Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way (Arkana)

Book Description

"Learning How to Learn" contains the authentic material from the Sufi standpoint, written in response to more than 70,000 questions prompted by Shah's books, his university lectures and radio and television programs. He answers government leaders, housewives, philosophy professors and factory workers around the world, on the subjects of how traditional psychology can illuminate current human, social and spiritual problems.

The lively question-answer format provides readers a direct experience of a Sufi learning situation. More than a hundred tales and extracts - ranging from Eastern parables of Jesus, the ancient Sufi classics such as Omar Khayyam, the Mulla Nasrudin teaching-figure, to today's newspapers and contemporary encounters with teachers and students - are woven into Shah's narratives of how and why the Sufis learn, what they learn, and how spiritual understanding develops and deteriorates in all societies.

Many of the concepts which Shah has introduced - including the vital role of the right time, place and company of higher studies, the very concept of 'learning how to learn' and the instrumental, specialized function of ordinarily automatically performed exercises and rituals - have recently been widely copied by serious psychologists and gurus alike. This book contains the authentic material, however, on these and dozens of other subjects.

Customer Reviews:

very reccomended !! open your mind.......2007-05-19

this book was reccomended to me by a good freind and as he said it contains a new point of view of life and how we sould look as it.
a truely must have book

Looking to form a critic review group on Idries Shah's and related works?.......2005-08-25

Although it's been nearly 4 years since having read this book, I cannot get it out of my mind & heart. I am looking for the opportunity to network with people - mainly with regard to Idries Shah's works and possibly other related interests. (...)
Nathan

Let's face it.......2005-08-01

How long are we going to delude ourselves with that kind of message ? From the very beginning of the book a doubtful story about rabbis let us in the tune with what we'll have to accept if we are to get the "master"'s approval. Of course each and every of our suffering is supposed to be a proof of our "foolishness". So if you follow this reasoning : every one who's suffering does deserve it. Killed children deserve it ? Raped women deserved it ? Humiliated, exploited, tortured men DESERVE IT ? The answer is yours.

compassionate conspiracy of awakening for somnambulists.......2004-02-18

no need to repeat other reviewers...and no need to listen to the nay-sayers who cry charlatan...(?)(how odd)...(what would they think of bob dobbs?)...anyways, i suggest someone read and or take further the thesis whispered in the Octagon Press release (early 1980's) of The People of the Secret. one last note: sufism, like wicca, does no missionary work exactly: it works by deed, action. watch. then watch yourself. sufism transcends and weaves. it is wonderful within Islam. and it is just as bright if not brighter outside of the hadith-fundamentalist limitations of Islam...i dare suggest one can read Shah along with Hakim Bey/Peter L. Wilson as well as Starhawk...various, creative "Directorate" bubblings on the surface of current poly-culture.

Revealing much about our 'self'.......2003-12-13

"If you are uninterested in what I say, there's an end to it.
If you like what I say, please try to understand which previous influences have made you like it.
If you like some of the things I say, and dislike others, you could try to understand why.
If you dislike all I say, why not try to find out what formed your attitude?" - The Late Idries Shah.

IMO, genuine seekers after Truth needn't be swayed by these (negative/positive) appeals to colorization of the Shah Corpus. Sometimes the glowing reviews of Shah's work are as completely off the mark as the dimming ones.

According to an old saying "Those who taste know." I'd really suggest you read this title to find out for yourself, and should you find the need, please reserve your judgements until you've managed to discuss your assesments with a living, authentic Sufi teacher.

As for my own assesment: This title kindly exemplifies how unexamined assumptions, and unbalanced interpretations, lead toward unhealthy attitudes and cognitive disabilities that so many people are actually "self-inflicting". And, as with many of Sufi writings, I discovered many topics making better sense at later times, when the notions "get unpacked" under different circumstances.

