Pleasant Stories & Anecdotes — Page 43
Pleasant Anecdotes—Forty Lamps 43 and when you become content, then it is like you have everything. This is [the key to] salvation and deliverance. (Malf ūzā t, vol. 3, p. 422) Forty Lamps There is a famous story that a noble man hosted a feast. He illu- minated forty oil lamps. Some people commented, ‘There should not be this much extravagance’. He replied, ‘Put out the lamp that I have lit in pretence’. People tried to put out the lamps, but not a single lamp could be extinguished. It seems that though it is the same action that is carried out by two individuals, the act of one individual becomes evil whereas others deserve a reward from God. The difference between their intentions causes this difference. (Malf ūzā t, vol. 4, p. 47) Attraction of Piety Human beings have an attraction for good and bad deeds. A man does good but does not understand why he has done so. Similarly, a person is inclined towards the evil deeds, and when asked as to why he is doing so, he cannot give any reason. A story is given in Mathnawī Rūmī about this attraction [towards evil and good deeds]. There was a pious slave of an evil