The Bowl of Saki

[guest88]

hi serena
im glad you like it 

[guest88]

Knowledge without love is lifeless.

     Bowl of Saki, April 23, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

The loveless heart may have all the religion and all the knowledge, yet it is dead. As the Bible says, "God is love." God is in the heart of each person, and the heart of each person is the highest heaven. When that heart is closed by the absence of love, then God is closed. When this heart is open, God is open, and one is alive from that time.

   ~~~ "Gathekas #22, Aims and Ideals", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)


When the heart is not empty, in other words, when there is no scope in the heart, there is no place for love. Rumi, the great poet of Persia, explains this idea more clearly. He says the pains and sorrows the soul experiences through life are like holes made in a reed flute, and it is by making these holes that a player makes the flute out of a reed. This means that the heart of man is first a reed and the sufferings and pains it goes through make it a flute which can then be used by God as the instrument for the music that He constantly wishes to produce. But as every reed is not a flute, so every heart is not His instrument. As the reed can be made into a flute, so the human heart can be turned into an instrument, and can be offered to the God of love. It is the human heart which becomes the harp of the angels. It is the human heart which is known as the lute of Orpheus. It was on the model of the heart of man that the first instrument of music was made, and no earthly instrument can produce that music which the heart produces, raising the mortal soul to immortality. ... It is the knowledge of the head and the love of the heart that together fully express the divine message. ... It is by keen observation that man acquires knowledge. Knowledge without love is lifeless.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/IX/IX_28.htm


In love abides all knowledge. It is mankind's love and interest in things that in time reveals their secret, and then man knows how to develop, control, and utilize them. No one can know anybody, however much he may profess to know, except the lover, because in the absence of love the inner eyes are blind. Only the outer eyes are open, which are merely the spectacles of the inner eyes. If the sight is not keen, of what use are the spectacles? It is for this reason that we admire all those whom we love, and are blind to the good qualities of those whom we do not love. It is not always that these deserve our neglect, but our eyes, without love, cannot see their goodness. Those whom we love may have bad points too, but as love sees beauty, so we see that alone in them. Intelligence itself in its next step towards manifestation is love. When the light of love has been lit, the heart becomes transparent, so that the intelligence of the soul can see through it. But until the heart is kindled by the flame of love, the intelligence, which is constantly yearning to experience life on the surface, is groping in the dark.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/V/V_19.htm



   ~~~ Knowledge without love is lifeless.

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

i surmise this is the best from the bowl. It is the goal for me. Many times we
have sought love in the wrong places; Yet we do not succumb to growing weary.


Hydonus

[guest88]

Unity in realization is far greater than unity in variety.

     Bowl of Saki, May 6, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

What keeps the soul in perplexity is the threefold aspect of manifestation, and as long as the soul remains puzzled by this, it cannot arrive at the knowledge of the One. These three aspects are the seer, sight, and the seen; the knower, knowledge, and the known. In point of fact these are three aspects of life. One aspect is the person who sees; the second aspect is the sight, or the eyes, by the help of which he sees; and the third aspect is that which he sees. That is why one cannot readily accept the idea that what one sees is the same as oneself, nor can one believe for a moment that the medium by which one sees is oneself, for these three aspects seem to be separate and to be looking at one another's faces, as the first person, second person, and third person of Brahma.

When this riddle is solved by the realization that the three are one, then the purpose of the God-ideal is fulfilled. For then the three veils which cover the One are lifted, then they no longer remain three, and then they are found to be One, the Only Being. As Abdul Karim al Jili, the fifteenth-century mystic, says, 'If you believe in one God, you are right; if you believe in two Gods, that is true; but if you believe in three Gods, that is right also, for the nature of unity is realized by variety.'

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/IX/IX_10.htm


Man's thought has a great power. And when he comes to the realization that everything comes from one source and that everything is developing towards one goal, he begins to see that the source and the goal are God. Then the world of variety is no longer variety to him but unity; it is one.

