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The ‘perfuming of a scorpion’, referred to by the great Sufi teacher Bahaudin Naqshband of Bukhara, symbolises hypocrisy and self-deception: both in the individual and in institutions.
In A Perfumed Scorpion, Idries Shah directs attention to both the perfume and the scorpion – the overlay and the reality – bringing into focus the conditioned behaviour and self-deception that are common in Western minds.
Crammed with illustrative anecdotes from contemporary life, the book is nonetheless rooted in the teaching patterns of Rumi, Hafiz, Jami, and many other great Eastern sages. It deals with the need to break loose from old mental habits, in order to pursue a path to self-development based on clarity and sincerity.
Using the powerful wisdom of the classical masters, A Perfumed Scorpion blends a fast-paced look at today's world with the timeless teachings of the Sufis.
Idries Shah was born in India in 1924 into an aristocratic Afghan family. He was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition and is considered one of the leading thinkers of the 20th century.
