Fables That Fix Lives: Ancient Code for Modern Problems

  The fair was in full swing when ‘ Nasrudin ’s senior disciple asked if he and his fellow students might visit it. "Certainly," said ‘ Nasrudin ’, "for this is an ideal opportunity to continue practical teaching." The ‘ Mulla ’ headed straight for the shooting gallery—one of the fair's great attractions, where large prizes were offered for even a single bulls eye. As ‘ Nasrudin ’ and his flock appeared, townsfolk gathered around. When the ‘ Mulla ’ himself took up the bow and three arrows, tension mounted. Surely, they thought, this would prove ‘Nasrudin’ had finally overreached himself. "Study me attentively," said the ‘Mulla’ . He flexed the bow, tilted his cap back like a soldier, took careful aim, and fired. The arrow flew wide of the mark. A roar of derision erupted from the crowd. ‘Nasrudin’s pupils stirred uneasily, muttering among themselves. The ‘Mulla’ turned and faced them. "Silence! This was a demonstration of how a soldi...

  When human beings were having their characteristics given out to them, one of the angels came to a man who was to be a ‘saint ”, and asked, 'What do you want?’ The Saint-to-be answered 'Nothing’ and continued to sit in contemplation of Truth. Now the Angel went from one to another of the humans-to-be and asked their wishes. The King-to-be said, 'Pomp and importance ’. The Peasant-to-be said, 'Work to do ’. The Warrior-to-be said, 'Glory ’. And so , it went on. Then a voice said to the Saint -to-be, 'You have asked nothing for yourself, and it is not too late to choose. Because of your desire for Truth, however, you shall have a glimpse of how hum anity will use the attributes— ’ As the Saint -to-be looked into a mirror that was held before him, he saw kings in their pomp and ceremony, peasants working endlessly, soldiers continually fighting___ Then the Saint -to-be gasped, 'But what will be the future of the People of Learning?’ The picture in the mi...

Someone said to Bahaudin Naqshband:  'It must have caused you pain to dismiss a certain student.'  He said:  'The best of all ways to test and help a disciple, if it is possible, may be to dismiss him. If he then turns against you, he has a chance of observing his own shallowness and the defects which led to the dismissal. If he forgives you, he has an opportunity of seeing whether in that there is any sanctimoniousness. If he regains his balance, he will be able to benefit this matter of our (the Teaching) and especially to benefit himself.'

  ‘Haidar’ heard a disciple say: ‘I am glad that I did not buy such-and-such a book, for now I have arrived at Source of    of its knowledge I have   saved myself pain and needless expense.’ After a year Haidar handed him a book, saying: ‘You have served me for twelve months. The value of your labor has been a hundred   dirhams.   That is the cost of this book. ‘You would not have paid a hundred silver pieces for such an inanimate object as a book, and few people would do so. But you have been made to pay for it, by me, and here it is. ‘A camel is dear at a penny if you do not need a camel. ‘A    single word is cheap at a  thousand gold  pieces, if it   is  essential to you. ‘If you wish to return  to the Source  of  Being, you will always have to take the first step, even though you may be demanding to be allowed to take the hundredth step.’

  ‘ Husain Waiz Kashifi’ , in the Lights of Canopus says: 'The person who has not seen the face of trust-has seen nothing, the person who has not found contentment-has found nothing. The human being, whether he realizes it or not, is trusting someone or something every moment of the day. He trusts the floorboards not to collapse, the train not to crash, the surgeon not to kill him, and so on. We trust people and these things because we have reason to believe that they will not let us down. #Trust #Contentment #SufiWisdom #HusainWaizKashifi #PhilosophyOfLife #Faith #SpiritualJourney #TheLightsOfCanopus #Mindfulness #InnerPeace

  Once there lived a clan of ordinary rats, scurrying through the shadows as rats have done since time immemorial. Their existence was unremarkable until the day ambition took hold—not the simple desire for fuller bellies or safer nests, but a monstrous craving to become larger than nature ever intended. At first, their growth seemed a marvel. They fed ravenously, bred obsessively, and soon outgrew their rodent cousins. When their swollen bodies could no longer slip through cracks, they took it as proof of superiority rather than warning. Humans began hunting them, not as pests but as prizes—their glossy pelts stripped and displayed as trophies. The rats misinterpreted this violence as tribute. Then came the men with cages and spotlights. "Witness the Eighth Wonder of the World!" bellowed the carnival barkers, parading the colossal rodents before gasping crowds. The rats paced their gilded enclosures, basking in the attention, never questioning why spectators laughed as t...

Once upon a time—not so very long ago—a certain building became infested with mice. The people in charge decided to eliminate them. One night, they laid out poisoned bait. But by morning, the poison had vanished—eaten entirely. "We'll try a different poison," they declared. A second lethal dose was prepared. Yet again, the mice devoured it eagerly, leaving behind clear signs that they were not just surviving, but thriving on their toxic new diet. Undeterred, the building's caretakers switched tactics. They set old-fashioned, spring-loaded mousetraps, baiting them with succulent cheese to lure the poison-resistant rodents. But the mice ignored the cheese entirely. Then, one inventive exterminator had a revelation. "Perhaps these mice have developed a taste for poison," he mused. "It might even be nourishing them!" Acting on this theory, he thickly coated the trap's cheese with poison. That evening, they deployed the new traps. By dawn,...

'Rashid Sitarazad' received a group of intending students whose heads were filled with his wonders and the excitement of arriving so near to the source of the Teaching. He said: ‘Let one of you be your spokesman and let him tell me of your feelings.’ One of the visitors stepped forward and said: ‘We are stimulated by the Presence,  and  eager  for  the Knowledge, and elevated by the Tradition.’ Rashid said: ‘That is a truthful account of your feelings. Because you all love the exciting, I shall have to give you the banal. You are to learn through life. And life— the key to knowledge— is the most banal of all things. You will have to undergo experiences which will make you understand life, not make it more interesting.’ One of those present exclaimed: ‘That man whom you asked to represent us speaks for him­ self, and yet we must all be judged by his behaviour!’ Rashid said: ‘He may think that ...

  Once upon a time, in a land where kings ruled and stables held magnificent steeds, there lived a poor donkey. This humble creature toiled alongside its master, carrying burdens and enduring hunger. Despite its meager existence, the ass remained resilient, grateful for each day of life. One fateful day, the chief of the King’s stables noticed the weary donkey. His heart softened, and he decided to intervene. The poor ass was brought into the royal care, where it would receive nourishment and companionship alongside the majestic Arab horses. As the days passed, the donkey couldn’t help but compare its own plight to that of the noble steeds. The Arab horses, with their sleek coats and graceful movements, seemed like creatures from another world. They were pampered, well-fed, and adorned with the finest trappings. In moments of quiet reflection, the donkey raised its voice to the heavens. “Why, oh God,” it implored, “do these horses enjoy such abundance while I suffer in hunger and h...

When human beings were having their characteristics given out to them, one of the angels came to a man who was to be a dervish and asked, “What do you want?” The dervish-to-be answered, “Nothing,” and continued to sit in contemplation of Truth. The angel went from one to another of the humans-to-be and asked their wishes. The king-to-be said, “Pomp and importance.” The peasant-to-be said, “Work to do.” The warrior-to-be said, “Glory.” And so it went on. Then a voice said to the dervish-to-be, “You have asked nothing for yourself, and it is not too late to choose. Because of your desire for Truth, however, you shall have a glimpse of how humanity will use the attributes…” As the dervish-to-be looked into a mirror that was held before him, he saw kings in their pomp and ceremony, peasants working endlessly, soldiers continually fighting. Then the dervish-to-be gasped, “But what will be the future of the People of Learning?” The picture in the mirror shifted, and he saw priests, scholars,...

The ' Caliph Haroun' ,in all his magnificence, was in need of a lesson in the relative nature of power and possession. He asked to the Sage, "Ask a favour of me." 'Shaqiq' asked him whether he would give on-half of his realm to someone who would give him a drink of water, if he were dying of thirst in a desert. And, continued the Sufi, would he give the other half to someone who enabled him to pass that water, if he had become unable to do so? 'Haroun' said that he would. Now ' Shaqiq' asked the Caliph to reflect why he valued his kingdom so highly, when it was something which could be given away in return for a drink of water, which itself does not stay with one. 

  At one point in his life, the entire of population of his village had had enough of the pleasantries and confusion of ' Mulla Nasrudin.' They all went to the magistrate, and he gave a ruling: ' Nasrudin , by the will of the people I have to declare that you must leave the village.' 'Are they unanimous?" asked the Mulla. 'Yes, I am afraid to.' 'Then I refuse to go. There are plenty of them-and only one of me. If they don't like the village as it is, they can leave and build another one. But I, a single individual, how can I even start to build one small house for myself elsewhere?'

  A royal hawk alighted for a time on the wall of a ruin inhabited by owls. The owls feared him. He said, "This may seem a prosperous place to you, but my place is upon the wrist of a king.' Some of the owls shouted to others, "Do not believe him." He is using guile to steal our home."

 In the eyes of the wise, the seeker of combat with an elephant is not really a brave. Brave is he who says nothing unbecoming in wrath. One man abused other who patiently said: 'O you of bright prospects I am worse even than you say I know all my faults, while you do not know them.' Therefore you are worst than me.

A king who was also an astrologer read in his stars that on a certain day and at a particular hour a calamity would overtake him. He therefore built a house of solid rock and posted numerous guardians outside. One day, when he was within, he realised that he could still see day light. He found an opening which he filled up, to prevent misfortune entering. In blocking this door he made himself a prisoner with his own hand. And because of this the king died.