The Roles of Man Summary and Analysis

In the teaching stories related to the Role of Man, they often feature the difference (or the apparent differences) between humanity and animals, or what makes a human a 'real' human. This notion in part refers to a Sufi belief that 'man' (or humans) are comprised of a soul, but that our personalities are still under development; in some senses we are not yet human, as we have not developed our critical thinking, reasoning, and our capacity to perceive the truth in a situation.

In the teaching story 'The King Spoke To Me' the Mullah Nasrudin is surrounded by an appreciative crowd as he relates that the King has been talking to him. The crowd is awed by this, and immediately assume that the Mullah must be very high in the King's esteem for this...