Page 71 - The Book of Rumi

slumber descend upon him, sending him into a deep sleep, where he had a
revelation:
“Moses, what have you done?” Moses immediately recognized the unde-
niable sound of God’s voice. “You’ve alienated my faithful servant from me!
Did I send you as my prophet to unite me with my people or to sever me from
them? I’ve allowed everyone their own way of worshipping, their own form of
expression. I have no need of their prayers, but they do. What may seem like
poison to you could be honey to someone else. I don’t look at what my people
say outwardly, I only see what’s inside their hearts. I want to see the burning
of love! So light up the fi re of love in your soul and banish your unhelpful
thoughts once and for all!”
Hearing God’s words, the treacle of His wisdom was implanted in
Moses’s soul, opening his eyes to secrets unknown to him before and convinc-
ing him to always look beyond the superfi cial. A few moments later, he was
heading into the desert on the trail of the shepherd, agonizing over his harsh
and unkind words to the poor man. It didn’t take long to fi nd the shepherd’s
footsteps, for they were distinctly different from an ordinary man’s. In places
he’d been dragging his feet, and soon after that he’d been limping, then side-
stepping and stepping backward, even crawling at times, all indicative of his
tumultuous state of mind. In due time, Moses spotted the shepherd in the
distance and carefully approached him, speaking softly:
“My dear shepherd, you’ve been blessed by God Almighty himself! He
has reproached me for speaking to you so abrasively. He wants you to pray in
any way you prefer. In fact, God adores your simple words that come directly
from your heart. You may continue in the same manner that you’ve always
prayed, and God wants you to know that He’s absolutely content with you.”
The shepherd raised his face to Moses. He was not the same man any-
more; his eyes did not belong to this world, and his voice rose from a more
profound depth.
“Moses, I’ve gone beyond your hollow words; I’m mad in my soul. I’ve
traveled past the earth and the sky, a thousand years beyond! You brought

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