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The Unity of Religious Ideals
The Unity of Religious Ideals (Vol 9) [Jun 01, 1979] Khan, Hazrat Inayat
279 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1929
13 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Hazrat Inayat Khan
306 books270 followersHazrat Inayat Khan (Urdu: عنایت خان ) (July 5, 1882 – February 5, 1927) was an exemplar of Universal Sufism and founder of the "Sufi Order in the West" in 1914 (London). Later, in 1923, the Sufi Order of the London period was dissolved into a new organization formed under Swiss law and called the "International Sufi Movement". He initially came to the West as a representative of classical Indian music, having received the title Tansen from the Nizam of Hyderabad but soon turned to the introduction and transmission of Sufi thought and practice. His universal message of divine unity (Tawhid) focused on the themes of love, harmony and beauty. He taught that blind adherence to any book rendered any religion void of spirit.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 21, 2007
i first read this book in sixth grade... i had found it in a used bookstore, and devoured every word. i was struck by Khan's vision of the unity of faiths, and his simple, beautiful illustrations of a life devoted to God. his book seemed to strip religion to its basics, and i loved his message dearly. i do not know what happened to this book, but it has stayed in my imagination for years, and i am grateful to have discovered it.
June 21, 2025
# 👍🏻 What I Liked About It
- The message of love, unity, tolerance, appreciation
- The analysis of the human nature, the need and the difficulties
- Variety of different points of views
- Some stories from the past
- The wisdom under the lines
# 👎🏻 What I Didn't Like About It
- For the whole reading, I couldn’t grasp any particular, certain or just definitive truth about the Sufi movement. My point is that if you won’t read this book, you won’t lose anything because there is nothing to gain of. It’s just so abstract, so vaguely definitive, with no explanations, no further details, it’s just when you needed to say something, but you don’t want it to say and, which is more important, - you have nothing to say! That’s how I felt reading this book…
# 👨🎓 What I’ve Learned
- Then the youth said, "You have taught me the first lesson of the spiritual path: that none exists save God.
- The one life which has created rocks, trees, plants, animals, birds and all things, is both one life and one wisdom. The flower, the leaf, the fruit and branches, all come from one root, even though they have different names. It is all one.
- And yet we do not know; sometimes appearances are merely illusions; behind them there may be the deepest religious devotion or the highest ideal hidden, of which we know very little.
# 📜 Quotes
This shows the meaning of a Sufi verse: "The Controller of the world knows how to control it, Whom He should rear and whom He should cut off."
Very few indeed recognize Him; all humanity is laboring under a great unrest; and yet man thinks he is progressing while all the time he only progresses towards still greater unrest.
"Sufism is the religion of the heart, the religion in which one thing is most important, and that is to seek God in the heart of mankind."
As the Sufi says: all virtues manifest by themselves once the heart is wakened to love and kindness.
The blood of the martyrs was the foundation of the church.
Life is one continual battle, and only one thing can ease this battle: consideration for others, reciprocity, unselfishness instead of selfishness.
- The message of love, unity, tolerance, appreciation
- The analysis of the human nature, the need and the difficulties
- Variety of different points of views
- Some stories from the past
- The wisdom under the lines
# 👎🏻 What I Didn't Like About It
- For the whole reading, I couldn’t grasp any particular, certain or just definitive truth about the Sufi movement. My point is that if you won’t read this book, you won’t lose anything because there is nothing to gain of. It’s just so abstract, so vaguely definitive, with no explanations, no further details, it’s just when you needed to say something, but you don’t want it to say and, which is more important, - you have nothing to say! That’s how I felt reading this book…
# 👨🎓 What I’ve Learned
- Then the youth said, "You have taught me the first lesson of the spiritual path: that none exists save God.
- The one life which has created rocks, trees, plants, animals, birds and all things, is both one life and one wisdom. The flower, the leaf, the fruit and branches, all come from one root, even though they have different names. It is all one.
- And yet we do not know; sometimes appearances are merely illusions; behind them there may be the deepest religious devotion or the highest ideal hidden, of which we know very little.
# 📜 Quotes
This shows the meaning of a Sufi verse: "The Controller of the world knows how to control it, Whom He should rear and whom He should cut off."
Very few indeed recognize Him; all humanity is laboring under a great unrest; and yet man thinks he is progressing while all the time he only progresses towards still greater unrest.
"Sufism is the religion of the heart, the religion in which one thing is most important, and that is to seek God in the heart of mankind."
As the Sufi says: all virtues manifest by themselves once the heart is wakened to love and kindness.
The blood of the martyrs was the foundation of the church.
Life is one continual battle, and only one thing can ease this battle: consideration for others, reciprocity, unselfishness instead of selfishness.
November 22, 2024
Outstanding! Very inspiring. Goes to the roots of religious beliefs.
October 20, 2007
Hazrat Inayat Khan has a wonderful sense of simplicity. This book has a brief overview of several religions, as well as general and brief introductions to a Sufi's view of the God Ideal.
February 20, 2008
some elements are dated...but it holds the spark...and has taught me a lot
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January 17, 2010kesatuan ideal agama-agama...buku ini mengajarkan pluralisme.
January 3, 2011
Beautiful!
Wonderful!
Enlightening!
The Sufi's understanding of the major world religions.
Wonderful!
Enlightening!
The Sufi's understanding of the major world religions.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews