Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan now explains the role of harmony in our contact with others. The previous post in the series is here.

The next aspect of individual harmony is practiced in one’s contact with another. Every being has an individual ego produced from his own illusion. This limits his view which is led in the direction of his own interest, and he judges of good and bad, high or low, right or wrong in relation to himself and others, through his limited view, which is generally partial and imaginary rather than true. This darkness is caused by the overshadowing of the soul by the external self. Thus a person becomes blind to his own infirmities as well as to the merits of another, and the right action of another becomes wrong in his eyes and the fault of the self seems right. This is the case with mankind in general, until the veil of darkness is lifted from his eyes.

The nafs, the ego of an individual, causes all disharmony with the self as well as with others, thus showing its unruliness in all aspects of life. The lion, the sovereign among all animals, most powerful and majestic, is always unwelcome to the inhabitants of the forest, and he is even unfriendly to his own kind. Two lions will never greet one another in a friendly way, for their nafs is so strong; and although the lion is the ruler of all other animals, he is a slave to his own passions which make his life restless. The nafs of herbivorous animals such as sheep and goats is subdued; for this reason they are harmless to one another and are even harmonious enough to live in herds. The harmony and sympathy existing among them makes them mutually partake of their joys and sorrows; but they easily fall a victim to the wild animals of the forest. The Masters of the past like Moses and Muhammad have always loved to tend their flocks in the wilderness and Jesus Christ spoke of himself as the Good Shepherd, while St. John the Baptist spoke of the lamb of God, harmless and innocent, ready for sacrifice.

The nafs of the bird is still milder, therefore upon one tree many and various kinds can live as one family, singing the praise of God in unison, and flying about in flocks of thousands.

Among birds are to be found those who recognize their mate and who live together, harmoniously building the nest for their young, each in turn sitting on the eggs, and bearing their part in the upbringing of their little ones. Many times they mourn and lament over the death of their mate. The nafs of the insects is still less, they walk over each other without doing any harm, and live together in millions, as one family, without distinction of friend or foe. This proves how the power of nafs grows at each step in nature’s evolution, and culminates in man, creating disharmony all through his life, unless it is subdued, producing thereby a calm and peace within the self, and a sense of harmony with others. Every human being has an attribute peculiar to his nafs. One is tiger-like, another resembles a dog, while a third may be like a cat and a fourth like a fox. In this way man shows in his speech, thoughts and feelings the beasts and birds, and the condition of his nafs is akin to their nature, and at times his very appearance resembles them. Therefore his tendency to harmony depends upon the evolution of his nafs.

To be continued…