The Sufi Riddle

Robert Graves defines Sufism as the only continuous movement in human history, dating back into the mists of prehistory. From the Eleusinian Mysteries to the rites of initiation into the Sufi orders there are similarities and underlying signs of continuity. The thread could easily be traced farther into recorded human history. The question that arises is simply WHY? What is the reason behind the survival of this continuous movement? There are many concepts about it. Like all historical traditions this movement is analyzed differently by different historians. The most common are but the pragmatic and the sublimation thesis. The pragmatic approach tries to understand the movement within a causal context. It mixes Sufism with mysticism on the one hand and tries to rationalize it at a baser level: rebellion against status quo; escape from restrictions; quest for immortality; and so on. The sublimation thesis on the other hand denies the causal matrix. It takes a psychological standpoint. It takes the persistence of the movement as a quest for truth, knowledge of the real self, the I component in human soul that interacts with the me, us, and other. It sees the movement as a quest for self knowledge, an intellectual movement, Know Thyself of Socrates.
Sufism, seen from this perspective, is the sublimation of common human ideals. A search for humanity within the highest echelons of humanity, namely religion. It has taken many forms and shapes, from whirling dervishes, to the charitable music loving, God intoxicated Chistia in the sub Continent. Despite many forms and shapes the underlying motive remains the same: reforming what mediocrity takes as the ultimate reformation. Hence, the allegation of pantheism by the Muslim theologians and the oriental writers. Though the motives of both the groups remained different, the resultant misunderstanding remains the same.
Idrees Shah defines it succinctly in The Way of the Sufis, saying, “Sufism is to avoid preconceptions.” I sincerely think this is what the world needs badly to survive as a human denomination. And it is this strength of developing proper ideals throughout human history that is behind the continuation of the movement.