The Guide of the Peace and the Love to the Way of Allah Through the Religion of the Unity in the Sufi Way (Volume Two)
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The Guide of the Peace and the Love to the Way of Allah Through the Religion of the Unity in the Sufi Way (Volume Two)

Manufacturer: Siddi Muhammad Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000F1UKE0

The Way of the Sufi (Penguin Arkana)
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A basic introductory course in Sufi study

Age old wisdom

Chasing the mystic phantom

Anecdotal

The Seed of Sufi Knowledge

The Way of the Sufi (Penguin Arkana)
Idries Shah
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140192522

Amazon.com

"Dominion of the earth from end to end is worth less than a drip of blood upon the earth." Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam that teaches love, humility, poverty, pragmatism and wisdom. In his timeless introduction, Idries Shah presents selections of lyric poems, fantastic tales, humorous anecdotes, and insightful maxims straight from the writings of revered Sufi masters. Originally a reaction against the increasing worldliness of Islam, Sufi wisdom still hits home in a modern world obsessed with pleasure and material wealth.

Book Description

Intended to illustrate something of the richness and range of Sufi ideas, this remarkable book contains extracts, verses, anecdotes, epigrams, lectures, contemplation-themes and teaching stories culled from such classical authors as Rumi, El-Ghazali and Omar Khayyam as well as sources best known to Sufis themselves.

The Way of the Sufi offers the reader an introductory course of study, beginning with a review of special problems facing the Western student. Not least of these is the fact that Sufi writings are instrumental in function rather than didactic or just literature. Most are written to meet the needs of a specific community at a particular time, rather than to be universally or perennially read.

Customer Reviews:

A basic introductory course in Sufi study.......2005-06-11

The Way Of The Sufi is an anthology of material from Sufi Schools, teachings, and classical writings, intended as a basic introductory course in Sufi study. Author Idries Shah, well-known for expounding upon Sufi ideas and his work to make Sufi teachings accessible to a Western audience, presents contemporary readers with both outward aspects of Sufi thought and evidence that Sufi principles were absorbed into medieval Christianity, Hinduism, Jewish mysticism, and modern philosophical teachings. A very welcome and timely contribution to Religious Studies collections and reading lists, Idries Shah's The Way Of The Sufi not only focuses upon what Sufi is, but also the role Sufi activity and practice has to play in the modern the world.

Age old wisdom.......2005-06-01

This book is a great source of information and history on Sufism. A scholarly work, published first in 1970, it is still pertinent to today.

It opens with an important chapter on the study of Sufism in the Western world -- and its limitations.

Shah raises questions about how much one can learn and understand about Sufism, using books and writings which may not fully understand how Sufism works. As one example, he uses modern Western debates on the meaning of the word "Sufi". Westerners, with our determination that there is an understandable and intellectual explanation for everything, often cannot accept that there may not be a 'logical' explanatin.

As explained in the eleventh -century Revelation, the earliest Persian writings on Sufism by Hujwiri, the term 'Sufi' has no etymology.

But for decades, a common explanation by Westerners is that
'Sufi' is similar to the Arabic word pronounced soof which means 'wool'. Those practicing Sufism wore wool, therefore this is the logical explanation.

(Shah submits that the reason common among Sufis is that the effects of sounds are important in Sufism -- and the sound of the Arabic letters which bring out the sounds of S U F are significant to the Sufis in their practices).

This short chapter is full of useful thoughts for modern day Western "Sufis" , with cautions and thoughts about what Sufism is, how it is understood and much more. He ends the chapter with a list of requirements for Western students studying Sufism -

1. Understand the bulk of translations available are unsuitable 2. seek authorative written and oral information and activities designed by Sufis to operate in the student's own culture and times
3. Recognize organizations not genuinely Sufi are 'conditioning instruments' whether consciously or otherwise
4. be prepared to abandon preconceptions about what it means to 'study'
5. decide whether the student's search is or is not a disguised search for social integration, a manifestation of sheer curiosity, a desire for emotionial stimulus or statisfactin?
6. credit the possibility that there is a conscious, efficient, deliberate source of legitimate Sufic teaching in the West.
(These seem to be true and good questions for any Seeker to ask, of any religious practice)

This is all in the first chapter, and more - worth the price of the book just to read that section. But, there is of course, much more. Shah states the intent of this book is to give geeral reader an idea of the richness and variety of Sufi ideas, and the rest of the writings have been formed as an introduction to Westerners in the mid-20th century, when the book was written.

