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Petama Counsellor October The Need of Humanity in our Days - 2 from: Hazrat Inayat Khan: 'Social Gathekas' |
In spite of prosperity and the flourishing conditions we see, there is a total absence of ideal. The minds of most seem to be centered in one thing only: the struggle of life. Millions are busily occupied, physically and mentally, every moment of the day and night in collecting wealth or treasure, the very nature of which is to pass from hand to hand. As long as they have it in their possession, there is a kind of intoxication; when it is lost, there is nothing to hold on to. This has made people more avaricious in the strife of material life. Today the one is considered most practical who is most capable of guarding his own interests to best advantage. The same is true of nations: each is working for its own interest. In any nation the person of the day is not the one who feels for the welfare of humanity, but the one who exclusively stands by the interest of our party, community, or nation. Patriotism can only be a virtue when used as a stepping stone toward universal kinship. It can be justifiable only if it is made a means to conserve forces in order to work for the welfare of all. But today patriotism has become a lock upon the heart, so that no alien - only those of our own kind-may be admitted into a country. What is missing in modern education, in art and science, and in social, political and commercial life, is the ideal. The ideal is the secret of heaven and earth, and the mystery hidden behind both humanity and God. Humans, with all they possess in the objective world, are poor in the absence of the ideal; that poverty creates irritation, conflicts, and disagreements, thereby causing wars and disasters of all kinds. Humanity's greatest necessity today is the exploration of the human personality to find the latent inspiration and power, and upon this to build the whole structure of life. Life is not only to live, but also to ennoble ourselves and reach that perfection which is the innate yearning of the soul. The solution to the problem of the day is that the consciousness of humanity may be awakened to the divinity of the human being. The undertone of all religions is the realization of the one life which culminates in the thought of unity. It is to raise humanity to this consciousness that the efforts of our Sufi work are directed.
(Maheboob Khan, Hazrat Inayat Khan‘s brother, has composed music to a row of aphorisms of Hazrat Inayat Khan in the middle of last century, as this ‚How Shall I Thank Thee‘. Mohammed Ali Khan, Hazrat Inayat Khan’s cousin, has sung this song around the year 1956 in a concert in Zürich – here you can listen to it) (these E-book are free of all charge - use their treasures well!) |
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