Excerpts
E. P. Dutton
and company,
inc., New York,
1974
[pages 8 - 13]
the Sufi
and
Other Ways
1. The errors and illusions
of
man-in-society
There are people
in
this world
who
become forgetful
of
themselves
and
their reason
for
being here.
Their example
is analogous
to
the pilgrim
who
on his way
to
Mecca
stops
at an oasis,
tends
to his camel,
selects
choice grass
to
feed it with,
cools
its drinking water
with
ice.
He gets
so busy
with
these things
that
the caravan
leaves him
behind
and
he doesn't
notice it;
he
even forgets
the
object
of
his journey.
The
wise pilgrim
gives
his camel
the attention
it needs
and
no more,
for his heart
is set
on Mecca
and
the pilgrimage.
In the same way
the wise one
in
this
world's journey
toward
the
second life
feeds his body
with
no more
nourishment
than
it needs.
The belly
keeps a person
away from God
more
than anything else.
Of course,
eating
is
absolutely essential;
clothing and shelter
are
necessary too.
If
people
realized
these needs
for
what
they really are,
they
wouldn't be
so greedy
and
so entangled
in
worldly demands.
Worldly affairs
multiply one another;
they grow
and
spread
like a labyrinth
and
enslave people,
who lose themselves
in
senseless work
and
forget
their true purpose.
2. The trap of food,
shelter, and clothing
People
have made
their
basic needs
for
food and shelter
into
a complicated maze
of
worldly affairs;
as a result
their minds
have been
so corrupted
and
distracted
that
some
strange ideas
and
illusions
have
entered them,
giving rise
to
a variety of concepts,
opinions,
and ideologies.
Some,
from obtuseness
and
ignorance,
do not see
any significance
in life.
They see life
as
a
number of days
spent
in
this world
and say:
we'll earn
to be able
to eat;
we'll eat
to be able
to earn.
This is
the reasoning
of
those people,
such as
farmers
and
businessmen,
who are
without
any glimmer
of
joy,
which comes
from insight
in religion
and
from
spirituality.
They strive
during the day
in order
to eat
at night.
Then
they eat at night
in order
to be able
to strive again
during the day.
Their journey
goes on
in this manner
until
death
puts
an end to it.
And there are others
for whom
the
highest bliss possible
is
the
surfeiting
of
their desires;
they chase women
day and night
and
stuff themselves
with rich foods.
They call themselves
epicures
and
never give a thought
to
God
and
the possibility
of
a second life.
To
the third group
belong those
who consider
the chief purpose
of
life
to consist
in
making money.
They toil
night and day
amassing riches
whereby
they hope
to
gain security
and
freedom
from want.
They are
parsimonious
to
a fault,
even
to themselves.
They go on and on
like this
until
death
takes them over.
Then
their riches --
the result
of
a lifetime
of
sweat and struggle --
are unearthed
and
squandered
by
some
pleasure seeker.
How many
there are
who see
such examples
and
never learn
from them!
To still
another type
of person
the
purpose
and
significance
of
life
consists
in
gaining fame,
in
eliciting
as much praise
and
adulation
as he can.
These people
too,
toil
after wealth,
but only
to spend it
on
pretty clothes
and
expensive-looking
houses.
They decorate
their
front doors
and
anything else
they can show
so that
onlookers
might say:
"So and so
has it made!"
People
of
this group
consider
the
ultimate happiness
to be
in receiving
such responses.
Then
there is
the group
for whom
power
is
the
end-all
of life.
They seek
high offices
and
positions
of authority
so that
they can be
superior to others
and
treat them
as they like;
they love
to be surrounded
by
lackeys
and
wagtails.
Gaining power
is
their idea
of
happiness
as well as
their distraction
from
self-knowledge
and
God.
They want
to
play gods
themselves.
There are
still other types,
but
it would take
too long
to
enumerate them.
These,
as well as
the others
just mentioned,
have
one thing
in common:
they have all
gone astray
or
have misled others
from
the
right path.
Different
as their pursuits
are,
their going
astray
has
originated from
the
basic necessities
of
food,
clothing,
and
shelter.
These three
simple needs
have given rise
to
the
inextricable traps
into which
people
have
let themselves
fall!