Next is a section on Classic Authors with quotes and short biographical/historical/philosophical information about these authors. Twelfth century philosopher El-Ghazali, Omar Khayyam, Attar of Nishapar, Ibn El-Arabi, Saadi of Shiraz, Hakim Jami, Hakim Sanai, Jalaludin Rumi are touched on.

The next section is Four Major Orders, with short explanations of 1) The Chishti Order 2) The Qardi Order 3) The Suhrawardi Order and 4) The Naqshbandi Order.

There are also stories of Sufi Masters, teaching stories, themes for solitary contemplation, group recitals and letters and lectures (very short, at the end).

My Turkish daughter in law when introduced to American Sufis in our Quaker meeting looked puzzled -- they did not seem closely related to the Sufis she is familiar with. This book may explain why.

Chasing the mystic phantom.......2003-09-22

Noting still another news report about a wave of interest in the West over 'Sufism' it is worth both endorsing the study of such things, e.g. via Idries Shah, and sounding a word of caution, if not a warning. Shah's works are all worth reading, and then setting aside, because they will leave you stranded. The world of Islamic Sufism is obscure to a westerner, and he takes the surface, and that surface is worthless. It is also obscure to a Moslem in the labyrinth of mystifications. Get some groovy music, and whirl around all night with some friends. It will definitely change your view of things, so what? Is it worth the endless effort of find the 'real' thing? I would bet that not one Islamic 'sufi' in a hundred thousand ever encounters the 'real' thing. Is there such? Note that texts on Sufism never say anything directly about anything, its all covered over. You can go a lot farther these days in a New Age bookshop.
This system is not a democracy, and the few celebrity cases strewn over a millennium does not add up to a way of transformation. The touching portrait of the underground sufi is misleading. The real establishment of Islam has a surprising secret and the escape valve sufism peddled to moslems and westerners alike deserves an Foucauldian expose. Face it, 'mysticism' is cheaper than hashish, and has no overhead, a substitute for the real business of understanding the issue of one's self-consciousness. That doesn't happen through systems designed to dish out mystic pablum. Thus, there are better documened ways to do that without getting inducted into the sufi wild goose chase, with its cynical and elusive promotions.
.
In any case, Shah's works often give a glimpse of an interesting historical world, but give no real indication of anything practical and are too obviously baited hooks for the unwary.

Anecdotal.......2001-12-04

I won't say that this book is not worth reading, but I do think that you will walk away from it feeling that it was oddly antiseptic. It has a lengthy introduction, most of which is almost unintelligible unless you have already read Mr. Shah's book "The Sufis." The rest of the book consists of snippets taken from the writings of the great Sufi masters, mostly of the Medieval period. Some of them are rather intriguingly exotic, as if taken from the "Arabian Nights." Some of them seem to express disarmingly fresh and modern views.

Just about all of them are completely divorced from their context, and I find that objectionable. I found this particularly annoying in his treatment of Rumi, but that may be because I'm more familiar with his work than any of the other writers in the book.

Perhaps I am just missing Mr. Shah's point. Or maybe I'm just not the mystical type. However, I do know that I have opened this book at random many times in hope of spiritual nourishment and I always put it down again after a few pages; I don't think that I've ever been able to read the whole thing straight through. While I have respect for Mr. Shah within the Sufi community, if I can use that term, I found this book to be - well, rather boring.

The Seed of Sufi Knowledge.......2001-11-16

Humour! History! Stories! Mental teasers! Here are challenges to habitual and defensive thought. We must turn the stone over and examine its several sides.
Shah can be compared to Socrates in his benevolent probing into our cherished but unexamined patterns of thought and action.
Here Idries Shah has translated and assembled a most considerate introduction to Sufi literature and practice. The Way of the Sufi Includes chapters on Sufism in the West, classical authors, Sufi masters, teaching stories and other topics. But this book is not just about the Sufi way, it forms a part of the Sufi Way in our time. Read with energy and an open (but not glib) mind, it can be an avenue for experiential learning.
Enlightening, entertaining, engrossing, The Way of the Sufi just might affect the way you look at things and what you do.

