A SUFI’S VIEW OF THE HEART
There are so many meanings of “the heart” which we use in our daily conversation and all
sorts of writings. Some of these are :
love, liking, care, passion, tender
feelings, warm emotions, compassion, sympathy, kindness, goodwill, fellow-feeling,
mercy, concern for others, benevolence, friendliness, generosity, etc. However,
there are different interpretations also.
According to the Indian professor of Sufism Hazrat Inayat
Khan (1882-1927) personality is formed
around the heart. For a materialist the heart is a piece of flesh hidden in the
breast, but for the mystic the heart is the centre of the person round which
the personality is formed. He adds : Consciously or unconsciously man loves the
word “heart”, and if we were to ask a
poet to leave out that word and write his poems without using it, he would
never satisfy himself or others.
Hazrat Inayat Khan also says that there is only one way of coming
near to one’s friends, and that is by way of the heart. If there is anything
which is the most wonderful in heaven and earth, it is the heart. If a miracle
is to be found anywhere, it is in the heart. For when God has tuned the heart,
what is there which is not to be found in it?
Before concluding, I would like to quote the German writer Jean Paul Richter (1763-1826} :
“Memory, wit, fancy, acuteness, cannot grow young again in
old age; but the heart can. “
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G.R.Kanwal
16 August 2024
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