Observations placeholder
Khan, Hazrat Inayat - The Art of Being and Becoming - Blessed are the pure in heart
Identifier
004831
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see the kingdom of God'
A description of the experience
Hazrat Inayat Khan – The Art of Being and Becoming
When a person says pure minded what does it mean? It means what is foreign to the mind does not belong to it, but what is natural to the mind remains. And what is natural to the mind? What one sees and admires in the little child; the tendency to friendliness; readiness to see or admire something beautiful, instead of criticising; willingness to smile in answer to anybody’s love or smile, and to believe without questioning. A child is a natural believer; a natural friend, responding and yielding; a natural admirer of beauty, without criticism, overlooking all that does not attract, knowing love but not hate. This shows the original state of mind natural to man.
Is it then desirable for a child never to learn anything which is worldly and remain always a child?
This is like asking ‘Is it desirable for the spirit never to come to earth, but to remain in heaven always?’ No. The true exaltation of the spirit is in the fact that it has come to earth and from here has risen to the spirit state and realised its perfection. Therefore all that the world gives in the way of knowledge, in the way of experience, in the way of reason, all that one’s own experience and the experience of others teaches us, all that we learn from life, from its sorrows and disappointments, its joys and opportunities – all these contradictory experiences help us to become more full of love and kindness. If a person has gone through all these and has held his spirit high, not allowing it to be stained, that person may be called pure minded.
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Purity of heart must not be considered a virtue but a necessity, a necessity not only to be considered for the good of others but for one’s own life. The main thing that must be remembered is that the soul is pure and it cannot bear the lack of purity without feeling restless. The spirit has a tune and a rhythm. When it is out of tune and out of rhythm, though the riches of the whole world be given to it, it is worth nothing. It is purity and peace which are the soul’s constant seeking.