Exerpts:

The Seed of Sufi Knowledge
The true seed was made in Adam's time. The miracle of life, existence.
It germinated in the period of Noah. The miracle of growth, rescue.
By the time of Abraham it had sent forth branches. The miracle of spreading, maintenance.
The epoch of Moses saw the making of the grapes. The miracle of fruit.
The time of Jesus was that of the ripening of the yield. The miracle of tasting, joy.
Mohammed's time saw the pressing of clear wine. The miracle of attainment, transformation. Bayazid Bistami

What Looks After You
Knowledge is better thatn wealth. You have to look after wealth; knowledge looks after you. Ali

The Thief and the Blanket
A thief entered the house of a Sufi, and found nothing there. As he was leaving, the dervish perceived his disappointment and threw him the blanket in which he was sleeping, so that he should not go away empty-handed.

The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi
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An amazing piece of work!

FINE RUMI POEMS & SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS

Come On Baby - Light My Fire!

A mystic for our time

A Celebration of Rumi

The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi
Andrew Harvey
Manufacturer: Tarcher
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1585420743
Release Date: 2000-12-22

Book Description

A powerful interpretation of Rumi and his message of divine love and union.

A penetrating antidote to today's spiritual crises, The Way of Passion presents Rumi's magnificent visions of spiritual surrender and mystical union.

Customer Reviews:

An amazing piece of work!.......2007-01-02

Through his exquisite writing, using Rumi's work as a vehicle, Andrew Harvey has given us a handbook to the inner courts of the soul. The depths of his observations will take you about as far as the written word can. It is not enough to just read this book. One must then go back and meditate one's way through it to truly absorb its richness. To do less would be to smell the fragrance of the wine but never taste it. Truly, this masterful study is a veritable banquet for the searching soul.

FINE RUMI POEMS & SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS.......2005-09-26

One viewpoint: Harvey is clearly inspired and explores many of Rumi's pieces in a heartfelt way. Excellent reading! It's healthy to spend time with Rumi and contemplate on his ideas--and humor. Rumi is among the top, top spiritual writers available. He understands--as does Harvey--what's important in Soul's journey Home.
(I'd suggest, to fill out this book's perspective, reading Twitchell's Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad (I and II).)

Come On Baby - Light My Fire!.......2001-07-07

The Divine Love, Divine Passion, Divine Power, and Divine Truth of Rumi are all explained here by Andrew Harvey. True to the book's title, Harvey has truly created a delightful celibration of Rumi and his works. If you are on your path, or even if you have wondered off the path into the dark forest, Harvey has provided a clear roadmap to the next level of transformation. This map comes repleat with warnings of speed traps, and roadsigns - telling of Rumi and Shams "wildness, violence, and ferocity" as they traveled down their path, drinking wine, and going ever onward, toward the Sun. Just enjoying moments of Divine Grace.

A mystic for our time.......2001-05-29

As one with a lifelong interest in mysticism, I have been reading Rumi for forty-five years now. Unfortunately, I cannot yet read the originals, and I have had to intuit the sense in some rather bloodless interpretations. Harvey, however, seems to hit it just right. To the degree that we can speak of these things during a person's lifetime, he seems to me to be a genuine mystic himself, passionate and full-blooded as the real thing usually is. Six months ago, I gave a copy of this to a much younger friend who had discerned the via negativa with no external guidance before we met. He rejoices in the book and is delighted to find words that exactly mirror his own untaught discoveries. I do not normally gush over such books. I was rigorously trained in Catholic theology and philosophy, hold a graduate degree in East Asian religion and identify myself as a Christian. I am not expert in Islam, though I know far more than the average reader, having edited one work on Rumi. So I tend to cast a jaundiced eye over most work like this. But if I were forced to reduce my library to a scant hundred volumes, The Way of Passion would still find an honored place. Rumi, though heterodox like all mystics, spoke powerfully not only to the Sufis of his time but to orthodox Muslims, Jews and Christians. Though Harvey certainly does not rank with Rumi, his interpretation can speak meaningfully to all persons of good will who do not barricade themselves behind denominational lines. On the basis of this book alone, I would read anything that Harvey writes.

