1. The Needle
One day, Rabia was looking for something on the wet pavement in the town square ...''What are you doing, beautiful lady?'', asked the young men passing by.
''I am searching what I have lost'', she replied.
''And what is it?''
''Something important that words cannot describe.''
''Tell us what you have lost, insisted the young men- we are going to find it very quickly.''
''Well'', said Rabia smiling, ''this morning I lost a needle.''
The boys began to walk around the square, looking for the lost needle. After a while, one of them went back to her
''The Square is so large, can you tell us exactly where you lost it, because we can continue searching until the evening ...''
''I lost it at home'', Rabia replied.
''And what are you doing here, then?'',the amazed men asked
''I am here Because it is sunny and the wet stones shine so bright ...''
''Ooh, how stupid of you to search for what you have lost at the wrong place! That is crazy.''
''No crazier than you all are, replied Rabia smiling."
''We? Crazy?''
''Of course! I involved you in the search of a needle, only to learn and realize your foolishness ... You have lost much more than a needle, but, first, you do not know what it is, and secondly, you don't search for it at where it is supposed to be ...''
''Crazy! Your words sound crazy!''
''Let me explain'', smiled Rabia-''In the heart of every man lies the source of divine love. Engrossed in your worldly affairs, you have forgotten about the existence of this source within you - that is what you have lost. But each one of you has a longing for what you have lost. Your Hearts yearn for love. Trying to satisfy that desire for love, people have a passion for jewels or other material things in the outside world - money, fame, power, sensual pleasures. They get bored with one toy, and start looking for another ... Well, doesn't that sound crazy to you? You are Trying to find something constant in a changing world, whereas you already have that invariable source of divine love and splendor within you!
You can always buy another needle. But what is called your inner nature, the source of divine love, you can not find in the streets and sidewalks or buy it for exchange of any treasure. It is already there, in you waiting to be found where none of you is searching!
And so, which one of us is crazy? ...''
2. Once there was a blind man who never saw the beauty of daylight. A medicine man once suggested to him that he could transplant eyes and make him see the sun light for the first time. The blind man refused, saying, ''If you could see the Divine Light that I am seeing every day, you would gladly take out both of your eyes.''
That is the Blissful Spiritual Light that shines within us but we often close our hearts to our Divine source and we are not able to see it. People are more blind for God's Love than the blind man from my favorite Sufi parable.
3. Rise Up
- Master, what would you say if you know about my downfall?
- Stand up!
- And in some other time when i fall down again?
- Rise Again!
- And how could I continue to fall and get up?
- Falling and rising again is what you always do in your lifetime! Because those who have fallen down and never rise again, they are the dead ones.
