Travelling the Path of Love :
Sayings of the Sufi Masters,
*[A5] Paperback - 240 pages,
by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee,
Published by the Golden Sufi Centre.
Back in Stock - Februar y 2024
Description :
Travelling the Path of Love is a collection of sayings of the Sufi masters from the ninth century to the present day. Resonant with devotion, the writings describe the spiritual path with simplicity, directness, humour, and wisdom.
The essence of the Sufi path is the particular tradition passed down from teacher to disciple in an uninterrupted chain of transmission. Each Sufi order and teacher has certain practices and principles to help the wayfarer on the journey, to keep the fire of longing burning within the heart and the attention focused on the goal. The sayings and writings about the path help the wayfarer to develop the right attitude and qualities, and also to understand inner happenings that are often bewildering and confusing. The ways of love are very different from those of the mind.
The Sufi path has as its goal the state of union with God. For each traveller the journey to this goal is unique; it is the journey "of the alone to the Alone." Yet there are also stages which all seekers pass through, trials, processes of purification and transformation. It is these stages that the Sufi masters, or shaykhs, have attempted to describe. As guides they have mapped out the path of the heart and the mystical states that are experienced along the way.
The teachings and writings of the Sufis describe the soul's journey from separation to union with God. With the passion and depth of feeling that belong to lovers they outline the stages of this journey and give advice to other travellers. Sufi literature offers us the richest and most detailed understanding of the relationship of lover and Beloved, a relationship that is at the core of every mystical path.
Drawing on their own experiences, the Sufi masters describe the inner workings of the path of love. They tell how longing for God burns away our impurities. They remind us that by remembering God we come closer to our eternal essence and that in our moments of utmost despair the Beloved reveals Himself: He who had seemed so distant is discovered "closer to you than yourself to yourself." They share their glimpses of the essential oneness of all life and, with simplicity, directness, and humour, describe the paradoxical nature of this mystical journey.
The ninth-century ecstatic Bâyezîd Bistâmî, may Allah be pleased with him, who left no writings, is known for his utterances made in a state of divine intoxication, like "Glory be to me. How great is my majesty!" Al-Junayd, may Allah be pleased with him, who taught in Baghdad in the ninth century, advocated a path of sobriety and the integration of mysticism into ordinary life. At the same time in Baghdad the prince of lovers, al-Hallâj, spoke of the essential unity of lover and Beloved and was put to death for exclaiming the mystical truth "anâ'l-Haqq" ( I am the Absolute Truth). In the eleventh century in Nishapur the great master Abû Sa'îd ibn Abî-l-Khayr, may Allah be pleased with him, stressed the need to abandon the ego, or nafs, in order to realize the Pure Self.
Reviews :
"... the most complete anthology of Sufi teachings to date ... Because of its range and completeness, this is the one book that all libraries should have as they build their collections on Sufism." --Library Journal.
"A grand overview of the tradition, deserves to be appreciated for its depth and breadth."--Kabir Helminski, translator of Sufi literature.
Table of Contents :
---Introduction,
Travelling the Path of Love :
Sayings of the Sufi Masters
---[1]. The Sufi,
---[2]. The Path,
---[3]. The Teacher and the Disciple,
---[4]. The Longing of the Heart,
---[5]. Remembrance,
---[6]. Meditation and Prayer,
---[7]. Suffering and Surrender,
---[8]. Polishing the Heart,
---[9]. Light upon Light,
---[10]. The Lover and the Beloved,
---[11]. The Valley of Love,
---[12]. Knowledge of God,
---[13]. Wheresoever you Turn ...
---[14]. Annihilation of the Self,
---[15]. Union.
---Biographical Notes,
---Acknowledgments.
Let us share a few of the jewels from the book:
"Be in this world as if you are a traveller, a passer-by, with your clothes and shoes full of dust. Sometimes you sit under the shade of a tree, sometimes you walk in the desert. Be always a passer-by, for this is not home." --Hadith (Sayings of Prophet).
"God speaks out of the innermost being of the mystic while he is silent." --Al Junayd.
"Your journey is towards your homeland. Remember you are travelling from the world of appearances to the world of Reality." --Abdal-Khaliq Ghijduwani.
"If you walk towards HIM, HE comes to you running." --Hadith.
"You too put your best foot foward. If you do not wish to, then follow your fantacies. But if you prefer the secrets of the love of your soul, you will sacrifice everything. You will lose what you consider valuable, but you will soon hear the sacramental word, "Enter". --Attar.
More Sufism
*Dimensions : 21.1 x 13.5cm.
