Overlooking by Hazrat Inayat Khan

"Overlook the greatest fault of another, but do not partake of it yourself in the smallest degree." Bowl of Saki, Hazrat Inayat Khan

Beloved brothers and sisters,

Living in peace with sisters and brothers makes it necessary to develop the quality of overlooking. What does this mean? We have to be aware that we are looking, that we have a wish to see what we want to see, and that what we see is only a part of what can be seen in every human being.

If we have a wish to see the whole picture, the inner and the outer person, we have to develop overlooking, and be careful not be fooled by outward appearances or by impolite behaviour. In this way we open our hearts towards our brothers and sisters.

Your affectionate sisters,
Maharani and Johara

"It is foolish to be deceived by others; it is wise to see all things, to understand all things, and yet to turn the eyes from all that should be overlooked." Gayan, Hazrat Inayat Khan

Overlooking (Gatheka’s)

There is a tendency which growingly manifests in a person advancing spiritually, and that tendency is overlooking. At times the same tendency might appear as negligence; but in reality negligence is not overlooking, negligence is not looking. Overlooking in other words may be called rising above things. One has to rise in order to overlook; the one who stands beneath life, he cannot overlook, even if he wanted to. Overlooking is a manner of graciousness, it is looking and at the same time not looking; it is to see and not take notice of seeing; it is to be hurt or harmed or disturbed by something, and yet not mind it. It is an attribute of nobleness of nature; it is a sign of souls who are tuned to a higher key.

The one who will take notice of everything that came his way; he will waste his time on a journey which will take all his life to accomplish. While climbing the mountain of life, the purpose of which is to reach its top, if a person will trouble about everything that comes along, he will perhaps never be able to reach the top, he will always be troubling about everything at the bottom of it.

No soul after realizing that life is only four days on this earth will trouble about little things, he will trouble about things which will really matter. In the strife of little things a person loses the opportunity of accomplishing great things in life. One who troubles about small things is small, the soul who thinks of great things is great.

Overlooking is the first lesson of forgiveness. This tendency comes out of love and sympathy for when one hates one takes notice of every little fault, but when one loves another one naturally overlooks the faults, and very often tries to turn the faults of the one a person loves into merits. Life has endless things which suggest beauty and numberless things which suggest ugliness, there is no end of merits and no end of faults, and it is according to one's evolution in life that one's outlook on life is. The higher one has risen, the wider the horizon before his sight.

It is the tendency to sympathize which brings a person the desire to overlook, and it is the analytical tendency which weighs and measures and takes good notice of everything. "Judge ye not," said Christ, "lest ye be judged." The more one thinks of this lesson, the deeper it goes in his heart, and all he learns from it, is to try and overlook all that does not fit in with his own ideas as to how things ought to be in life, till he comes to the stage of realization where the whole life seems to him one sublime vision of the immanence of God.