It was the late Philosopher- Jurist- "Sufi", Mohammad Hosain Tabatabai of Iran, who called "Sufism" the heart and soul of all religions". It means whether you are a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, etc , you could still be a Sufi, as long as you fall in love with God (and that means falling in love with His Creations too, great or small). When you see yourself constantly in His Presence, then you are a Sufi, a Yogi, a Mystic, a Hermit, a Dervish, a Fekir a Zen, and whatever name there is, for this type of a person, in any region or religion. One of those blessed men was Sa-ib of Tabriz, (1601-1677 A.D.) a great Persian poet and Mystic, living in India; he once said: "Live your life so well, O' Sa-ib of Tabriz That should you die one day, And surely you will! The Muslims wash you in The "Zam-Zam" of Makkah And the Hindus burn your body, In the Holy Varanasi!" And that is the essence of Sufism, or Sufism in a "Nutshell" From amongst every people, and in any religion, there are always some soul-conscious and spiritually inclined individuals or groups, who are so blessed that they "See, hear, and feel" what the others (a great majority) of mankind, dont. These "blessed few are the cream of the crop", so to speak, (although they never claim as such) and they are the real Sufis (And probably these are those, whom the Holy Qur'an has termed as' "The warners, among every people!"/H.Q.35:240 ) of their times. (A good example of these men, could be "Confucious" in China/551-479 B.C.) According to the late Tabatabai, the relationship between God and His Creations, which includes you and I, is that of (1+0) not (1+1) or (1x1). In other words, we dont exist; in fact, nothing else exists, except Him! (Thats the true Pan-theism or "Wahdat il-wojud" of Ibnil Arabi Al-Murci of Spain, as well as the "I am the truth" of the Persian Sufi Mansur Al-Hallaj, and "I am the Way" of the Jesus of Nazareth, etc. A Sufi is detached from everything of this world, including all the relationships, and is solely attached to his Beloved (God), and thus he has nothing of this world to gain or to lose, anymore. Shaikh Sa-adi, the renowned poet-educator- Sufi of Persia described his reality very well: "I have no camel to ride "Nor I am under any load, "Like a donkey! "I am not a king of the land, "Nor I am an slave to any king, "I am free of it all!" A certain Ayatullah in Iran was asked, one day: "Are you a Sufi?"He answered: "Everybody goes to the Ocean (to clean oneself) but some people stay there and fall in love with the ocean itself" (the cult of Sufis). Now, is he or is he not? A Sufi gets into "Awareness" through Meditation/Zikr/Chelleh, Trance, etc. an intentional "awakening experience" after which he doesnt see anything but God, and he feels God in everything, everywhere, every time! (=you are my everything). And everything that he does (and he may be very active, too) is directed toward One Goal", and that is the "Glory of God!" Imam Ali (an early saint in Islam) to whom all the Muslim Sufis relate, as their foremost guru, once said: "I have seen nothing in my life, unless I have seen also the Almighty Allah, before it, with it, and after it!" And Shaikh Sa-adi put the same concept into a classic Persian couplet, by saying: "The leaves of the trees Which dance in every breeze Each one is a booklet Of the Knowledge of His!" And another Sufi said: "He who came to know You Won't bother for "self" anymore, Nor for the family, children, Or anything, at all! You make him crazy for You And you give him both of these worlds! But he who is crazy, for You Won't want, anything to do With the "goods" of These worlds, thats all!"
Abu Sa-id Abul Khair/Persian Sufi 900 A.D.
Indeed, Sufism is the heart, and soul of all religions!