Power of the Mind

Hazrat Moulana Maseehullah Khan Saaheb (rahmatullahi ‘alaihi)’s mind was very sound and strong. If he decided on something he would never allow anything to distract him.

Dr. Tanweer Ahmad Khan Saaheb (rahmatullahi ‘alaihi) once narrated: “I was once sitting with Hazratjee (rahmatullahi ‘alaihi) whilst he was busy with his correspondence. He had a boil on his leg and many flies came and sat on it. When I saw this, I took my shawl and began waving the flies away from Hazrat’s leg. Those flies were so strongly stuck to Hazrat’s leg that even after swatting them, they refused to move. They kept on coming back and sitting on Hazrat’s leg. In the meantime Hazratjee (rahmatullahi ‘alaihi) continued peacefully answering his correspondence. He paid no attention to the flies and paid no attention to me as well. When he completed replying to all the letters, he looked at me and said with great compassion: ‘What are you doing?’ I replied: ‘I am swatting away the flies.’ He then said to me: ‘And for how long are you going to keep on swatting them?’ I replied: ‘I will continue for two to three hours.’ Hazratjee (rahmatullahi ‘alaihi) then asked: ‘And after that what will you do?’ For that I had no answer. He then smiled and said: ‘You continue with your work, the flies will continue their work and I will continue with my work.’ Upon this I said to him: ‘You are so old and weak. I am young and strong. I cannot tolerate any flies sitting on me. How do you manage to tolerate them sitting on your wound?’ Hazratjee (rahmatullahi ‘alaihi) replied, ‘I do not turn my mind towards that direction. I engage myself in some work and pay no attention to it (the flies) at all. It is for this reason that I do not even realise that the flies are sitting on me. When the mind has turned away from something, nothing can then affect it.’”

(Hazrat Moulana Maseehullah Khan Saaheb [rahmatullahi ‘alaih] – A Brief Biography, pg. 112)