What offering does the Sufi Message bring to the modern world?
It brings intuition to the world of science, harmony to the world of art, unity to the social world, and the divine in man to the world of religion. The Sufi Message is not only a religious Message, although religion is the central theme, and so the Sufi Message expressed in the religious realm will answer the purpose to which it is destined.
The Sufi Message has its work with all different sides of life; with some it will work directly, with some indirectly, proving at the same time that in God, and in the knowledge of God, there is the answer to every question; that there is no aspect of life, material or spiritual, which does not need God and His knowledge. Therefore it is not necessary for my mureeds, well-wishers of the Cause, to give too much thought as to the ways and means of bringing the Message to a success. For, as I have always said, truth and success are not two things, although from a worldly point of view they may seem far apart. But what is generally known as a success is that success which passes away, which is limited. Unlimited success belongs to truth; and truth alone is the success. With this conviction we are bound to success; our meaning of success is truth, and nothing in the world can hinder; obstacles sooner or later will be removed, hindrances will be broken. Therefore it is not necessary to strain our minds over difficult plans and schemes in which way to bring about a successful result. For if we did it, then what difference is there between our ideal and the ideal of some others whose idea of success is different?
Mureeds who will faithfully stick to the Message, collaborate harmoniously and prove sincere in the end, promise that success to which we must reach. Man’s plan will go so far and will go no further. God’s plan will reach everywhere; nothing can hinder it. Therefore our work must be to swim with the tides. It is not effort, worries or anxieties which will bring to fulfilment the object which we have near to our heart. It is our faith, it is our trust that will be our strength in our strife, and that in the end will be that conviction in which is the fulfillment of the purpose of life. It does not matter how far we are at this period of infancy of the Message; for it is not the number, it is earnestness that counts. By this it does not mean that we must close the doors of the Movement; it only means we must not overstrain ourselves. Our power is in peace, our strength is in endurance, our virtue is in forgiveness, and the beauty of our work is in humbleness. It is the regularity of the rhythm of work and harmony of the working forces which secure our Movement and promise success.