Diagnosis

Bahaudin Naqshband once visited the town of Alucha, after a deputation of citizens, hearing that he was passing along the nearby highway, waited upon him and begged him to spend some time with them.

‘Do you want to satisfy your curiosity about me, to entertain me and do me honor, or to invite me to impart my teachings to you?’ he asked them.

The leader of the party, after a consultation with his fellows, replied:

‘We have heard much of you, and you can have heard nothing of us. Since you apparently give us the rare privilege of receiving your teaching, we will gratefully accept this from the alternatives which you have offered.’

Bahaudin entered the town.

The whole populace assembled in the public square. Their own spiritual teachers ushered Bahaudin to a place of honor, and when he was seated, the chief of the philosophers of Alucha began to address him in these terms:

‘Sublime Presence and Great Teacher! We have all heard of you, for who has not? But, since you are doubtless unfamiliar with the thoughts of such insignificant people as ourselves, we beg to be allowed to delineate our ideas to you, so that you may support, amend or refine them for us, to our certain profit…’

But Bahaudin stopped them, saying:

‘I will certainly tell you what you can do, but you need not tell me anything about yourselves.’

He then proceeded to describe to the people their methods of thought and also their own shortcomings and the precise manner in which they looked upon different problems of life and of man.

After this, he said to the astonished citizens:

‘Now, before I tell you how you may remedy this state of affairs, perhaps you will voice any feelings suppressed in your hearts, in order that I might explain myself for your edification, so that you could attend more completely to what I am about to say.’

The same spokesman, after conferring with the people, said:

 

‘O ancient and guide! The unanimous cause of our wonderment and curiosity is now you could know so much about us and our problems and our speculations. Are we right in inferring that such knowledge can only exist where there is a superior form of direct perception, in an unusually blessed individual?’

In answer, Bahaudin called for a jug, some water in a pitcher, some salt and flour. He poured salt, flour and water into the jug. Then he said to the chief spokesman:
‘Please be good enough to tell me what is in this jug.’

The man said:

‘Reverence, there is a mixture of flour, water and salt.’

‘How do you know the composition of the mixture?’ asked Bahaudin.

“When the ingredients are known,’ said the spokesman, ‘there can be no doubt about the nature of the mixture.’

 

‘That is the answer to your question, which surely requires no further explanation from me,’ said Bahaudin Naqshband.

~ by Shaykh on February 24, 2008.