The Sufi Doctrine of Essence, Personality and the Self

The following excerpts are from Idries Shah's discussion of Lieutenant-Colonel H. Wilberforce Clarke's 1891 translation of The Gifts of Deep Knowledge, from The Sufis (1964):

The doctrine of essence, and its connection with the personality
and the self

The doctrine of essence, and its connection with the personality
and the self, is a most important part of dervish
study. There are, for illustrative purposes, two kinds of essence:

The first is the essence of a thing, which is the inner essence
(dhat) and the truth (hakikat) of that thing. Truth
here means objective reality, the inner meaning . People normally
see or perceive only the outward use of a thing, are
ignorant of any ultimate function of that thing. A lamp,
for example, gives light. It may be used for heating, or for
decoration. But other functions of its true reality are imperceptible
to the ordinary man . If, by a stretch of imagination,
it were found through delicate scientific measurement that
the lamp was giving off certain communication rays, this
activity might be the expression of the true reality or essence
of that lamp.

Then there is the human essence, called the rational essence
(the human spirit) which is known as the "luminosity."
This is the sum total of the grace (baraka, impalpable
qualities) of the individual.

The perceiving of the operation and being of these elements
is an extremely sensitive one . True, inner knowledge
of the essence is hinted at in the religious life. Hence: "Hints
as to the knowledge of essence are found in the links and
conditions of the knowledge of God."

This assertion shows how all dervish teaching is based not
on the concept of God, but on the concept of essence . There
is a slogan which summarizes this, and which clearly establishes
that the religious context of dervish thinking is merely
the vehicle for the self-realization which is aimed at: "He
who knows his essential self, knows his God." Knowledge of
the essential self is the first step, before which there is no
real knowledge of religion . Sufis are accused of paganism
because they first apply themselves to this problem, retaining
the religious context as a practical working shape, rather
than as any indication of final and objective truth.

The means of appreciating the various stages and conditions
of the essence and its progressive refinement are themselves
an essential part of dervish activity . It is here that the
dervish parts company with the mere theoretician . The latter
says: "I will think this out ;" the dervish : "I will prepare
myself to perceive this, without using limited, obstructive
thought, a childish process."

The "veiling" or interruption of the correct use of the
human spirit (essence) is caused by an unbalanced indulgence
in certain coarse sentiments which together constitute
a pattern of imprisonment (conditioning) characteristic
of most people . These "veils" or `blameable qualities" are
listed as ten:

1. Desire. Desires based on ignorance of what should be,
and on assumptions as to what is good for the individual .
Austerity, correctly used, is the antidote to irrational desire .
This is the stage of "I want a lollipop ."

2. Separation . This is a type of hypocrisy, when the person
uses rationalization to justify thoughts and actions
which are centered upon himself, not upon an ultimate
reality. The antidote is the practice of sincerity .

3. Hypocrisy. Characterized by self-pride, glorying in possessions,
pseudoindependence, violence . This is overcome
only by the practice of qualities which are reprehensible in
the eyes of the people, but laudable in God's sight. They
include submission of the right kind, humility and the
poverty of the Fakir. These qualities are recognized only
by correct assessment of the true worth of their opposites .

4. Desire for Praise and Love . Narcissism, which precludes
objective assessment of oneself ; lack of a balancing
factor which amounts almost to self-contempt.

5. Illusions of almost divine importance. Countered only
by the glory of the qualities of God.

6. Avarice and Parsimony. Give rise to envy, the worst of
all characteristics. This can be dissolved only when the
power of certainty (yakina) comes.

7. Greed and the desire for more. This is dangerous
because it causes the person to be like the moth, insensately
dashing itself against the candle flame . It is countered only
by austerity and piety .

8. Irresponsibility. This is manifested by the desire to
attain something which has been conceived in the mind.
It is always in motion, like a globe continually turning. It
can be made to depart only by patience.

