Communications

The Zephyr December 2019

The Zephyr

16 December 2019

Dear Friends,

Greetings! I hope this finds you very well.

Last week the Naubahar Suluk class again convened at the Astana, this time to go deeper into Meditation (mushahada), the third stage in the inner life. There was joyful companionship and numinous silence, and we observed together the ‘Urs of Ghaws al-A‘zam, the Great Protector (God sanctify his secret), whose lineage flows into the Inayatiyya.

Two weeks earlier I traveled to Suresnes to guide a retreat on the Anatomy of Illumination. It was a happy reunion with ashiqs and murids from several countries. As we undertook the renovation of our subtle bodies, the Khankah in which we gathered—Fazal Manzil, Murshid’s hallowed home—was undergoing renovation, a large-scale project that will continue over the next two years, God willing. The first fruits of this renovation can be seen in this glimpse of the Oriental Room.

After the holidays I will be back in France again for the annual leadership meetings in Suresnes and the commencement of the new European Suluk class. Not long thereafter, in February, we will gather in Mustang Island, Texas, for a 5-day intensive retreat that is open to all. I look forward to being with many of you.

In 2020, the Esoteric School and Sufi Healing worldwide will offer synchronized study of The Centennial Edition of The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. 4: Health, Mental Purification, and The Mind World, which is due for publication shortly. I encourage everyone to obtain this important volume and to join in the exploration of its transformational wisdom.

Closely related to mental purification is the subject of alchemy, which as you may know is foundational to the Esoteric School generally, and to the Retreat Concentration specifically. The alchemical process, also known as the Great Work, will be a central theme in our gatherings over the next two years. Notably, it will form the subject matter of a specialized course for Suluk graduates scheduled to begin next fall. As a foretaste of things soon to come, a selection of alchemical sayings will go out from the Astana beginning tomorrow, day by day.

Dear Friends, I wish you a luminous Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas, and New Year! May the Divine presence enfold your days and nights in the purest mercy and deepest communion. I look forward to seeing you in the coming year, God willing.

Yours ever,

Pir Zia


The Oriental Room at Fazal Manzil in Suresnes, France


Inayati Fall Appeal 2019 Alchemical Contemplations 

Beginning tomorrow we will share daily Alchemical Contemplations foreshadowing activities to come in 2020. This is all part of our Inayati Fall Appeal, inviting you to support the transformation we individually and collectively experience as wayfarers on this endless path. Any donation received by Saturday, December 21st will receive a special audio gift from Pir Zia. Thank you for donating today!


The Zephyr November 2019

The Zephyr

25 November 2019

Dear Friends,

Blustery greetings to you on this fine November morning. May these lines find you well.

I would like to record here my gratitude to my good friend, Dr. Srinivas Reddy, who graciously welcomed me at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, at the end of October. Brown has a cutting-edge program in Contemplative Studies, and it was a great pleasure to meet the faculty and students there. Many ashiqs, murids, and friends joined us, making it a joyous New England Sufi reunion. In addition to being a superb scholar and translator of classical texts, Srinivas-ji is an amazing sitarist. Srinivas-ji assigns Murshid’s Mysticism of Music and Sound in his class on music, and he tells me it is very well received by the students.

Not long after the weekend in Providence, the last of four sessions for Emergent Leaders in the Esoteric School was convened at the Astana. We focused on Murshid’s teachings to Murshida Rabia Martin and the ethics and adab of leadership. These Emergent Leaders, who are of various ages and who come from various places, are part of a rising wave of dedicated up-and-coming leaders in the Order who are increasingly discovering their vocation and finding their path of service. I am particularly struck by the camaraderie that is growing, the sense of being part of a school that is also a community founded on friendship.

Speaking of community, we recently had a delightful day at the Astana as we welcomed the family of Karamat and Elizabeth Hess for a blessing of their baby Elijah. Karamat’s late father Maharaji (God keep him) was an inspiring guide at the Abode, and his mother Telema has for decades led a wonderful Sufi center in Philadelphia. It was moving to see the lineage continue in the glowing face of Elijah Hess.

Yours ever,

Pir Zia


Elijah Hess BlessingElijah Hess BlessingElijah Hess Blessing


THE INAYATI ORDER KEYNOTES 2020

Please take a moment to read our Keynotes 2020, which looks forward to our activities for next year. See inside for details on how we plan to Come Together, Reach Out, Build Community, Strengthen our Infrastructure, Make Pilgrimage, and Deepen our Roots. Ya Fattah!


Suluk Academy
Suluk Academy Core Course 2020-2022

Applications Now Available! 

We are launching two new Suluk classes in 2020, one in France (January) and one in Virginia (September). Suluk offers two years of intensive study in the core teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, with Pir Zia and other Inayati teachers as faculty. If you are a lover of Sufi teachings, this is the program for you! inayatiorder.org/suluk



Rumi’s 812th Birthday Celebration Now Online!

Purchase the complete collection for $165 by clicking here OR purchase individual sessions for just $15 each, clicking here to view all individual sessions.


Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“My friends lull me to sleep, but my enemies keep me awake.”

The presence of a friend is pure ease. Friends think alike, and when they differ, differ amicably. With a friend one feels little need to watch one’s step; the friend is always ready to overlook or forgive missteps. The friend knows one’s heart.

Continued


Inayati News


The Zephyr October 2019

The Zephyr

Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you well. Here at the Astana in Richmond it has been an eventful month.

