Tag: Sufism

Sai Baba of Shirdi was an Indian guru and fakir, who is regarded by his Hindu and Muslim followers as a saint. In his life and teachings he tried to embrace and reconcile both faiths: Sai Baba lived in a mosque, was buried in a Hindu temple, embraced Hindu and Muslim practices, and taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions.

Sai Baba was worshipped as a living God by His Hindu devotees and was praised as Sadguru, ParaBrahma and Yogiraj. He was considered as One with all Gods and Gurus (devotees of Sri Rama, for example, saw Sri Rama in Him).

Early years

Although Sai Baba's origins are unknown, some indications exist that suggest that he was born not far from Shirdi in a village called Pathri with the name Haribhau Bhusari.

Sai Baba was notorious for giving vague, misleading and contradictory replies to questions concerning his parentage and origins, brusquely stating the information was unimportant. He had reportedly stated to a close follower, Mhalsapati, that he has been born of Brahmin parents in the village of Pathri and had been entrusted into the care of a fakir in his infancy. On another occasion, Sai Baba reportedly said that the fakir's wife had left him in the care of a Hindu guru, Venkusa of Selu, and that he had stayed with Venkusa for twelve years as his disciple. This dichotomy has given rise to two major theories regarding Sai Baba's background, with the majority of writers supporting the Hindu background over the Islamic, while others combine both the theories (that Sai Baba was first brought up by a fakir and then by a guru).

First Period in Shirdi and Disappearance

Sai Baba reportedly arrived at the village of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, India, when he was about sixteen years old. Although there is no agreement among biographers about the date of this event, it is generally accepted that he stayed in Shirdi for three years, disappeared for a year and returned permanently around 1858. He led an ascetic life, sitting motionless under a neem tree and meditating. The people of the village were wonder-struck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance, not minding heat or cold. By day he associated with no one, by night he was afraid of nobody. His presence attracted the curiosity of the villagers and the religiously-inclined such as Mhalsapati, Appa Jogle and Kashinatha regularly visited him, while others such as the village children considered him mad and threw stones at him. After some time he left the village, and it is unknown where he stayed at that time or what happened to him. However, there are some indications that he met with many saints and fakirs, and worked as a weaver; he claimed to have fought with the army of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

The Return to Shirdi

In 1858 Sai Baba returned to Shirdi with Chand Patil's wedding procession. After alighting near the Khandoba temple he was greeted with the words "Ya Sai" (welcome saint) by the temple priest Mhalsapati. The name Sai stuck to him and some time later he started being known as Sai Baba. It was around this time that Sai Baba adopted his famous style of dress, consisting of a knee-length one-piece robe (kafni) and a cloth cap. Ramgir Bua, a devotee, testified that Baba was dressed like an athlete and sported 'long hair flowing down to his buttocks' when he arrived in Shirdi, and that he never had his head shaved. It was only after Baba forfeited a wrestling match with one Mohdin Tamboli that he took up the kafni and cloth cap, articles of typically Sufi clothing. This attire contributed to Baba's identification as a Muslim fakir, and was a reason for initial indifference and hostility against him in a predominantly Hindu village. According to B V Narasimhaswami, a posthumous follower who was widely praised as Sai Baba's "apostle", this attitude was prevalent even among some of his devotees in Shirdi, even up to 1954.

For four to five years Baba lived under a neem tree, and often wandered for long periods in the jungle in and around Shirdi. His manner was said to be withdrawn and uncommunicative as he undertook long periods of meditation.

Moving to a Mosque and Receiving Visitors

He was eventually persuaded to take up residence in an old and dilapidated mosque and lived a solitary life there, surviving by begging for alms and receiving itinerant Hindu or Muslim visitors. In the mosque he maintained a sacred fire which is referred to as a dhuni, from which he had the custom of giving sacred ash ('Udhi') to his guests before they left and which was believed to have healing powers and protection from dangerous situations. At first he performed the function of a local hakim and treated the sick by application of Udhi. Baba also delivered spiritual teachings to his visitors, recommending the reading of sacred Hindu texts along with the Qur'an, especially insisting on the indispensability of the unbroken remembrance of God's name (dhikr, japa). He often expressed himself in a cryptic manner with the use of parables, symbols and allegories. He participated in religious festivals and was also in the habit of preparing food for his visitors, which he distributed to them as prasad. Sai Baba's entertainment was dancing and singing religious songs (he enjoyed the songs of Kabir most). His behaviour was sometimes uncouth and violent.

