One day, a Sufi mystic was returning from the desert, where for a long time he devoted himself to asceticism, exercises of concentration and contemplation.
He was going to go to the village and ask for an overnight stay. Seeing a woman repairing the roof of her house on the edge of the village, he headed towards her. When the Sufi approached, she looked into his eyes and laughed loudly.
-What are you laughing at, woman? - the Sufi asked with annoyance.
“I’m laughing at you,” the woman answered. “When you appeared in the distance, I saw only a figure dressed in a Sufi cloak, and I believed that you were a master who was following his own Path. When you approached, I realized from your movements that you were only a student of a master who devoted himself to asceticism and contemplation in the desert, wanting to advance on the Path. You came closer, I saw the expression on your face and thought that you do not have a master and are not on the Path, but are looking for someone who would help you get onto the Path. And now, looking into your eyes, I know that you are not only not on the Path, but have not even heard of Him.
The feeling that gripped the Sufi was so strong that, without saying a word in his defense, he returned back to the desert, where he continued his exercises. He left the desert again many years later, after his final realization.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru