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 The volume will gather all of her major works under a single cover, and will introduce some wonderful previously unpublished pieces as well.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 Sufis. Cyber 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

www.inayatiorder.org/rumi812birthday

2019sufihealingorderretreat.com

Cyber Sufis: Virtual Expressions of the American Muslim Experience

By Robert Rozehnal

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.

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

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 Furnée, began 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.

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

Sufi 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.

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 author 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 

You 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

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.

Dear Companions on the Path,

I 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 accomplishments 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

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

New 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 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 Furnée, began 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.

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

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

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 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!

Suluk Academy Staff News

We 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.

In 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 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.

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.

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.

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. 

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 Manzil

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

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.

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 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

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.

Dear Companions on the Path,

I hope this finds you very well. All is well here at the Astana, alhamdulillah.

At the beginning of the month we hosted the Emergent Leaders group, a cadre of Representatives-in-Training who are honing their skills as upcoming Guides and Center Leaders under the guidance of a faculty of seasoned teachers in the Esoteric School. This time, the instructors were the wonderful Gayan Macher and my own dear mother Taj.

In the second week of the month I traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, for the fifth annual Mind & Life International Symposium for Contemplative Research, where I was invited to lead a pair of meditations.The Mind & Life Institute is doing outstanding work connecting individuals and organizations practicing and teaching contemplative methods in various fields, including science, medicine, therapy, and education.

During the conference, it piqued my curiosity to learn that corporations have become interested in mindfulness as a service to deliver, and that contemplative apps are on the rise. The next step, it seems, is to train artificial intelligence to use real-time physiological data to gauge meditators’ shifting psychological states and respond with appropriate contemplative prompts. All of this is fascinating, but it only deepens my appreciation of the heart-to-heart transmission (sina ba-sina ta‘lim) that is so central to the Sufi path.

The following week I traveled to London. I had planned to arrive the morning before the gathering, but my flights were cancelled twice due to a storm in the Northeast, with the result that I arrived only after the program had begun on Saturday. Nigel Wali, the esteemed Center Leader in London, kindly filled in for me at the outset. Once there, I greatly enjoyed my time with the delightful U.K. community. Together we mapped the soul’s journey from the angelic realm to Earth and back again.

The return journey to the angelic realm—whether undertaken in the hereafter or, better yet, while still here on Earth—reminds me of Mawlana Rumi’s glowing words in the Masnavi, “Next I will die to the human condition so that I may spread my wings and lift my head among the angels.” Selah!

Yours ever,

Sarafil Bawa

Vadan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan

“We shall see who will endure to the end, my persevering adversary or my patience.”

In a battle of wills there is always the temptation to flee the encounter, or alternatively, to bend to pressure and make concessions soon to be regretted. Resoluteness comes either from egotism or conviction.

The resoluteness of egotism is the desire to always be seen to be right, or at least, to defeat one’s opponents. To the little ego, the nature of a disagreement is inconsequential; what matters is to have the last word.

The resoluteness of conviction, on the other hand, is concerned with principles. One’s desire to prevail is motivated by the justness of the cause one serves. Even if doomed to fail, one considers oneself obligated to make every effort. Continued

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

Nature’s Hidden Dimensions By Suhrawardi Gebel New from Suluk Press! The scientific point of view has gained dominance in our growing world culture by basing its authenticity on an empirical foundation. Yet mystics can point to a different test of authenticity: The broad agreement in subtle perceptions of reality across many cultures and stretches of history. $26.95 Paperback sulukpress.org

Overlooked No More!
Noor in the New York Times

The New York Times recently featured Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan in Overlooked. See here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/28/obituaries/noor-inayat-khan-overlooked.html

Also, limited edition portraits of Noor by Majida Nan Hill are now available in time for the holidays! Shipping worldwide is free through December 17, 2018. Order today through the Inayati Order Online Store.

Season of the Rose: Essentials of the Sufi Path
Part Deux – Save the Date!

Lewis & Clark College
Portland, Oregon
26 June – 01 July 2019

Additional details and our full North American Program Schedule will be shared later this month!

The Inayati Order Fall Appeal 2018 

We are very gratefully in the middle of our Inayati Order Fall Appeal for 2018. Thank you to all of you who give so generously throughout the year as a tither, as a donor, and in so many other ways. This fall we hope to raise $150,000 with $87,500 donated or pledged so far. Please consider giving to help us raise another $62,500 by the end of the year. To learn more about our work and about ways to give, please visit www.inayatiorder.org/donate.

Dear Companions on the Path,

Here in the U.S., the election season has brought into sharp relief the fault lines in the minds of the population. Where there is goodwill and civility, common ground is always discoverable, but too often it seems the will is lacking. Tragically, as we’ve seen, a symptom of polarization is increased incidences of violence—specifically, violence rooted in what Murshid calls “the spirit of agitation.”

The recent heartbreaking shootings in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Florida serve as harrowing reminders that irrational fear can all too easily become irrational anger, and that irrational anger can quickly travel from thought to speech, and from speech to action, with consequences that devastate lives, families, and communities.

As we know, the antidote to the spirit of agitation in this world is the presence of the spirit of peace. Like agitation, peace emanates from the interior to the exterior. A heart at peace speaks and acts kindly as a matter of course.

We may not always experience peace of heart, but we know that peace can be cultivated. If, when agitated, instead of lashing out we connect with the breath and find our natural rhythm again, we will be able to maintain poise and attend to what really matters.

While signs of dysfunction in society are glaringly conspicuous in the news—and these are concerns that cannot be ignored—at the same time, there are encouraging developments in our midst that must not be ignored either. Indeed, there are opportunities all around us to join in the work of reconnecting the broken pieces of our world.

Last week thousands of people flocked to Toronto to celebrate the unity of religious ideals at the 18^th Parliament of the World’s religions. Amongst them were over fifty Cherags of the Universal Worship, who performed twelve services. A report from Amina Hall, our esteemed North American Vice President of the Universal Worship, can be found here.

May the Message of God reach far and wide!

Yours ever,

Sarafil Bawa

Sufi Teachings at the Astana

Pir Zia teaches select Sundays at the Astana in Richmond, Virginia. On Sunday, November 4, Pir Zia talked about themes related to his letter above. To see the video clip, please go to our channel on Youtube.

To see the full class video, please visit us on Vimeo. Also join us online or in-person for future classes, Sundays, December 16, January 6 & 13 and February 10 & 24.

For the Astana’s full schedule, please visit inayatiorder.org/theastana.

Parliament of World Religions, Toronto 2018

Please click on the image above to see photos from the Parliament,
compliments of the Universal Worship Lamplighter Cherags.

Gayan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Gayan

“The rapidity of my walk imagination cannot follow.”

A sage walked through the city. She came back glowing, and said, “What a joy!” A pupil of the sage was keen to see the same sights. He followed the route she had taken, but came back seized with repugnance. He asked, “Why did you and I see such different cities?” The sage answered, “We walked in different rhythms.”

The mystic’s walk crosses the bridge between the visible and invisible. Yes, the mystic sees the ordinary sights: the gutter, the butcher’s shop, the vacant look in the eyes of weary commuters. But the mystic sees more as well.

The mystic perceives the intricate web of life. The stagnant water in the gutter once surged in ocean waves and flew through the sky in clouds—and will again. The flank in the window came from a cow whose mother loved her. But she suffered rough treatment, and was kin to cattle for whom ancient forests are being bulldozed (sealing the doom of their teeming inhabitants). Buried in the chests of the ennui-stricken office-goers are hearts capable of an emotion as vast as the universe.

The mystic’s stride encompasses all of this, and more besides. Pressing onward, the mystic surpasses the boundaries of the bounded world. Vistas of light, energy, and vibration blaze into sight as the molten undercurrents of the universe disclose themselves. As the mystic hurls toward the center of everything, Being unveils its mysterium tremendum: only I exist.

Being is not a destination to which the imagination can walk. But Being imagines the universe and walks in it.

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

The Inayati Order Fall Appeal 2018 

We are incredibly thankful for all of you who give regularly as tithers and donors. Our Inayati Order Fall Appeal for 2018 just went in the snail mail, and a digital version should have been in your inbox last week. Please take a moment to read this year’s letter and Inayati Order Keynotes, when you have a chance.

This fall, as part of the appeal, we are focusing on the theme of harmony. Hazrat Inayat Khan says, “Harmony is the source of manifestation, the cause of its existence, and the medium between God and humanity.” Over the coming weeks we will explore the power of harmonizing, via social media, email, and video. We invite you to join us, cultivating the specific keynote Murshid’s teaching introduces into the world.

To see this year’s full appeal and to make a donation please visit inayatiorder.org/donate.