After 1910 Sai Baba's fame began to spread in Mumbai. Numerous people started visiting him, because they regarded him as a saint (or even an avatar) with the power of performing miracles. His followers built then his first ever temple at Bhivpuri, Karjat.

Mahasamadhi

Sai Baba took Mahasamadhi on October 15, 1918 at 2.30pm. He died on the lap of one of his devotees with hardly any belongings, and was buried in the "Buty Wada" according to his wish. Later a mandir was built in this site known as the "Samadhi Mandir".

Notable disciples

Sai Baba left behind no spiritual heirs and appointed no disciples. In fact, he did not even provide formal initiation. Some disciples of Sai Baba achieved fame as spiritual figures like Upasni Maharaj of Sakori and Meher Baba of Ahmednagar. After Sai Baba passed away, his devotees offered the daily Aarti to Upasani Maharaj when he paid a visit to Shirdi, two times with an interval of 10 years.

Reported Miracles

Shirdi Sai Baba performed many supernatural acts, including bilocation, exorcisms, curing the incurably sick, and reading the minds of others.

Numerous inhabitants of Shirdi talked and wrote books about witnessing Sai Baba in unusual yogic power acts: levitation, entering a state of Samādhi at wish, removing his limbs and putting them back to his body (Khanda Yoga) and doing the same with his intestines.

According to his followers he appeared to them after his death, in dreams, visions and in bodily form, often gaving them advice.

Meher Baba was a Persian born in India who became a spiritual Master, and late in his life (1954 at age 60) publicly declared that he is the Avatar of this Age.

Educated at St. Vincent's High School in Pune, India, as well as at Deccan College, he led a normal school life, showing no particular inclination toward spiritual matters. At the age of 19, during his first year of college, a short contact with an old Muslim holy woman Hazrat Babajan marked what he said was the beginning of his spiritual awakening. In 1915, at the age of 22, he was hailed as "Parvardigar" (Sufi for 'God as the Almighty Sustainer') by the Indian fakir Sai Baba of Shirdi. He received help from three more spiritual masters, including Upasni Maharaj, who he said revealed to him his spiritual identity as "The Ancient One" in 1921.

Meher Baba lived and traveled in company with a circle of close disciples whom he termed his "mandali" (Sanskrit for 'circle'), both men and women from whom he demanded absolute obedience. He and his mandali voluntarily assumed a life of extreme simplicity. From 1925 to the end of his life, Meher Baba remained silent, communicating by means of an alphabet board or by gesture. Meher Baba spent long periods in seclusion, often fasting, but he would intersperse these periods with wide-ranging travels, public gatherings, and works of charity, including working with lepers, the poor, and the mad. He gave many discourses, which have been collected by his followers.

In 1931 he made the first of many visits to the West. During these travels, a number of western mandali joined him. In the 1940s, along with selected mandali, he traveled incognito about India in what he called "The New Life." On February 10, 1954, Meher Baba declared that he was the Avatar (an incarnation of God).

After two automobile accidents, one in the United States in 1952 and one in India in 1956, his capacity to walk became seriously limited. In 1962 many western followers were invited to meet his Indian mandali in a series of meetings called The East-West Gathering. In 1966, Meher Baba addressed the spreading problem of drug misuse in the West, discrediting its alleged spiritual benefits. After a year of being completely confined to a wheelchair, Meher Baba died on January 31, 1969. His samadhi (tomb-shrine) in Meherabad, India has since become a place of international pilgrimage.

Rumi was a 13th century Sufi enlightened poet, Islamic jurist, and theologian. He is considered as "insan-e kamil" — a perfected or enlightened human being.

While historical sources claim that he was born in Balkh (Persian: بلخ - Balḫ), the hometown of his father's family, modern scholars now believe that Rumi was probably born in 1207 CE in Wakhsh (Waḫš), a small town located at the river Wakhsh in what is now Tajikistan and mentioned in Rumi's poetry. Wakhsh belonged to the larger province of Balkh, and in the year Rumi was born, his father was an appointed scholar there. Both these cities were at the time included in the Greater Persian cultural sphere of Khorāṣān, the easternmost province of historical Persia, and were part of the Khwarezmian Empire.

