Sufi Teacher Quotes & Sayings

Standard issue helmets are designed to filter out smoke, not toxins. — Alan Dean Foster

Those who say 'I am ready to learn', or 'I am not ready to learn' are as often mistaken as they are correct in their surmise. — Idries Shah

Ibn El-Arabi wrote, 'The Teacher is he who hears you, then unveils you to yourself — Idries Shah

Coincidence, when raised to a symbol, occurs with mathematical precision at the most crucial moment, even for the squarest of minds. A moment the rest of us call higher will, Fate's gesture, something like that. — Odysseus Elytis

My Best Friend and I have spent plenty of time together, despite me being in my First Ever Relationship. This is because friends should always come first. — Holly Smale

A modern story of Mullah Nasrudin, the Sufi teacher and holy fool, tells of him entering a bank and trying to cash a check. The teller asks him to please identify himself. Nasrudin reaches in his pocket and pulls out a small mirror. Looking into it, he says, "Yep, that's me all right." Meditation — Jack Kornfield

Sandals. The Sufi teacher Ghulam-Shah was asked what pattern he used in formulating his courses for disciples. He said: 'Barefoot until you can get sandals, sandals until you can manage boots. — Idries Shah

If the path has been laid down, why the successive appearance of different teachers? Why would anyone reinvent the wheel, if everything were as cosy and sequential as primitive longing so easily convinces us? — Idries Shah

The Sufis are unanimous that a Guide (Sheikh) is absolutely essential, though never available on demand: 'the Sufis are not merchants'. — Idries Shah

I know that knowledge and intelligence are not the same thing - but they do live in the same neighborhood. I know once again, firsthand, the joy of learning. — A. J. Jacobs

A good worship session needs to have some quiet intimate moments as much as those high anthemic moments. Too much of both is bad. If there are no valleys, there would be no mountains. — Gangai Victor

Do not dwell upon whether you will put yourself into the hands of a teacher. You are always in his hands. — Idries Shah

I am not conscious of working especially hard, or of 'working' at all. Writing and teaching have always been, for me, so richly rewarding that I don't think of them as work in the usual sense of the word. — Joyce Carol Oates

The man who knows must discharge a function. The one who does not, cannot arrogate one to himself; he can only try to do so. — Idries Shah

Cassie fumbled helplessly beneath the shade of the ancient oak, still searching for her second shoe.The first had been easy to find, having landed close to where she had kicked it off; and when her hand had finally encountered it, she clutched it to her breast in a gesture of smug triumph. For one brief moment, she felt a twinge of sympathy for the sighted people who would never experience such sweet victory from a task as simple as finding a shoe. — Melinda Cross

The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn't bend on its own. — Barack Obama

The radical rightwing pegs Hollywood as a leftist town, which is completely wrong. There are a lot of actors, writers, and directors who talk a liberal agenda ... but all the studio bosses, for as long as there have been studios, have all been as far rightwing as you can possibly imagine. — Paul Haggis

A short time in the presence of the Friends (the Sufis) is better than a hundred years' sincere, obedient dedication. — Idries Shah

Hats are like a halo of happiness, — An Na

Sufi Teachers are not, as you might hope, people who make you feel peace and harmony. — Idries Shah

The selection and following of a spiritual guide is the most important duty of a Sufi. — Idries Shah

If you seek a teacher, try to become a real student. If you want to be a student, try to find a real teacher. — Idries Shah

Within the Nation, he [Malcolm] explained that his purpose was to present the views of Elijah Muhammad and to challenge distortions about their religion. In fact, his objectives were to turn upside down the standard racial dialectic of black subordination and white supremacy, and to show off his rhetorical skill at the expense of white authorities and Negro integrationists (185). — Manning Marable