Inner Life
This volume collects three classic essays by Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882^-1927), along with a short lecture (previously unpublished), "The Path of the Mystic," and a small collection of aphorisms. Readers unfamiliar with Sufism will find this an excellent, accessible introduction. Those who are familiar with Sufism will appreciate the collection of the material into one volume. Inayat Khan's insistence on the unity of mysticism and the oneness of God, along with his openness to all spiritual paths, is an important corrective to sectarianism and Western misperception of Islam as sectarian. The collection is full of memorable images, among them a picture of learning as tying a knot in the mind, and unlearning--essential to spiritual development--as the difficult task of untying it. For a Western audience as often as not tied up in knots, this is essential reading.Steve Schroeder