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Man’s greatest need today is for the exploration of the human personality, in
order to find there the latent inspiration and power upon which to build the
whole structure of his life. For life means not only to live, but to ennoble
oneself and reach that perfection which is the innate yearning of the soul. The
solution to the problem of the day is the awakening of the consciousness of
humanity to the divinity of man. The undertone of all religions is the
realization of the one life which culminates in the thought of unity.
The work of the Sufi message is to spread the unity of religion. It is not a
mission to promote a particular creed or any Church or religion; it is a work to
unite the followers of different religions and faiths in wisdom, so that without
having to give up their own religion they may strengthen their own faith and
focus the true light upon it. In this way a greater trust, a greater confidence
will be established in mankind.
When the message of God has been given to the world, there was a certain
peculiarity in the way it was presented to the world because every messenger was
made fit for his own time, and his message suited to that particular time. But
behind it all there is one Truth, and one Divine Wisdom in all religions.
In reality the message comes from one source and that is God, and under
whatever name the wise gave that message it was not their message, but the
message of God. Those whose hearts had eyes to see and ears to hear, have known
and seen the same messenger, because they have received the message. And those
whose hearts had no eyes or ears have taken the messenger to be important and
not the message. But at whatever period that message came and in whatever form
the message was given, it was always that one message, the message of wisdom.
The message, whenever and at whatever period it came to the world, did not
come to a certain section of humanity; it did not come to raise only some few
people who perhaps accepted the faith, the message, or a particular organized
church. No, all these things came afterwards. The rain does not fall in a
certain land only; the sun does not shine upon a certain country only. All that
is from God is for all souls. If they are worthy, they deserve it as their
reward; if they are unworthy, they are the more entitled to it. Verily, blessing
is for every soul; for every soul, whatever soul, whatever be his faith or
belief, belongs to God.
What is the message of Sufism? Sufism is the message of digging out that
water like life which has been buried by the impressions of this material life.
There is an English phrase, "a lost soul". The soul is not lost; the soul is
buried; when it is dug out then the divine life springs out like a spring of
water.
The message is not for one nation, race, or community; it is for the whole of
humanity. Its one and only object is to bring about a better understanding
between the divided sections of humanity by awakening their consciousness to the
fact that humanity is one family.
What is religion? Religion is a lesson which teaches the manner of living
right and reaching the object for which we are born. This religion has come time
after time to the world, through those who have brought the message of God.
Those who came with this message of religion have given it in diverse forms, in
accordance with the evolution of the people at that particular time, but the
religion was one and the same. There never has been any other religion than one,
for God is one, truth is one, and so religion is one. If there is any
difference, it is a difference of form, not of the soul. It is the same water,
pure water, perhaps filled in several pitchers. One pitcher is made in India,
the other in China, the other in Arabia, perhaps the other in the western world.
It is like a stream which comes through the fountain and falls in various
streams, but it is one and the same stream.
Those who have benefited by the life and the Message of the Divine Message
Bearers are not necessarily the followers of their Message, but the imitators of
their life; for they have not followed the teaching only, but followed the
Teacher, who is the living example of his teaching. All the ancient traditions
of the religious evolution tell us how those around the Prophets have benefited
by the imitation, rather than by following the strict laws and by arguing upon
the differences between the laws.
What is true will sound itself in every heart, sooner or later. Whether the
heart is not ready yet, or little ready, or fully ready, as the sound will
re-echo through a gong, so the truth will echo through hearts. The Message of
God is the Truth that must echo sooner or later through the heart, and no
claims, no proclamation, no recommendations, no pleadings will make anything
true which is not true.
The Sufi Message...does not bring theories or doctrines to add to those
already existing, which puzzle the human mind. What the world needs today is the
message of love, harmony, and beauty, the absence of which is the only tragedy
of life. The Sufi Message does not give a new law. It wakens in humanity the
spirit of brotherhood, with tolerance on the part of each for the religion of
the other, and with forgiveness from each for the fault of the other. It teaches
thoughtfulness and consideration, so as to create and maintain harmony in life;
it teaches service and usefulness, which alone can make life in the world
fruitful and in which lies the satisfaction of every soul.
The Sufi Message is not a Message of a particular creed, it is the Message of
understanding life better. And the question how can one attain to it, is to be
answered that it is not one day's work, or two days’ work. It is the work of a
whole life.
The Message is to make man conscious of the words in the Bible, where it is
said "We live and move and have our being in God", to realize this and recognize
the brotherhood of humanity in the realization of God.
The Message is a call to those whose hour has come to awake, and it is a
lullaby to those who are still meant to sleep.
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