Mar
06
2018
Dear Companions on the Path,
Greetings from Richmond, where, as I write, the dogwood trees are trumpeting the arrival of spring!
I last wrote from Fazal Manzil on the occasion of the Urs, when I issued the Declaration announcing Pirzadi-Shahida Noor-un-nisa’s place in the Silsila. I am thankful for all of the supportive messages I have since received. It is clear that there is great love and respect in our community for Pirzadi-Shahida Noor.
The meetings at Fazal Manzil were international in character, with friends gathering from Norway in the North to Morocco in the South, and from the U.S. in the West to Pakistan in the East—and Australia in the Antipodes. Murshid intended his Order to be a nucleus of the worldwide human family, and more and more it is becoming so. This year, the presence of special guests from the Sufi Movement lent the gathering an additional felicity. We were, moreover, honored by the presence and words of Shaikh al-Mashaik Mahmood Khan, Murshid Karimbakhsh, and Shaykha Fawzia Al-Rawi of the Rifa’i Order.
After the Urs I went to the priory in Epernon where the European Suluk class meets. Snow had begun to fall during the Urs, and by the time we set out for Epernon the roads were blanketed. A few times we had to get out of the car and push it. I was reminded of the Katha Upanishad: “Know the Self as the lord of the chariot and the body as the chariot.” Sometimes the soul is easily carried along by the body’s habitual running, other times it has to take matters in hand and move the body with its own force.
Soul power is certainly needed in the U.S. right now as the nation mourns the victims of another senseless tragedy. Times of collective reckoning such as this can be significant turning points. Clearly, the students sense this. Change is possible. And by this I mean something still more fundamental than the reform of laws and policies: I mean the elevation of the human spirit and the expansion of the human heart. This is where, as an Order, our essential work lies. And as we know, it begins with each one of us ourselves.
In closing, a piece of good news. Two important collections of Murshid’s teachings are now in print:Complete Works of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan: 1925 II and The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan: Centennial Edition, Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound. My sincere appreciation goes out to Qahira Wirgman and Yasodhara Lillydahl, respectively, for their dedicated work in preparing these volumes. I look forward to offering webcast commentaries on The Mysticism of Sound in May. Meanwhile, I encourage everyone to read Murshid’s words.
Yours ever,
Sarafil Bawa
P.S. If you have friends who would like to receive The Zephyr, please share this link for them to sign up.
The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan Volume II: The Mysticism of Sound by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Now available from Suluk Press for students of Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings and musicians worldwide.
Updated and revised to include four series of lectures: “Mysticism of Sound,” “Music,” “The Power of the Word,” and “Cosmic Language.”
www.sulukpress.org.
Gayan Commentary
Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Gayan
“I work simply, not troubling about results. My satisfaction is in accomplishing the work which is given to me to my best ability, and I leave the effect to the Cause.”
Lord Krishna said, “Be intent on action, not on the fruits of action.” Do what is to be done, without attachment to the outcome.
It is easy to be waylaid by fear. “What if I fail?” “What if all of my efforts are in vain?” Such speculations serve no useful purpose. Work that is given must be undertaken, succeed or fail. The effort itself is what matters.
“Given” work is the labor one knows in one’s heart of hearts to be one’s own. To take up this work is to find one’s place in the harmony of the universe. Working to the best of one’s ability means uniting body, heart, and soul in the effort, and never giving up.
The peace to be found where work attains its good end is always far away. But the peace that is found in good work is there every step of the way.
See the full commentary on the Inayati Order website, and please check back for updates.
The Gayan says, “The only condition of life is making one’s own nature.”
As human beings we have the privilege and responsibility of not only fashioning our lives, but fashioning our very selves. The nature that we create out of our very minds and hearts leaves its signature on the world and accompanies our souls into the hereafter. — Pir Zia Inayat-Khan.
Please join us this Easter as we explore how we make our own nature. Gersfeld, Germany. See here for
the full brochure.
Wisdom of the Prophets – Part VI: Sufism & Islam
Richmond, Virginia or
Online Anytime from Anywhere
May 3-6, 2018
Please join, us in-person or online, for a weekend of zikr andsuhbat with Pir Zia, Sheikha Fariha, Sheikh Ghassan, and special guest Dr. Omid Safi. We hope you join us!
See here for registration details.
Inayati News of Note
Every Sunday afternoon, Pir Zia gives a sermon during Universal Worship at the Astana in Richmond, Virginia. See here for his sermon from Sunday, 18 February, in response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
The 19th Annual Gathering of the Federation of the Sufi Message will be held at Fazal Manzil in Suresnes, France, 30 May to 3 June, 2018. Open to leaders and teachers of the Federation family with advance registration.
Over 10,000 religious leaders and friends will meet for The Parliament of World Religions in Toronto, Ontario, 1-7 November 2018. Many members of the Inayati community plan to attend. Early bird discount through March 31.
Inayati Order Upcoming Events
NORTH AMERICA
Jamiat-Khas Annual Retreat
The Astana, Richmond, Virginia
20-22 March 2018
Inayati Leadership Spring Training
The Astana, Richmond, Virginia
22-25 March 2018
Astana Open House
Richmond, Virginia
14-15 April 2018
Contact astana@inayatiorder.org.
Additional details forthcoming.
Wisdom of the Prophets: Sufism & Islam
w/ Sheikha Fariha, Sheikh Ghassan Manrasa & Pir Zia
The Astana, Richmond, Virginia
3-6 May 2018 and Online
The Alchemy of Happiness w/ Pir Zia
The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York
31 August – 2 September 2018
Details for programs in Berkeley, California, September 28-30 and Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 30-December 2, soon to be announced.
EUROPE
German Easter Retreat w/ Pir Zia
Gersfeld, Germany
30 March – 2 April 2018
The Spiritual Message of Mawlana Rumi
Middle Eastern & South Asian Inayati Community Gathering
Konya, Turkey
13-19 July 2018
Zenith Institute
Olivone, Switzerland
23 July – 18 August 2018
Growing Wings w/ Pir Zia
Katwijk aan Zee, The Netherlands
24-26 August 2018
London Seminar w/ Pir Zia
London, England
17-18 November 2018
INDIA
India Pilgrimage w/ Pir Zia
For details please contact gulrukh@inayatiorder.org.
Delhi to Gangotri
15-25 June, 2018
Please see our Inayati Order Programs Calendar for more event listings. New dates and online courses will be announced in March.