Hazrat Inayat Khan here concludes his description of the life of the sage in the east, and importantly, the way in which the sage is respected there. The first portion of the talk is here.

Some are always silent; they are called Muni. Of course their power is very great. Some are silent for some hours in the day. Some speak for two hours in the day. There are the Sanyassi, the Vairagi, those who have renounced. They have renounced family, relations, all desires, all that could bind them. They are as much revered by them and more revered than their priests. Shankaracharya, after giving his message with all his great inspiration and power, after his great work of years and years, when the inward wish for renunciation had become very strong, went to his teacher and asked him whether he might now lead the life of renunciation.

His teacher said, “First go and ask your mother whether she consents to your renunciation.” He went to his mother and asked her consent, and when she gave it, he then renounced all. Often, after years of home life they ask their family, their mother, their wife, whoever it may be, for their consent to their renouncing all, and when they give it, then they say, “Yes, we understand your wish, you are free, from this moment you are nothing to us, we are nothing to you.” From that moment their family is nothing to them, they have nothing in the world, then they are ready to serve humanity. 

Among the Sufis, whom I represent here, there are different schools, called Qadria, Naqshibandia, Chishtiyya, and Suhrawardia, but in the manner of their life they are of two kinds, the Rind and the Salik. The life of the Rind would be the most astonishing to a European. The life of the Hindu sages has some religious appearance, but that of the Rind has none at all. He appears in every guise, in any company, he thinks no-one too bad. He is found in the cafes, in the wineshop, in the places where they are gambling, anywhere. He is the enemy of orthodoxy and of a pious semblance. And with all this, he is a sage all the same. 

The Salik is not so extreme, though he too is not bound to one way of life, but all are open to him. Some lead the life of renunciation, others have family, friends and all things, because renunciation is always for a purpose. It is to kindle the soul, that there may be nothing to hold the soul back from God, but when the soul is kindled the life of renunciation is not a necessity. Some are with crown and throne, like Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, Nizam of Hyderabad, whom I have seen, a great sage with both power and inspiration.

Others are beggars, their livelihood dependent upon what they beg, or the man who sweeps the street, and in all these guises he is a sage all the same. One may be given to silence, living in retirement, one may be a speaker, a teacher, a singer, some without property or possessions, dervishes. And if anyone could go among the dervishes, he would find the most perfect likeness with the life of Christ. That toleration of all, that there was in Christ, that forgiveness for all, that readiness to be in all companies, among all associates, calling no-one wicked, condemning none, all this that you read in the life of Christ can be seen in their life. And wherever he goes,, every honor is paid to him, and he is never in need, because in the East, everyone, before he himself eats, looks to see whether there is not someone in his neighborhood whom he should call, for he does not like to eat while another is without food. 

There is always someone who brings the dervish some food or a few flowers, some offering, and says, “Maharaj, will you not eat this? Will you not take this?” And there is nothing they will not tolerate from a sage. If he comes in the house and his feet are dirty from walking in the dust, the ladies of the house think it an honor to pour water over them. There is nothing, nothing at all, that they would not tolerate.

Friends, everything in the world is changing in all countries, but this little glimpse of spirituality in the East is still maintained and it is this that I have wished to show to you, not with the thought that you may follow this, but with the view that you may understand. 

The question at once comes, “If there are so many sages there why are they not the greatest people in the world?” When they reach that evolution their ideal is quite different from that of the ordinary person. We look at things from our own point of view. They do not desire any worldly gains or greatness. There are many of them to whom all mankind is equally near, all the world is their brother, a European is just as near to them as their countryman, a Chinese is just the same as one from their own home.