A Celebration of Rumi.......1998-01-06

Rumi is one of the greatest spiritual mystics and poets who we can read today. This book is a wonderful guide, both through some of Rumi's poetry, and in gaining insight into Rumi's life. This book is one of my favorite books in my library. Andrew Harvey has clearly experienced the passion of Rumi himself, and is able to guide the reader through profound waters with skill. I found his commentary to be a bonus to the experience of reading Rumi.

The Guide to the Peace and the Love to the Way of Allah Through the Religion of the Unity in the Sufi Way, Volume 1

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The Guide to the Peace and the Love to the Way of Allah Through the Religion of the Unity in the Sufi Way, Volume 1
Siddi Shaykh Muhammad al-Jamal ar-Rifa'i as Shadhili
Manufacturer: Siddi Muhammad Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Allah | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

The Conference of the Birds (Ways of Mysticism)

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In the context of today's headlines. . . .
Wisdom of the Sufis - for any faith.
Transcendent translation
A wonderful guide to self-realization
A miraculous translation of a mystical masterpiece

The Conference of the Birds (Ways of Mysticism)
Farid Al-Din Attar
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0826450008

Amazon.com

Like Rumi and Hafiz, the name Attar conjures up images of passionate attraction to the divine. Attar was a Persian Sufi of the 12th century and his masterpiece is The Conference of the Birds, an epic allegory of the seeker's journey to God. When all the birds of the world convene and determine that they lack a king, one bird steps forward and offers to lead them to a great and mighty monarch. Initially excited, each bird falters in turn, whereupon the leader admonishes them with well-targeted parables. These pithy tales are the delight of this 4,500-line poem, translated deftly into rhymed couplets. What is your excuse for not seeking God? Your life is fine already? You prefer material pleasure? You are holy enough? You have pride, lack courage, or are burdened with responsibility? Attar has an answer to encourage you on the path to the promised land. And when you get there, the king may not be what you'd expect, but you must make the journey to see. --Brian Bruya

Book Description

The Conference of Birds is the most widely known and influential work of Farid Ud-Din Attar, a twelfth-century Persian poet and mystic of the school of Islamic mysticism known as Sufism. The poem starts with the Hoopoe addressing a gathering of birds, urging them to journey to visit his king, Simorgh. Simorgh, he claims, is the ultimate king and ruler of them all.

The subsequent journey is an allegory of the soul's search for unity with the divine. In Sufism the relationship between the seeker and God is similar to that between a lover and the beloved. In this consuming and transcendent love, the distinctions between self and the divine fall away. The stories in The Conference of Birds have captivated generations of readers, inspiring them to take their own spiritual journeys.

Customer Reviews:

In the context of today's headlines. . . ........2006-12-24

. . . . it is instructive and corrective to have a glimpse of
what was: a lyrical, medeivalist tradition that saw the denial
of the self as a path to union with the infinite.

Just as it's important to be aware of the gently lascivious
Omar Khayyam as an antidote to today's puritanism, it's also
worthwhile to remember Farid ud-Din Attar a cosmopolitan skeptic
whose tolerance of human frailty is in service of lofty
spiritual aims.
The Conference of the Birds is an allegory of the search for
the divine. The hoopoe who was the messenger of King Solomon
serves as the Cicero on the quest. The allegory is told in
short snippets, stories of doubt, fear and faith. One can imagine
each of them forming miniature tales and sermons.

Long, spiritual allegories can make pretty tough reading,
but the episodic nature of Conference makes it a book to
be enjoyed in snippets. Keep it at the bedside or wherever
you enjoy a literary nibble.

