"For the mystic life is a school in which to learn, every moment of one's life; it is a continual study. And the scripture of the mystic is human nature; every morning he turns a new page of this scripture," Hazrat Inayat Khan states in one of the four essays in The Inner Life. This Indian Sufi master (1882-1927) introduced the Western world to Islamic mysticism. In one of his finest essays, "Sufi Mysticism," Inayat Khan describes some of the characteristics of a self-realized person. She is a student of life, always on the lookout for new meanings in her experience. The annihilation of the false ego is as important as "a steady progress toward unity." The mystic honors the mystery of life and the boundlessness of the Beloved.
Sufism, according to Inayat Khan, puts the accent on the inner life and is always about the adventure of discovering fresh ways to imagine God. The author, who was a teacher to many students of this devotional path, points out that mysticism involves inner study, diving deep, and awakening the spirit of beauty. The Inner Life by Hazrat Inayat Khan is an elegant and meditative introduction to the bounties of Sufism.
