One evening, Rabiya - she was a famous Sufi mystic - was searching for something on the street in front of her small hut. The sun was setting: slowly, slowly, darkness was descending. A few people gathered. They asked her: What are you doing? What have you lost? What are you searching for?
She said: “I have lost my needle.”
The people said: “Now the sun is setting and it will be very difficult to find the needle, but we will help you. Where exactly has it fallen? Because the road is big and the needle is so small. If we know the exact place it will be easier to find it.”
Rabiya said, "It is better not to ask me that question - because in fact it has not fallen on the road at all, it has fallen inside my house."
The people started laughing and they said, "We always thought that you were a little insane! If the needle has fallen inside the house, then why are you searching on the road?"
Rabiya said, "For a simple, logical reason: Inside the house there is no light and on the outside a little light is still there."
The people laughed and started dispersing. Rabiya called them back and said, "Listen! That’s exactly what you are doing: I was just following your example. You go on seeking bliss in the outside world without asking the first and primary question: Where have I lost it? And I tell you, you have lost it inside. You are looking for it on the outside for the simple, logical reason that you senses, your ears hear outward, your hands reach outward; that's the reason why you are searching outside. Otherwise I tell you, you have not lost it there - and I tell you on my own authority. I have also searched on the outside for many many lives, and the day I looked in, I was surprised. There was no need to seek and search; it has always been within.”
(A story by OSHO)
She said: “I have lost my needle.”
The people said: “Now the sun is setting and it will be very difficult to find the needle, but we will help you. Where exactly has it fallen? Because the road is big and the needle is so small. If we know the exact place it will be easier to find it.”
Rabiya said, "It is better not to ask me that question - because in fact it has not fallen on the road at all, it has fallen inside my house."
The people started laughing and they said, "We always thought that you were a little insane! If the needle has fallen inside the house, then why are you searching on the road?"
Rabiya said, "For a simple, logical reason: Inside the house there is no light and on the outside a little light is still there."
The people laughed and started dispersing. Rabiya called them back and said, "Listen! That’s exactly what you are doing: I was just following your example. You go on seeking bliss in the outside world without asking the first and primary question: Where have I lost it? And I tell you, you have lost it inside. You are looking for it on the outside for the simple, logical reason that you senses, your ears hear outward, your hands reach outward; that's the reason why you are searching outside. Otherwise I tell you, you have not lost it there - and I tell you on my own authority. I have also searched on the outside for many many lives, and the day I looked in, I was surprised. There was no need to seek and search; it has always been within.”
(A story by OSHO)
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