Sufi Ruhaniat International Esoteric Studies Program God is Breath Murshid Wali Ali Meyer Class 6
This paper is not to be transferred or duplicated without the expressed written permission of the Sufi Ruhaniat International. It is intended only for private circulation among initiated Sufi mureeds, and this printing does not constitute publication. Works of Hazrat Inayat Khan Sufi Order International PO Box 480 New Lebanon NY 12125 USA telephone: (518) 794-7834 e-mail: secretariat@sufiorder.org
Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty, the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance. Githas of Hazrat Inayat Khan Amaliat: Psychology, Series I Number 1: Psychology In the circles of psychical research there has been a talk of Ismi Azam, the mysterious word, since thousands of years, and no one so far has been able to point out what this Ismi Azam may be. In my conception, every word is Ismi Azam when it is worked by a master-mind. The older the language, the purer are its words. Plainly speaking, the words are uncorrupted, or at least, but little corrupted. The reason why an uncorrupted word (i.e., a psychic word) has a psychic power is that every word, in its origin, is the pure offspring of the heart, and is all-powerful, while by corruption the brain and tongue have changed and ruined it, and it has lost its power in proportion. Besides the words from the original languages, there are other powerful words spoken by the Sahibi-Dil, the illuminated hearts, who possess divine power within them. Such are the words of great teachers, of Prophets and Murshids, and the words spoken by them in ecstasy are especially psychic. The wise, therefore, sincerely speak good words, and avoid even hearing bad words from another. The words of sufferers of any sort, and those of the illuminated and lovers and devotees are always powerful. The word Hu is the only word which can be undeniably realized as the sole word of mystery. No lips of any living being fail to utter it, nor is it left unexpressed in sounds of any description. The word Hu is the only word which signifies the pure being of God, free from all distinctive aspects, attributes, and adjectives, and which is as gold for spiritual wealth. Besides this, there are ninety-nine Names of the different aspects of divine attributes and power. The invocation of each Name brings to a sincere and persevering heart the bliss of that particular attribute and power, which, once wakened within him, kindles the same in everything in his life. (Also see #3 in Class 2) Amaliat: Psychology, Series II Number 3: The Use of Psychic Power Psychic power must be used after having been collected. Therefore, the desire of healing and of magnetizing should be kept aside until the power is developed so that it will overflow, and that it the time to make use of it. Otherwise, instead of helping others, the psychic ruins himself. The best vehicle that gives expression to this power are the eyes. The psychic first drills the eyes and makes them accustomed to operate in one direction in which he may desire
them to work. The glance of the psychic must become, when required, as the sharp knife of the surgeon, and when required, it should work as gently as a powderpuff. Until this control is gained, the psychic may help some and harm some, not knowing what helped and what harmed. The tips of the fingers of the psychic and the palm also must become the means of directing the power. The whole being of the psychic becomes a magnet. The great psychics have a healing effect even in the soles of their feet. It is therefore that an Eastern disciple prides themself on being even as dust under the feet of their guide. Number 4: What Nourishes Psychic Power Psychic power is a power of mind, and it repose of mind that develops it; in other words, stillness of mind. Activity of mind lessens the power. A person who thinks more, who is always absorbed in imaginations, who worries more, fears, doubts or becomes anxious about anything loses this power. Of course, the mind should not always be still, for lack of activity also destroys power, but one must be able to exercise the mind by thought and to still the mind by the will. This gives health to the mind, and thereby, psychic power is developed. The breath is the principle thing in life which absorbs the real nourishment for both body and mind. The breath absorbs from the sphere nourishing properties for both mind and body. Therefore, there is no psychic who has developed his power without the development of the breath. A person is not equally gifted with power and inspiration. These two are like two eyes, two hands, or two wings which are not equal in strength. Therefore, one finds that most inspirational people lack power, and most powerful people lack inspiration; and it is the constant striving of the Sufi to balance the two. The reason of this is that power is grosser. It produces a mist, so that the intelligence is confused. If the mist is cleared, the power is cleared away too, and then inspiration comes.
Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty, the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance. Sadhana: The Path of Attainment, Series II Number 3 There is no such thing as impossible. All is possible. Impossible is made by the limitation of our capacity of understanding. Human beings, blinded by the law of nature s working, by the law of consequences which they have known through their few years life on earth, begins to say, This is possible and that is impossible. If they were to rise beyond limitations, their soul would see nothing but possible. And when the soul has risen high enough to see all possibility, that soul certainly has caught a glimpse of God. They say God is all-mighty; and I say, God is all-possible. Possibility is the nature of God, and impossibility is the art of man. Man goes so far, and cannot go any further. Man makes a flower out of paper, giving it as natural a color as possible, yet he says it is not possible to make it fragrant, for he has his limitations. But God, Who is the Maker of the flower and who is the Giver of the fragrance, has all power, and human beings, who is weakened by their limitedness, become more and more limited the more they think of it. In this is created the spirit of pessimism. The one who is conscious of God Almighty, and who in the contemplation of God loses the consciousness of their own self, inherits the power of God, and it is in this power and belief that the spirit of optimism is born. Number 5 The environment helps towards the accomplishment of the desired object. Things that are around you in the house, the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the people you meet, all these things have an effect upon your life. Do not, even in jest, think, speak, or act against the object you have in view, because it will have a wrong and depreciating psychological effect. One should constantly think of the object he desires, with hope and trust, and even dream of it. And truly, no dream will be lost if it is expressive of the desired object, because it is, first of all, the desire that brings about the dream, and every desire, if held in the mind, must someday, somehow, be realized. Number 6 The success of the motive depends entirely upon the concentration, for mind is productive and creative. It produces and creates all that it forms in itself first as a thought. This concentration must not necessarily be practiced for some time during the day or night, but the motive must cover all things of life and make the whole life as one single vision of the object of concentration. The object of concentration must cover, above all things in life, one s personality.