9. Haste to Fatigue. This is lack of constancy of purpose,
in its usual manifestation. This is what prevents people
from realizing that there is a succession of objectives which
will replace present, crude ones . "From this calamity it is
impossible to escape save by the establishing of the ordered
thanks ." Exercises are employed to overcome this tendency.

10. Negligence. Slothfulness of a deep kind is shown
by lack of awareness of the needs of a situation or an individual.
Alertness is cultivated through remedies applied
by the "Physicians of the Essence"-the dervishes .

It will be noted that ordinary, contemporary psychotherapy
attempts the treatment of some of these conditions, but
only in order to guide the mind into a pattern which the
psychological doctrine assumes is normal. According to the
dervish, the conditions which have to be treated are due to
an unharmonious state of the mind, groping for balance
and evolution. It is impossible, from this point of view, to
attempt to restore a mere equilibrium without a dynamic
forward movement. The psychologist tries to make a warped
wheel turn smoothly. The dervish is trying to make the
wheel turn in order that it may propel a carriage ...


If there is any standard dervish textbook it is the "Gifts of
(Deep) Knowledge"-the Awarif el-Maarif-written in the
thirteenth century and studied by members of all Orders.
Its author, Sheikh Shahabudin Suhrawardi (1145-c. 1235)
presided over the coalescing of theory, ritual and practice
which took place in his time, established teaching
schools close to the courts of Persia and India, and
was Chief of the Chiefs of Sufis in Baghdad .

The book is of interest to us both because it shows the
outward and early stages of attraction into the dervish
corpus, because it contains the basic contents of thought
and action of these mystics, and because of Lieutenant
Colonel Wilberforce Clarke . Colonel Clarke was himself a
dervish, probably of the Suhrawardi Order. He translated
more than half of the Gifts, for the first time, into English,
and published it in 1891 . Also the first English translator of
Saadi's Orchard, Nizami's Story of Alexander, and Hafiz'
Works, he was a worthy follower of the tradition of distinguished
Sufic adapters such as Raymond Lully.

Taken as a whole, Clarke's work can be seen as an attempt
to present dervish thinking to an English audience...



(From Shah's The Sufis, 1964)

Sufism: A Body of Knowledge

'I am interested in making available in the West those aspects of Sufism which shall be of use to the West at this time. I don’t want to turn good Europeans into poor Asiatics. People have asked me why I don’t use traditional methods of spiritual training, for instance, in dealing with people who seek me out or hunt me down; and of course, the answer is, that it’s for the same reason that you came to my house today in a motorcar and not on the back of a camel. Sufism is, in fact, not a mystical system, not a religion, but a body of knowledge.'

Idries Shah, 1971

Basic Considerations

The following is an excerpt from the book Knowing How To Know, A Practical Philosophy in the Sufi Tradition, by Idries Shah.






BASIC CONSIDERATIONS

A remarkably small number of suppositions about higher, inner, deeper, knowledge of man (and about people engaged in transmitting it) underlie the errors into which most would-be students, disciples, followers and seekers are inevitably led.

The result of accepting these suppositions is always the same: the production of obsessed ('conditioned') people -- sometimes called 'believers' -- and the production of a restless state in people when things do not seem to measure up to their expectations.

A close study of these pitfalls is essential to anyone who wants real knowledge, let alone real fulfilment, tranquillity, real attainment.


CONSIDERATION 1

Inner knowledge cannot always be approached as an answer to one’s psychological problems. It may be approached in this way by certain people, or by people at different stages in their lives. But it is not to be thus treated for all of the people all of the time. To think that it can, creates more problems than it solves.

CONSIDERATION 2

To believe that one can get everything from books is as good - and as bad - as believing that one can get nothing from books. Here again, the individual must abide by the instructions of his teacher, as to what books to read, when to read them, when not to read, how to read.

CONSIDERATION 3

Reliance upon a prestige-figure, a great teacher, a body of literature, practices or an appeal to tradition alone is a chimera. People must learn how to extract the nutrition from all of these things, and from many others. They cannot ‘go it alone’ in this search.

