In the life of Bulla Shah, the great Punjabi saint, one can read one of the most instructive stories about the early years of his education, when he was sent to school along with his peers. There his teacher taught him alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. When the rest of the boys in his class had already completed the entire alphabet, he continued to master the same letter.
Weeks passed. The teacher noticed that the child did not progress beyond the first letter alif, and thought that the boy must be defective. He sent him home to his parents, saying: “Your boy is suffering from dementia, I cannot teach him.”
The boy's parents did everything in their power: they sent him to study with various teachers, but he did not advance any further. Their expectations were not met, and the boy eventually ran away from home in order to no longer burden his family.
Since then, he began to live in the forest and notice different manifestations of the letter alif, which in the forest took the form of a blade of grass, a leaf, a tree, a branch, a fruit and a flower. The same alif appeared in the form of a mountain and a hill, a stone and a rock; and he saw this letter in the insect, bird and beast, and he saw the same letter both in himself and in others. He thought about one thing, saw one thing, felt one thing, realized one thing, and apart from him nothing else existed.
Having mastered this lesson perfectly, he returned to his old teacher, who had kicked him out of school, in order to show him respect. The teacher, absorbed in the vision of diversity, did not remember him for a long time, while Bulla Shah could not forget his old teacher, who taught him the first and such an inspired lesson that took over almost his entire life. He bowed humbly to the teacher and said:
“I have learned the lesson you so kindly taught me; won't you teach me what can still be known?
The teacher laughed at him and thought to himself: “After so many years, this fool still remembers me.” Bulla Shah asked permission to write a lesson on the board, and the teacher replied jokingly:
- Write it on this wall.
Bulla Shah inscribed the sign of alif on the wall and it split in two. This miracle deeply shocked the teacher, and he said:
- You are my teacher! What you comprehended in one letter alif, with all my learning, I could not comprehend.
Then Bulla Shah sang a song:
O Friend, give up your studies. You only need one alif... You burdened your mind with teaching, And you filled the room with books. But by seeking false knowledge, you lose the truth. Give up, friend, academic pursuits.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru