Page 17 - News and Views Spring 2023

to Almighty God in such a way!’ The child was sad, but as the prophet turned to go on his way he in
his turn was rebuked. It is not for you to criticise others who are expressing their love and devotion

to me in their own way.

Then there is the problem which experience and awareness of the divine poses for the so-called
rational mind. Here again Buddhism offers an approach. They have the concept of the koan,
something with which the reason cannot deal. Perhaps the most famous one is ‘the sound of one
hand clapping’. The mind is disciplined to accept eventually that there are concepts beyond it.
Where is the soul actually experienced? Not in the mind but in the heart. Hazrat Inayat Khan said: ’If
anyone asks you what Sufism is, you may say that it is the religion of the heart.’

In my own limited personal spiritual experience, very often the word ‘or’ can be replaced by the word
‘and’. Is God personal or impersonal? Personal and impersonal. Is one nothing or everything?
Nothing and everything. Is God within or without? Within and without.

There is nothing but God. Use a different word if you prefer – Allah, the Great Spirit, Brahma – but
the meaning is the same.

Go well in peace, and may the Light shine on you.

* Only Breath An Excerpt from the translations of Coleman Barks © by owner. provided at no charge for educational
purposes .
There are many reference in Google

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