Open Your Eyes

Existence heaps thousands of opportunities in front of you to help your spiritual growth. It is important for you to be open to them. An important lesson may come in the form of a book, a friend or a loving animal.

A Sufi is one who is on the path of spiritual learning. Contemplate the following story of Hassan, a great Sufi mystic. When Hassan was very close to death, someone asked him, “Hassan, please tell us who your master was.” he said, “I am dying. It is too late to ask me this question.” The inquirer said, “You are still breathing, talking. Please tell me the name and I will not bother you.”

Hassan said, “I cannot give you one name because I had hundreds of masters. However, I will give you the name of three masters. One of my masters was a thief. Once I got lost in the desert and by the time I got to the village, it was very late. The streets were completely empty I was alone, walking in a village far from home. After a while, I saw a man making a hole in the side of a house. I asked him if there was a place where I could go to rest. He said, ‘It seems you are a Sufi mystic and, I think you should know that I am a thief.’ he continued, ‘It would be very difficult for you to find a place to stay at this hour, but you can stay with me, if you are willing to stay with a thief.’

&#I considered the dilemma, but then it occurred to me that if the thief was not afraid of a Sufi, then I did not need to be afraid of the thief. So I said, ‘Okay, I will join you.’ I took shelter with the thief. This man was so compassionate that I lived with him for a month. Each night he would repeat to me, ‘It is time for me to go to work. You take it easy and meditate, and do your work.’ When the thief returned, I would ask him, ‘Did you get anything today?’ He sometimes said, ‘Not today, but I shall try again tomorrow.’ He was always in a state of hopefulness. for many weeks the thief would come home with nothing, but he was always joyful. He continued to tell me, ‘I will try again.’”

Hassan went on, “When I was meditating for long periods, sometimes for years, nothing happened. There were times when I was disappointed. I thought I should give up mediation; it didn’t work. There is no such thing as God and all this mediation is a waste of time. Then I would remember the thief, who would repeat to me every night, ‘With God’;s grace it will happen tomorrow.’ So I tried one more time. if the thief had so much hope and optimism, the least I could do was try one more time. And the thief kept me going until one day it happened: I experienced the glory of God. At that moment, I bowed down in the direction of the thief’s house. This optimistic thief was my first master.”

Hassan continued, “My second master was a dog. One day I was feeling thirsty and was making my way towards a river. When I reached the river, I saw a dog that was also thirsty. Every time the dog looked into the river, he saw his own reflection and thought there was another dog. He barked and his reflection barked back. Eventually his thirst became so strong that he jumped into the water and his image disappeared. He drank the water, swam in the water, and became one with the water. I knew that through the dog a message had come to me from God. The message was that we have to jump into the unknown to overcome our fears. When I was poised to dive into the unknown, fear held me back. Then I remembered the dog; he had jumped––why couldn’t I? So one day I jumped into the river of the unknown. On that day all my fears vanished. That dog was my second master.”

Hassan proceeded, “My third master was a small child. Once I saw a small child walking with a candle in his hands. He was taking the candle to a mosque. I asked the little child. ‘Where is the flame that lit your candle?’ The boy laughed and blew the candle out. Then he asked me, ‘You just saw the light go out. Where has it gone?’ At that moment, my preconceptions were shattered and my knowledge was shaken...I let go of all my false knowledge.”

Then Hassan said, “Existence gave me hundreds of masters, but I have no more time left to tell you.”

What does it mean to be a seeker? It means that one must be open to learning. You must make yourself available to existence. You will be put in a fortunate situation where a message will be illustrated. God is very compassionate. he continues to send us revelations through teachers disguised as friends, animals and family members. But you will only see them if you open your inner eyes.

Get in tune with nature. Think of nature as your master. The more open you are to nature, the more you become aware of its beauty. Your level of intimacy will increase; your expression of love towards the unknown will increase. The more open you become to each individual element of nature, the deeper will be your understanding of the whole universe. Open yourself completely.

God is not in a hurry. He was always present and will always be present. God is eternity. His clock goes on ticking forever. Our spirits have traveled far; our souls are thirsty. It is time for us to mature. The only way this is possible is through an open mind and an open heart.

Excerpted from Book of Wisdom with permission.

Mohmood Valimohamed is the author of Book of Wisdom and Gems For Your Soul. Mohmood’s main objective is to show different paths for spiritual and personal growth. His free newsletter is published monthly and is available online at www.centerfordivinity.com. He loves to answer questions and can be
emailed at: info@centerfordivinity.com. www.centerfordivinity.com
Phone: 416-609-2658 Fax: 416-609-8319

Sept/Oct 2002

Open Your Eyes

by Mohmood Vali