viii AN INTRODUCT!ON TO SUFI DOCTRINE

ing down. In the chaos in which we now live certain
comparisons are inevitable, at any rate for those who
are sensitive to spiritual forms, and it is no longer pos-
sible to avoid the poblems to which such comparisons
give rise simply by passing over them in silence.

First of all it is important to understand that, if
those whose outlook is esoteric recognise the essential
unity of all religions, that does not lead them either to
blur the contours of spiritual forms or to overlook the
necessity, in its own order, of this or that sacred Law.
Quite the reverse is true, for the diversity in the forms
of the religions not only shows up the inadequacy of
every formal expression in the face of total Truth, but
also, indirectly, demonstrates the spiritual originality
of each form—its inimitability in which the uniqueness
of their common principle is affirmed. The boss of a
wheel both unites the spokes and also determines their
divergent directions.

This introductian of the doctrine of Sufism is neces-
sarily incomplete. It treats chiefly of metaphysic, which
is the basis of everything; method is dealt with only in
broad outline, while cosmology receives no more than a
passing reference.

In relation to certain aspects of the doctrine here
summarised, reference is chiefly made to the “Very Great
Master,”” Muhyi-d-Din ibn ‘Arabi (1165-1240 A.D.)
whose role in relation to Sufism may be compared to
that of Shri Shankaracharya in relation to the Vedanta.

Since Sufism is a tradition—that is, the transmission