Over the last weekend of September we celebrated the 812th birthday of Hazrat Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi (God bless and keep him). The esteemed teachers Shaykha Hayat Nur Artiran, Shaykha Fariha al-Jerrahi, Cheikh Sufi, and Shaykh Abdu-Rasheed al-Mukashfi honored us with their presence. The music of Amir Koushkani and Latif Bolat enthralled us. It was a banquet in the tavern amongst the ruins.

Hazrat Inayat Khan wrote, “Rumi’s work is so great that if one has read and understood it one has learnt every philosophy there is.” God willing, we will continue our exploration of Rumi’s vast legacy year by year. The Mawlavi silsila of the Inayati Order may be found here, and photos of the birthday festival may be found here.

Last week the Healing Activity was here for five days of study, practice, and visioning. The wonderful vice presidents Devi Tide and Sarida Brown convened the Shafayat Council over the course of three days, followed by a healing retreat over the weekend. Inayati Healing Conductors from all over the world joined us by video link. As heavy rain fell outside, another kind of downpour quickened our spirits as we attuned to the all-pervading life in space.

Yesterday we completed our four-week autumn series on Volume Three of the Centennial Edition of the Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan. God willing, in the spring we will take up the study of Volume Four, the very important compilation Health, Mental Purification, and The Mind World.

Alas, our Order has lost a revered worker for the cause. Beloved Noor Hervot has passed into the invisible Noor Hervotworld. Noor lead the Esoteric School and Healing in France for many long years and was an inspiration in innumerable lives. As she travels onward, she leaves behind a legacy of kindness, insight and light. O Thou, the Cause and Effect of the whole Universe … let her thirsting eyes behold the glorious vision of Thy Sunshine.

Yours ever,

Bawa



Rumi’s 812th Birthday Celebration

Click Here to View More Photos


Study Inayati Teachings at Home 

Check out the Inayati Online Store for digital versions of all of our events!

SHOP ALL DIGITAL PRODUCTS


Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“Nothing new I say when I speak, I only renew the memory of things which may not be forgotten.”

Imagine falling asleep and waking up devoid of memory. This is a description of the human condition.

We are travelers from beyond time and space. We are extraterrestrials—in fact, extracelestials. Continued


The Inayati Order Fall Calendar 2019

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

Announcing Two New Programs for 2020

The Inayatiyya: An Alchemical Retreat for Leaders of the Six Activities
Mustang Island, Texas
13-19 February 2020

Season of the Rose 2020 Details forthcoming! 
Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York
26 June – 01 July 2020

For a worldwide calendar featuring many Inayati Order teachers and programs, please visit our Inayati Worldwide Programs Calendar.


The Zephyr September 2019

The Zephyr

Dear Friends,

On this first day of autumn, I send you my best wishes.

After a long summer of travels, it is good to be back at the Astana in Richmond. My European tour ended in late August with retreat at the Sufi Temple in Katwijk, Holland, amidst the dunes where Murshid meditated a century ago, culminating in a zikr in the Valley of Wish Fulfillment.

Over Labor Day weekend, many of us gathered for a retreat at the Abode. Staying at my old home, now the Pir Vilayat Center, I was deeply delighted to see that work has begun in earnest on digitalizing the recordings of my father’s meditations and lectures.

Last week the Naubahar Suluk class convened here in Richmond for its fifth session. Happily, the session coincided with Hejirat Day and the 75th ‘Urs of Pirzadi-Shahida Noor-un-Nisa. Tarana Jobin played a composition by Noor that probably had not been played for eighty years. It was a magical celebration.

On the same day, celebrations were held in Dachau, Germany, at Gordon Square in London, at Fazal Manzil in Suresnes, and in many other places in the world. In Den Hague, the new Soefi Museum was inaugurated on that day. Reports may be found here.

If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to read Jean Overton Fuller’s gripping biography of Noor, which has just been reprinted by Suluk Press. We can also look forward to two new biographies, presently in preparation.

Rather than publishing my study of Noor’s writings as a stand-alone book, the plan now is that it will serve as an introduction to a collected works edition of Noor’s writings. The volume will gather all of her major works under a single cover, and will introduce some wonderful previously unpublished pieces as well.

Another book that bears noting is my old friend Prof. Rob Rozehnal’s newly published Cyber SufisCyber Sufis insightfully analyzes the manner in which Sufi groups inhabit the Internet, with a special focus on our order’s website (beautifully built by Satya Inayat Khan and Alia Wittman).

Later this week we will be hosting beloved Shaykha Nur from Turkey, and many other friends, God willing. I hope you will come and join us.

Finally, I encourage you to have a look at this fantastic animated short film about Noor written by our dear friend, the celebrated writer Shrabani Basu: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/from-pacifist-to-spy-wwii-s-surprising-secret-agent-shrabani-basu

Yours ever,

Bawa


Noor-un-Nisa’s Urs Worldwide 2019

Click Here to View More Photos



www.inayatiorder.org/rumi812birthday


The Art of Personality: An Online Course w/ Pir Zia Inayat-KhanThe Art of Personality

Original Webcasts October 6, 13, 20 & 27
Then Available Online Anytime

Continuing our study of The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan: Centennial Edition, we come now to the third title in the series, “The Art of Personality.” The teachings contained within this volume represent the Sufi Mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan’s (1882-1927), select lectures on personality.

In our second series over the course of four classes this fall, all taught by Pir Zia, we will explore the capacities of mind and heart that, when carefully contemplated and conscientiously enacted, ripen and refine an individual’s nature. All Sufi Message Series Online Classes are offered on a sliding scale, from $0-$15 per class.

Register Today!


2019sufihealingorderretreat.com


Cyber Sufis: Virtual Expressions of the American Muslim Experience

By Robert Rozehnal

In America today, online spaces serve as critical alternatives for tech-savvy Muslims seeking a place to root their faith, forge religious identity, and build communities. With a particular focus on the Inayati Order, a branch of the oldest Sufi community in the West, Robert Rozehnal explores the online revolution in internal communication, spiritual pedagogy, and public outreach – and looks ahead to the future of digital Islam in the age of Web 3.0.

Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“I neither defend the wrongdoer nor do I condemn him.”

Wrongdoing is unbeautiful action, action that mars the world rather than adorning it. Wrongdoing goes against the grain of the universe and yet is intrinsic to its unfolding story. It is against the background of the unbeautiful that the beautiful is distinguished. Continued

See the full commentary on the Inayati Order website.


The Inayati Order Fall Calendar 2019

Rumi’s 812th Birthday Celebration with Special Guest Shaykha Nur Artiran
The Astana & Online, Richmond, Virginia
26-29 September 2019

The Sufi Healing Order Leadership Retreat
The Astana, Richmond, Virginia
18-20 October 2019

Brown University Contemplative
Studies Welcomes Pir Zia

Providence, Rhode Island
Friday Evening Lecture, 5:30-7pm
Saturday Workshop, 10am-1pm
25-26 October 2019

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

Announcing Two New Programs for 2020

The Inayatiyya: An Alchemical Retreat for Leaders of the Six Activities
Mustang Island, Texas
13-19 February 2020

Season of the Rose 2020 Details forthcoming! 
Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York
26 June – 01 July 2020

For a worldwide calendar featuring many Inayati Order teachers and programs, please visit our Inayati Worldwide Programs Calendar.


The Zephyr August 2019

The Zephyr

Dear Friends,

Late summer greetings to you!

My family and I—minus Rasulan, who is doing an internship in San Francisco—have just reached Suresnes from Switzerland, where we took part in the Zenith Camp over the last two weeks.

The first week at Zenith was dedicated to the numinosity and resilience of the human body, and its constant give-and-take with the living world around us. My teaching partner was Zuleikha, whom many of you know. She is an amazing dancer, singer, zakira, and enlivener of weary bodies. If you don’t know her work, I encourage you to look her up here.

The second week at Camp consisted of a silent retreat. Other than the guided meditations, the silence of our gathering was punctuated only by songs on ney, oud, and voice, extracts from the sacred music of the world, the chirpings of birds, the flutterings of tent flaps, and the continuous murmur of the mountain stream below.

On the way from the Camp to Fazal Manzil my family and I stopped near Lausanne to meet Henriette Blanc. We also made a brief pilgrimage to Mont Blanc, which holds for me the memory of my father’s mountain cave, and the retreat we took together there long ago.

As a child, Henriette Blanc lived in Suresnes and attended Sufi classes taught by Pirzadi-Shahida Noor at Fazal Manzil. As we sat together in Mme. Blanc’s charming apartment overlooking Lake Geneva, she lucidly recalled the old days, and how Noor had instilled in her an abiding respect for all religions. Mme. Blanc graciously consented to be recorded, and two small clips of our conversation can be found here and here.

Here at Fazal Manzil, workers are energetically renovating the first floor of the house. For the moment, the Oriental Room and adjacent salon are bare of furniture and draped in plastic sheets. When the work is done, the original screens and chairs will go back in the Oriental Room, and the room will resume its character as a place of pilgrimage and meditation. The salon opposite will become a museum to the memory of Murshid and his family and successors. All will be welcome to visit.

Yours ever,

Bawa


Rumi’s 812th Birthday Celebration
with Special Guest Shaykha Nur Artiran

The Astana & Online, 26-29 September 2019

Please join us to greet Shaykha Nur and other friends traveling to be with us from Turkey, September 26-29, 2019. There are only 30 three-day, in-person passes available for the entire weekend (plus an online option) devoted to the life and poetry of Mevlânâ Jalâluddîn Rûmî, with special guests Sufi scholar Dr. Carl Ernst, Turkish Musician Latif Bolat, Cheikh Sufi of the Mouride Order of Senegal, and many Semezan’s including Shaykha Nur’s companions and Farzad AttarJafari and others from Toronto, Canada. Additional special guests to be announced. Hosted by Pir Zia and Pirana Sartaj Inayat-Khan.
Register today to be with us in September!


Season of the Rose: Essentials of the Sufi Path
Portland, Oregon 26 June – 01 July 2019

See our Photo Album of this Year’s Summer School


One of Pir-o-Murshid’s closest murids, Nekbakht Sakina Furnéebegan the Nekbakht Foundation to care for Murshid’s archives and to encourage the creation of publications from his teachings. Every quarter the Nekbakht Foundation publishes a newsletter and we are sharing the summer edition with you here. You may find additional information on the Nekbakht Foundation at www.nekbakhtfoundation.org.


Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“None need I remove to place another in my heart; My heart is large enough to accommodate each and all.”

The heart is the container in the mind in which others find a place within the self. The more malleable the heart, the more numerous the presences it can contain. A rigid heart can hold only so much, and is prone to crack when stretched, whereas a flexible heart can expand to encompass multitudes. Continued

See the full commentary on the Inayati Order website.


Pir Zia’s Summer & Fall Calendar 2019

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

Alone with the Alone: A Silent Retreat w/ Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York
Labor Day Weekend, 30 August – 2 September 2019

Rumi’s 812th Birthday Celebration with Special Guest Shaykha Nur Artiran
The Astana & Online, Richmond, Virginia
26-29 September 2019

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

For a worldwide calendar featuring many Inayati Order teachers and programs, please visit our Inayati Worldwide Programs Calendar.