When the Mongols invaded Central Asia sometime between 1215 and 1220, his father, Baha' al-Din Walad, with his whole family and a group of disciples set out westwards. On the road to Anatolia, Rumi encountered one of the most famous mystic Persian poets, Attar, in Iran's city of Nishapur, located in the province of Khorāsān. Attar immediately recognized Rumi's spiritual eminence. He saw the father walking ahead of the son and said, "Here comes a sea followed by an ocean." He gave the boy his Asrārnāma, a book about the entanglement of the soul in the material world. This meeting had a deep impact on the eighteen-year-old Rumi's thoughts and later on became the inspiration for his works.

From Nishapur, his father and his entourage set out for Baghdad, meeting many of the scholars and Sufis of the city. From there they went west and performed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. They then passed through Damascus, Malatya, Erzincan, Sivas, Kayseri and Nigde and finally settled in Karaman during seven years. His mother and his brother died in Karaman. In 1225 Rumi married Gawhar Khatun in Karaman. They had two sons: Sultan Walad and Alaeddin Çelebi. When his wife died, Rumi married again and had a son Emir Alim Çelebi and a daughter Melike Khatun.

On 1 May 1228, most likely as a result of the insistent invitation of 'Alā' ud-Dīn Key-Qobād, ruler of Anatolia, Rumi's father and family, including Rumi, moved and finally settled in Konya in Anatolia within the westernmost territories of Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm.

His father became the head of a madrasa (Islamic religious school) and when he died Rumi inherited his position and succeeded him at the age of twenty-five. One of his father's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din-e Muhaqqiq, continued to train Rumi in the religious and mystical doctrines of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practiced Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240-1. From then on started Rumi's public life. He became the teacher who preached in the mosques of Konya and taught his adherents in the madrasa.

During this period Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.

It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that changed his life completely. Shams had traveled throughout the Middle East searching and praying for someone who could "endure my company". A voice came, "What will you give in return?" "My head!" "The one you seek is Jalal ud-Din of Konya." On the night of December 5, 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. It is believed that he was murdered with the connivance of Rumi's son, 'Ala' ud-Din; if so, Shams indeed gave his head for the privilege of mystical friendship.

Rumi's love and grief for the death of Shams found their expression in an outpouring of music, dance and lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus. There, he realized:

Why should I seek? I am the same as
He. His essence speaks through me.
I have been looking for myself!

For more than ten years after meeting Shams, Mawlana had been spontaneously composing ghazals, and these had been collected in the Divan-i Kabir. Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, the goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favorite student Hussam-e Chelebi assumed the role.

Rumi died in 1273 CE. He was buried in Konya and his shrine became a place of pilgrimage (see locations tab).

Following his death, his followers and his son Sultan Walad founded the Mawlawī Sufi order (Mawlawīyah or Mevlevi, as it is known in Turkey), also known as the order of the Whirling Dervishes, famous for its Sufi dance known as the samāʿ ceremony.

Babajan, whose birthname was Gulrukh "Like a Rose", was born as a Pathan princess to a Muslim royal family of Balochistan. The precise date of Babajan's birth is unclear. Biography variants range from 1790 to 1806. Well-educated, she memorized the entire Qur'an by heart, becoming a hāfiżah at an early age.

At the age of 18, Gulrukh fled her arranged marriage and sought God instead. She journeyed to the northeast, first to Peshawar and then to Rawalpindi, disguised by her burqa. According to Indian author Bhau Kalchuri, she lived for a year and a half in the mountainous regions of what is now Pakistan under the guidance of a Hindu sadguru, then traveled to Punjab. In Multan, at the age of 37, she received God-realization from a quṭub, Maula Shah.

Travels and pilgrimages

After a second stay in Rawalpindi, staying with her earlier Hindu master, Gulrukh embarked on several long journeys through the Middle Eastern countries Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Mecca, often disguised as a man. Apparently to avoid detection, she traveled by way of Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and then doubled back into Arabia. At the Ka‘bah, she offered prayers five times a day, always sitting at one selected spot. While in Mecca, Gulrukh often gathered food for the poor and personally nursed pilgrims who had fallen ill.

