Hazrat Inayat Khan was fond of quoting Jesus, who said, “Be perfect, like your Heavenly Father.” Surely none of us think we can be ‘God-perfect,’ and yet our Pir-o-Murshid affirmed that Jesus would not have given this counsel if it were not possible. So, what should we understand from this? How could we make a reality of this in our daily, usually very imperfect, life?
The Sufi teachings tell us that there is a guiding spirit in all forms that is working towards Divine fulfilment, and if that is so, we could begin by consulting that guidance. In the prayer Salat we ascend a sort of staircase of guidance, rising from parents, helpful friends and inspiring teachers through the great illuminated souls such as Rama and Krishna and others, to the abstract planes of God consciousness embodied in the Messenger, the Christ, the Nabi and the Rasul. From this level, the prayer tells us, the Infinite Divine addresses all of humanity, and those who attain this realisation speak the Word that is put into their mouth ‘as the light filleth the crescent moon.’
From this we may understand that the expression of the Message is in no way personal. The Messengers have lived all the joys and sorrows of a human life for that is a necessary part of the journey, and they have personally experienced the truth of the Message, but what they speak is far beyond the scope of limited personal ideas and human opinions. Therefore this gift of guidance to the world comes as a consequence of absolute surrender to the Divine; that is why the prayer alludes to the moon, that obediently waxes and wanes and gives its cooling rays to the beauty of the night. The moon has no light of its own – it shines only because it is able to reflect the living light and power of the sun. In the same way, the great Messengers have extinguished their own ego in devotion to the supreme Ideal and therefore what they give is the reflection of that Light.
There is a profound lesson here for every seeker on the spiritual path. The world message finds its voice through complete surrender, and if we ourselves wish to receive guidance and feel the loving embrace of the Divine in our lives, then like the Messengers we must learn to surrender as the moon does.
The heart is made to be a mirror. If we direct it toward the limitations of daily life (Shall we make a list? We could start with bitterness, jealousy, anger, envy, doubt, fear, insufficiency, coldness, hatred… and we could go on.) it will show them. If we direct the heart toward the light, it will respond with light. But the mirror must be kept clean. When we turn toward limitation, the mirror becomes limited; thoughts of our small self cover the mirror like rust on metal. To remove the rust, we should forget ourselves in our admiration for all that is good, such as love, light, beauty and harmony.
Perfection is not something that we need to fashion from our thoughts and behaviours; perfection already surrounds us and permeates us. To be perfect it is merely necessary to reflect that perfection, and that can only be done when we have forgotten ourselves entirely. That is the sense in this saying from Vadan Alankaras : Let me forget myself, Lord, that I may become conscious of Thy Being.