Thratara, a young woman, approached the dervish ‘Abdullah and sought his interpretation of a dream that had intrigued her. This is what she recounted when ‘Abdullah kindly received her: “In my dream, I met an old woman seated beside a fruit tree. Astonishingly, she declared that her name bore a close resemblance to mine. Instead of telling her name, the old woman uttered, ‘Consult dervish ‘Abdullah to unravel the significance of this fruit-laden tree.’”
Dervish ‘Abdullah requested Thratara, “If you wouldn’t mind, then, please share more details about the tree. What was its hue?”
Thratara responded to dervish ‘Abdullah’s question with much enthusiasm. “Its colour was distinct from monotonous shades of grey while lacking the stark duality of black and white. I saw both the woman and the tree in muted tones. I don’t precisely recall its colour. It could be likened to charcoal, a greyish-blue, or perhaps a greyish-brown, but an exact description has become elusive to me.”
“How many fruits were there?”
“Nine! Seven were obvious and two were somewhat concealed.”
With deep insight, the dervish ‘Abdullah explained: “The lack of clear colour shows that you are beginning to travel along a Sufi Path. For now, let me reveal more about the fruits. There are ten fruits and not nine. To you, seven were apparent, two were partially obscured, and the tenth remained entirely hidden.”
“Understand, you have dreamt about both the tangible realm or the world of creation and the spiritual realm or the world of command. The first five fruits are part of the tangible world, while the remaining five fruits belong to the spiritual world or the world of command. They symbolize the four earthly elements: earth, air, water and fire – forming the constituents of your physical body, while the fifth represents your soul. The soul is colourless.”
“The remaining fruits are five subtle centres of consciousness. Those are the heart, the spirit, the innermost consciousness, the hidden, and the most hidden. Yellow symbolises the colour of the heart, red represents the spirit, white signifies the inner consciousness, black embodies the hidden and green characterises the most hidden. The two somewhat concealed fruits are the inner consciousness and the hidden. The most hidden subtle centre is the tenth fruit which remained imperceptible in your dream.”
“Are you familiar with Persian, Thratara? There is a Persian Sufi who beautifully articulated insights about the soul and heart:”
خانه نفس است خلد پر هوس
خانه دل مقعد سدق است وبس
The house of the soul is a paradise full of passion.
The house of the heart is the seat of truthfulness.
“The soul is coarser than the heart, while the spirit is more subtle than the heart. What does the soul comprehend about the house of the heart? What does the heart grasp of the subtleties in the house of the spirit? What does the spirit discern about what the house of the inner consciousness holds? What does the inner consciousness fathom about the truths concealed in the houses of the hidden and the most hidden?”
“Over time, your soul should cultivate serenity. Your heart should embody soundness. Your spirit should align with the attributes of God. Your inner consciousness should be open to receiving lightning-like manifestations of His essence. Your hidden subtle centre should be in awe of God’s transcendence. Your most hidden subtle centre should experience oneness with God in a way beyond verbal description. By means of Sufi techniques, the fruits of heaven and earth can be purified. You and I will have many things to discuss.”
Thratara asked one final question: “Who is the old woman sitting next to the fruit tree?”
Dervish ‘Abdullah fondly looked at the young girl and replied: “She is as you perceive yourself to be fifty years from now.”