Notes from a Distant Flute by Bruce B. Lawrence Review by: S. Vahiduddin Philosophy East and West, Vol.

32, No. 1 (Jan., 1982), pp. 118-120 Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1398763 . Accessed: 30/08/2013 13:35
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118

Book Reviews

But mostof thisdiscussion form. is accessibleonlyto thespecialist, and even thenthe hereis notreally character with neednotso muchto be issueswhich summary compatible the author'sdecisionnot to quote reviewed as to be exploredforsolutions.Further, the manyTibetansourcescitedleaves the readerwondering from whatwas reallysaid themselves. bytheBuddhists A fifth chapter,"Monkhood, MonasteryLife, Religious Calendar and Festivals" to less problematic returns issuesin Buddhism;and two closingchapters-"The Folk in Tibet. The Religion"and "The Bon Religion"-take up otherreligious expressions at theend of the workis somewhat but appearanceof indigenous religions surprising; the authorassuresus, withsome merit, thattheirpositionfacilitates with comparison thehistorically moresignificant of Buddhism. developments A wordmustbe said about Tucci's own translations whichare colored,of course,by his Englishtranslator. Tucci statesthathe wishesto avoid theextremes of "literal"and so that the symbolic value of the religioustermscan ring "philosophical"rendering The intent forth. is laudablebutsometimes fails.Tucci translates sa (bhimi)literally and endsup withtheawkward"Ten Earthsof theBodhisattva Path"; on theotherhand,he standard fortheBodiesof theBuddhaand comesup withsuchintertranslations ignores as "Body of infinite forchossku(dharmakaya). pretive renderings spiritual potentiality" Still,a Tibetan transliteration (accordingto the Wylie system)is providedfor every has theopportunity technical to avoid hisor herown extremes. term;and thereader
GEORGER. ELDER

Hunter of New York CollegeofThe CityUniversity Tehran:TehranImperial a DistantFlute.By BruceB. Lawrence. of Notesfrom Academy 1978.Pp. 123.$6.50. Philosophy, The traditional Western withits emphasison historical antecedents approachto Sufism and sourceshas givenplace to its more sympathetic as a manifestation understanding which and which, as an inner is Islamicincharacter dimension ofIslam,deserves attention Ofcourse, and itisnotsomething on itsownaccount. hasa mystic dimension, every religion to Islamthatitsmystics thereligious shouldcomeintoconflict with establishment. peculiar The relation of themystics and theofficial has alwaysremained ambivalent spokesmen theIslamicmystics have neverdisownedIslam,and eventhe and despiteopen conflicts ultra-orthodox could nothelpdeveloping a mystic accentin their WhenIslam teachings. itsearlier native confines theimpact ofother and traditions made spreadbeyond religions felt at manylevels. itself and extensive Among the scholarswho have made a sympathetic studyof the sufi tradition Prof.BruceB. Lawrence Islam is underoccupiesa prominent place. Generally stoodintheWestonlyinitsArabprofile. ButIslamcannotbe understood inall itsrichness without intoaccountnewdevelopments inregions were which notoriginally Muslim taking came undertheinfluence butwhich ofIslamlater.It is onlyrecently thattherichspiritual and culturalheritageof the Indian subcontinent has attracted The writer attention. laments the fact that "Sufism was a in element south Asian rightly though Islam, major littlehas been written about the particular way in whichsuficordersor Silsilas were

