There was, once upon a time, a certain devotee to the spiritual path that was venerable and respected by his community. Because he would frequently say to himself, “Allah ho Akbar,” the people had come to call him ‘Akbar Baba.’

One day a student came to him and said, “Baba, I am eager to learn about the spiritual path and I have been studying your ways, because I am sure you are blessed with the Friendship of God. I have seen that whenever you are about to begin a task – whether to preach a sermon, or give guidance to students, or even to dig in the garden, you pause and then say, ‘Allah ho Akbar.’ After meditating on this, I have come to the conclusion that you say this because you feel the outpouring of Almighty Power and Divine Inspiration coming to your aid. Am I right?”

The Baba smiled. “No,” he said, “it is quite the oposite. When I am about to begin a task, very often the image of my small self rises before my eyes. Then even the least job begins to seem difficult. Who am I to offer guidance, or to preach the word of God? How can an old man like me dig much? Then as a medicine for this weakness I remind myself of the source of all power, by saying Allah ho Akbar.”