Idries Shah
Idries Shah
Idries Shah, also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimiand by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies...
NationalityIndian
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth16 June 1924
CountryIndia
two-sides way problem
To 'see both sides' of a problem is the surest way to prevent its complete solution. Because there are always more than two sides.
use belief
Knowledge is something which you can use. Belief is something which uses you.
running long silence
The proverb says that 'The answer to a fool is silence'. Observation, however, indicates that almost any other answer will have the same effect in the long run.
giving-up expectations able
If, from time to time, you give up expectation, you will be able to perceive what it is you are getting.
illumination intuition mind
The union of the mind and intuition which brings about illumination, and the development which the Sufis seek, is based upon love.
should-have needs wonder
You need not wonder whether you should have an unreliable person as a friend. An unreliable person is nobody's friend.
book long people
Please, not again what you studied, how long you spent at it, how many books you wrote, what people thought of you - but: what did you learn?
religious pride attachment
Materialism, attachment to things of the world, includes pride. Many religious people suffer from pride: taking pleasure or even delight in being good, or religious.
mean generosity gains
A generous person may not have wisdom: but, unlike others, he has the means to gain it.
caring knowing care
It is not only a matter of not caring who knows - it is also a matter of knowing who cares.
attitude causes culture
From imperial, economic and ideological causes, many cultures are the inheritors, and hence the prisoners, of attitudes of scorn and disdain for other faiths – outlooks which are not ennobling to anyone.
important firsts said
It is not important to have said a thing first, or best - or even most interestingly. What is important is to say it on the right occasion.
taken giving want
If you give what can be taken, you are not really giving. Take what you are given, not what you want to be given. Give what cannot be taken.
distrust
One cannot learn from someone whom one distrusts.