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
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.
believe men doe
A man who believes the word of a donkey in preference to my word does not deserve to be lent anything.
wise book ass
Anyone can see that an ass laden with books remains a donkey. A human being laden with the undigested results of a tussle with thoughts and books, however, still passes for wise.
kindness mean exercise
Exercise power by means of kindness, and you may be causing more damage than you could by cruelty. Neither approach is correct.
christian believe talking
... when we are talking about 'Christians' and 'Moslems' we must first make sure that we are talking about people who have an idea, which should be more or less correct, as to what the other is supposed to believe and what he is expected to do as a consequence of that belief.
thinking interesting boredom
Banality is like boredom: bored people are boring people, people who think that things are banal are themselves banal. Interesting people can find something interesting in all things.
differences realizing containers
When you realize the difference between the container and the content, you will have knowledge.
spiritual struggle sleep
Like the bat, the Sufi is asleep to 'things of the day' - the familiar struggle for existence which the ordinary man finds all-important - and vigilant while others are asleep. In other words, he keeps awake the spiritual attention dormant in others. That 'mankind sleeps in a nightmare of unfulfillment' is a commonplace of Sufi literature
daughter independence conceit
Premature independence is the daughter of conceit.
should masters not-trusting
None should say: 'I can trust' or 'I cannot trust' until he is a master of the option, of trusting or not trusting.
wise powerful names
When the ignorant have become numerous or powerful enough, they have been referred to by a special name. This names is 'the Wise'.
greed desire ifs
If your desire for 'good' is based on greed, it is not good, but greed.
taken care doe
The Sufi is One who does not care when something is taken from him, but who does not cease to seek for what he has not.
may wonderful absence
A certain person may have, as you say, a wonderful presence; I do not know. What I do know is that he has a perfectly delightful absence.