There once lived a Sufi who often happened to be the king's interlocutor. One day the king said to him:
“I cannot understand your philosophy, but I also cannot help but admire the Sufis as the most interesting people I have ever encountered.
The Sufi replied:
- Tell me about something that makes it difficult for you to understand.
The king said:
- For example, how can some sound affect a person, especially a cultured person, more powerfully than a word? Any animal can make sounds. Words are a higher form of auditory communication.
The Sufi replied:
“When you are in a suitable state, I will demonstrate to you what this can mean.”
After some time, the Sufi and the king were hunting tigers. The king, who was a very talkative man, could not remain silent, and besides, he constantly forgot that he had to speak quietly, and every time he scared away the tigers. Finally, the hunter leading the hunt, during a short respite, approached the Sufi, bowed to him and said:
— When art and reputation do not help, the only thing left is to turn to the Wise for help. Could you, Your Presence, influence His Majesty to remain silent while we are tracking the tigers? I, unworthy, crave your help, for if we return from the hunt without the tiger, it will be I who will be reproached for the king's shortcomings, and my wife and children will suffer, as well as my reputation as a hunter.
The Sufi agreed to help the hunter. When they caught up with the king, he was still talking.
Then the Sufi said quietly:
- Ti...
The king instantly froze, rooted to the spot, and whispered so quietly that even the tigers would not have heard him:
- ... games?
Sufi said:
“Now that Your Majesty, at the sound of “Ti...”, deigned to fall silent for a moment and even add the meaningless sound “...gry”, let me note that words such as “please be quiet” or “with our conversations we scare away the tigers”, or even “Quiet!” had no influence on the one who claims that words are more effective than sounds. Moreover, please note that a person, as a rule, knows very well what others mean. The phrase “I can’t understand” is made up of words, but if you check, it doesn’t really mean anything. I just checked your statement “I don’t understand what you mean by your philosophy.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru