After showing that divine guidance is present in every soul, Hazrat Inayat Khan concludes this series by affirming that all the masters, saints and prophets have had the same experience of realization, and communicate the same wisdom,
In reality the Spirit of Guidance may be pictured as one thread; and all the great masters of humanity are like the beads on that thread: one spirit and many individualities, one soul and many personalities, one wisdom and many teachers who have expounded wisdom according to their own personality. But at the same time, wisdom always being one, they cannot be compared with different scientists, for scientists, when they have discovered something new, say they have made a new discovery, but the prophets have never said that they had made a new discovery. They have always said, ‘What those who came before me perceived I perceive, and those who come after thousands of years will perceive the same.’ Yet in spite of that it is always new, for every moment has its new joy. As Hafiz says, ‘Sing, my soul, a new song that every new moment inspires in you.’
Once the soul awakens, it begins to see that truth is always new and renews the soul, giving it perpetual youth. When one finds differences between the teachers of humanity, these are only in the lives they lived. But no matter what their life was, whether they were kings or faqirs, whether they walked or rode on an elephant’s back, whether they were on a throne or in mountain caves or in deserts, they all had the same experience: realization. They might appear to be comfortable and rejoicing, but they heard the same note which others heard in tortures. Those who were kings such as Solomon and David, and those who were sages such as Krishna and Buddha, all these different souls had the same realization, the same philosophy. There could never be an argument if they were all to meet. But they are not meant to meet because they are all one. It was the Spirit of Guidance, which manifested through all these different names and forms.
When one looks at this subject from a metaphysical point of view, one observes that light has three principal currents: one current that takes the central line and shoots out, one current that goes to the right, and a third one that goes to the left. It is these three currents which are the secret of what is called Trinity, and by this threefold aspect the mystery of manifestation can be interpreted.
The current of the Spirit of Guidance that runs to the right is significant of power; that is why those who came under that current were called masters. The characteristic of such a soul is power. He is one who conquers himself, who contends with circumstances, struggles with life, and rises above conflicts. The story of Daniel in the lions’ den is the picture of the master: of the magnetism, power, and peace that make lions tame. The same power spreads and in time makes all hard things soft. The master therefore is a living power. His power of mind, of feeling, of heart, of spirit has its influence on all living beings, things, and objects to what extent, the human mind cannot imagine.
The other current, which runs to the left, is the sign of the saintly inspiration; of that passive character which has the desire to serve, an overflowing sympathy, a tender heart, widespread compassion, continual forgiveness, a gentle manner, a constant self-sacrifice, and perpetual renunciation.
And the central current, which is prophetic, is both the power of the master and the wisdom of the saint. Such a character has been directed to go into the world, to the crowd, to endure the coarse vibrations of men, to go through all the experiences of life and yet to retain that fineness, delicacy, and tenderness which keep the soul close to God and in communication with the Spirit of Guidance, which ever flows and manifests in the form of the message.