Hazrat Inayat Khan continues his teaching of the way in which the universe is reflected in a human being. The text reflects the common usage of the time when Pir-o-Murshid spoke that ‘man’ referred to a person without intending to specify gender, and that has not been altered. The previous post is here.

The perfection of God’s manifestation is man. When man reaches perfection His manifestation is perfect, and without man’s perfection God’s manifestation would not be perfect. Perfection is reached when man becomes altogether human. This is what we are: the dogs of the world. The nature of the dog is that where he sees some food, some bone, there he runs, and if another dog comes near, he wants to bite him. He does not want the other dog to share his bone. And if you give a dog food, he wants to snatch it out of your hand before it is given. We are like this. Where we see some benefit, there we run. We do not walk, because we might lose time. And we do not want another to share our benefit.

God’s desire to realize Himself fully evolved and produced man. The rocks, the plants, the animals were all produced in order that man might be made. If we look at the pattern that the designer draws for the wallpaper, the flowers that he has drawn, we see the outline of man’s face. If we look at the veins in the marble, we see man’s face. If we look minutely at the sun, you will see in it, indistinctly the face of man. 

In America even, there are rocks that show man’s face, [in Springfield]. If you look into the flowers, you will see in them the face of man. All this shows us that the aim of the whole manifestation was to produce man. Through the mineral, the plant, the animal, the soul reaches the stage of man. In man it has reached its final, its ideal expression. The Qu’ran says: “Man is made in the image of God.” In man God’s desire to know Himself is accomplished, and in man all the universe is united. He is mineral in his bones, vegetable in his hair, animal in his passions, man by his realization. 

To be man is the greatest privilege. In the Sermon on the Mount it is said: “Ye are the salt of the earth.” That means ‘Ye are the greatest of creation.’ A Hindustani poet has said: “Man was created for sympathy. For worship the angels were enough in heaven. And for cruelty the animals were enough on earth.” The angels are always ready to worship God, and animals ready to fight and kill. Man is made for sympathy, for feeling. 

Man’s heart is the most feeling. What man is it of whom God is proud? In Persian there are two words for man, insaan and adami. Insaan is the man who is man in mind and man in form. Adami is the man who is man in form only, but not in his mind.

To be continued…