The way of Sufi (Part Six)

the way of sufi
The Way of the Parrot To illustrate the way  of  the Sufi  and clarify  its principles, MowlanaRumi, well  known in  the Western world, told  this story: There was a merchant who  owned a beautiful parrot in  a cage. As  he was about to  travel on  business to  India, the parrot said to  him:  “I would be very grateful if, once in India, you gave my greetings to the fellow  birds that live  there and if  you  told  them that I  live  here in  a cage.” The merchant accepted this hatmless request. Once in India, he went to a big tree where a colony of  multi-colored parrots lived, birds very similar to  his own. As  promised, he delivered the greeting. As  soon as he had finished speaking, one of  the parrots fell  to  the  ground and remained there, inerl.  Our  merchant was very impressed by  this. As  he  came back home, very  embarrassed and very sorry that he might have caused the death of  a beautiful  Indian parrot, he told his own bird what had happened. At  that moment liis  parrot fell  off  its  perch, apparently subject to  a  sudden cataleptic stroke. Our merchant took the bird out of  the cage and left it  on the ledge of the window, meaning to  bury it  later in  the garden. He was aghast when he saw the beautiful bird fly  away to the nearest tree and express its  gratitude with  these words: “You  told  me  about your  experience witl,  rny fellow  birds in  India, and you have passed on their message, telling me how to  get out of  my  prison. Without knowing it,  you  have extended to  me  the secret of  my  liberation. Thank you, my  friend!” This little story, like many Sufi stories, is rich in  symbols and teachings. To  be taught how  to  free itself, the soul (the paruot), which  is prisoner of  the body (the cage), tries to  contact other spirits (the Indian parrots) that are free from  all  earthly bounds and living  in  the other world (India). At  this stage, the soul, which has no other way to communicate directly with  the beyond, must use its capacity of  deduction as a  communication tool  (the merchant). The method indicates the necessity to annihilate egotism and egocentrism.The Teachings of a Sufi Master Because of  this small storv. the wav of  the Sufi is called “the way  of the parrot.

By:Dr. Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh

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