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


The power is in unity, but is lost in variety. Thus, for instance, if we hold a thing in our hand, we can hold it with strength, because all five fingers have united to hold the object. But if we try to lift it by one finger, this one finger may drop it, even though the finger belongs to the same hand. In all aspects of life unity is power. All religions show that power is in unity. This is the secret of philosophy.

There are two aspects of unity: firstly, the unity of variety; secondly, unity realizing itself. One is earthly, the other is heavenly. One cannot serve two masters. Unity is the only source of happiness. Unity in realization is far greater than unity in variety.

'When two hearts unite, they can break even mountains.' As two fuse in love, the more does intuition grow, the more does one understand whether the other is happy, or pleased, or displeased, whatever distance may separate them. This is nothing but just the unity of the one person with the other. It is clairvoyance. The mother knows the condition of her son at the battlefront. She can see him in her dreams. Hearts, which are united in love, perceive the state of mind of the loved ones. They do not have to study mysticism or concentration, for they have natural concentration. The mother does not pretend to meditate; love teaches her more meditation than a person who pretends to study it can attain.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_18.htm



   ~~~ Unity in realization is far greater than unity in variety.
http://wahiduddin.net/saki/saki_date.php

[guest88]

There is a story of a murshid and a mureed. The mureed said, 'O, Teacher, I should like to see heaven.' The teacher said, 'Yes, this is the way you should meditate in order to see heaven.' So the mureed went and did so; but the vision of heaven which he had was not as described in the scriptures, a place where one enjoys nothing but comfort and luxury, milk and honey, marble halls and white robes, beautiful gems and jewels, garlands of flowers, and the waving of palms. He could not see any of these, and he asked himself, 'Has the murshid perhaps shown me a wrong heaven, or have the prophets given a wrong message in the scriptures?'

So he went back to his teacher saying, 'Now I should like to see hell.' The murshid said, 'Yes, this is the way you should meditate in order to see hell.' And then the mureed did this, and he saw in a trance that there was certainly such a place, but there was no fire or snakes or serpents or thorns or tortures or imps or flames such as have been described to people throughout the ages. So he could not understand whether his vision was right or wrong; and he went back to the teacher, and said, 'I have seen in this way: I have not seen in heaven the things that are promised, nor have I seen in hell the things which are foretold as being there.' 'O,' the teacher said, 'all the things promised for the hereafter you will have to take there from here. They are not kept ready for you; you will have to bring them with you. If you take sorrows with you, you will find them there; if you take hatred, you will find it there. Your mind is like a gramophone record, and if you use a harsh voice, the instrument produces a harsh note; if beautiful words and tones, it will sing beautiful words and tones. It will produce the same record that you have experienced in life. Indeed you have not to wait till after death in order to experience it; you are experiencing it even now.'

[guest88]

The poverty of one who has renounced is real riches compared with the riches of one who holds them fast.

     Bowl of Saki, May 16, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

The saints and sages and prophets all had to go through this test and trial, and in proportion to the greatness of their renunciation, so great have these souls become. Renunciation is the sign of heroes, it is the merit of saints, it is the character of the masters, and it is the virtue of the prophets. ... It is as Fariduddin Attar, the great Persian poet, says, 'Renounce the good of the world, renounce the good of heaven, renounce your highest ideal, and then renounce your renunciation.'

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XI/XI_III_9.htm


He who wants anything becomes smaller than the thing he wants; he who gives away anything is greater than the thing he gives. Therefore, to a mystic each act of renunciation becomes a step towards perfection.

Forced renunciation, whether forced by morality, religion, law, convention, or formality, is not necessarily renunciation. The real spirit of renunciation is willingness; and willing renunciation comes when one has risen above the thing one renounces. The value of each thing in life - wealth, power, position, possession - is according to the evolution of man. There is a time in his life when toys are his treasures, and there is a time when he puts them aside; there is a time in his life when copper coins are everything to him, and there is another time when he can give away gold coins; there is a time in his life when he values a cottage, and there is a time when he gives up a palace. ...

