Being with God

Spiritual learning of any genre has always sensitised man to the presence of God or the eternal truth which needs to be reckoned with. Seers, saints and philosophers who walked this path earnestly have vouched in their own ways a selfless life in the path of Truth and compassion is enough to mirror the God within us.

Bayazid al-Bistami famously known as the drunken Sufi once said to Jallaluddin Rumi in a fit of ecstasy, “Glory be to me! How great is my majesty” People who witnessed this scene were flabbergasted by his blasphemy. Their disapproval and disgust could not be perceived by Bayazid as he was in a state of frenzy.

His followers tried to warn the master but found that he was in a deep trance and hence could not hear them. So they apologized to the agitated onlookers on behalf of their teacher and explained the gravity of the situation, the moment Bayazid regained normalcy.

Bayazid heard them out and realised that they had to bear the brunt of his spiritual enthusiasm. So, he instructed his disciples to hit him or even stab him if necessary, if he ever uttered the conceited words again. A few days passed and Bayazid experienced another bout of ecstasy and said, “I am God. Under my cloak there is God! Why are you looking for him elsewhere?”

His students tried to shake him out of his spell and ward off the censure of the world. When the crowd was all set to get violent, the pupils stabbed the Sufi master one by one, taking turns.

The moment their dagger pierced the body of saint, each one found that his own body had been stabbed exactly in the spot he had stabbed the Master. All the students who tried to “protect” their master were baffled, bludgeoned, bleeding and battered.

 Bayazid came out of his stupor, entirely unhurt and safe. The local crowd which witnessed this mysterious was muddled.

 Just then another Sufi saint who had come along remarked, “Those who stab a selfless person are actually stabbing themselves. Be warned! The self less has become one with God and he is safe because he has no self to harm.”

 These words of explanation cleared the cobwebs in the minds of Bayazid’s disciples and quite a few in the audience. They intuitively understood that when the microcosm becomes one with the macrocosm, one need not reckon with mortal fears and grievances.

 We may be living in different times, yet if we have a spiritual yearning to be one with God, at least we know the way!