The Zephyr July 2019

The Zephyr

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Kars, Turkey, where we have gathered for a retreat near the tomb of the great saint Hazrat Abu’l-Hasan Kharaqani (may God sanctify his secret).

Hazrat Kharaqani was a consummate master of futuwwat, or spiritual chivalry. Our gathering began with a conference exploring his teachings. The speakers were Shaykha Hayat Nur Artiran (our beloved and revered friend), Shaykha Cemalnur Sargut (the esteemed Rifa’i teacher), Shaykh Yavuz Selim Uzgur (the gracious President of the Harakani Foundation), Amat-un-Nur Hayat (our esteemed National Representative in Pakistan), Dr. Asuman Senel (beloved murid of the Inayatiyya and professor of Islamic art), and Pinar Sidika Simsek (beloved Inayati coordinator-in-training in Istanbul). My two lectures may be found here: Kars Lecture 1 and Kars Lecture 2.

After the conference we visited the ancient city of Ani on the Armenian border, where a cluster of magnificent but half-ruined houses of prayer—churches, mosques, and the remains of a Zoroastrian temple—testify to the spiritual dynamism of the now-vanished Silk Road.

We then paid our respects at the holy tomb of Hazrat Kharaqani, an encounter that, for the sheer numinosity of it, cannot be described. Afterward Shaykh Yavuz and his wife Shaykha Fatima generously welcomed us at the Harakani Cultural Center, where the luminous Rifa’i teacher Shaykh Umar of Ankara, surrounded by dozens of dervishes, lead an awe-inspiring zikr that lasted three and half hours.

The Inayatiyya is flourishing in Turkey, thanks so much to the endless dedication of our esteemed National Representatives Zahra Hoca and Mehmet Hoca, together with their growing circle.

I am delighted to tell you that Shaykha Hayat Nur Artiran will be gracing us with a visit in Richmond September 26-29, for a celebration of Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi’s birthday (may God sanctify his secret). I warmly encourage you to come and meet the Shaykha. Details follow.

Sadly, I have just learned of the passing of a beloved companion on the path, Kaivan Plesken. A murid of my father’s since long years, Kaivan served the Order in Germany for decades with great dedication and will be greatly missed. May the Divine Presence enfold his spirit in heaven.

Yours ever,

Bawa


Rumi’s 812th Birthday Celebration
with Special Guest Shaykha Nur Artiran

The Astana & Online, 26-29 September 2019

Please join us to greet Shaykha Nur and other friends traveling to be with us from Turkey, September 26-29, 2019. There are only 30 three-day, in-person passes available for the entire weekend (plus an online option) devoted to the life and poetry of Mevlânâ Jalâluddîn Rûmî, with special guests Sufi scholar Dr. Carl Ernst, Turkish Musician Latif Bolat, Cheikh Sufi of the Mouride Order of Senegal, and many Semezan’s including Shaykha Nur’s companions and Farzad AttarJafari and others from Toronto, Canada. Additional special guests to be announced. Hosted by Pir Zia and Pirana Sartaj Inayat-Khan.
Register today to be with us in September!

Sufi Summer School, Kars, Turkey July 2019Sufi Summer School

Kars, Turkey, 12-18 July 2019

Click Here to View More Photos


Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“My presence stimulates in your heart that feeling that must always be kept alive.”

The Murshid may teach the murid the ways of prayer, fasting, and vigils in the night. The Murshid may tell stories of the prophets and saints of long ago. The Murshid may speak of the invisible world. None of this, however, is of the essence. The essential work of the Murshid is to stimulate the heart of the murid. Continued

See the full commentary on the Inayati Order website.


Pir Zia’s Summer & Fall Calendar 2019

NORTH AMERICA

Alone with the Alone: A Silent Retreat w/ Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York
Labor Day Weekend, 30 August – 2 September 2019

Rumi’s 812th Birthday Celebration with Special Guest Shaykha Nur Artiran
The Astana & Online, Richmond, Virginia
26-29 September 2019

EUROPE

Zenith Institute Summer Camp
Olivone, Switzerland
22 July – 17 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

For a worldwide calendar featuring many Inayati Order teachers and programs, please visit our Inayati Worldwide Programs Calendar.


The Zephyr June 2019

The Zephyr

Dear Companions on the Path,

A blessed Urs to you!

I am happy to let you know that I have finished my book on Pirzadi-Shahida Noor’s literary legacy. It’s been fascinating to spend the last several months poring over Noor’s writings and roving the trails of her many-splendored mind. I hope my book will serve as a helpful guide for those who are drawn to explore that “land of dreams.” The title is Dream Flowers: The Numinous Universe of Noor Inayat Khan. Now, let us see about bringing it out.

As I write, the fourth session of the Naubahar Suluk class has just ended here in Richmond. Our subject was contemplation. Shaykh Gisu Daraz defines contemplation as mounting a camel and riding toward the Friend. The camel, of course, is the mind.

All is well here at the Astana. At our last Gatha class we welcomed esteemed Sufi Pir Zia & Dr. Javidauthor Dr. Ahmad Javid, who offered words of wisdom to our circle. Next Sunday’s class will be the last of the season as summer travels soon begin.

Shortly, I’ll be off to Portland for Season of the Rose. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

On this, the fifteenth anniversary of his passage into the Invisible, I close with this precept of my father’s: “If you dedicate yourself to service, the doors will open.”

