Dr. H.J. Witteveen
Federation Retreat 2011 - On the Subject of Harmony
Hazrat Inayat Khan has remarked: Great unrest and discord now pervades the world. It comes from inharmony and ignorance from the fact that inharmony creates inharmony so that it will multiply.
For achieving or building something together in an organization or business we need harmony which means:
• Good cooperation
• Mutual respect
• The right rhythm
That requires bridging differences in views, experiences, interests, or ambitions. Inayat Khan has always advised us to look at everything from two points of view: one's own and that of the other, but here in an organization we need to look from more points of view: in a business the management, the staff, the workers, the clients, investors and different aspects of the environment. It is the art of a real entrepreneur or leader to create a combination where different views can be satisfied or different interests served. To achieve this the leader must have a strong vision, so that he -or she- can inspire while understanding different views and interests. The leader must be strongly focussed on his ideal, but not rigid. Improvements and adjustments can be necessary and desirable for a good result. Egoistic attachments therefore should be avoided. There must on the contrary be an openness for inner light. Seeing such inner light also in others creates an attitude of respect and leads to mental enlargement. The more this grows into sympathy and loving interest in all these people the better. That gives inner happiness through unity, giving contact with the only One.
All this will ask self-control so that we can maintain the right constructive rhythm. In the present time this is often more difficult. There is a constant pressure for acting quickly and finishing work within a short time limit. And modern computer technologies make a fast rhythm easy and tempting - but then inharmonious reactions can easily come and are harmful, attracting further inharmonies. In the right rhythm we can also more easily keep to the right harmonious tone, seeing it as part of the music of life. This asks for continuing attunement to the One.
But then we are constantly surrounded by inharmony. And we tend to react to that letting the inharmony grow further. So we must learn to remain master of our reactions: listening first, explaining our point of view, try again patiently; making some concession if possible - but keeping the main inner ideal intact. In this way we gain in inner strength and this will invisibly stretch around us making the whole atmosphere more harmonious.
All this may seem difficult; - but every step in that direction of harmony, every victory over the ego in this battle rewards itself, because of the law of reflection the harmony we send out comes back to us sooner or later. So over time we will be treated in a harmonious way by others which will help us.
And on the other hand if we give in to inharmony it may give a moment respite to our ego but then we make everything much more difficult.
But a condition of harmony can never be reached once and for all as a permanent and unchangeable thing. Life around us changes constantly. We have to adjust to that and recreate harmony attuning again to the divine symphony.
And life - or the spirit of guidance - can bring us new tasks and new difficulties. Inayat Khan warns us that when we have proved that we can bear responsibility, we are often given again a greater task. We must try to accept that and remain in harmony with other more different projects and conditions. If we accept what is given by the most merciful and compassionate One as a further teaching, than we will discover that it can bring us a step closer to the great love harmony and beauty of the Only Being.
