Intuition and the Creation of a Better World
Khan, Hazrat Inayat
The first step in intuition is to understand the symbolical meaning of different things, and the next is to express them symbolically.
Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Complete Sayings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, p. 42
That wisdom which is like the essence of life and which is to be found within oneself can only be attained by first making the mind obedient; and this can be done by concentration. If a person's mind is not under control, how can he use it? It is one thing to learn, and another thing to make use of one's learning. It does not suffice to learn a song: that does not make a person into a singer. He must learn to produce his voice also. And so it is with intuitive knowledge. When a man has become qualified by studying for a long time and yet cannot use his knowledge, what is the good of it? There is a sufficient number of learned people; what we want today is people with master minds, those who see not only the outer life but also the life within, who draw inspiration not only from the outer life but also from the life within. Then they become the expression of that perfect Being which is hidden, hidden behind the life of variety.
Hazrat Inayat Khan, Spiritual Dimensions of Psychology. Lebanon Sprigs, NY, Sufi Order Publications, 1981, p. 206
