connection...

The aim of the mystic is to keep near to the idea of unity, and to find out
where we unite.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

When people say that they distinguish between right and wrong by their results,
even then they cannot be sure if in the punishment there was not a reward, or in
the reward a punishment. What does this show us? It shows us that life is a
puzzle of duality. The pairs of opposites keep us in an illusion and make us
think, 'This is this, and that is that'. At the same time by throwing a greater
light upon things we shall find in the end that they are quite different from
what we had thought.

Seeing the nature and character of life the Sufi says that it is not very
important to distinguish between two opposites. What is most important is to
recognize that One which is hiding behind it all. Naturally after realizing life
the Sufi climbs the ladder which leads him to unity, to the idea of unity which
comes through the synthesis of life, by seeing One in all things, in all beings.

Whatever a man desires, that desire informs us of the state of mind he is in,
and those who understand the mind well, know the mind of another simply by
studying the desires and tendencies of his life. Love of a rose, a lily, a
jasmine, of sweet, sour, salt, or savory things, expresses the particular
tendency of a person's mind, the mood he is in. Modern education omits the study
of the truth which teaches us that unity comes from nature's variety, whereas
the sole aim of the mystic is to keep near to the idea of unity and to find out
where we unite.

There is an Arabic saying, 'If you wish to know God, you must know yourself.'
How little man knows while he is in the intoxication of individualism! He
thinks, 'I am a separate being; you are another; there is no connection between
you and me, and we all have our own joys and free will.' Did man but know it,
his life is dependent not only on the objects and things that keep the body
alive, but also on the activity of a thousand minds in a day. ... Who then can
say, 'I am an individual, independent and free, I can think as I wish, and I can
do what I wish? ... We are connected with one another. Our lives are tied
together, and there is a link in which we can see one current running through
all. There are many globes and lamps, and yet one current is running through
all. The mystic seeks to realize this constantly and to impress it on his mind
in whatever he may see. What, for him, are the waves of the sea? Are they not
the sea itself?