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Counsels of Bahauddin

This document provides 18 counsels or pieces of advice for those seeking knowledge and truth. Some of the key points include: do not follow impulses to teach or travel unless sent; do not rely on inner experiences or convictions as facts; do not allow praise or criticism to affect you; do not imitate others but use them as correctives; be prepared for beliefs and interpretations to change as your journey progresses; and do not mistake training for true ability. The overall message is to empty oneself of preconceptions and doubts in order to progress along the spiritual path.

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176 views3 pages

Counsels of Bahauddin

This document provides 18 counsels or pieces of advice for those seeking knowledge and truth. Some of the key points include: do not follow impulses to teach or travel unless sent; do not rely on inner experiences or convictions as facts; do not allow praise or criticism to affect you; do not imitate others but use them as correctives; be prepared for beliefs and interpretations to change as your journey progresses; and do not mistake training for true ability. The overall message is to empty oneself of preconceptions and doubts in order to progress along the spiritual path.

Uploaded by

colin7867320
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Counsels of Bahauddin

You want to be filled. But something which is full has first to be emptied. Empty yourself
so that you may fill properly by observing these counsels which you can do as duties to
yourself:
FIRS
!ever follow any impulse to teach however strong it might be. he command to teach is
not felt as an impulsion.
SE"#!$
!ever rely upon what you believe to be inner e%periences because it is only when you get
beyond them that you will reach &nowledge. hey are there to deceive you.
'IR$
!ever travel in search of &nowledge unless you are sent. he desire to travel for learning
is a test( not a command.
F#)R'
!ever trust a belief that a man or a community is the supreme one because this feeling is
a conviction not a fact. You must progress beyond conviction to fact.
FIF'
!ever allow yourself to be hurt by what you imagine to be criticism by a teacher( nor
allow yourself to remain elated because of praise. hese feelings are barriers in your way(
not conductors of it.
SI*'
!ever imitate or follow a man of humility who is also mean in material things( for such a
man is being proud in material things. If you are mean( practice generosity as a corrective
not as a virtue.
SE+E!'
Be prepared to reali,e that all beliefs which were due to your surroundings were minor
ones( even though they were once of much use to you. hey may become useless and(
indeed( pitfalls.
EI-''
Be prepared to find that certain beliefs are correct( but that their meaning and
interpretation may vary in accordance with your stage of .ourney( ma&ing them seem
contradictory to those who are not on the /ath.
!I!'
Remember the perception and illumination will not at first be of such a character that you
can say of them 0his is perception0 or this is illumination.0
E!'
!ever allow yourself to measure everything by means of the same time measurement.
#ne thing must come before another.
E1E+E!'
If you thin& too much of the man( you will thin& in disproportionate manner about the
activity. If you thin& too much about yourself( you will thin& wrongly about the man. If
you thin& too much about the boo&s( you will not be thin&ing correctly about other
things. )se one as a corrective for the others.
2E1F'
$o not rely upon your own opinion when you thin& you need boo&s and not e%ercises.
Rely less upon your belief when you thin& you need e%ercises and not boo&s.
'IREE!'
2hen you regard yourself as disciple( remember that this is a stage which you ta&e up in
order to discover what your true distance is from your teacher. It is not a stage which you
can measure li&e how far you stand from a building.
F#)REE!'
2hen you feel least interested in following the 2ay which you have entered( this may be
the time when it is most appropriate for you. If you imagine that you should not go on( it
is not because you are not convinced or you have doubts. It is because you are failing the
test. You will always have doubts( but only discover them at a useful time for your
wea&ness to point them out.
FIFEE!'
Banish doubt you cannot. $oubt goes when doubt and belief as you have been taught
them go. If you forsa&e a path( it is because you were hoping for conviction from it. You
see& conviction( not self3&nowledge.
SI*EE!'
$o not dwell upon whether you will put yourself into the hands of a teacher. You are
always in his hands. It is a 4uestion of whether he can help you to help yourself( for you
have too little means to do so. $ebating whether one trusts or not is a sign that one does
not want to trust at all( and therefore is still incapable of it. Believing that one can trust is
a false belief. If you wonder( 0"an I trust50 you are really wondering( 0"an I develop a
strong enough opinion to please me50
SE+E!EE!'
!ever mista&e training for ability. If you cannot help being what people call 0good0 or
0abstemious0 you are li&e the sharpened reed which cannot help writing if it is pushed.
EI-'EE!'
2hen you have observed or felt emotion( correct this by remembering that emotions are
felt .ust as strongly by people with completely different beliefs. If you imagine that this
e%perience3emotion3is therefore noble or sublime( why do you not believe that stomach3
ache is an elevated state5
!I!EEE!'
If a teacher encourages you( he is not trying to attach you to him. 'e is trying( rather( to
show you how easily you can be attracted. If he discourages you( the lesson is that you
are at the mercy of discouragement.
2E!IE'
)nderstanding and &nowledge are completely different sensations in the realm of ruth
than they are in the realm of society. 6nything which you understand in an ordinary
manner about the /ath is not understanding within the /ath( but e%terior assumption
about the /ath( common among unconscious imitators.
7 as translated by Idries Shah

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