The Light...

The worlds are held together by the heat of the sun; each of us are atoms held
in position by that eternal Sun we call God. Within us is the same central power
we call the light, or the love of God; by it we hold together the human beings
within our sphere, or, lacking it, we let them fall.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

A close study of the formation of the sun and of its influence on everything in
life will help us to understand the divine Spirit. Heat, gas-light, electric
light, the coal fire, the wood fire, the candle, the flame of the oil-lamp, all
these different manifestations of light have their source in the sun; it is the
sun which is showing itself in all these different forms, although we generally
consider the sun to be separate from all other aspects of light. In the same way
the supreme Spirit is manifested in all forms, in all things and beings, in the
seen and unseen worlds; and yet it stands remote, as the sun stands remote from
all other forms of light. The Qur'an says, 'God is the light of heaven and of
earth'; and in reality all forms, however dense they may be, are to some degree
the radiance of that spirit which is all light. All the different colors are
different degrees of that same light.

The soul becomes like a rose and begins to show the rose quality. The rose holds
together many petals, and so the person who comes to the unfoldment of the soul
begins to show many different qualities. These qualities emit fragrance in the
form of a spiritual personality. The rose has a beautiful structure, and so the
personality which proves the unfoldment of the soul has also a fine structure in
manner, in dealing with others, in speech, in action. It is like the perfume of
the rose that the atmosphere of the spiritual being pervades all.

The rose has in its heart its seeds, and so the developed souls have in their
heart that seed of development which produces many roses. The rose comes and
fades away, but the essence that is taken from the rose lives and keeps the
fragrance that it had in its full bloom. Personalities who touch that plane of
development may live on the earth for a limited time, but the essence which is
left by them will live for thousands and thousands of years, ever keeping the
same fragrance and giving the same pleasure that once the rose gave.

Each one has his circle of influence, large or small; within his sphere so many
souls and minds are involved; with his rise, they rise; with his fall, they
fall. The size of a man's sphere corresponds with the extent of his sympathy, or
we may say, with the size of his heart. His sympathy holds his sphere together.
As his heart grows, his sphere grows; as his sympathy is withdrawn or lessened,
so his sphere breaks up and scatters. If he harms those who live and move within
his sphere, those dependent upon him or upon his affection, he of necessity
harms himself.

The worlds are held together by the heat of the sun. Each of us are atoms held
in position by that eternal sun we call God. Within us is that same central
power, we call it the light of God, or the love of God, and by it we too hold up
the human beings within our sphere; or lacking it, we let them fall. So God
keeps all, and so we keep our friends and surroundings. With this knowledge life
in the world becomes a glorious vision. Not that we are compelled to keep away
from sin, but we learn what power virtue has.