It's interesting to note that worldly, human Attar came to a
bad end. He was accused of heresy, his goods were plundered
and he was forced into exile. Can we hope for a better outcome
this time?

--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the forthcoming novel bang BANG from Kunati Books.ISBN 9781601640005

Wisdom of the Sufis - for any faith........2006-12-06

The writings of the Sufis are, without a doubt, some of the most beautiful and challenging spiritual works in existence. Rumi's works are currently undergoing something of a renaissance in the Western world but the name of Farid Ud-Din Attar is not as well known. This is unfortunate, since The Conference of the Birds provides, in my opinion, a much better insight into Sufi philosophy than the bits and pieces of Rumi floating about the New Age universe.

Attar's beautiful descpriptions, exqisite metaphors and delightful parables describe the stages on the soul's journey to union with God. An extended metaphor for the soul, the birds gather and travel through various valleys to reach the Simorgh - a state of ectstatic oneness with deity. The Hoopoe acts as the guide and provides answers to the bird's questions and doubts about the journey - usually with short illustrative tales. These tales are each tiny drops of gold, the longest being only a few hundred lines. The overarching theme is the denial of the self to gain ultimate bliss. This is no intellectual exercise and much of the advice given is shocking and revolutionary. In the extended tale of Sheik Sam'an, the Sheik leaves his faith and becomes a Christian for the love of a woman who ultimately spurns him. His apostasy and depravity astound his followers who swiftly abandon him. A Sufi teacher chastises them for their lack of faith and eventually they return to his side. Sam'an then reconverts and his love is converted too. The message would seem to be that to find God it may be necessary to abandon conventional notions of behaviour and faith and plunge forward with wild abandon, losing the self. Some of the stories may shock our sensibilities, and no doubt had the same effect on Attar's medieval audiences. A kind of counter-culture attitude is displayed in the book, with tales of romantic love between men and other "un-Islamic" behaviours challenging accepted norms.

As to the book itself, the translation is done in "heroic couplets" which according to the introduction, best suits the style of the arabic original. It at first seems a little stilted but soon lends a beauty of its own to the work. A fairly substantial introduction helps put the book in context and describes what is known of Attar's life and times. A biographical index is included which provides details on the many characters - often historical - who people the pages of the poem. This book is a beautiful little gem, filled with a lot of wisdom. It is definitely worth the read for members of any faith, even those who aren't practicing Sufis.

Transcendent translation.......2006-11-05

I can't compare this poem to the original Farsi as I don't read that language, but this translation is amazingly readable. The reader gets enough notes and extra information to understand a bit of the context, but it never interferes with immersing oneself in this allegory of the journey toward union with the divine beloved. The individual birds on this journey come to life for the reader and the 13th century narrative literally takes off!

A wonderful guide to self-realization.......2006-06-14

This book is a masterpiece on spirituality, self-search, self-identity and self-realization. It provides an unparallel and wonderful guide for reaching to oneself and God. The wonderful philosophy of Attar has the potential to change the world from greed, violence and chaos to self-discipline, love and peace. The book has the capacity to transform the mindsets of fidels and infidels alike to become the master of one's own persona. The book is a must read for anyone interested to know oneself and the world.

A miraculous translation of a mystical masterpiece.......2005-11-23

Dick Davis's translation is more than extraordinary -- it is truly a miracle to see the beauty, eloquence and flow of this masterpiece richly rendered into the English language with rhyme and meter. A must in the collection of any sincere seeker of the Creator.

Remembrance and Prayer: The Way of the Prophet Muhammad

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Remembrance and Prayer: The Way of the Prophet Muhammad
Shaykh Muhammad Al Ghazali
Manufacturer: Amana Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Joy of Sacrifice: Secrets of the Sufi Way

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cautionary tale
From aztec altars to the sufi big mac syndrome

The Joy of Sacrifice: Secrets of the Sufi Way
E. J. Gold
Manufacturer: Gateways Books & Tapes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Buddhism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

cautionary tale.......2006-10-12

buyer beware, gold's books are all self-published. he speaks the garbled jargon typical of cult leaders. there are much better books available on fourth way teachings, this reader recommends the earnest seeker stick to the well-travelled routes--check out ouspensky, gurdjieff, orage, bennett, etc...etc...

