be able to love. God is love; that is why He is called the Creator. The lover alone has the power to create, and that which he creates is for the purpose of receiving his love.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Journey to the Goal
The Spiritual Hierarchy
Every cult of mystics has used certain names. There are certain names in the cult of the Hindus, under which they recognize certain masters. We find them also in the Semitic races, mentioned in the Bible, the Kabala, and the Qur’an. Naturally, the human mind has its limitations. If we had no limitations we should be perfect. So it has always been that man has recognized as masters only those who are found in his own tradition. He only recognizes the spirituality or greatness or blessedness of those whose names he finds in his own tradition. In the Hebrew tradition there are the names of Abraham and Moses; in the Christian tradition there is the name of Jesus Christ, and after him those of the saints; in the tradition of Islam there are other names again, Mohammed and many Muslim saints; and in India there are, for instance, Rama, Shiva, Vishnu, and Krishna. And as there was little means of communication in ancient times, it was only natural that the tradition of one country should not be known to the others, and that it should become corrupted as it passed to another.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Mastery
Reading the life of Shiva, the Lord of all the Yogis, one will see that after a long, long time of Yoga he was tempted. Likewise Vishvamitre Rishi, after a very long time of Yoga in the wilderness, was tempted by the fair ones from Indra, the decree of whose court has always been to hinder the advancement in spirituality of the rare ones. Though Machandra was a very great Yogi, he also was tempted and taken away from the desert by Mahila, a Hindu queen. Brought to her court he was married and made king, and among the flattering surroundings and luxurious environments he lost all his great powers achieved in the heart of the wilderness. It is easier to gain mastery in the wilderness, away from all temptations, but the mastery you gain in the world is of much more value; for the former is easily thrown down by a slight stroke, while the latter, achieved in the crowd, will last for ever.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Self-Control
Faqirs take the opposite way. They like what they dislike. That is the reason why you may read that Mahadeva, Shiva, drank poison and wore skulls and bones around his neck, because no one would like to be in a grave among the dead. A snake is always pictured around his neck; by this the conceit, the ego, the nafs, is crushed. To every little man, to every boy faqirs say “father”, thinking, “He is the father and I am the son.” To every little woman they say “mother”, thinking, “She is much greater than I am.” To all they say, “I am your servant, I am your humble servant, your obedient servant.”

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Questions about Vaccination and Inoculation
Question: Would you, please, tell us something more of the Shiva aspect in life?

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Questions about Vaccination and Inoculation
It is for this reason that the way of Shiva was always to work against his weaknesses. He counted these tendencies as weaknesses, he did not count them as his nature. What is nature? All is in our nature. But what we cannot stand we make foreign to our nature when we separate it, and a time may come when we become so weak that we cannot help becoming subjected to our weaknesses. There are snake charmers who, by making snakes bite them a little at a time, have gradually become inured to the poison. They catch the snake in their hand, and if it bites it does not hurt them. It was the same with Shiva who is pictured with a cobra around his neck. Out of death he had made a necklace. There was no more death for him.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
The Mystery of Breath
In mystical terms the two different directions of the breath have been called by different names, and have been considered to be like the sun and the moon, representing the positive and negative aspects of the power and influence of breath. How few really know how many times in the day and night the breath changes its direction, and how it works through different parts of mind and body producing different effects and results. How often mans’s ignorance of the science of breath makes him act or think or speak against its influence – which is like swimming against the tide. We often notice in life that at one time success is achieved by the least little effort, and at another the greatest effort produces nothing but failure. Shiva, the great Lord of the Yogis, said, “He who has the knowledge of breath knows the secret of the whole universe.”

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
The Prophetic Tendency
Prophets
Although the tongue of God is continually speaking through all things, yet in order to speak to the deaf ears of many among us, it is necessary for Him to speak through the lips of man. He has done this all through the history of man, every great teacher of the past having been this guiding spirit living the life of God in human guise. In other words, their human guise has been various coats worn by the same being, who only appeared to be different in each. Shiva, Buddha, Rama, Krishna on the one side; Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad on the other; and many more, known or unknown to history, have always been in reality one and the same person.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Vaccination and Inoculation
The THEORY behind vaccination and inoculation is the same as the one taught as Hatha Yoga by Shiva, or Mahadeva as he is often called. It is said of Mahadeva that he used to drink poison, and by doing so he got over its effect. Mahadeva was the most venturesome among the ascetics. He is pictured carrying a serpent round his neck. If one can be such friends with a serpent as to keep it round one’s neck, one can no doubt sit comfortably in the presence of someone one does not like. The hatred and prejudice and nervousness which are felt in the presence of someone one does not like would then not arise. The soul which has forgotten its battle with everything that made it fear and tremble and run away, has conquered life and has become the master of life; it attains the kingdom of heaven. No doubt the methods which Mahadeva adopted were extreme measures; no one could recommend them to his pupils and be thought sane in this modern world!

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Vaccination and Inoculation
People say, ‘I do not like to touch vinegar, it harms my health; I cannot bear to eat cream, I cannot digest it; I cannot stand sugar in my tea, I do not like it’. For them these things are poison. By saying such things a person makes certain substances foreign, exclusive, to his nature; and he thereby subjects himself to them. There comes a time when they rule him, when he is in their power. The way of Shiva was always to work against his own weaknesses. Though he counted them as weaknesses and not as belonging to his nature, he acted as if everything belonged to his nature and absorbed all that was foreign to it in order that no situation would arise where he would become subjected to it. Snake-charmers, by making snakes bite them a little at a time, become inured to the poison, and it was the same with Shiva: out of death he had made a necklace. One can go to extremes in this way, but it is a law which should be studied and which it is good to know. It teaches us all that is to be found in us, all the destruction which is the source of fear and pain and disappointment.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
The God Ideal
The Will, Human and Divine
The other thing one can think about, is the opposing conditions and situations which stand before a willing mind and a striving person like a stone wall, so that, with every wish to do something and to accomplish, one does not find his way. It is this experience which has made man say, “Man proposes, God disposes.” The Hindu philosophers have called these two great powers, one of which is an intention and the other the power of destruction, by the names Brahma, the Creator, and Shiva, the Destroyer. The most wonderful part in this creation and destruction is that what Brahma creates in a thousand years, Shiva destroys in one moment. Since God is almighty, the wise see the Hand of God in the greater power, manifesting either through an individual or by a certain condition or situation, and instead of struggling too much against the difficulties in life, and instead of moaning over the losses which cannot be helped, they are resigned to the Will of God.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
Prophets and Religions
Idolatry
The Hindus were the first in the world to form the conception of three aspects of the Divinity, which they called Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva — the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Destroyer. How true it is that these three powers in life seem to keep the balance of the whole universe, and those three aspects work in everything in the world! The picture of Brahma was made with four arms, which signifies that, besides the physical arms, there are mental arms, which are necessary in the scheme of creation. And Vishnu is pictured seated on the cobra; that means the power of destruction, that is waiting like a cobra to eat every activity — to take away fame from the famous, to take away wealth from the rich, to take away power from the powerful — he who can rest upon that, he is the Sustainer of all activities and interests in life.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
Prophets and Religions
Idolatry
The picture of Shiva is that of an ascetic, from whose head spring rivers, whose neck is a cobra, ashes on his body, a bull his vehicle. In this picture the cobra signifies destruction accepted-all that men fear is wrapped round one’s neck; ashes are significant of annihilation–everything that has gone through a perfect destruction turns into ashes; rivers from the head show a constant spring of inspiration, as the inspiration of the mystic is limitless; the bull signifies one with simple faith, who, without reasoning, accepts the truth, which by intellect one can readily accept. There are three goddesses who show the other aspect of these natures: Saraswathi, the goddess of Brahma, who rides on a peacock, with four hands, two holding a vina, in one hand a rosary, in the other a book; which means that music is creative, learning is creative, contemplation is creative, and in art is the beauty which the peacock represents.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
The Symbology of Religious Ideas
Wine
Wine is considered sacred, not only in the Christian faith, but in many other religions also. In the ancient religion of the Zoroastrians, Jarni Jarnsshyd, the bowl of wine from which “Jamsshyd drank deep,” is a historical fact. Among the Hindus, Shiva considered wine sacred. And in Islam, though wine is forbidden on earth, yet in Heaven it is allowed. Haussi Kaussar, the sacred fountain of Heaven, about which there is so much spoken in Islam, is a fountain of wine.

Vol. 10, Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
7. Sculpture (1)
It is therefore not surprising that the Hindus have kept for ages in their temples the images of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Rama, Krishna, and many others. Even with all their great philosophy and comprehension of life, this art has always helped and inspired them, for it has given them this wonderful influence. When a statue has been worshipped in a shrine for a very long time, this too will magnetize it; yet the statue must have something to attract in the first place in order to make intelligent people inclined to bow before it. It is as if the statue called out, “Come here with all your intelligence, man, and bow before me! I am sitting here full of life and influence, though I do not speak.’

Vol. 10, Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
1. Music (1)
This is only an explanation of the appeal of music to the physical body, but music reaches further than the physical body; it only depends on what kind of music it is. There is a tradition that the first language in the world consisted of music; after that a language of words came into being. Even now among primitive races there is a language of sounds; also, the more musical languages of the world are more expressive, whereas the languages which have less music in them are less so. It is not only words that convey a meaning; very often the tone of the voice conveys it much better, and sometimes the same word can have two or more meanings depending on the tone in which it is spoken. It is said that Shiva, or Mahadeva, was the first inventor of a musical instrument. When he was wandering about in the forest, engrossed in his spiritual attainment, he wanted to have some source of amusement, a change in his meditative life; and so ne took a piece of bamboo and two gourds, which he attached to the bamboo; and the strings he made out of animal guts. When, ne had fixed these on the instrument he had invented the vina; mat is why the Hindus call the vina a sacred instrument, and for many years they did not allow any strings except gut-strings to used. Afterwards this instrument was improved and made more refined, and now steel strings are mostly used; but the reason why gut-string is appealing to the human soul, is that it comes from a living body”, and even after being separated from the body it still cried out, “I am alive!” Thus the violin gives out a more living sound than the piano. The piano may drown the violin, but the life that comes from the gut-string manifests as a voice.

