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http://www.rosanna.com/saki/november/november4.htm
Bowl of Saqi for November 4
BY THE POWER OF PRAYER, ONE OPENS THE DOOR OF THE HEART,
IN WHICH GOD, THE EVER-FORGIVING, THE ALL-MERCIFUL, ABIDES.
-- Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Hazrat Samuel L. Lewis:
Prayer, no matter how selfish it may seem, begins with a
petition to a higher power. It admits the limitation of self,
and so the Sufi recognizes good in every form of prayer. One
also sees the childishness of some forms, but regards the
devotee as a child rather than as a sinner. Even so does God
look upon prayer. God's forgiveness is unfathomable for it is
God's nature to forgive. What prevents humanity from receiving
this forgiveness is that every sin -- in fact every act --
makes its mark upon mind. Until one repents, that mark remains
on the mind. Repentance is the sign of the awakening of the
heart; it is the blood of the penitent which is called the
blood of the Lamb in Christian terminology, which removes the
thought-mark from the mind.
Sufis call this process "unlearning" when applied to acts or
knowledge having no moral quality and "penitence" when applied
to acts or knowledge having some moral significance. It is the
awakening of heart which removes sins and burdens.
Consequently there is no forgiveness without repentance; even
God cannot touch the unrepentant until God is given the
op****tunity. At least so the Universe operates. While the love
of God is beyond analysis, it always produces a maximum of
harmony and beauty in life.
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