The Sufi Message(Vol.XI)

by Hazrat Inayat Khan

This is the eleventh volume of the Indian edition of all the works of Hazrat Inayat Khan, the great Sufi mystic who lectured and taught in the western world. This book and other volumes in this series contain his lectures, discourses and other teachings as taken down in shorthand.

The complete series contains fourteen volumes. Each volume is complete in itself, and therefore may be read without any necessity to study following or previous ones. However, one may get a spiritual and mental appetite to continue reading . One will find that a meditative way of reading will convey not only the words but also the spiritual power emanating from them, tuning mind, heart and soul to the pitch which is one's own.

This book opens new avenues of thought, attitude and life to the reader with open mind and heart." There are three steps which lead the seeker to the alter of divine wisdom”: philosophy, referring to the perception and study of things; psychology, learnt by thinking and feeling what is in our human nature and character: mysticism, acquired and learnt through meditation and the study of the whole of life, both seen and unseen. .

First aspects of the physical nature of life as perceived through the five senses are discussed. They are surprisingly modern although they have been given as lectures in the twenties.

Then the psychological aspects are covered, first focusing on the subjects of suggestion as a way of coping with the complications in life by acquiring a spiritual and most practical attitude in life; and then presenting magnetism as a more positive way of dealing with our tasks in life, particularly in dealing with others.

Finally, mysticism is presented under a surprising variety of subjects, thus illustrating the practicality and at the same time the aloofness of the spiritual path.

After these teachings—sometimes called the ‘magnum opus’ of the master—you will find a rich collection of saying under the title Aphorisms. One may be struck by the wisdom, subtlety and power of these illuminated words.
 
About the Author:

The author, Hazrat Inayat Khan, (Baroda, 1882 - Delhi 1927) was a famous musician in his young years. Later he left for the West in Order to spread the Sufi message of love, harmony and beauty. He preached Sufism not as an orthodox sect, but as a forward-looking world message of interreligious brotherhood. He founded many Sufi centres in the West. In India, the Sufi message has got an inspiring centre at the Dargah of the Master himself, located near the tomb of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, New Delhi.