The lover of nature...

The lover of nature is the true worshipper of God.

Bowl of Saki, August 13, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

A true worshipper of God sees His presence in all forms, and thus in respecting
others he respects God. It may even develop to such an extent that the true
worshipper of God, the Omnipresent, walks gently on the earth, bowing in his
heart even to every tree and plant, and it is then that the worshipper forms a
communion with the Divine Beloved at all times, when he is awake and when he is
asleep.

Anyone who has some knowledge of mysticism and of the lives of the mystics knows
that what always attracts the mystic most is nature. Nature is his bread and
wine. Nature is his soul's nourishment. Nature inspires him, uplifts him and
gives him the solitude for which his soul continually longs. Every soul born
with a mystical tendency is constantly drawn towards nature; in nature that soul
finds its life's demand, as it is said in the Vadan, 'Art is dear to my heart,
but nature is near to my soul'. ... Nature does not teach the glory of God; it
need not teach this as nature itself is the glory of God. People wish to study
astrology and other subjects in order to understand better, but if we study
astrology then we are sure to arrive at an interpretation which is given by a
man, whereas what we should read from nature is what nature gives us and not
what any book teaches us.

There comes a time with the maturity of the soul when every thing and every
being begins to reveal its nature to us. We do not need to read their lives. We
do not need to read their theories. We know then that this wide nature in its
four aspects is ever-revealing and that one can always communicate with it, but
that in spite of this it is not the privilege of every soul to read it. Many
souls remain blind with open eyes. They are in heaven, but not allowed to look
at heaven; they are in paradise, but not allowed to enjoy the beauties of
paradise. It is just like a person sleeping on a pile of gems and jewels. From
the moment man's eyes open and he begins to read the book of nature he begins to
live; and he continues to live forever.

'There is One Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, the only scripture
which can enlighten the reader.' Most people consider as sacred scriptures only
certain books or scrolls written by the hand of man, and carefully preserved as
holy, to be handed down to posterity as divine revelation. Men have fought and
disputed over the authenticity of these books, have refused to accept any other
book of similar character, and, clinging thus to the book and losing the sense
of it have formed diverse sects. The Sufi has in all ages respected all such
books, and has traced in the Vedanta, Zend-Avesta, Kabbala, Bible, Quran, and
all other sacred scriptures, the same truth which he reads in the incorruptible
manuscript of nature, the only Holy Book, the perfect and living model that
teaches the inner law of life: all scriptures before nature's manuscript are as
little pools of water before the ocean.

To the eye of the seer every leaf of the tree is a page of the holy book that
contains divine revelation, and he is inspired every moment of his life by
constantly reading and understanding the holy script of nature