SPIRITUAL UPLIFT

52. Spiritual Uplift ~ 156 ~ Muslim Sufi was travelling along with his disciples. During the journey he encamped near a large grove of trees upon which doves used to perch. During this halt one of the Sufi’s disciples aimed at one of the doves, killed it, cooked it and then ate it. Afterwards something strange happened. A flock of doves came to the tree under which the Sufi was resting and began hovering over it and making a noise. The Muslim Sufi, communicating with the leader of the birds, asked what was the matter with them and why they were protesting. The leader replied, “We have a complaint to make against you, that is, one of your disciples has killed one of us.” Then the Muslim Sufi called the disciple in question and asked him about it. He said that he had not done anything wrong, as the birds were their foodstuffs. He was hungry, so he killed one for food. He thought that in so doing he had not done anything wrong. The Sufi then conveyed this reply to the leader of the doves. The latter replied: Perhaps you have failed to understand our point. Actually what we are