Quotes from Hazrat Inayat Khan

A person does not hear sound only through the ears; he hears sound through every pore of the body. It permeates the entire being, and according to its particular influence, either slows or quickens the rhythm of the blood circulation; it either awakens or soothes the nervous system

There must be something besides you to cause the sensation. But peace is independently felt within oneself. It is not dependent upon the outer sensation. It is something that belongs to one, something that is one's own self.

The sound of water is deep, its form is serpent-like, its color green, and it is best heard in the roaring of the sea. The sound of fire is high pitched, its form is curled, and its color is red. It is heard in the falling of the thunderbolt and in a volcanic eruption. The sound of air is wavering, its form zigzag, and its color blue. Its voice is heard in storms, when the wind blows, and in the whisper of the morning breeze.

Paramatma, die hohe Seele, ist mit Gott vereint, sie ist gottesbewusst, universal bewusst. Ihr eigenes Selbst umfasst alle. Ob es nun gute oder verschlagene Menschen sind, ob sie recht oder falsch gehen, sie sind deren eigenes Selbst; sie betrachtet all diese Personen als ihr Selbst. (S. 182)

Dying is this: When there is a fruit or something sweet or good to taste, the child comes to it's mother and says "Will you give it to me?" Although it would have given pleasure to the mother to eat it, she gives it to the child. The eating of it by the child is enjoyed by the mother. That is death. She enjoys her life in the joy of another. Those who rejoice in the joy of another at their own expense have taken the first step towards true life.

We are all in this world travelers, and those near to us or those whom we see, they are the ones we meet on our journey. And therefore, it is an opportunity of thinking of our duty towards them. Neither shall we be with them always, nor will they be with us. Life is a dream in which we are thrown, a dream which is ever changing. Therefore an opportunity lost of considering our little obligations in our everyday life, which form part of our duty, is like forgetting our religion.

Life is a continual series of experiences, one leading to the other, until the soul arrives at its destination.

Mit jedem Schritt hin zur Erkenntnis der Wahrheit, fühlt man sich selbstsicherer. Je mehr Zweifel überwunden werden, und je mehr das Selbstvertrauen wächst, desto stärker wird der eigene Wille; und je näher man zur Wahrheit gelangt, desto mehr Licht wird man sehen. Was ist dieses Licht? Es ist das Licht der Selbst-Verwirklichung. (S. 57)

There is a perfect wisdom working continually day and night. The mystic sees it in everything with open eyes; and that is the great miracle.

Solange ein Mensch seine Bestimmung nicht gefunden hat, gleichgültig ob er Erfolg oder Misserfolg hat, ob er glücklich oder unglücklich zu sein scheint, in Wirklichkeit lebt er nicht; denn das Leben beginnt erst in dem Augenblick, in dem ein Mensch den Sinn seines Lebens erkennt. (S. 78)

The individual soul is a shoot that springs from the all-pervading Spirit, its goal being its origin; and every attachment it has on its way is, no doubt, a detaining on the journey. The soul is never fully satisfied so long as it has not reached its destination. The love of the external world is a rehearsal before the performance, which is the love of God, the Inner Being.

SUFISM has never had a first exponent or a historical origin. It existed from the beginning, because man has always possessed the light which is his second nature; and light in its higher aspect may be called the knowledge of God, the divine wisdom – in fact, Sufism. Sufism has always been practiced and its messengers have been people of the heart; thus it belonged to the masters as well as to others.

Die Arbeit, welche ein/e Sufi als seine oder ihre heilige Pflicht ansieht, hat nichts mit einem bestimmten Glaubensbekenntnis zu tun und auch nichts mit einer bestimmten Religion. Es ist nur diese einfache Sache: im Rhythmus mit den Umständen des Lebens zu schwingen, und auf das Unendliche eingestimmt zu sein.

for to know reality is to know all that is to be known.

Every seeker after truth must remember one thing: that the first step in the path of truth is to become true to oneself.

Ich arbeite einfach, ohne mich um die Ergebnisse zu kümmern. Die mir übertragene Arbeit nach bestem Können zu verrichten, ist meine Befriedigung, und die Auswirkungen überlasse ich dem Urgrund aller Dinge. 

Die Sufis sagen, "die Kaaba, der heilige Ort, das Paradies ist das Herz des Menschen." Deswegen respektieren sie jedes Herz. Jedes Herz ist ihre Kaaba, ihr Heiligtum. Sie verbeugen sich vor dem Menschenherzen, denn in diesem Herzen lebt Gott. (S. 240)

Your heart is not living until it has experienced pain... The pain of love breaks open the heart, even if it is as hard as a rock.

Heil meiner Verbannung aus dem Garten Eden! Wäre ich nicht gefallen, so hätte ich keine Gelegenheit gehabt, die Lebenstiefen zu ergründen.

It would not be an exaggeration if one called the mind a world; it is the world that man makes, in which he will make his life in the hereafter, as a spider weaves its web in which to live. Once a person thinks of this problem he begins to see the value of the spiritual path, the path in which the soul is trained not to be owned by the mind, but to own it; not to become a slave of the mind, but to master it.

Des Lebens größtes Geheimnis ist die Kontinuität der Entwicklung. Hört Entwicklung auf, so ist das wie der Tod, und solange der Mensch sich entwickelt, kann Sterblichkeit ihn nicht berühren. Ob mit oder ohne Erfolg, wenn die Seele etwas zu erreichen wünscht, muss die Suche fortgesetzt werden, und durch Zielstrebigkeit wird eine Brücke von der Erde zum Himmel gebaut und vom Menschen zu Gott. (S. 36)

The soul's happiness is in itself; nothing can make the soul fully happy but self-realization.

It is the soul which is happiness itself, not all outer things which man seeks after, and which he thinks will give him happiness. The very fact that man is continually craving for happiness shows that the real element, which may be called man's real being, is not what has formed his body and what has composed his mind, but what he is in himself.

Love is a blessing, but it turns into a curse in attachment.