Vol. 11, Philosophy
9. The Threefold, Dual, and Unique Aspects of Nature
Deep thinkers have in all ages recognized the threefold aspect of nature. Teachers have called these three aspects by different names according to their religious terminology, and they gave them an interpretation which suited the time and the place. Tracing back this idea, we find that it already existed among the Hindus in very ancient times; they called it Trimurti, and they personified these three aspects by giving them characters such as Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer, and Maheish or Shiva the Destroyer or Assimilator. This idea is not only applied to God, but everything in nature shows these three aspects: for instance there is fire, there is fuel which is its sustenance, and there is the air that can come and blow out the flame.

Vol. 11, Psychology
13. The Magnetism of the Soul
Another soul quality is harmony. It is a natural inclination of an illuminated soul to create harmony, for it is in harmony that an illuminated soul finds peace; the one who is without illumination finds his satisfaction in struggle. Fearlessness is also a soul quality. It is the light of the soul, falling on problems that trouble us, which makes us see life more clearly and which gives us the power to surmount our difficulties. Soul quality gives bravery, courage, as we see in the image of Shiva, the Lord of the Yogis, who has a snake round his neck, which means that he is not afraid of keeping the enemy he has conquered curled round him. That is bravery.

Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life
6. The Ideal of the Mystic
Thus the adept makes a garland of the names by which different people have called their Rasul and offers this garland to his own ideal. He says, “If there was any Buddha it is you, if there was any Christ it is you, if there was any Mohammed it is you; in you I see him. If Moses came with a message it was you who came. I see you in Solomon; and in the wonders of Krishna as well as in the splendor of Shiva I see you.” Whereas others argue about the different names of the great ones and about the different conceptions that people have of them, he does not limit his ideal; he makes his ideal the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
Discipleship (2)
Why does one need yoga? Because, in the first place, Western education does not interfere with it. The church has still less influence. Necessary though discipline, reverence, and respect are, they are sometimes allowed to lapse, and then life becomes empty, drab, lacking something. Dharma is the one thing needed for the spiritual path, as both Shiva and Buddha pointed out. One should acquire the tendency to respect and to revere, and this comes from worship. This one thing that is needed is developed through devotion; that is why it is better, if possible, to add a little of the color of beauty to the Raja Yoga, and thus beautify your life. But whichever of these paths you choose, a teacher is needed. It is his blessing, his guidance, that helps; it is the contact with him that is important.

Vol. 12, Confessions: Autobiographical Essays of Hazat Inayat Khan
My Study of Religions
The masters of the Hindus, such as Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, and Krishna, claimed each in his turn to be a reincarnation of one another, or in other words an incarnation of Brahma, the supreme God, because the people would not have listened to them without this proclamation. In this way the materialists who never move an inch without definite reason and logic were trained by the Buddha Gautama, who explained the great truth to them in the simple words of their own language.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Insight
1.3, The Glance of the Seer
This proves to a deep thinker that things are not what they appear to be, but we make them as they are. The whole life may be made into a thing of complete ugliness or it may be made into a sublime vision of perfect beauty. The Lord of the yogis, Shiva, is pictured with a cobra on his neck which means that death, which frightens everyone, is accepted by him as life. That shows that even death can be made into life, and it is only the difference of the point of view that makes life death.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Insight
2.10, Viparit Karna
It is not difficult to slide on the line already made on one’s mind, the difficult is to act contrary to the line which is engraved there, especially in the case when it happens to be an undesirable line. Shiva, the great Lord of Yogis, has given a special teaching on the subject, which he calls Viparit Karna, “Acting contrary to one’s nature,” and he gives great importance to this method of working with oneself, that by this method in the end one arrives at mastery.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Symbology
1.9, The Symbolism of the Triangle
The triangle represents the beginning, the continuation and the end. The triangle is the sign of life which has appeared in three forms, of which the idea of the Trinity is symbolical. The idea of these three aspects of life has existed for a very long time among Hindus, who named it Trimurti. As in the Christian church the Trinity consists of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, so among Hindus the Trimurti consists of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer and Mahesh or Shiva the Destroyer. By the word Destroyer destruction is not meant but change.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Symbology
2.5, Wine
Wine is considered sacred, not only in the Christian faith, butalso in many other religions. In the ancient religion of the Zoroastrians, Yima Jamshyd, the bowl of wine “from which Jamshyd drank deep,” is a historical event. Among Hindus, Shiva considered wine sacred. And in Islam, though wine is prohibited when on earth, yet in heaven it is allowed. Hauz ul-Kausar, the sacred Fountain of Heaven, about which there is so much spoken in Islam, is a fountain of wine. Although the bowl that was given to the Prophet in the Miraj, the authorities of Islam say, was filled with milk, yet I doubt it. I should not be surprised if it were not the invention of the authorities, to keep the faithful followers away from wine. For it is natural that the followers should like to begin drinking the wine on earth, which the Prophet drank in heaven.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Symbology
2.10 The Hindu Symbolical Form of Worship
Q: Do the Vaishnavas and Shiva – followers and the worshippers of all the different deities worship in the same way?

Vol. 13, Gathas
Everyday Life
1.5, Inner Ablutions
One must not judge of another person’s spiritual evolution by seeing what he eats or drinks, because this has nothing to do with a man’s evolution, for Shiva, the great Lord of Yogis, had fish for his food, and wine was given in the church of Christ as a sacrament. Therefore no one has the power to estimate his fellow-man from what he eats or drinks. But everyone who wishes to tread the spiritual path may observe the mystical law, which certainly enables one to progress speedily. It must be remembered that it is the spiritual ideal which is the first thing to be held fast; what to eat and drink, and what not to eat and drink is a secondary thing. Any dispute about this proves to be unnecessary.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Metaphysics
3.4, Qaza and Qadr — The Will, Human and Divine
So there is no one in this world so strong that there is not another person stronger still. And there is no one in this world so weak that there is not another that is weaker still. The other thing one can think about is the opposing conditions and situations which stand before a willing mind and a striving person like a stone wall, so that with every wish of doing and accomplishing one does not find one’s way. It is this experience which has made man say, “Man proposes, God disposes.” The Hindu philosophers have called these two great powers, one of which is as an intention and the other the power of destruction, by the names Brahma, the Creator, and Shiva, the Destroyer.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Metaphysics
3.4, Qaza and Qadr — The Will, Human and Divine
And the most wonderful part in this creation and destruction is that what Brahma creates in a thousand years, Shiva destroys in one moment. Since God is almighty, the wise see the hand of God in the greater power, manifesting either through an individual or by a certain condition or situation, and instead of struggling too much against the difficulties in life and instead of moaning over the losses which cannot be helped, they are resigned to the will of God.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Metaphysics
3.8, Life
Q: In regarding the activity in life of the Shiva side of the deity . . . ?

