Seeker After Truth: A Handbook

Rating:
Summary: Reality Based Reading
Review: A fascinating collection of question and answers and narratives of various lengths. Most of the material appears straight forward, but a rereading (especially after some time has passed) will often reveal new insights and levels which can be surprising. The breadth and depth of the material will make this a rewarding book for anyone with an interest in reality.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to & Overview of Sufi Literature
Review: An excellent introduction to and overview of Sufi literature: this Handbook contains anecdotes, question-and-answer interchanges, mini-lectures, and many outstanding tales including some of my favorites (The Skill that Nobody Has, Fahima and the Prince, Elephant-Meat, Intelligence and Obedience). But don't take my word for it; you really should check it out for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: "Judge Not"
Review: If we are to believe what Idries Shah writes about Sufis, they arrogate themselves the right not only to judge other people's actions, but their very thoughts as well. By my understanding of what Shah has written, he is saying that if people behave in such-and-such a manner, or if the result of such behavior is so-and-so, then people must necessarily be internally making this-or-that mistake, usually because they are so awful. There seems no room in Sufi assessments for honest mistakes, for well-intentioned ignorance, for actions gone off course, or even for haphazard responses from the environment itself. Apparently, to the Sufi, everything is deeply meaningful and can be clearly interpreted from their superior perspective. Thank goodness there are other ways in this world to be honest seekers after truth.

Rating:
Summary: A mirror into ourselves
Review: Reading Seeker After Truth is an exercise in the exploration of ourselves. The stories and narratives are designed to provoke us into seeing hidden motivations and patterns that normally go unnoticed. The stories are deceptively simple and disarming because of their emphasis on people and events that seem at first glance distant and not particularly relevant to our lives. But as the material is read and re-read, patterns begin to emerge which were previously overlooked because of our emphasis on other things. In time, the people and situations in the stories begin to take on new meanings that help us reflect on our daily activities with more insight and clarity. I would recommend this book for all people who would like a secret glimpse into the inner workings of our minds.

Rating:
Summary: An Exposition of Human Perception Centers
Review: This handbook is another fine rattle for those of us with a tenacious grip on our beliefs and habituation.

Worth mentioning, as a personal observation, is how the effects of sufi dictums presented by the Shah corpus produces feedback depending on a person(s)/ culture(s)/ race(s) mental, emotional and spiritual disposition. I find that, like with most learning materials, assistance of a living teacher is often necessary. I harbor little hope of attaining a mastery in martial arts, yoga, or academia, solely from books, or even from aspirants of those books. An overt reliance on literature, or of testimonies & interactions of aspirants might make one scholarly (or pedantry) on the subject of Sufism.

My own readings of this, and other Shah titles, have often prompted many inquiries and a need for clarification on presented ideas. In such cases, I much prefer seeking out a Sufi teacher, well-versed in "sufi cipher", than adopt an approach of dogged persistence. Such contact with a teacher actually helped me tune out many distortions introduced by my biases and unexamined assumptions. So, my experiences in discovering my "beingness" has definitely been enriched (even if alot of those discoveries were very painful).