Osho : Why Sufis Deliberately Disguise Themselves

Sufis want their energies to be used rightly, because they are creative people. They are not interested in name and fame; they are only interested in giving a new life to people who are desiring God, longing for God. Why should they waste their time and energy?
There are many kinds of people in the world. A few are curious people, they come just out of curiosity, they waste time. Then there are a few who come with enquiry. They are better than the curious people, there is some possibility that they may grow, but that is only a possibility. Then there is a third kind who is really a seeker, who is ready to stake his life, who is ready to lose something for it, who is ready to pay the price for it.

The Sufi will work with the third person, he will remain available to the second kind of person, and he will become absolutely invisible to the first kind of person -- the curious.

The Sufi is very economical about his energy. He knows he cannot exist here for long, his days are numbered. In those few days that he will be here on earth.... An enlightened person will not be coming back again, he is here for only a short time -- even if it is thirty, forty, or fifty years it is a very short time if you look at the eternity of time. What is fifty years compared to the eternal procession of time? He will be here for only a few days, a few months, a few years. And he can work on only a few people. If he becomes surrounded by curious people his energies will be wasted. Then he will be sowing his seeds in a desert. That will be foolish, stupid.

Sufis are not stupid people, they are very wise. They know how to use their energies -- that's why they deliberately disguise and hide themselves. And small things become helpful. 

A master has to become invisible again and again to certain kinds of people so that he and his energies remain available to those who are really seekers.I mean one who is ready to stake whatsoever is needed to stake, who does not just have an 'itch' in his head, who is not only curious but whose problem is that of life and death. Even if I demand that your life will be needed, if you are seeker you will say, 'I am available. Take this life but give me God. If by giving my life, God can be attained, then I am happily ready.' Life is worthless for a seeker; everything is worthless -- except truth.

That's why Sufis are constantly in hiding. And remember, this is only half the story. On one side they constantly go on hiding themselves, on another hand they go on making themselves available to those who are in search. The other part has not been discussed much. In fact, the first part is necessary only for the other part, otherwise what is the use of becoming invisible? If you simply become invisible to all people then you are almost dead. So you have to become invisible from one side -- to people who are not the right people -- and you have to become more and more visible to those who are in search. Both go together in a kind of balance. 

From Sufis: The People of the Path, courtesy Osho International Meditation, www.osho.com