In the first instalment of this series, Hazrat Inayat Khan briefly described the first of four levels of development of the personality, ammara. Here he continues, mentioning the other three, and then beginning an explanation of the spiritual view of democracy.
When a man is a little more evolved, then there comes a certain consideration, a civilized manner, a refinement, and a choice of action. This is called lawwama. A person who has advanced to the third stage, mutmainna, is still further developed. It is not only that he is thoughtful but he is sympathetic, it is not only that he is considerate but he is kind, it is not only that he has a civilized manner but he has a natural politeness, it is not only that he is refined but he is tender-hearted. And when a person goes still further then he has even greater charm and personality, then there is calm, quietness, gentleness, mildness, tolerance, forgiveness, and understanding of all beings.
It is when this fourth personality, or alima, is developed that a person is entitled to embark on the spiritual path. Until then he is not entitled to go on it. The modern way of recognizing the wrong kind of equality has taken away the idea of better personality. That respect and appreciation which were due to a higher personality is taken away by this madness of equality. If a person has no ideal before him to reach up to then he has no way in which to progress. People who think, ‘I am satisfied as I am. I earn so much money every day, is this not sufficient?’ have nothing to reach up to. In spite of all the faults and errors of the ancient peoples, they at any rate always kept this thought alive.
There is a story of a dervish, who was standing in the middle of the street when the procession of the king came along. First the pages who ran before the procession pushed him and said, ‘Don’t you see the king is coming? Away!’ The dervish smiled and said, ‘That is why.’ Then he went forward again and stood in the same place. When the horsemen, the bodyguard, arrived they said, ‘Get out of the way, the procession is coming!’ The dervish smiled and said, ‘That is why.’ Then the courtiers came and saw the dervish standing there. And instead of telling the dervish to get out of the way they moved their horses a little to one side. And again the dervish said, ‘That is why.’ Finally came the king. When the king saw the dervish he greeted him first and the dervish in answer said, ‘That is why.’ An intelligent young man who had seen and heard this asked, ‘What do you mean by saying this? And the dervish said, ‘You can see, that is why they are what they are!’
We have wiped this ideal from our minds. Where is the real democracy? The kingliness of greeting the dervish first, that is democracy. But when a man who is not evolved is pulling the most evolved down to his level, that is the wrong democracy; it is going downward instead of going upward. If mannerlessness and thoughtlessness can be democracy it takes away its real ideal and true spirit. Democracy is the result of aristocracy; when the spirit of aristocracy has evolved enough, then it becomes democracy. Then a person thinks, ‘I am the equal of any person in the world; there is no person lower than me. ‘ But if a person says, ‘There is no one higher than me,’ that is not democracy.
To be continued…