⏱ 11 min read
The relentless rush of daily life, and the confusion, stress, and drift toward individualism that the modern world brings, can often pull us as human beings further apart from one another, erode our patience, and, worst of all, lead us to lose hope in each other. The injustices, sorrows, misunderstandings, or disappointments we encounter can make the world feel like a dark, unjust place. Yet the ancient sages, divine teachings, mystics, and spiritual guides of thousands of years whisper to us, each in their own language, that no matter what happens we must never lose hope in people — that love is the one cosmic force capable of illuminating even the darkest hearts.
Looking at the world with peace, and finding mercy and good in every event, is not a matter of shallow optimism — it comes from a deep understanding of the laws that govern the universe and the soul. In this article, in the light of ancient wisdom, we will explore how we can preserve both our hope and the love we feel for one another, and the power of love in everyday life.
Seeing the Divine Harmony and Mercy Behind Events
Being able to see good and mercy in everything life brings begins with understanding the cosmic order and existential laws behind events. As Master Dr. Bedri Ruhselman explains in detail in his work Mukadderat ve İcabat (Destiny and Necessity), nothing that happens in the universe is without cause, coincidental, or the work of blind chance. Every difficulty we face, however catastrophic, painful, or unjust it may appear, is in truth a test arranged with great wisdom by the Higher Administrative Mechanism to accelerate the evolution — the spiritual development — of our soul. When a person grasps this principle of causality, they come to understand that every event on earth carries meaning, and that within that meaning lie hidden divine purposes and an unerring order — and this realization kindles a spark of hope and love within us even in our most difficult moments.
As Master Bedri Ruhselman also states in his monumental body of work İlahi Nizam ve Kainat (The Divine Order and the Universe), the opposites we encounter on earth — concepts like good and evil, love and hatred, justice and cruelty — are in fact merciful instruments that activate the mechanism of conscience and allow the soul to gain comparative knowledge. If a person received no positive or negative reaction from their surroundings, from other beings and things, they could develop neither their conscience nor their capacity for love — love only matures when it is tested by opposites. Therefore, rather than rebelling against events and people, we should focus on what merit and insight they bring us — we explored this delicate balance between destiny and free will in greater depth in our article The Secret of Destiny. Even the heaviest misfortunes that befall us are divine driving forces, planned to wake us from sleep, break our pride, and lead us toward deeper understanding.
Positive Living, Mental Clarity, and Looking at the World with Peace
Reflecting this understanding into daily life requires looking at the world through a peaceful and positive lens. As Master Ergün Arıkdal emphasizes in his work Pozitif Yaşam (Positive Life), thinking positively does not mean simply smiling at everything and denying reality; it means reconstructing events in our minds through constructive imagination, remaining flexible, and trying to understand the other person. Rather than losing hope in people because of their mistakes and weaknesses, we need to recognize that every person is a student on their own difficult journey of evolution.
According to Arıkdal, when we encounter a negative influence, instead of responding with the same destructive energy, anger, or conflict, we should neutralize that negativity by drawing on our inner reserves of love, compassion, and understanding — that is, on love, our greatest power. Whatever energy, whatever frequency of thought we radiate into our surroundings, we draw the same energy back to us from the universe like a magnet. For this reason, looking at the world with peace begins first with building that peace and clarity within our own inner world, in our “mental” realm.
Similarly, the great esoteric teacher G. I. Gurdjieff, in his compilation Views from the Real World, and P. D. Ouspensky in his records, both emphasize that a person must first recognize that they are in a state of psychological sleep, and must purify themselves by observing their mechanical reactions — anger, taking offense, self-justification. When we feel antipathy or hatred toward someone, this is in fact merely a mechanical reaction of our inner machine to outside influences. Choosing to see love as a deliberate choice, giving up the habit of constantly justifying ourselves, evaluating others by putting ourselves in their place, and choosing compassion — these are the shortest path to inner peace. We covered this journey of inner liberation more fully in our guide to conscience and freedom.
