Tolerance

Love which manifests as tolerance, as forgiveness, that love it is which heals the wounds of the heart. Man proves to be genuine by his sincerity; to be noble by his charity of heart; to be wise by his tolerance; to be great by his endurance throughout the continually jarring influences of life.

He who expects to change the world will be disappointed; he must change his view. When this is done, then tolerance will come, forgiveness will come, and there will be nothing he cannot bear.

The first sign of the realization of truth is tolerance. Tolerance does not come by learning, but by insight; by understanding that each one should be allowed to travel along the path which is suited to his temperament. In order to learn forgiveness, man must first learn tolerance.

Forbearance, patience, and tolerance are the only conditions which keep two individual hearts united.

Sufi Message, Aim and Movement

The Sufi Message is the message of the day. It does not bring theories or doctrines to add to those already existing, which puzzle the human mind. What the world needs today is the message of love, harmony, and beauty, the absence of which is the only tragedy of life. The Sufi Message does not give a new law. It wakens in humanity the spirit of brotherhood, with tolerance on the part of each for the religion of the other, and with forgiveness from each for the fault of the other. It teaches thoughtfulness and consideration, so as to create and maintain harmony in life; it teaches service and usefulness, which alone can make life in the world fruitful and in which lies the satisfaction of every soul.

The message of the Sufi movement is a call to humanity in general to unite in a world kinship beyond the boundaries of caste, creed, race, nation, or religion. The Sufi movement has no particular creed, dogma, or doctrine. Its philosophy teaches tolerance to all, understanding above all things, thereby awakening sympathy with one another, and the realization that the well-being of each depends upon the well-being of all.

The chief aim of the Sufi movement is to revivify the religions of the world, in this way bringing together the followers of the different religions in friendly understanding and in tolerance. All are received with open arms in the Order of the Sufis; whatever be their religion, to whatever church they belong, whatever faith they have, there is no interference with it. There is personal help and guidance in the methods of meditation. There is a course of study to consider the problems of life. And the chief aim of every member of the Order is to do the best in his or her power to bring about that understanding, that the whole humanity may become one single family in the Parenthood of God.

There is also the devotional part of the Order. This is for people who have perhaps some belief, but are not satisfied with that belief, or for others who do not go to any particular church but at the same time have aside to their nature which needs religion and prayer. There are some who will not believe unless they are intellectually satisfied: for them this section works, to give them the elements of all religions, to give them tolerance for different religions and beliefs, so that they may learn to respect the religion of others, a religion which has perhaps inspired numberless souls but is not known to the followers of other religions. This unity of religion in prayer and thought is the real kinship of religion, nature’s religion. It is taught in this section in the religious line.

The life the Sufi ought to live may be explained in a few words. There are many things in the life of a Sufi, but the greatest is to have a tendency to friendship which is expressed in the form of tolerance and forgiveness, and in the form of service and trust. In whatever form he may express that central theme, the constant desire is to prove one’s love to humanity and to be the friend of all.

The Sufi Order is not a community and not a religion; it is a nucleus of the human brotherhood which is the inner call of every soul. The Sufi message is given to all nations; it is a call to all races and to the followers of all religions. It teaches people to follow whatever religion they may profess, but to follow it truly and understand it better; not only to believe in God and the words of Christ, but to have faith in him and his divine word. We must think of the tolerance of the master and of his forgiveness and what the world would be today if we had it too. 

All the riches of love, kindness, tolerance, and good manners a man then reflects, and he throws the light onto the other person and brings out those virtues in that other, just as watering a plant makes the leaves and buds open and the flowers blossom. This brings one nearer to the perfection of God in whom alone one sees all that is perfect and all that is divine. As it is said in the Bible, “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”