Editor’s Note
(The spiritual impulse as the fabric of existence)
Sufis say that we are being constantly bombarded by the “spiritual impulse,” the “source of being” – that without this permeating us, we would simply not exist. It is an influence on all our lives, part of the fabric of existence, and it may be recognized by everybody at times as “something other.”
I am not a Sufi (the term Sufi is considered to describe the human being who has undergone a process of “perfection”) but my father, Idries Shah, was one.
According to Shah: “Sufism has two main technical objectives: 1) to show the man himself as he really is; and 2) to help him develop his real, inner self, his permanent part” (Thinkers of the East).
so delicate and indefinable that it invariably becomes fossilized – mere mimetic ritual.
they want spiritual learning when they really only want emotional stimulus, attention, reassurance, etc.
(Vices as veils, virtues as prescriptions for progress)
He argued that human beings, while capable of the most sublime capacities, choose to live on a plane far below their potential. Chained by the commanding self – a mixture of laziness, greed, fear and prejudice – they are driven on, harnessed and shackled by their own lower nature, fleeing from truth, from the exaltation and beauty that should be theirs. Yet, his was no gloom-ridden moralizing. He held an optimistic message that it is possible for humans to develop, to reach our destiny.
He turned morality on its head; vices, he argued, are not morally loaded, but are veils that conceal our potential. Virtues are not remote wonders to be aspired to, but practical prescriptions for human progress. The virtues he emphasized were: generosity, humor, kindness, clear-thinking and common sense, to name but a few.
He demonstrated this again and again: when he provided attention, their desire for spiritual fulfillment, urgent answers to their questions and so on disappeared. Similarly, he argued that much of our thinking is based upon conditioned impulses and beliefs, assumptions and automatic thinking.
discovered that they invariably helped protect me from the consequences of my selfishness, and seemed to help grow in me that part which could assent to the need to regard my fellow man as my brother, and my brother as myself.
(Ignore the customary self; let the Source maintain contact)
Source of Being Allow the Source of Being to maintain contact with you; ignore the impressions and opinions of your customary self. If this self were of value in your search, it would have found realization for you. But all it can do is to depend upon others. Amin Suhrawardi From Wisdom of the Idiots
A Sufi, the Sufis, cannot be defined by any single set of words or ideas. Rumi, one of the greatest mystical masters, tells us in a famous passage that the Sufi is: Drunk without wine; sated without food; distraught; foodless and sleepless; a king beneath a humble cloak; a treasure within a ruin; not of air and earth; not of fire and water; a sea without bounds. He has a hundred moons and skies and suns. He is wise through universal truth – not a scholar from a book.
“The secret,” in the Sufi phrase, “protects itself. It is found only in the spirit and the practice of the Work.”
(Nasrudin tales: the trip, the nine coins, and manufactured happiness)
The Trip Nasrudin’s friend Wali slipped and fell from the immense height of the Post Office Tower in London. The following night, Nasrudin dreamed that he was visiting Heaven when he ran across Wali. “What was it like, Wali?” “The impact was terrible, but the trip – the trip was terrific!” From The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin
I’ll Take the Nine In a dream Nasrudin saw himself being counted out coins. When there were nine silver pieces in his hand, the invisible donor stopped giving them. Nasrudin shouted, “I must have ten!” so loudly that he woke himself up. Finding that all the money had disappeared, he closed his eyes again and murmured, “All right, then, give them back – I’ll take the nine.” From The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin
Happiness is Not Where You Seek It Nasrudin saw a man sitting disconsolately at the wayside, and asked what ailed him. “There is nothing of interest in life, brother,” said the man; “I have sufficient capital not to have to work, and I am on this trip only in order to seek something more interesting than the life I have at home. So far I haven’t found it.” Without another word, Nasrudin seized the traveler’s knapsack and made off down the road with it, running like a hare. Since he knew the area, he was able to outdistance him. The road curved, and Nasrudin cut across several loops, with the result that he was soon back on the road ahead of the man whom he had robbed. He put the bag by the side of the road and waited in concealment for the other to catch up. Presently the miserable traveler appeared, following the tortuous road, more unhappy than ever because of his loss. As soon as he saw his property lying there, he ran toward it, shouting with joy. “That’s one way of producing happiness,” said Nasrudin. From The Exploits of the Incomparable
(The difficulty of sustaining even simple remembering)
Remembering There is a game called “I remember,” which has been the cause of greater suffering than almost anything else. It illustrates how difficult it is to remember even a simple thing for any length of time. Two people make a pact to practice “I remember.” Thenceforward, every time one of them hands anything to the other, the recipient must say “I remember!” when he accepts the object. The first person to forget to say this phrase under these circumstances loses the game and pays a forfeit.