From Mecca, Gulrukh made pilgrimage to the tomb of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Medina, where she adopted the same routine of offering prayers and caring for fellow pilgrims. Leaving Arabia, she passed through Baghdad, Iraq and back to the Punjab. She then traveled south to Nashik and established herself in Panchvati. From Nasik, Babajan traveled on to Mumbai, where she stayed for some time and her fame grew.

In April 1903, Babajan made a second pilgrimage to Mecca, this time sailing from Bombay on the SS Hyderi. About 1904, Babajan returned to Bombay and soon afterward proceeded to Ajmer in northern India to pay homage at the tomb of the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti who established the Chishti Order of Islam in India. From Ajmer she returned to Bombay and then soon after traveled west to Pune.

In Pune, Babajan established her final residence, first under a neem tree near Bukhari Shah's mosque in Rasta Peth and later another neem tree in the then-dilapidated section of Pune called Char Bawdi where she remained the rest of her life. She eventually allowed her devotees to build a shelter of gunny sacks above her and stayed there throughout all seasons. Her disciples included Hindus, Muslims, and Zoroastrians.

Master to Meher Baba

Babajan gave Meher Baba God-realization through a kiss on his forehead in January 1914 when he was 19 years old on his way home from college in Pune. After this, he said that he experienced being in bliss for nine months, after which he said he was helped to return to normal consciousness by a second sadguru, Upasni Maharaj of Sakori. Meher Baba said that Babajan was one of the five Perfect Masters of her time.

Death

Hazrat Babajan died in the Char Bawdi section of Pune on September 18, 1931 under the neem tree where she lived the final years of her life. There is a shrine erected for her around the tree under which she made her final street home.

Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi, chief editor of monthly Roohani Digest Karachi and Rohani Digest International, is a Pakistani scholar of international repute in the field of spiritualism. He has presented spiritualism, that used to be considered something mysterious and hard-to-learn, in the most modern and scientific way bringing it out of the dark shadows of myths and lore. His contribution in scientifisizing and institutionalizing the most ancient body of knowledge according to the needs of the people of modern age will be remembered for times to come.

Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi, an able student of His Divine Grace Qalander Baba Auliya, was born on Monday 17th October 1927, in the town of Anbaith Pirzadgan, District Saharanpur (UP), India. He belongs to the lineage of Hazrat Abu Ayub Ansari, the famous Companion and the host of the Holy Prophet Mohammed(Peace-Be-Upon-Him).

Most of people know Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi because of his unique style of writing. He has authored forty-eight books so far besides eighty pamphlets and articles covering almost every aspect of metaphysical sciences. Most of his authored books (in Urdu language) have been translated into English, Thai, Russian, Arabic, Persian, Pashto, and Sindhi.

He has also authored a remarkable book on the life history of the Holy Prophet titled as Mohammad (PBUH), The Prophet of God. In the first volume of this work he has given a detailed account of the struggles and strivings of the Holy Prophet for spreading the Islamic Teachings. In the second volume of this work he has explained the Miracles of the Holy Prophet in the light of Spiritual Science and in the third volume he has explained the underlying meanings of the events of the lives of the prophets of God. He has also explained the contents of his Mentor’s Book Loh-o-Qalum (translated: The Pen and the Scripturum); the only authentic book on spiritual metaphysical sciences and divine laws. These too have also been translated into English.

Introduction of Color Therapy, a therapeutic system based upon the treatment of diseases by using colors and colorful lights, nationally and internationally, is yet another feather in his cap. He also guided and supervised a PhD thesis on the subject of Chromopathy. The International University of Colombo has conferred a PhD degree on that work.

His articles in spite of the uniqueness of their subject matter remain within comprehension of the common man. Presentation of a divine body of knowledge that has reached him in disciplic succession in the most simple and understandable way is an incredible success and achievement of Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi.

His column 'ROOHANI DAAK' (Spiritual Mail) in the local daily 'Jang', has become a legend through which millions of people have been advised for their socio-economic, psychological and spiritual problems over the past thirty years. Besides suggesting solutions for the problems of the people, questions and queries about the most complicated and enigmatic phenomena of nature are also replied comprehensively in the light of the spiritual sciences. Every month more than eleven thousand letters seeking his guidance are received and replied as a free service.