But a person
of
wisdom
and
intelligence
looks
at the true nature
and
purpose
of the
psychological
entanglement
called
jobs
and
occupation
and
deals with them
for
what they are worth.
He realizes
that
even though
the social structure
of
jobs
and
occupations
has become
extremely complex,
he can,
by
a
consistent awareness
and
self-examination,
succeed
in
avoiding
the
meaningless
social entanglements.
The heart
of
such a person
is thus
unburdened
of
its
unnecessary loads;
it is
free
to examine
the
true purpose
of
life
and
to
find out
what
Truth
is.
On the contrary,
if
a person
goes after
more
worldly possessions
than
he needs,
he
will find out
that
each engagement
engenders
another one,
on and on,
and
here and there,
indefinitely.
3. Beliefs
and
rationalizations
Having seen
these pitfalls,
some people
have taken
the path
of
abstinence.
But
Satan's tricks
have
misled
these people too,
and
they can be
classed
into
several groups.
One group
believes
that
life
in this world
brings
nothing
but
sorrow
and
suffering,
and
that one can --
anyone can --
attain happiness
through
death.
Therefore
people
belonging to
this group
deem it
wise
to
kill themselves
in order
to
reach
the
other world
as
soon
as
possible.
Some
Hindu monks
follow through
on
this belief;
they
set themselves
afire
and
end their lives
as
a means
of
unshackling
themselves
from
the chains
of
the world.
A second group
is
opposed
to
committing suicide
but
does believe
that
human salvation
lies
in
the annihilation
of
human desires.
These are
the ascetics,
who
sometimes
torture
their bodies
so severely
that they
are killed
by
their own hands.
Others
in this group
may
mutilate
their minds
and
become
insane,
while still others
may lose
their health
and so
be unable
to
go further
on
the
spiritual path.
Finally,
there are
those
who
fail
to
tame
their desires
and
conclude
that
the
religious law
as
laid down
by
the Prophet
is
an impossibility
and
a sham
to boot.
To another type
belong
those people
who say:
"God
does not need
the
good deeds
of
His creatures.
He is
neither
exalted
by
our worship,
nor
diminished
by
the lack of it."
With such
self-made
explanation,
these people
begin
to chase after
the
worldly pleasures
and
become
callous hedonists.
There is
another group
of
people
who hold
the belief
that
religious obligations
are
only means
toward
the
direct knowledge
of
the Divine,
not ends
in
themselves.
Therefore,
they
abandon
the "means"
altogether,
which
they say
is
for
the
common people.
There are
many
other doctrines
as well,
each
with its own
peculiar belief.
4. The supreme
balance
There is
only
one group
of
people
who
are
on
safe ground.
They belong
to
the school
of
the Prophet
and
the Companions.
The individual
of
this school
does not
abandon
this world,
nor
does he hold
that
human appetites
must be
done away with.
He
only disciplines
those desires
that are
in discordance
with
the religious life
and
the dictates
of
sound reason.
He neither
fights
every desire,
nor
does he
indulge
in
every desire;
he
follows
what is
the
right action.
He doesn't
throw away
all things
of
this world,
nor
does he
go after them
with
a vengeance.
Rather,
he knows
the
true value
and
function
of
everything
upon the earth.
He saves
as much
as
is necessary.
He eats
as much
as
he needs
to
stay healthy.
He uses shelter
as
a
means of safety
from intruders
and
natural elements.
He looks upon
clothing
as
the means
of
protecting
himself
from
heat and cold.
In this way
he protects
and
nourishes
his body
and
at
the same time
sets
his heart
free.
God
becomes
the focal point
toward which
his
whole being
leans.
God
becomes
the object
of
his
continual adoration
and
contemplation.
He becomes
watchful
of
his desires;
he
moves about
in
goodness
and
righteousness.
Such a life
can be
experienced
by
emulating
the lives
of the Companions,
who flourished
in
the kind
of balance
mentioned above.
They lived
in this world
and
at the same time
they
led
a
religious life.
They
became
neither
monks
nor
worldlings.
They
avoided
extremes
and
excesses.
They discovered
the
supreme balance
in
truth
and
goodness,
the
exalted
Path
to
the Ultimate.
