Many times in life we are beguiled by an appearance, and discover later that whatever drew us so strongly – a face, a place, a way of life – brings consequences. Often when the recognition comes there is no possibility of changing course, and so we work our way through the repercussions, enjoying what we may and, perhaps, learning something.

This same pattern can be seen in our ‘spiritual’ amours. We encounter a path, Sufism for example, and words such as ‘love, harmony and beauty’ awaken something in us. Before we know it, we are attending classes, re-arranging our schedules to go to events or retreats, and picking up the works of Hazrat Inayat Khan from time to time to savour sayings that seem to effortlessly dissolve the walls we didn’t know were there. And then one day we receive a shock – perhaps from a phrase like this one in Vadan Boulas: In the spirit of duty there is the soul of religion.

The word duty, in the West, is often used to describe something we don’t like but can’t escape. For example, there may be a social occasion at the home of a difficult acquaintance or a thorny relative which we feel obliged to attend, but we would avoid it if only a plausible excuse were available. Or we sometimes speak of the duty of military service, which for some seems to pop up in their path when they believe they are on their way somewhere else. For the Westerner, then, duty suggests fulfilment but with minimal engagement – similar to the repayment of a debt, and indeed the English word ‘duty in its root is connected with ‘what is owed.’ Looking again at the saying from the Vadan, one might ask ‘What could we owe to religion? Does it mean regular attendance at the church or temple or mosque?’ But one of the first lessons of religion, in whatever form, is to give thanks, and a thoughtful person might consider all of life to be such a limitless gift that our gratitude could never adequately repay it.

But when using the word duty in this saying Pir-o-Murshid Inayat is probably thinking of the Sanskrit word ‘dharma.’ It is true that it can be translated as ‘duty,’ but it implies much, much more. To grasp the concept of dharma, we must see Creation not as a chaotic storm of objects and events leading nowhere – and therefore ultimately meaningless – but as a living field of being formed to fulfil a purpose. The purpose may be beyond our limited comprehension, but it is possible for us to observe laws of harmony that attune us to it, and by following them we may live what may be called an ordered or a righteous life. In the Christian scriptures the word ‘godliness’ is sometimes used, which is a not very clear translation of the Greek word ‘eusebeia’, meaning ‘reverence,’ which historically was used by King Ashoka in the 3rd c. BC to translate the term ‘dharma.’ In other words, if we observe with reverence the harmony of Creation, we will be fulfilling the dharma.

The word dharma also refers to spiritual teaching. In the Buddhist religion, all that Buddha Shakyamuni taught is called the ‘dharma.’ When the prayer Salat speaks to the Messenger as the one who ‘comest from Above when Dharma decayeth,’ it suggests a situation in which there has been a loss of spiritual awareness and when reverence and harmony have broken down. The saying from the Vadan suggests that we could see it as a sacred duty to re-awaken reverence, and if we have begun to form the God ideal in our hearts, then ‘duty’ ceases to be a legalistic obligation and becomes a privilege. To make this clearer, we could imagine two people who perform the same work, and both are offered employment. One goes to labour for someone of no particular merit or distinction, and the other finds a place in the palace, and therefore serves the king. They do the same work, and are paid the same, but it is likely that the latter will find much more meaning and satisfaction in what is done. The first receives his pay but no more, while the one who works in service for the king is doubly recompensed. That is why in Vadan Boulas we also find : The virtue of duty is in the pleasure of doing it.