May the door of your life’s purpose be wide open, and may we all render the service that is ours to give.

Yours ever,

Bawa


15th Urs Celebration of Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan

Monday, 17th June 2019 at Dargah Sharif Sufi Inayat Khan and Dargah Sharif Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, 129 Basti Hzt. Nizamuddin, New Delhi 110013 

Pir Vilayat Inayat KhanYou are cordially Invited to the 15th Urs Celebration of Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Sajjada Nashin of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan and Founder of the Hope Project.

  • 8:30 am: Fateha and blessing of the Chader at Dargha Sharif Hazrat Inayat Khan, Procession to Dargah Sharif Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Prayers and Offerings
  • Followed by refreshment and exchanges with Community of the Hope Project, at the Noor Inayat Khan Library
  • 10:00 am: Distribution of Langar at the Hope Project
On this special day, to find a variety of audio, video, teachings and articles related to Pir Vilayat, please visit pirvilayatlegacy.net and www.universel.net.

Suluk Naubahar Sema - Saturday, June 8, 2019 - The Astana, Richmond, Virginia

Suluk Naubahar Sama’

The Astana, Richmond, Virginia, 8 June 2019


Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“I have not come to teach you what you know not, I have come to deepen in you that wisdom which is already yours.”

The sun, the moon, and the stars inhabit you. A worshipful angel stands hidden within your frame, and a visionary djinn. Animals and plants are entwined in your limbs. Earth is your flesh, water your blood, fire your heat, and air your breath. The Most High pervades you as scent pervades a flower. Continued

See the full commentary on the Inayati Order website.


Pir Zia’s Summer & Fall Calendar 2019

NORTH AMERICA

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

Alone with the Alone: A Silent Retreat w/ Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York
Labor Day Weekend, 30 August – 2 September 2019

EUROPE

Sufi Summer School
Kars, Turkey
12-18 July 2019

Zenith Institute Summer Camp
Olivone, Switzerland
22 July – 17 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

For a worldwide calendar featuring many Inayati Order teachers and programs, please visit our Inayati Worldwide Programs Calendar.


The Zephyr May 2019

The Zephyr

Dear Companions on the Path,

Childhood Home of the Brothers GrimmI hope this finds you very well. I am now back in Richmond following two visits to Europe.

The first visit was to Germany for the annual Easter Retreat in Gersfeld, in the Rhön Valley. Before the retreat began, my kind host Margarethe Hubauer took me to the childhood home of the Brothers Grimm in Steinau, which is now a museum. I am fascinated by the mystical themes in the tales collected and retold by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and even more fascinated by the elaboration of certain of these themes by Pirzadi-Shahida Noor. The subject of the retreat was “Inner Body, Inner Universe.” It concluded, as always, with a Universal Worship humming with ecstatic melodies.

My second visit was to Holland, to offer the funeral prayers for Murshid Karimbakhsh Witteveen, who passed away in mediation on April 23 at the age of 97. Murshid Karimbakhsh was a rare soul who achieved remarkable accomplishmMurshid Karimbakhsh and Pir Zia - Photo Credit: Berend Rosenbooments in the world while maintaining a deep inner life. Murshid Karimbakhsh’s books opened the eyes of many to Sufism, and his sermons were potent dispensations of wisdom. Murshid Karimbakhsh was, moreover, instrumental in creating the Dargah of Hazrat Inayat Khan as it exists today. An account of his highly influential professional life may be found here. I will always treasure my friendship with Murshid Karimbakhsh, and will never forget the mystical emotion I witnessed in his eyes.

On returning from Holland I was able to take part in the retreat of the Federation of the Sufi Message in Charlottesville, a good-spirited gathering of followers of the Sufi path from various lineages. Pir Shabda and Tamam Kahn, who were there, afterward came to the Astana and we had a lovely suhbat.

Ramadan has now begun. May this month of “hot stones and cleansing rains” bring with it many blessings.

Yours ever,

Bawa


Season of the Rose: Essentials of the Sufi Path

Join us for Season of the Rose, June 26-July 1, 2019
in Portland, Oregon – Register Today! 

? See the Latest Schedule ? Click Here to Register ?
Scholarships Available!


Art of Personality: An Online Course w/ Pir Zia Inayat-Khan

Original Webcasts May 9, 16, 23 & 30
Then Available Online Anytime

It’s not too late to join! Register today for the full four part series or for any one of the classes by itself. Priced on a sliding scale to accommodate any budget.

Registration Now Open

 


Way of the Heart Documentary CoverNew Inayati Multimedia!
Soundcloud 

Find free sermons and talks by Pir Zia and hopefully other teachers over time. Share the link with your mobile device and also with others. soundcloud.com/inayatiorder

Documentaries
Find two documentaries previously available on DVD now digitized for purchase or rent. The Way of the Heart: The Life and Legacy of Hazrat Inayat Khan and Four Brothers are both available on our website under Digital Media or on Vimeo.


Knightly Notes NotebookKnightly Notes Notebook

Hazrat Inayat Khan has given us a wonderful method by which we can learn and transform ourselves in such a way: The Iron, Copper, Silver and Golden Rules. Rumi, the Persian poet and mystic wrote: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” The 40 principles written down in this notebook help detect and overcome those barriers.

This notebook is part of the final project of the 2011-2013 (Parvana) class of Suluk Academy for Sufi Studies Europe. Proceeds benefit the Suluk Scholarship fund.

www.inayatiorder.org/shop


Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“I am resigned to the past, attentive to the present, and hopeful for the future.”

