“The Seeking of the Master. Musa Najib was asked why he charged a fee from those who came to his sessions; and why he often did not even address his audience. He said: 'I charge for this object lesson: people believe that knowledge must be given freely, and consequently mistake everything which is free for knowledge. I do not always lecture because, among Sufis, “The Master finds the pupil.” The pupil has to be physically present: but he may be absent in every other sense. When I discern that a pupil is “present” then I “find” him, for then his inner call is audible to me, even if it is silent to him.' 'Seek and you will be found.”
“The Seeking of the Master. Musa Najib was asked why he charged a fee from those who came to his sessions; and why he often did not even address his audience. He said: 'I charge for this object lesson: people believe that knowledge must be given freely, and consequently mistake everything which is free for knowledge. I do not always lecture because, among Sufis, “The Master finds the pupil.” The pupil has to be physically present: but he may be absent in every other sense. When I discern that a pupil is “present” then I “find” him, for then his inner call is audible to me, even if it is silent to him.' 'Seek and you will be found.”
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
