Wisdom: Understand yourself

When you understand yourself
Then you will know the equality
Which is the birthright of all lives.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Understand the nine openings

Using your divine analytic wisdom, open and understand the
nine openings in your body and eliminate what is in each of them.
You will then see two other gateways within you, the ‘arsh and the
kursi.

The ‘arsh is the station of the throne of Allah’s sovereignty.
The kursi is the station of the explaining wisdom called the Qutb.
It is the eye of gnanam, or divine wisdom, in the center of the
forehead through which you will see and understand all the
universes.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Stop useless talk

Stop useless talk
And the ears of your wisdom will hear
God’s words of grace

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Make the flower of your qalb bloom

Make the flower of your qalb bloom,
The flower of your innermost heart,
And know the fragrance of grace within it.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Open your heart and look within

Open your heart and look within. Use your wisdom to beat
and chase away the poisonous qualities created from the five
senses. Then you will see only his beauty and the praise called
al-hamdul lillah.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Understand the five

Understand the five,
Earth, fire water, air, and ether,
Any you will know the One.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Dispel desire for gold

Dispel desire for gold
And receive the limitless wealth
Of the gem of the grace of God.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Dispel the agitation of the mind

Dispel the agitation of the mind
And you will see the One who is
The mystery of your victory in life.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Dispel the outer sound

Dispel the outer sound
And you will hear the inner sound.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: When you realize yourself

When you realize yourself,
Within you, you will see
All the lives of the world,
And within the lives of the world,
You will see your Ruler.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Speak with the tongue of absolute faith

Speak with the tongue of absolute faith
And all lives will praise you.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Control the tongue

Control the tongue
And receive the goodness of God.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Eliminate arrogance, karma and maya

Eliminate the primal qualities
Of arrogance, karma, and maya
And his grace will appear within you.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Dispel karma

Dispel karma with wisdom
And hell will recede on its own.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Dispel the visions of the mind

Dispel the visions of the minds
And see the resplendence of the Ruler.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Dispel the visions of the eyes

Dispel the visions of the eyes
And see the beauty of the Creator.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Dispel the poverty of the mind

Dispel the poverty of the mind
With wisdom of the heart
And acquire the endless wealth of God.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Dispel old age

If you dispel old age
You can attain eternal youth.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Disease is the fruit of arrogance, karma and maya

Disease is like the flourishing fruit on the tree which grows from
the seed of arrogance, karma, and the illusion called maya. The
shoot germinates from the shell of love for land, women, and gold.
The tree is the passionate frenzy of arrogance, and its branches
are the six evils: lust, anger, miserliness, obsession, bigotry, and
envy. The four hundred trillion, ten thousand flowers and fruits
which grow on these branches are the worries, desires, cravings,
thoughts, and intentions of man’s agitated mind.

Day after day, these are the illnesses which make him suffer
the pain of a living death. In his agony, man groans and wails,
clinging to that very tree in hope of relief. Time after time, he
eats of its fruits, expecting them to comfort him. This is the tree
that cuts away a man’s life.

If he digs it up, roots and all, and throws it away, then every-
thing connected to it will leave him. On that day, illness and aging
will leave him, and he will acquire the light of wisdom. When
wisdom dawns, he will become a youth of sixteen: He will receive
the qualities and beauty of God, and thus acquire eternal youth.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Dispel disease

Dispel disease with the wisdom of grace
And old age will be overcome.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Life can be contained in two words

My son, you whole life can be contained in two words: al-hamdu
lillah and tawakkal-Allah, giving praise to God for everything
and absolute trust in and surrender to God. Say, “Al-hamdu
lillah,” and praise God for what is happening now. Say,
“Tawakkal-Allah,” and give the responsibility to God for what
is to happen at the next moment. May you perform these two
duties in the same non-attachment state as God does His duties.

Make your life complete in these two words. After that, acquire
the qualities of God, perform His actions, act with His conduct,
coax His compassion into your heart, and feel all hunger as your
own hunger and all illness as your own illness. Serve other lives
and comfort their hearts in the way God does. That duty will
become your exalted wisdom, your prayer, and your meditation.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Accept even a glass of water from one with an open heart

Finally, the sheikh said, “However, my son, if you accept even
a glass of water offered from the inner love of one with an open
and melting heart, you will benefit the thirty millionfold mentioned
earlier and a further ten millionfold. Then you will be able to
offer that bounty as comfort to the heart of the person who gave
with such love.”


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Those who speak not what is in their hearts

The sheikh continued, “My son, there are those who live with
you, join and play with you, but speak not what is in their hearts.
To live you life avoiding their company will benefit you ten
millionfold.”

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: A house which does not welcome you

Then the sheikh said, “My son! Do not eat in a house which
does not welcome you and feed you with an open heart. To refrain
from this will reward you ten millionfold.”


