Saturday, July 14, 2012

A Sufi story about LOVE


I have heard, the great Sufi Master Ruzbihan was once on the roof of his khaniqah while in a state of WAJD....
The khaniqah is the place where Sufis meet; it is a temple of love. It is a temple of madness, of utter rejoicing. This is a khaniqah. No other god than love is worshiped, no other prayer than love is preached.
 In a khaniqah, only those who are becoming aflame with love are invited, who are on the verge of madness.
Ruzbihan was on the roof of his khaniqah while in a state of wajd. 
Wajd is a moment when you are not and God is, a moment of absolute harmony. A window opens, and you can see the whole sky, you are no more confined within the walls of your body and mind. For a moment, a lightning happens and all darkness disappears.
 Wajd is a momentary samadhi, a glimpse, a satori. It comes and goes. Slowly, slowly, it establishes itself.
But even to know God for a moment is of immense beauty and benediction. Even to know for a single moment that you are not separate from existence, that there is no ego, that all is one -- La illaha ill Allah -- even to know this just as a passing experience, just like a breeze that comes and is gone -- by the time you become aware of it, it is no more there, but it has been there, it has refreshed you, rejuvenated, resurrected you...
Ruzbihan was on the roof of his khaniqah in a state of wajd -- in a state of oneness with existence...
It happened that a group of young people was passing by in the alley below, playing musical instruments and singing...
They were singing:
"O heart, in the neighborhood of the Beloved there is no wailing,
nor are the roof, door, or windows of her house guarded.
If you are ready to lose your soul,
get up and come now, for the field is empty. "

They were completely unaware of Ruzbihan. They were just singing. They were even unaware of what they were singing, what they were saying. It is a Sufi provocation; it is a Sufi song. 
The moment Ruzbihan heard it -- "If you are ready to lose your soul, get up and come now, for the field is empty" -- and he was in a state of wajd, of unity, oneness, unio mystica -- his ecstasy was such that he was not there in that ecstasy at all; when Ruzbihan heard this, something possessed him, something from the beyond, and he flung himself from the roof...... whirling and turning in the air, to the ground below.
On witnessing this, the group of young people cast away their instruments, left their former ways, entered the khaniqah, and became Sufis.
What happened to that group of young people? 

For the first time, they saw ecstasy, wajd, love, madness for God. For the first time, they came across a man who could risk his very life. This is ishq. Ishq means you are ready to lose your life for your love. Ishq means love has become a higher value than life itself.Its the way of the Sufi's.
Sufi's dont preach by sermons..They preach by ecstasy

Just remember this man, this madman Ruzbihan, jumping from the roof of the khaniqah just because a few people were singing a song and they said, "If you are ready to lose your soul, get up and come now, for the field is empty" -- and he jumped, without hesitating for a single moment. This is madness. The calculative mind is going to condemn it.
But he was not hurt. He was so drunk, he was not even aware of what was happening. Nothing was happening to him, because he was not there: as if God jumped through him. He was possessed by God, he was utterly drunk.
Seeing him coming from the roof, turning, whirling in the air... They had seen many dervishes, whirling dervishes, but not a man like this. And when he came onto the ground, he was so innocent, he was so silent, his joy was such, seeing him, just seeing him, was enough for them to renounce their old ways.
They threw down their instruments, entered the khaniqah, and became Sufis.

2 comments:

  1. I am glad for you. It is not easy for most folks to understand what you are saying here. The fact that you recite stories like this speaks a lot about your state of mind. You are blessed.

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  2. I confirm: indeed, you are blessed

    ReplyDelete