Every step towards progress and ascent is a step of renunciation. The poverty of the one who has renounced is real riches compared with the riches of the one who holds them fast. One could be rich in wealth and poverty-stricken in reality; and one can be penniless and yet richer than the rich of the world... The final victory in the battle of life for every soul is when he has abandoned, which means when he has risen above, what once he valued most... Such is the case with all things of the world; they seem important or precious when we need them or when we do not understand them; as soon as the veil which keeps man from understanding is lifted, then they are nothing.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/III/III_III_5.htm

[Serena Duvet]

There is a certain grasping that comes, I notice, with desire, that feels unpleasant.
At times when a friend has offered me something they did not want or value, my
expression of appreciation and thanks then propelled a change of heart on the part
of the friend, and they make a new decision to keep what would have been, a "gift." 
The undesirable has suddenly become full of value due to another's finding it desirable! 
But then on the other hand, it seems almost a psychological law to want what one doesn't
or cannot have.  This comes to play at times in affairs of the heart... if only we could all
be open giving hearts!




 

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

There is a certain grasping that comes, I notice, with desire, that feels unpleasant.
At times when a friend has offered me something they did not want or value, my
expression of appreciation and thanks then propelled a change of heart on the part
of the friend, and they make a new decision to keep what would have been, a "gift." 
The undesirable has suddenly become full of value due to another's finding it desirable! 
But then on the other hand, it seems almost a psychological law to want what one doesn't
or cannot have.  This comes to play at times in affairs of the heart... if only we could all
be open giving hearts!


 

nomaste serena

 at a certain level of consciousness i see what you r  talking about. people wanting what they can't have. in the fairest of the heart there comes a recognition that our own worth and kindness
 exceeds the worth of the coveted person. this happens when we live in the consciousness
 of giving and acceptance. it may appear we covet someone when indeed what we are doing is giving love in return for coldness anger or sadness in another.
we may see something valuable in someone else and not give up on them.
 this does not mean we dot not appreciate what we do have.
 as Khan says. when the veil of understanding is liifted from material objects and people
 we gain a total different perspective.


Jitendra

[guest88]

from david wolfes sunfood diet success system
 we do not know how the world really is; we only know what our beliefs are about the world. our perceptions create our reality.

The perfect life is following one's own ideal, not in checking those of others; leave everyone to follow his own ideal.

     Bowl of Saki, May 22, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

http://wahiduddin.net/saki/saki_date.php

[guest88]

We blame others for our sorrows and misfortunes, not perceiving that we ourselves are the creators of our world.

     Bowl of Saki, June 6, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

Externally we are a single being, but internally we are a world. As vast as is the world around us, so vast is the world within. Asif says, 'The limitation of the sky and land cannot be compared with man's heart. If man's heart be wide, there is nothing wider than this.' All can be accommodated in it; heaven earth, sun, moon, all are reflected in it. It becomes itself the whole. This world becomes as one chooses to make it. If man only knew that! But since he does not know that, the world is not heaven, but has become its opposite. We blame others for our sorrows and misfortunes, not perceiving that we ourselves are the creators of our world; that our world has an influence upon our life within as well as upon our life without.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_17.htm


One learns to understand that there is a world in one's self, that in one's mind there is a source of happiness and unhappiness, the source of health and illness, the source of light and darkness, and that it can be awakened, either mechanically or at will, if only one knew how to do it. Then one does not blame his ill fortune nor complain of his fellow man. He becomes more tolerant, more joyful, and more loving toward his neighbor, because he knows the cause of every thought and action, and he sees it all as the effect of a certain cause.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIII/XIII_5.htm



   ~~~ We blame others for our sorrows and misfortunes, not perceiving that we ourselves are the creators of our world.

Nobody appears inferior to us when our heart is kindled with kindness and our eyes are open to the vision of God.

     Bowl of Saki, June 7, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

We are so situated in life that whatever position we may occupy we are never independent, we are never self-sufficient. Therefore, every individual depends upon others for help, and others depend upon him for help; only the position of the person who is one among many who receive help becomes lower in the eyes of those who count themselves among the few who can help.

