Behind us all is one spirit and one life; how then can we be happy if our neighbor is not also happy?

Commentary by Hazrat Inayat Khan:

Selfishness may begin with the thought, 'As long as my country is benefited, that benefits me;' and then it will narrow down to, 'If my family is benefited, if we become wealthy and have desirable things, that is sufficient for the present!' And then it narrows down again, 'For my father, or mother, or wife or children,' until it ends in, 'Nothing matters as long as I am happy myself.' Man has now become cold, ignorant, and blind to the law that life depends on the happiness of those with whom we live. The whole of life is one. In all these different names and manifestations life is one. The true thought is, 'If my wife is not happy, if my children, my neighbors, my servants are not happy, how can I ever be happy?'