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My love you, my grandchildren. It is dusk now. Come, let us go for a walk along the main road. Look at all the trees lining both sides. The branches are filled with thousands of birds of all different colors. Some have red beaks, others have black beaks. Some have yellow feet, and some have orange feet. Some have white eyes, some have red eyes. All these beautifully colored birds have come here to rest. But listen to the racket they are making! You can hear more than a thousand different sounds. Children, be careful as you walk under these trees. The whole road is covered with black, yellow, and brown bird droppings. You could slip and fall and get it all over you. You might even become ill as a result. This slimy mess is everywhere. And what a terrible stench! Look out! Anyone who passes beneath these trees might be bombarded. This filth might splatter on his head or shoulders. It might even land on his face and drip down his nose. But do you think the birds realize that they should not defecate here because people are walking below? No, they are just doing what’s natural for them. It makes no difference to them whether it’s a king, a wise man, a common man, or an animal who walks beneath the tree. They just do what they must do. Birds do not know right from wrong. So, if you choose to walk under these trees while the birds are resting in the branches, it is your own fault if you get splattered. My love you, my grandchildren. Think about this a little. Prayer is the main road between man and God. But so many trees line this road: ego, arrogance, karma, and maya, or illusion; the qualities of maya and the three sons of maya, known as tarahan, singhan, and suran; the qualities of obsession, anger, miserliness, envy, jealousy, intoxicants, lust, theft, murder, and falsehood; resentment, hastiness, deceit, pride, treachery, doubt, the differences between I and you, and the differences between races, religions, colors, and languages. All these are the trees that grow along the road of prayer. They are the dark section within the heart of man. Beyond the trees, however, off in the distance in the open space, there is light. But do the birds go there? No, they choose to come and sit in the darkness, soiling whoever walks along that road of prayer. Prayer is certainly good. But we have to watch out for certain dangers. For, just as the birds settle on the trees and dirty those who pass beneath, many evil energies come to dirty our prayers: all the four hundred trillion, ten thousand energies, the sixty-four kinds of arts and sciences, the sexual games, the saktis and siddhis, and the many mantras and tantras. And just as each variety of bird makes its own unique sounds, each type of evil energy makes its own noise. Man adopts these energies, these mantras, and calls them prayer, saying, “This is the path.” But, my children, this is not prayer. Have you ever heard the commotion that crows make at six o’clock in the morning? “Caw! Caw! Caw!” they shriek. Then they fly away and return at six in the evening to shout again. Like these crows, man’s mind is always noisy. His thoughts and evil qualities make a terrible racket. These evil energies are really demons that drop their dirt upon everyone and try to prevent them from progressing on their journey. They bombard people and send them screaming and running in the opposite direction, where they slip and fall in the filth and forget their goal. We must try to escape from these birds, so that we can proceed on our way. Prayer is the main road, the straight path. To pass safely along this road, my grandchildren, we need wisdom. We must know when the evil energies will come to rest here, how long they will stay, and what they will do. We must make an estimate, a judgment of what will happen, and then escape the dangers that await us along the road. We must cut down the trees of anger, jealousy, envy, lies, doubts, and differences. If we clear the path, the evil energies will have no place to settle. Then that road of prayer, the connection between God and man, will be clear. But as long as we do not cut down the trees where these evil energies gather, their dirt will drop on our heads and turn us away from our goal. We will forget that there is one God, one truth, one prayer, and one society of man. My love you, my grandchildren. Do you understand these things? You must know the capabilities of these energies, and analyze every situation, so you can make a wise decision. Only then will you find some peace. If you cannot cut down these huge trees, then you must at least know when the evil birds of hell will gather there and when they will leave. Watch and wait, and only begin your journey after they have gone. Then you can escape. My grandchildren, if you do not know how to avoid these energies, you cannot walk on this main street of prayer, worship, and devotion without becoming soiled. So many things will bombard you: desire for fame and for the titles which are the billboards of hell; the base desires, or nafs ammarah; the five elements, the five senses; arrogance, karma, illusion; and the desire for earth, women, and gold. All these will settle in your mind and surround your heart, dirtying the place of prayer. Unless you have wisdom you will be caught up in these difficulties. Be very careful! Learn how to flee from these four hundred trillion, ten thousand evil energies which await you. You will only be able to escape if you cross this section of magic and mesmerism. Only then can you travel on the path of prayer and reach your goal. My grandchildren, go beyond to where there is light. Go on the road which joins the east to the west. This is the main road, the straight road of one prayer, of one family, one point, and one God. May that one God protect us on our journey. Amin.
Article Source: http://www.wisdomarticles.com
Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. Come To The Secret Garden: Sufi Tales of Wisdom. Philadelphia: Fellowship Press, 1985. 365-368. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen was over 120 before he passed in 1986. He wrote many books on wisdom and God, but The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh (www.religionspirituality.org) stands apart. Through his wisdom comes explanations of life’s mysteries.
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