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Sufi Talks: Teachings of an American Sufi Sheikh
Once a woman brought her son to the thirteenth-century Turkish Sufi master Nasruddin complaining that the boy had an uncontrollable sweet tooth. She asked Nasruddin to tell the boy to stop eating sweets. He said to bring him back in four weeks. When they returned he said, "Boy, I order you to stop eating sweets!" The mother asked, "Couldn't you have said that at the beginning? Why make us wait four weeks?" "No, I couldn't have said that even two weeks ago," Nasruddin replied. "Why not?" asked the mother. "Because I love sweets myself. First I had to control my own love for them. Only then could I tell your son to stop eating them."
That is, words are empty unless backed by experience, says Robert Frager. People will not change until they hear from those who have lived what they teach. Frager has indeed lived his teaching. Founder of the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology in 1975, in 1976 he became a student of the Sufi master Muzaffer Efendi. Since becoming a sheikh in 1985, he has given many sohbets-a Turkish word for the spiritual conversations Sufi teachers hold to inspire their students. The sohbets he presents here are compiled from his talks over the past decade and represent Sufism as it is now practiced in the United States.
Frager believes that the wisdom in such talks flows through the sheikh from his teacher and his teacher's teacher all the way back to the Prophet Mohammad and God; the sheikh is merely a channel for something greater than any individual. Moreover, these talks are not lectures but rather living connections going both ways between heart and heart. Indeed, the warm, personal immediacy to Frager's voice is rarely found. Like the tales of Nasruddin, he teaches through colorful anecdote and metaphors. Sufi practice has two sides, he says: one is to develop our love of God; the other is to become less self-centered. We need both, just as a bird needs both wings to fly.
"How can I put my knowledge into practice?" is the question we must ask. As the Qur'an states, those who fail to live by their understanding are like donkeys carrying a load of books. The books won't change them. They can carry the holiest books but will still be donkeys.
Among the practices Frager teaches are zikr, or remembrance of God through chanting; halvet, or spiritual retreat; and adab, or "right action." Thus do we develop character-or, rather, restore the character we had at birth. "I've never seen a baby with a bad character," he says. "We are all born in a pure state. With hard work and God's blessings we can return to it." Other topics include Obstacles on the Path, Reducing Narcissism, Inner Work, Prayer, Marriage, Generosity, Taking Responsibility, and Waking before We Die.
No matter what one's religion, the reader will find such universal wisdom in this book that he will agree with Frager's teacher Muzaffer Efendi who once advised, "You can tell these stories ten thousand times and people will still benefit from them"
That is, words are empty unless backed by experience, says Robert Frager. People will not change until they hear from those who have lived what they teach. Frager has indeed lived his teaching. Founder of the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology in 1975, in 1976 he became a student of the Sufi master Muzaffer Efendi. Since becoming a sheikh in 1985, he has given many sohbets-a Turkish word for the spiritual conversations Sufi teachers hold to inspire their students. The sohbets he presents here are compiled from his talks over the past decade and represent Sufism as it is now practiced in the United States.
Frager believes that the wisdom in such talks flows through the sheikh from his teacher and his teacher's teacher all the way back to the Prophet Mohammad and God; the sheikh is merely a channel for something greater than any individual. Moreover, these talks are not lectures but rather living connections going both ways between heart and heart. Indeed, the warm, personal immediacy to Frager's voice is rarely found. Like the tales of Nasruddin, he teaches through colorful anecdote and metaphors. Sufi practice has two sides, he says: one is to develop our love of God; the other is to become less self-centered. We need both, just as a bird needs both wings to fly.
"How can I put my knowledge into practice?" is the question we must ask. As the Qur'an states, those who fail to live by their understanding are like donkeys carrying a load of books. The books won't change them. They can carry the holiest books but will still be donkeys.
Among the practices Frager teaches are zikr, or remembrance of God through chanting; halvet, or spiritual retreat; and adab, or "right action." Thus do we develop character-or, rather, restore the character we had at birth. "I've never seen a baby with a bad character," he says. "We are all born in a pure state. With hard work and God's blessings we can return to it." Other topics include Obstacles on the Path, Reducing Narcissism, Inner Work, Prayer, Marriage, Generosity, Taking Responsibility, and Waking before We Die.
No matter what one's religion, the reader will find such universal wisdom in this book that he will agree with Frager's teacher Muzaffer Efendi who once advised, "You can tell these stories ten thousand times and people will still benefit from them"
296 pages, Paperback
First published June 26, 2012
15 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 21, 2014
Buku ini sangat mengilhamkan saya untuk memulai perubahan-perubahan mendasar yang bisa saja dianggap kecil atau sepele untuk menghidupkan sisi spiritualitas kita.
Mencerahkan! Menggerakkan!
Mencerahkan! Menggerakkan!
December 9, 2018
Untuk orang-orang yang sedang mempertanyakan keimanannya, mencari jawaban atas kebenaran, yang merasa kosong dan tak memiliki makna, yang kebingungan akan apa yang sesungguhnya dicari. Buku ini bisa membantu untuk melihat dan memaknai segalanya lebih dalam.
Namun, bukankah jalan spiritual setiap orang berbeda?
Selamat mencari dan menemukan.
Namun, bukankah jalan spiritual setiap orang berbeda?
Selamat mencari dan menemukan.
February 5, 2016
A must read. Opens the heart and fills the soul. What's intriguing is how similar the Holy Gita and Sufi teaching are. There is so much overlap and alignment.
November 10, 2015
Ak akan terus membaca ulang buku ini. Mendadak kehilangan minat untuk mereview karena berlama-lama di depan komputer membuat sedikit kedamaian jd hilang
November 28, 2016
Great book, bad Indonesian translation.
July 9, 2017
Bagai diketuk-ketuk hati ini dan terasa begitu tebalnya karat yang menutupinya. Membuatkan aku termenung panjang dan menyedari masih jauh perjalanan ini.
August 23, 2014
Buku ini, membuat saya termenung dan melihat kembali kepada diri saya.
March 8, 2018
Obrolan Sufi untuk Transformasi hati jiwa dan ruh. sebuah buku yang kaya akan hikmah melalui obrolan para penempuh jalan spiritual dan tarekat yang disusun menjadi transkrip buku oleh syekh Rober Frager, Ph.D. sejatinya buku ini layaknya kumpulan hikmah-hikmah dari perkataan gurunya syekh muzafer effendi yang kemudian disusun menjadi karya tulis yang hebat sarat makna dan penuh kisah. cukup banyak pelajaran yang bisa saya ambil dalam buku ini.
Namun Ada beberapa kalimat yang typo dan baru kali ini saya nemu typo di penerbit zaman, tapi tidak masalah bagi saya, kemudian ada sedikit yang kurang greget dari buku ini, yaitu ketika kisah Ibrahim bin Adham yang Endingnya agak rancu atau buntu. dari awal dikisahkan sejak lahir
tetapi kisah akhirnya gak ada jadi moralnya kurang dapet malahan jadi sedih liat kisahnya
Namun Ada beberapa kalimat yang typo dan baru kali ini saya nemu typo di penerbit zaman, tapi tidak masalah bagi saya, kemudian ada sedikit yang kurang greget dari buku ini, yaitu ketika kisah Ibrahim bin Adham yang Endingnya agak rancu atau buntu. dari awal dikisahkan sejak lahir
tetapi kisah akhirnya gak ada jadi moralnya kurang dapet malahan jadi sedih liat kisahnya
August 25, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and feel like I've obtained a lot of ideas and insight into concepts that weren't necessarily new to me, but I received them entirely differently through the course of this book. This felt - likely intentionally - like a fireside chat.
The mix of stories and the focus on the conceptual aspects of Islam as applied in daily life versus the ritualistic "do this, do that" that often exists in religious-based texts was refreshing.
The only negative thought I have about this book is that I wish the hadiths utilized were cited more clearly so they could be tracked down, especially when the author paraphrased them.
The mix of stories and the focus on the conceptual aspects of Islam as applied in daily life versus the ritualistic "do this, do that" that often exists in religious-based texts was refreshing.
The only negative thought I have about this book is that I wish the hadiths utilized were cited more clearly so they could be tracked down, especially when the author paraphrased them.
June 30, 2020
I have learned psychology in university but I'm still confusing with myself. Psychology can not answer my question about who I am I. This book is absolutely stunning. All about my question in my soul all the time is answered clearly.
July 4, 2015
Sheihk Frager's book always take me forever to read as I always have so much to process through with each section that he writes, but his work is inspiring.
October 11, 2014
Should be required reading for all aspiring dervishes! Lucid, inspiring, humbling.
March 24, 2016
this book it's so amazing!!!
Read
July 17, 2017gdf
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews