The IAM Cosmology

The following are some of the terms, concepts, and principles of the Path to the Divine Heart.

God

The One and Only Being, which contains all beings and is within all beings. Every form and identity has being, and God is the beingness of being which unites all existence into a coherent reality. But God is also beyond any form, concept, existence, place or time. Part of God is knowable, and part is not.
 

Self

An instance of The One and Only Being. The relation of Self to God is like a ray of light to the sun. Like a ray of light within a universe of light, this ray of individuality may have distinguishing colors. 
 

Soul

The first step in the creation of an individual being from the entire Being. A soul is created as an act of Love at the moment when an angel realizes there is a wish in the Heart of God and volunteers to serve that wish. The soul is the pure, perfect gift of the divine Qualities appropriate for the purpose for which the soul is designed. The soul can never be tarnished or hurt. It cannot be separated from its source, which is within itself. It has no need for development, being already perfect. Its only need is to fulfill its purpose.
 

Heart

A container to reflect and then hold the pure light of the soul. This container has a capacity, which can be expanded practically without limit. The heart is compared to a bowl, a lake, or an ocean, depending on its capacity. The heart is very fragile and easily wounded, but also has the ability to quickly heal itself. The heart has two sides, the left which is receptive and the right which is expressive. The function of the heart is to guide one toward one's purpose and to create the conditions in life needed to accomplish it. The heart is anchored in the body by the heart organ and also the Thymus gland and the Cardiac Plexus. At the surface of the heart is the mind and at the depth of the heart is the Inverted Space.
 

Inverted Space

The whole contained within the part; the universe contained within each object; humanity contained within each person. We naturally feel the reality of being contained within something, the universe, or within a Being, God. The concept of the Inverted Space is the opposite: that every thing and the whole Being is contained within each of us. Access to the Inverted Space is through a portal at the depth of the heart, the Solar Plexus. The portal is not a link "back" to the source of all being (see Alpha), but a link "forward" to the re-union of all being in existence (see Omega). The more deeply one goes into one's self, the more one discovers a truth that is universal; this is passing into the Inverted Space. At the depth of the lake, what appears to be separate water lilies have a common root. A plant or animal can act both individually and as a representative of its species. (See "ego".) The access it has to its species, and ultimately all species, is through the Inverted Space.
 

Mind

The surface of the lake of the heart. What appears on the mind are the ripples of the currents running deeply through the heart, and also the ripples caused by the wind of sensations. The mind is a wonderful instrument, capable of answering any question put to it, but lacking a sense of priority or direction. The place of the mind is at the service of the heart. The location of the mind is only partly in the brain. Some of the mind is located in the cells surrounding the intestines and in the heart, and every cell has memory.
 

Ego

The illusion of separateness. Using ego, a person can feel free to act on their own, and therefor to take responsibility. Separateness is an illusion, since no part of the divine Being can be separate from another part nor from the whole. But this illusion, reinforced by our sensations, is quite compelling. And it has a purpose: to allow each being of the One Being to act on behalf of the One. Through the development of individuality, made possible by ego, a greater diversity is created. Diversity brings out the infinite richness of the One Being, the way a rainbow brings out the colors inherent in the sun's white light. But ego can also lead people to act as if their own interest was independent of the interest of others. When the heart is developed, the ego allows one to act individually on behalf of God.
 

The World

A place of incredible beauty and variety that proves the wonder of the design of the universe, as a house proves its blueprint. What is effected in the world is anchored in reality, distinguished from all that is only concept and potential. The world is the last step in the process of creation that begins with pure spirit and becomes increasingly more tangible and material at every step. The entire world is created from the same intention, so all of nature and all of us are perfectly crafted for interaction, with one's world and one's inner condition in symmetry. A change in either causes a change in the other. While the world is perfect the way it is, it could be improved. Our objective is to have a greater impact on the world than the world has upon us.
 

Alpha

The origin of the universe, a state of union, eternal bliss and unconditional love, before individuality; heaven. This unity can be reached by transcendent meditation that "unrolls the wheel of becoming" [Buddha] to return to the condition before the creation of space-time. This is antithetical to the Path of the Heart which is forward in direction and which values each person's contribution to the enrichment of the whole.
 

Omega

Another state of unity, the re-union of all beings after having become individuated. Alpha is the source; Omega is the destination; both are states of unity. Whereas Alpha is a condition in the creation memory of all people, Omega is a condition that does not exist until it is created by creatures who discover their common divinity. The creation of Omega is our responsibility as representatives of the divine Creator. This work requires the heart, the only faculty that has the magnetism to draw together the strands of the universe that have become separated.
 

Religion

There is one religion: the striving for Truth, and one worship: all that softens the heart. The various religions of the world are not the same; each has made a further contribution to mankind's understanding of God and the relationship between the individual and God. Each religion has been an instance of the one religion that worships the heart and enlightens mankind to the one reality. Today there are many groups that perform the function of religion without the trappings of religion.
 

