Love sees the beloved and nothing else ...

Love sees the beloved and nothing else


Love is the current coin of all peoples in all periods.

Bowl of Saki, August 17, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Love has its time at every stage of life. As a child, as a youth, as an adult,
whatever stage of life one has reached, love is always asked for and love always
has its part to perform. Whatever situation we are placed in, amongst friends or
foes, amongst those who understand us or amongst those who do not, in ease or in
difficulty, in all places at all times, it has its part to perform. The one who
thinks, 'I must not let the principle of love have its way, I must harden myself
against it', imprisons his soul. There is only one thing in the world that shows
the sign of heaven, that gives the proof of God, and that is pure, unselfish
love. For all the noble qualities which are hidden in the soul will spring forth
and blossom when love helps them and nurtures them. Man may have a great deal of
good in him and he may be very intelligent; but as long as his heart is closed,
he cannot show that nobleness, that goodness which is hidden in his heart. The
psychology of the heart is such that once one begins to know it, one realizes
that life is a continual phenomenon. Then every moment of life becomes a
miracle; a searchlight is thrown upon human nature and all things become so
clear that one does not ask for any greater phenomenon or miracle; it is a
miracle in and of itself. What one calls telepathy, thought reading, or
clairvoyance, and all such things, come by themselves when the heart is open.

If a person is cold and rigid, he feels within himself as if he were in a grave.
He is not living, he cannot enjoy this life for he cannot express himself and he
cannot see the light and life outside. What keeps man from developing the heart
quality? His exacting attitude. He wants to make a business of love. He says,
'If you will love me, I will love you.' As soon as a man measures and weighs his
favors and his services and all that he does for one whom he loves, he ceases to
know what love is. Love sees the beloved and nothing else.

The great teachers and prophets, and the inspirers of humanity of all times have
not become what they were by their miracles or wonder-workings; these belong to
other people. The main thing that could be seen in them was their loving manner.
Read the lives of the prophets. First of all see the way Jesus Christ had with
all those who came to him. When sinners who were condemned and expelled by
society were brought to the master, he received them with compassion. ... One
may ask: How to cultivate the heart quality? There is only one way: to become
selfless at each step one takes forward on this path, for what prevents one from
cultivating the loving quality is the thought of self. The more we think of our
self the less we think of others, and as we go further the self grows to become
worse and worse. In the end the self meets us as a giant which we had always
fought; and now at the end of the journey the giant is the stronger. But if from
the first step we take on the path of perfection we struggled and fought and
conquered this giant which is the self, it could be done only by the increasing
power of love.