Sri M said...

Superficially, most of the Nasiruddin stories are seen as jokes. They are told and retold endlessly in teahouses, in caravans, in the inns, in homes and on the radio waves of Asia. But, it is inherent in the Nasiruddin stories that they may be understood in any of its myriad deep contexts. It bridges the gap between mundane life and the transmutation of consciousness in a manner that no other literary form has been able to attain. Nobody really knows who Nasiruddin was, where or when he lived. This is truly in character for the whole intention is to picturise a figure that cannot really be characterized and is timeless. It is not the man but the message that is important to the Sufis.