What is done is done. The universal chain of causation has done its work, steered by destiny. To lament fate is to reject the unfolding disclosure of the Perfect Being implicit in the story of the universe in all of its varying episodes. Wisdom gently urges acquiescence to the perpetual flow of existence. Continued

See the full commentary on the Inayati Order website.

 


One of Pir-o-Murshid’s closest murids, Nekbakht Sakina Furnéebegan the Nekbakht Foundation to care for Murshid’s archives and to encourage the creation of publications from his teachings. Every quarter the Nekbakht Foundation publishes a newsletter and we are sharing the spring edition with you here. You may find additional information on the Nekbakht Foundation at www.nekbakhtfoundation.org.


Our Worldwide Calendar

NORTH AMERICA

The Art of Personality Online Series
Richmond, Virginia & Online Worldwide
Thursdays, May 9, 16, 23 & 30, 2019

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

Alone with the Alone: A Silent Retreat w/ Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York
Labor Day Weekend, 30 August – 2 September 2019

EUROPE

Sufi Summer School
Kars, Turkey
12-18 July 2019

Zenith Institute Summer Camp
Olivone, Switzerland
22 July – 17 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.


The Zephyr April 2019

The Zephyr

Dear Companions on the Path,

Spring greetings! I hope you are enjoying the sunshine.

Here at the Astana we’ve just held a gathering introducing the Sufi path, entitled The Way of Illumination. I find that the most basic aspects of the path are also the most vital, so I never tire of reflecting on the essentials. Moreover, it is always a pleasure to meet new friends.

In March we hosted the Jamiat Khas and Jamiat Am circles of the Esoteric School. We looked back—to the methods of zikr, contemplation, and breath control that proliferated in Mughal India—and we looked forward—to the unique problems and prospects confronted by our contemporary “third wave” of Sufism in the West.

Meanwhile, work continues on my book on Pirzadi-Shahida Noor’s writings. Over the last weeks I’ve been writing about the stories in King Akbar’s Daughter. If you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend this collection. Noor’s tales are perfect bedtime stories for dervishes.

Another book I recommend is the just-published third volume of the Centennial Edition of Murshid’s Sufi Message. The subject is the art of personality. I am scheduled to give four webcast lectures on the volume in April and May, and another four in October. Do join me in delving into this crucial chivalric manual.

Finally, let me warmly invite you to this year’s summer schools: Season of the Rose in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. (June) and Zenith Camp in the Swiss Alps (July-August). “To step forward is going forward in the path of friendship,” says Murshid, so let us walk together in friendship toward the Friend.

Yours ever,

Bawa


Way of Illumination - April 2019 at the Astana in Richmond, VA
The Way of Illumination Group Photo, April 2019 
5-7 April 2019, The Astana, Richmond, Virginia
Click Here to View More Photos


Season of the Rose: Essentials of the Sufi Path

Early Bird Discounts Through Friday, May 10th!

Our North American caravan will gather once more for five days of Sufi Summer School on the gorgeous campus of Lewis & Clark College in Portland! Join your friends and some of your favorite teachers including Pir Zia, Tasnim Fernandez, Gayan Macher, Devi Tide, Jacob Ellenberg, Gulrukh Patel, and special guest Cheikh Sufi of the Mouridiyya Order of Sufis. Register soon to receive discounts and reserve housing. Learn more at the Season of the Rose page on the Inayati Order’s website.


Zenith Institute CampZenith Institute Swiss Alps Camp
28 July 2019 through 17 August 2019

On the European Continent more friends will gather for the Inayati Order’s largest annual Summer Camp featuring three weeks of specialized programs, individual retreats, and work study options.
Learn more at www.zenithinstitute.com/.


Art of Personality: An Online Course w/ Pir Zia Inayat-Khan

Original Webcasts May 2, 9, 16 & 23
Then Available Online Anytime

Continuing our study of The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan: Centennial Edition, we come now to the third title in the series, “The Art of Personality.” The teachings contained within this volume represent the Sufi Mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan’s (1882-1927), select lectures on personality, to be taught in two series, one this May and another in October.

Over the course of four classes this spring, all taught by Pir Zia, we will explore the capacities of mind and heart that, when carefully contemplated and conscientiously enacted, ripen and refine an individual’s nature. All Sufi Message Series Online Classes are offered on a sliding scale, from $0-$15 per class.

Register Today!


Season of the Rose: Essentials of the Sufi Path
There are still a few spaces for this ongoing group of younger adults in their 30s and 40s. Facilitated by Sufi Order Senior Teacher Gayan Macher and coordinated by Maryam Sabrina Bonfonti.
Sponsored by the Inayati Order’s Young Adult Council.
Visit this page for details and to inquire about the program.

 

 

 

 


Suluk Academy Staff News

Zebunnisa Effie Shinas - Suluk North AmericaWe have new Suluk Administrators in both Europe and the United States. Zebunnisa Effie Shinas has recently brought her love of beauty from New York City to Richmond where she serves as our new Suluk Academy North American Administrator. Zebunnisa has a long history as an artist, art advisor, stylist, and cafe owner.

She is also a graduate of Suluk Academy’s Andalib class of 2011 and worked with us at the Abode for many years. Zebunnisa now more fully moves into helping others access the universal teachings of Sufism.

Isa Sophia Haberer - Suluk EuropeIn Europe, Isa Sophia Haberer and Rabi’a Desplanches are the new Suluk Co-Administrators. Isa is a graduate of the Suluk Jabarsa Class (Jan 2019), and was part of the Zenith Institute staff team for three years. She has also helped organize the annual Leaders Training in Suresnes, France for five years. Isa qualified as a veterinarian in 2012 and works as a freelance translator in the medical field. She grew up in Spain and currently lives in Germany, speaking English, German and Spanish.

