Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation), as we begin today ‘let us remember this about ‘Attention’.
Our life experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to. Attention: is important and most of the times we are so indifferent to it. It is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. We feed the hunger blindly. Once the mechanism is brought to our attention and we begin to study it, it is as if a veil has been stripped off ordinary life, and we become freer in our action and choices.
This week I bring to your attention a story titled ‘The Fruit of Heaven’ from the book titled ‘Wisdom of the Idiots’. It is a carefully chosen collection of illustrative anecdotes and stories used in Sufi teaching here the stories contain several levels of meaning and work like psychological mirrors in which the reader may see himself and reality reflected, and come to better understand both.
The Persian word dervish is generally considered to be derived from the verb der-vekhtan to wait at a door. The reference is to waiting before the door of enlightenment.
The Fruit of Heaven
There was once a woman who had heard of the Fruit of Heaven. She coveted it.
She asked a certain dervish, whom we shall call Sabar (Patience): ‘How can I find this fruit, so that I may attain to immediate knowledge?’
‘You would be best advised to study with me,’ said the dervish. ‘But if you will not do so, you will have to travel resolutely and at times restlessly throughout the world.’ She left him and sought another, Arif the Wise One, and then found Hakim, the Sage, then Majzub the Mad, then Alim the Scientist, and many more..
She passed thirty years in her search. Finally she came to a garden. There stood the Tree of Heaven, and from its branches hung the bright Fruit of Heaven. Standing beside the Tree was Sabar, the First Dervish.
‘Why did you not tell me when we first met that you were the Custodian of the Fruit of Heaven?’ she asked him.
‘Because you would then not have believed in me. Besides, the Tree produces fruit only once in thirty years and thirty days.’
Story from ‘Wisdom of the Idiots’ by Idries Shah
I am sure that you will enjoy reading this book; you can buy your copy from the following link:
Enjoy reading it with your family, friends and near and dear one’s.
Before concluding today’s episode please pay attention to these words of a Storyteller.
My stories require, at this stage, no extra commentary, imaginings, or guesswork by you, me, or anyone else. The very worst would be that of moralizing. To explain away is to forget. Thus, let the stories which you can remember do their own work by their very diversity. Familiarize yourself with them.
Concluding today’s post and podcast episode, I thank all who take time out and read (the blog post) and listen to the episodes each week. For those who listen and have not subscribed to the podcast I suggest you do and click on the bell icon so that you can be notified for all the new episodes that get uploaded every week.
Namaste.
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