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: A doorstep where your qualities are not respected

“Do not set foot on a doorstep where you, your maturity, your
wisdom, and your qualities are not recognized and respected.
That would not be good for you,” said the sheikh to his eldest
son, the eldest in maturity of wisdom among the sons in whom he
is fostering the growth of wisdom. “If you do not allow your
foot to touch that doorstep, you will benefit ten millionfold.”

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not follow the ways of your mind

O man, no matter what you have studied or how much you have
studied, do not follow the ways of your mind with conceit in your
learning. Ask a man of wisdom who is on the path and follow
his directions. If you do not meet a man of wisdom, lay your
heart open and ask even a tree or a wall. The power of God
within your heart called conscience will caution you and guide you.
It will say, “Go,” or “Don’t go,” “Right,” or “Wrong.” If
your heart is open, your conscience will provide useful fruit which
will benefit your journey through life.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not be vain

O man, do not be vain, thinking that you are the most learned,
that no one else has learned as much as you. Realize that there is
One who is learned to the learned and mighty to the mighty.
Realize that there is an eternal God who is good to the good.

If you fail to do so, some day, just as a mighty elephant can trip
over a tiny blade of grass, all your learning can be destroyed by an
ant-sized particle of the force of the karmic ignorance of illusion.
It is possible to be destroyed by even an atomic fraction of the
force of that maya, and all your learning would be lost.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not strew thorns on the paths of wise men

Do not strew thorns along the paths
Where good and wise men walk
Or one day those thorns will puncture you.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not dig a deep pit into another man’s life

O Man, do not dig a deep pit
In another man’s life,
Trapping him
And treating him as an enemy,
Or that same pit will swallow you.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not intend harm to others

O man, do not intend harm to others
Or it will cause untold harm to you.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not preach wisdom to a man whose heart is hard

Do not preach wisdom to a man whose heart is so obstinately
hard that it will not soften or melt in feeling for others. He will be
unable to understand your true worth and the maturity of your
wisdom. Your wisdom will not penetrate him; he will convert
it into a hard rock and hurl it back to you. Not only that, he will
pick up the black rocks from the mountain of his heart and throw
them at you, too. As a result, you may have to face many tribula-
tions. If you want to achieve mastery over your life, you must
learn to avoid such people and go on your way.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Snakes may appear beautiful

Snakes may appear beautiful and graceful, with pleasant colors
and scents, but it is not wise to capture one and bring it up. No
matter how beautiful it seems, it has poisonous fangs. If you wrap
it around your body, it will display its poisonous qualities and you
will die.

If you really want to rear a snake, catch it, hold it carefully,
and remove its four poisonous fangs. Then you might escape its
poison. But even then its qualities will not change; it will continue
to hiss and bite. Even when its poisonous teeth have been extracted,
you must not handle it carelessly, for it has other teeth with mild
poison which can also be dangerous.

In the same way, no matter how beautiful and loving a human poisonous snake is, he still has the four qualities of arrogance,
pride, jealousy, and treacherous self-interest. You must not
embrace him or carry him on your body for the sake of beauty.
You will suffer if you do. However, if you first take away his
evil qualities as you took out the snake’s teeth, replacing them
with God’s love and wisdom, you may be able to embrace and
carry him safely if you remain cautious. That would be beneficial
to both of you.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not cast pearls before swine

Do not cast pearls before swine
Swine do not know the value of pearls
Do not cast the treasures of God
The treasures of wisdom and truth
Before a man who is filled with suspicion
Or one without faith in God.
Such a man will destroy what is good.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not preach wisdom to one who lacks wisdom

Do not preach wisdom
To one who lacks wisdom
And faith in God.
You wisdom will not enter him; it will be transformed into a
dangerous weapon which will turn on you and attack you.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not hold on to the tail of an elephant

Do not hold on to the tail of an elephant
To find a path through the jungle.
Trees and shrubs and stones all give way to the elephant. But
a tree that bends for an elephant will spring back and kill you
after the elephant has passed, and the shrub’s thorns which give
way to an elephant will whip back and tear your body.

The elephant stands for the frenzied fury of arrogance. There
are three kinds: one, the arrogance which arises from what the
eyes see; two, the arrogance which arises from the brain and from
what the mind conceives; and three, the arrogance which arises
from the sexual fluids.

There are the three kinds of arrogance in maya; they can
hypnotize man’s wisdom and alter his state. The frenzy of these
three kinds of arrogance form the rutting elephant of the mind.
Wherever it travels in the jungle, it tears out a path for itself. Do
not follow it. That path is not for you.

O man, it can kill your wisdom, your truth, your good qualities,
your good thoughts, your faith, and your devotion to God. It
can ruin your life. Do not follow a rutting elephant.

