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Idries Shah

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Famous Idries Shah Quotes

“We view Sufism not as an ideology that molds people to the right way of belief or action, but as an art or science that can exert a beneficial influence on individuals and societies, in accordance with the needs of those individuals and societies ... Sufi study and development gives one capacities one did not have before.”

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Author:Idries Shah
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“When prayer, rituals and ascetic life are just a means of self-indulgence, they are harmful rather than beneficial. This is quite obvious to people nowadays, when it is widely recognised that fixations are not the same as valuable and laudable observances. One should not pray if that prayer is vanity; rituals are wrong when they provide lower satisfactions, like emotional stimulus instead of enlightenment; he or she should not be an ascetic who is only enjoying it.”

PeopleIfsShouldMeanSelfEnjoyPrayerEmotionalPrayingEnlightenmentSatisfactionObviousValuableVanityRitualBeneficialIndulgenceStimulusObservanceSelf IndulgenceFixation
Book:Seeker After Truth
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“... 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.”

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Book:The Elephant in the Dark: Christianity, Islam and the Sufis
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“One can give or withhold in a manner far more effective, sophisticated, useful, which is quite invisible to people who think that giving or withholding is done by external assessment. If you seek some mark of favour or 'promotion', know that you are not ready for it. Progress comes through capacity to learn, and is irresistible. Nobody can stand between you and knowledge if you are fit for it.”

PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsGivingDoneProgressReadyFitCapacityMarkInvisibleSophisticatedFavourPromotionIrresistibleAssessmentNot ReadyWithholding
Book:Learning how to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way
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