Rabi’a Desplanches - Suluk EuropeRabi’a received initiation into the Inayati Order in 2013 and is a graduate of Suluk’s Zindarud Class. She  translates and interprets English into French and has done so in the Zenith Camp and during seminars in Suresnes, France. She is also active in other associations, teaching French to migrants and cooperating with a group to create a permaculture eco-village.

If you have interest in Suluk Academy, in the United States or Europe,
details may be found at 
SulukAcademy.org.

 


Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“The scriptures have called Him the Creator, the Masons have termed Him the Architect, but I know Him as the Actor on this stage of life.”

God is the Maker, Molder, and Builder of the universe.

How is God the Maker? All effects have their causes, all causes have prior causes, and the entire chain of causation at last culminates in the Divine Being. Behind every effect there is a cause, but nothing stands behind the First Cause, Whose glory the angels eternally sing.  Continued

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


Cover of Journeys and Awakenings: Wisdom for Spiritual Travelers

Journeys and Awakenings: Wisdom for Spiritual Travelers
Edited By Seven Pillars House of Wisdom
Foreword by Robert Peretz Corman and Pir Zia Inayat-Khan

A little over ten year ago, Pir Zia gathered a group of leading thinkers, from many disciplines, to form a “wisdom school” called Seven Pillars House of Wisdom. This project was an experiment that convened numerous private and public gatherings exploring the essential wisdom of the heart.

This new book shares the culmination of talks and writings featured throughout the course of Seven Pillars existence, from its founding in 2008 through to today.

Now Available on Amazon.com

 


Our Worldwide Calendar

NORTH AMERICA

The Art of Personality Online Series
Richmond, Virginia & Online Worldwide
Thursdays, May 2, 9, 16 & 23, 2019

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

Alone with the Alone: A Silent Retreat w/ Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York
Labor Day Weekend, 30 August – 2 September 2019

EUROPE

German Easter Retreat
Gersfeld, Germany
18-21 April 2019

Sufi Summer School
Kars, Turkey
12-18 July 2019

Zenith Institute Summer Camp
Olivone, Switzerland
22 July – 17 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.


The Zephyr March 2019

The Zephyr

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 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

Tree of Lights: The Chishti Lineage of Hazrat Inayat Khan

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. 


Season of the Rose: Essentials of the Sufi Path

Early Bird Discounts Through Friday, May 10th!
Our caravan will gather once more for five days of Sufi Summer School on the gorgeous campus of Lewis & Clark College in Portland! We will be with some of our favorite teachers including Pir Zia, Tasnim Fernandez, Gayan Macher, Devi Tide, Jacob Ellenberg, Gulrukh Patel, and special guest Cheikh Sufi of the Mouridiyya Order of Sufis.

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.


Amazon Smile - You Shop. Amazon Gives.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.


The Zephyr February 2019

The Zephyr

Dear Companions on the Path,

I hope this finds you well. I have just returned from two weeks in France. In Épernon we convened the final session of the Jabarsa class of the Suluk Academy. The members of Jabarsa hail from France, Germany, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey. The graduation ceremony took place in the Oriental Room and Khanqah of Fazal Manzil. As their class projects, Jabarsa created a song and tapestry, planted flowers in the garden of the Universel, and organized a pilgrimage to Dachau in honor of Pirzadi-Shahida Noor, to take place on September 13, 2019. It was a joyous culmination to the preceding two years of study and companionship. Suluk Eurpoe Jabarsa Banner

The wonderful Kadir Troelstra and Gulrukh Patel organized the course with great care and thoughtfulness, and are now passing the baton. The administrators for the new European class, due to commence in January 2020, are Rabia Deplanche and Isa Sophia Haberer—both Suluk graduates. To enquire about the coming class, please write to sulukeurope@gmail.com.

After Suluk, the Worldwide Message Council met at Fazal Manzil for our annual three-day retreat. Subjects included the representation of the tradition of the Divine Mother in the Universal Worship, climate change, the Urs of Pirzadi-Shahida Noor, the language of the Ten Sufi Thoughts, and the ethical guidelines and protocols of the Order. The WWMC plans to publish a report on the meeting soon.

This year, our special invited guests were Mehmet and Zehra Kasim (pioneering Representatives in Turkey), Mellen Kennedy (U.S. Board Chair), Latifa Mancinelli (organizer of Pirzadi-Shahida Noor’s annual Urs in Dachau), and Latifa Pasquier (General Secretary for France and Chair of the Egeling Foundation, responsible for Fazal Manzil). The conversation was rich and deep, and a memorable highlight was this paper movingly presented by Firos Holterman, the European Vice President of Ziraat:“Ten Sufi Thoughts on Climate Change”.

After the WWMC retreat, leaders from across Europe gathered for a two-day training on the nature of embodiment and the methods that have come down to us for working with the various subtle centers in the body. On Saturday evening we honored Zamir and Alima for their decades of generous dedicated service to Fazal Manzil, the Universel, and the Order as resident stewards of Sufi Suresnes. Zamir and Alima will soon be retiring to the countryside, and will be succeeded in their position by Hind Wakach (a member of the Jabarsa class) and Majid Bery, whom I hope you will join me in warmly welcoming.

I wish you a blessed Visalat Day tomorrow! May Murshid’s spirit remind us of all that is possible when the heart is awake.

