Tao Te Ching is a book full of mysteries yet its content is only natural. Sufism and Taoism have striking similarities that only confirm the belief that no matter which culture or religion you come from, the study of whats natural or eternal cannot be too different.

I was reading a passage in Tao Te Ching, which struck to me as similar to a poem by Bulleh Shah, a Sufi poet.

Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles.

Is there a difference between yes and no?
Is there a difference between good and evil?
Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!
Other people are contented, enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox.
In spring some go to the park, and climb the terrace,
But I alone am drifting not knowing where I am.
Like a new-born babe before it learns to smile,
I am alone, without a place to go.

Other have more than they need, but I alone have nothing.
I am a fool. Oh, yes! I am confused.
Other men are clear and bright,
But I alone am dim and weak.
Other men are sharp and clever,
But I alone am dull and stupid.
Oh, I drift like the waves of the sea.
Without direction, like the restless wind.

Everyone else is busy,
But I alone am aimless and depressed.
I am different.
I am nourished by the great mother.

Bulleh Shah writes:

Punjabi Version:

Ilmon bass karin ohh yaar
Ikko “ALF tere darkaar
Ilm na aavay vich shmaar
Chaandi umr naieen aitbaar
Ilmon bass karin oh yaar

Parh parh likh likh laaviin dhaer
Dhaer kitabaan chaar chophair
Kar de chaanan vich anhaer
Pichho rah? Tey khabar na saar ilmon ilmon bass karin ohh yaar

Parh parh shaikh mshaaikh kahaavin
Ultey maslay gharon bataavin
Be ilmaan nu lut lut khaavin
Jhuthe sache karin iqraar
Ilmon bas karin ohh yaar

Parh parh nafl namazaan guzaarin
Uuschiyaan bangaan chhangaan maarin
Minbar te chard wa’az pukaarin
Keeta tainun ilm khwaar
Ilmon bas karin ohh yaar

Jad main sabq ishq da parhiya
Dariya daikh wahdat da vardiya
Ghuman ghairdhan de vich ardhiya
Shah Anayat layaa paar
Ilmon bas karin ohh yaar

English Translation:

Enough of learning my friend!
To it there is never an end
An alphabet shoul do for youit’s enough to help you frnd..

You’ve amassed much learning around
The Quran and it’s commentaries profound
Without the guide you remain unsound

Learning makes you a Shaikh or his minion
And thus you create problem trillion
You exploit others who know not what
Misleading them with wild opinion

You meditate and say your prayers
You go and shout at the top of the stairs
Your cry reaching the high skies
It’s your avarice which ever belies

The day I learned love’s lesson
I plunged in to the river of divine passion
An overwhelming gale, I was confounded and lost
When Shah Inayat cruised me across

This ignites my interest in this book which compares the two powerful schools of thoughts in eastern philosophy called
“Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts” by Toshihiko Izutsu.