Shaykh Chilli and a pot of oil

Bismillah.

This world is like the house of Shaykh Chilli; when you throw away the burden then nothing onerous remains.

Once, somebody said to Shaykh Chilli. "This is a pot full of oil. Take it and deliver it to my house and I will give you one rupee."

Shaykh Chilli agreed. As he placed the pot upon his head and started walking he also started thinking: I shall buy a hen out of this one rupee. This hen will give me eggs which I can sell and then I will be able to buy a goat which will produce several kids and in no time at all, I will have a heard of goats. I could then sell these and buy a good cow. With the cow's milk, I will be able to increase my earnings; I will soon have both a herd of cows and goats and in this prosperity, I shall then marry. Then I will have a son. He will learn to walk and soon, whenever I return home, he will run to me and ask, "Baba, Baba, what have you brought for me?" Then I shall become angry with him and say "Go away." He said these last words to himself with such vehemence that the pot of oil slipped from his head and shattered into pieces on the ground. Shaykh Chilli started crying. The owner of the pot complained, "What have you done? You have broken my pot." Shaykh Chilli said, "You are concerned only with your pot whereas the whole world slipped from me as that pot slipped."

If you reflect upon this parable then all tariqa (gnosis) is fully explained here. That single rupee was the name of God with which a disciple is instructed by the shaikh. From it, issues all eggs, chicken, cows, and goats. In other words, seekers go through stages of unveiling and miracles, reflections and remembrances, aspirations, and ecstacies - all these they need, but when the pot breaks into pieces, all this affair is scattered.

FROM: Solomon's Ring. The Life and Teachings of a Sufi Master by Gul Hasan. Translated from Urdu by Hasan Askari.