Yours ever,

Sarafil Bawa


Jabarsa Graduation at Fazal ManzilJabarsa Graduation at Fazal Manzil


The Way of Illumination: An Introduction to the Sufi Path

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.


Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“My errors do not lull me to sleep, but they open my eyes to a deeper vision of life.”

To err is human. Becoming a complete human being does not mean becoming infallible. It means, instead, extracting wisdom from all experiences, including the experience of erring.

There are three principal conditions of the self: the imperious self, the self-critical self, and the tranquil self. Each responds to errors differently. Continued

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


Pir-o-Murshid
Inayat Khan Urs 2019

Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 7-8:30 pm EST
The Astana or Online Worldwide

Join us for this special gathering honoring the life and blessing of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan who passed on this day, February 5, 1927. Pir Zia, with our frequent guest Cheikh Sufi of the Mouridiyya Order of Sufis, will bring us together in suhbat (spiritual conversation) and zikr(remembrance), with musical tributes by Tarana Jobin, our new Music Director, and other friends.

Sufi Teachings Webcast Series

Join those of us at the Astana in Richmond, Virginia for Sunday afternoon classes with Pir Zia, in-person or online worldwide. Dates and details can be found here.


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.


The Zephyr January 2019

The Zephyr

Dear Companions on the Path,

I hope this finds you well. Whether you are enjoying good times or going through a hard time, I hope you feel the Divine Presence with you.

At the beginning of December, in Boston, I was the guest of our esteemed North American Vice President of the Esoteric School, Naima Brown, and her wonderful husband Aqil. Our weekend gathering on the theme of Making One’s Own Nature took us into sustained reflection on the arc of our inner and outer lives, and it was a pleasure to see many old and new friends.

On returning to Richmond, the second session on Concentration was held at the Astana for the saliks and salikas of the Naubahar class of the Suluk Academy. We took the foot of snow that fell on the final day as an auspicious sign, although it certainly complicated the homeward journeys of many members of the class.

Hanukkah and Christmas are a time of giving and receiving kindness, and a remarkable double gift this year was the publication of two important books related to the Sufi Message. The first was revered Hassan Suhrawardi Gebel’s second volume of spiritual reflections, entitled The Inner Life of the Universe. In it, Hassan Suhrawardi adeptly draws on Murshid’s teachings to effect a compelling rapprochement between science and mysticism that illuminates our place in the universe.

The second notable book to appear in December was my dear erstwhile neighbor Mikhail Horowitz’s lovingly drawn portrait of my father Pir Vilayat, entitled Illumination. How well I remember my father’s affection for Mikhail, and the service Mikhail rendered over so many years as recorder and preserver of my father’s talks, as well as curator of my father’s favorite sacred music. Mikhail’s evocative book is a moving testament to the closeness between them.

Let us begin the New Year “with pure heart and with clear conscience, with courage and hope.” May God’s guidance be with us for the fulfillment of the purpose of our lives.

Yours ever,

Sarafil Bawa


Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“My soul often has the feeling of being stretched, held fast by the heavens and pulled continually by the earth.”

If the soul remained entirely in the heavens and did not incarnate, its life would be simple, clear, and serene, but it would lack the opportunity to undergo the journey of life. It would have innocence but not experience.

If the soul came to earth and gave itself over completely to the intoxication of personal identity and sensory experience, it would enjoy pleasures and suffer pains and become, all the while, oblivious to its own essential nature. Continued

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


 

The Way of Illumination: An Introduction to the Sufi PathThe Way of Illumination: An Introduction to the Sufi Path 

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

Over the first weekend in April, Pir Zia will share an overview of the key teachings of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. While this program is designed as an introduction for those new to Inayati Sufism, all are welcome to attend either in person or online worldwide. Please help us tell one and all about this gathering.

Registration now open!

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.


Season of the Rose:
Essentials of the Sufi Path

Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon
26 June – 1 July 2019

Early Bird Discounts Through Friday, April 26th!
Our caravan will gather once more for five days of Sufi Summer School on the gorgeous campus
of Lewis & Clark College in Portland! We will be with some of our favorite teachers including Pir Zia, Tasnim Fernandez, Gayan Macher, Devi Tide, Jacob Ellenberg, Gulrukh Patel, and special guest Cheikh Sufi of the Mouridiyya Order of Sufis.

Registration now open!


Making One's Own Nature 2018 Photo Album
Making One’s Own Nature Audio Now Available! 

Listen to one or both of Pir Zia’s Making One’s Own Nature gatherings held last fall in Berkeley, CA and Cambridge, MA. Visit our Multimedia Page for these and many other outstanding digital programs.

See our Making One’s Own Nature Cambridge Photo Album compliments of Sarah Deckro.


Illumination: The Saga of a Spiritual Master By Mikhail Horowitz

Pir Vilayat’s longtime friend and audio video technician shares decades of stories and insights about his teacher and and the nature of the Sufi Path. Highly recommended reading!

Now available from Amazon.com


Sufi Teachings Webcast Series

Join those of us at the Astana in Richmond, Virginia for Sunday afternoon classes with Pir Zia, in-person or online worldwide. Dates and details can be found here.


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 March 2019!

EUROPE

Inayati European Leaders Training 2019
Suresnes, France
26-27 January 2019

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 begin to accept applications for the North American 2020-2022 class Fall 2019, and for Suluk Europe’s new class soon thereafter. Sign up for updates. For a worldwide calendar featuring many Inayati Order teachers and programs, please visit our Inayati Worldwide Programs Calendar.