Gayani Meditations for the Confraternity of the Message - daily inspirational meditations by email

CONFRATERNITY MEDITATION #0001

“My thoughtful self! Reproach no one, hold a grudge against no one, bear malice against no one; be wise, tolerant, considerate, polite and kind to all.” Gayan of Hazrat Inayat Khan CM-0001, CS-0036

“For the very reason that God is divided on earth into different beings, and reunites Himself in one Being, His power is unlimited. The real object of all people on earth is the same as the object of God in heaven; but this object can only be attained if man will yield up his desire to the desire of God, if man will give himself up to the Self of God. That is the meaning of the sacrifice of Abraham; that is the real meaning of the crucifixion: to crucify the lower self.” From: The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan - THE ALCHEMY OF HAPPINESS – The Path of Attainment (2)

“Seemingly it is a renunciation, an annihilation, but in truth it is a mastery. The real meaning of crucifixion is to crucify this false self, and so resurrect the true self. As long as the false self is not crucified, the true self is still not realized. By Sufis it is called Fana, annihilation. All the attempts made by true sages and seekers after real truth are for the one aim of attaining to everlasting life.” From: The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan - IN AN EASTERN ROSE GARDEN - The Freedom of Soul (1)

“The wood does not change the fire into itself, but the fire changes the wood into itself. So are we changed into God, that we shall know him as he is.” --Meister Eckhardt

"`Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor
as yourself. I am the LORD. The Jewish Tradition - Leviticus 19:18

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,
7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time
16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." The Jewish Tradition - Genesis 22 :: New International Version

27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners' love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners' do that.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners' lend to `sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. The Christian Tradition - Luke 6 : New International Version

Hamid’s Note:
Willingly sacrifice one’s own ego? Receive the whip and thorns and blame and scorn and humiliation and insults from others? Leave this self we have so carefully nurtured, so lovingly cherished, so ardently defended to hang helplessly in silent resignation until, with its last breath, it asks; “Why have you forsaken me?”, and to do this willingly!? Sounds crazy doesn’t it? Aren’t we justified to defend ourselves; to strike back; to resent? Perhaps. But this would not bring the self mastery needed to lead us to that ultimate abode; the Kingdom of God.

A Fikr Practice

On the out breath "GUIDE US ON THE PATH"
On the in breath: "OF THINE OWN GOODNESS"