The Message in Our Time
by Hidayat Inayat-Khan
From the Jubilee Edition of the Dutch Journal titled Soefi Gedachte
The Message in our time is not meant for only a certain culture nor is it for just one part of the world; it is destined for the whole of humanity. This Message of the Unity of Religious Ideals could be symbolically illustrated as a Universal Worship, inspired by the history of the great religions, known and unknown to the world at large.
To the question, ‘What is the Message?’ the answer varies in accordance with the understanding, because each person represents a different point of view, yet all claim to drink from the same water of truth, whether it be called a stream, a river, a lake, a sea, an ocean or the Divine Source itself.
The world Message could be understood as abstract energy that becomes intelligible to humanity through the inspiration of all those, down the ages, who have brought one and the same Message, and whose magnetism still resonates in the hearts of the devotees, varying in accordance to the interpretation given to the original word. The preservation of that resonance has always depended upon a continuous renewal of the original inspiration; and the characteristics of those renewals have always been related to the living conditions, rules and cultures in the areas where they expanded. The mission of those renewals could be identified by the term “Religion.”
The world Messengers have come with the great ideal of liberating humanity from the diversifications of speculative theories related to mystifications of abstract concepts, that have persisted through the centuries, maintaining the specter of fanaticism even in this age when science has successfully catapulted factual knowledge as far as the surface of the moon.
Religious structures, which arise from spiritual ideals, have always been intended to offer a helping hand toward the realization of Truth, but regrettably, these high ideals tend to be limited within endless cultural forms and to be clad in artificial garments by those who do not see that the means to attain an object cannot be the goal; the goal is further still. The path is the means of reaching the goal, but if one argues over the authenticity of the path, one is misled by the differences and can never really reach anywhere.
Each religion strikes a characteristic tone, and when all blend harmoniously together as a divine symphony, one then encounters the reality of a perfect unity of all spiritual ideals. However, this does not mean indulging in a federative initiative; it only means discovering the golden thread running through all religious structures, which reveals a profound spiritual oneness in the original inspiration, interwoven within all religious Ideals.
A religion, which is the materialization of the original Message, is continually reshaped over time, according to the understanding of various cultural reformers, in words and forms adapted to the educational standards of the multitude, whereas the parallel development of science has always been focused on the search for definable facts, structured according to logical definitions.
Through the centuries, the moral and spiritual claims of religious theories have been diversely interpreted by the “callers from the pulpit,” and still today are understood in various ways by the followers of the followers who do not realize that these interpretations have little in common with the spiritual origin of the sacred word.
Spirituality, which is the essence of all religions, cannot be framed within doctrines nor defined in words, nor can it be taught or learned; it can only be discovered by way of the heart. Therefore, spirituality really means rebirth, in the sense that one begins to discover that it has always been one’s birthright, and it could best be described as the perfume of true knowledge.
The Sufi Message in our time, which is inspired by spiritual ideals, is neither a new religion nor a cult, neither is it a doctrine nor a secret institution. Perhaps one could say that it is the same religion of the heart that has always been, ever since wisdom was wisdom. Therefore, the term “Sufi,” meaning wisdom, refers not only to ancient orders, known or unknown, that have blossomed through the ages, but also indicates the purification of the mind from pre-conceived ideas and illogical thinking, especially with regard to abstract concepts.
The Sufi Message is the answer to the cry of humanity calling for Spiritual Liberty beyond all distinctions and differences; it is a Message of Brotherhood and Sisterhood inspired by the all-pervading enfoldment of Love, Harmony and Beauty.
May the sacred Ka’aba stone, which Abraham, father of three great religious streams, placed thousands of years ago as a Temple of Initiation to symbolize the ideal of One and the same God, be forever an example of dignity and respect for all those venturing on the path of Truth, making no distinction of religion or belief.
Since 1988 Murshid Hidayat Inayat-Khan has been the Pir-o-Murshid and General Representative of the International Sufi Movement. In 2009 the Pir-o-Murshid Council was established and from that moment onwards Murshid Hidayat Inayat-Khan and Murshid Karimbakhsh Witteveen are Co-General Representatives.