Wisdom is attained in solitude. Bowl of Saki, December 8, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan: The one who lacks peace, with all his possessions, the property of this earth or quality of mind, is poor even with both. ... True wisdom is to be found in the peaceful, for peacefulness is the sign of wisdom. It is the peaceful one who is observant. It is peace that gives him the power to observe keenly. It is the peaceful one, therefore, who can conceive, for peace helps him to conceive. It is the peaceful who can contemplate; one who has no peace cannot contemplate properly. Therefore, all things pertaining to spiritual progress in life depend upon peace. To attain peace, what one has to do is to seek that rhythm which is in the depth of our being. It is just like the sea: the surface of the sea is ever moving; the depth of the sea is still. And so it is with our life. If our life is thrown into the sea of activity, it is on the surface. We still live in the profound depths, in that peace. But the thing is to become conscious of that peace which can be found within ourselves. ... the first thing is to seek the kingdom of God within ourselves, in which there is our peace. As soon as we have found that, we have found our support, we have found our self. And in spite of all the activity and movement on the surface, we shall be able to keep that peace undisturbed if only we hold it fast by becoming conscious of it. from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_IV_6.htm How can one attain to the deeper side? ... One method is to acquire the knowledge from the life without, and that is going to school and attaining the knowledge in that way. Another method is quite different; it is not going to school or institution and study, but closing the door of one's room, sitting in solitude, closing the eyes, being oneself once again, and trying to put one's mind within, seeking the source within, getting the knowledge which be gotten only from within. ~~~ "Message Papers, December 17, 1923", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished) The bliss found in the solitude is hidden within every human being; he has inherited it from his heavenly Father. In mystical terms it is called the All-pervading Light. Light is the source and origin of every human soul and of every mind. from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIIIa/VIIIa_1_5.htm ~~~ Wisdom is attained in solitude.

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.

Albert Einstein

My thought for this morning ...

Our lives are made up of a million moments, spent in a million ways. Some are spent searching for love, peace and harmony. Others are spent surviving day to day. But there is no greater moment than when we find that life, with all its joys and sorrows, is meant to be lived one day at a time.

This morning I am thinking of Hazrat Inayat Khan's daughter for she was a Sufi, too but with a life path much different and in contrast to her father's. I wonder if she had to explain what saying "I am a Sufi" means to others? Personally, this 61 year old woman reached that bottom this last March when those around me only heard those words and adjudged them with the rendering that I was an insane woman to label my being in such a way. And today I chuckle at those who label themselves as 'Christian' yet you would be hard pressed to look at their lives and see them as "Christ-like".

How in the heck can you talk about Sufism to people who have yet to grasp that the three letters of our Alphabet that spells G.O.D is a "European Linguistic Invention" using the TOOL of a written alphabet?

In the Semitic language of Aramaic which Jesus most likely spoke, the Aramaic word which is translated as God in the European bible was actually Alaha. According to some linguists, the word Alaha which Jesus spoke would have had the ending "a" softened or not pronounced at all, leading to the pronunciation "alah". Since the Arabic language was largely derived from the earlier Aramaic (much the same as Aramaic was derived from the earlier Hebrew), the modern Arabic word Allah is likely derived from the earlier Aramaic pronunciation "alah". Indeed, Allah of the Qur'an and Alaha of Jesus refer to the same One. In contrast, the word "God" is a relatively new, and perhaps unfortunate, European invention which has been the source of much misunderstanding and conflict. - Hazrat Inayat Khan

http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/mv_glossary.htm

My love of LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY led me to my Sufi Teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan

In the Semitic language of Aramaic which Jesus most likely spoke, the Aramaic word which is translated as God in the European bible was actually Alaha. According to some linguists, the word Alaha which Jesus spoke would have had the ending "a" softened or not pronounced at all, leading to the pronunciation "alah". Since the Arabic language was largely derived from the earlier Aramaic (much the same as Aramaic was derived from the earlier Hebrew), the modern Arabic word Allah is likely derived from the earlier Aramaic pronunciation "alah". Indeed, Allah of the Qur'an and Alaha of Jesus refer to the same One. In contrast, the word "God" is a relatively new, and perhaps unfortunate, European invention which has been the source of much misunderstanding and conflict. - Hazrat Inayat Khan

http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/mv_glossary.htm

HUMANS AS INVENTORS

inventor

c.1500, “a discoverer,” from L. inventor (fem. inventrix) "contriver, author, discoverer," agent noun from pp. stem of invenire (see invention). Meaning “one who contrives or produces a new thing or process” is from 1550s.

Hazrat died in 1927 and his statement concerning the European invention of the word GOD as a source of much misunderstanding and conflict carries truth today. You need only walk into the Reference Section of your local library with its shelves of specialized English dictionaries (ranging from auto mechanics to zoology) to grasp the idea of the humans innate ability to be INVENTORS of words that carry meaning.

GOD - MY MIGHTY HEALER

The Sufi prays to God every moment in one's life, invoking God's Name and realizing at the same time that the self is no other than God. For to a Sufi God is not a personal being but a mighty healer to awaken the soul from its delusion of earthly individuality, and a guide to lead it to self-realization, the only aim in life.

-Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi