" IF I DID NOT SHOW YOU MY NOTHINGNESS,
WHAT WOULD I BE USEFUL FOR "?
A delightful little traditional tale about Rumi:
Once upon a time, a young man decided to leave his homeland and go to learn from the great teacher Jalaluddin Rumi in Konya.
After weeks of arduous travel, he finally reached the outskirts of Konya and saw a gracious presence walking toward him. The young man knew in his heart that this was Rumi. The young man dropped to his knees in prostration before this great teacher whom he had been seeking, but as he arose, he found Rumi was prostrated in the dirt in front of the young man.
Amazed and embarrassed, the young man again prostrated himself, and again when he arose, Rumi was again prostrated before him.
This happened over and over and over again until the exasperated young man finally said " Why are you, my teacher, prostrating yourself in the dust before me, a mere seeker?"
To which Rumi simply replied:
" IF I DID NOT SHOW YOU MY NOTHINGNESS,
WHAT WOULD I BE USEFUL FOR "?
" Love is the whole thing,
We are only pieces,
Love is the sea of no end,
We are a drop of it."
~ Rumi
Painting: "Rumi", by Iranian artist Hossein Behzad (1957)
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