Pink Hollyhock
Mulla Nasruddin and two other men went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. They were passing through a village, and it was the last trek of their journey. They had little money left. They bought a sweet called halva, but it was not enough for the three.
Each man started boasting to prove his superior holiness, so proving his worth to receive the halva. One said, "I have been fasting and praying for many years. God wants me to live, so the halva is mine."
The second man said, "I am a great scholar. I have studied all our holy books. The world does not need people who fast. The world needs knowledge. Surely, God wants me to have the halva."
Mulla Nasruddin said, "I am not an ascetic, and I am not a scholar of the sacred books. I am an ordinary sinner, and I have heard God is compassionate to sinners. That being so, I am sure God wills for me to have the halva."
The men could not agree. So, they decided, "We three will sleep without eating the halva and let God show us whom should eat it. Whomever God gives the holiest dream to, tomorrow morning he will have the halva."
The next morning, the first man said, "Give me the halva. I had a dream in which I kissed God's feet. What greater grace could there be?"
The scholar laughed and said, "That is nothing! In my dream, God hugged and kissed me! The halva belongs to me."
The other two asked Mulla Nasruddin, "What dream did you have?" He replied, "I am a poor sinner, and my dream was ordinary - very ordinary, not worth telling. But because you insist, I will tell you. In my dream, God appeared and said, "You fool! What are you doing? Eat the halva!" So, I have eaten it, for how could I refuse God's command? There is no halva left!"
Many persons claim 'God' spoke to them. I trust more those who would never dare make such a claim. How about you?
* * *
*(C) Brian K. Wilcox, 2021
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse. The book is a collection of poems based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
