Bektashi Principles

This is a commonly cited set of ideas from one of my favorite Sufi saints, Hajji Bektash Veli. Though I am not myself a Bektashi, he is in many ways the Sufi saint I feel most connected with. I think this list is one of the most beautiful encapsulations of the Sufi path.


Principles of the Bektashi Path

• Seek and find.

• Whatever you do, do it for the Truth.

• There exists in you a “there is” to replace every “there isn't.”

• He who walks the Path never tires.

• There is no rank or station higher than the Friend's heart.

• The one who is wise but doesn't share his wisdom is ignorant.

• To the ignorant, abandoning what is no longer needed is death;
to the wise it is birth.

• There is no repentance of repentance.

• Let your heart, your hand, and your table be open to others.

• Look for the key to all within your deepest being.

• Whatever you seek, look within.

• Do not forget your enemy is also a human being.

• The beauty of human beings is the beauty of their words.

• If the path appears dark, know that the veil is in your own eyes.

• All blessings upon the one who overlooks another's shortcomings.

• All blessings upon the one who makes a secret of secrets.

• The Word is Truth.

• Do not hurt others, even if you are hurt.

• Hand-in-hand, hand in Truth.

• One hour of meditation is better than seventy years of piety.

Other sayings attributed to Haji Bektash Veli include:
- “The best book of all is the human being,” and
- “Educate your women, a nation that doesn't educate its women cannot progress.”