+++
from
"The Tale of the Reed Pipe:
Teachings of the Sufis",by Massud Farzan,
and company,
inc., New York,
1974
[pages 8 - 13]
On the Way
ofthe Sufi
and
Other Ways
1. The errors and illusions
of
man-in-society
There are people
in
this world
who
become forgetful
of
themselves
and
their reason
for
being here.
Their example
is analogous
to
the pilgrim
who
on his way
to
Mecca
stops
at an oasis,
tends
to his camel,
selects
choice grass
to
feed it with,
cools
its drinking water
with
ice.
He gets
so busy
with
these things
that
the caravan
leaves him
behind
and
he doesn't
notice it;
he
even forgets
the
object
of
his journey.
The
wise pilgrim
gives
his camel
the attention
it needs
and
no more,
for his heart
is set
on Mecca
and
the pilgrimage.
In the same way
the wise one
in
this
world's journey
toward
the
second life
feeds his body
with
no more
nourishment
than
it needs.
The belly
keeps a person
away from God
more
than anything else.
Of course,
eating
is
absolutely essential;
clothing and shelter
are
necessary too.
If
people
realized
these needs
for
what
they really are,
they
wouldn't be
so greedy
and
so entangled
in
worldly demands.
Worldly affairs
multiply one another;
they grow
and
spread
like a labyrinth
and
enslave people,
who lose themselves
in
senseless work
and
forget
their true purpose.
2. The trap of food,
shelter, and clothing
People
have made
their
basic needs
for
food and shelter
into
a complicated maze
of
worldly affairs;
as a result
their minds
have been
so corrupted
and
distracted
that
some
strange ideas
and
illusions
have
entered them,
giving rise
to
a variety of concepts,
opinions,
and ideologies.
Some,
from obtuseness
and
ignorance,
do not see
any significance
in life.
They see life
as
a
number of days
spent
in
this world
and say:
we'll earn
to be able
to eat;
we'll eat
to be able
to earn.
This is
the reasoning
of
those people,
such as
farmers
and
businessmen,
who are
without
any glimmer
of
joy,
which comes
from insight
in religion
and
from
spirituality.
They strive
during the day
in order
to eat
at night.
Then
they eat at night
in order
to be able
to strive again
during the day.
Their journey
goes on
in this manner
until
death
puts
an end to it.
And there are others
for whom
the
highest bliss possible
is
the
surfeiting
of
their desires;
they chase women
day and night
and
stuff themselves
with rich foods.
They call themselves
epicures
and
never give a thought
to
God
and
the possibility
of
a second life.
To
the third group
belong those
who consider
the chief purpose
of
life
to consist
in
making money.
They toil
night and day
amassing riches
whereby
they hope
to
gain security
and
freedom
from want.
They are
parsimonious
to
a fault,
even
to themselves.
They go on and on
like this
until
death
takes them over.
Then
their riches --
the result
of
a lifetime
of
sweat and struggle --
are unearthed
and
squandered
by
some
pleasure seeker.
How many
there are
who see
such examples
and
never learn
from them!
To still
another type
of person
the
purpose
and
significance
of
life
consists
in
gaining fame,
in
eliciting
as much praise
and
adulation
as he can.
These people
too,
toil
after wealth,
but only
to spend it
on
pretty clothes
and
expensive-looking
houses.
They decorate
their
front doors
and
anything else
they can show
so that
onlookers
might say:
"So and so
has it made!"
People
of
this group
consider
the
ultimate happiness
to be
in receiving
such responses.
Then
there is
the group
for whom
power
is
the
end-all
of life.
They seek
high offices
and
positions
of authority
so that
they can be
superior to others
and
treat them
as they like;
they love
to be surrounded
by
lackeys
and
wagtails.
Gaining power
is
their idea
of
happiness
as well as
their distraction
from
self-knowledge
and
God.
They want
to
play gods
themselves.
There are
still other types,
but
it would take
too long
to
enumerate them.
These,
as well as
the others
just mentioned,
have
one thing
in common:
they have all
gone astray
or
have misled others
from
the
right path.
Different
as their pursuits
are,
their going
astray
has
originated from
the
basic necessities
of
food,
clothing,
and
shelter.
These three
simple needs
have given rise
to
the
inextricable traps
into which
people
have
let themselves
fall!
