A Sufi Folktale A certain man was believed to have died. When he was being prepared for burial, he revived. He sat up, but he was so shocked at the scene surrounding him that he fainted. He was put in a coffin, and the funeral party set off for the cemetery. Just as they arrived… Continue reading When Death is not a Death
Tag: truth
The Four Men and the Interpreter
This is an allegory from Rumi’s Mathnawi. It goes like this: Four people were given a piece of money. The first was a Persian. He said: “I will buy with this some Angur.” The second was an Arab. He said: “No, because I want Inab.” The third was a Turk. He said: “I do not… Continue reading The Four Men and the Interpreter
Violence and foolishness
Adapted from the Gospel of Ramakrishna A particularly wicked snake infested a road and used to bite whoever passed by. One day a holy man was passing by and noticed the snake rushing towards him to bite. He remained calm and looked at the snake and smiled. Then the holy man said: “Follow the path… Continue reading Violence and foolishness
Non-violence
An Indian Folktale Guru Ananda, like most of the gurus, had disciples among the householders, along with the students who lived with him. Once in a while the guru camped in such villages where a large number of his householder disciples lived. One such village was Mahigram. He was camping there with a dozen or… Continue reading Non-violence
The Shrine
A Sufi story Mulla Naseeruddin’s father was a highly respected man. A Keeper of a Shrine. Shrines are burial places of great teachers which then turn into pilgrimage for seekers and followers. In the usual course of events, Naseeruddin could be expected to inherit this position. But soon after their fifteenth year, when he was… Continue reading The Shrine
What is the difference between faith and foolishness?
An Indian Folktale Once upon a time there lived in a village a washerman. Every day he had to pass by the house of a priest who taught the village boys. One day when he was passing that way, he heard the priest saying, “Naughty boys, what are you? I have turned donkeys into men.” … Continue reading What is the difference between faith and foolishness?
Heaven and Hell
An Indian Folklore There was a man. He died. He went to God of Death, who asked, “Do you want to experience heaven or hell first?” He began to think [muttering], “Should I say heaven?” He thought and he thought about it. Then he said [loudly], “I want to experience heaven first.” He went to… Continue reading Heaven and Hell
Whom to call for help?
An Indian Folklore Once a man called Bhola lived in a village which was in a rocky, arid area. The village had been facing severe water scarcity for many many decades. Bhola had been trying to find a solution to this problem for quite some time. One day a travelling party was crossing the village… Continue reading Whom to call for help?
Does spirituality mean foolishness?
If God is Everywhere (Adapted from the Gospel of Ramakrishna) A sage had a number of disciples. He taught them his deepest belief that God is everywhere and dwells in everything. So the disciple should treat all things as God and show devotion towards everything. One when a disciple was walking on a road, he… Continue reading Does spirituality mean foolishness?
What is a spiritual world-view?
An Indian Folklore A traveller saw a man sitting beside a lake with his fishing rod dipped in the water. The traveller went near him and asked, “Gentleman, will you kindly tell me which is the way to the village called Bhimpur?” The fishing man, far from replying, did not even look at the traveller.… Continue reading What is a spiritual world-view?
Who is our true self?
A Tiger That Didn’t Know Who He Was (Adapted from the Gospel of Ramakrishna) A pregnant tigress once jumped into the midst of a flock of sheep. As she did so, she went into labour, gave birth to a tiger cub, and died on the spot. A kind-hearted sheep nursed the cub, gave it her… Continue reading Who is our true self?
What is true transformation?
An Indian Folklore The little mouse was almost dead when the sage’s wife rescued it from their cat. “O poor creature!” muttered the lady while trying to revive it. “I saved you today but who will save you tomorrow? I wish I had the power to change you into a human being!” The sage who… Continue reading What is true transformation?
Why one needs to be cautious of religious doctrines?
An Indian Folktale The good old zamindar had a guru. Once every year the guru would honour the zamindar by camping in his house for a few days. Then the good old zamindar passed away. His son, Kishore, was not known to have much interest in matters spiritual. Nevertheless, he put up a show of… Continue reading Why one needs to be cautious of religious doctrines?
Whom does the destiny favour?
An Indian Folklore Once lived a boy in a village with his widowed mother. He was a simpleton but sincere and hardworking. The village used to be peaceful and abundant but unfortunately it suffered unprecedented natural calamities, one after the other — cyclones, floods, earthquakes and droughts. Life became very hard. So the boy decided… Continue reading Whom does the destiny favour?
Who is our biggest enemy?
An Indian Folktale A frog lived in a deep water body. He used to spend the night in a hole on the bank of the deep tank. Early in the morning he would come out of the hole and move along the tank in search of food. One morning, when he was about to come… Continue reading Who is our biggest enemy?
What is our life?
An Indian Folklore Once the great sage, Narada, who often wandered between heaven and earth, set foot on the peak of a mountain. He then joyfully began climbing down the mountain. On his way he met a Yogi who greeted and asked: “My question is, when should God consider me worthy of meeting Him? My… Continue reading What is our life?
The Beard of the Dervish
A Sufi story A certain dervish had a long, well-maintained beard of which he was very proud. He passed a great deal of time in devotional practices but some of his attention was upon the beard which he considered was the mark of his gravity. One day Moses was on his way to God, when… Continue reading The Beard of the Dervish
What is spirituality?
Adapted from the Gospel of Ramakrishna This is a parable told by Sri Ramakrishna, a spiritual teacher, genius and saint. He did not have any formal education yet he was a treasure-house of oral traditions, out of which he created his own. The story goes like this… A holy man was once meditating on the… Continue reading What is spirituality?
What is Real Fortune?
A Sufi story Once a Sufi Master told his audience that even if help is provided to man, something in him could make the help totally useless. When some people objected to this theory, the Sufi Master smiled and said, “Okay we will see.” When everyone had forgotten the incident, the Sufi Master ordered one… Continue reading What is Real Fortune?
What should we do with illness?
An Indian Folklore Once upon a time, two fevers left their place, took the train and got down at the railway station of a big city. One of them thought of catching hold of a poor man while the other one decided to take on a rich well-to-do man. Fever number one seized a daily… Continue reading What should we do with illness?