Nasrudin had an “I remember” duel with his wife. The honors were even, and they almost lost their reason, passing objects back and forth, until neither could stand the pace much longer. The Mulla devised a plan. He went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. When he came back several months later, armed with a gift to hand his wife, finally to win the game in the excitement of the reunion, she met him at the gate. In her arms was a bundle. “I am not going to take it,” said the Mulla to himself. But, as soon as he was within a few paces of her, she said: “Here is your new son.” The Mulla, overcome with joy, took the child into his arms – and forgot to say: “I remember.” From The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin
See What I Mean? Nasrudin was throwing handfuls of crumbs around his house. “What are you doing?” someone asked him. “Keeping the tigers away.” “But there are no tigers in these parts.” “That’s right. Effective, isn’t it?” From The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin
3 Fables
The Mouse and the Elephant An elephant and a mouse who were in love decided to get married. On their wedding night, the elephant keeled over and died. The mouse said: “O Fate! I have bartered one moment of pleasure for a lifetime of digging a grave!” From The Commanding Self
Point of View Saadi of Shiraz, in his Bostan, stated an important truth when he told this miniature tale: A man met another, who was handsome, intelligent and elegant. He asked him who he was. The other said: “I am the Devil.” “But you cannot be,” said the first man, “for the devil is evil and ugly.” “My friend,” said Satan, “you have been listening to my detractors.” From Reflections
(The door opens only when “I” dissolves into “Thou”)
The Beloved One went to the door of the Beloved and knocked. A voice asked: “Who is there?” He answered: “It is I.” The voice said: “There is no room here for me and thee.” The door was shut.
After a year of solitude and deprivation this man returned to the door of the Beloved. He knocked. A voice from within asked: “Who is there?” The man said: “It is Thou.” The door was opened for him. From The Way of the Sufi
Crack the heart of any atom: from its midst you will see a sun shining.
Belief and Knowledge Knowledge is something which you can use. Belief is something which uses you. From Reflections
Have you noticed how many people who walk in the shade curse the Sun?
Remember that greed includes greed for being not greedy. So, if someone says: “Do not be greedy, be generous,” you may inwardly interpret this in such a manner that you will develop a greed for generosity. This, however, remains greed.
(Three stages of seeking: search, being sought, and learning beyond both)
Seeking truth is the first stage toward finding it. After the seeking comes the realization that Truth is also seeking the Seeker himself. The third stage, which is the one in which the Sufi is learning from the Way, is when learning reaches a special stage: when the Seeker realizes that he is acquiring knowledge in a range beyond “seeking” and “finding,” or “being sought.”
“Idolatry” is when attention is fixed upon some intermediary person or thing at a time and by a person when this should not take place.
The height of folly is to assume that the presence or absence of a “state” is in itself indicative of something good or bad.
Sufi Psychology “In the next life, you will not be asked, ‘Why did you not behave like such-and-such a person?’ You will be asked: ‘Why did you not behave like your real self?’” “If you know who and what you are, you can start to be that person, instead of a copy of the ideas, the behavior or the image of someone else, or some collection of people. Then you can really be.” From The Commanding Self
“The cosmic religious experience is the strongest and the noblest driving force behind scientific research.”
The great Sufi poet Hafiz of Shiraz (fourteenth century) constantly emphasizes what we would call today a psychological exercise: that man’s preoccupations prevent him from making progress in the realm of a higher consciousness. He sits, as it were, surrounded by screens, blocking him off from his own potentiality.
(The soul’s descent through mineral, plant, animal, and human — and ascent beyond)
Above the Skies… We are above the skies and more than angels… Although we have descended here, let us speed back: what place is this? Every form you see has its archetype in the placeless…
From that instant when you came down into the world as it is (“of being”) Placed before you to get out was a ladder. First you were mineral, afterward vegetable What you then became was animal, although this is hidden from you. From that you became humankind, with knowledge, intellect and belief; After this Earth, from then your place is the sky…1