The Bowl of Saki

[guest587]

Self-pity is the cause of all life's grievances.

     Bowl of Saki, September 2, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

If one studies one's surroundings one finds that those who are happy are so because they have less thought of self. If they are unhappy it is because they think of themselves too much. A person is more bearable when he thinks less of himself. And a person is unbearable when he is always thinking of himself. There are many miseries in life, but the greatest misery is self-pity.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/IV/IV_29.htm


Self-pity is the worst poverty. When a person says, 'I am...' with pity, before he has said anything more he has diminished himself to half of what he is; and what is said further, diminishes him totally; nothing more of him is left afterwards. There is so much in the world that we can pity and which it would be right for us to take pity upon, but if we have no time free from our own self we cannot give our mind to others in the world. Life is one long journey, and the further behind we have left our self, the further we have progressed toward the goal. Verily when the false self is lost the true self is discovered.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/III/III_III_1.htm


The heart becomes wide by forgetting self, but narrow by thinking of the self and pitying one's self. To gain a wide and broad heart you must have something before you to look upon, and to rest your intelligence upon -- and that something is the God-ideal.

   ~~~ "Supplementary Papers, Mysticism V", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)


So true!

[guest587]

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:


Man seeks happiness in pleasure, in joy, but these are only shadows of happiness. The real happiness is in the heart of man. But man does not look for it. In order to find happiness, he seeks pleasure. Anything that is passing and anything that results in unhappiness is not happiness.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VI/VI_3.htm


In reality very few in this world know what happiness means. Pleasure is the shadow of happiness, for pleasure depends upon things outside ourselves; happiness comes from within ourselves. Happiness belongs to the heart quality; pleasure to the outer world. The distance between pleasure and happiness is as vast as that between earth and heaven. As long as the heart is not tuned to its proper pitch one will not be happy. That inner smile which shows itself in a man's expression, in his atmosphere, that belongs to happiness. If position were taken away and wealth were lost in the outer life, that inner happiness would not be taken away. And the smiling of the heart depends upon the tuning of the heart, the heart must be tuned to that pitch where it is living.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIIIa/VIIIa_4_4.htm


There are a thousand excuses for unhappiness that the reasoning mind will make. But is even one of these excuses ever entirely correct? Do you think that if these people gained their desires they would be happy? If they possessed all, would that suffice? No, they would still find some excuse for unhappiness; all these excuses are only like covers over a man's eyes, for deep within is the yearning for the true happiness which none of these things can give. He who is really happy is happy everywhere, in a palace or in a cottage, in riches or in poverty, for he has discovered the fountain of happiness which is situated in his own heart. As long as a person has not found that fountain, nothing will give him real happiness.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VI/VI_1.htm


If there is any source from where one can get the direction on how to act in life, it is to be found in one's heart. The exercises of the Sufi help to get to the source where one can get the direction, the right direction, where there is a spark of the Spirit of Guidance. Those who care to be guided by the spirit, they are always guided, but those who know not whether such a spirit exists or does not exist, they wander through life as a wild horse in the woods, not knowing where it goes, why it runs, why it stands. It is a great pity to be thirsty and remain thirsty when the spring of fresh water is within one's reach. There can be no loss so great in life as having the spark glittering in one's heart and yet groping in the darkness through life.

   ~~~ "Sangatha II, Saluk: The Good Nature", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)


In point of fact, whatever one makes of oneself, one becomes that. The source of happiness or unhappiness is all in man himself. When he is unaware of this, he is not able to arrange his life, but as he becomes more acquainted with this secret, he gains mastery, and the process by which this mastery is attained is the only fulfillment of the purpose of this life.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/X/X_3_4.htm

[guest587]

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

The Sufis of all ages have been known for their beautiful personality. It does not mean that among them there have not been people with great powers, wonderful powers and wisdom. But beyond all that, what is most known of the Sufis is the human side of their nature: that tact which attuned them to wise and foolish, to poor and rich, to strong and weak -- to all. They met everyone on his own plane, they spoke to everyone in his own language. What did Jesus teach when he said to the fishermen, 'Come hither, I will make you fishers of men?' It did not mean, 'I will teach you ways by which you get the best of man.' It only meant: your tact, your sympathy will spread its arms before every soul who comes, as mother's arms are spread out for her little ones.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIII/VIII_2_15.htm