From aztec altars to the sufi big mac syndrome.......2003-10-03

I wasn't aware that 'sacrifice' was a sufi teaching, and Mr. Gold's Crowley routine should have told him 'sacrifice' is a phoney spirituality. But then Crowley sacrificed a frog. What's Mr. Gold's game here? The public has a right to know. Hohum,the 'work' of fleecing the multitude must go on.

We need more information here. Sacrifice is the wilful of destruction of human beings, more sophisticated spiritual interpretations notwithstanding. How does this work out in practice with Mr. Gold's 'groupies'? We need a new kind of private eye to track the fate of the victimes here. These sufis are clever. You will never catch them on the ordinary police beat.

Capiche? There really is a sufi mafia, you know.

A Perfumed Scorpion: A Way to the Way
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The inner dimensions of eastern psychology

What is a perfumed scorpion?

Truth Seeks You

Tales of the Dervishes

A useful workbook for thinking people

A Perfumed Scorpion: A Way to the Way
Idries Shah
Manufacturer: Octagon Press, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Whoever might perfume a scorpion
Will not thereby escape its sting.
--Sufi master Bahaudin Naqshband

Using the powerful approach of classical teachers, Shah has crafted a contemporary teaching tool that blends a fast-paced look at today's world with the timeless teachings of the Sufis. The book brings into sharp focus the conditioned behavior and self-deception that are common in Western minds.

Far more than a literary tool for breaking loose old mental habits, it is a blueprint for a process of self-development that precludes self-deceit. Truly a book among books, A Perfumed Scorpion is treasured the world over for its clarity of wisdom and its forcefulness of insight.

Customer Reviews:

The inner dimensions of eastern psychology.......2005-01-05

From the product description:
Whoever might perfume a scorpion
Will not thereby escape its sting.
--Sufi master Bahaudin Naqshband

It has been said that, in the Sufi tradition, the scorpion symbolizes energy (a part of the essence of reality) and perfume represents labels. Perfuming a scorpion, therefore, expresses the notion of "labelling energy", or "observer defining reality"; and with such acts, one receives the payload of such observer-created realities -- hence, "will not thereby escape its sting."

Profound psychological processes have been expressed in many centuries by eastern spiritual traditions with certain methods for certain groups of people. At least one element of Shah's multi-faceted, multi-dimensional writing was to undertake the daunting task of fleshing out "perrenial wisdom" obscured to a western readership. Perhaps not so oddly enough, despite all the warnings, pointers, and advisories, people continue to "perfume the scorpion" to which one can only revert to the wisdom of Bahaudin Naqshband.

Peace & Blessings upon your Path.

What is a perfumed scorpion?.......2002-06-19

While this book makes abundant use of materials by Sufis of the past, it also contains many illustrations from contemporary Western sources. In fact, it introduced me, as if for the first time, to the very Western milieu within which I had lived all along but had not "seen."

Do not be fooled by the copywrite date. This book cannot be pinned down that way.

For those who want classic Sufi, technical formulas, here they are: Ghazzali's Ten Duties; The Eleven Rules of the Naqshbandiyya; and The Five Subtleties (Lataif-i-Khamsa).

I began by assuming that I was reading a conventional exposition, but somewhere in the middle of the chapter, I began to experience the sensation of bewilderment. I paged back to find my way out only to get further lost. It seemed that a line of reasoning began, but the author took no tangents. The line didn't take unexpected turns. It disappeared altogether. The grammar was odd; not really wrong, but peculiar. Words had the right denotations but reversed conotations. Just when I was about to give up in despair, Shah let the cat out of the bag and admitted what he had been doing. "It will not have escaped your notice," I read, "that I have been moving from one illustration to another without necessarily linking the two; that we have alternated arguments with tales and imagery; that stress has been placed on allegory and imagery within a sequential narrative which is not, however, expressed in historical, personality or logical terms for very long."

