and later of Madame Saltzmann, if not Bennett, reached very high levels of public respect. Unfortunately, the Sufi connotation and its Islamic, religious attribution relegated it to the ranks of the cranky and unstable and even today, is taught behind closed doors and peculiarly presented at the point of entry.
Sufism in itself is not all meditation and self discipline, but the application of the discoveries by its adepts through the centuries and its ability to make one invisible and effective within the context of fighting for a better society. How not to do things is perhaps more meaningful in this context, than simply doing what one thinks best. Control of impulses, emotional drainage, the drive against habit and what comes easy is all a part of this attempt to harness the forces of undisciplined emotions and passions. The Kabbalah often called the Tree of Life, has more to do with sequences of emotional states and their relative interaction, like say the apparently discordant crying with joy, than with all the fantastic connotations attributed to these teachings. Sufism, however, provoking as it does a degree of sensitivity way beyond much understood in western cultures, is often at odds with those who have little time or inclination to maintain their mental capacity sharp and effective. Many modern Sufis are great scholars, but not that many, are great people with their hearts in the right place. This means that the basic fulcrum of their existance has unnecessarily been displaced by a change of cultural needs. Sufism is not for weak willed but for whoever has the time and capability to fight the senses and passions mercilessly for a better understanding and enjoyment of these when