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
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.
progress thieves murderer
If you can turn a murderer into a mere thief, you are making progress.
humility humble trying
Do not try to be humble: learn humility.
running fashion men
People who speak or act in an ordinary fashion are most likely to be those who have been the recipients of higher experiences. But because they do not rage around, wild-eyed, people think that they are very ordinary folk and therefore not aware of anything unknown to the general run of man.
heart learned-person listening
The learned person who only talks will never Penetrate to the inner heart of humans.
advice priceless interference
Advice is priceless: when it becomes interference it is preposterous.
criticise
Learn to be as analytical about things of which you are credulous as you are of those which you criticise.
attitude trying why-not
If you are uninterested in what I say, there's an end to it. If you like what I say, please try to understand which previous influences have made you like it. If you like some of the things I say, and dislike others, you could try to understand why. If you dislike all I say, why not try to find out what formed your attitude?
secret sufism
The secret of Sufism is that it has no secret at all'.
hate enemy want
If you want to strengthen an enemy and make him exult - hate him.
mean thinking adrift
You are still adrift while you still think that a means is an end.
moments trusting-someone humans
The human being, whether he realises it or not, is trusting someone or something every moment of the day.
practice way sufi
The Sufi way is through knowledge and practice, not through intellect and talk.
struggle ideas people
To be obsessed by the idea of freedom, for instance, is itself a form of slavery. Such people are in the chains of the hope of freedom, and are therefore able to do little else than struggle with them.