He told them that they all had to memorize the phrase, “I must die instead of the dervish,” and must be prepared to shout it whenever the dervish raised both of his arms. The disciples, upon hearing this, became suspicious of the dervish's motives and began muttering among themselves.

Fifty-nine of them deserted him, believing that he knew that he would be in danger at some point, and wanted to sacrifice themin his stead. They told him that they thought he might be planning a crime — even a murder — and that they could not follow him under the conditions he demanded.

So, the dervish set out with his one remaining companion. Shortly before they entered the nearest city, a wicked tyrant had taken it over. Wishing to consolidate his control of the city with a dramatic show of force, he assembled his soldiers together and told them to capture someone passing through the town who looked harmless, and he would sentence him as a miscreant. The soldiers obeyed him and set out into the streets to find such a wayfarer.

The first person they came upon was the disciple of the dervish, who they arrested. Followed by the dervish, they took the disciple to the king, where the populace, hearing the drum of death and already frightened, gathered around. The dervish's disciple was thrown in front of the king, who decreed that he had resolved to make an example of a vagbond to show them that he would not tolerate nonconformists or attempted escape, and sentenced the disciple to death.

Upon hearing this, the dervish called out to the king asking that he be allowed to die instead of the disciple, since he was to blame for having persuaded the disciple to embark on the life of a wayfarer. So saying the dervish raised both arms over his head, and the disciple cried out to the king begging to be allowed to die instead of the dervish.

The king was stunned. He asked his counsselors for advice, wondering what kind of people the dervish and his disciple could be, vying with each other to die; he worried that if their actions were taken as heroism, the populace might turn against him.

After conferring with each other, the counselors told the king that if this was heroism, there was little they could do about it except to act even more cruelly until the people lost heart, but that they had nothing to lose by asking the dervish why he was so eager to die.

When asked, the dervish replied that it had been foretold that a man would die in that place and would rise again and thereafter be immortal, and that naturally both he and his disciple wanted to be that man.

The king wondered to himself why he should make another immortal when he was not himself, and after pondering it a moment, ordered that he should be executed right away instead of the dervish or his disciple.

Immediately the most evil of his accomplices, also eager for immortality, killed themselves. Neither they nor the king rose again, and the dervish and his disciple left in the midst of the confusion.

This Sufi spiritual story is from Thinkers of the East by Idries Shah. His book is a delightful collection of short spiritual stories.

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It was convinced, however, that its destiny was to cross this desert, and yet there was no way. Now a hidden voice, coming from the desert itself, whispered: “The Wind crosses the desert, and so can the stream.”

The stream objected that it was dashing itself against the sand, and only getting absorbed: that the wind could fly, and this was why it could cross a desert.

“By hurtling in your own accustomed way you cannot get across. You will either disappear or become a marsh. You must allow the wind to carry you over, to your destination.”

“But how could this happen?”

“By allowing yourself to be absorbed in the wind.”

This idea was not acceptable to the stream. After all, it had never been absorbed before. It did not want to lose its individuality. And, once having lost it, how was one to know that it could ever be regained?

“The wind,” said the sand, “performs this function. It takes up water, carries it over the desert, and then lets it fall again. Falling as rain, the water again becomes a river.”

“How can I know that this is true?”

“It is so, and if you do not believe it, you cannot become more than a quagmire, and even that could take many, many years; and it certainly is not the same as a stream.”

“But can I not remain the same stream that I am today?”

“You cannot in either case remain so,” the whisper said. “Your essential part is carried away and forms a stream again. You are called what you are even today because you do not know which part of you is the essential one.”

This Sufi spiritual story is from the book Tales of the Dervishes by Idries Shah. It is a delightful book full of Sufi spiritual stories.

If you liked this story, you'll love this! We've compiled a list of the top 10 spiritual stories that our readers love. You can read them here.

What Is the Spiritual Moral & Message of “The Tales of the Sands” Story?

This tale, whispered through the corridors of time, reverberates with spiritual significance—a parable mirroring the journey of the soul and its inherent longing for transcendence. The story unfurls amidst a stream's fervent desire to traverse a seemingly insurmountable barrier—the sands of the desert. It mirrors the human quest for growth, evolution, and the yearning to overcome barriers that stand in the way of our destinies.

In this tale, the stream embodies the spirit of resilience and determination, akin to the human spirit seeking to overcome obstacles. It relentlessly attempts to breach the desert's expanse, only to find itself absorbed by the very sands it seeks to traverse. The stream, convinced of its destiny to cross this desert, encounters an unexpected whisper—a voice from within the desert itself—an esoteric guidance that reveals a path unseen.

This hidden voice, akin to the spiritual wisdom within, speaks of the Wind—an entity that defies the limitations of terrain, effortlessly traversing the desert's expanse. The Wind becomes an allegory for a higher force—an emblem of transcendence, offering a way beyond the stream's perceived impasse.

The stream, in its fervor to resist absorption, grapples with the notion of surrender—of allowing itself to be carried by the Wind. It resists this idea, fearing the loss of its individuality, unsure of its destiny once its essence is seemingly relinquished.

Herein lies the spiritual essence of this narrative—a metaphorical journey that mirrors our own quest for transformation. It echoes the profound truth of surrender—an act not of losing oneself but of transcending limitations, of letting go to find a higher purpose.

The sands, whispering to the stream, symbolize the wisdom of transformation. They speak of the stream's potential to become something more—something beyond its current form. The stream, caught in the struggle between retaining its identity and embracing a higher calling, grapples with the nature of change, of becoming more than it ever imagined.

The heart of this tale speaks to the spiritual paradox—the idea that in surrendering to the greater flow of existence, one doesn't lose individuality but discovers a greater truth. It echoes the journey of the soul—constantly evolving, transforming, and yet retaining the essence of its existence through each metamorphosis.

Ultimately, this story reflects the eternal dance of transformation—the endless cycle of becoming, shedding, and reclaiming one's essence. It mirrors the human journey of embracing change, allowing ourselves to be carried by the divine flow, and trusting that in surrendering to this greater force, we discover our truest selves.

May this parable be a guiding light—a reminder of the profound wisdom in surrendering to the higher currents of existence, embracing transformation, and finding our essence within the ceaseless flow of life's eternal dance. For in the surrender to the Wind lies the secret of our transcendence—a journey where the stream finds itself anew, reborn and reunited with its essential truth, like the rain returning to the river, becoming what it was destined to be.

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