Sharing Joy...

True pleasure lies in the sharing of joy with another.

Bowl of Saki, December 28, by Hazrat Inayat Khan




Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Man's selfishness shows itself in wanting to get the better of his fellow man.
If we developed humanity we should do differently. We should be satisfied with a
slice of bread if there were another in need, but as it is, it happens that even
when we are fed ourselves, we do not wish anyone else to share the food. The
human heart can only be really satisfied by knowing that the other person is
happy. True pleasure lies in the sharing of joy with another. From the day that
we realize this we begin to act as human beings.

A person who, alone, has seen something beautiful, who has heard something
harmonious, who has tasted something delicious, who has smelt something
fragrant, may have enjoyed it, but not completely. The complete joy is in
sharing one's joy with others. For the selfish one who enjoys himself and does
not care for others, whether he enjoys things of the earth or things of heaven,
his enjoyment is not complete.

Tawazu in Sufi terms means something more than hospitality. It is laying before
one's friend willingly what one has, in other words sharing with one's friend
all the good one has in life, and with it, enjoying life better. When this
tendency to tawazu is developed, things that give one joy and pleasure become
more enjoyable by sharing with another. This tendency comes from the aristocracy
of the heart. It is generosity and even more than generosity. For the limit of
generosity is to see another pleased in his pleasure, but to share one's own
pleasure with another is greater than generosity. It is a quality which is
foreign to a selfish person, and the one who shows this quality is on the path
of saintliness.