This makes every person a master as well as a servant. Yet everyone, in the intoxication of his mastership, forgets his place as a servant, and looks upon the one who helps him as his servant. The wise, whose feelings are awakened, think on this question deeply, and do their best to avoid every possibility of giving even an idea to a servant of his servantship, far less insulting him in any way or hurting his feelings. We are all equal, and if we have helpers to serve us in life we ought to feel humble and most thankful for the privilege, instead of making the position of the servant humble. ... One cannot commit a greater sin than hurting the feelings of the one who serves us and depends upon our help. Once the Prophet heard his grandson call a servant by his name. On hearing this he at once said to his grandson, 'No, child, that is not the right way of addressing elders. You ought to call him 'uncle.' It does not matter if he serves us, we are all servants of one another, and we are equal in the sight of God.'

There is a verse of Mahmud-i Ghaznavi: 'The Emperor Mahmud, who had thousands of slaves to wait on his call, became the slave of his slaves when love gushed forth from his heart.' Nobody appears inferior to us when our heart is kindled with kindness and our eyes are open to the vision of God.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/III/III_III_4.htm


As Christ teaches, 'Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.' What does all this teach us? It is all a lesson in sympathy for one's fellow man, to teach us to share in his troubles, in his despair. For whoever really experiences this joy of life, finds that it becomes so great that it fills his heart and his soul. It does not matter if he has fewer comforts or an inferior position than many in this world, because the light of his kindness, of his sympathy, of the love that is growing, the virtue that is springing up in his heart, all fill the soul with light. There is nothing now that he lacks in life, for he has become the king of it.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_1.htm