Mystics of all ages have not been known for their miraculous powers or for the doctrines they have taught, but for the devotion they have shown throughout their lives. The Sufi in the East says to himself, Ishq Allah Ma'bud Allah, which means 'God is Love, God is the Beloved', in other words it is God who is Love, Lover, and Beloved. When we hear the stories of the miraculous powers of mystics, of their great insight into the hidden laws of nature, of the qualities which they manifested through their beautiful personalities, we realize that these have all come from one and the same source, whether one calls it devotion or whether one calls it love.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XI/XI_III_11.htm


Once four little girls were disputing. One said, 'My mother is better than yours.' The second girl said, 'My mother is better than your mother.' So, they were arguing and being quite disagreeable to one another. But someone who was passing by said to them, 'It is not your mother or their mother, it is the mother who is always the best. It is the mother quality, her love and affection for her children.' This is the point of view of the mystic in regard to the divine ideal.

The moral principle of the mystic is the love principle. He says, 'The greater your love, the greater your moral. If we are forced to be virtuous according to a certain principle, a certain regulation, certain laws or rules, then that is not real virtue. It must come from the depths of our heart; our own heart must teach us the true moral.' Thus the mystic leaves morality to the deepening of the heart quality. The mystic says that the more loving someone's heart is, the greater is his morality.

There is no greater teacher of morals than love itself, for the first lesson that one learns from love is, 'I am not, you are.' This is self-denial, self-abnegation, without which we cannot take the first step on love's path. One may claim to be a great lover, to be a great admirer, to be very affectionate, but it all means nothing as long as the thought of self is there, for there is no love. But when the thought of self is removed then every action, every deed that one performs in life, becomes a virtue. It cannot be otherwise. A loving person cannot be unjust, a loving person cannot be cruel. Even if what he does seems wrong in the eyes of a thousand people, it cannot be wrong in reality. In reality, it will be right, for it is inspired by love.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/X/X_1.htm

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:


Man seeks happiness in pleasure, in joy, but these are only shadows of happiness. The real happiness is in the heart of man. But man does not look for it. In order to find happiness, he seeks pleasure. Anything that is passing and anything that results in unhappiness is not happiness.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VI/VI_3.htm


In reality very few in this world know what happiness means. Pleasure is the shadow of happiness, for pleasure depends upon things outside ourselves; happiness comes from within ourselves. Happiness belongs to the heart quality; pleasure to the outer world. The distance between pleasure and happiness is as vast as that between earth and heaven. As long as the heart is not tuned to its proper pitch one will not be happy. That inner smile which shows itself in a man's expression, in his atmosphere, that belongs to happiness. If position were taken away and wealth were lost in the outer life, that inner happiness would not be taken away. And the smiling of the heart depends upon the tuning of the heart, the heart must be tuned to that pitch where it is living.

khan easily defines the source of our challenges when seeking true happiness, which is very helpful. Yet I find myself always going to other Masters for the means to those aspirations. Because we may know the source of our problems and often a great psychiatrist can help us identify them. Yet at some point most of us need a step by step routine to take us to the goal we seek.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIIIa/VIIIa_4_4.htm


There are a thousand excuses for unhappiness that the reasoning mind will make. But is even one of these excuses ever entirely correct? Do you think that if these people gained their desires they would be happy? If they possessed all, would that suffice? No, they would still find some excuse for unhappiness; all these excuses are only like covers over a man's eyes, for deep within is the yearning for the true happiness which none of these things can give. He who is really happy is happy everywhere, in a palace or in a cottage, in riches or in poverty, for he has discovered the fountain of happiness which is situated in his own heart. As long as a person has not found that fountain, nothing will give him real happiness.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VI/VI_1.htm


If there is any source from where one can get the direction on how to act in life, it is to be found in one's heart. The exercises of the Sufi help to get to the source where one can get the direction, the right direction, where there is a spark of the Spirit of Guidance. Those who care to be guided by the spirit, they are always guided, but those who know not whether such a spirit exists or does not exist, they wander through life as a wild horse in the woods, not knowing where it goes, why it runs, why it stands. It is a great pity to be thirsty and remain thirsty when the spring of fresh water is within one's reach. There can be no loss so great in life as having the spark glittering in one's heart and yet groping in the darkness through life.

