by Hazrat Inayat Khan

“What is the difference between the work a Sufi does and another mystic? In the East the Yogi mystics are the best known, and it is worthwhile to consider what difference there is. The Yogi tries to touch the infinite by diving deep into his innermost being; and the process he takes is to close himself and move away, as far away from the world as he can. And by doing this he reaches that depth which is the goal everyone is seeking. The methods of the Sufi differ herein from those of the Yogis, in that the Sufi opens himself to all that is good and successful. He says that to go back to the infinite without all that is beautiful here is absurd. He wants to love all the beauty of the earth, and so he opens himself. Therefore his part is very difficult — to love and yet not to be attached; to be in the crowd, and yet in the solitude; to be in the world and yet be above it. He sees God in opening himself to the beauty of the world.”

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