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What the World Needs Today

Hazrat Inayat Khan

The unrest which one finds throughout the world, the difficulties among nations, the hatred
existing among people one for the other, a cry of misery which comes more or less from all sides,
make one wonder what may be done to find a solution for the general cry of humanity. What is done
today is that the different institutions try to extinguish the fire burning here and there, but that can
never solve the problem of the world.
The first thing that should be remembered is that all activities of life are connected with one
another, and if one thing is put in order another goes wrong. It is just like a person who is ill who
needs sleep and good diet; if he has sleep without good diet it will not do him good, nor will a good
diet without sleep help him. While wanting to straighten up commercial difficulties political problems
creep up, while considering the social question moral difficulties manifest to view.
Therefore in wanting to serve humanity in the work of reconstruction, which is the duty and
responsibility of every sensible soul, whatever be his rank or position or qualification in life, first the
question must be studied: what will be the remedy for all the maladies that manifest on the surface
of life today? There is one principal thing and that is the changing of the attitude of humanity, which
alone can help in all directions of life. And the attitude can be changed by moral, spiritual and
religious advancement. The work that the Sufi Message has to accomplish is in this particular
direction. The Sufi Message is no new religion, nor is it a particular system, but it is a method of
changing the attitude in life, which enables man to have another outlook on life.
The chief thing that the Sufi Movement will try to avoid is sectarianism, which has divided man
in all ages of the world's history. The Sufi Message is not opposed to any religion, faith or belief; on
the other hand it is a support of all religions; it is a defence for religions which are attacked by the
followers of other religions. At the same time the Sufi Movement provides humanity with the religion
which is in reality all religions. The Sufi Movement is not supposed to take the whole humanity in its
arms, but in the service of the whole humanity is the fulfillment of the Sufi Mission. The Sufi
Movement, therefore does not stand as a barrier between the member and his own religious faith,
but as an open door leading to the heart of his faith. The member of the Movement is a messenger
of the Divine Message to the followers of the church or the sect to which he belongs.
The work of the Sufi Movement is not to collect all the rainwater in its own tanks, but to work and
make a way for the stream of the message to flow, supplying water to the fields of the world. The
work of the Sufi mission is sowing; reaping we shall leave to humanity to do, for the fields do not
belong to our particular Movement; and all the fields belong to God. We who are employed on this
farm of the world, do the work we must do, and leave the rest to God; success we do not trouble
about, and those who strive for it, let them seek in some other direction. Truth alone is our success,
for lasting success is truth.

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