Vol. 13, Gathas
Metaphysics
3.8, Life
In little things of life, one person says, “I do not like to touch vinegar. It hurts my health.” One person says, “I cannot bear to eat cream, I cannot digest it”; another person says, “I cannot stand to have sugar in the tea, I do not like it.” For him the sugar is a poison. If he took the poison once, the same would become sugar for him. All things that one thinks that they are foreign to his nature, by this he makes his nature exclusive. And by becoming exclusive he makes himself subject to them in a way. There comes a time when they rule him, a situation when he is under them. A person who says, “Bitter quinine, it is too bitter, I cannot stand it” — he is in a fever, the doctor says he must have it. He dreads having it; at the same time he cannot help it. Therefore the way of Shiva was always to work against one’s weaknesses. He counted them as weaknesses, not as nature. “Nature, all is my nature, but what I cannot have, that I make foreign to my nature; if I have separated it, there comes a time perhaps that I become so weak that I cannot help having it.” Would you believe that the snake charmers, I have found some of them who have gradually, by making the snakes bite them time after time, developed so that poison does not hurt them. So that when they go, they just catch the snake in their hand; if the snake bites them, it does not hurt them. Shiva is pictured with a cobra round his neck; out of death he has made a necklace; it is no more a death to him.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Metaphysics
3.10, Tolerance
Mastery comes from evolution of the soul. And the sign of mastery is to conquer everything that revolts one. And that is tolerance. And the souls who have attained to some degree that spiritual mastery, they will see with me, not only with people, but even with the food, that where a person will say, “This I do not like, that I will not eat,” the soul who has gained the mastery, nothing it rejects; it may not approve of it, it may not be especially attracted to it. And then with the weather, the masterly soul will not say, “It is too hot,” or “too damp,” or “too dry.” “We do not tolerate what is before us.” It is hard to tolerate, but we cannot help to meet it; the difference is in tolerating it. The whole system of the Yogis, especially of the Shiva Bhaktis, is based on making oneself acquainted with something that the nature revolts against. In this way they could go too far in tormenting themselves. The extremity in all things is not right. At the same time that is the principle.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
PHILOSOPHY 1
Duality in Nature
All philosophies have recognized the duality in nature. However much we may differ on the surface as to principles and opinions, those who go below the surface, the divers for truth, have always found the same things. The Vedanta calls the two forces purusha and prakriti, the creator and the created, the creative and the responsive forces, by which the whole manifestation has been made. In the religious language it is called Shiva and Parvati. In the Hindu inscriptions and books you can see the picture of Shiva, with two faces, a man’s face and a woman’s face, showing the creative force and the responsive force that Shiva possessed. There are many other pictures in these inscriptions, pictures such as that of an animal’s body with a man’s head, of which the meaning is that man’s body is animal; it is his head that is man.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MISCELLANEOUS 4
Q & A After Gatha III, No. 8, Tassawuf, on “Life”
Q. In regarding the activity in life of the Shiva side of the deity, ….? A. It is a subject which is very vast, and it is difficult to explain that subject in two words. But that aspect of destruction and knowing about destruction can be understood more easily again by something which we see in the modern science, by the medium of what they call inoculation. By putting that destructive element in one’s body one makes one’s body disease-proof. That that particular disease is no longer a disease, but the nature of that person. That is the method of the mystic from a spiritual point of view. That death is a death so long as man is unacquainted with it. When man eats it up, then he has eaten death; death cannot eat him. Then he knows the life eternal. That is the mystery of the Message of Jesus Christ. To seek eternal life from the beginning to the end. The mystery of eternal life is past once a person has eaten death; then he is eternal.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MISCELLANEOUS 4
Q & A After Gatha III, No. 8, Tassawuf, on “Life”
A person says: “Bitter onion, it is too bitter, I cannot stand it.” He is in a fever; the doctor says he must have it. He dreads having it; at the same time he cannot help it. Therefore the way of Shiva was always to work against one’s weaknesses. He counted them as weaknesses, not as nature. “Nature, all is my nature. But what I cannot have, that I make foreign to my nature; if I have separated it, there comes a time perhaps which I become so weak that I cannot help having it.” Would you believe that the snake charmers, I have found some of them, who have gradually, by making the snakes bite them time after time, developed so that poison does not hurt them. That when they go, they just catch the snake in their hand. If the snake bites them, it does not hurt them. Shiva is pictured with a cobra round his neck; out of death he has made a necklace; it is no more a death to him.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MISCELLANEOUS 4
Q & A After Gatha II, No. 10, Nakshi Bandi, “Brahman…”
Q. Do the Vaishnava and Shiva followers and the worshippers of all the different deities worship in the same way? A. It is almost the same. There may be little differences; not much. Just some differences which will perhaps distinguish one from the other. But at the same time mostly this is the form.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MISCELLANEOUS 4
Q & A After Gatha III, No. 10.: Tassawuf, on “Tolerance”
Mastery comes from evolution of the soul. And the sign of mastery is to conquer everything that revolts one. And that is tolerance. And the souls who have attained to some degree that spiritual mastery will see, with me, that not only with people, but even with food, that when a person will say, “This I do not like, that I will not eat,” the soul who has gained mastery, rejects nothing, though it may not approve of it, it may not be especially attracted to it. And then with the weather, the masterly soul will not say, “It is too hot,” or “too damp,” or “too dry.” “We do not tolerate what is before us.” It is hard to tolerate, but we cannot help to meet it; the difference is in tolerating it. The whole system of the yogis, especially of the Shiva Bhaktis, is bases on making oneself acquainted with something that the nature revolts against. In this way they could go too far, in tormenting themselves. The extremity in all things is not right. At the same time that is the principle.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MISCELLANEOUS 7
Answers to Questions
Q. How do you explain the contradiction between your two sayings, “Creating is more difficult than destroying.” and ” Shiva is the destroyer; his power is considered greater than that of Brahma, the creator?” A. Creating is difficult. Creating takes a great deal of patience and persistence. In order to make a building so many people are busy to make all perfect. For destruction what is needed? Just a little fire, and just put it on, and burn it up. But at the same time, all the courage and the strength and the power that all the people had who have been building, that much power is necessary to destroy. So it is power. Therefore the power of Shiva is greater.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
CLASS FOR MUREEDS 7
Mastery
If you read the life of Shiva, the lord of all the yogis, you will see that after a long, long time — sixty years of yoga — he was tempted. Rishi Vishnamitri after forty years of yoga in the wilderness was tempted by the fair ones from Indra, the decree of whose court has always been to hinder the advancement in spirituality of the rare ones. Though Machandra was a very great yogi, he was tempted and taken away from the desert by Mahila, a Hindu queen, to her court, and there he was married and made a king, and among the flattering surroundings and luxurious environments he lost all his great powers achieved in the heart of the wilderness.

Githas
Mysticism
9, Jemal
Jemal is the balancing force of nature, which balances the power of Jelal. For instance, the sun is the Jelal force, and would burn the whole universe if there were not the moon to balance its heat. In Vedantic language, these two powers are termed Shiva and Shakti, the essence and nature. This can be seen in love and beauty, also; the former being Jelal, while the latter is Jemal. If it were not for the beauty, the love would have destroyed the whole being. There is a verse of Sharif:”It is my eyes in wrath that have created the lightning, stars, sun and moon. What upheaval there would be if a spark escaped from the fire of my heart!”

Githas
Psychology
2.5, What Should Be Practiced in Everyday Life to Develop Psychic Power
Sometimes, in people psychically weak, one finds great psychic power, but it is neither useful for them nor for another, because it makes a person weaker when he is already weak in constitution. In the Hindu religion, where harmlessness is the ideal and flesh-eating is prohibited among them, Shiva, Lord of Yogis, has allowed meat for the psychics, for the very reason that psychic power is power of mind and the body must be so strong as to sustain it. Another thing that is necessary for a psychic is steadiness in his habits and tranquility of mind.

Sangatha I
Tasawwuf, Metaphysics
Physical Healing
There is a well known story told among Sufis that Shamsi Tabriz (the Shiva of Persia), was once most respectfully entreated by the priests of the day to awaken the Crown Prince from his last long sleep. The Shah, his father, issued a decree that, if there was any truth at all in religion his only son must be restored to life by prayer, otherwise all the mosques should be destroyed and the mullahs be put to the sword.

Sangatha I
Tasawwuf, Metaphysics
Manifestations — Fatherhood and Sonship
In the terms of the Sufis, Zat is the positive aspect of the Absolute, and is that expressive power which speaks; while Sifat is the negative aspect of the same power, and harkens and obeys. These two are called Allah and Mohammed in the Marifat of Islam; and in the Vedanta they are called Shiva and Shakti.

Sangatha III
Riyazat, Esotericism
Turning the Senses Inward
The fundamental principle of esoteric teaching, as suggested by Shiva Mahadeva, is of a great interest for an adept. The five senses which are occupied outwardly, perceiving outward experiences, must be turned inward. For instance, first the organs must be turned inwardly, and then naturally, automatically, the senses will turn inward.

IV. PRANA – Hazrat Inayat Khan

The Healing Papers
2,1: Breath
Sending the Breath
Breath in the Sufic term is called Nafs; in Sanskrit it is called prana, which means the very life. It spreads life and magnetism in all parts of the body, for breath in itself is life and is magnetism. Deformity of form and feature is often caused by disorder of the breath. Lack of proportion of the body, in form and strength, is also caused by lack of order in the breath.

The Healing Papers
2,1: Breath
7
Breath, to a Sufi, is a bridge between himself and God. It is a rope for him, hanging down to earth, attached to Heaven. The Sufi climbs up by help of this rope. In the Quranic language it is called Buraq, a steed which was sent to the Prophet for his journey to the Heavens. Hindus call it prana, which means life, but they picture it symbolically as a bird which is named in Sanskrit Garuda, on which rode Narayana, the godhead.

The Healing Papers
2,1: Breath
26
Why is breath called prana by the Hindus? It is because it brings on the surface the essence from within. It is a current which is running from the outer spheres to the inner spirit. What it brings from the outer spheres to the inner spirit is not nearly so great as that which it brings from the inner spheres of life.

Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?
Jinn
The soul is a current. We may call it an electric current, yet one unlike the electric current we know on this physical plane, different from it in its power and phenomena; a current which runs more speedily than anything we know; a current which is beyond time and space; a current which runs through all the planes of life. If manifestation is the Breath of God, according to the conception of the Yogi, there is one Breath and there are many breaths. The one, or central, Breath is called by Yogis prana, and all other breaths which have a certain part to play in the mechanism of the human body are lesser breaths; and again prana and all other breaths when put together make one Breath, which man calls life. Souls therefore are different breaths of God. This idea may be pictured as a tree which has a stem and various branches; each branch in its place representing the stem.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
17. The Effect of Sound on the Physical Body
From a metaphysical point of view breath is the life current, prana. This life current exists also in things, such as the gut or the string or the skin of the drums. There is also a part of life in these things, and it is to that extent that their life current becomes audible, and that it touches the life current of the living creatures and gives it an added life. It is for this reason that the most primitive tribes who have only a drum to play, or an instrument to blow, get into such a condition by that continual playing of the drum that they enjoy the state of ecstasy.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
20. The Psychological Influence of Music
In Sanskrit breath is called prana, the very life. And what is voice? Voice is breath. If there is anything in life, in man’s constitution, which may be called life, it is the breath. Breath manifested outwardly – the sound of the voice – is calledprana. Therefore a person can best express himself in song, or in what he says. If there is anything in the world that can give expression to the mind and the feelings it is the voice. Often it happens that a person talks on a subject with a thousand words, and it has no influence. Another person expresses a thought in three words, and makes a deep impression. This shows that the power is not in the words, but in what is behind the words; that is: in the psychological power in the voice which comes from prana. According to the strength it has, it impresses the listener.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
20. The Psychological Influence of Music
The same thing is found in the fingertips of the violinist, and comes from the lips of the flute player. According to the influence coming from his thought the musician produces that influence through his instrument. He may be very skilful, but if his fingertips do not produce a feeling of life, he cannot be successful. Apart from the music he plays, there is the value of the prana, or psychological power that he gives to what he plays.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
21. The Healing Power of Music
Life in its physical form, as perceived throughout the physical spheres, is called prana in Sanskrit. This life is given by food or medicine – or the body is prepared by a certain food or medicine to be able to breathe in this life itself, in order that it may be in better health, that it may experience perfect health. But this prana, which means breath – the central breath – attracts from space all the different elements which are there, as the herbs, plants, flowers, and fruits all attract from space the same element which they represent. All these elements are attracted by the breath. Therefore the great mystics, whether from Greece, Persia, or India, always had the culture of breath, the science of breath as their basis of spiritual evolution, and the source of all healing was the science of breath. Even now you will see in the East healers who magnetize water, or food, or the atmosphere. Where lies the secret of this magnetism? It is in their breath. It is the influence of their breath which is in the water or the food.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
21. The Healing Power of Music
You may ask: “What kind of music can heal man? Is it singing, or playing, or something in the way of dance?” Singing is the most powerful, for singing is living. It is prana, it is life itself, it is voice. No doubt it is also life which is working through an instrument by the touch, but in singing it is direct life, the breath touching the heart of the listener. But what must be behind this voice? There must be a heart prepared with the help of the battery that it needs. What is that battery? That battery is what we call love and sympathy – the greatest power there is.

