The Baha'i Studies Listserv
http://www.gnosticliberationfront.com/sufi_message_of_hazrat_inayat%20khan.htm
This is Hazrat Inayat Khan talking about various religions. It has a paragraph
where he recounts a conversation he had with Abdul-Baha.
On the Seal of Prophecy:
Muslims have closed the doors of the mosque by saying that Muhammad was the
seal
of Rissalat which they interpret as the last of the prophets. They do not seem
to realize that it does not mean at all that he was the last prophet to come,
it
only means that he was the last of claimants of prophecy; and that according to
the nature and character of humanity after his time it would not be advisable
for his successor to make an open claim, for it would be against the rule of
the
time. There is no seal that cannot be opened, though it must not be opened by
everyone, but only by the one who has the right to open it.
On Babism:
For some time there have been Eastern missions working in the West, among them
Babism, which began in America and changed in time into Bahaism. Bahaism is an
offspring of Sufism, its object being the bringing of nations and followers of
different religions into closer touch, void of inner cult. Baha Ullah, after
whom this sect has been named, had been kept a prisoner in the East because of
his proclamation of prophetship. After him his son, Abdul Baha, carried on his
mission. I had the pleasure of meeting Abdul Baha when he was in Paris, who
showed great interest in my music and with whom I had an interesting talk about
our experiences in the Western world. During the conversation we had, he
exclaimed, "There should be no secret, you must speak; either you know or you
do
not know." I answered, "The whole nature of things and beings has a secret;
each
thing and each being has a secret which reveals its nature and character and
the
life itself has its secret and it is the uncovering of its secret which is the
purpose of life. Speaking out aloud does not prove a person to be the knower of
the secret. Neither every occasion is a suitable occasion, nor is every person
a
person fitted for the truth to be spoken to." "You are also preaching the
brotherhood of nations?" I said, "I am not preaching brotherhood, but sowing
the
seed of Tawhid, the unity of God, that from the plant of Sufism may spring up
fruits and flowers of brotherhood."
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