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119

introduced intoIndia and howthey ofcourse, subsequently developed"(p. 11). Lawrence, is not alone in thisventure. Such scholarsas SymonDighlyand Annamarie Schimmel are contributing to a better of Sufism. fruitfully understanding the writer's attention is on theChishti concentrated ofsufis, Naturally mostly fraternity because among the mystic ordersthat prevailedin early medievalIndia the Chishtis the scene.Thoughtheyhailed from dominated outsideIndia their ordercould not gain in the adherents Indian where it the subcontinent found climate except any religious very to its own One of the characteristics of this order was its of congenial genius. acceptance Their sama or musical auditionin its mystic members gatherings. leading responded to themystic which was recited, wereso overand, in somecases,they ecstatically poetry relatesto Qutb ad-Din, the poweredthattheydied. One of the mostfamousinstances Whena verseof ShaikhAhmadJamwas recited of Mu'in ad-Din Chishti. before disciple himhe was so captivated he remained dumbfounded, byit that"forfour daysand nights to hearthislinerepeated. he died" (page 22). The On thefifth continually longing night, writer's account ofChishti saints and theanecdotes their livesandtheutterances concerning which wererecorded a fascinating ofthesufi life and teaching disciples bytheir gives picture inmedieval to Nizamad-Din Auliya, thefamous India.Lawrence rightly givesprominence saintwho lies buriedin Delhi and to whoseshrine eventodayto getbaraka. peopleflock WhiletheearlyChishti sufis did not taketo writing, thewholeatmosphere changedwith Gesu Dara who had ultimately settled in Gulbergain the Daccan, at present a partof and doctrinal Karnataka.Theoretical thencame to be discussed, formulations and under theinfluence of Ibn 'Arabi thequestionof the Unityof BeingprovokedheatedcontroWhilesome of themcommitted versies. to Ibn 'Arabi unconditionally, themselves there wereothers, Gesu Daraz amongthem, who reactedsharply againsthis monistic system. Butwhatis mostinteresting is hisworkcalledAsmar or NightDiscourses.Some al-Asrar in them ofthevisions described in symbolic and allegorical theextraorlanguageindicate Islam as it appearedin thosepages and as it is dinaryrichworldof mystic experience. in BruceLawrence's reflected workhas little incommon theofficial with Islamproclaimed themedia. through One mostmeritable characteristic ofthese Chishti saints was thatthough responded they to musicecstatically created an atmosphere ofpiety and devotion. Theirconcern for they thepoor and thedestitude and a man likeNizam ad-Din Auliyawould was exemplary, wereotherpersonswho had nothing not touchfood on thegroundthatthere to eat. If to see in their theSunnaof behavior and conduct from anyone is interested anydeviation theProphet, as Prof.Lawrence is at times inclined to do, he shouldunderstand thatthey did not wantto seta Sunnaparallelto theProphet's but to showthatthosewho follow the path have requirements whichcannot be satisfied in a traditional way. Hence no in compliance withthe instruction of wonderthatNizam ad-Din Auliyadid not marry of or Guide. BruceLawrence's accountof theearlyChishtis and his analysis his Murshid thatof Gesu Daraz, makes worksof the laterChishis, some veryfascinating especially His translations of their versesleave nothing moreto be desired.But delightful reading. in translation thespecific sometimes nuanceof theoriginal is naturally lost.For example, withregardto Qutb Ad-Din's deathwhilelistening to himas to music,thepoet refers "a gem froma different mine." Lawrencetranslates it as "What a rare gem he was." Whatthepoetwishesto convey is theidea thatthesourceofthisgemwas other thanthis world.

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120 Book Reviews

Lawrence'sworkis also replete withmanymeaningful anecdotes.For example,it is of Nur Qutb-i-'Alam: related Someone asked the Shaykh(reports Husam al-Din): whydo the Shaykhscustomarily thesalam at theend of theobligatory shake hands after Please tellme whatis prayer? theinner of thispractice"."It is traditional", theShaykh, "thatwhena meaning replied traveller returns from a journey, he shakeshandswith Whenthedervish hisfriends. stands he becomes in God: leaving he goeson an inward immersed himself, up inprayer, journey. Whenhe saysSalam he comesbackto himself. Hencehe shakeshandswith thosepresent" (page: 57). thewriter withtheChishti does order, Thoughthemajorpartof hisworkis concerned not ignorethe otherfraternities thatwieldedby no meansa negligible influence. Hence thewriter refers to whathe calls "sporadicexcellence" oftheSuhrawardi silsila.The sufis to thisordermaintained a cordialrelationship withthe Chishtis and one of belonging themevenissueda legal pronouncement on thesanction of sama forwhichtheChishtis had predilection. commented on 'Awarif of Shihabuddin al-Ma'arif Manyof theChishtis He does and used itas a textbook in theteaching ofsufic and practice. Suhrawardi theory not also neglectfraternities confined to particular One of regionsof the subcontinent. man in Sharafuddin them,the FirdausiSilsila in Bihar Sharifproduceda remarkable writes:"The letters translated intoEnglish, Maneri,who in one of thehundred recently trueloveris he who makeshispurposethesacrifice ofhisownpurpose."Amongsomeof the sufiswhose affiliation to any fraternity the great is not certain, Lawrencementions a Mathnaviin thestyle Bi'Ali Qalandarof Panipatwho wrote of Rumithough in a very In the end, the smallcompass. It is markedby what Lawrencecalls "lyricalsoftness." of sufis. writer makes a verypertinent observation: "Sufismis more than the writings in proximity It is morethantheir words."The mystic distance and proximity experiences in distance. How thisis possiblecan be onlyexperienced butcannotbe explained. The valueofthisbook is enhanced notes.The select on prebyitsdetailed bibliography willbe foundveryhelpful forfuture workand research. Mughal IndianSufism Though thevastsubject thewriter the dealswith ofSufism ina smallcompassstillone can breathe and thisis possibleonlywhenone has developedrapport withliving suficatmosphere, We are surethatthisbook givesus onlythebeginnings sufic tradition. ofa very promising in thefuture. careerand we can expectmuchmorefrom Lawrence
S. VAHIDUDDIN

IndianInstitute ofIslamicStudies

An Introduction New Jersey: to IndianThought. L. Herman. By Arthur EnglewoodCliffs, 1976.Pp. 301 Bibliography, Prentice-Hall, Glossary-Index. in thephilosopher's Arthur Hermanclearly questas he sees it-the bold inteldelights and His own enjoyment withlife'sbasic puzzlesand predicaments. lectualconfrontation he At thesame time, enthusiasm color thisworkand are to a certain degreecontagious. toIndianThought, In AnIntroduction creates ofa disconcerting dilemma himself. something and provocative introhe has givenus on the one hand a highly readable,informative, in in generaland Indianphilosophy texton thenatureof philosophical inquiry ductory

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