Ask Inayat!

What is this??

Hazrat Inayat Khan often used markedly different words to discuss the same concept in different lectures to different audiences, so merely hunting for places where he used a certain word (called a lexical search) is often not a very productive way to search his books and papers.

Consequently, I've developed a much better way to search the books and papers of Hazrat Inayat Khan for a concept (called a semantic search) rather than searching for specific words.

This project strives to get as close as possible to allowing you to directly "Ask Inayat" a spiritual or philosophical question, and discover how his spiritual message and his insightful viewpoints can help you better understand and rise above life's daily challenges.

How does this work?

Instead of using a database of actual words such as search engines have traditionally used, this semantic search scheme is mathematically based, using a database of high dimensionality vectors to store the context of each word from each of the books and papers on my web site.

When you enter your request, the semantic search will retrieve a variety of direct quotes from Hazrat Inayat Khan’s various books and papers on my web site which seem to be most highly related to your query, and then artificial intelligence is used to gracefully connect those various direct quotes into a single, coherent document.

The semantic search engine uses the words in your request to search for related concepts. If your words refer to something that Inayat Khan did not do or did not discuss, then you are unlikely to get a very useful reply.

In essence, when you enter your request, you’re saying:

“Prepare for me a compilation of exact quotes from the books and papers of Hazrat Inayat Khan which are related to my topic, presented as one single document. ”

The clarity and thoughtfulness of your question will have a great affect on the usefulness of the reply which you receive. If the reply does not seem to properly address your concerns, feel free to make some changes to the wording of your question, trying to express your issue more clearly, and submit a new request.

In the reply to your question, please note that all of the text in the reply which is in italics will be exact quotes from the books and papers of Hazrat Inayat Khan, gracefully interwoven by artificial intelligence (as denoted by plain text) which attempts to emulate his manner, vocabulary, style and philosophy while assembling the compilation.

How to form an effective question or request:

This is not a general purpose search engine... this is a resource for spiritual advice and study of the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan.

Questions, or requests, which are brief and to-the-point, using around 10 to 15 words, will generally receive a higher quality reply than those which are long, rambling or disorganized.

Your question should describe a topic which you would like to learn more about in order to be of greater service and/or lead a more fulfilling and beneficial life.

Here's the key for great results:

Your question tells the semantic search engine what concepts to hunt for when retrieving documents. If your words refer to something that Inayat Khan did not do or did not discuss, then you are unlikely to get a very useful reply.

I.)  Be a Pupil, not a Teacher - The search engine can find lots of guidance for sincere students.

Inayat Khan did not give lectures on how to teach, he gave lectures on how to learn!

So, you should guide the search engine toward finding information about how to learn a topic, not how to teach it (and once you know what it takes to learn the topic, you will then know more about how to teach it).

     Tell me how to teach meditation.

Try this instead, to put the focus on your own learning:

     How can I learn to be better at meditation?

     Tell me how to be more skilled at meditation.

II.)  Provide useful Context - The search engine needs to understand what sort of guidance you are seeking.

Don't expect a useful reply to a simple statement, such as:

      My neighbor's wife died.

Try this instead, to put the focus on some concept, such as being of service:

       How can I be of service to my neighbor whose wife recently died? 

 
Similarly, avoid entering only a phrase such as:

    smiling forehead 

 Try this instead, to put the focus on your involvement in the matter:   

      How can I develop the smiling forehead? 

 

III.)  Avoid Extraneous Terms - Don't make the search engine hunt for words unrelated to your topic

Don't tell the search engine to go hunt for irrelevant terms such as "Murshid", "HIK", "Inayat" or "you" in a query such as:

    What does Murshid say about peace and forgiveness?

    Murshid, what do you think about peace and forgiveness?

Try this instead:

      Help me to more deeply understand the relationship of inner peace and forgiveness.

IV.)   Here are some additional examples of well-formed questions and requests:

In what way is meditation helpful in our lives?

How can I be a better friend?

What do you mean when you speak of the Music of the Spheres?

What is the meaning of vairagya?

What is the meaning of scope?

What do you mean when you speak of  accommodation?

How can I best help a friend who is in deep despair?

Tell me about the lives and works of the great Sufi poets.

How can I remain kind when others confront me with anger or hatred?

Tell me about love, harmony and beauty.

How can we remain hopeful when democracy seems to be crumbling?

Should I befriend a person who is unreliable and unkind?

Please help me learn how to control the ego.

How is inner peace related to being of service to others?

What are the benefits of a smile?

Enter Your Question or Request: