I was in a discussion on a blog within Zaadz.com. And, the subject arose was that it’s kinda normal for all of us to look up to people who have succeeded. Whether they are business tycoons, spiritual masters, or our parents, many of us have saints we’re trying to emulate to one extent or another.
Many spiritual traditions formally recognize this idea of taking the example of righteous people. In Islam (out of which Sufism arises), there is a tradition of ‘sunnah’- which is the following in the footsteps, or taking examples from the lives of saints and Prophets. In Islam this is most notably the Prophet Muhammad.
I was on a Sufi discussion list for awhile, and one of the sheikhs on the list made a comment that struck me, and I hadn’t seen elsewhere before. He said that many spiritual students are so concerned with trying to follow in the footsteps of saints and prophets and holy people from the examples they set after they received their sainthood.
This sheikh suggested as humans we might be better off also paying very close attention to how they lived before they received their sainthood. How did these pre-saints live in the world as a regular human being, on the path to sainthood?
I’m no saint, but I might be able to follow in the footsteps of one of the pre-saint saints, if you know what I mean. 😉
Do you have heroes, or saints? How much do you know of their early struggles and trials before they reached whatever status you admire? I’d love to hear any lessons you’ve gleaned from those pre-saint saints.
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