Product Description

Essential teachings on nature and meaning of life, exploring the soul's experience from manifestation, through life on earth, and its return to the source of life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107221 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 306 pages

About the Author
Hazrat Inayat Kahn, founder of the Sufi order in the West, was born in India in 1882. A master of classical Indian music by the age of twenty, he relinquished a brilliant career to devote himself to the spiritual path. In 1920, acting upon the guidance of his teacher, he became one of the first teachers of the Sufi tradition in the West. For a decade and a half he travelled throughout Europe and the US giving lectures and guiding an ever-growing group of seekers. In 1926, he returned to India where he died the following year.

Customer Reviews

A fascinating discussion of the soul by a modern master
This edition has been updated and expanded from the previously-published work, entitled "The Soul: Whence and Whither" (great title). What has been done is to use the original stenographer scripts of Inayat Khan's lectures, the source of the book's content, rather than to rely on edited renditions of his words produced later. What's nice about the original is that Inayat Khan's unique style shines through; at times the edited version is overly anglicized, erasing some of the charm of Khan's occasional unconventional grammar or use of a new word he may have created. Some of these seem to have entered the popular culture, such as "attunement".

This book reveals a great deal about the life of the soul before life and after death. It seems to be the product of Khan's inner mystical revelations; one cannot help but be struck by the clarity of his vision and the conviction of his presentation. Many times when reading this I was struck by the thought, it all seems so simple and straightforward. It's like a light has been turned on. Topics discussed include reincarnation, the planes of reality, and what happens to the soul after death. One might think it would be disturbing, but Khan's literary voice and manner of expression come across as wise and comforting.

Another nice addition to this work is the questions from students and Khan's answers, which give a bit more of the flavor of the original lectures, while providing more detail on some of the points discussed.

The Soul's Journey
A beautiful review, by a master, of the soul's journey from God through incarnation and back to the Beloved (God).

The talks of Hazarat Inayat Khan, given in English, present the Sufi perspective of this journey.

I don't know what I was hoping for
This author is a Sufi Muslim. I see the Sufis as the intellectual and spiritual Muslims, as opposed to the lunatics who keep killing. I was hoping for some deep new wisdom from the Sufis because I understand that they were instrumental in developing the enneagram, a system of understanding the various types of people in the world.

However, I really don't think this book is any big deal.