   ~~~ "Sangatha II, Saluk: The Good Nature", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)


In point of fact, whatever one makes of oneself, one becomes that. The source of happiness or unhappiness is all in man himself. When he is unaware of this, he is not able to arrange his life, but as he becomes more acquainted with this secret, he gains mastery, and the process by which this mastery is attained is the only fulfillment of the purpose of this life.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/X/X_3_4.htm

I think that many of us, as spiritual seekers, find ourselves seeking what Hazrat Khan calls here ‘shadows of happiness’ We may be aware of what true happiness is and have found it. Yet we still are pulled back and forth from pleasure to true happiness. That is because we still identify our progress or lack thereof with the senses and the body and its joys and pleasure. We may have found happiness of the heart, yet we still are pulled back in the world by excuses for outer desires that do not lead to true happiness. That is why I continually remind myself that the happiness I seek has been found in meditation and spiritual discipline. Especially when I again find that the outer happiness I have been drawn to causes sorrow. Like a tug of war the spiritual seeker finds him or herself pulled between physical and spiritual aspirations and worlds , until anchored in the heart and spirit.

A good psychiatrist can tell us what we are doing wrong that makes us unhappy. But it takes the decision of the patient to correct these wrong actions to make us happy. In the meantime there may be someone along the way who also directs us and shows us a means to feel and access happiness to encourage us towards practicing ways that lead to our true happiness. That is why I continually practice the Iam and such techniques as Kriya yoga. Because in the practice of such meditation techniques I have more and more glimpses of what the heart offers and what temporary pleasures do not.

[guest587]

I look at it as service to self and service to others, and yet I see nothing wrong with dancing between the two. In another thread I posted a very serious question I hope someone out there is interested enough to engage it.

I mentioned the Gita describing the war between King Ego and King Soul. I asked why these two can't coincide, why we can't create great partnership and treat the other as an ally?

[guest587]

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Many seek protection from all hurting influences by building some wall around themselves. But the canopy over the earth is so high that a wall cannot be built high enough, and the only thing one can do is to live in the midst of all inharmonious influences, to strengthen his will power and to bear all things, yet keeping the fineness of character and a nobleness of manner together with an ever-living heart.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIII/XIII_14.htm

When a person begins to see all goodness as being the goodness of God, all the beauty that surrounds him as the divine beauty, he begins by worshipping a visible God, and as his heart constantly loves and admires the divine beauty in all that he sees, he begins to see in all that is visible one single vision; all becomes for him the vision of the beauty of God. His love of beauty increases his capacity to such a degree that great virtues such as tolerance and forgiveness spring naturally from his heart. Even things that people mostly look upon with contempt, he views with tolerance.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/IX/IX_9.htm

[Jitendra Hydonus]

I am quite blessed to be around others that practice spiritual disciplines. Many good people as well.

[guest587]

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

The first exercise to help the will power to develop would be to check every act, word, and thought which we do not wish to occur; to avoid unintentional actions, speech, and thoughts. The other exercise that is necessary for the development of the will power is that of seeing that neither our mind nor our body rules us, but that we rule our body and our mind. Desires such as appetite, thirst, sleep, even the desire of moving or standing or walking, all these desires should be under control. There should be a time in every day when every desire of the body is checked. See if you can do it; and then as long as you can let the body go without listening to it, do so.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_7.htm


A person might ask, 'Is, then, the secret of happiness in the way of the ascetics, in tormenting and torturing oneself as they have done for ages?' Even that does not give happiness. It is only a distraction from the worldly pleasures which produce illusion. The ascetic shuts himself up in order to have an opportunity of taking another direction. ... For even asceticism is not a happiness. It is only a means of self-discipline.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_IV_5.htm


The nature of the mind is such that it creates a thought and throws it over for another thought to take its place. This being the nature of the mind, it makes it difficult for one to concentrate upon one object steadily. The mind of an average person may be pictured as an unruly horse that jumps and kicks and throws anyone that tries to ride it. Masters of the world are those who have mastered themselves, and mastery lies in the control of the mind. If the mind became your obedient servant, the whole world is at your service. The king of mind is greater than the king of a nation.

   ~~~ "Githa II, 'Amaliyyat 1", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)


The fasting and abstinence and all these things were taught in order to develop the will power, which results in self-discipline and which is the secret of all mastery; and it is by this power that the kingdom within is attained.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIII/XIII_2.htm

[guest587]

It is when one has lost the idea of separateness and feels himself at one with all creation that his eyes are opened and he sees the cause of all things.

     Bowl of Saki, September 27, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Every being and object which is distinctly separate may be called an entity, but what one calls an individual is a conception of our imagination; and the true meaning of that conception will be realized on the day when the ultimate truth throws its light upon life. On that day no one will speak about individuality; one will say 'God' and no more.

There are many beings, but at the same time there is one, the only Being. Therefore objects such as streams and mountains are also living, but they only exist separately to our outer vision. When our inner vision opens then the separation is shown as a veil; then there is one vision alone, and that is the immanence of God.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/V/V_12.htm


As soon as the soul begins to say 'I' he is exiled from heaven, for all blessings belong to the state which the soul experienced before he claimed to be 'I', a separate entity, separate from others. It is because of this that man, whatever his position, whatever his situation in life, is not fully happy. The trouble of one may perhaps be greater than that of another, but both he who resides in heavenly palaces and the inhabitant of a grass hut have their troubles; both have their pain. But man finds the reason for all afflictions in the life outside him. The Sufi finds it in that one sin: that of having claimed to be 'I'. With this claim came all the trouble, it continued, and it will always continue. This sin has such a hold upon the soul that it is just like the eclipse of the sun, when its light is covered and cannot shine.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XII/XII_I_5.htm


There is an innate desire in every human being for knowledge. ... With man this desire is never satisfied. He always wants to know more. There is ever a restless craving within him for knowledge. This is because he does not look for the cause in the right way. He only sees the external causes, and not the cause underlying the cause, and below that, the primal cause. For example, a man who has become estranged from his friend only sees perhaps the superficial cause, and calls his friend unkind; or he may even admit that he himself is at fault, or he may go still deeper and say that owing to a certain planetary influence they cannot be friendly. Yet he has not probed the cause of this cause. ...

For this reason the religions taught the God-ideal, that the primal cause might be sought through the pursuit of God. It is when man has lost the idea of duality and feels himself at one with all creation, that his eyes are opened and he sees the cause of everything.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/V/V_30.htm

[guest587]

My favorite... After writing to Steve- I was inclined to read todays Saki. To my surprise, the knowledge in todays wisdom is exactly aligned with my thoughts and feelings in responding to Steve's thread on friendship: http://spiritualportal.net/index.php/topic,7676.msg37169.html#msg37169 making it particularly auspicious.

I hope those here read these words and feel a similar depth of gratitude in their hearts.

The wise of all ages have taught that it is knowledge of the divine Being that is life, and the only reality.

     Bowl of Saki, September 29, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

If there is a kingdom of God to be found anywhere, it is within oneself. And it is, therefore, in the knowledge of self that there lies the fulfillment of life. The knowledge of self means the knowledge of one's body, the knowledge of one's mind, the knowledge of one's spirit; the knowledge of the spirit's relation to the body and the relation of the body to the spirit; the knowledge of one's wants and needs, the knowledge of one's virtues and faults; knowing what we desire and how to attain it, what to pursue and what to renounce. And when one dives deep into this, one finds before one a world of knowledge which never ends. And it is that knowledge which gives one insight into human nature and brings one to the knowledge of the whole of creation. And in the end one attains to the knowledge of the divine Being.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_IV_12.htm


Religion is the school that has developed man, and the ideals that religion presents form a path that leads upward to perfection, that innate and yearning desire of every soul. ... The wise of all ages have taught that it is the knowledge of the Divine Being that is life, and the only reality. Although a human activity may have a number of complicated motives, some of which are base and gross, it is the aspiration towards divinity, the desire towards beauty, which is its soul, its life, and its reality. And it is in proportion to the degree of strength or weakness of his aspiration towards beauty that man's ideal is great or small, and his religion is great or small.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/III/III_II_4.htm



   ~~~ The wise of all ages have taught that it is knowledge of the divine Being that is life, and the only reality.

[guest587]

Yesterday was the first day of October! Here is the wisdom taking us into the new month. Happy October! 

Each soul's attainment is according to its evolution.

     Bowl of Saki, October 1, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Opinion is an outcome of mind. It is an outburst of its reasoning and judging faculty. And so, according to the evolution of a particular mind, its opinion is. Opinions clash when two people of different stages of evolution express themselves. Therefore the wise are more reluctant to express their opinion, whereas for the unwise it is easy. A simpleton is only too glad to express his opinion uninvited.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIII/XIII_21.htm


Everyone, consciously or unconsciously, is striving after spiritual attainment. Sometimes he does not take the same way as we do, sometimes his point of view and his method differ, and sometimes one person attains to spiritual realization much sooner than another. It may be reached in a day, and another person may have striven for it all his life and yet not have attained to it. What determines it? It is the evolution of a particular soul.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VI/VI_4.htm


Every step one takes in evolution changes one's ideal. In your stage, if you love a jasmine today, it is possible that in your next step in evolution you may have grown above it and you love a rose. And it is not necessary that you should keep to the jasmine when your evolution brings you to the love for the rose -- thus one is kept from progressing.

   ~~~ "Githa I, Sadhana 3" by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)


