The miracle of Creation is that out of profound, formless unity has come a cascade of diversity, and the human race is a good illustration of this, not only in our varying forms and features, but even in our beliefs. As Hazrat Inayat Khan has often said, there are not many religions – there is only one, and all the various faiths are expressions of it. But obedient to the ever-spreading impulse of Creation, every believer in fact has his or her own version of religion; two Hindus will differ on certain points; two Muslims will agree on some things and not on others, and so on. And the same applies to ‘non-believers’, who may claim to be free from religion, but who follow their own faith nonetheless.
This abundant diversity arises from the outpouring of Divine energy in the process of Creation–but hidden in each form there is a longing to return to the Source, to merge again in the unity from which we came. The fulfilment of that desire is the purpose of the spiritual path, no matter what route it takes.
The return journey, though, is seldom easy. There is a saying, that those whom God would draw to Him, He first puts in the fire. The rough rock may contain gold, but it must be roasted in the furnace to release it. Or, as Hazrat Inayat says in Gayan, Boulas: All situations of life are tests to bring out the real and the false.
Our difficulties therefore are our greatest teachers. From them we learn to sort the real from the false. If a friend proves untrustworthy when we are in need, the path of wisdom would be not to abandon friendship entirely, but to understand what friendship truly means: to see what is ‘real’ and reliable, and what is illusory.
Similarly, we can learn a great deal about ourselves by seeing which way we turn when trouble confronts us. Ibn Abbad, in this post, quoted one mystic who said, “That which you worship is the first thought that comes to your mind when you are suffering anxiety.” It is not easy to do, but it would be a worthwhile exercise to watch where we turn when we are beset by hardships. Do we turn toward the real – by whatever name? Or do we reach for the comfort of transient illusion?
If, by this observation, we recognise that our object of worship is unreliable, then we should train ourselves – for that is the task of the student – to turn toward the Real. It may sound difficult, but we should remember that the Real is longing for our return. As it has been said, “Take one step toward Allah, and He will run ten steps toward you.”