Sufism

One who searches for Truth is a Sufi whether he calls himself that or not. [Hazrat Inayat Khan] More formally, a Sufi is a student of a Sufi. Discipleship with a living teacher is a key component of Sufism. Sufism is not associated with any particular religion, although every religion tries to claim the Sufi. A Sufi worships with every worshipper, feeling the effect of the ritual upon the heart. Western Sufis have included St. Francis, Shakespeare and Walt Whitman. The spiritual background of IAM is Sufism and IAM's founders have had a long training in the Sufi message. More from Hazrat Inayat Khan
 

Realization

What you know without question and act upon without hesitation. Each person constructs an internal model of reality that represents how things work, how people respond to one, and who one is. From this model one forms their attitude toward themselves, others, and God. One's realization is the basis for all one thinks, says and does, and forms one's life. "Everyone is in their place in life according to their realization." Realization is developed through direct experience.
 

Initiation

A commitment to one path and one school, forming a link in the soul that endures beyond time as a lifeline of strength and inspiration. In traditional schools initiation is a link to one teacher; at IAM it is a link to a body of teachers who are themselves linked to a network of teachers. Traditionally, initiation is a prerequisite for access to the school's teaching. At IAM, initiation is never required of a student, it is only required of teachers. As the source of all our teaching at IAM is Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi sage who lived in the west from 1910 to 1927, the initiation we give is primarily a link to him. More from Hazrat Inayat Khan
 

fana

Literally, "surrender", which we interprete as coordination. In order to act on behalf of God (see "ego" above), one needs to see as God sees, and then allow the divine power to operate through one. There are two preparatory stages to this: The first stage is acting on behalf of one's teacher, which overcomes the sense of limitation one feels in oneself and allows one to understand and do things that otherwise would not be possible. The second stage is acting on behalf of a great prophet, for example, knowing exactly what Jesus would do in a situation and doing it naturally. Fana is surrender in the sense that one's own point-of-view and sense of identity is eclipsed by another, through a conscious choice and effort of contemplation.
 

Hiearchy

The natural ordering of people according to their scope of influence and sphere of concern. For example, the one who is concerned about the health of the country is superior to the one who is concerned about the health of a company in that country, who is superior to the one concerned about their own family, who is superior to one who cares only for himself. Everyone who cares about the health and growth of others has a place in the spiritual hierarchy. Hierarchy is based only on the responsibility one has accepted, not age, family, class or gender. A position cannot be given to a person; everyone functions in the position they can hold.
 

Chakras

Reservoirs of energy in the body, of different kinds and grades of energy. In the system of seven chakras we use at IAM, the heart is the fourth, or middle chakra, and the key to the whole system.
 

Women

"Woman, whom destiny has made to be man's superior, by trying to become his equal, falls beneath his estimation." [Hazrat Inayat Khan]

There are certainly no barriers to women in the Path of the Heart. When Hazrat Inayat Khan was living he recognized several women as having attained the senior rank, but no men. He was married and had four children. His oldest child, Madeleine, was a heroine in WW2, featured in the movie and book A Man Called Intrepid, and the subject of the book Madeleine. The President of IAM is a woman, Susanna Bair.
 

Religions

While we are eager to worship with any worshipper, and while our own mystical experiences have given us a strong inner comprehension of and belief in the teachings and events described in scripture, still we are not comfortable with the rules and dogmas of any religion as we realize how distant they can be from the original inspiration.
 
People usually belong to a religion by birth, not choice, and people seldom understand their religion. The discovery of the heart gives one's religion real meaning and life. Many others do not belong to a religion and yet have found some way in which they can be moved in their heart and paused in a state of awe. This is also the Path of the Heart.
 

Dogma

We discourage anyone from believing what they are told, and strongly encourage the belief in what one feels directly and personally, in the body. The heart has no rules, but it does have a strong sense of direction. When one goes the way the heart is leading, one gains happiness.
 

Lifestyle

There is no lifestyle that is prescribed or prohibited in the Path of the Heart. The heart loves diversity; only by fully exploring one's uniqueness can one contribute something new to humanity's understanding of itself. We do not seek unity in uniformity, but in re-union, the re-weaving of the strands of the One Being after having become fully individualized.
 

Money

The Path of the Heart is a path of wealth in every sense of the word. The Path of the Soul, in contrast, is a path of simplicity, pure essence and non-materiality which goes well with poverty. When the heart is opened, it becomes magnetic. Things start to happen! Success and fulfillment follow.
 

Obedience

The lack of freedom. We seek to be obedient to the heart's wish, and free of the mind's compulsions. An IAM teacher will not tell you what to do, other than how to practice listening to your heart.
 

Sexuality

Sex is as basic a human need as eating or sleeping. With love, sex can be exquisitely beautiful. Making use of the sexual impulse for gain over another is exploitive. Sex with someone who is dependent or less powerful is a form of rape. A sexual relationship between a teacher and a student has an inherent danger of exploitation and is contrary to the manner of our school.
 

Drugs

The human body is a powerful chemical factory with amazing intelligence about what chemicals are needed for the sustenance and growth of the body. Occasionally one needs to supplement the inner factory for health reasons, so we do use antibiotics and vitamins, for example. We do not sanction the use of drugs for experimentation of consciousness, as they actually limit and distort reality.
 

Diet

We recommend the kind of diet that is good for the physical heart. Beyond that, refer to page 103 in Living from the Heart.