A beautiful Sufi strory which impressed me today.

[prasanna]

A Sufi Story


There is a very famous Sufi story.

An emperor was coming out of his palace for his morning walk when he met a

beggar. He asked the beggar, "What do you want?"

The beggar laughed and said, "You are asking as if you can fulfill my desire!"

The king was offended. He said, "Of course I can fulfill your desire. What

is it? You just tell me."

And the beggar said, "Think twice before you promise anything."

The beggar was no ordinary beggar, he was the emperor's past-life Master.

And he had promised in that life, "I will come and try to wake you in your

next life. This life you have missed, but I will come again." But the king

had forgotten completely--who remembers past lives? So he insisted, "I will

fulfill anything you ask. I am a very powerful emperor; what can you

possibly desire that I cannot give to you?"

The beggar said, "It is a very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can

you fill it with something?"

The emperor said, "Of course!" He called one of his viziers and told him,

"Fill this man's begging bowl with money." The vizier went and got some

money and poured it into the bowl . . . and it disappeared. And he poured

more and more, and the moment he would pour it, it would disappear. And the

begging bowl remained always empty.

The whole palace gathered. By and by the rumor went throughout the capital,

and a huge crowd gathered. The prestige of the emperor was at stake. He said

to his viziers, "If the whole kingdom is lost I am ready to lose it, but I

cannot be defeated by this beggar."

Diamonds and pearls and emeralds . . . his treasuries were becoming empty.

That begging bowl seemed to be bottomless. Everything that was put into

it--everything!--immediately disappeared, went out of existence. Finally it

was evening, and people were standing there in utter silence. The king

dropped at the feet of the beggar and admitted his defeat. He said, "Just

tell me one thing. You are victorious--but before you leave, just fulfill my

curiosity. What is this begging bowl made of?"

The beggar laughed and said, "It is made of the human mind. There is no

secret . . . it is simply made of human desire."

This understanding transforms life. Go into one desire-what is the mechanism

of it? First there is great excitement, great thrill, adventure. You feel a

great kick. Something is going to happen, you are on the verge of it. And

then you have the car, you have the yacht, you have the house, you have the

woman . . . and suddenly all is meaningless again.

What happens? Your mind has dematerialized it. The car is standing in the

drive, but there is no excitement any more. The excitement was only in

getting it . . . you became so drunk with the desire that you forgot your

inner nothingness. Now--the desire fulfilled, the car in the drive, the

woman in your bed, the money in your bank account--again excitement

disappears. Again the emptiness is there, ready to eat you up. Again you

have to create another desire to escape from this yawning abyss.

That's how one goes on moving from one desire to another desire. That's how

one remains a beggar. Your whole life proves it again and again--every

desire frustrates. And when the goal is achieved you will need another desire.

The day you understand that desire as such is going to fail comes the

turning point in your life.

The other journey is inwards. Move inwards, come back home.



P.S.   Thanks a lot Prabakaran, for sharing this story with me, which I shared with  U all.  I think  this story  reminds us, endless are our desires, and they are the route cause of all our sorrows. When we  actually realize this truth,  I am sure we will lead peaceful life ( by cutting short unnecessary desires. )  Thanks for reading this beautiful  and meaningful story.