Vol. 4, Healing And The Mind World
Part 1, Health
1. Inharmony
Illness is an inharmony, either physical inharmony or mental inharmony, the one acts upon the other. What causes inharmony? The lack of tone and rhythm. How can it be interpreted in physical terminology? prana, or life, or energy is the tone; circulation, regularity is the rhythm, regularity in the beatings of the head, of the pulse and the circulation of the blood through the veins. In physical terms the lack of circulation means congestion; and the lack of prana, or life, or energy means weakness. These two conditions attract illness and are the cause of illness.

Vol. 4, Healing And The Mind World
Part 1, Health
1. Inharmony
In mental terms the rhythm is the action of the mind, whether the mind is active in harmonious thoughts or in inharmonious thoughts, whether the mind is strong, firm, and steady, or whether it is weak. If one continues to think harmonious thoughts it is just like regular beating of the pulse and proper circulation of the blood; if the harmony of thought is broken, then the mind becomes congested. Then a person loses memory; depression comes as the result, and what one sees is nothing but darkness. Doubt, suspicion, distrust, and all manner of distress and despair come when the mind is congested in this way. The prana of the mind is maintained when the mind can be steady in thoughts of harmony; then the mind can balance its thoughts, then it cannot be easily shaken, then doubt and confusion cannot easily overpower it.

Vol. 4, Healing And The Mind World
2. The Psychological Nature of Diseases
Breathing
In Sanskrit breath is called prana, which means life. This prana not only gives life to oneself but it gives life to another person too. Sometimes the presence of someone fills you with life, and sometimes the presence of another so to speak takes away your life from you. One feels tired and depressed and eaten up by the presence of one person, and another person’s presence gives added strength, life, and vigor. This is all accounted for by the breath. The one who has more life gives life, while the one who has less hie takes it from the one who has more. But there is a contrary process too. Sometimes the stronger one takes away what little life is left in the weaker one, and sometimes the weaker one gives out his life to the stronger one. A person who takes away life in fact absorbs the life from another. In the presence of that person even flowers fade sooner and plants die.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
The Mystery of Breath
Breath seems to be the sign of the beginning and the end of life. With the first breath that is drawn the body is said to be alive, and when the breath departs, the body is spoken of as dead. It is for this reason that the Yogis have called breath prana, meaning the very life. Besides this, all slight changes that take place in man’s body come from an alteration in the mechanism of breath. That is why physicians in all ages have observed the signs of a person’s condition in different illnesses from the beat of his pulse, which is caused by the breath.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
The Power of Silence
From a scientific point of view I shall say that speech is the breath of breath. In the Vedanta breath is called prana, which is life. It may be said that breath is the chain that links body, heart and soul together, and is so important that the body – so loved and cared for, kept in palaces, its slightest cold or cough treated by doctors and medicines – is of no more use and cannot be kept anymore when the breath is gone. Speaking being the breach of breath means that, when one is speaking, one takes ten breaths in the time which would be normal for one breath. One says, “Where are you going?”, and for these four words one takes three breaths.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
The Power of Silence
In the Vedanta breath is called prana, life. Breath is the chain which links body, heart, and soul together. It is so important that when it is gone from the body, this body which is so much loved and cared for that the slightest cold or cough is treated by doctors with medicines, is then of no more use. It cannot be kept alive.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Superstitions, Customs, and Beliefs
1.4, Customs (2)
The two arms are the two directions of magnetic power, positive and negative, and in the breast is the center of these two powers. And the custom is that they embrace twice, distinctly on the right and left sides. This is also the exchange of prana, the very life, the center of which is in the breast. There is a custom in Persia and in India that when a younger person greets an older one he bows his head, bringing it closer to his breast, and the elder person, taking his arms, raises him up, as if the younger person wanted from the elder person, love, light and life, and the elder person gives it to him and raises him with it. It also suggests a sentiment of modesty and humility on the part of the one, and help and encouragement on the part of the other.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Breath
1.3, Prana
1.3, prana

Vol. 13, Gathas
Breath
1.3, Prana
Breath in the Sufic term is called Nafs. The breath spreads through the whole body like a tree, and its stem is felt by man, and it is this stem which man in his everyday language calls breath. All the branches of this tree the mystic calls by different names. A mystic sees the whole body as a plant of the breath. Therefore in the Sanskrit language breath is called prana, which means the very life. It spreads life and magnetism in all parts of the body, for breath in itself is life, and is magnetism. Deformity of form and feature is often caused by disorder of the breath. Lack of proportion of the body, in form and strength, is also caused by lack of order in the breath. By exercises for physical culture and exercises of voice production breath can be developed in different parts of the body. It can especially be noticed in the fingers of the violinist that by constant practice on the violin he puts a sort of magnetism, of life, into the strings his fingers touch. This example is a plain proof that it is not the fingers that play nor the violin that sounds, but that they are instruments of life.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Breath
1.7, 4: Breath the Bridge to God
Breath, to a Sufi, is a bridge between himself and God; it is a rope for him, hanging down to earth, attached to the heavens. The Sufi climbs up by the help of this rope. In the Qur’anic language it is called Buraq, a steed which was sent to the Prophet for his journey to the heavens. Hindus call it prana, which means life, but they picture it symbolically as a bird which is named in Sanskrit Garuda, on which rode Narayana, the Godhead.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Breath
3.6, Breathing and Meditation
Why is breath called prana by the Hindus? It is because it brings on the surface the essence from within. It is a current which is running from the outer spheres to the inner spirit. What it brings from the outer spheres to the inner spirit is not nearly so great as that which it brings from the inner spheres of life.

By Date
1923
Knowledge and Wisdom
Question: Do all experiences reach the brain through the nerve centres? Answer: Yes, mostly conveyed by the breath, but in this I do not mean the breath we inhale through the nostrils. Through the pores of the skin we breathe also, though the main stream of breath is that which we inhale through the nostrils and which is termed ‘prana’ in Vedantic terms.

Githas
Healing
7a, The Psychical Nature of Diseases(2)
In Sanskrit, breath is called prana, which means life. This prana not only gives life to oneself, but it gives life to another person too. Sometimes the presence of someone fills you with life, and sometimes the presence of someone, so to speak, takes away your life from you. One feels tired and depressed and eaten up by the presence of one person, and another’s presence gives added strength, life, and vigor. This all is accounted for by the breath. The one who has more life gives life; he who has less life takes it from the one who has more.

Sangatha III
Tasawwuf, Metaphysics
Battery of Power
Q. Also by deep breathing? A. Just rhythmic breathing. Because if a person is full, he cannot take in. But if he relaxes he can take in. Relaxing makes empty, by relaxing one is open, as soon as you relax. It is just like a vessel which is covered on the top. There may be nothing in, but it is covered on the top. But when you take away the cover and then put water in it, it will fill. The relaxing is really emptying oneself, making no resistance. Relaxing is the best way of concentration. prana is always taken from the sphere, the essence, if we allow it to.

Sangatha III
Riyazat, Esotericism
The Heart
So it is with fruit and flowers. There is a heart in each of them and after the heart is formed, the body is formed. The heart being the origin, it has its influence on the whole body. By the practice of Zikr and Fikr this center is wakened. For there are two things which wake it — one is to wake it by vibration, the other thing is the touch of prana into its depths, which is done by breathing, which gives it a life. By this it becomes sensitive, and the senses become keen.

V. VEDANTA by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Social Gathekas
1. Background on Sufism
The Origin of Sufism
Although Sufism is the essence of all religions and its influence is upon all, yet it can more justly be called the esoteric side of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But it is not a purely Zoroastrian esotericism devoid of Jewish influence, nor is it a solely Jewish mysticism free from the influence of Christianity, nor is it entirely Christian wisdom untouched by the morals of Islam. Therefore it is justifiable to call it the true spirit of all religions, even of those as foreign to it as vedanta and Buddhism.

