Tales of Mullah Nasruddin

Mullah Nasruddin riding a horse


Nasruddin is a legendary Sufi figure in the arabian culture. Some say he lived in turkey. But each nation claim that Nasruddin is their own. From the Afghans to Iran to Uzbekistan culture. There are people who say its just a fictional character who didn't exist. Made up by people who wanted to convey a message. In each culture he has a different name. Some call him just 'Mullah'. Some 'Nasreddin'. 'Hodja' to 'Effendi'. But 1 thing was certain. He was a philosopher and a wise man with numerous funny stories attributed to him.


I came across his legends and little stories when i was searching for some philosophical articles to blog. And i across him. ''Much of Nasreddin's actions can be described as illogical yet logical, rational yet irrational, bizarre yet normal, foolish yet sharp, and simple yet profound. What adds even further to his uniqueness is the way he gets across his messages in unconventional yet very effective methods in a profound simplicity.'' "quoted from wikipedia. In some tales, Nasruddin is a beggar, others a king. He plays a wide range of roles, depending on what the author or philosopher is trying to convey.


I found most of his stories ranging from downright funny to strangely intriguing. Nasruddin was a popular figure especially in the Sufi path. The Sufi path can be a tough and difficult journey. To make the journey more enjoyable and still learning along the way, stories of Mullah Nasruddin was published in the 1600s by Sultan Idries Shah, a great philosopher himself.



The beauty of his tales is that beneath the jokes there is a moral to it. At first glance, it can be a funny tale but there is a gem hidden within the story just waiting to be realized. By understanding the simple morals within the story, a mystic can go further in the path of inner realization while having a few laughs in the path. In his tales, there is multiple level or layers of meaning. An individual can dig out many different meanings, depending on the level of his own understanding.

There are some tales, which are so short i actually find it bizarre. You begin to wonder 'what great wisdom might be in this?!' To great thinkers, is this kind of thought which is important to avoid. You will find the greatest of wisdom in the most unlikeliest of places! I will put up some of his short tales most which are amusing and hope it will be a stepping stone to great wisdom. I will carry on posting his tales on a daily basis as i come across them.

Delivering a Khutba

Once, Nasreddin was invited to deliver a khutba (sermon). When he got on the minbar (pulpit), he asked "Do you know what I am going to say?" The audience replied "NO", so he announced "I have no desire to speak to people who don't even know what I will be talking about" and he left.

The people felt embarrassed and called him back again the next day. This time when he asked the same question, the people replied "YES". So Nasreddin said, "Well, since you already know what I am going to say, I won't waste any more of your time" and he left.

Now the people were really perplexed. They decided to try one more time and once again invited the Mullah to speak the following week. Once again he asked the same question - "Do you know what I am going to say?" Now the people were prepared and so half of them answered "YES" while the other half replied "NO". So Nasreddin said "The half who know what I am going to say, tell it to the other half" and he left!

Two sides of a river

Nasreddin sat on a river bank when someone shouted to him from the opposite side:

- "Hey! how do I get to the other side?"

- "You are on the other side!" Nasreddin shouted back.

Whom do you trust

A neighbour comes to the gate of Mulla Nasreddin's yard. The Mulla goes out to meet him outside.

"Would you mind, Mulla," the neighbour asks, "lending me your donkey today? I have some goods to transport to the next town."

The Mulla doesn't feel inclined to lend out the animal to that particular man, however; so, not to seem rude, he answers:

"I'm sorry, but I've already lent him to somebody else."

Suddenly the donkey can be heard braying loudly behind the wall of the yard.

"You lied to me, Mulla!" the neighbour exclaims. "There it is behind that wall!"

"What do you mean?" the Mulla replies indignantly. "Whom would you rather believe, a donkey or your Mulla?"

Chess In Life

The Great Mikhail Tal(November 9, 1936 – June 28, 1992)

The picture above is of the Mikhail Tal. Probarbly the greatest attacking chess player to have ever lived. I took chess as my serious hobby after watching some of his games. Featuring brilliant sacrifices, he was 1 of the most imaginative player ever over the board. People throw money onto the board after watching his games. Even now, replaying his games brings the hair on the back of your neck stand. They call him, the Magician From Riga(his birthplace).

So what is exactly chess? Chess enthusiast call it an insult to call it a hobby. Some say it's more than a game. Some say it's life itself. I call it poetry. The best quote i believe sums up the argument.

"Ultimately chess is just chess - not the best thing in the world
and not the worst thing in the world, but there is nothing quite like it."

The beauty of chess, is its complexity. Seeing players, staring over a board, matching their wits with 1 another, with wooden pieces init, for hours and hours.

I fell in love with just that. The complexity. I grew up playing chess. I aren't a brilliant player. For my age, just an average player. Chess allowed me to explore my imagination and love the difficulty encompassing it.

I have won many games, with people around the world. The joy i get when i win games with brilliant sacrifices. Playing like Tal. But to be honest, i don't quite remember the wins. Its the defeat that's hard to digest. I remember it most. How i blew a winning position with 1 simple mistake. In defeats, chess thought me the most valuable life lessons.

Chess is not just a game. To an open mind and heart. It's a fascinating game, allow you to play the game how you want it. You control the pieces. You dictate it. Chess can be a road to self discovery. Self realization. When you understand why you lost, you evolve as a human being. It teaches you to handle and approach life challenges in the correct way. With the correct state of mind. When you smell a victory coming, your heart starts beating fast, you start thinking about what you are going to do after the match. That's when you have lost. Chess trains you to focus even in the most hardest situation.

Chess thought me countless important elements in life. Patience, the downward spiral, illusion of certainty and so much more. This is not a post to get you interested in chess. It's to show, you can learn important life lessons, from the least expected source. Catching a butterfly? Why not. It's how you see things in life. Everything in life has something to teach you. Approach it with an open mind, and be willing to learn and unlearn.

Life is a blur. Just like how you need glasses to correct your vision. Look at life through the glasses of art. Chess is art.
It allows you to envision life in a different perspective. It makes you a better person.

I sum up this post with a couple of quotes. To get us all thinking.

“Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make people happy”

“You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what Chess teaches you is that you
must sit there calmly and think about whether it’s really a good idea
and whether there are other better ideas”

“Chess is the art which expresses the science of logic”

“The Chess pieces are the block alphabet which shapes thoughts; and
these thoughts, although making a visual design on the chessboard,
express their beauty abstractly, like a poem”
(Marcel Duchamp)