A Sufi was sitting at a crossroads one morning when a young man approached him and asked if he could study with him.
“Yes, but only one day,” said the Sufi.
All that day, travelers stopped near the Sufi and asked him questions about the man and his life, about Sufism and Sufis, asked for help or simply expressed respect. However, the Sufi simply sat in a posture of contemplation, with his head on his knees, and did not answer. One by one people left. Late in the evening, a poor man with a heavy burden approached those sitting and asked how he could get to the nearest city. The Sufi immediately stood up, put his luggage on his shoulders and accompanied him part of the way, showing him the way. Then he returned to the intersection again.
The young man asked:
“This man who looks like a poor peasant, is he actually a hidden saint, one of the high-ranking secret wanderers?”
The Sufi said:
“He was the only one we saw today who was really looking for exactly what he called the object of his desire.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru