Nasruddin
c. 11th-14th century era
c. 11th-14th century era
name derives from "Naser" (Ar., victory), and "ud-din,"
a common Arabic word ending which means "of the
faith". "Mullah" is a title of respect.
semi-legendary Central Asian figure, subject of many
stories and anecdotes.
Nasruddin is a popular man/myth in Afghanistan,
Turkey, Iran, etc...the numerous Nasruddin stories are
always humorous, based on the foibles of mankind,
and setting Nassruddin up as the sage/fool,
mystic/common-man.
many doubt he ever existed, and others take the
opposite view--there is even a memorial gravesite
reputed to be Nasruddin's.
Idries Shah has collected many Nasruddin stories,
translated into English, in his book, The Subtleties of
the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin.
a common Arabic word ending which means "of the
faith". "Mullah" is a title of respect.
semi-legendary Central Asian figure, subject of many
stories and anecdotes.
Nasruddin is a popular man/myth in Afghanistan,
Turkey, Iran, etc...the numerous Nasruddin stories are
always humorous, based on the foibles of mankind,
and setting Nassruddin up as the sage/fool,
mystic/common-man.
many doubt he ever existed, and others take the
opposite view--there is even a memorial gravesite
reputed to be Nasruddin's.
Idries Shah has collected many Nasruddin stories,
translated into English, in his book, The Subtleties of
the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin.
| There is a story in the life of Mulla Nasruddin. He lost his donkey – and his donkey was his only wealth. He searched for him through the whole village. All the villagers joined in the search, but without success. Then people said that as it was a holy month and many pilgrims were passing through the town, perhaps the donkey had followed them. Otherwise, since they had searched all over the town and had not been able to find him, Nasruddin should accept that the donkey was lost. But Nasruddin said he would make one last attempt to find him. Right there he stood still and closed his eyes. Then he bent down and started walking on all fours. He walked around the house and then the garden, and finally he reached a large pit into which his donkey had fallen. His friends were surprised and asked him what his trick was. Nasruddin said, “I thought that if a man cannot find a donkey, then the key to finding it is not with him; to find the donkey I have to become like a donkey. So when I began to feel like a donkey, I thought if I was a donkey looking for a donkey where would I look? As soon as I thought that way, I went down on my hands and knees, and started walking like a donkey. I do not know how I found the place, but when I opened my eyes, I saw I had reached the pit – and there was my donkey!” Nasruddin is a Sufi saint. Anyone can read this story and laugh it off as a joke, but there is a key in it. It is a key to searching, and in a spiritual sense this is the only way to search. So every place of pilgrimage has keys and yantras. The main reason for the existence of such places is that they put you in the middle of a charged current, which you can flow with... --Osho Hidden Mysteries, ch. 2 |
| oshobob The Living Workshop |
| People in Osho's Talks |
aka: Mullah Nasruddin, Hoja Nasr'ud-din, Afanti
(Uyghurs in China, Xinjiang Pr.)
Persian: ملا نصرالدین
(Uyghurs in China, Xinjiang Pr.)
Persian: ملا نصرالدین