The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship
Children's Stories
A Lesson from the Woodpecker
My love you, my grandchildren. Look over there at that tree. Do you see the exquisite white-breasted bird with a colorful red throat and beautiful feathers? Observe the beauty of its head, its throat, and its legs. It is such a lovely bird, isn't it? I think it's a woodpecker. Yes, look how it uses its unusual beak to peck at the tree bark. Do you know why it does that? It is searching for insects within the wood.
Unlike other birds, the woodpecker can walk straight up a tree. It can walk up or down, to one side or the other, circling round and round the trunk, pecking away in search of its food. When people want to climb a tree, they have to put their arms around the trunk and grab hold firmly. But the woodpecker walks upright, hardly touching the bark. If the woodpecker had to hug the trunk as man does, it wouldn't be able to peck and extract its food from within the wood. No other being can do what the woodpecker does. This behavior is a very rare thing to see. You will not find it in other birds.
My
love you, my grandchildren. A wise man is like the woodpecker, and the world
is like a huge tree. With faith, certitude, and determination, a wise man,
an insan kamil, can do what no one else can do. Like the woodpecker, he can
easily climb upward, pecking at each and every point. As he circles the world
without grabbing hold of it, he pecks with God's qualities and extracts the
truth necessary for his nourishment. He extracts love, wisdom, compassion,
tranquility, and God. A wise man doesn't cling to the tree of the world or
attach himself to mind and desire. The world is not difficult for him, because
he is free to move in any direction he wishes. Life and its relationships
are not heavy for him, because he has the faith, certitude, and determination
known as iman. He only takes the truth, the point, from each thing. This
is natural for him.
Most men, on the other hand, stick their noses into each and every business
of the world and try to grab it all. Because of this, they meet with many
difficulties as they try to climb that tree. Do you understand?
The woodpecker is a subtle bird, and a wise man is a subtle being. If a man does not become wise and subtle, he will continue to grasp the world and will be unable to climb or fly. It will be difficult for him to extract the truth. It will be difficult for him to have good qualities or to know love or to attain the freedom of his soul. This is why he suffers and falls.
My love you, my grandchildren. Do you understand how the wise man lives in this world without holding on to it? It is so easy for him because he has faith, certitude, determination, and wisdom. Think about this. If you also learn how to do this, you will be more beautiful than the woodpecker. God will place His magnificent crown on your head and give you the two wings of wisdom and iman. Your eyes will be beautiful and your heart will be pure white light. Your life will be complete, and you will have peace.
This is what a wise man is like. All others, all those without wisdom, are in pain. Even though they need God and wisdom and love, they hold on to the world, and so they suffer. My grandchildren, the more you cling to the tree of the world, the more you too will suffer.
My love you. Please think about this. May God give you wisdom.
Amin.
- M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
Come to the Secret Garden:
Sufi Tales of Wisdom