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
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.
people desire common
It is not enough that there is a collection of people with the common aim of working in unison towards an objective... Aspiration and desire only are not enough.
taken lions ants
When the lion had eaten its fill, and the jackals had taken their share, the ants came along and finished up the meat from the bones of the haughty stag.
practice isolation
No practice exists in isolation.
love-is beloved sufi
He that is purified by love is pure; and he that is absorbed in the Beloved and hath abandoned all else is a Sufi.Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah.
people needs information
People today are in danger of drowning in information; but, because they have been taught that 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.
men law giving
If a pot can multiply. One day Nasrudin lent his cooking pots to a neighbour, who was giving a feast. The neighbour returned them, together with one extra one – a very tiny pot. 'What is this?' asked Nasrudin. 'According to law, I have given you the offspring of your property which was born when the pots were in my care,' said the joker. Shortly afterwards Nasrudin borrowed his neighbour's pots, but did not return them. The man came round to get them back. 'Alas!' said Nasrudin, 'they are dead. We have established, have we not, that pots are mortal?'.