JOIN USRabia said, “If you wish to separate yourself from this august company, why do you not come with me so that we may fly into the air and sit talking there?”
Hasan said, “I cannot do that, for the power that you mention is not one which I possess” Rabia said, “Your power of remaining still in water is one which is possessed by fish. My capacity of flying in the air can be done by a fly. These abilities are no part of real truth.
They may become the foundation of self esteem and competitiveness, not spirituality.” This story is a perfect example of the Sufi way of transmitting knowledge. Sufis speak in parables and poetry. They are not scholarly people, they are people of the heart, therefore the term 'Sufism' is wrong. Any kind of 'ism' spells dogmas, doctrines, philosophies, long logical discussions to prove and disprove certain principles. They are not interested in saying something, they are interested in showing something to their disciples. What is it that they want to show? It is the experience of truth. And truth cannot be an argument, is not a speculation; it is a Haqikat, a reality. Reality can only be experienced after all the smoke of thoughts, emotions and the mental activities are dropped.
Sufism has always existed without this particular brand name because Sufism is pure mysticism. So all the mystics like Jesus Christ, Mohammad Paighambar, Krishna and Buddha were Sufis.
Osho has given an original interpretation of how the word Sufi was derived:
“The word ‘Sufi’ is quite recent and it was coined by German scholars. In Arabic it is called ‘Tasawuf’. Both the words come from the same root: Suf. Suf means wool. Why would wool become the symbol of Sufism? There is a deep symbolism in it. The symbolism is that the wool is the garb of the animals and a Sufi has to become as innocent as an animal.
The Sufi has to attain to a primal innocence. He has to drop all civilisation, he has to drop all kinds of cultures and conditioning. Then the symbol becomes tremendously significant.
When man becomes an animal he does not fall back, he goes higher, he becomes a saint. He remains conscious but his consciousness is not burdened by any conditioning.