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The Changeableness of Life

As I mourn the loss of my grandfather, I found this reflection particularly beautiful... 

To deny the changeableness of life is like fancying a motionless sea, which can only exist in one's imagination.
                        Bowl of Saki, December 6, by Hazrat Inayat Khan


Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
If one studied the transitory nature of life in the world, how changeable it is, and the constant craving of everyone for happiness, one would certainly endeavor at all costs to find something one could depend upon. Man placed in the midst of this ever-changing world yet appreciates and seeks for constancy somewhere. He does not know that he must develop the nature of constancy in himself; it is the nature of the soul to value that which is dependable. But is there anything in the world on which one can depend, which is above change and destruction? All that is born, all that is made, must one day face destruction. All that has a beginning has also an end; but if there is anything one can depend upon it is hidden in the heart of man, it is the divine spark, the true philosopher's stone, the real gold, which is the innermost being of man.   from  http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VI/VI_1.htm


Things in the world are changeable; they are not to be relied upon. Man sees the vanity of the world; but if he does not see a reality in contrast, he remains intoxicated by the unreality, and tries to get some pleasure from his life, even for a moment. The happiness of this world is something we cannot keep; it is just like the horizon -- the nearer you go, the farther it goes. As soon as you get it, you see it is not the thing you wanted. That discontent continues its work till we have found and understood the manifestation of God, in which is hidden the Divine Spirit. God cannot be found in temples, for God is Love; and love does not live in temples, but in the heart of man, which is the temple of God.
   ~~~ "Supplementary Papers, Brotherhood I", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

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