The Wisdom of Nasrudin

[Erfeyah]

Mullah, Nasrudin (http://pages.britishlibrary.net/lobster/nasrudin/) Hoja appears as the whimsical character in a growing tradition of stories. The tales of Nasrudin are sometimes adapted and used as teaching stories by followers of the Sufi way. Some mystic traditions use jokes, stories and poetry to express certain ideas, allowing the bypassing of the normal discriminative thought patterns. The rationality that confines and objectifies the thinking process is the opposite to the intuitive, gestalt mentality that the mystic is attempting to engage, enter and retain. [/b] This is the quote from wikipedia about Nasrudin. They say that every story has several meaninings depending on the level of consciousness of the reader. You can also find some stories at the Lucidity site. I will start by posting some stories and anyone can add more or comment and discuss of interpatations (althought i think that would be quite confuzing ). Hope you enjoy Here we go: 1 Once a renowned philosopher and moralist was traveling through Nasruddin's village and asked Nasruddin where there was a good place to eat. Nasruddin suggested a place and the scholar, hungry for conversation, invited Mullah Nasruddin to join him. Much obliged, Mullah Nasruddin accompanied the scholar to a nearby restaurant, where they asked the waiter about the special of the day. "Fish! Fresh Fish!" replied the waiter. "Bring us two," they requested. A few minutes later, the waiter brought out a large platter with two cooked fish on it, one of which was quite a bit smaller than the other. Without hesitating, Mullah Nasruddin took the larger of the fish and put in on his plate. The scholar, giving Mullah Nasruddin a look of intense disbelief, proceed to tell him that what he did was not only blatantly selfish, but that it violated the principles of almost every known moral, religious, and ethical system. Mullah Nasruddin calmly listened to the philosopher's extempore lecture patiently, and when he had finally exhausted his resources, Mullah Nasruddin said, "Well, Sir, what would you have done?" "I, being a conscientious human, would have taken the smaller fish for myself." "And here you are," Mullah Nasruddin said, and placed the smaller fish on the gentleman's plate. 2 "Nasrudin why is it people laugh at you?" "Well," said Nasrudin, "Think of me as a turban. The nature of laughter exposes the false. If people laughed at themselves they would feel naked. Therefore I provide them with a 'head covering'." "But Nasrudin, they are still naked!" "Shhhhh," said Nasrudin smiling . . . 3

[Kaniaz]

Oh, I see. Nasurdin is just an asshole.

[Erfeyah]

I liked you opinion Kaniaz , I will give the thread one last chance. ---- Mulla was puzzled about his own physical strength or rather the lack of it: "I am as weak as when I was a toddler" "how can that be ?" asked people. "There is a big rock outside my house. I couldn't move it then and I can't move it now!" said mulla. ------ Nasrudin had lost the key for his house. He went under a street light and started searching while making a lot of noize. In a while there were there a lot of people that were trying to help him. After many hours of searching someone asked Nasrudin. -Tel me Hoja, are you sure that you lost you key in this particular place? -No, the Hoja replyed, but this is the only place where there is light.

[Roller]

Haha, I love this guy! I'm gonna look him up and get more of this stuff, it's great!

[evolo]

Originally posted by adroid28 Nasrudin had lost the key for his house. He went under a street light and started searching while making a lot of noize. In a while there were there a lot of people that were trying to help him. After many hours of searching someone asked Nasrudin. -Tel me Hoja, are you sure that you lost you key in this particular place? -No, the Hoja replyed, but this is the only place where there is light. I think this is based on the ignorance and laziness of man, Nasrudin portraying the common man. The key symbolizes truth, reason, and/or answers. But what the biggest mistake in looking for the truth is that man searches in the light. The light is clarity, it's concrete, what you see is real. The key to the finding the truth is in the darkness or the unknown, where the lazy or scared man does not look.

[Erfeyah]

I must say that i totally agree with your interpetation Evolo

[qwerty]

these books are hard to find (library)

[archdreamer]

Some of these are great. Here's a link to the ones hosted on the Lucidity Institute website (they're randomized though, ugh): http://www.lucidity.com/nasrudin.shtml

[Kushna Mufeed]

Haha! I grew up with these stories. Mullah Nasiruddin Hoja isn't just a figure incorporated into Sufi Muslim teachings, he a figure of folk stories throughout the Muslim world. I have a book somewhere filled with stories about him. Go to an Islamic bookstore and ask or look in the kids section. I can't remember the exact title of the book and I'm not about to go looking for it. Off the top of my head, I do remember one story I like. Note: I will be calling him Juha, because that's what he's called where I'm from. Ok, so. Juha was travelling with a friend. They decided to stop for some refreshment and bought a glass of milk to share between them. "You drink your half first" said Juha's friend. "Why?" inquired Juha. "Because I like my milk with sugar." "Well, put it in now. I also want sugar in my milk." "No, I only have enough for myself." "Fine, I'll drink my half first, but I like my milk with salt."

[Neruo]

I agree with the second post in this topic made in the year 2005.