In the first part of his lecture on world reconstruction, Hazrat Inayat Khan considered the need for financial resolution and the reform of education. Now he speaks of the need for the world to ‘pull itself together’ to attain the necessary healing.

When we consider the problem of nations we become still more perplexed. The enmity, hatred, and prejudice which exist between one nation and another, and the antagonism and utter selfishness which are the central theme of the relationships and ties between nations, show that the world is going from bad to worse, and unrest seems to be all-pervading. There seems to be no trust between nations, no sympathy, except for their own interest. And what is the outcome of it? Its impression falls as a reflection, as a shadow upon individuals, turning them also towards egoism and selfishness.

Religion was meant to be the safest, the only refuge in the world, but at the present moment, with ever-growing materialism and overwhelming commercialism, religion seems to be fading away. A silent indifference toward religion seems to be increasing, especially in the countries foremost in civilization, and that being so, where can man find the solution of the problem of the day?

We can consider this question from a philosophical point of view. What is construction and what is reconstruction? A construction is that which is already made. A newborn child is a construction. But after a disorder in the body or in the mind, there comes a need of a reconstruction. In English there is an expression: to pull oneself together. The world needs reconstruction today, the world has to pull itself together. Education, the political, social, and financial condition, religion, all these things which make civilization, seem to have been scattered; and in order that they may come together again the secret of life must be studied. What is the secret of healing power? It is making oneself strong enough to pull oneself together; and that is the secret of the life of the mystic. The world has lost its health, and if one pictures the world as an individual, one can see what it means to lose one’s health. It is just like illness in the life of an individual, and as for every illness there is a remedy, so for every disaster there is a reconstruction.

But people have different ideas. There is a pessimist who says, ‘If the world has got to this state of destruction, who can help it, how can it be helped?’ This is like a person who says, ‘Well, I have been so ill, I have suffered so much, I do not care. How can I be well now? It is too late.’ In this way he holds on to his disease and cherishes it, though he does not like it. And then there is the curious person, who is very anxious to look at the newspaper and see whether his investments have gone up or whether they have gone down, and to see whether there is the probability of war, and he will excite his friends about it. Then there is another person, who says, ‘Committees must be formed, there must be societies and leagues; congresses must be held, and many more meetings, many more discussions.’ There seems to be no end to the discussions and disputes in order to find out the ways and means of how to improve conditions!

To be continued…