Seeking Reasons to Love in People: Seeing the Divine Light Within
Always seeking reasons to love people in everyday life is one of the cornerstones of every universal and spiritual teaching. The rough, selfish, or hurtful behavior that people display on the surface is not who they truly are. As the guiding spirit White Eagle, who sought the very source of love, expresses in his work Güzel Hayatı Yaratmak (Creating the Beautiful Life), a “seed of light,” a divine spark, placed by God, lies within every human heart. However thick their outer shell, their worldly mistakes, or their selfishness may be, the core of that seed is always a bright light — and this knowledge gives us hope even in the most difficult human relationships.
White Eagle also explains, in his teachings Işığın ve Karanlığın Melekleri (Angels of Light and Darkness), that within everyone lies a higher self, an untouched, pure soul. Our true work on earth is to embrace one another with love, always seeking the good and the beautiful, and thereby bring that hidden light to the surface. Instead of harboring resentment toward people, we should focus on this dormant potential within them, waiting to blossom. As White Eagle also states in his book İki Dünya Arasında Bağlantı (The Living Word of Tibet), to find the true origin of love we must go beyond all personal masks and worldly limitations and grasp universal life. For when we encounter true love, we see that no separation remains, and that all people, as children of God, are in truth “One.”
The work Sevgide Ayrılık Yoktur (There Is No Death) likewise advises us, rather than dwelling on other people’s faults, to grow the compassion within us, to judge no one, and, most importantly, to forgive. However many mistakes they may make, forgiving them with love frees not only them but our own soul from its invisible chains — we examined this cosmic power of forgiveness in detail in our article on forgiveness. In White Eagle’s magnificent words: “Love is a magic principle that works miracles.”
Universal Brotherhood and the Nobility of Service
Universal brotherhood, tolerance, and peace form a state of vast compassion that embraces not only the people around us but all of existence. As the guiding spirit Silver Birch repeatedly teaches in the sittings recorded in Wisdom from the Beyond, love is the greatest and purest force in the universe, and peace can come to the world only through friendship, harmony, compassion, and cooperation. Silver Birch states that the greatest lesson to be learned and practiced on earth is love, that as we learn to love one another we help the endless process of creation, and that we thereby serve the divine will. According to him, helping others — that is, service — is the soul’s truest gain, a universal form of worship that goes far beyond religions and rigid dogmas.
This understanding of love and service cannot remain limited to people alone. All beings in the universe are links of the same spiritual chain, woven together with love. The compassion shown to the defenseless, to voiceless animals, and to nature is the surest and most sincere sign of a person’s spiritual evolution. Every wave of love that we radiate from our hearts toward life and all created beings echoes through the universe, and through that flawless mechanism of justice by which we reap what we sow, will return to us as goodness.
Sufism, the Unity of Being, and Loving for the Creator’s Sake
The Sufi tradition that has leavened Anatolian soil, along with the esoteric wisdom of Islam, has also worked this universal truth in its purest form for centuries. In the works reflecting the Sufi views of Seyyid Muhammed Nûru’l-Arabî and the understanding of Wahdat al-Wujud (the Unity of Being), that famous sacred hadith is often recalled: “I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known, so I created the universe” (Kuntu kanzan makhfiyyan…). According to this profound perspective, everything created, every particle in the universe, is a manifestation of the being of the Truth (the Creator), a reflection of His light. Therefore no human being is ever entirely worthless, hopeless, or unworthy of love.
As the great Islamic thinker and mystic Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi explains in his work Tefsir-i Kebir / Te’vilat (Tafsir al-Kabir / Ta’wilat), loves based on worldly desires, material expectations, and self-interest are as fragile as spider webs, and dissolve with the death of the body. Spiritual and divinely rooted love, however, springs from the primordial harmony of souls, from Divine affection, and this pure love is eternal and never fades. Such is the love among the asfiya and the saints: they love God, and they love one another simply because each is a manifestation of God, a work of His art. Yunus Emre’s philosophy — “I love the created, for the sake of the Creator” — is precisely a summary of this spiritual understanding, this unshakeable brotherhood.
