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The Heart
People look for wonder-workings and surprises, for phenomena of all kinds. Yet the greatest phenomenon, the greatest surprise, and the greatest wonder is to be found in one's heart. If there is anything that can tune man to the highest pitch, that can tune the strings of his soul to the right note, it is only by the tuning of the heart. The one who has not reached his heart has not reached God. People may be relations, friends, partners, collaborators, and yet be quite separate; nearness in space does not make people real friends. There is only one way of coming near to one's friends, and that is by way of the heart. If there is anything which is the most wonderful in heaven and earth, it is the heart. If a miracle is to be found anywhere, it is in the heart. For when God has tuned the heart, what is there which is not to be found in it ?
Heart can be of different kinds; there is the golden heart, the silver heart, the copper heart, the iron heart. The golden heart shows its color and its beauty; it is precious and at the same time it is soft. The silver heart shows inferior qualities compared with the golden heart; yet coins are made of silver; it is useful. Of the copper heart pennies are made, and pennies too are useful in everyday life; they are even more used than gold and silver coins. Copper is strong and hard, and it needs many hammers to shape it and make something out of it. And then there is the iron heart, which must be put into the fire before anything can be done with it. When the iron becomes hot in the glowing fire, then we can make something out of it; but the blacksmith must be always ready; as soon as the fire begins to glow, he must start at once. If he lets it go, it will turn cold in a moment.
The Heart
FROM A mystical point of view, personality is formed around the heart. For a materialist the heart is the piece of flesh hidden in the breast, but for the mystic the heart is the center of the person round which the personality is formed. Consciously or unconsciously man loves the word 'heart', and if we were to ask a poet to leave out that word and write his poems without using it, he would never satisfy himself or others. Few people think of this; yet the poets who have most appealed to humanity, have used the word 'heart' most. For what is man? Man is his heart. A dead heart means a dead man, a living heart a living man.
People look for wonder-workings and surprises, for phenomena of all kinds. Yet the greatest phenomenon, the greatest surprise, and the greatest wonder is to be found in one's heart. If there is anything that can tune man to the highest pitch, that can tune the strings of his soul to the right note, it is only by the tuning of the heart. The one who has not reached his heart has not reached God. People may be relations, friends, partners, collaborators, and yet be quite separate; nearness in space does not make people real friends. There is only one way of coming near to one's friends, and that is by way of the heart. If there is anything which is the most wonderful in heaven and earth, it is the heart. If a miracle is to be found anywhere, it is in the heart. For when God has tuned the heart, what is there which is not to be found in it?
Dream and Inspirations
Dreams and inspirations are open proofs of the higher world. The past, present, and future are frequently seen in a dream, and may also be revealed through inspiration. The righteous person sees more clearly than the unrighteous. There are five kinds of dreams:
1. Khayali – in which the actions and thoughts of the day are reproduced in sleep.
2. Qalbi – in which the dream is opposite to the real happening.
3. Naqshi – in which the real meaning is disguised by as symbolic representation which only the wise can understand.
4. Ruhi – in which the real happening is literally shown.
5. Ilhami – in which divine messages are given in letters or by an angelic voice.
Dreams give, sometimes clearly, sometimes in a veiled form, warnings of coming dangers and assurance of success. The ability to be conscious of dreams and their meaning varies with the degree of development attained.
Dreams have their effect sooner or later, according to the stars under which they take place. The dream seen at midnight is realized within one year, and the dream of the latter part of night within six months; the dream of the early morning is realized soon after. At the same time the manifestation of dreams is subject to qualification according to the good or bad actions of the dreamer.
