Hazrat Inayat Khan now describes in general terms how the laws of the three spheres affect the circumstances which we experience here on earth. The previous post in the series is here.
The law that governs the soul’s manifestation may be divided into three parts: that of the angelic heavens, that of the sphere of the jinn, and that of the world of man, or the physical plane.
In the angelic heavens there are no distinct impressions; but there is a tuning. The soul is tuned to a certain pitch by the law of vibration, high or low according to the impression it receives from the souls coming back home. In this tuning it gets, so to speak, a tone and rhythm which directs its path towards the world of the jinn. Souls in themselves are not different in the angelic heavens, as they are immediately next to that of the divine Being. If there is a difference of souls in the angelic heavens, it is the difference of more or less radiance, and the longer or shorter scope of their range.
That which attracts souls from the sphere of the jinn to the human world is what they receive from the souls who are homeward bound. In accordance with this they take their direction towards the physical world. If I were to give this idea in a more expressive form, I would say it is like a person whose heart is tuned to love and light, and to the appreciation and admiration of beauty. He will certainly take a direction towards a greater beauty, and will seek such friends to be with and learn from as seem to him in some way similar to his nature or ideal. This is an example of the soul which is attracted from the angelic heavens to the sphere of the jinn. A person who has studied music and practiced through his life will certainly seek the association of musical friends, artists, singers, composers and lovers of music. Among these he will find his friends, his comrades; and so a soul from the sphere of the jinn is directed according to its love for certain things on the physical plane. This shows that God does not thrust certain conditions upon the souls going towards manifestation, but in this manner they choose them.
A person may say, ‘But no soul can have chosen miserable conditions for itself!’ The answer to this we find before us in this world. Many here cause their own miseries; they may not know it, they may not admit it; nevertheless many of man’s joys and sorrows are caused by himself. This does not mean that this is the only law that governs life. This is a law which answers the question that rises out of common sense. But if one raised one’s head from this world of illusion and looked up, and asked God, ‘Tell me the secret and the mystery of Thy creation,’ one would hear in answer that every thing and being is put in its own place, and each is busy carrying out that work which has to be done in the whole scheme of nature. Life is a symphony; and the action of every person in this symphony is the playing of his particular part in the music.
When the war was going on all people were called to arms, and were placed where they were needed regardless of their profession, qualifications or moral standard. The reason was that the ‘call of the purpose’ was the first consideration. If there is anything which will bring peace to the thinker it is the understanding of this. The thought, ‘I am suffering now because of my sins in a past life’, may bring an answer to the inquiring and reasoning mind and stop it from rebelling for the moment, but will this take away the irritation that the misery is causing in the heart? Will that mind ever excuse God for having so severely judged him? He may own his mistakes of the past, but will he ever believe in God as a God of love and compassion, as a God of mercy, or as a God of forgiveness?
To be continued…