When one is developing on the spiritual path, what must be remembered most is to let everyone else go on his own path. And the treaders on the spiritual path must always remember that by criticizing another they are not doing any good to themselves or to the other. If another person has a fault, an adept must know that his very fault will teach him sooner or later, or his fault will ask of others to teach him, and to let another get that privilege of correcting him. As soon as an adept exerts his powers to correct others, he loses his path. An adept must be concerned with his own path and not concerned with the other.
You might think it is a lesson of remoteness; it is an advice to be exclusive; it is a teaching of indifference. Whatever you may call, that is the way. It is so heavy on an adept to keep his own personality in the right way, as it ought to be. In other words, to keep his own heart in tune, to keep his own spirit on a certain rhythm, [and] instead of doing that, when he troubles about another, he loses his path. There is no kindness, there is no goodness [in] trying to correct another. There are many in this world to correct him. The first thing that will correct the wrongdoer is life itself. The life slaps a person stronger than a person may punish another person. One need not trouble about anybody’s fault. And how far one is advanced, one must know that the more advanced you are, the more faults one will find with oneself. I do not mean that advancement adds faults, I only mean that advancement makes your sight so keen, that at every stage further, more faults manifest before you which were perhaps unknown to you before. The attitude of the treader on the spiritual path towards the wrongdoer must be of tolerance, of forgiveness, also of indifference. Just like the Japanese symbol of three monkeys: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. In reality, the first, from the moment one takes his first step in the spiritual path, evil vanishes. Vanishes in what sense? That he recognizes no more evil. What does it mean? Does it mean he [encourages] evil? Does it mean he recognizes evil as good? Does it mean he loves evil? No, [far] from it. It only means he does not judge. And by not judging, does it mean that he knows no more justice? No, it means he knows more justice. He is now a great judge. The moment one has left judging, from that moment he becomes judge. Then he knows what justice means. Does justice mean to condemn another? Does justice mean to criticize another? Does justice mean to offend another? Does justice mean to insult another? Does justice mean to correct another? No. Justice means to know and not know, to see and not see, to hear and not hear.
And [one] might think, will this negative state not make a person quite a different being? And what does it matter if you became a different being? What is one striving after? Is it not truth that one is striving after? If in going towards truth, you changed your personality, your attitude, your outlook, your action, what does it matter? On the contrary, it is what it ought to be. You show change. Life means change.
But one might think, shall I not be different from others? Yes, naturally you will be different from others. You ought to be glad to be different from others, as long as you do not show that you are different from others. When we begin to show and cry out aloud, I am different from you all, then you fall. If you do not fall, they will pull you down. But in being different [from] others in your outlook, you do not harm anybody. The principle of everyone who journeys on the spiritual path must be that he is unassuming; that he is not inclined to judge; that he is not trying to be a teacher. In other words, he is not trying to correct others; that he is ready to tolerate; that he is ready to forgive. Also, he makes no pretence of knowing something or of being something. Outwardly to be like everyone, inwardly to be what one is.
Inayat Khan
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