Social Gathekas
2. Sufism–The Spirit of All Religions
The Sufi is a Brahmin, for the word Brahmin means knower of Brahma, of God, the Only Being. The Sufi’s religion lies in believing in no other existence than that of God, which the Brahmin calls Advaita. The Sufi has as many grades of spiritual evolution to go through as the Yogi. There is even very little difference to be found in their practices, the difference being chiefly in the names. Of course, the Sufi chooses a normal life in preference to that of an ascetic, yet does not restrict him/herself either to the former or to the latter. The Sufi considers the teachings of the avatars as true manifestations of the divine wisdom and is in perfect sympathy with the subtle knowledge of the vedanta.

Social Gathekas
3. Sufism–Beyond Religion
Modern writers have often made mistakes by writing of Sufism as a Persian philosophy or the esoteric side of Islam. Some have erroneously believed it to be a borrowed influence of vedanta or Buddhism upon Islam. Some Oriental writers have patriotically called it an outcome of Islam in order to secure the credit for their own religion, while some Occidental writers have attempted to win it for Christianity.

The Message Papers
Personalities of the Servants of God
Think of the teachings of Zarathustra, that the followers of Zoroastrian religion have left their country and have forgotten their original language for many, many years; and if they have any sign of it, it is in the form, the words of Zarathustra which they still keep. Nothing of their origin they know, except this one thing, the teaching of Zarathustra, which was given to their souls. Brahmans hold their Gayatris of vedanta and the words of Krishna in reverence, in esteem. And you cannot imagine to what extent they esteem it, that they would build a temple, a shrine, in order to keep that little book of Krishna. Muhammadans, no one can imagine what appeal the words of the Prophet make upon a Muslim.

The Message Papers
Spiritual and Religious Movements
I said the less spoken about it the better it is. There is a vedanta Movement there, for a long time. But in America there is little discrimination about false and real when it comes to the spiritual movements. And therefore many are disappointed by the spiritual movement, seem to be losing faith in it. I saw a club, they call it an occult club. They have every fortnight a dinner. I was taken to that club, but I must not speak there about my Movement, because they were all disappointed about these things. At the dinner table there was a talk on what everyone did in the way of phenomena. Each one said what wonder he performed except myself.

The Healing Papers
1,4: Insight
30: Tranquility
It is therefore that the seers, the sages, try to keep their tranquility at every cost, for life in the world brings up many things every day and hour to disturb that tranquility which is the secret of insight. Every little noise or disturbance in oneself and outside can upset a person who keeps the rhythm of his whole being in the proper order. It is therefore that the sages have chosen solitude and a life away from the world. But the best way of keeping one’s tranquility is to keep one’s rhythm under the control of one’s own will. By doing this one preserves one’s tranquillity in the midst of life’s greatest turmoil. In the terms of vedanta life is likened to the sea, where there is a continual rising and falling of the waves. Everyone by nature seeks peace and in peace alone is their satisfaction. But often one seeks it wrongly; therefore instead of producing peace one creates more struggle in life. The secret of peace is in the will power. Instead of resisting the forces which jar and disturb one’s life, if one would only stand firm against them, then one can attain to that tranquillity which is most necessary to have a greater insight into life.

The Healing Papers
1,5: Spirit
16: The Spirit of Christ
“I am Christ” means “I am now, and I shall be till the end.” In this the Master identifies himself with that light of which we read in the vedanta, and which existed thousands of years before Christ, the divine light which is recognized by the Sufis as the Spirit of Guidance, and which is also mentioned in the Quran. This light of Christ is symbolized by the lantern in the story of Aladdin, in The Thousand and One Nights. And it is this same light which the Hindu legend speaks of when it says that there exists a cobra with a light in its head, and when it searches for food it takes that light in its mouth and by its illumination it can go about in the forest. It is the light of life of all men and all beings, seen and unseen. In reality it is the essence of light.

Vol. 1, The Way of Illumination
Sufi Thoughts
3. There is One Holy Book,
Most people consider as sacred scriptures only certain books or scrolls written by the hand of man, and carefully preserved as holy, to be handed down to posterity as divine revelation. Men have fought and disputed over the authenticity of these books, have refused to accept any other book of similar character, and, clinging thus to the book and losing the sense of it, have formed diverse sects. The Sufi has in all ages respected all such books, and has traced in the vedanta, Zendavesta, Kabah, Bible, Qur’an, and all other sacred scriptures, the same truth which he reads in the incorruptible manuscript of nature, the only Holy Book, the perfect and living model that teaches the inner law of life: all scriptures before nature’s manuscript are as little pools of water before the ocean.

Vol. 1, The Inner Life
The Law of the Inner Life
Adult
Therefore, when the prophets and seers of all ages have given to humanity a certain message and law, it was only the giving of a drop from the ocean which they received into their hearts. And this also is a great difficulty, for even this drop is not intelligible. Does every Christian understand the Bible? Does every Muslim know the Qur’an, or every Hindu the vedanta? No, they may know the words of the verses, but not always the real meaning. Among the Muslims there are some who know the whole Qur’an by heart, but that does not fulfill the purpose. The whole of nature is a secret book, yet it is an open book to the seer. How can man translate it? how can man interpret it? It is like trying to bring the sea on to the land; one can bring it, but how much?

Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?
Towards Manifestation
The Omnipotent Light by this tendency becomes concentrated; and it is this concentrated Light of Intelligence which is the sun recognized by the mystics. As Shams-e-Tabrez has said, “When the Sun of His countenance became manifest, the atoms of both worlds began to appear; as its light fell every atom donned a name and a form.” The Hindus have called it in the vedanta Chaitanya, the Spirit or the Light of God. In the Qur’an it is mentioned, “We have made thy light out of Our Light, and of that Light We have made the universe.” In plain words this means that when there was nothing–no form, no name, no person, no object–except Intelligence; and it is the contraction of that intelligence which brought its essence into a form of light which is called the divine Spirit; and the expression of the same light has been the cause of the whole of manifestation. Creation is the exhalation of God; and what is called destruction is absorption, which is the inhalation of God.

Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?
Jinn
Manifestation
The soul which has already brought with it from the angelic heavens a luminous body, and from the sphere of the jinn a body full of impressions, functions in the end in the human body which the physical plane offers it; and it settles for some time in this abode. This completes what we understand by the word individuality. These three planes, which are the principal planes of existence, are called in the terms of vedanta: Bhu-loka, Deva-loka, Svar-loka, meaning three worlds: Bhu-bka the physical world, Deva-loka the world of the jinns, and Svar-loka the world of the angels. The human being therefore has all three beings in him, the angel, the jinn, and man. What man acquires on the earth is the experience gained by the means of his senses, an experience which he himself goes through; and it is this experience which man collects in that accommodation within himself which he calls the heart. The surface of the heart, which is the collection of his knowledge, he calls the mind. This word comes from the sanskrit Manas, mind, and from this word “man” has come.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
4. The Mysticism of Sound
The vedanta speaks of Nada Brahma, the Sound-God, the sound that is God, of which all things are made. Sufis call it sawt-e-sarmad, the sound that intoxicates man. The Qur’an says: “Kun-fa-yakun — when God said “Be”, it became.” Before this world was, all was in sound, God was sound, we are made of sound. That is why we like music. That is why you are listening to this*, because it is your element. Although it has been dimmed by manifestation, your thought, your mind, is made of sound.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
7. The Spiritual Significance of Color and Sound
It seems that what science realizes in the end, mysticism reaches from the beginning. This accords with the saying of Christ: “First seek ye the Kingdom of God and all will be added.” When one hears of the present discoveries about sound and color on the scientific side, one begins by being surprised. One says: “What a new discovery! Something we have never heard of. It is something quite new.” And yet, when you open the Bible there it says: “First was the word, and the word was God.” And if you open still older scriptures of the vedanta, you read in their verses that in the Creator there was that word, or that vibration. When we come to the Qur’an we read: that first there was the word “Be”, and then there became.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
16. The Manifestation of Sound on the Physical Sphere
Modern science has discovered recently that on certain plates one can see clearly the impression of sound. It is made visible. But in reality on all objects the impression of sound falls clearly, only it is not always visible. It remains for a certain time on any object and then it disappears. Those who have discovered scientifically the different impressions that are made by sound, have found the clear forms of leaves and of flowers and of other things of nature, which is the proof of the belief that the ancient people held, and which is expressed in the vedanta in the well known phrase: Nada Brahma, meaning Sound, the Creator. And we read in the Bible that first was the word, and the word was God, and that first was sound (the word), and then was the light. This only means that the source of creation was sound. In other words, the creative source in its first step towards manifestation was audible, and in its next step it was visible. It also shows that all we see in this objective world – every form – has been constructed by sound: it is the phenomenon of sound.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music
21. The Healing Power of Music
Healing through music is in reality the beginning of development through the art of music, the end of which is attaining that which in the words of the vedanta is called samadhi.

Vol. 2, The Power of the Word
1. The Power of the Word
1
When we compare this interpretation with the vedanta philosophy, we find that the two are identical. All down the ages the Yogis and seers of India have worshipped the Word-God, or Sound-God, and around that idea is centered all the mysticism of sound or utterance. Not alone among Hindus, but among the seers of the Semitic, the Hebraic races the great importance of the word was recognized. The sacred name, the sacred word, were always esteemed in the Jewish religion. Also in Islam, that great religion whose mysticism the West is only beginning to discover, one finds the doctrine of Ismaism which, translated, is the “doctrine of the mystical word.” The Zoroastrians, who had their religion given to them long before the time of Buddha or Christ, and who have lost many of their teachings through the changes of time and conditions, have yet always preserved the sacred words. Sanskrit is now considered a dead language – but in the Indian meditations called Yoga, Sanskrit words are still used because of the power of sound and vibration that is contained in them.

