A diligent and diligent seeker of truth arrived at the tekkiya of Bahauddin Naqshbandi. As usual, he came for a spiritual conversation and did not ask any questions. When Bahauddin finally turned to him: “You can ask me anything you want,” the man said:
— Shah, before coming to you, I studied such and such philosophy under the guidance of such and such. Word about you has reached me, and now I am in your tekkiya. As I listened to you, your speeches sank deep into my heart, and I would like to continue my studies under your guidance. However, since I am grateful to my former teachers and am passionate about what I have previously studied, it is desirable that you either clarify their connection with your studies or help me forget about them so that I can continue my studies with undivided attention.
Bahauddin said:
- I am not able to do either one or the other. All I can do is inform you that one of the surest signs of vanity is attachment to a person and to a creed, and the belief that such attachment comes from a higher source.
If a person loves candied fruits, he will call them divine - if those around him have nothing against it. Knowing this, one can learn wisdom. Without this, you can only gain attachment and call it grace. A person who needs malumat (information, facts) always believes that he needs ma'arifat (wisdom). Even if he is truly a man of facts, he will believe that his immediate need is wisdom. Only then is he free from the need for facts if he is a man of wisdom.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru