Once upon a time there lived a man who one day decided that he needed knowledge. He left his homeland and went to the house of a learned man. Entering the sage, the seeker said:
- Sufi, you are a wise man. Give me a piece of knowledge so that I can increase it and become worthy, for now I feel like a nonentity.
The Sufi replied:
“I can give you knowledge, but only in exchange for what I myself need.” Bring me a small rug. I must give it to a person who will be able to continue our holy work in the future.
The man went to a carpet shop.
“Give me a small rug,” he said to the carpet maker. “I will take it to a Sufi, who will give me knowledge in return.” He needs the carpet to give it to the person who will continue our holy work.
The carpet maker replied:
- What are you telling me about some kind of knowledge, a Sufi and a person who will use the carpet? Why should I care? To weave a carpet, I need threads. Bring me some thread, then I will help you.
The man set off again in search of someone who would give him thread. He found the spinner and addressed her:
- Spinner, give me some thread. I will take them to the carpet maker, he will give me a carpet, and I will take this carpet to a Sufi, who will give it to the one who must continue our holy work; and for this I will receive knowledge from the Sufi.
The woman replied:
“What good is it to me that you need thread?” Go away with your stories about yourself, about the Sufi, about the carpet maker and the man who needs a carpet. This doesn't interest me at all. Don't you know that thread is made from wool?! Bring me wool, you will get your threads.
So the man found the goatherd and told him his story.
“None of this concerns me,” said the goatherd. “You need wool to gain knowledge, and I need goats to shear the wool.” Bring me a goat and you will get what you want.
Now the seeker went in search of the goat seller. He soon found him and told him about his difficulties, to which he replied:
-What do I know about knowledge, threads or carpets? All I know is that everyone has different needs. Let's talk better about what I need, and if you help me with this, I will help you. Then think about your knowledge as much as your heart desires.
- What do you need? - asked the seeker.
“I need a small pen for the goats,” said the goatherd, “because at night they wander off in different directions and cause me a lot of trouble.” Make me a pen like this and I'll give you a goat or two.
And so the seeker set off again. Questions led him to the workshop of a carpenter, who, having heard his story, said:
“Yes, I can make a pen, but as for the rest, you don’t have to tell me all the details of your business, because I’m not at all interested in carpets, knowledge and the like.” But I have one cherished desire, and it is in your interests to help me fulfill it.
- What kind of desire is this?
“I want to get married, but it seems that no woman will agree to become my wife.” Find me a wife and we will continue our conversation.
Coming out of the carpenter’s house, the seeker immediately began asking everyone where he could find a matchmaker. Finally, when he found her and told her everything, she replied:
“I know a young woman who dreams of marrying just such a carpenter as you describe.” She thinks about him all the time and finds no peace for herself. It's simply a miracle that such a person actually exists. What a blessing that she will hear about him from you and me! But what good does this do me? Every man desires what he desires; people always feel like they need or want something; they either imagine that they need help, or sometimes they really need help... But no one has yet talked about what I need.
“What do you need?” asked the seeker.
“I want one thing,” said the woman, “and this is the dream of my whole life.” Help me achieve what I want, and I will do for you everything you ask. The only thing I desire, for I have already experienced everything else, is knowledge.
- But without a carpet we cannot gain knowledge!
“I don’t know what knowledge is, but I’m sure it’s not a carpet.”
“Of course, knowledge is not a carpet,” said the seeker, trying to remain patient, “but if we find a woman for the carpenter, he will make us a pen for the goats.” The goat merchant will give us a goat, and we will receive wool from the goatherd. We will take her to the spinner and receive threads from her, which we will exchange with the carpet maker for a carpet. We will give this carpet to the Sufi and receive knowledge from him.
“Your whole idea seems like some kind of nonsense to me,” the woman objected, “and you don’t need to convince me, I will never believe you.”
And, not paying any more attention to his requests and arguments, the matchmaker drove him away. All these ordeals made him experience despair for the first time in his life, so that he almost lost all faith in people. He even doubted whether he would be able to use the knowledge if he received it, and was still perplexed: why do all people care only about themselves? But gradually he returned to thoughts about the carpet and thought about nothing else.
One day, a seeker was walking through the streets of a trading city, muttering something under his breath. Some merchant noticed him and followed him to hear what he was muttering about. The seeker repeated to himself: “The carpet must be given to the person so that he can continue our holy work.” Hearing these words, the merchant realized that the wanderer was not an ordinary person, and turned to him:
- O wandering dervish, I do not understand your prayer, but I deeply respect those like you who stand on the path of truth. I want to ask you for help, because I know that people of the Sufi path fulfill a special mission in society. Show me compassion.
The wanderer raised his eyes and, looking at the merchant, saw deep sadness on his face.
“I am the sufferer and suffering itself,” he said.
“You have undoubtedly suffered some kind of grief, but I have nothing.” I cannot get for myself even a little of the thread I need; oh well, tell me about your grief, and I will try to help you.
“Know, O happy man,” the merchant began, “I have an only daughter who is beautiful, and I love her more than life itself.” She is possessed by some kind of illness, from which she is wasting away day by day. Examine her, I ask you, maybe you can heal her.
The merchant’s words contained so much inexpressible suffering and at the same time so much hope that the seeker could not refuse him and went with him to his daughter. As soon as the girl saw the wanderer, she said:
“I don’t know who you are, but I feel that only you can help me, and no one else.” I am in love with a carpenter and suffer from separation from him.
And she named the person whom the seeker asked to make a pen for the goats. The seeker went to the merchant and said:
“Your daughter wants to marry a respected carpenter I know.”
This news made the merchant very happy, because his daughter kept talking about some carpenter, but he considered all her conversations to be the fruit of her sick mind and did not in any way imagine that the girl’s illness was due to strong love. He really thought she was out of her mind.
So the seeker again went to the carpenter and told him about the girl. The carpenter built a pen, for which the livestock seller gave the seeker several purebred goats. The seeker took these goats to the goatherd and received wool from him, which he exchanged with the spinner for threads and, having given them to the carpet maker, he took a small rug from him. Having finally obtained the rug, the seeker went again to the Sufi’s house.
“Now I can give you knowledge,” said the sage, “for you could not have brought this rug if you had not worked for it, and not just for yourself.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru