I have heard a beautiful story about a Sufi mystic, Farid:
One night he dreams that by the grace of Allah, he has reached Paradise. And the whole of Paradise is decorated, millions of lights.and flowers everywhere — some celebration is going on — and great music. He enquires, “What is going on?”
And they say, “This is God’s birthday — we are celebrating it. You have come at the right time.”
So he stands underneath a tree to see what is happening, because a great procession starts moving on the road. A man is sitting on a horse; he enquires, “Who is this man?” and they say, “Don’t you know him? He is Hajrat Mohammed.”
And then millions and millions of people behind him, and he asks, “Who are these people?” and he is replied to. “They are Mohammedans, followers of Mohammed.”
And then comes Jesus, and millions are following him. And then comes Krishna on his golden chariot, and millions again are following him. And so on and so forth… the procession continues, continues, continues.
And then finally, in the end, on an old donkey an old man is coming. And nobody is behind him; he is just alone. Farid starts laughing looking at this man — it is hilarious: nobody following him. And why should he be going on his donkey? He asks, “Who are you, sir? I have seen Mohammed, Christ, Krishna, Mahavira, Buddha — who are you? You look like a kind of joke! And nobody following you.”
And the old man is very sad and he says, “Yes, I am God. This is my birthday. But some people have become Mohammedans, some have become Christians, some have become Jews, some have become Hindus — nobody is left to be with me.”
Just out of shock, Farid woke up. He told his disciples the next day, “Now I am no more a Mohammedan. The dream has been a great revelation. Now I am no more part of any organized religion — I am simply myself. I would like to be with God, at least one person following him.”
One night he dreams that by the grace of Allah, he has reached Paradise. And the whole of Paradise is decorated, millions of lights.and flowers everywhere — some celebration is going on — and great music. He enquires, “What is going on?”
And they say, “This is God’s birthday — we are celebrating it. You have come at the right time.”
So he stands underneath a tree to see what is happening, because a great procession starts moving on the road. A man is sitting on a horse; he enquires, “Who is this man?” and they say, “Don’t you know him? He is Hajrat Mohammed.”
And then millions and millions of people behind him, and he asks, “Who are these people?” and he is replied to. “They are Mohammedans, followers of Mohammed.”
And then comes Jesus, and millions are following him. And then comes Krishna on his golden chariot, and millions again are following him. And so on and so forth… the procession continues, continues, continues.
And then finally, in the end, on an old donkey an old man is coming. And nobody is behind him; he is just alone. Farid starts laughing looking at this man — it is hilarious: nobody following him. And why should he be going on his donkey? He asks, “Who are you, sir? I have seen Mohammed, Christ, Krishna, Mahavira, Buddha — who are you? You look like a kind of joke! And nobody following you.”
And the old man is very sad and he says, “Yes, I am God. This is my birthday. But some people have become Mohammedans, some have become Christians, some have become Jews, some have become Hindus — nobody is left to be with me.”
Just out of shock, Farid woke up. He told his disciples the next day, “Now I am no more a Mohammedan. The dream has been a great revelation. Now I am no more part of any organized religion — I am simply myself. I would like to be with God, at least one person following him.”
