The symbol of the Sufi Order is a heart with wings. It explains that the heart is
between soul and body, a medium between spirit and matter. When the soul is
covered by its love for matter, it is naturally attracted to matter. This is the law of
gravitation in abstract form. As it is said in the Bible, "Where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also." When man treasures the things of the earth, his heart is
drawn to the earth. But the heart is subject not only to gravitation, but also to
attraction from on high, and as in the Egyptian symbology, wings are the symbol of
spiritual progress, so the heart with wings expresses that the heart reaches upward
towards heaven. The crescent in the heart suggests the responsiveness of the heart.
The crescent represents the responsiveness of the crescent moon to the light of the
sun for naturally it receives the light which develops it until it becomes the full
moon. The principal teaching of Sufism is that of learning to become a pupil, for it
is the pupil who has a chance of becoming a teacher, and once a person considers
that he is a teacher, his responsiveness is gone. The greatest teachers of the world
have been the greatest pupils. It is this principle which is represented by the cres-
cent: the crescent in the heart signifies that the heart which is responsive to the light
of God is illuminated. It is the divine light which is represented by the five-pointed
star, and the star is reflected in the heart which is responsive to the divine light. The
heart which by its response has received the divine light is liberated, as the wings
show. In brief, the meaning of the symbol is that the heart responsive to the light of
God is liberated.
