Handwritten, for publication
 in "The Sufi", Oct 1920

Each one has his circle of influence, large or small; within that sphere so many souls and minds are involved, with his rise they rise, with his fall they fall.

"Where your treasure is there will your heart be also." The size of a man's sphere corresponds to the extent of his sympathy, or we may say to the size of his heart. His sympathy holds his sphere together. As it grows, his sphere grows, as it is withdrawn or lessened so his sphere breaks up and scatters.

If he harms those who live and move within his sphere, those dependent upon him or upon his affection, he of necessity harms himself. His house, his palace, his cottage - his satisfaction or disgust in his environments are the creation of his own thought. Acting upon his thoughts and part of his own thoughts are the thoughts of those near to him, they depress him and destroy him, or encourage and support him, in proportion as he repels those around him by his coldness, or attracts them by his sympathy.

Each individual composes the music of his own life. If he injures another, he leaves his musical tract, he becomes inartistic, his sphere is disturbed, he is disturbed himself and there is a discord in the melody of his life.

If he can quicken the feeling of another to joy, or to gratitude, by that much he adds to his own life, he becomes himself by that much more alive. Whether conscious of it or unconscious, his thought is affected for the better by the joy or gratitude of another and his power and vitality increase thereby and the music of his life flows more masterly.

The worlds are held together by the heat of the sun. Each of us are atoms held in position by that eternal sun we call God. Within us is that same central power, we call it the light of God, or the love of God, and by it we too hold up the human beings within our sphere; or lacking it, we let them fall.

So God keeps all, and so we keep our friends and surroundings. With this knowledge life in the world becomes a glorious vision. Not that we are compelled to keep away from sin, but we learn what power virtue has.

 

updated  29 Jun 2006