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
Idries Shah quotes about
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.
advice priceless interference
Advice is priceless: when it becomes interference it is preposterous.
kings fear scorpions
A king who feared wasps once decreed that they were abolished. As it happened, they did him no harm. But he was eventually stung to death by scorpions.
play people toys
People used to play with toys. Now the toys play with them.
heart learned-person listening
The learned person who only talks will never Penetrate to the inner heart of humans.
people significant happened
History is not usually what has happened. History is what some people have thought to be significant.
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.
humility humble trying
Do not try to be humble: learn humility.
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.