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Sufi Parables/Parable about How to Learn True Love

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Parable about How
to Learn True Love

Once a man came to the Master casting no shadows to ask for His help and advice.

“You are a wise Master, so help me! I see my imperfections and weaknesses, but I can’t handle them! I have tried for many years to restrain myself from manifesting my bad emotions or perverted desires, but when a new situation sent to me by God overtakes me suddenly — I repeat the same mistakes! I repent after each one of these situations and promise to myself not to sin anymore, but again and again anger, irritation, and fear overcome me. Strong desires and little whims enslave my will and force me to fulfill them until I become satisfied. Am I hopeless and is there no salvation or remedy for me? I wish to become better very much…”

The Master looked kindly at that man. They were near a beautiful pond. Wonderful white and pale-pink lilies bloomed in water, whose smooth surface was calm and clear like a mirror.

The Master said to the man:

“Look at your reflection.

“Now make this reflection raise its hands to its face without moving your body!”

“But this is impossible!”

“Then move your body, but order the reflection to remain motionless!”

“This can’t be done because the reflection repeats all the actions of my body!”

“Yes. In the situation of ‘you and your reflection’, you are the cause, and the reflection in water is the effect.

“The correlation between the qualities of you as a soul and your emotions, thoughts, and actions is the same.

“You need to change yourself as a soul — and then all your emotions, thoughts, and actions will be beautiful.

“If you want, stay with Me. I can show you the techniques that will help you in this.

“However, you need to take into account one thing…

“Look, this bud of a white lily is not open yet… And even if you desire this intensively — it will not open its petals immediately.

“It takes time for a flower to form. The sun needs to caress it every day and water needs to nourish its roots! Only then, over time, a beautiful flower will be born! Only then its petals will open, and all its inner beauty will be visible!

“Similarly, the transformation of the soul takes a lot of time and effort. So, be patient…”

* * *

The man stayed in the house of the Master, and He began to teach His new disciple to move the center of the soul to the spiritual heart.

He explained:

“To start the transformation of the soul, it is necessary to know that one can live perceiving the world not only with the mind, eyes, and ears of the body, but also by the loving soul that consists of the spiritual heart!

“Now inhale deeply — and exhale. Do this several times.

“Feel that space inside your body to which the air is inhaled and from which it is exhaled. Now try to inhale the light, similar to the one radiated by the sun, in the same way you inhale the air.

“Let that part of the light which you inhale stay forever in your chest. Get accustomed to the fact that you as a soul live now there. Love is born there too. Let it illuminate your life path among all other people and among all other living beings on the Earth and even in intangible spaces.

“After that, each day you can learn to radiate this light, as if a tender sun were inside you, shining from within.

“Then you should expand this light to all directions as far as your strength allows you.

“You can learn to live inside this space of light, to perceive yourself there, to look from it, to speak from it, to stretch the caring arms of the soul from it and caress everything in the Creation of Allah!”

* * *

The new disciple of the Master began to repeat these exercises every day.

A new fascinating perception of the world started arising in him! It was an amazingly joyful and blissful contact of the soul, which consisted of tenderness and calm, with everything and everyone!

Meanwhile, the Master kept showing His disciple new methods for cleansing the energy of the body and expansion of the consciousness.

The flower of the soul began blossoming and giving off the fragrance of Divine Love. It became possible, because the love for Allah arose in this man and got stronger every day!

Now he endeavored to never forget about the Love of the Creator, Who is always around and inside each one of us!

Gradually, this man learned to encompass every situation with his love and calm.

It became easy for him to cope with his evil thoughts and emotions that still arose sometimes, and these negative states appeared in him less and less frequently.

Later on, he did not need even to make special effort to look at everything with the eyes of love from his spiritual heart that grew many times!

Thus he cognized great bliss, in which a spiritual warrior can live on the Path to Allah! He mastered that state in which one can always feel the presence of the Almighty and find in Him the Support in every life situation.

One year went by. This man cognized a lot, living in the house of the Master casting no shadows together with other disciples.

* * *

Once his Teacher said to him:

“You have mastered the first stage of discipleship: you have learned to be stably in the center of calm and love, called the spiritual heart. However, you have mastered this in the conditions of the ashram, where harmony always reigns.

“Now you may go into the world where ordinary people live and learn to maintain these states also in those situations in which not everything is favorable.

“Moreover, you may teach what you have learned to those people who will ask for your help.”

“Are You sending me away, my Master? But I still know and can do only a little!”

“I’m not sending you away! I’m just giving you the next task: to learn to do all the same but without My help. I’ll meet you here again when you’re ready to continue.”

“How will I know this? I still cannot perceive always the Thoughts of Allah and His Words! I haven’t learned enough! How will I distinguish between the right and the wrong? How can I learn to act correctly if I can’t ask Your advice?”

“Allah can speak with the soul not only with the help of the words.

“Those who have mastered the ability to be love can easily master the rest!

“Do you remember that day when you came to Me for the first time?

“You then looked at your reflection…

“That’s how most people live in the world. They live as if they are looking only at their reflections in everything. Their horizons are limited. This is how small individual souls who think only about themselves live. Such souls perceive everything in the world in relation to how it concerns them personally: ‘People love me — or people don’t love me’, ‘I’m pleased by someone — or I’m not pleased’, ‘I want this and that and that…’

“This happens because one usually sees only what one looks at!

“If you, for example, look now at the reflection in the pond, you will see much more than you saw before, won’t you?”

“Yes, now I will also see the reflection of this beautiful sky with light clouds and soaring birds, as well as tender flowers, which are reflecting so amazingly on this smooth surface, as if they were growing in Heaven! All this beauty and harmony is like music that glorifies the Creator! I also see You and myself with You. I can’t see yet the One Who has created all this, but I know that He is reflected here as well! He is always with us, and I feel His Presence in everything…”

“Well, now you can assess how your horizons have expanded!

“In all that surrounds you, in all that happens to you — you can now learn to see the Manifestation of the Will of Allah, of His Power, Beauty and Wisdom!

“The whole Creation is the Manifestation of His Plan!

“The entire world around you is like the message of Allah to you! You can learn to perceive it. Once you ask a question to Allah — be sure that you will receive His answer after a while!

“Even if you still can’t hear the revelations from Him in the inner silent space of your spiritual heart — you, though, will be able to understand His answer!

“This answer may come to you through the words of people whom you will meet, through a book opened to the right page, or through some other event — big or small — that will answer your question and suggest a solution.

“Don’t be afraid of the lessons of Allah! Don’t be afraid of your own mistakes! In this case, you will learn gradually to hear clearly His Voice and know His Desires always!”

* * *

After a while, the Master continued:

“True love is devoid of selfishness. This is the criterion that always permits one to differentiate between the right and the wrong in oneself and in others.

“You should love in this way!

“Help others to cognize such pure love!

“In this case, the Laws of Kindness and Care that you have mastered by learning from Me will never let you fail!

“Now you can learn to live feeling the presence of Allah always!

“You will be able to feel Him and simultaneously to walk or to sit, to be silent or to speak, to eat or just to admire the beauty!

“You will be able to see the Manifestation of the Will of Allah in everything around you and in everything coming to you! The understanding of His Love and Wisdom will grow in you every day!

“Live in this way and help all other beings that will be sent to your destiny by Allah!

“Thus you will prepare yourself for that time when you are ready to see the Manifestation of Allah in yourself as well. You will cognize Him as your own Higher I*, identical to the Universal I! Then we will meet again!”