The Art of Personality: Inayat Khan's Remarkable Lesson
Individuality is nature. Personality is art. Individuality is that which we brought with us at our birth, we are born as a separate entity.
This piece presents teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882–1927), the Indian musician and Sufi teacher who brought Sufism to the West. His lectures on this theme are collected in The Alchemy of Happiness, volume 6 of The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan (Inayat Khan, 2015).
The Art of Personality
Individuality is that which we brought with us at our birth, we are born as a separate entity.
Individuality is the soul's consciousness of its oneness
The moment the soul says "I" it becomes conscious of an individuality.
Personality is an improvement on individuality.
In becoming a person the beauty which is hidden in an individual develops itself, and it is the development of the individuality which is personality.
Individuality is nature. Personality is art. Personality is something that is acquired or gained. It has not come with us.
How does one make use of personality?
In business the salesman makes a success according to the power of his magnetism; his influence depends entirely on his personality.
It is his personality that stands out.
References
Inayat Khan, H. (2015). The Sufi message of Hazrat Inayat Khan: Vol. 6. The alchemy of happiness. Motilal Banarsidass.
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