What attitude must a mureed take towards his fellow mureed, if he does not seem to get on with him, if he thinks that there is something lacking in him? Instead of correcting him, he must overlook that part and must try to appreciate all that is good in his fellow mureed by showing his sympathy. In this manner he will be able to establish a connection with his fellow mureed by which there will be a mutual help given to one another.
Psychologically it is true that two persons with different temperaments cannot get on; but at the same time the Sufi path teaches us to try to get on with personalities with whom we cannot get on. The greater a soul, the greater power it shows in getting on with everyone. If that is the sign of the soul’s evolution, then we must always try our best to get on with all personalities, however difficult it may be. It is only a matter of understanding. There are things in other persons which hurt us, but they hurt us because we take that point of view. We take them too deep in our heart. If we kept them on the surface, then they do not need to hurt. One must make a shield by one’s will, a shield on which to take every attack of knives or swords or pinpricks, not to allow them to touch one; and at the same time one must take all that is desirable without shielding oneself.
In this way one can live a harmonious life in the world. It would seem very impractical to read the teaching in the Bible, “If one strikes you on one cheek, turn the other cheek.” But it is impractical because one does not know the theory of it. The theory is that if a person strikes another on his cheek, the person who is able to turn his other cheek is the person who was able to take the first blow rather on his shield. The person whose face is struck, he surely will not turn the other side of his face. It is the other person, he who strikes, who thinks that he has struck him on his face; but it only fell on his shield, and he does not mind if another time his shield receives one more. In order to understand that one must learn this lesson: to make around oneself a shield; in other words, not to take things so seriously. Things which we need not take seriously, one must keep them on the surface, not allowing them to enter one’s heart.
Thank you dearest Murshid for the teaching. I would like to ask a question: how can we make a shield around us in the case of wars, when children are exploited, when we face real danger? How can the soldiers in a battlefield make a shield around them? A child who is exploited physically and emotionally? Is it possible to make a shield in all circumstances? Thank you,
Sharifa
Dearest Sharifa, the shield that Hazrat Inayat is referring to is to keep our inner light from being blown out by contrary winds. It is not a shield in the sense of a protection of ourselves or others from physical danger. For that, we have to think and act according to our understanding, perhaps to the extent of taking up arms (as in the post of the Wisdom of Abdullah Mubarak). Remember, this is advice to students on the path – presumably people who have some idea of the inner world, or who are starting to awaken to it. In more than one text, Hazrat Inayat advises that, as one advances on the path, one’s responsibility grows to guard one’s heart from being broken. An evolved soul is far more fine and tender than the average person, but must be stronger, too – so as not to let the children of the earth destroy the peace of understanding.
Dearest Nawab,
Thank you very much for your answer. In my question, I mentioned situations in which I did not think much of the shield in the sense of physical protection although it was implicit. I was wondering how in those situations of ‘physical danger’ was possible to keep the inner light from becoming blown out. I understand what our Master meant in the cheek and shield example. And your answer makes the text more clear.
Sharifa
Dear Murshid,
Could you explain us a bit more how the process of will is? What has to be controlled by means of will in order to keep hurts on the surface?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
Salman
Thank you, Salman. Will is another word for power, focused upon some goal. And like the physical power of a muscle, will becomes stronger as we exercise it. That is one reason for accepting various methods of discipline. Learning to focus the mind can be described as learning to choose that which one wants to maintain as the focus, and discarding all else. The same process applies to the will – learning to focus the will upon some chosen goal, and discarding all other goals, even if they might suddenly appear more interesting than what one has chosen. And when one’s will is developed, it becomes possible to rise above the attacks, whether they be pinpricks or swords. Why? Because the control of will lets us know that we are independent of the circumstances; we are not defined by them.