GATHEKA 17

 

What is Sufism

 

I would like to speak this evening on Sufism. It happens that often my mureeds who meet their friends, they are mostly asked what is Sufism.

And you know already what human nature is. It wants to ask you about your whole life in one word, for it is very easy to ask a question; the difficulty is in answering. Perhaps these words that I will now say will to some extent help my mureeds to answer these questions, but at the same time they must know that the answer must come from their heart; that alone will make an effect. Only my explaining will make things clear.

 

Sufism in the meaning of the word is wisdom, wisdom which is a knowledge acquired from within and without ,both. Therefore Sufism is not only intuitional knowledge, nor is it only a knowledge acquired from the life in the world and outside. Sufism in itself is no religion nor even a culture as a distinct or definite doctrine.

There is no better explanation of Sufism can be , than saying that any person who has a knowledge of life outside and within is a Sufi.

Therefore, there has not been in any period of the world's history a founder or an exponent of Sufism, but Sufism has been all the time.

 

No doubt, as far as we can trace, we find that since the time of Abraham there have been esoteric schools; many of them were called Sufi schools.

The Sufi schools of Arabia had Arabic culture, it was more metaphysical. And Sufism, the Sufi schools of Persia, developed more the literary aspect; and the Sufi schools of India developed meditative faculty. but the truth and the ideal has remained the same, as the central theme of Sufism in all these schools.

 Different of these schools have been called by different names, but all schools are considered to be Sufi schools.

These schools even till now exist, and it would not be an exaggeration if I said that there are millions of souls of the followers of different religions who are benefited by the wisdom of these schools.

 

 

 

No doubt every school has its own method; and in every method it is colored by the personality of the leader. There are schools of Dervishes and there are the schools of Fakirs, there are schools of the Salik, who teach the moral culture with the philosophical truth.

 

Personally I owe every obligation to the Sufi school of the Chishtis, in which I was initiated by my Murshid, Abu Hashim Madani. But there the account of the ancient history of Sufism finishes.

 

Now I wish to explain to you our Movement. Our Movement is a movement of the members of different nations and different races, united together in the ideal of wisdom.

That wisdom does not belong to any particular religion or any particular race. Wisdom belongs to human race. It is a divine property which mankind has inherited; and it is in this realization that we, in spite of different nationalities and races and different beliefs and faiths, still unite and work for humanity in the ideal of wisdom.

 

Now we have three aspects of our activity. The one aspect of our activity is what we call the Sufi Order, in which a member is admitted by the initiation. You may ask, “by this initiation, to what school do we belong?”

 

We belong to the international school of the Sufi Order. What method is it?

The Sufis of the ancient times, when they brought wisdom before the Muslim world, they have presented that wisdom in the realm of Muslim terminology.

 

Our school today, having a wider field of work, we are presenting to the followers all religions, besides to those who have perhaps no religion: to a spiritual person, to a material person, both.

Therefore the realm in which the esoteric school of the Sufi Order presents its method is necessarily different and distinct in itself.

 

The representatives of this school, therefore, and those who are initiated, have a more general idea of Sufism than those belonging to special schools, who have an idea of that particular section.

 

Therefore, you should not be surprised if one of our initiated members of the Sufi Order proved his outlook a wider outlook compared with another member of the Sufis, which is only a sectional school of the Sufis. 

However, you will find the central theme the same. This I have not said in order for us to be proud of our broadness; it is only said in order that we may try in our life that we may keep up to that ideal, and not fall short of that broader outlook and that broader ideal.

 For the life on the earth has a tendency to drag us to narrowness, and therefore we must know that we have continually that fight all along in our progress on the spiritual path.

 

The other part of our work is the part of the Universal Worship. Now, in this there is no doubt, religion is a subject which is most delicate to touch.

 However, every problem that is before us, must be spoken when we are only mureeds together. No one can live with food and without water.

 And so no one can live with only an esoteric ideal, without a religion. And when one says, "I will only live in the esoteric ideal, and will not care for the outer religion," that person may just as well say, "I will live in my soul and not be conscious of my body."

 

Besides providing that religion which is destined to be the religion of today, the great work that this activity is doing is to bring about that possibility of the people of different religions worshipping together, for all worship one God.

However great be the possibility of opposition  - every good work has to meet with opposition - nevertheless every man with a clear sense and just and clear conscience, will certainly approve of the idea which is behind it.

 

And now coming to the third idea, of the Brotherhood. The need of this idea no one with any thought can deny, and the one who will deny it does not know what he denies.

The more one will study life in its deeper sense, the more one will realize that the whole wisdom is summed up in the idea of brotherhood.

 

 

But now so far I have spoken to you the explanation of our work, but now I wish to give a more intimate idea of our work.

Besides all the three special works that we are engaged in, it is the Message. It is not a man-made scheme of work, it is destined by God. And mureeds as they will advance, so this will be the one thing which will develop with their advancement, to be the real witness of the Divine Hand behind.

 

I have engaged myself after having received the call, without anything before me or by my side to encourage me on this path, and no words can explain how in this world of changes and difficulties I made my way.

 But at the same time I had within me that voice continually. That was all the consolation I had, without any encouragement that the outer world can offer. Now you are beginning to see the evidences of it.

 And if there are ninety-nine things to discourage you, perhaps there is one thing now for you to be encouraged.

 But think of your Murshid, that he has passed through a way when there was nothing to encourage except discouraging.

 

And if you believe in the teaching and guidance and advice of your Murshid, you certainly will believe that it not even will be ten years before you will see the phenomena becoming real.

It is not that I am speaking, it is the sphere, the sphere is continually speaking of the Message. It is the answer of God to humanity. And if by my side there were five or five thousand or five million souls standing, or if I were standing alone, I will say the same, think the same hope the same.

 

But I value the devotion and the trust of my mureeds at such a time when we are so

few, because it is more valuable when we are poor, without any goods of this world, and yet striving to serve humanity together, hand in hand.

And you will see that our sincere answer to the divine call will prove to be more successful than perhaps if we had all the means that the world can offer.

Only I want my mureeds to realize their responsibility, and not to allow themselves to be discouraged by anything and feel more strong for the very reason that we are small in number.

Remember that unity is strength and working for the unity of the world is greater strength still. Remember that this year my blessings have been with you and so it will be this year.

 And I expect that your prayers will be for your Murshid and that our task becomes always easier.