This brand of Sufism may or may not be associated with religion. Often Shah expresses it in totally secular terms. I find it illuninating scientific conundrums, anthropological questions--even business decisions!

This book may be less than 200 pages long, but budget more time for it than you would expect. I found I must study it as one might study a thing, not as one would read about a thing. "This involves," he says, "a method which is not entirely uninteresting and is certainly selective of materials." Can you tell me what that means?

Truth Seeks You.......2002-02-22

A Perfumed Scorpion consists of unusually straightforward statements of what the Sufi path is all about. It can't be described in just so many words because the path consists of knowledge coming from experience that can only be achieved as one develops the capacity for it. The attitudes and abilities needed to approach and pursue Sufi learning are described. And Shah always makes it understood that a teacher is needed. You can't really do it alone.

This is pithy material and not for the faint hearted. For instance, Shah quotes a Sufi teacher saying, "If you want to be owned by a tyrant, accept someone who only imagines he is a pupil." What's going on, here? Is this a put-down or is Shah passing on a helpful and practical observation? He goes on to describe the type of teacher who "feels a need to teach". Then he adds another saying, "Patience is the food of understanding."

He Says, "Sufi knowledge is the knowledge of something beyond customary human perceptions, yet reached through the very world whose characteristics often stand in the way of such perceptions. This could well be a summary of the theory and practice of the Sufis." He quotes from John Donne's sermons, "I neglect God and his angels for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door." He interprets this, not as melancholy irony but, surprisingly, as a hint that such distractions can be used, "in this prison of dimensions, to get beyond these dimensions." He says, "Truth seeks you totally. Make sure that you really seek it."

This book is a mind-blower. And even if you are not of a mind to take up the Sufi path - the Tarika - to understand the gentleness and power of what is involved can be seen as a real gift.

Tales of the Dervishes.......2001-07-27

Idries Shah presents his view of what some of the greatest exponents of wisdom, in ancient and more modern times, were trying to convey. A very thoughful book based on the author's life experience with the Sufi way. I found this book to be a surprising group of ideas put forth in a very readable fashion.

A useful workbook for thinking people.......2001-07-17

The first thing I noticed about A Perfumed Scorpion is the lack of pretense or heavy-handedness so prevelant in books of this nature. Here Idries Shah deals with a wide varitey of topics such as barriers to learning, use of jokes to expand our thinking, Sufi analysis of education, and teaching vs entertaining. In his usual casual, chatty style, he explains some of the basic concepts in the Sufi learning system. The concepts are easily absorbed and seem to come up again at later times in situations where I least expect it. I loved this book and recommend it highly.

To Die Before Death: The Sufi Way of Life

Average customer rating:

The essence of this work is how to become a realised being.

To Die Before Death: The Sufi Way of Life
M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
Manufacturer: Fellowship Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Asma'ul-Husna: The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah
101 Diamonds from the Oral Tradition of the Glorious Messenger Muhammad

ASIN: 0914390392

Product Description

This book uncovers the mystery of death, explaining exactly what does happen when a person dies where his soul goes, and what kind of form it will take after the body expires.

M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) explains what determines the time of death, what the angel of death is; how one can escape from hell and rebirth, what happens when a body is cremated and when a person has donated organs and what will literally happen from the moment of death to the questioning in the grave.

Most importantly, M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral) explains how to live our daily lives understanding that death is always near.

Customer Reviews:

The essence of this work is how to become a realised being........1998-02-09

To the Sufi, in order to become enLIGHTened, to merge with God, all that separates her/him from God must die. In short, before the death of our body, the ego, the "I" must die. This wonderful compilation of discourses will help the serious 'seeker' on his/her spiritual journey. Pay particular attention to the talk entitled "To Live as a Human Being". The essence of Bawa's Sufi message is contained therein. That chapter alone makes this book an essential component of any Sufi library! I recommend it highly.

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