8. Prayer
Religious Gatheka
by Hazrat Inayat Khan
If we can only know the joy of asking pardon even of our fellowman, when we realize we are at fault, however little it may be! And when we ask the Father of all to forgive our fault, joy beauty, happiness spring in the heart in a way unknown until it is experienced. And then to think we can ask pardon of Him Whose love is unlimited, while our errors are numberless and our ignorance limitless! Think of the joy of asking forgiveness from God! Every moment of our life, if we can see wisely, contains some fault or error, and asking pardon is just like purifying the heart and washing it white. Only think of the joy of humbling yourself before God! There is a story of Akbar.
He was mourning for the death of his mother and for a long time his grief was so great he could not overcome it. His ministers and friends tried to comfort him, telling him how fortunate he was, how great was his influence and power. He answered, “Yes, I know it, but one thing grieves me. I have everyone to bow before, but there was one, when I came in the palace, before whom I could be humble. I could be as nothing before her and I cannot tell you the joy of that.”
Think then of the greater joy of humbling yourself before that Spirit, that Ideal, who is the true Father and Mother, on Whose love you always can depend; - it is a spark of His love which expresses itself in the earthy father and mother - and in whatever manner you must humble yourself before Him, it can never be enough. To humble your limited self before His Perfection, that is to deny yourself. Self-denial is not renouncing things, it is denying the self, and its first lesson is humility.
And the blessing one can receive by prayer becomes a thousand fold greater when the blessing is received by some few who are united in the same thought and are praying together.
Daily reflections on the following points in Religious Gatheka 8
Point One: Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan in this lecture says: If we can only know the joy of asking pardon even of our fellowman, when we realize we are at fault, however little it may be! And when we ask the Father of all to forgive our fault, joy beauty, happiness spring in the heart in a way unknown until it is experienced.
Contemplation: Do I experience joy “in asking pardon of [my] fellowman and the Father”, as Hazrat Inayat Khan indicates in this lesson? Recollect how you experience joy in asking pardon. Recollect when you do not.
Point Two: Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan in this lecture says: Think of the joy of asking forgiveness from God! Every moment of our life, if we can see wisely, contains some fault or error, and asking pardon is just like purifying the heart and washing it white. Only think of the joy of humbling yourself before God!
Contemplation: Ask yourself, “Do I feel that my heart is being purified and washed white when I ask for pardon?”
Point Three: Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan in this lecture says: To humble your limited self before His Perfection, that is to deny yourself. Self-denial is not renouncing things, it is denying the self, and its first lesson is humility.
Contemplation: How do I experience self-denial? Do I believe it is renouncing things? Do I realize what it means to denounce the self on the path of humility?
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