Quotes from Hazrat Inayat Khan

There are two aspects of life: the first is that man is tuned by his surroundings, and the second is that man can tune himself in spite of his surroundings.

One should never think or speak against one's desire, for it weakens the thought-vibrations and often brings about contrary results. A variety of thoughts springing up at the same time naturally enfeebles the power of mind, for none of them has a chance to mature, just as twins are often imperfect and triplets seldom live. The disharmony between one's desire and one's ideal always causes a great confusion in life, for they constantly work against each other.

All labor and toil, however hard and difficult, is made easy by the power of rhythm in some way or other. This idea opens to the thinker a means for a still deeper study of life.

But why must man suffer and sacrifice for God? At the end of his suffering and sacrifice he will find that though he began to do so for God, it has proved to be for himself. It is the foolishly selfish who is selfish, and the wisely selfish proves to be selfless.

It is more important to find out the truth about oneself than to find out the truth about heaven and hell, or about many other things which are of less importance and are apart from oneself. However, every man's pursuit is according to his state of evolution, and so each soul is in pursuit of something—but he does not know where it leads him.

Wisdom is like the horizon: the nearer you approach it, the further it recedes.

When the soul is attuned to God, every action becomes music.

If one has learned while on earth to create joy and happiness for oneself and for others, in the other world that joy and happiness surrounds one. And if one has sown the seeds of poison while on earth the fruits of these one must reap there; that is where one sees justice as the nature of life. The idea of

Be sparing of your words if you wish them to be powerful.

life is one, but that it exists in two aspects. First as immortal, all-pervading and silent; and secondly as mortal, active, and manifest in variety.

One who has learned friendship has learned religion; the one who has learned friendship has attained spiritual knowledge. The one who has leaned friendship need learn very little else; morals in Persian is friendship.

Indifference and independence are the two wings which enable the soul to fly.

As fruit ripens in the course of nature, so it is in the course of nature that the soul should mature; and it is no use being disappointed or disheartened.

The Sufi, realizing this, takes the path of annihilation, and, by the guidance of a teacher on the path, finds at the end of this journey that the destination was he. As Iqbal says: I wandered in the pursuit of my own self; I was the traveler, and I am the destination.

If one wants to torture oneself for the sake of torture one may do so, but not for spiritual perfection.

The nature of the ray is to extend and withdraw, to appear and disappear; and the duration of its existence is short when compared with the duration of the eternal

the seed has in it the leaf and the flower and the fruit. But the fulfillment of the purpose of that seed is that it is put in the ground, that it is watered, that a seedling springs up and is reared by the sun; it brings forth its flowers and fruits. This is the fulfillment of that seed which already contained in itself the fruit and the flower.

It is I who was, if there were any. What I had thought to be myself was not myself, but was my experience. I am all that there is, and it is myself who will be, whoever there will be. It is I who am the source, the traveler, and the goal of this existence. 'Verily truth is all the religion there is; and it is truth which will save.

If the soul does not hear the call and sleeps, it is not the fault of nature, which is continually calling. Therefore, if I were to say in a few words, how to find one's purpose, I would say: by waking from sleep.

It is easy to know truth, but most difficult to be truth. It is not in knowing truth that life's purpose is accomplished; life's purpose is accomplished in being truth.

Ist die Seele auf Gott gestimmt, so wird jedes Tun zu Musik.

The soul's true happiness lies in experiencing the inner joy, and it will never be fully satisfied with outer, seeming pleasures. Its connection is with God, and nothing short of perfection will ever satisfy it.

and the sense of justice makes one wish to judge oneself before judging others.

If one being or thing, however apparently useless, were missing in this universe of endless variety, it would be as it were a note missing in a song.