CONSIDERATION 4

The confusing of emotionality or sentimentality with spirituality is one of the major basic mistakes of would-be mystics, of false occultists and of dishonest religionists alike. Emotion is a powerful consideration in human life. It must be understood. Understanding it can only be accomplished under competent direction.

CONSIDERATION 5

Competent direction is defined as direction by a competent teacher. Such a person, rare in the extreme, is not one who has called forth an emotional reaction because something which he says is acceptable to the hearer at the specific time when he hears it. Neither is he someone who relies (overtly or otherwise) upon strange or authoritative dogma. He is a teacher.

CONSIDERATION 6

Looking for mystical or other higher aims as represented in individuals and societies with an outward mystical tinge is perhaps an obvious attempt. But there are - and always have been - innumerable individuals and organisations carrying on this teaching in such a manner and characterised by such externals that no superficialist would dream that they were engaged upon this high task.

CONSIDERATION 7

When a real teacher prescribes a course of study, or enjoins individuals or groupings in action or inaction, or anything at all, this is the current form of the Teaching: and none other.

CONSIDERATION 8

The belief that one is a teacher, or a seeker, or anything else, does not make one into that thing. People can - and do - believe anything and everything. Their beliefs are less important than their real state. The individual is generally unaware of that inner state. It takes a teacher to assess it and to prescribe for it.

CONSIDERATION 9

Just as the outward form of teachings changes with times, peoples and cultures, so does the outward form of one and the same teaching appear to change. People who cannot adopt a `new’ phase of a traditional teaching have shown themselves incapable of the necessary adaptation, and probably nothing can be done for them.

CONSIDERATION 10

‘Ancient’ systems do not work in modern times. They may train people to believe certain things: they do not improve those people. No true system is ancient. The knowledge upon which it is based is ancient. The trappings, formulae, externals must alter, sometimes frequently, if its operational efficacy is preserved.

CONSIDERATION 11

Patience and impatience alike are pitfalls. This is because the exercise of patience and impatience are preparations for something else. People who are one hundred per cent patient are as ill-equipped for learning as people who have no patience at all.

CONSIDERATION 12

People who cannot tell the difference between a real feeling and one which has been trained into them are not capable of learning on their own. Their course of study must be prescribed for them until they can discriminate. Only after that can they begin a real ’search’.

CONSIDERATION 13

People who mistake good fellowship, relaxation of tensions, or a mere sense of well-being for progress on a road to higher things have to back-track and learn certain earlier lessons. Otherwise they are merely candidates for encapsulated ‘wisdom’ and superficial systems.

CONSIDERATION 14

People who think that spiritual, esoteric, higher movements spring suddenly into being have to learn that nothing could be further from the truth. Immensely intricate planning and preparation must precede any real teaching.

CONSIDERATION 15

Learners cannot expect to stipulate which parts of a teaching specially appeals to them, on which they will concentrate. They have to learn the whole background of certain things before the inner content can have effect upon them in an effective sense.

CONSIDERATION 16

When a teacher has announced that a true contact exists between him and an individual or group, it never becomes severed, even if the participants are not conscious of it. What makes them impatient or fearful is the superficiality of their emotion, not the reality of contact.

CONSIDERATION 17

An individual or group may continue in contact with a teacher for long periods of time, working effectively without being conscious of it until he can bring them what they need. If on the other hand, they cannot sustain any separation or a break in contact, he cannot help them, because his task is never to entertain them and work on a crude basis of assurance or reassurance, or ‘conditioning’. Such people are hypocrites. They need games, not studies.

CONSIDERATION 18

When a teacher gives an individual or a grouping som to study, observe, to carry out, they should do so, even it does not appear logical or necessary to them. This is because it is seldom that the patient knows his ailment, whereas the physician does.

