Mitesh Shah Quotes

Correct teaching brings out human excellence. ~ Idries Shah

The best player of a game is the watcher - ask him. ~ Idries Shah

Continuously, in commemoration of the Friend
We drank wine, even before the creation of the vine. ~ 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

A motto of the human race: Let me do as I like, and give me approval as well. ~ Idries Shah

Sufism is the essence of all religions. ~ Idries Shah

Each day wake up and ask yourself what will make you feel most alive that day. ~ Jaymin Shah

One of the great Sufis said: 'A saint is a saint unless he knows that he is one. ~ Idries Shah

I was no longer troubled when he pulled out a machete in a crowded bar, tried to pick up schoolgirls, or threatened to scalp us, then rip off our heads and scoop out our brains. ~ Tahir Shah

We entered the Taj Mahal, the most romantic place on the planet, and possibly the most beautiful building on earth. We ate curry with our driver in a Delhi street café late at night and had the best chicken tikka I've ever tasted in an Agra restaurant. After the madness of Delhi, we were astonished that Agra could be even more mental. And we loved it. We marvelled at the architecture of the Red Fort, where Shah Jahan spent the last three years of his life, imprisoned and staring across at the Taj Mahal, the tomb of his favourite wife. We spent two days in a village constructed specifically for tiger safaris, although I didn't see a tiger, my wife and son were more fortunate. We noticed in Mussoorie, 230 miles from the Tibetan border, evidence of Tibetan features in the faces of the Indians, and we paid just 770 rupees for the three of us to eat heartily in a Tibetan restaurant. Walking along the road accompanied by a cow became as common place as seeing a whole family of four without crash helmets on a motorcycle, a car going around a roundabout the wrong way, and cars approaching towards us on the wrong side of a duel carriageway. India has no traffic rules it seems. ~ Karl Wiggins

Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza
Intellectual: One who knows no craft. ~ Idries Shah

In todays world the ones you trust are the ones who betray you who are your true friends ? ~ Priyansh Shah

No woman deserves to be disrespected; to be beaten up, to be called bitches or sluts. Assaulted or insulted. Even if she's a hooker. ~ Imam Shah

Know yourself. Be authentic. Have courage. ~ Murad S. Shah

The energy of youth with the experience of age is a lethal combination. ~ Murad S. Shah

The Hole and the Thread A CERTAIN great Sufi was asked about the role and status of some of his predecessors. He said: 'To erect a small building you may first have to excavate a large hole. 'To make a large carpet you may have to start with a single thread. 'When you can see the building or the carpet, your question is answered. 'But when your question is about the hole in the ground and the thread in the hand, you can only be answered in this parable.' * * * ~ Idries Shah

Religion, for instance, cannot be accepted or rejected out of hand, until the student knows exactly what religion means. ~ Idries Shah

Development is a fundamental part of our national security. It is extreme poverty- the realities of access to water and food- which create the long-term drivers of our insecurity. Most wars are fought over scarce resources and that is going to accelerate in the future. ~ Rajiv Shah

Knowledge gives nothing to a man until he gives everything to it. ~ Idries Shah

Patience is bitter, but bears a sweet fruit. ~ Idries Shah

If you really want to learn, do not be surprised if someone tries to teach you. And do not lightly reject the method. ~ Idries Shah

The world believes it was built by love but reading Shah Jahan's own words on the Taj, one could say it was grief that built the Taj Mahal and it was sorrow that saw it through sixteen years till completion. ~ Aysha Taryam

A solved problem is as useful to a man's mind as a broken sword on a battlefield. ~ Idries Shah

راتیں جاگیں کریں عبادت
راتیں جاگن کُتے
تیتھوں اُتّے

Staying awake and praying at night
The dogs are also awake,
superior to you

بھونکنوں بند مول نہ ہوندے
جا رڑی تے سُتّے
تیتھوں اُتّے

They never stop barking
And go and sleep on a pile of rubbish,
superior to you

کھسم اپنے دا در نہ چھڈّدے
بھاویں و جّن جُتّے
تیتھوں اُتّے

They never leave their master's door
Even when beaten with shoes,
superior to you

بلھے شاہ کوئ رَخت وِہاج لَے
نہیں تَے بازی لے گئےکُتے
تیتھوں اُتّے

Bulleh Shah! You had better achieve something!
Or the dogs will win this contest,
superior to you ~ Bulleh Shah

Remedy
Your medicine is in you, and you do not observe it. Your ailment is from yourself, and you do not register it.
Hazrat Ali ~ Idries Shah

THE BIRD AND THE WATER
A bird which has not heard of fresh water
Dips his beak in salt-water year after year.
(Anwar-i-Suhaili) ~ Idries Shah

Until you can understand illogicality, and the meaningfulness of it, shun the Sufis except for limited, precise, self-evident services. ~ Idries Shah

A man from the Land of Fools wanted to pull down the clouds.
'Why?' someone asked him.
'To squeeze out the rain. ~ Idries Shah

Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza
Emotionalist:
A man or woman who thinks he has experienced the divine. ~ Idries Shah

Wisdom gives honour to nobility, and nobility to everything else. ~ Idries Shah

To Succeed, you must reach for the stars, and let your imagination find its own path ~ Tahir Shah

In the world of creativity, laziness translates into an inability to be rigorous enough to create fearlessly. It makes us plagiarise or water our creativity down to make it more acceptable to the public. ~ Shah Rukh Khan

Time spent in India has a extraordinary effect on one. It acts as a barrier that makes the rest of the world seem unreal. ~ Tahir Shah