Angelic Lights: A Weekend Seminar with Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
17-18 November in London, England
For info and booking email Karima at sufiorderuk@gmail.com

Making One’s Own Nature with Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
1-2 December in Cambridge, MA – Register Now

Dear Companions on the Path,

Autumn greetings! Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Bay Area in California. It was a joy to see my mother Taj and brother Mirza, and to be with many fellow ashiqs and murids. The wonderful Hub Foundation in Pleasanton hosted me for a screening of Enemy of the Reich, followed by my reflections. I always find it excruciating and elevating at the same time to tell Pirzadi-Shahida Noor’s story: painful because of the intense darkness Noor endured in Pforzheim and Dachau, but moving on account of the brilliance of her awe-inspiring soul-light. Afterward we convened in Berkeley for a two-day retreat on the subject of Making One’s Own Nature, with special attention to the Practice of the Symbol.

A particularly memorable highlight of the weekend was meeting the Buddhist ecological philosopher Joanna Macy, whom my esteemed friend Shams Kairys brought to the retreat. Now in her nineties, Joanna Macy is a living treasure of earthy wisdom.

Back in Richmond, we have been frequently webcasting from the Astana. Approximately two Sundays a month we hold a Gatha class that is live streamed. This month, in addition, I have been giving commentaries on The Mysticism of Music and Sound on Thursdays. The extraordinary Ustad Sukhawat Ali Khan has joined me in these webcasts. Ustad Sahib’s singing, playing, and ecstatic mudras are pure ghiza-i ruh, food for the soul. If you haven’t tuned in yet, I invite you to sign up via this link.

Here in the U.S., over the last weeks the confirmation of a new Supreme Court Justice accused of sexual assault has riveted the nation, sparking fierce debates about what fairness demands—toward the accuser and the accused alike. So intense at times was the contention that basic human empathy seemed almost completely eclipsed by sectarian zeal, bringing to mind George Washington’s prescient warnings about the dangers of partisanship. Underscoring our fraught national conversation is the dawning realization of the scale on which sexual harassment and assault exists in our society, and the pressing need to address it directly. There is growing recognition of the necessity of a collective ethical renewal rooted in what the heart knows.

The need to reimagine our individual and collective lives was recently brought home in a still more encompassing context by the new report of the International Panel on Climate Change. The report warns that Earth will become a drastically less hospitable planet, for ourselves and for innumerable species, as early as 2040—unless a civilizational shift is swiftly achieved.

A hundred years ago, Murshid and the Murshidas saw that sacred nature is the mother of all books, that Earth is a vital organic unity, and that humankind is an interconnected whole. Another century must not pass before these crucial realizations become the substance of the spirit of the age. May we be among those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth.

Yours ever,

Sarafil Bawa

P.S. When I last wrote I promised that, at my next chance, I would explain the meaning of the word ashiq. In Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, ashiq literally means “lover.” More generally, it means someone who is sincerely devoted to something. Anyone who formally or informally enters the broad fellowship of a Sufi path is traditionally known as an ashiq. What does this mean for us in the Inayati Order and its Activities? A full explanation is in preparation.

Gayan Commentary

Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Gayan

“My deep sigh rises above as a cry of the earth, and an answer comes from within as a message.”

The most vital questions are not those that drift on the breeze of airy speculation, but rather the ones that spring direct from the earth of immediate experience. When the handful of clay that is one’s life mingles with the rich sediment of life upon life upon life, powerful questions—and ardent cries—naturally arise.

So long as one lives and breathes, every exhalation is followed by an inhalation. In the same way, every question asked of the Spirit is answered.

If the mind, the heart, and the soul are distracted, no answer will be discernible. If the mind is awake but the heart and the soul are asleep, the answer will come in rational form. If the heart is awake but the soul is asleep, the answer will come in moral form.

If the soul is awake, the answer will come as a message intimating the Message of God. It will come as a never-to-be-repeated disclosure and enactment of the Love and Beauty that indwell forever in the One.

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

The Mysticism of Sound & Music Online Fall Series
Join Us for the Last Two Classes!

Join us for the last two Thursday evenings in October at the Astana in Richmond, Virginia, or online any time, and experience the Sufi teachings of the Indian musician and mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) with Pir Zia Inayat-Khan and special guest musician-in-residence, Sukhawat Ali Khan.

When: Thursday, October 18 and 25
Where: The Astana & Online
Price: $0-15/class

REGISTER TODAY

Angelic Lights: A Weekend Seminar with Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
17-18 November in London, England
For info and booking email Karima at sufiorderuk@gmail.com

Making One’s Own Nature with Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
1-2 December in Cambridge, MA – Register Now