“Instant Reading. A certain famous Fakir was claiming in the village that he could teach an illiterate person to read by a lightning technique. Nasrudin stepped out of the crowd: 'Very well, teach me – now.' The Fakir touched the Mulla's forehead, and said: 'Now go home immediately and read a book.' Half an our later Nasrudin was back in the market-place, clutching a book. The Fakir had gone on his way. 'Can you read now, Mulla?' the people asked him. 'Yes, I can read – but that is not the point. Where is that charlatan?' 'How can he be a charlatan if he has caused you to read without learning?' 'Because this book, which is authoritative, says: “All Fakirs are frauds”.”
“Instant Reading. A certain famous Fakir was claiming in the village that he could teach an illiterate person to read by a lightning technique. Nasrudin stepped out of the crowd: 'Very well, teach me – now.' The Fakir touched the Mulla's forehead, and said: 'Now go home immediately and read a book.' Half an our later Nasrudin was back in the market-place, clutching a book. The Fakir had gone on his way. 'Can you read now, Mulla?' the people asked him. 'Yes, I can read – but that is not the point. Where is that charlatan?' 'How can he be a charlatan if he has caused you to read without learning?' 'Because this book, which is authoritative, says: “All Fakirs are frauds”.”
Idries Shah
“He who sleeps on the Road will lose either his hat or his head.”
Idries Shah, The Sufis“If you will not reprove yourself,’ Saadi says, ‘you will not welcome reproof from another.”
Idries Shah, The Sufis“To drown in treacle is just as unpleasant as to drown in mud.People today are in danger of drowning in information; but because they have been taught information is useful, they are more willing to drown than they need be.If they could handle information, they would not have to drown at all.The lightning said to the oak tree: 'Stand aside, or take what is coming to you!”
Idries Shah, Reflections“Humility cannot be taught by propaganda, though slavery can. Shouting for humility is a form of arrogance. One of my most abiding recollections is of a priest at a religious occasion once roaring, in the most threatening way imaginable: ‘O our Lord God, we most humbly pray…!’Real humility is not always the same as apparent humility. Remember that fighting against self-conceit is still fighting: and that it will tend to suppress it temporarily. It does not cure anything.Remember, too, that humility itself does not bring an automatic reward: it is a means to an end. It enables a person to operate in a certain manner.”
Idries Shah, Reflections“Hariri says, in his Maqamat: ‘Safety is on the river’s BANK.”
Idries Shah, Seeker After Truth“Sufis are not here to satisfy a demand. They exist to share what they have got. These two things are not always the same.”
Idries Shah, The Commanding Self“Any society which enjoins its members to adhere to both of these (politeness and truth) is a fraud.”
Idries Shah, Caravan of Dreams“Sufism is, in operation, pragmatic.”
Idries Shah, The World of the Sufi: An Anthology of Writings about Sufis and Their Work“Imagination blocks you like a bolt on a door. Burn that bar. (Rumi)”
Idries Shah, Sufi Thought and ActionAll in One Creative & Marketing Platform to tell stories at scale
