What is our sacred task, not only as the members of the Order, but also as the servers of the Divine Cause? Our sacred task is to awaken among those around us and among those whom we can reach, the spirit of tolerance for religion, scripture and the ideal of devotion of one another. Our next task is to make those around us understand people of different nations, races, communities, and social classes. By this we do not mean to say that all races and nations must become one or that all classes must become one, only that whatever be our religion, nation, race or class, our most sacred duty is to work for one another, in one another’s interest and to consider that as the service of God.
A spirit of reciprocity is what we must create among the people of different races and nations, different classes and communities, to bring about the understanding that the happiness, prosperity and welfare of each depends on the happiness, prosperity and welfare of all. Besides that, the central theme of the Sufi Message is one simple thing, yet it is most difficult. It is to bring about in the world the realization of the divinity of the human soul, which previously has been overlooked for the reason that the time had not come. The principal thing that the Message has to accomplish in this era is to create the realization of the divine spark in every soul, that every soul, according to its progress, may begin to realize for itself the divinity within. This is the task that is before us.
Now you may ask, what is the Message? The Message is this: The whole humanity is as one single body and all nations and communities and races as the different organs, and the happiness and well-being of each of them is the happiness and well-being of the whole body. If there is one organ of the body in pain, the whole body has to sustain a share of the strain of this pain. By this Message humankind may begin to think that its welfare and well-being is not only in looking after itself, but it is in looking after others, and when in all people there is reciprocity, love, and goodness toward one another, the better time will come.
Now the question is, how are we to set about doing this work? It is a difficult question to answer, because we all have our own way of working in the world, and one form of work cannot be adopted by all. It must be remembered that a great sacrifice on the part of the worker is necessary. Without sacrifice a worker will not be able to fulfil their mission. You will have to stand opposition from your friends and your acquaintances; there will be monetary sacrifices to be made, if the occasion arises. A great deal of time will have to be sacrificed, action also. Then you will have to sacrifice the desire for appreciation; it does not exist in the work. Work and the reward of the work is the satisfaction, that “I have done it.” You will be hindered by those who oppose, also by those who sympathize, by the bitterness of some and by the ignorance of others. It will be easy, if you are sensitive, to take up the work one day and give it up another day. You will need a great deal of courage to go on with the work against all sorts of opposition.
In addition, a great amount of prudence is necessary. In the absence of prudence, the work cannot be successful; it may instead suffer. Not just prudence before strangers or opponents, but even prudence toward those near and dear to you, your best friends. Even there you will have to use prudence. What is wanted most of the worker is prudence. You will have to work quietly, unassumingly, for this task cannot be accomplished and cannot be made known by the noise of drums. For that, there are other movements. The less we are known the better it is; our profit is in not being known. By being known we make more enemies. It is not our aim in life to be known. Publicity is not our reward. Our reward is if Providence only allows us to work quietly. If nobody in the world knows of our work, we do not mind. It is God’s work. God’s name be glorified. In the glory of God’s name, we find our satisfaction. It is for the benefit of humanity, for the well-being of the world. What does it matter if we worked and others became known, if we sowed and others reaped the harvest? It is our work, our mission, to sow and to leave the harvest to others to gather.
Therefore, what forbearance you will need with those who will say things against you, who will persecute you and the Message! You will need a great strength of will to tolerate instead of defend. We are not here for fighting, to argue or to defend. We are here quietly to work. If anyone says, “You are right,” say, “Yes, thank you;” if anyone says, “You do good,” say, “Yes, thank you;” if anyone says, “You do ill,” say, “Yes, thank you.” That is all; no defending. What is the use? Against how many people will you defend yourself? Against how much blame will you speak back? Against one person? Against twenty people? If you will be answering those who blame you, when will you do your work? It must be done quietly. No one must know that you are doing it, and the satisfaction must be only in the accomplishment of our sacred trust.
This I have told you to make things clear and easy for you. If it were a human enterprise, there could have been a doubt whether it would be accomplished or not. It must be accomplished and it will be accomplished. Only those of us who are privileged to serve the cause may just as well find an easier way, a better way, rather than strike a way of difficulty. Greatness is in humility, wisdom is in modesty, success is in sacrifice, truth is in silence. Therefore, the best way of doing the work is to do all we can, do it thoroughly, do it wholeheartedly and do it quietly.
August 13, 1923
CW 1923, Vol II, pp. 357-359.
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