The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship

From The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh, Word#203.

My son, do not wander here and there to meditate and search for God. Look at a crane as it stands patiently for six or eight hours at a time, waiting to catch a fish. See how subtly it stands motionless on one leg, folding its wings, so that even its shadow is controlled. It does this because it is hungry. Similarly, if you have a selfish desire or a selfish motive for your meditation, whether you meditate in the forest or in the desert, your state is no different from that of a crane. Does the crane attain wisdom, heaven, or gnänam by standing motionless on one leg every day of its life? One day it will die. In the same way, man also succumbs when trouble or danger comes.

My son! Reflect on this and take on God’s qualities. God and God’s kingdom exist within those qualities. You must be like the lotus leaf that does not retain water on its surface even though it dwells in water. You must live in the midst of the hunger, illusion, and joys and sorrows of the world without holding them within you. If you can stand alone like the lotus leaf, worshiping and merging in a detached state with the One who has no attachment, you will attain an exalted state in your life.

If you understand this and act accordingly, the kingdom in which you live will be God’s kingdom, He will dwell where you dwell, the words you speak will be His words, and your breath will be His breath. You must understand this.

M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen