Balance

The essence of today’s message is Balance. (From the book, Volume VI - The Alchemy of Happiness, by Hazrat Inayat Khan)

The Sufi believes one should let each hold on to the principle suited to his evolution, but for himself he looks beyond the principle to that which is at the back of it, the balance; and he realizes that what makes one lose balance is wrong, and what makes one keep it is right. The main point is not to act against one’s principles. (From the book, The Unity of Religious Ideals, by Hazrat Inayat Khan)

It is the balance which enables man to stand the strain of this journey and permits him to go forward, making his path easy. Never imagine for one moment that those who show lack of balance can ever proceed further on the spiritual journey, however greatly in appearance they may seem to be spiritually inclined. It is only the balanced ones who are capable of experiencing the external life as fully as the inner life; to enjoy thought as well as feeling; to rest as well as to act. (From the Bowl of Saki, September 19, by Hazrat Inayat Khan)

The main problem is how to achieve balance, and how to maintain it. In regard to the former I would say that balance is natural, so there is no need to achieve it; the question is only how to maintain balance and not how to attain it. The influence of life in this active world always puts one off one’s balance. No matter what direction one takes in life, no matter what one’s occupation, one’s business in life, there is always difficulty in maintaining balance. The Sufis therefore have found a key to this, and that key is to become isolated within oneself, thereby gaining balance within oneself. I have already said that perfect balance means destruction of action; but when one thinks that from morning to evening one’s life is nothing but action, one naturally cannot keep this balance. But by devoting a few minutes to meditation, to silence, one can touch that complete balance for a moment; and then in one’s active life a balance is maintained in a natural way. (From Volume VIIIa, Sufi Teachings, "Balance", by Hazrat Inayat Khan)

Very often people make the mistake of thinking that by the help of meditation or silence they can bring about success in activity. If it brings about a successful result, it is only because balance in meditation makes one capable of maintaining the balance necessary for activity. The outer life depends upon the individual’s inner condition. Success or failure, progress or standstill, whatever one’s state of being, it all comes from the condition that a person is experiencing within himself ...so what is needed to change the conditions in the outer life or to tune oneself, is to work on one’s inner self to bring about the necessary balance.. (From Message Volume 10-Sufi Mysticism, in the chapter "The Meaning of Initiation", by Hazrat Inayat Khan)

Real mystics will have their head in the heavens and their feet on the earth. The real mystic is as wide-awake in this world as in the other. A mystic is not someone who does not possess intellect; a mystic is not someone who dreams. A mystic is wide-awake, yet capable of dreaming when others are not and capable of keeping awake when the rest cannot keep awake. A mystic strikes the balance between two things, power and beauty. A mystic does not sacrifice power for beauty, nor beauty for power. A mystic possesses power and enjoys beauty. (From Gathekas for Candidates, Gatheka 1, A Background on Sufism, by Hazrat Inayat Khan)

When the inner life is opened and one sees life keenly, one will find that it is a continual balancing process going on and we as particles on one mechanism constantly busy keeping this balance. When once the heart is at rest by the thought that one has paid, or one is paying one's debts, then one has come to a balanced condition. That balanced condition brings about a balance in one's life. That balance creates a condition in which the heart, which is likened to the sea, becomes then not a restless sea, as it is in the storm, but a calm sea, undisturbed water; and it is that condition which enables man to experience inner life even better. (From Social Gathekas, The Inner Life, by Hazrat Inayat Khan)