Archives
- May 2025
- September 2023
- November 2022
- March 2022
- May 2021
- June 2020
- March 2020
- December 2019
- May 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- October 2018
- July 2018
- August 2017
- May 2017
- March 2017
- January 2017
- October 2016
- September 2016
- July 2016
- May 2016
- March 2016
- January 2016
- November 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- November 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
Categories
Meta
Category Archives: Authors
Guru Arjan Dev and Mian Mir: A Tale of Love and Friendship between two Sufi masters
by Navid Zaidi Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606) was the fifth Guru of the Sikh faith that flourished in the Punjab region of India from the sixteenth century onwards. Hazrat Mian Mir (1550-1635) was a famous Muslim Sufi saint who resided … Continue reading
The Second Half
By Tabassum Saba “Is this all there is?” Many people of my age are asking this. Why this has become a nagging question for many of us? I think it’s because we were prepared to fulfill the goals of first … Continue reading
Posted in Tabussum Saba
Leave a comment
The Emergence of Religions of Earthly Salvation
by Navid Zaidi Nowadays, humanity finds itself dramatically at odds with ancient religious doctrines which are steadily losing credibility. Among the youth in particular, matters are falling apart- manners and knowledge, the sense of history, interest in politics, acquaintance with … Continue reading
Posted in Navid Zaidi, Uncategorized
1 Comment
How Faith Replaced Kosmos: The Revolt Against Greek Thought
by Navid Zaidi The period 800-200 BC has been called the Axial Age. For reasons that are not entirely understood, all the chief civilizations of the world developed during this period along parallel lines ; Taosim and Confucianism in China, … Continue reading
From Simplicity through Contradiction to Paradox
by Modaser Shah The title is from a paper by the prodigious and acclaimed Indian analyst Salman Akhtar writing in a psychoanalytic journal. I imagine him to be a hidden Sufi or at least steeped in Sufi wisdom and literature. … Continue reading
The Freedom of the Self
by Navid Zaidi “You sound to me as though you don’t believe in free will,” said Billy Pilgrim. “If I hadn’t spent so much time studying Earthlings,” said the Tralfamadorian, “I wouldn’t have any idea what was meant by free … Continue reading
Posted in Navid Zaidi, Original Essays
Tagged Free Will, Religion and philosophy, Tralfamdorians and Iqbal
Leave a comment
The (Deeper) Movement of Thought
by Navid Zaidi There is a very simple, almost unspoken law, the law being that if any two things interact, they must be in some way like each other. It is quite possible for somebody who looks at the Sun … Continue reading
Posted in Authors, Navid Zaidi, Original Essays
Tagged mind over matter, philosophy, Sufi thought on thought
3 Comments
Sanity Guides
by Modaser Shah “Wer den Wegweiser findet, sucht nun nicht nach einer weiteren Instruktion, sondern geht,” said Wittgenstein.¹ My translation of this is as follows: When one finds a guide(post), one doesn’t look for further instruction, one just goes. That … Continue reading
Posted in Modaser Shah, Original Essays
Tagged Ludwig Wittgenstein, Mansur and Nasruddin, philoshophy, religion, Sufi thought, Wittgenstein
Leave a comment
Confusion and Clarity and the In-between
by Modaser Shah Heinrich Racker, the well-known psychoanalyst from South America, notes in passing in a book that “clarity cannot be attained except through confusion,” a remarkable sentiment from a rather unexpected corner. Usually one expects this kind of insight … Continue reading
Sufi Lives: Rabia
by Ali Hammad More than a millennium has passed since the times of Rabia, the patron saint of Sufism. The events of her life are now shrouded in an impenetrable veil of time. A few scraps of her biography are … Continue reading
Sufi Ways 