SELF-DISCIPLINE
WHAT COUNTS most in the path of truth is self-discipline, for without this our studies and practices cannot produce great results. This self-discipline has many different aspects. By studying the lives of the ascetics who lived in the mountains and forests and in the wilderness, we learn that those who have really sought after truth have done their utmost to practice self-discipline; without it no soul in the world has ever arrived at a higher realization. No doubt it frightens people living in the world, accustomed to a life of comfort, even to think of self-discipline; and when they do think of it they imagine it only in its extreme forms. But it is not necessary for us to go to the mountain caves or to the forest or to the wilderness in order to practice self-discipline; we can do so in our everyday life.
There are four principal ways in which self-discipline can be practiced. One way is the physical way, the practice of remaining in the same position, of sitting in the same posture for a certain time. And when one begins to do it one will find that it is not as easy as it seems. One may sit without realizing it in the same posture or stand in one position for a certain time, but as soon as one begins consciously to practice it one finds it very difficult. There are various positions in which to hold one's hands or legs or eyes or head; and these practices help one to develop the power of self-discipline.
ECSTASY
Ecstasy is called Wajd by Sufis: it is especially cultivated among the Chishtis. This bliss is the sign of spiritual development and also the opening for all inspirations and powers. This is the state of eternal peace, which purifies from all sins. Only the most advanced Sufis can experience Wajd. Although it is the most blissful and fascinating state, those who give themselves entirely to it become unbalanced, for too much of anything is undesirable; as the day's labor is a necessary precursor of the night's rest, so it is better to enjoy this spiritual bliss only after the due performance of worldly duties.
Sufis generally enjoy Wajd while listening to music called Qawwali, special music producing emotions of love, fear, desire, repentance, etc.
There are five aspects of Wajd: Wajd of dervishes, which produces a rhythmic motion of the body; Wajd of idealists, expressed by a thrilling sensation of the body, tears and sighs; Wajd of devotees, which creates an exalted state in the physical and mental body; Wajd of saints, which creates perfect calm and peace; and Wajd of prophets, the realization of the highest consciousness called Sidrat ul-Muntaha. One who by the favor of the murshid arrives at the state of Wajd is undoubtedly the most blessed soul and deserves all adoration.
Love
The greatest principle of Sufism is: Ishq Allah Mabud Allah. [literally God is Love, God is Beloved; poetically expressed as God is Love, Lover, and Beloved]
When Ahad, the only Being, became conscious of his Wahdat, only existence, through His own consciousness, then His predisposition of love made Him project Himself to establish His dual aspect, that He might be able to love someone. This made God the lover, and manifestation the beloved; the next inversion makes manifestation the lover, and God the beloved. This force of love has been working through several evolutions and involutions, which end in man who is the ultimate aim of God. The dual aspect of God is significant in Zat and Sifat, in spirit and matter, and in the mineral, vegetable, animal, and human kingdoms, wherein the two sexes, male and female, are clearly represented. The dual aspect of God is symbolized by each form of this wonderful world. This whole universe, internally and externally, is governed by the force of love, which is sometimes the cause and sometimes the effect. The producer and the product are one, and that One is nothing but love. A church, a temple or a Kaba stone,
Quran or Bible or a martyr's bone,
All these and more my heart can tolerate,
Since my religion now is Love alone. (Abul Ala al-Maari)
Harmony
Harmony is that which makes beauty, beauty in itself has no meaning. An object which is called beautiful at one time or place may not be beautiful at another. And so it is with thought, speech, and action. That which is called beautiful is only so at a certain time and under certain conditions which make it beautiful; so if one could give a true definition of beauty it is harmony. Harmony in a combination of colors, harmony in the drawing of a design or a line, that is what is called beauty; and a word, a thought, a feeling, or an action which creates harmony is productive of beauty.
Whence comes the tendency towards harmony and whence comes the tendency towards inharmony? The natural tendency of every soul is towards harmony, and the tendency towards inharmony is an unnatural state of mind or affairs; the very fact that it is not natural makes it devoid of beauty. The psychology of man is such that he responds both to harmony and inharmony. He cannot help it, because he is naturally so made; mentally and physically he responds to all that comes to him whether it be harmonious or inharmonious.
