We continue with Hazrat Inayat Khan’s text on ‘The Mystic.’ It is worth remembering that, as Hazrat Inayat himself observes, ‘mysticism’ was then sometimes used in popular speech for a sort of illusion. ‘Mr. Ford,’ mentioned in the last paragraph below, is a reference to the American businessman Henry Ford, with whom Hazrat Inayat met during his travels. The first portion of the text may be found here.
Compare a mystic with an average person who argues and disputes, fights and quarrels, over the first reason, which is nothing but a cover. Compare the two. The one is ready to form an opinion, to praise and to condemn, while the other patiently waits until reality gradually unfolds itself. A mystic believes in the unknown and unseen, not only in the form of God, but in the unknown that is to come, the unseen that is not yet seen. Whereas the other has no patience to wait until he knows the unknown, until he sees the unseen. A mystic does not urge the knowledge of the unknown or unseen upon another, but sees the hand of the unknown working through all things. For instance, if a mystic has the impulse to go out and walk towards the north, he thinks there must be some purpose in it. He does not think it is only a whim, a foolish fancy, although the reason for it he does not know. But he will go to the north, and he will try to find the purpose of his going there in the result that comes from it.
The whole life of the mystic is mapped on this principle, and it is by this principle that he can arrive at the stage where his impulse becomes a voice from within that tells him, ‘Go here,’ ‘Go there,’ ‘Leave,’ ‘Move,’ or ‘Stay.’ Therefore while others are prepared to explain why they are doing something or going somewhere or what they wish to do, the mystic cannot explain because he himself does not know. Yet, he knows more than the person who is ready to answer why he is going and what he is going to accomplish, for what does man know about what will happen to him? He makes his program and plans, but he does not know.
Man proposes, and God disposes. Many say this every day; yet, at the same time, they make their programs and lay out their plans. A mystic is not particular about it. He is working on the plan which is laid out already and he knows that there is a plan. He may not know the plan in detail; but if anyone can and will know the plan, it is the mystic. This again tells us something: the one who knows little, knows most; and those who seem to know more, know least.
The outlook of the mystic is like that of a man standing on a mountaintop and looking at the world from a great height. If a mystic looks upon everyone as being not much different, one from another, because they are all like children to him, then it is like what we see from the top of a mountain. All people, whether tall or short, seem to be of the same size; they appear like little beings moving about. An average man is frightened of truth in the same way that a person who has never been to a great height gets frightened at the sight of the immensity of space. The truth is immense; and when a person reaches the top of understanding, he becomes frightened and he does not want to look at it.
Many have told me, ‘Eastern philosophy interests us very much, but the concept of ‘nirvana’ is very frightening.’ I have answered, ‘Yes, it is frightening. Truth is just the same. Truth is also frightening, but truth is reality.’ Man is so fond of illusion that he, so to speak, revels in it. If someone awakens a man who is having an interesting dream, that man will say, ‘Oh, let me sleep on!’ He likes looking at his dream. He does not want to wake up to reality because reality is not as interesting as the dream. Thus, amongst seekers of truth, we find only one in a thousand courageous enough to look at the immensity of truth. However, there are many who take an interest in illusion and they are inclined, out of curiosity, to look at mental illusions because these are different from the illusions of the physical life. They are apt to call this ‘mysticism,’ but it is not mysticism.
No one can be a mystic and call himself a Christian mystic, a Jewish mystic or a Muslim mystic. For what is mysticism? Mysticism is something that erases from one’s mind all ideas of separateness. If a person claims to be this mystic or that mystic, then he is not a mystic, he is only playing with a name.
People say that a mystic is someone who dreams and who lives in the clouds. My answer to this is that the real mystic stands on earth, but his head is in heaven. It is not true that the wise man is not intellectual or that the wise man is not clever. A clever man is not necessarily wise, but the one who has the higher knowledge has no difficulty in gaining knowledge of worldly things. It is the man who has knowledge of worldly things only, who has great difficulty in absorbing the higher knowledge.
Mr. Ford was very wise when he said to me, ‘If you had been a businessman, I am sure you would have been successful.’ Furthermore, he said, ‘I have tried all my life to solve the problem that you appear to have solved.’ This, again, gives us an insight into the idea that higher wisdom does not bar a person from having worldly wisdom, though worldly wisdom does not qualify a person to attain to the higher wisdom.
To be continued…