11. World Reconstruction, Part 2
Beloved Brothers and Sisters,
Given the conditions and problems of our world, Hazrat Inayat Khan teaches, “the only thing in the world which was meant to be a refuge was religion.” As we meet the problems of the day may we take refuge in our Divine Ideal.
“Thou the life eternal, we seek refuge
In Thy loving enfoldment.”
-From the prayer Rasul by Hazrat Inayat Khan-
With Loving Regards and Prayers for an enlightened world,
Our Workers
Social Gatheka no. 11, Part 2, World Reconstruction
by Hazrat Inayat Khan
As long as nations and people profit by the loss of other nations and people, for the moment they may think that they are benefited, but in the end all will realize that we human beings, as individuals or as a multitude, all depend upon one another. For instance, if for the cause of one part of one's body the other part suffers, in the end it will prove an unbalanced condition, a lack of health in the physical body. What does health mean? Health means all the organs of the body in good condition, and so the health of the world means all nations, all people in a good condition.
When one leaves the financial condition and comes to the problem of education, in spite of all the progress that has been made in the educational world, no-one with thought can refuse to consider the little child, what is his age, what is his strength and what work is given him to accomplish. It seems that in the enthusiasm of making education richer and richer, a kind of load has been put on the mind of the children and what happens? It is like a dish which was meant to be ready after half an hour's cooking, made ready in five minutes time. What has happened? It is perhaps burnt; it wanted a longer time. The child knows too much for his age, what he does not require, what he does not value, what is a load to him, what is forced upon his mind.
And how few of us stop to think of this question that childhood is a kingliness in itself. It is a gift from above that the child is growing and, during the time of his growth, that he is unaware of the woes and worries and anxieties of life. These are only days for experiencing the kingliness of life, the days when he should play, when he should be nearer nature, when he should grasp what nature gradually teaches. Imagine then that the childhood is devoted to study, study of the material knowledge. And as soon as the child has grown into the youth, the burden of life is put on his shoulders, the burden of life which is becoming everyday heavier and heavier for the rich and poor; and the result of this is that there are parties, there is disagreement between labour and capital, the life full of struggle to which the child opens his eyes and he has never the time to be one with nature, or to dive deep within himself, or to think beyond this life in the crowd.
When we leave the problem of education and come to the problem of nations one becomes still more perplexed. The enmity, hatred and prejudice which exist between nations and nations, and the antagonism and the utter selfishness which is the central theme of communications and connections between nations, that shows that the world is turning from bad to worse and unrest seems to be all pervading. There seems to be no trust between nations, no sympathy, except their own interest. And what is the outcome of it? Its impression falls as a shadow upon the individuals, turning the individuals also to that egoism, that selfishness. And the only thing in the world which was meant to be a refuge was religion. But at the present moment, with the increase of ever-growing materialism and overwhelming commercialism, the religion seems to be fading away. A silent indifference towards religion seems to be increasing, especially in the countries foremost in civilization today. That being the condition, where could man find the solution of the problem of the day?
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