Dear Companions on the Path,

I hope this finds you very well. What a strange, marvelous, terrifying, intoxicating, fatiguing, and rapturous place this universe is. May we walk through it with agile steps!

I have spent the last month here in Richmond working on my new book on Pirzadi-Shahida Noor’s writings. I wrote to you last year about how the discovery of Noor’s mystical drama Aède of the Land and Sea opened my eyes to Noor’s soul on a new level. Since then I have been constantly concentrating on her and studying her published and unpublished writings in-depth. The fruits of these reflections are going into my book.

Noor saw that, as human beings, the world we inhabit is one that, to a great extent, we create ourselves. And the world we create is a product of what is in our minds. Our minds, in turn, are formatively molded in childhood. Noor recognized, therefore, the great importance of the experiences of children. What we are shown in childhood guides us throughout our lives.

Noor’s passion was for stories. Instead of telling children what to do and what to believe, stories open children’s eyes to the dilemmas of life and portray in sharp relief the qualities associated with different ways of being. Noor retold Eastern and Western tales and invented her own tales, and all of her tales inspire generosity, kindness, courage, humility, and wisdom without the slightest heavy-handedness. A glowing chivalry flows from Noor’s pen.

I look forward to sharing my findings with you soon, in the form of a completed book. For now, I still have more to write!

Yours ever,

Sarafil Bawa

Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan’s Urs, February 5, 2019
The Astana, Richmond, Virginia

The Way of Illumination: An Introduction to the Sufi Path

The Astana, Richmond, Virginia and Online
5-7 April 2019

All are invited to this weekend overview of the life and teachings of the Sufi mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan. Over 48 hours, Pir Zia will orient us to themes including “An Introduction to Sufism,” “The Ten Sufi Thoughts,” “The Path of Initiation,”  “Prayer and Wazifa,” and “Remembrance.” A perfect introduction to Sufism and also to Suluk Academy. Join us in person or online worldwide!

Register Today

Artwork by the Swedish abstract painter and mystic Hilma af Klint, now on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Altarpiece, No. 1, Group X, 1915.

The Way of Illumination: An Introduction to the Sufi

By Pir Zia Inayat-Khan and Nizam un Nisa Ayeda Husain
Foreword and Afterword by Netanel Miles-Yépez

Now Available!
www.inayatiorder.org/shop

The silsila or “chain” of transmission of a lineage is of central importance to a Sufi path. It is understood to be a conduit of the baraka or spiritual transmission of any genuine Sufi school. Tree of Lights illuminates the beings that make up the Silsila of the Inayatiyya, introducing us to their lives and stories and for the first time recognizing the unseen women of the Inayatiyya.

A perfect gift for oneself or a friend, for contemplation and recitation. 

Register Today!

Inayati Retreat
Concentration Update

Please welcome Amida Cary as the new Director of the Inayati Order’s Retreat Concentration. Amida will support the work of Nigel Hamilton in the UK and Naima Brown in the US, our two Vice Presidents of the Inayati Order’s Esoteric School.

In her new role, Amida works in concert with an international network of experienced retreat guides and trainee mentors. Together they focus on encouraging and guiding murids and leaders as they enter the transformative depths of the retreat process.  Read More

Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“When I open my eyes to the outer world, I feel myself as a drop in the sea; But when I close my eyes and look within, I see the whole universe as a bubble raised in the ocean of my heart.”

When we look out on the wide world, we feel small in comparison with the enormous vistas that surround us. To travel across a continent is a long journey, even by car. How much further are the planets and the stars! Our bodies are small, and the irises of our eyes are much smaller still.  Continued

See the full commentary on the Inayati Order website, and please check back for updates.

The Inayati Order is 
Now on Amazon Smile!

Please consider using the following link the next time you purchase something on Amazon and 0.5% will go toward the Inayati Order. Just remember to sign into Amazon with this link to access Amazon Smile and to choose The Inayati Order as your charity of choice. Thank you for giving in many ways, including possibly this one!

https://smile.amazon.com/ch/23-7159641

Our Worldwide Calendar

NORTH AMERICA

Practices of the Chishtiyya
Jamiat Khas Retreat 2019
Richmond, Virginia & Online
19-21 March 2019

Anatomy of Illumination
Inayati Leadership Training 2019
Richmond, Virginia & Online
21-24 March 2019

Way of Illumination: An Introduction to the Sufi Path
w/ Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
Richmond, Virginia & Online
5-7 April 2019

Season of the Rose: Essentials of the Sufi Path
Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon
26 June – 1 July 2019

Labor Day Silent Retreat
w/ Pir Zia Inayat-Khan & Friends
The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York
Labor Day Weekend, 30 August – 2 September 2019
Registration Opens April 2019!

EUROPE

German Easter Retreat
Gersfeld, Germany
18-21 April 2019

Zenith Institute
Olivone, Switzerland
22 July – 5 August 2019

Pir Zia Seminar in The Netherlands
Katwijk aan Zee, The Netherlands
23-25 August 2019

Pir Zia Seminar in Paris
Paris, France
22-24 November 2019

Suluk Academy will soon accept applications for Suluk Europe’s new class to begin January 2020, and then this fall for North America’s new class to begin September 2020. Sign up for updates. For a worldwide calendar featuring many Inayati Order teachers and programs, please visit our Inayati Worldwide Programs Calendar.