A great collection of wisdom in Sufi story form.

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Product Description

Because what narrow thinkers imagine to be wisdom is often seen by the Sufis to be folly, the Sufis sometimes call themselves 'the Idiots.'

The stories of these self-styled "idiots" are in fact skillfully designed exercises in which the movements of the characters portray psychological processes. The result is a working blueprint of the mind.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #481629 in Books
• Published on: 1991-06
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 179 pages

The Brook Postgraduate Gazette, March 1973
"While the stories are delightfully entertaining, their real value lies in their potent psychological content."

Tribune, February 5, 1971
"... hilarious, usually unsettling stuff, whisking away the rug from under our favourite convictions and thinking habits ..."

Oldham Evening Chronicle
"... startling ideas ... both wisdom and fun ... a stunningly lucid interpretation for the Western reader of profound and ancient Eastern thinking."

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Customer Reviews

Wisdom Can Be Crazy Fun
This is a collection of Sufi (Islamic mystics) teaching stories. Shah is famous for his many collections of them. I've read 10 of his books. They are invariably entertaining. The Sufi masters are referred to as idiots--they can appear as such to the uninitiated. Reminds one of the story of Elijah and the Hasidic master who asked to accompany him. The proviso was that the Hasid couldn't question Elijah on what he did--or he couldn't continue. They visited an old, poor couple who nonetheless shared what little they had with the visitors. So, Elijah prayed for their only asset (a cow) to die. Then they visited a rich man who treated them poorly, so Elijah fixed a wall in the man's house which was about to fall down. After a number of these episodes, the Hasid broke down and asked how Elijah could act as he did. Of course, Elijah had good reasons (e.g. the wall contained a treasure that the rich man would have found had the wall collapsed and the cow took the place of one of the couple who was about to die). Similarly, the Tibetan Buddhists have had masters of Crazy Wisdom. Some of the stories in this particular Shah collection (and the others too) are understandable; some are more like Zen koans. I found this book among the best of the ones I've read of his. You might also try his Nasrudin books; my favorite is: "The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin."

Don't expect your food to be masticated for you
Sufi stories have, for centuries, been recognized as techniques in applied/narrative psychology. Their design, as I understand, is to subtly de-amplify the "noise" that is introduced by egoic distortions in order for us to "liberate" our pure, inner dynamism. IMO, the notion is for the introspecting seeker to tone up (or down) the amplitude so that there is harmonization with Truth. A caveat, however, is that one cannot perform this feat by oneself. A guide is necessary for there to be any "sweet fruit" to "taste".

Through "Wisdom of the Idiots", and other similar titles, Shah delivers these ancient stories (techniques) into the English language for a modern readership. There is alot of spiritual territory to explore here, and it behooves us, at least to try, finding proper guidance so that our "adventure of Being" doesn't become darkly-complexioned as a "waste of time."

Such Idiots!
Sufis have been called idiots because their knowledge can appear idiotic to peole who are limited to appearances. To learn from this "idiocy" one must go deeper into matters. Wisdom of the Idiots seems to me a course on how to be a successful student. It is also an introduction to Sufi experience. Shah has crafted his book from teaching stories, essays, explanations and quips of Sufi teachers of the last 1,000 years. He works with and through this material producing a Sufi document usable and useful to people of our times and culture.

The material is non-dogmatic and non-moralistic, by turns gentle and gritty. It is thought provoking and funny. I recommend Wisdom of the Idiots if you are a student, formal or otherwise, or if you are considering becoming one.

Excerpts:
Fidelity
Najmaini ('The Man of the Two Stars') dismissed a student with the words: 'Your fidelity has been tested. I find it so unshakeable that you must go.'
The student said: 'Go I shall, but I cannot understand how fidelity can be a ground for dimissal.'
Najmaini said: 'For three years we have tested your fidelity. Your fidelity to useless knowledge and superficial judgments is complete. That is why you must go.'

Fantiasies
O man! If you only knew how many of the false fantasies of the imagination were nearer to the Truth than the careful conclusions of the cautious. And how these truths are of no service until the imaginer, having done his work with the imagination, has become less imaginative. Shab-Parak

Scraps
The scraps from the meal of the Emir are larger than the gifts of halwa from the merchant. Timur Razil