And that is probably why this story has been told and retold in many cultures and contexts, by many saints and teachers. This is because all humanity faces the same challenge – how to meet death when it comes for us, how to live with total faith in God. He quotes Guru Nanak saying that the teachings of Nam are meant for all the four castes, meaning that they apply to all humanity. In most of Hazur Maharaj Ji’s Punjabi satsangs, of which video recordings have been made available over the past few months, the Master often says that the saints’ teachings are meant for everyone. The story was even adapted by the British writer Somerset Maugham in 1931, under the title “Appointment in Samarra.” Owing to its universal nature and the appeal of its inevitable truth, it has persisted in the world’s folklore. 1 Some details change from version to version but it’s the same story just the location and names are changed. Today it comes down to us through the writings of the Sufi teacher Idries Shah, in his Tales of the Dervishes. Called “When Death Came to Baghdad,” the story was included in the collected tales of Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʻIyāḍ, who was a ninth-century reformed bandit, turned Sufi sage. It also appears in Muslim Sufi literature. The story first appears in the Jewish Talmud, written in Babylonia (Mesopotamia) about 1500 years ago. There is a well known and ancient tale that illustrates the bracing truth that we can never escape our destiny.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |