The Bowl of Saki Commentary
Commentary for:
Mastery lies not merely in stilling the mind, but in directing it towards whatever point you desire.
Commentary from Hazrat Murshid SAM (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti, Samuel L. Lewis):
The Bowl of Saki Commentary, copyright © 1981, 2012 Sufi Ruhaniat International. All rights reserved.
The first process is to free the mind from influence from outside forces, and the next is to free the will from control by the mind. This is accomplished in meditation. At that point the mind is asleep and needs to be awakened. This is done by the growth of the heart faculties.
What is meant when Hazrat Inayat Khan says "you desire" is that ideal which can be persistently pursued. For this purpose, the Sufis practice concentration. But this deep desire is of the heart and is possible when the will and the heart direct the activities of mind.
We can see these stages in Zikr, the first part of which declares, "La Ilaha"—the meaning of which is that there is no divinity in things, in created objects. This part of Zikr frees mind from illusion and stills it. The next part of Zikr, "El Allahu"—is the positive portion which points directly to God. By it one directs the mind toward the supreme desire and so toward any other beneficial desire.