Originally published in Sufi Journal Issue 17 (Spring 1993)
Text of a Speech by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Previous Master of the Nimatullahi Order, to a Sufi Gathering
Tajrīd means severing oneself from attachments. This letting go of attachments does not mean being materially impoverished. The Sufi may have many possessions, but he or she is not attached to them.
It is related that a Sufi was received by Shāh Ne‘mato’llāh and then remained in the master’s khānaqāh for a few days. Noticing the splendor of the decor and furnishings of the establishment maintained by the master, the Sufi thought in his heart that Sufism is incompatible with worldliness. “What abundance one sees around one! It’s more like a palace than a place of poverty!”, he thought.
On the last day of his stay, he went to the master for permission to depart. Shāh Ne‘mato’llāh said, “O darvish, I am going with you.” The Sufi exclaimed, “You are going to leave all this luxury and position and accompany a poor darvish like me?” Shāh Ne‘mato’llāh replied, “Of course!”
They proceeded out of the town in which the khānaqāh was located. A few miles along the way, the darvish suddenly remembered that he had forgotten his kashkul,* having left it somewhere in the khānaqāh. He turned to Shāh Ne‘mato’llāh and said in a worried tone: “I’ve left my kashkul behind. Why don’t you sit down here and wait, while I run back to get it.” Shāh Ne‘mato’llāh replied, “Darvish, I have left everything I had. You cannot leave even a simple kashkul. You’re not worthy to travel with me.” Thereupon he turned and left.
This is how Shāh Ne‘mato’llāh taught the darvish that outward poverty is no sign of detachment from the world. Rather, “detachment from the world” (tajrīd) means not being tied to the world or anything in it.
Whoever humbles himself in the dust
is elevated to liberation;
The seed planted deep in the earth
sprouts to rise above the soil.
Until you’re detached from the world,
you cannot set out for the goal;
When the shell of the egg falls away,
then is the fledgling revealed.
- A bowl which the wandering darvish carried as his eating, drinking and all-purpose container.