THE ONLY HOLY BOOK
A great Sufi mystic kept a holy book. Everybody thought that it must be very mysterious, because he never allowed anyone to see within it, or read it. He just kept it under his pillow, and when there was nobody around, he would take it from its place and open the book, and would go through all the gestures of reading.
It became more and more mysterious as he became more and more famous. Perhaps he is keeping something secret, to be delivered only to the chosen few, thought the people. Again and again he was asked, "Why don't you talk about the book?"
He said, "I cannot talk about the book. When I am gone, then you can read it; not while I'm here because I cannot explain what is written in the book. But when I am gone it is none of my responsibility. You read it -- whether you understand it or not is your business."
As the days and weeks and years passed, it became a great mystery for the people who knew him. People were trying in every way to at least have a look. When everybody else was gone, somebody would be hiding on the roof, removing a tile and looking. But the moment he would remove the tile, the master would close the book.
The moment he died -- although he was so much loved -- but the moment he died, people were more concerned about the book than about his death. They immediately took out the book, and they were shocked and surprised: the book contained nothing! It was an empty book. They turned all the pages, hoping to find something somewhere, perhaps, the message. They went on again and again; perhaps they had missed the page where the message is. But there was nothing at all.
For one thousand years, the book had been given from the master to his successor, a disciple. It is very significant; it says, "Don't look at the words, read the emptiness."
Source - Don't know
A great Sufi mystic kept a holy book. Everybody thought that it must be very mysterious, because he never allowed anyone to see within it, or read it. He just kept it under his pillow, and when there was nobody around, he would take it from its place and open the book, and would go through all the gestures of reading.
It became more and more mysterious as he became more and more famous. Perhaps he is keeping something secret, to be delivered only to the chosen few, thought the people. Again and again he was asked, "Why don't you talk about the book?"
He said, "I cannot talk about the book. When I am gone, then you can read it; not while I'm here because I cannot explain what is written in the book. But when I am gone it is none of my responsibility. You read it -- whether you understand it or not is your business."
As the days and weeks and years passed, it became a great mystery for the people who knew him. People were trying in every way to at least have a look. When everybody else was gone, somebody would be hiding on the roof, removing a tile and looking. But the moment he would remove the tile, the master would close the book.
The moment he died -- although he was so much loved -- but the moment he died, people were more concerned about the book than about his death. They immediately took out the book, and they were shocked and surprised: the book contained nothing! It was an empty book. They turned all the pages, hoping to find something somewhere, perhaps, the message. They went on again and again; perhaps they had missed the page where the message is. But there was nothing at all.
For one thousand years, the book had been given from the master to his successor, a disciple. It is very significant; it says, "Don't look at the words, read the emptiness."
Source - Don't know
