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21 " A man must be a Solomon before his magical ring will work "
― Idries Shah , Sufi Thought and Action
22 " Any society which enjoins its members to adhere to both of these (politeness and truth) is a fraud. "
― Idries Shah , Caravan of Dreams
23 " A man must be a Salomon before his magical ring will work. (Hafiz) "
24 " Imagination blocks you like a bolt on a door. Burn that bar. (Rumi) "
25 " Our objective is to achieve, by the understanding of the Origin, the Knowledge which comes through experience. "
― Idries Shah , Wisdom of the Idiots
26 " ScrapsThe scraps from the meal of the Emir are larger than the gifts of halwa from the merchant. Timur Fazil "
27 " As swords were designed to killThey did well to make them tongue-shaped.(Anwar-i-Suhaili) "
― Idries Shah , The Dermis Probe
28 " Superior experience and knowledge will be made available to a man or woman in exact accordance with his worth, capacity and earning of it "
29 " Man (and woman) has an infinite capacity for self-development. Equally, he has an infinite capacity for self-destruction. A human being may be clinically alive and yet, despite all appearances, spiritually dead. "
― Idries Shah , Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way
30 " There came one and knocked at the door of the Beloved.And a voice answered and said, 'Who is there?'The lover replied, 'It is I.''Go hence,' returned the voice;'there is no room within for thee and me.'Then came the lover a second time and knocked and again the voice demanded,'Who is there?'He answered, 'It is thou.''Enter,' said the voice, 'for I am within. "
― Idries Shah , The Way of the Sufi
31 " The decline in the influence of religion has been due, in the main, not to religion itself, but to the very shallowness of many practitioners. People who are indoctrinated and mistake implanted obsession for faith, are themselves destroyers of the very thing which they imagine themselves called upon to try to protect.In fact, of course, they have no such call: and their capacity to protect something which is other than their imaginings makes for a comical situation. "
― Idries Shah
32 " Three ThingsThree things cannot be retrieved:The arrow once sped from the bowThe word spoken in hasteThe missed opportunity.(Ali the Lion, Caliph of Islam, son-in-law of Mohammed the Prophet), "
33 " Opinion is usually something which people have when they lack comprehensive information. "
― Idries Shah , Reflections
34 " Knowledge is something which you can use.Belief is something which uses you. "
35 " Religion, for instance, cannot be accepted or rejected out of hand, until the student knows exactly what religion means. "
― Idries Shah , The Sufis
36 " People in this civilization are starving in the middle of plenty. This is a civilization that is going down, not because it hasn't got the knowledge that would save it, but because nobody will use the knowledge. "
37 " Knowledge cannot be attained except through humility. "
― Idries Shah , A Perfumed Scorpion
38 " Knowledge gives nothing to a man until he gives everything to it. "
39 " Sufis (the name for the realised individual, not the learner or follower) are reunited with objective Reality and Unity. "
40 " Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaFlattery:One of the most promising of businesses: always brisk. "