There are certain predictable themes that arise in conversations with any group of spiritual seekers. In such a gathering, there is usually some sensitivity and a longing for change, and when the topic is the perfection of love, for example, people respond easily, and feel hope stirring in their heart. But as the old proverb goes, once you let the nose of the camel enter your tent you soon have a very large tent-mate, and a lot of unexpected and sometimes unwelcome consequences. If the message of the all-embracing One inspires us and we feel moved to live in love, then sooner or later we must find a way to forgive. And that is where people often come to a halt, throwing up their hands and saying, ‘No, the world is so sad and broken, I can’t overlook the wicked things that people do.’

It is an understandable point of view, of course. In our age all the weaknesses of human nature are presented and represented countless times (in vivid color close-ups, with emojis) in the echo chambers of social media, so that it is easy to be overwhelmed by the pictures of misery. But if we draw a line we will not cross, what then? We may pray fervently to the God of mercy and compassion to heal the world, but we ourselves are living in separation, not in Unity, and it is unity which is the only remedy. Expecting God to make everything all right will in the end only weaken our own faith, because ‘all right’ in the material world is always transitory, and we will direct our inevitable disappointment at the One to Whom we have been praying. If we sincerely want to journey toward the One, we must be prepared to drop our assumptions of duality at some point, like unwanted luggage left beside the trail. But how?

In a lecture on the ‘kingship’ of God, Hazrat Inayat Khan talks about the different ways that people idealise God’s perfection; some see Him as a loving Parent, some as the Creator or as a Friend, some see God as an exalted abstraction, and some bow before Him as a King. Hazrat Inayat carefully explains that we should never judge or criticise the way anyone looks at God, for each one has his own path in life, but our belief should help us in some way, and Hazrat Inayat asks, “How does the one believing in the kingship of God derive real help from his belief?” His answer is that to see God in this way lets us realise the nobility of human nature. This should not be surprising if we are indeed the children of the most noble King, but where can we find that nobility? Hazrat Inayat says, “No one has ever proved to be your ideal; you may make an ideal of your own imagination, and whenever you see goodness to be lacking, you may give from your own heart and so complete the nobility of human nature. This is done by patience, tolerance, kindness, forgiveness.” And he goes on, “One cannot arrive at true nobility of spirit if one is not prepared to forgive imperfect human nature, for all, worthy or unworthy, require forgiveness, and only in this way can one rise above the lack of harmony and beauty.”

Whatever our ideal may be, the further we go on the spiritual path the less possible it becomes to look at others with expectations. We see that we are limited, and others also suffer from limitations. If there is any nobility to be found in the human being, we can only hope to look for it within ourselves by reaching upward toward the source of Goodness. That is what is suggested in this, from Gayan Chalas : True spirituality is not a fixed faith or belief; it is the ennobling of the soul by rising above the barriers of material life.