CONSIDERATION 19

The ‘tests’ and studies which will yield the greatest results are those which are least familiar to the students. This is because if people are given tasks with which they are familiar (through reading, report or practice) something in them will `cheat' in their performance.

CONSIDERATION 20

People who are put in charge of others, whether individuals or groups, in the current formulation of the teaching, must regard themselves always as mere channels. If they take any personal advantage or exercise any unnecessary pressure, they themselves will suffer in proportion.

CONSIDERATION 21

People must now learn something which was formerly only taught in secret: that there are many varieties of spiritual, social, religious grouping. They are all time-centred. Most of them are anachronistic. In all of them except for real inner teachings there are serious contaminants stemming from their sojourn in the terrestrial sphere which makes them hazardous to everyone to a degree at least equivalent to their value.

CONSIDERATION 22

People should familiarise themselves thoroughly with the materials or tasks given to them, instead of making them a source of criticism, self-aggrandisement or bickering.

CONSIDERATION 23

Any form of greed – even for knowledge – effectively prevents real learning in a degree directly proportional to the degree of greed present in the individual, group or organisation.

CONSIDERATION 24

Pride, in an individual or a group, is a form of greed.

CONSIDERATION 25

When you look at a child, you notice that it has three kinds of qualities: those which help its progress, such as eating instinctively; those which could harm its future, such as eating poisonous things; and those which are neutral. In respect to higher teaching and learning, the adult human being is the same. He can acquire valuable nutrients in knowledge. He can acquire dangerous ones, while thinking they are good for him. He can take in irrelevant ones, thinking nothing or thinking that they are significant. Like the parent, the Teacher knows which are which.

CONSIDERATION 26

Almost all people interested in metaphysics have at some time been studied for responsiveness to teaching by those who can teach them. Frequently, such would-be students are unaware that such a study has been made. They continue to seek knowledge through attempts to contact crude forms of what they imagine to be real teaching.

CONSIDERATION 27

Organisations and other groupings set up for true higher study have, as it were, a life of their own. They are ‘concentration points’. It is vital that they continue to operate, and not neglected nor turned into centres for ‘making golden calves’. This is because they are entities through which, in due time, higher communications are made.

CONSIDERATION 28

Chronological repetition, meetings and studies, activities and exercises, which are carried out by means of a fixed schedule are almost always a sign of a deteriorated tradition. A real School varies its operations and movement in accordance with a special pattern. This pattern is non-repetitious.

CONSIDERATION 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.

CONSIDERATION 30

Experiences of an unusual kind are often given to people in order to test as to whether they will react correctly to them. Most people fail in this test. The commonest example is with people who are made to feel something of true reality, and who immediately imagine that they should teach it.

CONSIDERATION 31

Perceptions of another kind of being, when not accompanied by correct preparation, can be more harmful than a lifetime without any such perception. This is because unprepared people misinterpret their experiences and cash in on them at a low level. An example is people who become superstitious because they have sensed something at work which they are too lazy to try to understand. Another example is when people imagine that some true but minor ’sign’ gives them an importance or a divine contact or character. Such people are already almost lost, ‘even if their repute rises to the heavens’.

CONSIDERATION 32

The original motive of religious preaching is not social uplift, moral indoctrination and so on, but specific techniques of preparation of individuals and communities to enable them to endure and follow higher development. Most religious systems known to us, however, are today stabilised upon superficialities and emotionality and have lost all contact with the higher levels of meaning within their exhortation: they have the meat, but have lost the recipe.

CONSIDERATION 33

Inevitable pitfalls in human learning are two: ‘conversion syndrome’ when people believe anything said by an individual or institution; and ‘obsessional opposition’, when they believe nothing. These are the two factors, though they may be combined in one person in varying proportions. The task of real higher teaching is to contact people and inform them quite aside from the question of faith or unfaith. Both the latter factors are aspects of brain-engineering, and have no place in real teaching.



from Knowing How To Know, by Idries Shah, Octagon Press, pgs. 53-62.