But a person
of
wisdom
and
intelligence
looks
at the true nature
and
purpose
of the
psychological
entanglement
called
jobs
and
occupation
and
deals with them
for
what they are worth.
He realizes
that
even though
the social structure
of
jobs
and
occupations
has become
extremely complex,
he can,
by
a
consistent awareness
and
self-examination,
succeed
in
avoiding
the
meaningless
social entanglements.
The heart
of
such a person
is thus
unburdened
of
its
unnecessary loads;
it is
free
to examine
the
true purpose
of
life
and
to
find out
what
Truth
is.
On the contrary,
if
a person
goes after
more
worldly possessions
than
he needs,
he
will find out
that
each engagement
engenders
another one,
on and on,
and
here and there,
indefinitely.
3. Beliefs
and
rationalizations
Having seen
these pitfalls,
some people
have taken
the path
of
abstinence.
But
Satan's tricks
have
misled
these people too,
and
they can be
classed
into
several groups.
One group
believes
that
life
in this world
brings
nothing
but
sorrow
and
suffering,
and
that one can --
anyone can --
attain happiness
through
death.
Therefore
people
belonging to
this group
deem it
wise
to
kill themselves
in order
to
reach
the
other world
as
soon
as
possible.
Some
Hindu monks
follow through
on
this belief;
they
set themselves
afire
and
end their lives
as
a means
of
unshackling
themselves
from
the chains
of
the world.
A second group
is
opposed
to
committing suicide
but
does believe
that
human salvation
lies
in
the annihilation
of
human desires.
These are
the ascetics,
who
sometimes
torture
their bodies
so severely
that they
are killed
by
their own hands.
Others
in this group
may
mutilate
their minds
and
become
insane,
while still others
may lose
their health
and so
be unable
to
go further
on
the
spiritual path.
Finally,
there are
those
who
fail
to
tame
their desires
and
conclude
that
the
religious law
as
laid down
by
the Prophet
is
an impossibility
and
a sham
to boot.
To another type
belong
those people
who say:
"God
does not need
the
good deeds
of
His creatures.
He is
neither
exalted
by
our worship,
nor
diminished
by
the lack of it."
With such
self-made
explanation,
these people
begin
to chase after
the
worldly pleasures
and
become
callous hedonists.
There is
another group
of
people
who hold
the belief
that
religious obligations
are
only means
toward
the
direct knowledge
of
the Divine,
not ends
in
themselves.
Therefore,
they
abandon
the "means"
altogether,
which
they say
is
for
the
common people.
There are
many
other doctrines
as well,
each
with its own
peculiar belief.
4. The supreme
balance
There is
only
one group
of
people
who
are
on
safe ground.
They belong
to
the school
of
the Prophet
and
the Companions.
The individual
of
this school
does not
abandon
this world,
nor
does he hold
that
human appetites
must be
done away with.
He
only disciplines
those desires
that are
in discordance
with
the religious life
and
the dictates
of
sound reason.
He neither
fights
every desire,
nor
does he
indulge
in
every desire;
he
follows
what is
the
right action.
He doesn't
throw away
all things
of
this world,
nor
does he
go after them
with
a vengeance.
Rather,
he knows
the
true value
and
function
of
everything
upon the earth.
He saves
as much
as
is necessary.
He eats
as much
as
he needs
to
stay healthy.
He uses shelter
as
a
means of safety
from intruders
and
natural elements.
He looks upon
clothing
as
the means
of
protecting
himself
from
heat and cold.
In this way
he protects
and
nourishes
his body
and
at
the same time
sets
his heart
free.
God
becomes
the focal point
toward which
his
whole being
leans.
God
becomes
the object
of
his
continual adoration
and
contemplation.
He becomes
watchful
of
his desires;
he
moves about
in
goodness
and
righteousness.
Such a life
can be
experienced
by
emulating
the lives
of the Companions,
who flourished
in
the kind
of balance
mentioned above.
They lived
in this world
and
at the same time
they
led
a
religious life.
They
became
neither
monks
nor
worldlings.
They
avoided
extremes
and
excesses.
They discovered
the
supreme balance
in
truth
and
goodness,
the
exalted
Path
to
the Ultimate.
+++
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