Trust for the Sake of the Trust

The TRUST that is sent by heaven is the ideal given to man. That is his charge in life, his responsibility in life. To take care of this and prove worthy of this responsibility and position that has been given to us, that is what should prove to be our ideal, our religion, our Dharma.

How few in the world know trust! What is necessary is not trusting another, even the teacher, but oneself. One is not capable of fully trusting oneself who has not experienced in their life how to trust another. There is a question, “If we trusted and if our trust were in vain, should we not be disappointed?” The answer is, “We must trust for the sake of the trust, and not for the sake of a return or to see what fruit it brings.” It is utmost trust which is the greatest power in the world. Lack of trust is weakness. Even if you lose by trust, your power is greater than if you have perhaps gained without developing trust.

The Belief in God

What is God? God is what is wanting to complete oneself. The moment one arrives at this belief, one need ask no question of his fellow man, for the answer to every question that springs from his mind he finds in his own heart. The dwelling place of God, which is called heaven, is then found in his own heart. The friend on whom one can constantly depend, someone whom one can always trust, someone whose sympathy and love are secure, someone who will never fail, someone who is strong enough to help, someone who is sufficiently wise to guide one in life, the believer will find in his own heart.

Developing Faith

After one’s self-confidence is developed, the second thing is to trust another with closed eyes. And one might think that this is not always practical, and one might think that it might lead one to great loss. But at the same time, even that loss will be a gain, and even a thousand gains compared with the loss of faith will be as nothing. A person is richer if he has trusted someone and lost something than if he had not trusted someone and had something preserved that will one day be taken away from him. He could just as well have given it up.

The third step toward the development of faith is trust in the unseen, which is called trust in God. That when you do not see before you any sign of something that should happen and yet you think, “Yes, it must happen, it will happen, it certainly must happen,” and you have no doubt, then your trust is in God.

You might say that every person who is simple is inclined to trust another. Yes. But the difference between the wise person who trusts bravely and the simple person who trusts readily is a great difference. The wise person who trusts, if he is influenced by another person saying, “You may not or you must not trust a certain person,” or even if he had a certain proof, even then that habit of trusting would remain with him. But that simple person, as soon as you say, “Oh, but what are you doing? You are trusting somebody who is not trustworthy,” his trust will change. That is the difference between the wise person and the foolish person. The foolish person trusts because he does not know better; the wise person trusts because he knows that to trust is the best.

Life In This World

One may try to see from the point of view of another as well as from one’s own, and so give freedom of thought to everybody because one demands it oneself. One may try to appreciate what is good in another and overlook what one considers bad. If somebody behaves selfishly towards one, one may take it naturally, because it is human nature to be selfish, and so one is not disappointed; but if one appears oneself to be selfish, one should take oneself to task and try to improve.

There is not anything one should not be ready to tolerate, and there is nobody whom one should not forgive. Never doubt those whom you trust; never hate those whom you love. Never cast down those whom you once raise in your estimation. Wish to make friends with everyone you meet; make an effort to gain the friendship of those you find difficult; become indifferent to them only if you cannot succeed in your effort. If anyone causes harm, one should try to think it is because one has deserved it in some way, or else it is that the one who harms knows no better. Remember that every soul that raises its head in life gets much opposition from the world. It has been so with all the prophets, saints and sages, so one cannot expect to be exempt.

In this is the law of nature, and also God’s plan working and preparing something desirable. No one is either higher or lower than oneself. In all sources that fulfill one’s need, one may see one source, God, the only source; and in admiring and in bowing before and in loving anyone, one may consider one is doing it to God. In sorrow one may look to God, and in joy one may thank Him. One does not bemoan the past, nor worry about the future; one tries only to make the best of today. One should know no failure, for even in a fall there is a stepping-stone to rise; but to the Sufi the rise and fall matter little. One does not repent for what one has done, since one thinks, says, and does what one means. One does not fear the consequences of performing one’s wish in life, for what will be, will be.

Harmony

One must consider that everything that is entrusted to one by any person in life is one’s trust, and one must know that to prove true to the confidence of any person in the world is one’s sacred obligation. In this manner a harmonious connection is established with everyone; and it is this harmony which attunes the soul to the infinite.