Vol. 2, The Power of the Word
3. The Word that was Lost
1
Now you may ask: “What has man lost?” The answer is: God himself, that perfect intelligence that is in every being, that intelligence that the vedanta calls light. In the Qur’an it is said that God is light, which means that the light of God is immanent in the world of names and forms, in all that exists in this world of variety. In this world of variety different forms of activity are producing different results. Yet man in this life of illusion has the same intelligence, the perfection of which he can realize in that state of consciousness where he is aware of his own perfection.

Vol. 4, Healing And The Mind World
4. The Application of Healing Power
Healing by Magnetic Passes
All scriptures have explained in some way or other that life is like light. In the Moslem scripture the word Nur is used; in the vedanta it is called Chaitanya. The nature of this light is to express itself in a particular direction, and that accounts for the face and back in our forms. At the same time the tendency of the light is to spread. This can be seen in the tendency of fire or of water to spread; air shows the same tendency, and also earth and all things on earth. A deep study of every form will show that the nature of life is to spread in four directions, for instance north, south, east, and west, or head, foot, right, and left.

Vol. 4, Mental Purification
16. The Mystery of Sleep
Phases of Consciousness
An intellectual person also develops consciousness of another sphere which is called Malakut in Sufi terminology and Swapna in terms of the vedanta. This state is experienced in two ways. When a person is absorbed in thought and is not aware of his surroundings, all he knows at that moment is the thought or imagination in which he is absorbed. This state is not dependent upon the body for its joy or its experiences of sorrow.

Vol. 5, A Sufi Message Of Spiritual Liberty
Nature
The Personal Being
The wise man by studying nature enters into the unity through its variety, and realizes the personality of God by sacrificing his own. “He who knows himself knows Allah” (Sayings of Mohammed). “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Bible). “Self-knowledge is the real wisdom” (vedanta).

Vol. 5, A Sufi Message Of Spiritual Liberty
Ecstasy
Male and Female Aspects of God
The majority of prophets and masters have been men because man is the higher manifestation, as is signified by the myth of Adam and Eve, in which Eve was born from the rib of Adam, meaning that woman is the later manifestation; the fruit means that woman directed man’s thoughts towards procreation. The interpretation of Adam and Eve’s exile from heaven is the fail of mankind from the state of innocence to the state of youth. The separation and unhappiness of Adam and Eve show the object of God to manifest in the dual aspect, that He may accomplish his real desire of love. According to the vedanta half of the divine body, Ardhangi, is womanhood, proving that unity of both is the complete life.

Vol. 5, The Phenomenon of the Soul
2. Manifestation (1)
In the vedanta the soul is called by three names which denote its three aspects, Atma, Mahatma, Paramatma. Atma is the soul conscious of the life on the surface, Mahatma is the soul conscious as well of the life within, Paramatma is the consciousness that is the soul of souls, conscious of the Absolute within and without, the God of the knower, the Lord of the seer.

Vol. 6, The Alchemy of Happiness
The Alchemy of Happiness
The soul in Sanskrit, in the terms of the vedanta, is called Atman, which means happiness or bliss itself. It is not that happiness belongs to the soul; it is that the soul itself is happiness. Today we often confuse happiness with pleasure; but pleasure is only an illusion, a shadow of happiness; and in this delusion man may pass his whole life, seeking after pleasure and never finding satisfaction. There is a Hindu saying that man looks for pleasure and finds pain. Every pleasure seems happiness in outward appearance; it promises happiness, for it is the shadow of happiness, but just as the shadow of a person is not the person though representing his form, so pleasure represents happiness but is not happiness in reality.

Vol. 6, The Alchemy of Happiness
The Struggle of Life (1)
Struggle with Conditions
The symbol of the mystics of China was a branch laden with fruit in their hand. What does it mean? It means that the purpose of life is to arrive at that stage where every moment becomes fruitful. And what does fruitful mean? Does it mean fruits for oneself? No, trees do not bear fruit for themselves, but for others. True profit is not that profit which one makes for oneself. True profit is that which one makes for others. After attaining all that one wants to attain, be it earthly or heavenly, what is the result of it all? The result is only this, that all that one has attained, that one has acquired, whether earthly or heavenly, one can place before others. Propkar, which, in the language of the vedanta, means working for the benefit of others, is the only fruit of life.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
Stilling the Mind
Stilling First the Body
When we think about it, we find that all the things that are accomplished in this world are accomplished by the power of mind. As it is written in the vedanta, “The world is the creation of the mind of Brahma.” That is, it is the thought of the Creator which has created the world. And if it is the Creator’s thought that has created this world, then we ourselves are not far from Him. The soul of man is the spirit of the Creator, and therefore has within it the same power of creating by the power of mind as his Creator has. Whatever man creates in science, in art, in phenomena or wonder-making, in poetry, in music, in pictures, in everything that he brings into being, is all achieved by the power of mind.

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden
The Four Paths Which Lead to the Goal
3. Discipline (Master)
All that man learns intellectually about metaphysics keeps him limited to book-learning. He derives no benefit but a passing interest; it is a surprise to him to know that there are so many different planes of our being. He does not go further, and if he wanted to see them and know what they are, he could not. But by meditation he can realize them, and by this realization he can give the interpretation of any philosophy, whether Buddhist, or ancient Greek, or vedantaphilosophy, any philosophy you put before him, for he knows what he has experienced through meditation.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Balance
Philosophy itself- the greatest, the highest thing in the world, the knowledge of God – has often been lost through lack of balance. This is why in the Bible, in the vedanta, in the Quran the truth, told so plainly, is nevertheless told in a veiled manner. If the prophets, the masters had spoken the truth in plain words, the world would have gone to the left instead of to the right. It has been my own experience that philosophy, when plainly expressed, is understood quite differently than when it is expressed in a veiled manner.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
The Power of Silence
From a scientific point of view I shall say that speech is the breath of breath. In the vedanta breath is called prana, which is life. It may be said that breath is the chain that links body, heart and soul together, and is so important that the body – so loved and cared for, kept in palaces, its slightest cold or cough treated by doctors and medicines – is of no more use and cannot be kept anymore when the breath is gone. Speaking being the breach of breath means that, when one is speaking, one takes ten breaths in the time which would be normal for one breath. One says, “Where are you going?”, and for these four words one takes three breaths.

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind
Dreams
The Nature of the Dream
There is a Hindustani saying calling this world the dream of life. In the vedanta this world is called the dream of Brahma, the dream of God. It makes a person afraid to think that all our affairs, to which we give so much importance, should be unreal, should be a dream. When people came to talk to me, I have several times experienced their great disappointment when they said, “Do you mean to say that all this is a dream, that it is not real? Now here you are standing, I am sitting, you are speaking. Is it all a dream?” They meant, “What a foolish idea to call this life a dream .” To him who has experienced only materially through his five senses, without even a glimpse of an idea of something else, this life seems real and we cannot blame him for thinking it real. It is only when he awakens from this life that he sees that it is unreal. If, while you are dreaming, someone comes and tells you, “Do not believe it, it is a dream”, you will never believe him, you will think it is real.

Vol. 8, The Privilege of Being Human
4. Self-realization
The aim of all religions and philosophies is the understanding and the realization of unity. The vedanta philosophy teaches advaita: There is no such thing as “two”; the whole is one and the same being. In the Bible it is said, “I and my Father are one”, which means unity, and then, “Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect”, which shows that in this unity lies perfection, amplitude. When we come to the Hadith we read, “By knowing himself man can know God”, which means that by realizing himself he realizes God.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Sufism
Sufism has understood what is behind the ideal of Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, the good principle and the evil principle. One finds this in the words of Christ and in the Quran as well as in the Zend Avesta. It has understood what is behind the idea of angels. And it has idealized God and the Master, the deliverer of the divine message. It may be called Jewish mysticism, without omitting the influence of Christianity. It may be called the wisdom of the Christians, without omitting the wisdom of Islam which is to be found in it. It may be called the esoteric side of Islam, without neglecting the influence of philosophies as foreign as those of the vedanta and Buddhism. This is the reason why it is so wide, perfect, and universal.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Sufism
Many people have said, ‘We believe only in Moses, or in Christ.’ Some say that they believe only in the Vedas, or in other ancient scriptures. But the Sufi does not care who has said something; he cares only about what has been said. If he finds truth in the words of Zarathushtra he accepts it; if he finds truth in the Kabbala he accepts that. He accepts the words of Christ and the Bible; he sees truth in the Quran. He accepts the vedanta; some of the Sufis have been greater students of the vedanta than many Hindus. In all he sees one scripture.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Sufism
Dara, the brother of Aurangzeb, was one of the first foreigners to study the vedanta and spread the knowledge found therein. And in Akbar’s reign there were Christian churches in his dominions, Jewish synagogues, and mosques; and he went to all. This was evident proof of his Sufi outlook. And when the great poet Kabir died, Hindus and Muslims both claimed him. The Hindus wanted to cremate him; the Muslims wanted to bury him. They both claimed that he belonged to their religion. The Sufi sees the truth in every religion. He never says that a religion is not his. Hindus and Muslims alike visit the tombs of the great Sufi saints; for instance they all go to the tomb of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Sufism
When the word philosophy is mentioned a person thinks at once of the philosophy of the vedanta, say, or of Plato and Aristotle. These and other philosophers have studied the physical universe, matter; they have studied how the spirit became matter, and they have studied metaphysics; but in these philosophies we find no idealization, no devotion, whereas in Sufism one finds the idealization of God.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
The Prophetic Tendency
Prophets
The watchman calls from evening till morning. In the day the alarm-clock is not needed, because it is day. The prophets were sent during the night. They came with the same message under different names; the same divine wisdom spoke in each of them. But if a Hebrew had been asked, ‘Do you recognize Krishna and Rama?’ he would have said, ‘I never heard of Krishna and Rama; I recognize Moses, because that is written in my book.’ If a Hindu were asked, ‘Do you recognize Moses or Christ?’ he would say, ‘No, I recognize Rama and Krishna and Vishnu and the vedanta. You may keep Christ and Moses, I will keep Rama and Krishna and Vishnu.’ There are some who prefer the Kabbala to the Bible and recognize only the Kabbala. If you ask a Roman Catholic, he will say, ‘There is only one Church, and that is mine.’ They have all recognized the name, the personality, but they have not recognized the truth. They want to keep Krishna in the temple, Christ in the church, and Moses shut up in the synagogue. That is why there are so many now seeking for truth.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
The Prophetic Tendency
Prophets
No Brahmin has studied the vedanta with more interest than I have. If one knows Brahma one knows God, and one is in fact Brahmin, although whether the Brahmin recognizes this or not is another matter. The Sufi says, ‘You wish to know about revelation? You wish to know about inspiration? This is the way for you to follow: believe as much as your intelligence allows you to believe, as much as you can reach; do not believe what your intelligence does not allow you to believe.’

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Balance
Sometimes a person has no balance in telling the truth. He says, ‘I tell the truth’, regardless of whether it is in harmony with his surroundings and whether people are prepared to hear that truth or not. He says, ‘I tell the truth, and I don’t mind fighting with everybody because I tell the truth!’ Therefore the lesson of repose is the most important one to be learnt for this purpose. Philosophy itself, culminating in the knowledge of God, which is greater and higher than anything else in the world, has often been lost by lack of balance. This is why in the Bible, in the vedanta, in the Quran, even plain truths yet are told in a veiled manner. If the prophets and masters had given the truth in plain words, the world would have gone in the wrong direction. I have often noticed that philosophy, when explained plainly, has been understood quite differently from what was meant.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
Divine Impulse
From the metaphysical point of view there are different rhythms describing the condition of man, and these are called in the vedanta Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Tamas is a rhythm which is chaotic, destructive, and every impulse that comes to man while he is in this chaotic rhythm is followed by destructive results. Any impulse coming from a person who is in the rhythm of Rajas will be accomplished, but the impulse that comes when he is in the rhythm of Sattva is inspired and is in harmony with the rhythm of the universe.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
The Symbol of the Cross
But then such souls have a cross everywhere; every move they make is a cross, a crucifixion. In the first place living in the world, a world full of falsehood, full of treachery and deceit and selfishness, every move they make, all their actions, everything they say and think prove that their eyes and hearts are open to something which is different from what the world is looking at. It is a constant conflict. It is living in the world, living among people of the world, and yet looking at a place which is different. Even if they tried to speak they could not. Words cannot express the truth; language is too inadequate to give a real conception of the ultimate truth. As it is said in the vedanta, the world is Maya. Maya means something unreal; to these souls the world becomes most unreal as soon as they begin to see the real, and when they compare the world with this reality it seems even more unreal. No ordinary being can imagine to what an extent this world manifests itself to their eyes.

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings
The Power of Silence
In the vedanta breath is called Prana, life. Breath is the chain which links body, heart, and soul together. It is so important that when it is gone from the body, this body which is so much loved and cared for that the slightest cold or cough is treated by doctors with medicines, is then of no more use. It cannot be kept alive.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
Unity and Uniformity
If only we could recognize the inner voice, we would see that the different scriptures all contain words spoken by one and the same voice. Some hear the voice, others only hear the words, just as in nature some see only the branches and others the roots of the tree; but all these different scriptures and ways of worship and of contemplating God are given for one purpose: the realization of unity. In unity resides the happiness and illumination of man, and his guidance in life. We all know unity by name, but most of us think of it as uniformity. The vedanta for thousands of years in all its prayers and mantrams voiced this central theme: unity, the oneness of all. The Quran with all its warnings expresses in one essential sura the Being of God: that not only in the unseen, but in all that is seen there is one underlying current; and the Bible says that we live and move and have our being in God.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
Prophets and Religions
Jesus
‘I am Christ’ means ‘I am now, and I shall be till the end.’ In this the Master identifies himself with that light of which we read in the vedanta, and which existed thousands of years before Christ, the divine light which is recognized by the Sufis as the Spirit of Guidance, and which is also mentioned in the Quran. This light of Christ is symbolized by the lantern in the story of Aladdin, in the Thousand and One Nights. And it is this same light which the Hindu legend speaks of when it says that there exists a cobra with a light in its head, and when it searches for food it takes that light in its mouth and by its illumination it can go about in the forest. It is the light of life of all men and all beings, seen and unseen. In reality it is the essence of light.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
The Symbology of Religious Ideas
Water
In the old Scriptures, such as the vedanta and the Old Testament, spirit is symbolized as water. One wonders why something which is next to earth should be considered as spirit. The nature of water is to give life to the earth, and so the nature of the soul is to give life to the body. Without water the earth is dead; so is the body without soul. Water and earth both mix together; so the spirit mixes with matter and revivifies it. And yet the spirit stands above matter, as water in time lets the earth go to the depth, and stands itself above the earth. But one may ask: “Is the spirit hidden under matter, as the soul in the body?” The answer is: “So does water stay beneath the earth.” There is no place where water does not exist; there are places where earth is not to be found; so nowhere in space spirit is absent; only the absence of matter is possible.

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
The Spirit of Sufism
The Sufi considers the teachings of the Avatars to be true manifestations of the divine wisdom, and he has a perfect insight into the subtle knowledge of the vedanta. The Sufi appreciates the Jain conception of harmlessness, and considers that kindness is the true path of purity and perfection. In the past Sufis have led lives of renunciation, and in the East most of them still lead a very harmless life, just like the Jains.

Vol. 10, Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
1. Music (1)
Why does music appeal so much to man? The whole of manifestation has its origin in vibration, in sound; and this sound, which is called Nada in the vedanta, was the first manifestation of the universe. Consequently the human body was made of tone and rhythm. The most important thing in the physical body is breath, and the breath is audible; it is most audible in the form of voice. This shows that the principal signs of life in the physical body are tone and rhythm, which together make music. Rhythm appeals to man because there is a rhythm going on in his body. The beating of the pulse and the movement of the heart both indicate this rhythm.

Vol. 10, The Problem of the Day
1. The Problem of the Day (1)
No doubt this pessimism is the bridge from one optimism to another, and it may be said to be disinterestedness, or Vairagya, as it is called in vedanta terms. It is not the man who leaves the world who is great, but the one who lives in the world, understanding the difficulties and troubles that belong to humanity. It is he who sees not his little self, but the whole.

Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life
17. The Mystic’s Nature
The Dream of a Mystic
And now we come to the dream of the mystic. It may be that other people have seen a mystic in a trance, or meditating with closed eyes; but this is not necessary. With open eyes or with closed eyes: the mystic can dream in both ways. He may be in a crowd or in the solitude, in both places he can dream. To the mystic the dream is reality, although to another it might seem a dream. It is reality to the mystic because of his faith in what is written in the Qur’an, that when God said, “Be” it became, and also in what the vedanta say, that manifestation is the dream of Brahma, of the Creator. The mystic, who realizes the Creator within himself, thinks that his dream is the Creator’s dream: if the Creator’s dream is all this which we call reality, then the dream of the mystic is the same. If it is still in the mental sphere, that does not mean that it will never materialize; it will surely materialize one day.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
One’s Aim in Life
We may ask: But what if the desires we have are not worth while? Our desires may indeed be imperfect ones; they may not be right; but what of that? We cannot desire things which lead to our destruction. Is there no good desire in our heart? Is not the heart the vehicle of good through which one desires? So we see that our desire is God’s desire, and that creation’s whole purpose is the fulfillment of that desire. As the vedanta say, this life is the dream of Brahma. The creative faculty or power desired what Brahma desired; it produced what He desired. This is why the Sufi regards as the first lesson to learn through concentration and meditation: that my desire shall be accomplished.

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man
Wealth
Discipleship (1)
When the question of learning or of understanding a mystical or occult subject arises, the first thought that comes to the mind of a person in the East is that of discipleship. In the language of the vedanta there is the Guru and theChela; in Sufi terms we speak of Murshid and Mureed.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Insight
3.10, Tranquility
In the terms of vedanta life is likened to the sea, where there is a continual rising and falling of the waves. Every man by nature seeks peace and in peace alone is his satisfaction. But often he seeks it wrongly, therefore instead of producing peace he creates more struggle in life. The secret of peace is in the will-power. Instead of resisting the forces which jar and disturb one’s life, if one would only stand firm against them, then one can attain to that tranquility which is most necessary to have a greater insight into life.

Vol. 13, Gathas
Symbology
2.4, Water
In the old scriptures such as the vedanta and the Old Testament, spirit is symbolized as water. One wonders why something which is near to the earth, as water is, should be considered symbolically as spirit. The nature of water is to give life to the earth, and so the nature of the spirit is to give life to the body. Without water the earth is dead, so is the body without soul. Water and earth both mix together, so the spirit mixes with matter and revivifies it, and yet spirit stands above matter, as water in time lets the earth sink to the bottom and stands itself above the earth.

Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead
The Prophetic Tendency – The Prophetic Mission
The watchman calls from night till morning. In the day the alarm-clock is not needed because it is day. The prophets were sent from night till morning. They came with the same message under different names. The same divine wisdom spoke in each of them, but if a Hebrew had been asked, “Do you recognize Krishna and Rama?” he would have said, “I have never heard of Krishna and Rama. I recognize Moses because that is written in my book” If a Hindu was asked, “Do you recognize Moses or Christ?” he would say, “No, I recognize Rama and Krishna and Vishnu and the vedanta. You may keep Christ and Moses, I will keep Rama, Krishna and Vishnu.” There are some who prefer the Kabbala to the Bible, they recognize the Kabbala. If you ask a Roman Catholic he will say, “If there is any church it is mine; They have all recognized the name, the personality; they have not recognized the truth. They want to keep Krishna in the temple, Christ in the church, and Moses shut up in the synagogue. That is why so many now are seeking for the truth.

Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead
The Prophetic Tendency – The Prophetic Mission
No Brahmin has studied the vedanta with more interest than I have. If you know Brahma, if you know God, you are a Brahmin. Whether the Brahmin recognizes you or not is another matter.

Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead
Divine Impulse
The Source of impulse
The first question to be considered in reference to the subject of divine impulse is: where does every impulse come from? Every movement, every vibration, every motion has one source. One sees a hint of this in the Bible where it says, “The word was God.” The word means vibration and vibration means movement. In the vedanta nada Brahma means sound. Vibration was the first or original aspect of Brahma, the Creator. In the Qur’an we read, “Be, He said, and it became.” Every impulse, every action on any plane of existence has its origin in the one source. It is also said in the Qur’an, “God is all power; there is no power but God’s.” In all that is done, what is done is by His power.

Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead
Divine Impulse
The Source of impulse
From the metaphysical point of view there are different rhythms describing the condition of man; they are spoken of in the vedanta as sattva, rajas and tammas. Sattva is a harmonious rhythm, rajas a rhythm which is not in perfect harmony with nature and tammas is a rhythm which is chaotic by nature and destructive. Every impulse that comes to man while he is in this chaotic rhythm is followed by destructive results. Any impulse coming to a person when he is in the rhythm of rajas is accomplished, but the impulse that comes when he is in the rhythm of sattva is inspired and is in harmony with the rhythm of the universe.

Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead
The Symbol of the Cross
Then such souls have a cross everywhere; every move they make is a cross, a crucifixion. In the first place, living in the world, a world full of falsehood, full of treachery, deceit and selfishness, every move they make, every act they perform, all they say and think, prove that their eyes and hearts are open to something else than that at which the world is looking. It is a constant conflict. It is living in the world, living among people of the world and yet looking at a place different from that which the world sees. If they tried to speak they could not. Words cannot express the truth; language is too inadequate to give a real conception of the ultimate truth. As it is said in the vedanta, and as it was said in ancient times, the world is maya. Maya means something unreal, and to these souls the world becomes most unreal as soon as they begin to see the real, and when they compare the world with this reality it seems even more unreal. No one in the world can imagine to what an extent this world manifests itself to their eyes.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
PHILOSOPHY 1
Duality in Nature
All philosophies have recognized the duality in nature. However much we may differ on the surface as to principles and opinions, those who go below the surface, the divers for truth, have always found the same things. The vedantacalls the two forces purusha and prakriti, the creator and the created, the creative and the responsive forces, by which the whole manifestation has been made. In the religious language it is called Shiva and Parvati. In the Hindu inscriptions and books you can see the picture of Shiva, with two faces, a man’s face and a woman’s face, showing the creative force and the responsive force that Shiva possessed. There are many other pictures in these inscriptions, pictures such as that of an animal’s body with a man’s head, of which the meaning is that man’s body is animal; it is his head that is man.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
METAPHYSICS 2
The Mystery of Color and Sound
Now coming to the mystical point of view. The first aspect that makes intelligence conscious of the manifestation is sound; the next aspect is light, or color. The proof of this can be found in the Bible as well as in vedanta. The Bible says: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God.” And in another place it says: “First was the Word, and then came Light.” What is color? It is an aspect of light. And when we come to read the vedanta, there it says: “The first aspect of the Creator, the Source from which the whole creation was made, was sound.” In the Qur’an it is said: “The first command was, ‘give us a sound’, and all became manifest . “

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
PSYCHOLOGY 5
The Mystery of Shadow
In speaking on this subject I recall a poem of Shams Tabriz. He says: “When the sun-faced One had arisen, each atom of the two worlds arose. When the light of His face sent its shadow, by this shadow various names became. The things, what were they? The pictures of the names. The atoms, what were they? He, in reality. The waves, what were they? They were in reality the sea.” He explains clearly in this the mystery of shadow. What an astonishing thing it is that a thousand years ago someone should have explained this clearly, not as a belief or as a religion, but as a science. Much earlier still in the vedanta this science has been explained fully. Puruah Shastra it is called.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
PSYCHOLOGY 7
The Nature of the Dream
While speaking on this subject I should quote a Hindustani saying, they call this world, ‘the dream of life’. In the vedanta it is called, ‘the dream of Brahma’, that is ‘the dream of God’. It makes a person afraid that all this should be unreal, that all our affairs to which we give so much importance should be a dream. Myself, three or four times I have experienced great disappointments, in America, and in places where people came to talk to me at the receptions and lectures. They said, “Do you mean to say that all this is a dream, that it is not real? Now you are standing, I am sitting, you are speaking. Is this all a dream?” That means, “What a foolish idea to call this a dream.” Really to him who has experienced only materially, by his five senses, without even a glimpse of an idea of something else, this seems real, and we cannot blame him for thinking it real.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
MISCELLANEOUS 4
Q & A After Gatha II, No. 10, Nakshi Bandi, “Brahman…”
Q. Have they all the same sacred words and breathing exercises? A. No, perhaps the words of the vedanta, followers of Vishnu differ from the words the followers of Shiva use. Of course, the meaning is the same. And breathing exercises do not differ much, for the reason that the yoga is one yoga for all the Hindus. There are four different yogas, but one system.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
ART AND MUSIC 2
Music (4)
Why is music called the divine art and all other arts are not called so? Certainly we may see God in all arts and all sciences, but in music alone we see God free from all form and thought. In every other art there is idolatry. Every thought, every word has its form; sound alone is free from form. Every word of poetry forms a picture in your mind; sound alone does not make any object appear before you. All would rather hear music than a speech. By sound the world was created. In vedanta it is called Nada Brahma, Sound-God.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
ART AND MUSIC 2
Indian Music (1)
The mystics, especially the Sufis, have used music in their prayers, in their meditations. It was a part of their devotions. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Khwaja Bandanawaz, made great use of music. I have practiced and experienced myself the use of music in meditation, and I have understood that it is the best means of meditation, the quickest means of freeing the consciousness. When the poet imagines a lake and a mountain, he has the forms, the lake and the mountain, before the eyes of his mind. When the musician thinks of a melody, he has no form, no name before him. He is a plane higher than the poet. Sound has been called God, Nada Brahma, in the vedanta. In the Gospel of St. John it is called the Word, from which all things have come. First there was the sound, God was sound; and from the sound, by the sound, all this world was manifested.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS
CLASS FOR MUREEDS 7
The Word That Was Lost
Nowadays life never gives man a moment to be quiet that he might have time to ponder upon the true cause of his constant unhappiness. Also it keeps him in an illusion, always looking outward, and he can never find the cause outside himself. It is as if he were looking for the moon on earth, though the moon is in the sky. But then you may ask, “What has man lost?” And the answer is God Himself. That perfect intelligence that is in every being, that intelligence that the vedanta calls “Light.” The verses of Qur’an say, “God is light, Nur,” which means that the light of God is immanent in the world of names and forms, in all that exists in this world of variety. In this world of variety different forms of activity are producing different results. And man in this life of illusion has yet the same intelligence, which he can realize in its perfection in that state of consciousness where he can be aware of his own perfection.

Githas
Esotericism
4, Wazifa(1)
Wazifa means the repetition of a word, and this has been the secret of the Oriental mystics, practiced by them for thousands of years. In Wazifa such words are used which have a a certain meaning for a physical, mental, moral, or spiritual purpose. In the vedanta it is called Mantra Yoga, and the importance of this Yoga is great, for its effect is quick. There are words used in a Wazifa, the effect of which is in their numerical value; there are words also which either have been practiced or have been spoken by great inspired souls, which have their value.

Githas
Esotericism
1, Shaghal(1)
But the opening of hearing and sight is not sufficient for the purpose, because it is simply an opening; illumination is something else. With the development of those two faculties by Shaghal the necessity for illumination remains nevertheless. You must know the language of the voice that speaks from within, and you must recognize the letters that you find written on the record within. The mystics heard it and read it and kept quiet; the prophets on hearing and reading this gave it out but little; and this that was given is the only Scripture there is, call it Bible, Kabala, vedanta or Qur’an.

Githas
Healing
4, Healing by Magnetic Passes
All scriptures have explained in some way or other that life is like light. In the Muslim scriptures the word Nur is used; in the vedanta it is called Chaitanya. The nature of this light is to express itself in a particular direction; and that accounts for the face and back in our form. At the same time the tendency of the light is to spread. That can be seen in the tendency of fire to spread, of water to spread. Air shows the same tendency; earth and all things on earth show the same tendency. A deep study of every form will show the nature of life to spread in four directions, which make North, South, East, and West, and form head, foot, right, and left.

Sangitha I
Riyazat, Esotericism
Shaghal
And therefore the first manifestation of the all- pervading life is called in the Bible “Word,” and in vedanta Nada Brahma, meaning “Creator-Word,” or “The Word of the Creator.” And this is the explanation of what is said in the Bible, “First was the Word, and the Word was God.”

This is the End of this Hazrat Inayat Khan Esoteric Circulum on Yoga, Yogis, Shiva, Prana and Vedanta…

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