Profound Truths Shine Out in Laughter

By Jamal Rahman

Laughter and humour are precious and sacred. Humour has the power to open up the heart so that spiritual insights penetrate much more deeply. Sages say that in laughter one can discover the essence of truth. The 14th century Persian sage Hafiz exclaimed, “What is this love and laughter bubbling up from within me?” He says, “Listen to my answer: It is the sound of a soul waking up.”

The simple truth is that we have really so much to laugh about in life. For instance, people squabble endlessly about their respective definitions of God. The ultimate truth is that we know absurdly little about God. The great sages laughingly say, “The lover visible, the Beloved invisible, whose crazy idea was this!”

As I am getting on in years, I have started thinking more about my fears and bewilderment regarding the mystery of death. The sages point out that, indeed, we are terribly scared that we shall go into non-existence. But, if the truth be known, non-existence is trembling in fear that it might be given a human shape!

And then, when we do go over to the other side as we leave this world (what is called the Day of Liberation) and we look back at our life—at all our dramas and melodramas—we will probably laugh and laugh and laugh! And the great teachers say, “Why wait? Why not laugh right now!”

There is a mythological figure called Mulla Nasruddin. His teachings are timeless; profound truths are conveyed through his humour and laughter. Usually, the typical depiction of the fictional Mulla is someone who is middle-aged, has a beard and wears a turban. Often, he is pictured sitting on a donkey and is described as a village clown and a sage rolled into one. He has no need of approval from anyone, which is why we all approve of him. He has no aspiration to become a teacher, and so you might say that he is one of our greatest teachers. He laughs at himself continuously through his stories, and he invites us to join him.

Here’s a funny allegorical story about him that describes aptly the hustle and bustle of our life:

Mulla Nasruddin, seated on his donkey, is rushing through the marketplace. People want to speak with him and so, they try to stop him. But Mulla Nasruddin cries out, “Please don’t stop me! I’m busy! I’m in a real rush!” The people ask, “But what are you so busy about?” And Mulla Nasruddin shouts back, “I’m looking for my donkey!”

To this insight about the futility and absurdity of our hectic lives, the sages comment, “Aren’t we all?”

(Based in Seattle, USA, Jamal Rahman is a co-founder of the Interfaith Community Sanctuary)