The Beam

Hazrat Inayat Khan spoke with deep feeling about the need to ease the pains of a world that was cruelly divided by war, injustice and inequality. Remember that he and his family lived in England during the First World War, a conflict in which industrialization amplified violence to an unimaginable level. At the same time, to speak of peace – in England – was considered to be dangerously close to treason. As the world is still viciously fighting in numerous locations, and as shrill voices around the world are constantly shouting down each others’ opinions, it would be a good idea to look again at Murshid’s counsel. We need not be mureeds to heed guidance that was poured out from the divine spring of compassion; it is not necessary to take initiation on the Sufi path to follow the wisdom of caring for our fellow beings.

In one of his lectures on what he called the problem of the day, Pir-o-Murshid Inayat said, “We need today the religion of tolerance… If there is anything to learn, it is tolerance.” To apply this lesson, it would help to recall that the words ‘religion’ and ‘tolerance’ have moved in common understanding, losing some or all of their positive sense. Although for many people today the word religion means something faded and outdated, a sort of irrelevant ritualism, when Hazrat Inayat spoke of religion, he meant that which is held to be sacred, that which sits at the center of one’s life and provides meaning to all we do. Without religion in this sense, we have no compass to guide us, no destination toward which to aspire.

The word tolerance has also been devalued. In current thought, if we say, “I tolerate your point of view,” it carries the sour implication that there is something wrong with the way you see things; that you are difficult, but (because of my moral superiority) I will put up with you anyway. In the past, though, two or three hundred years ago, to be tolerant meant to be slow to judge, to be uncritical. This is because tolerance originates from a word for a beam or support; in a house, a beam holds up the structure, and makes space for all our activities. It gives stability, remaining unshaken by changing weather. We can have confidence in the beam as we sit around the table, talking and sharing hearts.

Therefore, to practice the religion of tolerance would be to center our lives around making room for others, accommodating their point of view, knowing that in the most fundamental sense we are one, and respecting another person is also respecting our own self.

It is often said that a Sufi has two points of view, his or her own and that of the other person, but to some people this sounds like we might risk losing our own way of seeing. In truth that never happens; we always have our own way of looking at the world, but if we practice tolerance, and do not judge the view of the other person, the beam of our house simply grows bigger and stronger, spanning and sheltering a more spacious and gracious home.

2 Replies to “The Beam”

  1. Alim Reijers

    Dear Pir Nawab,
    Your words: … “when Hazrat Inayat spoke of religion, he meant that which is held to be sacred, that which sits at the center of one’s life and provides meaning to all we do. Without religion in this sense, we have no compass to guide us, no destination toward which to aspire”.
    The words “that which is held to be sacred, that which sits at the center of one’s life” evoke another word in me, namely: The Heart! With Love, Alim.

    Reply

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