Use your wisdom, find the opening on the path of truth, walk
along it, and escape from the dark jungle of ignorance.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not hold on to the tail of an elephant

Do not hold on to the tail of an elephant
To find a path through the jungle.
Trees and shrubs and stones all give way to the elephant. But
a tree that bends for an elephant will spring back and kill you
after the elephant has passed, and the shrub’s thorns which give
way to an elephant will whip back and tear your body.

The elephant stands for the frenzied fury of arrogance. There
are three kinds: one, the arrogance which arises from what the
eyes see; two, the arrogance which arises from the brain and from
what the mind conceives; and three, the arrogance which arises
from the sexual fluids.

There are the three kinds of arrogance in maya; they can
hypnotize man’s wisdom and alter his state. The frenzy of these
three kinds of arrogance form the rutting elephant of the mind.
Wherever it travels in the jungle, it tears out a path for itself. Do
not follow it. That path is not for you.

O man, it can kill your wisdom, your truth, your good qualities,
your good thoughts, your faith, and your devotion to God. It
can ruin your life. Do not follow a rutting elephant.

Use your wisdom, find the opening on the path of truth, walk
along it, and escape from the dark jungle of ignorance.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not attempt to cross a jungle holding on to the tail of a tiger

Do not attempt to cross a jungle
Holding on to the tail of a tiger,
Hoping the tiger’s strength
Will provide you with protection.
As soon as it becomes hungry, it will turn around and eat you.
The tiger is the jealousy that grows from your mind. It will eat
you, and then you will be unable to cross the dark jungle of igno-
rance which is your life.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not attempt to cross a lake by holding the tail of a buffalo

Do not attempt to cross a lake
By holding the tail of a buffalo.
It will lie down in the mud when it gets to the middle, and be-
cause you will be unable to go forward or to come back, you
will drown.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Do not cling to your monkey mind

Do not cling to your monkey mind
Expecting it to guide you along the path.
The monkey of the mind mimics what it sees. Those are its
pranks. It will desert you in the middle of a dark jungle and climb
up a tree while you become prey to dangerous animals of
ignorance and to dreadful ghosts, demons, and satans.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Al-hamdu lillah, praise to Allah

Saying all praise belongs only to Allah, al-hamdul lilla is
the direct prayer to God, when one has handed over his life to
God. It is his prayer and his worship.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Tawakkul, surrender to the will of Allah

Tawakkul, the surrender of everything to the will of God, is
man’s true wealth. When one gives all responsibility to God, he
will receive the greatest wealth of his life.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Shakur, contentment and thankfulness

Shakur, the contentment and thankfulness for whatever God
gives, is the real prayer of your life.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: If a true man takes on the qualities of God

If a true man takes on the qualities of God, all lives will bow
to him in respectful worship. He will be a father to all lives, and
doing the duties of God, he will be a son to God. For such a
man, patience is his body and sabur, or inner patience, is his heart.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: God’s love

God’s love will comfort all lives equally, bringing them up
without the slightest partiality.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: A man’s true love

A man’s true love will bring peace and comfort to the hearts of
all lives.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Blood ties

Blood ties (excessive attachment to our relatives) warp our sense
of justice and fair play and force us into wrong decisions and
judgments.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Intoxicated with conceit

To be intoxicated with conceit about our positions and titles
will cause pain and torment to our own hearts and to the hearts
of others. It will destroy true justice.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Racial discrimination

Racial discrimination and bigotry will turn the world into a
battlefield.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Religious fanaticism

Religious fanaticism, bigotry, and strong feelings about one’s
own religion will destroy God’s love for us. They will also
disrupt brotherly love and harmony.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Think, reflect, and understand

If we think, reflect, and understand, rather than making a hasty
retort, our hearts will be filled with the resplendent light of grace.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006

Wisdom: Evil thoughts

Our evil thoughts can make us guilty of faults more serious
than all the karma of all the worlds gathered and rolled into one.
Our thoughts and intentions can be so poisonous that they make
it impossible for our lives to bloom.

Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981,2006

Wisdom: Control our words

We must control our words. It is wrong not to consider the
import of each word before we speak.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981,2006

Wisdom: A spoken word can be a fault

A spoken word can be a fault, but a thought can be a serious
transgression.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981,2006

Wisdom: A flower and its fragrance

If a husband and wife can control impatience and anger, they
will become suited to one another as a flower and its fragrance,
living in harmony and without every separating. A husband and
wife who reflect on this will mingle in the way fragrance mingles
with a flower. This will give them victory in their lives.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981,2006

Wisdom: A hasty intellect and anger

A hasty intellect and anger
Will destroy even the love of God.
Hastiness and the anger which jumps to retort before another
person has finished his speaking will destroy the love that comes from
the hearts of others and even the beautiful love of God. We must
exercise patience and self-control.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981,2006

Wisdom: Duty performed with a selfish motive

Duty performed with a selfish motive
Is like oil poured onto fire.
Such duty is a waste, fuel for the fire of hell, of benefit to no one.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981,2006