The logic of His will explained

I would constantly ask for guidance from my teacher, to try and understand why situations happened as they did. He would always say they happen in His will. My logical mind wanted more. One day, he shared this sufi allegory with me.

The king asked his chef to bake two loaves of bread, one with some jewels in it, and the other as normal bread. The baker was then to give the jeweled bread to a pious person, and the other loaf to a less pious one. The king would watch from a distance.

The next day, a dervish and an ordinary person came to the kitchen, and asked for some food. The baker gave the jeweled bread to the dervish and the normal bread to the other person, presuming that the dervish was more pious. The dervish felt the loaf to be heavy and lumpy, he thought it was not well-baked. “This loaf is bigger,” he said to the other man, “why don’t you take it and give me your smaller loaf?” The other person was happy at getting the loaf anyway, and readily agreed. They exchanged loaves, and went away.

My teacher asked me for a logical interpretation of this story. It appeared to be simple event, but it was difficult to account for completely, especially the exchange of loaves. He explained to me that there were many logical views. The king reasoned that the dervish had unfavorable luck. The baker thought that he had done his duty as ordered. The dervish thought that he was very smart. The other person was happy with getting some bread.

My teacher left me with this enigmatic thought - the “real” logic could be that the dervish was yet not adept at living in His will, and the dervish’s teacher ensured that he did not get wealth that would sway him from his spiritual journey! Guru Granth Sahib says: One who follows the Command of the Lord’s Will, That devotee is accepted in the Lord’s Treasury.