The recently posted audio tale about the discouraged student whose way to spiritual awakening was prepared by falling in love with a beautiful maiden raises some interesting questions.  One might ask, for example, why bother with spiritual exercises at all?  The murshid advised the student to stop his practices, so why waste time with prayers and meditation? Why not just look for a delightfully attractive person?  Even if our object of desire remains indifferent to us, the story suggests, we may still reach illumination.

But the fact that virtually everyone has experienced a burning passion at some time in their life, while the number of illuminated souls remains low, suggests that there is more to this story than we suspect.

The tale tells us that the student had been with his teacher for years, and has finally become frustrated; in fact, he has reached the point of giving up. This pattern can sometimes appear in the journey on the spiritual path: an intense dedication, accompanied by a rigorous discipline, leading to a sense of frustration or futility.  In Zen, this is occasionally pictured as a mosquito trying to pierce an iron bowl, and indeed a most famous example is in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha.  The Blessed One pursued a very severe regime of fasting and meditation, but could not break through the grip of the transient world.  Finally, he recognised that his harsh methods could bring an end to his life before he had solved the spiritual problem that tormented him, and he accepted a bowl of sweet rice from a maiden who took pity on him. Then he reformulated his approach, and began to work through the heart — through compassion — and this led him swiftly to his ultimate realisation.

Returning to the image of fire mentioned in the audio tale, this might make us think of the explanation by Hazrat Inayat Khan that the teacher does not give illumination, but if the oil is ready he can provide the spark that kindles the lamp.  Perhaps we could say that the oil was hidden within the student, as it is concealed within an olive or a nut, and it only came out when his heart was warmed by the feeling of love toward the young woman who brought him fruit each morning.

But ardor alone is not sufficient for us to realise spiritual truth.  We must also be able to tend the lamp and keep it supplied with fuel.  Many have known love as something passing, an intense feeling that burns, like a match, for a moment, and then grows cold.  In a  lecture about the mystical heart, Hazrat Inayat says, “The oil in the path of love is patience; and besides this, it is unselfishness and self-sacrifice from beginning to end.”

These are the qualities that we hope to develop through our spiritual work.  If we have patience, unselfishness and a willingness to sacrifice ourselves for our ideal, then the oil is indeed ready, and when the spark comes, we can trust that the lamp will remain burning through all the storms of life.