To the question, "Are you a Christian?", "Are you a Muslim?", "Are you a Jew?", the Sufi's answer would be 'yes' rather than 'no', for the Sufi opposes no religion but sympathizes with all. In fact Sufism cannot be called a religion, for it does not impose either belief or principle upon anyone, considering that each individual soul has its own principles best suited for it, and a belief which changes with each grade of evolution. ... A Sufi does not dispute on spiritual subjects with everyone, for this reason: the spiritual evolution of each one differs from that of the other, the knowledge of one cannot be the knowledge of the other, nor is the understanding of one the understanding of the other. ... at every step in spiritual evolution a person's belief changes until one arrives at a final belief which words cannot explain.

   ~~~ "Gathekas for Candidates", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

[guest587]

One can know truth... But how often do we exhibit it??? Todays message... Truth is simple... But man does not always care to acknowledge simplicity. We might know something, but are we living it?

Commentary:
Truth is simple. But for the very reason that it is simple, people will not take it; because our life on earth is such that for everything we value, we have to pay a great price and one wonders, if truth is the most precious of all things, then how can truth be attained simply? It is this illusion that makes everyone deny simple truth and seek for complexity. Tell people about something that makes their heads whirl round and round and round. Even if they do not understand it, they are most pleased to think, 'It is something substantial. It is something solid. For, it is an idea we cannot understand, it must be something lofty.' But something which every soul knows, proving what is divine in every soul, and which it cannot help but know, that appears to be too cheap, for the soul already knows it. There are two things: knowing and being. It is easy to know truth, but most difficult to be truth. It is not in knowing truth that life's purpose is accomplished; life's purpose is accomplished in being truth.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_IV_13.htm

[guest587]

I recently heard that sovereignty is synonymous with virtuous living. A nation that lacks in morality equally lacks in sovereignties. I believe this to be a true statement. In todays bowl of saki, HIK teaches us that those on the spiritual path who learn of virtue by means of a book or a religious persons- a monk or saint, their virtue holds no power. It is one thing to learn from a book and something else to bring from the depths of ones being. This lesson is similar to the one posed in the previous post. Unless we are practicing good charity, reading about it or learning it from a professed religious persons is of no use. It's better we practice with those in our immediate environment than cling to what we think we know- I read in the link below that the personality of the seeker is more pleasant than the one contented by what he knows.
We are quick to judge others from this realm of speculation, while remaining ever distant from living the ideals we find admirable. To practice we must remain open to others, take care not to harm our relationships, communicate admirably, admit error and seek resolutions. It means renouncing moments where our Ego would rather delight itself. When we think we know... One thing leads to another... and this lack or cold heartedness becomes evident in the larger body we call a nation.

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

What do I mean by love? It is such a word that one cannot give one meaning. All attributes like kindness, gentleness, goodness, humbleness, mildness, fineness, are names of one and the same thing. Love therefore is that stream which when it rises, falls in the form of a fountain, and each stream coming down is a virtue. All virtues taught by books or by a religious person have no strength and life because they have been learned; a virtue that is learned has no power, no life. The virtue that naturally springs from the depth of the heart, the virtue that rises from the love-spring and then falls as many different attributes, that virtue is real. There is a Hindustani saying, 'No matter how much wealth you have, if you do not have the treasure of virtue, it is of no use'. The true riches is the ever increasing spring of love from which all virtues come.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIV/XIV_2.htm

[guest587]

If you seek the good in every soul, you will always find it, for God is in all things; still more He is in all beings.

     Bowl of Saki, October 10, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

We must learn to see the beauty, it is not everyone who sees it, often the critical spirit is occupied in gazing at the object which lacks beauty, the more you look for beauty, the more you see it as a whole. It is seeing the vision in part that deludes, you look at the side of a man's nature that may not be attractive, but if you will seek for good in everything, you will always find it, for God is in all things, and still more He is in all beings.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/archives/cupid.htm

[guest587]

   
 

Seek Him in all souls, good or bad, wise and foolish, attractive and unattractive; in the depths of each there is God.

     Bowl of Saki, October 12, by Hazrat Inayat Khan