To love a human being is to love the divine breath within them. Rather than judging or condemning them, striving to see the light of the Truth manifest in them, and covering their faults with compassion, is the highest virtue attained by the kâmil insan, the perfected human being. As Seyyid Muhammed Nûru’l-Arabî also emphasizes, “May God have mercy on the one who knew their own worth and never overstepped their limit.” Seeing the divine in everyone dissolves our pride and our ego, carries us toward true humility — and gives us solid ground for never losing hope in humanity.
Conclusion: Why We Should Never Lose Hope in People
All these ancient sages, spiritual sources, sacred texts, and guides from beyond whisper to us, each in their own language, the same magnificent truth — the power of love and hope: the human being is an eternal spiritual traveler, and the world is a perfect school, a stage of merit, built for their maturation. Every tyrant, every unreasonable person, or every painful, seemingly unjust event we encounter on this stage is in fact a mirror placed before us to teach us patience, tolerance, unconditional love, and forgiveness, and to expand our capacity to love.
In our everyday lives — from an argument in traffic to tension at work, from disagreements within the family to social crises — every single moment is a test of whether we will reflect that “divine light” within us outward. Every moment in which we lose hope in people and surrender our hearts to resentment and anger, we are, in truth, losing hope in the light within ourselves, in the Creator’s flawless order. Instead, beginning each morning by saying, “I am part of an eternal soul; today I will reflect the love within me toward everyone and everything I encounter,” can transform not only our own life but the life of everyone we touch into a miracle.
An eye that searches for flaws will find only weeds even in the most beautiful garden; but a heart that looks with divine wisdom, compassion, and peace can see the wounded soul, the hidden beauty, lying deep even within the harshest person. As we approach one another with love, compassion, and tolerance, we will dissolve the darkness in our world, complete our individual evolution, and help humanity reach that deeply longed-for bond of brotherhood, that global peace. Whatever happens, let us never lose hope in people — for we must never forget that the only thing that truly exists is Light, is God, is Love.
References
- Arıkdal, Ergün. Pozitif Yaşam (Positive Life). Ruh ve Madde Yayınları / Enstitü Yayınları.
- Arıkdal, Ergün. Kendini Bilmek (Know Thyself). Ruh ve Madde Yayınları.
- White Eagle (Grace Cooke). Işığın ve Karanlığın Melekleri (Angels of Light and Darkness, White Eagle II). Ruh ve Madde Yayınları.
- White Eagle (Grace Cooke). Güzel Hayatı Yaratmak (Creating the Beautiful Life, White Eagle III). Ruh ve Madde Yayınları.
- White Eagle (Grace Cooke). Sevgide Ayrılık Yoktur (There Is No Death, White Eagle IV). Ruh ve Madde Yayınları.
- White Eagle (Grace Cooke). İki Dünya Arasında Bağlantı (The Living Word of Tibet). Ruh ve Madde Yayınları.
- Gurdjieff, G. I. Views from the Real World.
- Ibn Arabi, Muhyiddin. Fusus al-Hikam.
- Ibn Arabi, Muhyiddin. Tafsir al-Kabir / Ta’wilat.
- Nûru’l-Arabî, Seyyid Muhammed. al-Anwar al-Muhammadiyya fi Sharh Risalat al-Wujud. H Yayınları, 2020, İstanbul.
- Ouspensky, P. D. / Nicoll, Maurice. Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky.
- Ruhselman, Dr. Bedri. İlahi Nizam ve Kainat (The Divine Order and the Universe). MTİAD Yayınları.
- Ruhselman, Dr. Bedri. Mukadderat ve İcabat (Destiny and Necessity). Gayret Kitabevi / Ruh ve Madde Yayınları.
- Silver Birch (A. W. Austen compilation / Hannen Swaffer sittings). Wisdom from the Beyond. Ruh ve Madde Yayınları.