Book Title: Harmony of All Religions
Author(s): Parmahans Maharaj, Veena Rani Howard
Publisher: USA Santmat Society of North America

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Page 258
________________ The Inner Sacred Place How are we to understand this Allah? The Koran says Allah is compassionate and merciful. All the saints say that we must seek the One. To know Allah it is not necessary to wander anywhere. To find Him, simply look within. A fakir has said: Man is oblivious to the fact of God's all pervasive and mysterious nature. The Prophet Muhammad is visible, but God is not visible with these eyes. If you want to find Allah (Khuda) you must turn within. He will not be found outside and therefore, you must make your heart pure and keep your heart clean in order to invite the Divine guest within. Another fakir has said: Purify the heart to invite the presence of God. Leave aside thoughts of others if you want to seat God within. One heart with many worldly desires leaves no room for God. Then, there is no place for the Divine to sit in such a heart. It is heartbreaking that you go to the fake (manmade) temples and mosques, but God is only found in the inner mosque-in the pure heart. Sa'd al-din Mahmud Shabistari (1250-1320), one of the most celebrated authors of Persian Sufism, also writes: Go sweep out the chamber of your heart. Make it ready to be the dwelling place of the Beloved. When 249

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