   ~~~ Nobody appears inferior to us when our heart is kindled with kindness and our eyes are open to the vision of God.

[Serena Duvet]

I have two friends that are sometimes led to put others down (unnecessarily.)
Sometimes it's simply a statement that is judgmental.  Sometimes it's a prying
question.  It feels uncomfortable to me when it happens, but I've never been led
to be confrontational back, or question motivation.  Recently I called one of the
friends during the time of the special solar eclipse.  She wasn't feeling well to
the point where she didn't answer the phone.  Later on another day she apologized
and said that she was working through some heavy emotional stuff.  Still later, on
another day, she told me what it was about.  That she had come to realize that she
was very judgmental and that it was very painful.  She goes to many, many meditation
retreats throughout the year and attends Buddhist meditations weekly and takes many
spiritual seminars.  I wonder if her realization was spontaneous, or after much reflection,
or if someone confronted her.  When she told me that she was suffering with the realization
I listened but did not protest.  She had demonstrated it to me so many times.  It seems as
though it may stem from a mistrust of others (at times) with me, anyway.  Once, when we
became separated hiking and she blamed me although I told her I waited and waited for her
when I became aware that she had taken a different fork (behind me) on the way to the same
destination.  She walked by and neither of us saw the other!  Things are funny that way sometimes.
Yes, why blame another?  Why criticize another?  Why judge another?  Jesus said:
"May the man without sin cast the first stone."    

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

I have two friends that are sometimes led to put others down (unnecessarily.)
Sometimes it's simply a statement that is judgmental.  Sometimes it's a prying
question.  It feels uncomfortable to me when it happens, but I've never been led
to be confrontational back, or question motivation.  Recently I called one of the
friends during the time of the special solar eclipse.  She wasn't feeling well to
the point where she didn't answer the phone.  Later on another day she apologized
and said that she was working through some heavy emotional stuff.  Still later, on
another day, she told me what it was about.  That she had come to realize that she
was very judgmental and that it was very painful.  She goes to many, many meditation
retreats throughout the year and attends Budbydhist meditations weekly and takes many
spiritual seminars.  I wonder if her realization was spontaneous, or after much reflection,
or if someone confronted her.  When she told me that she was suffering with the realization
I listened but did not protest.  She had demonstrated it to me so many times.  It seems as
though it may stem from a mistrust of others (at times) with me, anyway.  Once, when we
became separated hiking and she blamed me although I told her I waited and waited for her
when I became aware that she had taken a different fork (behind me) on the way to the same
destination.  She walked by and neither of us saw the other!  Things are funny that way sometimes.
Yes, why blame another?  Why criticize another?  Why judge another?  Jesus said:
"May the man without sin cast the first stone."    

Serena

It is difficult to meditate for any length of time without having some change of consciousness.
people are used to  experiences of the senses. these experiences are more dramatic. initial experiences with meditation work more subtly amd psychologically.  there is also much introspection that goes along with some searching and interior meditation. no doubt your friend is giving u  a view of this. for those on the path the landscape itself can change. we might not even see something that we usually are able to see. do you remember the incident with the van?

when we are in the hands of spirit we are often given lessons as an act of grace.
these experiences help us understand how we function and increase our spiritual awareness.
they may even appear to seem unpleasant. yet quite often human beings are
not adaptable to change. the ego persists in maintaining its identity while spirit erodes its foundations so that we have a sky opening to heaven. our perspective changes and we view
our experiences with our friends and with other people very differently.

Jitendra

[Serena Duvet]

Beautifully put... thank you!

[guest88]

Love lies in service; only that which is done not for fame or name, not for the appreciation or thanks of those for whom it is done, is love's service.

    Bowl of Saki, June 20, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

Love lies in service. Only that which is done, not for fame or name, nor for the appreciation or thanks of those for whom it is done, is love's service.

The lover shows kindness and beneficence to the beloved. He does whatever he can for the beloved in the way of help, service, sacrifice, kindness, or rescue, and hides it from the world and even from the beloved. If the beloved does anything for him he exaggerates it, idealizes it, makes it into a mountain from a molehill. He takes poison from the hands of the beloved as sugar, and love's pain in the wound of his heart is his only joy. By magnifying and idealizing whatever the beloved does for him and by diminishing and forgetting whatever he himself does for the beloved, he first develops his own gratitude, which creates all goodness in his life.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/V/V_22.htm


The Sufi moral is this: Love another and do not depend upon his love; and: Do good to another and do not depend upon receiving good from him; serve another and do not look for service from him. All you do for another out of your love and kindness, you should think that you do, not to that person, but to God. And if the person returns love for love, goodness for goodness, service for service, so much the better. If he does not return it, then pity him for what he loses; for his gain is much less than his loss.

Do not look for thanks or appreciation for all the good you do to others, nor use it as a means to stimulate your vanity. Do all that you consider good for the sake of goodness, not even for a return of that from God.

   ~~~ "Sangatha I, Saluk", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

.

[guest88]

namaste !
thank you for your teachings murshid hazrat khan
prayers to sanctify !
Do not bemoan the past, do not worry about the future, but try to make the best of today.

     Bowl of Saki, July 11, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

There is not anything one should not be ready to tolerate, and there is nobody whom one should not forgive. Never doubt those whom you trust; never hate those whom you love; never cast down those whom you once raise in your estimation. Wish to make friends with everyone you meet; make an effort to gain the friendship of those you find difficult ... No one is either higher or lower than oneself. In all sources that fulfill one's need, one may see one source, God, the only source; and in admiring and in bowing before and in loving anyone, one may consider one is doing it to God. In sorrow one may look to God, and in joy one may thank Him. One does not bemoan the past, nor worry about the future; one tries only to make the best of today. One should know no failure, for even in a fall there is a stepping-stone to rise.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_I_2.htm


In Fitzgerald's translation of Omar Khayyam: 'O my Beloved, fill the cup that clears today of past regrets and future fears. Why, tomorrow I may be myself, with yesterday's sev'n thousand years!' By this he means: Make the best of this moment; it is now that you can clearly see eternity, if you live in this moment. But if you keep the world of the past or the world of the future before you, you do not live in eternity but in a limited world. In other words, live neither in the past nor in the future, but in eternity. It is now that we should try to discover that happiness which is to be found in the freedom of the soul.

   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIIIa/VIIIa_1_1.htm



   ~~~ Do not bemoan the past, do not worry about the future, but try to make the best of today.