And Rumi has said it beautifully in his verse where he says: The Beloved is All in All, the lover is a veil; The Beloved is all that lives, the lover a dead thing. Number 7 The secret of all attainment is centered in reserve. Spiritual or material, when a person has told his or her plans to others, they have let out the energy that they should have kept as a reservoir of power for the accomplishment of their object. A thing unspoken is alive in the mind, and when spoken, it is as dead. The more valuable your object, the more it must be guarded, as all precious things need strong guarding. When a person tells others of his plan, each one looks at it from their point of view. Some understand, some do not understand; some have a sympathetic point of view, and some take an unfavorable attitude toward it. And every person s attitude has something to do with your life and with your affairs, and if you have whole-heartedly engaged yourself in the accomplishment of a plan, many outside influences can hinder it. The teaching, Be wise as a serpent, may be interpreted, Be quiet as a serpent. It is quietude that gives wisdom and power. The thought held in mind speaks to the mind of another, but the thought spoken out most often only reaches the ears of a person. Every plan has a period of development; and if you have power over your impulse, by retaining the thought silently in mind, you allow the plan to develop and to take all necessary changes that it may take for its culmination. But when the impulse expresses the thought, it so to speak puts out the flame, thus hindering the development of the plan. The wise speak with their mind many times before they speak about it to anybody.
Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty, the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance. Asrar ul Ansar: Mysticism, Series II Number 10: The Knowledge of Jelal, Jemal, and Kemal in Action and Thought When, by the spiritual practices, one has developed so that he or she can perceive distinctly in his breath Jelal, Jemal, and Kemal, and when there remains no doubt, one is then able to know what will become of things and affairs by consulting their breath. If anybody asks that one about anything, or if that one happens to think of any affair, and a question comes to their mind, What will be the result of this affair? they can get an answer by immediately consulting their breath, both for themself and for another. You may ask me a question, What is it that connects a person s affair with his breath? I will say that breath being life, all affairs concerning yourself are related to it, since they are related to your life. As it is one life which is all-pervading, when you are conscious of that, your breath and your life is all-pervading and you can know about everybody s affair, about its failure and success as much as you can know about your own. The perception of the success and failure of affairs depends upon the nature of the affair and the breath at the moment. If the breath is Jelal and if the question is about something exciting or something powerful, be sure that there will be success. If the breath is Jemal, then if it is a question of something gentle and beautiful in its nature, there will be success. The thing that will succeed in Jelal will fail in Jemal. But anything of a worldly nature about which you consult in Kemal will meet with nothing but destruction. In this, first of all, the breath must be pure and developed; then, the one who perceives it must be a master of meditation. But besides this, some intelligence is needed too, for it is not easy to discern the difference between the nature of affairs and their relation to the breath at the moment.
Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty, the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance. Excerpts from the Sangithas Series I RYAZAT AKASHA The Hindu word Akasha means the heavens, and is a capacity in man that includes all different aspects of life according to the extension of consciousness. When this body is made pure and ready then in that capacity the light and sound are produced; and the reaction of this light and sound upon the consciousness produces ecstasy and illumination. And the tongues of flame which arose from the foreheads of the twelve apostles, so that they knew the language of all people, is suggestive of the illumination in Shaghal. The light one sees in Shaghal exists all over. It is the all-pervading light which is allowed to manifest by the help of Shaghal, and which arises as a flame in that capacity which is made open. The sound heard in Shaghal is that all-pervading energy, especially in the realm of the air element. When the capacity is made open then there is a scope for this life to be audible and by that it brings fineness to the body, rest to the mind, and ecstasy to the soul. It is not the light which one sees in Shaghal that is spiritual illumination. It is the reaction of that light which illuminates life as it falls upon all things, making them clear and intelligible. And the sound which one hears in Shaghal is not necessarily the exalting one. It is its aftereffect, and it is used for that purpose of exaltation. The way of using it for that purpose is to feel the presence of the all-pervading life in that sound, contemplating at the same time on the word Hu and losing the thought of one s existence in the existence of the perfect life. People, without Shaghal, may see a light or hear a buzzing sound, but that is not beneficial to them in any way. It is making use of that towards the realization of perfect life which makes Shaghal important. SHAGHAL The sun has a concentrated light; in other words, the all-pervading light concentrated in one point, the point which reacts and reflects its light upon different centers, illuminating them all. As Shams Tabriz has said, When the sun arose in every atom its light became reflected. This shows that the all-pervading life is light in itself and it manifests as such
when it finds a capacity where it can be concentrated and its reaction is a further illumination, as it is said in the Qur an, I have created thee with My light, and from thy light all created. It is this which is the secret of the Trinity: First, the all-pervading light; second, the light when concentrated in one point; and third, the light having reflected itself in, and thereby illuminated, all which can take its reflection. As man is the universe in himself, in his body also there is the capacity; and the point where the all pervading life can center itself and manifest as light is what the mystics have called the third eye. When this light which the adept sees in Shaghal has manifested, its effect is to illuminate all things, reflecting in all things which will take its reflection, strengthening and invigorating all things, as it is the nature of the sun to help the plants to grow and flourish. It is therefore that the presence of a mystic becomes full of magnetism and the place where he sits becomes charged with the magnetism. It is like the light coming out of the sun and producing joy everywhere.