Details Books In Pursuance Of The Sufis
Original Title: | The Sufis |
ISBN: | 0385079664 (ISBN13: 9780385079662) |
Edition Language: | English |
Present About Books The Sufis
Title | : | The Sufis |
Author | : | Idries Shah |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | 1st edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 451 pages |
Published | : | February 5th 1971 by Anchor (first published 1964) |
Categories | : | Religion. Islam. Nonfiction. Spirituality. Philosophy. History. Occult. Mysticism |
Chronicle In Favor Of Books The Sufis
Idries Shah's definitive work, The Sufis, completely overturned Western misconceptions of Sufism, revealing a great spiritual and psychological tradition encompassing many of the world's greatest thinkers: Rumi, Omar Khayyam, Ibn El-Arabi, Al-Ghazzali, Saadi, Attar, Francis of Assisi and many others.
The astonishing impact of Sufism on the development of Western civilization from the seventh century is traced through the work of Roger Bacon, John of the Cross, Raymond Lully, Chaucer and others. Many of the greatest traditions, ideas and discoveries of the West are traced to the teachings and writings of Sufi masters working centuries ago.
But The Sufis is far more than an historical account.
In the tradition of the great Sufi classics, the deeper appeal of this remarkable book is in its ability to function as an active instrument of instruction, in a way that is so clearly relevant to our time and culture.
Rating About Books The Sufis
Ratings: 4.22 From 910 Users | 87 ReviewsWeigh Up About Books The Sufis
The prodigious Work of the Sufis:The Sufis by Idries Shah offers a wide overview of the historical development of the Sufi Way, through the works of individual masters (many of whom were highly successful polymaths), schools and orders, and through a whole host of fields in which they were engaged or through which their work was projected, such as religion, ethics, learning, science, the arts, traditional psychology and (not least) humour. Though it came to maturity in the classical Islamic era,A massive book in terms of ideas and insight, impossible to reduce the content to soundbites in a short review . I first read this book back in the late seventies and it had a major influence on me. It was a a real gem in a time of peculiar cults and superficial views of spirituality. The book is an experience to read and reread and does lead to glimpses of a different way of seeing and experiencing the world. It clearly has a place now in a time perhaps even more full of pointless distractions
I found this interesting, especially with the introduction by The Classicist R. Graves, but the Marx quote referring to religion as the opiate of the masses made me refuse to embrace this middle eastern mindset. What also brought caution to approach the languages and cultures immediately south and east of the Mediterranean was an innate fear of foreigners, even if couscous tastes nice and Yury taught me how to write allahu akhbar in Farsi so it's not as scary. What might help assuage my nerves
The Sufis are the extraordinary people who have guided, and are still guiding, the evolution of human consciousness. They do not preach or evangelise but, through books such as these, and through living exemplars, they offer an opportunity for self development that is in harmony with the development of mankind.
I was really excited to read this book when I first got it. Quite a few people that I know talk about Indries Shah and his writing. The way the book is written wasn't really all that interesting to me and eventually I became bored. I don't want to be offensive here. There are wonderful parts of this book, but there are also a good number of parts in this book where my eyes glazed over a little bit (especially the many parts where the numerical values and many many definitions of words were laid
When I first read this book many years ago, I was shocked by the information that I was exposed to. There were very many radical ideas being promulgated by the author. More than a few of those ideas challenged the underpinnings of my worldview. It was a challenge to Western consensus reality. I did not accept the author's assertions on face value. Some of the things he was suggesting that were true, if he was right, would mean that many beliefs I held were based on inaccurate and/or incomplete
I have read The Sufis by Idries Shah, 1924-1996, many times since the first time 1996 in my ongoing self bettering work. It was thanks to Doris Lessing, who I also admire immensely, that I found my way to Idries Shah. Sufism is not accessible through ordinary rational and logical thinking and so it can not be understood just by reading books but they can serve as a bridge leading from the ordinary, attenuated or embryonic human consciousness into greater perception and realization, writes Idries
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