6. “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”
Religious Gatheka
by Hazrat Inayat Khan
In the prayer of the Christian Church there is a sentence: ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.’ This gives a great key to metaphysics. It gives a hint to the seer - that his Will, which is easily done in Heaven has difficulty in being done on earth. And who stands against His Will? Man. And where lies the Will of God? In the inner most being of man. And what stands as obstacle? The surface of the heart of man, and this means struggle in man himself. In him there is the Will of God and in him there is the obstacle. In the sphere within him, there is the will of God, as in Heaven; and where there is the obstacle to it, there is the earth.
By this prayer man is prepared to remove the obstacle which stands before the will of God. Now how can we distinguish between those two aspects of will: the Will of God and the obstacle, which is the will of man? It is easy for a person with a clear mind and open heart to distinguish, if he only knew the secret of it. For to that which is the will of God his whole being responds and in doing so His will, his whole being becomes satisfied. When it is his will only one side of his being is perhaps satisfied for a certain time and there comes a conflict in himself. He himself finds fault with the idea or action. He himself finds dissatisfied with his own being. The wider the scope in which he sees his idea or his action the more dissatisfied he will become. When in this manner by the ray of intelligence, one sees life, one begins to distinguish between his will and the Will of God. The Kingdom of God, which is in Heaven, then comes to earth. It does not mean that it disappears from Heaven, but it only means that not only Heaven remains as a kingdom of Heaven, but even earth becomes a kingdom of Heaven. The purpose behind all this creation is that Heaven may be realized on the earth. If one did not realize it on earth, he cannot realize it in Heaven.
One may ask: “What do I mean with Heaven?” Heaven is that place where all is the choice of man and everything moves at his command. Heaven is the natural condition of life. When on earth life becomes so entangled that it loses its original harmony, Heaven ceases to exist and the motive of the soul is to gain in life the kingdom of Heaven which the soul has lost. Nothing does one attain in life which will give that satisfaction which can only be attained by bringing Heaven on earth.
Daily reflections on the following points in Religious Gatheka 6
Point One: Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan in this lecture says: In the prayer of the Christian Church there is a sentence: ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.’ This gives a great key to metaphysics. It gives a hint to the seer - that his Will, which is easily done in Heaven has difficulty in being done on earth. And who stands against His Will? Man. And where lies the Will of God? In the inner most being of man. And what stands as obstacle? The surface of the heart of man, and this means struggle in man himself.
Contemplation: What stands as an obstacle to my realization of my inner most being? And what struggles arise as a result of this/these obstacles?
Point Two: Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan in this lecture says: By this prayer ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven’ man is prepared to remove the obstacle which stands before the will of God. Now how can we distinguish between those two aspects of will: the Will of God and the obstacle, which is the will of man?
Contemplation: Can I distinguish between the two aspects of will – the Will of God and my personal will?
Point Three: Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan in this lecture says: It is easy for a person with a clear mind and open heart to distinguish, if he only knew the secret of it. For to that which is the will of God his whole being responds and in doing so His will, his whole being becomes satisfied. When it is his will only one side of his being is perhaps satisfied for a certain time and there comes a conflict in himself. he himself finds fault with the idea or action. He himself finds dissatisfied with his own being.
Contemplation: What dissatisfaction arises when my will is only one-sided and personal.
Point Four: Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan in this lecture says: One may ask: 'What do I mean with Heaven?' Heaven is that place where all is the choice of man and everything moves at his command. Heaven is the natural condition of life. When on earth life becomes so entangled that it loses its original harmony, Heaven ceases to exist and the motive of the soul is to gain in life the kingdom of Heaven which the soul has lost. Nothing does one attain in life which will give that satisfaction which can only be attained by bringing Heaven on earth.
Contemplation: Can I identify and reflect those circumstances when I have experienced “Heaven on earth”? Those times when I experienced the “natural condition of life”?
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