Are we finding God or is He looking for us ?

In my weblog title's description, I wrote about "a quest to find God". Interestingly today I picked up a book, which I bought a long time ago but yet to finish reading it. It is the "Station of No Station:Open Secrets of the Sufis". Turning to first few pages before the contents, a sufi story is related that interestingly questioned the assumptions of my understanding.

A man, in search of Truth, is on his way to Konya(famed for its men of knowledge), when he meets a traveller returning from that same city. After greeting one another, the second man asks the seeker what takes him there. "I am looking for God, and I believe there are people there who can help me find Him." To which he replies:"How strange! I saw Him yesterday, and He was looking for you!".

We seem so sure ourselves that the reality as we see it with our physical eyes represents the whole truth. But the sufis refuses to acknowledge anything to himself. Everything comes from God. He is As-Shamad (The Determiner of All Causes).

However, knowing this truth in our minds, according to my spiritual guide is not enough as it actually stands for a "spiritual station of witnessing God". One must therefore constantly pursue the goal of reaching this "station" by going beyond the basics of ritual prayers and obligations but supplementing with nawafil prayers, spiritual zikir, night contemplations and real knowledge of aqidah.

O God! Please help me your helpless and ignorant servant to seek, find and surrender to You so that Your Bountiful Grace and Light would embrace my soul!