VOLUME XIII
SACRED READINGS: THE GATHAS

HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN

 

 

CONTENTS

Preface

PART I
ETEKAD, RASM U RAVAJ
Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs

GATHA I
1 Belief and Superstition
2 Belief
3 Customs (1)
Customs (2)
Hanuman
6 Bells and Gongs
7 The Custom of Drinking the Health of Friends
8 The Origin of the Custom of the Seclusion of Women

GATHA II
1 ‘Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood’
2 Customs of Courtesy
Customs of the Marriage Ceremony
4 The Horse
5 Oracles Among the Ancient Greeks
6 The Greek Mysteries (1)
7 The Greek Mysteries (2)
8 The Greek Mysteries (3)
9 The Banshee
10 The Psychology of the Shadow

GATHA III
1 Toasts
2 Wedding Customs
3 Funeral Customs
4 The Swansong
5 Customs at the Birth of a Child in India
6 The Superstition of the Days Existing in the East
7 Unlucky Numbers
8 The Mysteries of Omens
9 The Influence of Time
10 Planetary Influence

 

PART II
KASHF
Insight

GATHA I
Safa
Tat Tvam Asi
The Glance of the Seer
Divine Evidence
Openness
Movement (1)
Movement (2)
The Study of the Whole
The Mystery of Expression
Different Qualities of Mind

GATHA II
The Reproduction of the Mental Record
Impression
The Balance of Life
The Language of the Mind
The Influence of Experience
Intuition
Evidence of the Thought
The Activity of Mind
Likes and Dislikes
Viprit Karnai

GATHA III
Reason is Earth-born
The Word and the Idea
The Expression and the Idea
The Power of Words
The Re-echo of the Past
Interest in All Things
Vairagya
A Silent Music
Three Ways to Develop Insight
Tranquility

PART III
NAKSHI BANDI
Symbology

GATHA I
An Ocean in a Drop
The Symbol of the Sun
The Symbol of the Cross
The Two Forces
The Symbol of the Dove
The Symbol of the Sufi Order
Symbology of the Dot and the Circle
Symbolism of Lines
Symbolism of the Triangle
Symbology of the Mushroom

GATHA II
1 ‘Die Before Death’
Fruitfulness
The Symbol of the Dragon
Water
Wine
The Curl of the Beloved
The Glance
The Myth of Balder
The Tree of Wishes
The Hindu Symbolical Form of Worship

 

GATHA III
Leili and Majnun
Leili and Majnun (Conclusion)
The Symbology of Religious Ideas:
Christ Walking on the Water
The Symbology of Religious Ideas: Shaqqu’s-Sadr
The Symbology of Religious Ideas:
Meraj, The Dream of the Prophet
The Symbology of Religious Ideas: The Flute of Krishna
The Symbology of Religious Ideas: Tongues of Fire
The Symbology of Religious Ideas: The Story of Lot’s Wife
The Symbology of Religious Ideas
The Symbology of Religious Ideas: The Ten Virgins

PART IV
PASI ANFAS
Breath

GATHA I
1 The Power of the Breath
2 The Culture of the Breath
3 Prana
4 Five Aspects of Breath
5 The Channel of Breath
6 The Rhythm of Breath
7 Kasif and Latif
8 Breath – The Vehicle of the Self
9 The Mysticism of Breath
Color and Sound

GATHA II
1 Fikar
2 Regularity of Breath
3 The Life Power
4 Full Breath
5 The Rhythmic Breath
6 Be Conscious of Every Breath
7 Direction of Breath
8 Breath in Development of Mind
9 Contraction and Expansion
Communication Through the Breath

GATHA III
1 The Length of Breath
2 Inspiration
3 Thought Reading
4 Nafsi Garm
5 The Unknown Dimension
6 Breathing Meditation
7 Breath is Likened to Water
8 Breath and Magnetism
9 The Subtle Waves of Breath
The Mystery of Breath

PART V
MORALS

GATHA I
1 The Development of Personality
The Sense of Beauty and Sincerity
2 The Development of Personality
The Jarring Effect of the Ego of Another
3 The Development of Personality: What is the Ego?
The Training of the Ego:
What the Ego needs and What It Does Not Need
The Training of the Ego: Constant Battle with the Ego
The Training of the Ego: The Animal Side of Man’s Ego
The Training of the Ego: Self-Consciousness
The Training of the Ego: Vanity
The Training of the Ego: The Three Parts of the Ego
The Training of the Ego: Three Stages Through Which the Ego Develops

GATHA II
1 The Training of the Ego: Necessity and Avidity
2 The Training of the Ego: Training and Abstinence
3 The Training of the Ego: The Two Sides of the Human Ego
4 The Training of the Ego:
Training Is as Well a Science as an Art
5 The Training of the Ego:
Training by Refraining from Free Impulses
6 The Training of the Ego: The Ego is Trained as a Horse
7 The Training of the Ego:
Training by Not Gratifying Vanity
8 The Training of the Ego: Humility
9 The Training of the Ego: Forgiveness
The Training of the Ego:
‘Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit’

GATHA III
1 The Manner of Friendliness
2 The Manner of Friendliness: Adab (Respect) (1)
3 The Manner of Friendliness Adab (Respect) (2)
4 Respect
5 The Manner of Friendliness: Khatir (Consideration)
6 Tawazeh (Sharing with Others)
7 Haya (Modesty)
8 Modesty
9 Gheirat (Honor)
Enkessar (Selflessness)

PART VI
TAQWA TAHARAT
Everyday Life

GATHA I
1 Everyday Life
2 The Instrument of Our Body
3 The Breath
4 Outer and Inner Ablutions
5 Inner Ablutions
6 Vegetarian Diet
7 The Five Elements of the Body
8 Purification
9 Sobriety
Fasting

GATHA II
1 The Purity of the Body
2 Purification
3 Purity of Mind (1)
4 Purity of Mind (2)
5 Purification of the Mind
6 The Power of Mind
7 Every Mind has its Own Standard of Good and Bad
8 The Impression of Illness and Weakness on the Mind
9 Keeping the Mind in a Pure Condition
10 Keeping the Mind Free from All Undesirable Impressions

GATHA III
1 Purity of Heart
2 Keeping the Heart Pure
3 The Radiance of the Face
4 Innocence
5 Reject the Impression of Errors and Shortcomings
6 Purity of the Heart
7 Exaltation
8 Purify the Mind from Fear
9 Keep the Heart Free From Poison
10 The Real Purification of Mind

Part VII
TASAWWUF
Metaphysics

GATHA I
1 Belief
2 Faith
3 Hope
4 Patience
5 Fear
6 Justice
7 Reason
8 Logic
9 Temptation
10 Tolerance

GATHA II
1 Forgiveness
2 Endurance (1)
3 Endurance (2)
4 Will Power
5 Keeping a Secret
6 Mind
7 Thought
8 Tawakul; Dependence upon God
9 Piety
10 Spirituality

GATHA III
1 Attitude
2 Sympathy
3 The Word ‘Sin’
4 Kaza and Kadr: The Will, Human and Divine
5 Opinion
6 Conscience
7 Conventionality
8 Life
9 The Word ‘Shame’
10 Tolerance