In addition to these literary contributions to develop the mental faculties of the young generation he has established a chain of fifty-three Muraqba Halls across the length & breadth of Pakistan and 26 in major cities of other countries i.e., 13 in Europe, 4 in America, 1 in Canada, 2 in U.A.E, 1 in Bahrain, 1 in Thailand, 1 in Russia, 1 in Denmark, 1 in Holland, 1 in Norway. These Muraqba Halls have been established to teach spiritual sciences and to train and prepare that lot of people who could carry the torch of the Divine mission of spreading peace and harmony after enlightening their own souls. Muraqba hall is a center operating under his direct supervision and guidance where the students of spiritual sciences are taught the art of sufi meditation, spiritual healing, color therapy and learn to serve others without any discrimination of caste, color or creed, as a free service to the humanity.

Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi, a mission oriented person, trained by his able teacher His Divine Grace Qalander Baba Auliya, is striving really very hard to spread this message that cognition of the soul is the only way to cognize our Lord God and the cognition of the hidden potentialities of the soul are essential for a peaceful living. For this purpose he has evolved that branch of knowledge, which has been termed as Parapsychology and deals with the laws of nature operative at the preternatural level.

Seminars, conferences, lectures, public meeting, symposia and workshops arranged on the subject of Spiritualism and his appearance in many TV programs in USA, participation in various programs of BBC, private channels of Radio and TVs in England and other European Countries and UAE have played a vital role in introducing this sublime body of knowledge.

He is invited to the Universities and Educational Institutes of Pakistan and abroad for Lectures. He has addressed and lectured the audience in Glasgow University, Arthur Finley College, Karachi University, Faisalabad Agriculture University, The Punjab University, Lahore; Lahore Bar Council, King Edward Medical College, Lahore, Nishtar Medical College, Multan, Islamic Centre Peshawar University, Town Hall Waltham Stow and students and teachers of many other institutes.

Through addressing people and affording a chance to them for direct counseling, he is rendering such a service for his fellow beings, which cannot be ignored by any chance. All these seemingly herculean tasks have the only motive of enabling the man to be acquainted with his Cherishing Lord after equipping himself with insight and vision through that sacred knowledge, which are the heritage of mankind and a legacy of the prophets of God.

Three of his books have been included in the syllabus of the Salford University, Manchester UK. His book Ehsan-o-Tasawaf has been included in the syllabus of M.A. Islamiyat (Masters program)at the Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. He has been appointed the Faculty Member and an Associate Professor of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, as a token of acknowledgement of his achievements and contributions.

Spiritual Training Workshops are arranged in Markazi Muraqba Hall (Main Meditation Centre), Karachi, every year. Distinguished delegates also participate and patronize these workshops. Zil-e-Ahmad, Chancellor of Sir Syed University, Dr. Zafar Saeed Saifi, the Vice Chancellor of Karachi University, Dr. Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhri, Vice Chancellor of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan and many other distinguished delegates have participated in these workshops. These workshops are attended by a large number of people from the country and abroad.

Azeemi Public School has been established to impart quality education to the children of low-income group, in Surjani Town, Karachi by Khwaja Shamsudin Azeemi Educational Society. Objective of this society is to strive for teaching Spiritual and Modern Sciences. Libraries, Research Centers and Educational Institutes for quality Education will also be established by this Society.

In order to promote the reading habits in the people, 85 Spiritual Libraries in the country and 90 libraries in different parts of the world have been established. For teaching the spiritual knowledge curriculum based upon theory and practical have been prepared, and the students of Qalander Shaoor Academy are taught the books authored by Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi. In these classes they are made to perform the exercises of concentration to develop their latent potentials.

After a long break now, since his health deteriorated a few years back, where he suffered paralysis and went into coma for 3 days; he has regained his full health eversince and resumed his direct teaching classes for the spiritual students from August 2009 onwards. The subjects include parapsychology, metaphysics, spiritual ethics, purification, advanced meditation techniques, etc, both theory and practicals. The current batch will run for two years or so.

He advocates the removal of gender discrimination and suggests that women should strive to equip themselves with insight and vision by learning the material and spiritual sciences. He has elaborated that the spiritual potentials of man and woman are equal. He has authored a book 101 Auliya Allah Khawateen (101 Lady Saints), in which he has described and dealt with the teachings and the wonder-workings of the Lady Saints.

Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi says, “The main objective of life, for the men and women, is to get acquainted with the spiritual knowledge; the legacy of the prophets of God for having a deeper realization of the latent potential of their souls so that they could get closer to the Lord Creator and man could live a peaceful life."

A.H. Almaas is the pen name of Hameed Ali, a spiritual teacher and an author.

He was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to attend the University of California at Berkeley where he studied math and physics through a scholarship from the Kuwait Ministry of Education. Later, while working on a Ph.D. in physics, he reached a turning point in his life that led him to inquire deeper into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature. At that time, he became a student of the Chilean spiritual teacher and author Claudio Naranjo.

He eventually pursued a Ph.D. in psychology specializing in Reichian Therapy and developed a unique spiritual and psychological theory and practice known as the Diamond Approach®.

Hameed has written many spiritual books.

Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen was a saintly Tamil-speaking teacher[1] and Sufi mystic from the island of Sri Lanka who first came to the United States on October 11th, 1971[2] and established the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship of North America in Philadelphia. From Philadelphia, with its approximately 1,000 followers,[3] branches of the Fellowship have spread throughout the United States and Canada,[4] as well Australia and the UK. Societies of followers were already in Jaffna and Colombo,[5] Sri Lanka before his arrival in the USA.

Early life

According to the older Sri Lankan students, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen emerged from the jungles of that country in the early 1940s and met pilgrims who were visiting shrines in the north. Reports of dreams or mystical meetings that preceded a 'physical' meeting by these early students were not uncommon.[6] According to an account from the 1940s, Bawa had spent time in 'Kataragama', a jungle shrine in the south of the island, and in 'Jailani', a cliff shrine dedicated to 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani of Baghdad. His association with that Baghdad Sheikh indicates his connection to the Qadiri order of Sufism.[7] Many of his followers who lived around the northern town of Jaffna were Hindus and addressed him as swami or guru. His role was often as healer of both medical and spiritual illnesses, including curing possession by demons.[8]

Eventually an ashram was formed in Jaffna, and a farm was started south of that city. After business travelers from the south of the country met Bawa, they invited him to visit in Columbo, the capital of Sri Lanka. By 1967, the 'Serendib Sufi Study Circle' was formed by these Colombo students who were predominantly Muslims. Earlier in 1955, Bawa had set the foundations for a 'God's house' or mosque in the town of Mankumban, on the northern coast. This was the result of a spiritual meeting with the Mary, the mother of Jesus.[9] After two decades, the building was finished by students from the United States who were visiting the Jaffna ashram.[10]

Bawa's teachings through stories reflected the background of the student or listener and included both Islamic and Hindu religious texts and traditions and welcomed persons from all traditions and backgrounds.[11]

[edit] Public Career in the United States
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship

In 1971, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen accepted an invitation from an American university student in Philadelphia to visit her in the United States. She had been corresponding with him after being introduced by a fellow university student who had come from Sri Lanka.[12] By 1973, a group of his followers formed the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, and a Meeting house that offered several public meetings a week was acquired.[13]

As before in Sri Lanka, people from all religious, social and ethnic backgrounds would join to hear him speak. Across the United States, Canada and England, he won recognition from religious scholars, journalists, educators and world leaders. The United Nation's Assistant Secretary General, Robert Muller, asked for Bawa Muhaiyaddeen's guidance on behalf of all mankind during an interview in 1974.[14] During the years 1978-1980 when the Iranian hostage crisis was occurring, he wrote letters to world leaders such as Iran's Khomeini, Prime Minister Begin, President Sadat and President Carter to encourage a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the region.[15][16] Time Magazine, during the crisis in 1980, quoted him as saying that when the Iranians understand the Koran "they will release the hostages immediately".[17] Interviews appeared in Psychology Today,[18] the Harvard Divinity Bulletin,[19] and in the Philadelphia Inquirer[20] and the Pittsburgh Press newspapers. He continued his teaching and personal guidance to his students and visitors until his passage from this life on December 8, 1986.

[edit] Legacy

In May, 1984, the Mosque of Shaikh M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen was completed on the grounds of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, 5820 Overbrook Avenue, Philadelphia. The building of the mosque took 6 months and was done by the members of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship under the direction of M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.[21]
Mausoleum of M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship Farm is 100 acres of farmland located in Chester County, Pennsylvania just south of the small city of Coatesville at 99 Fellowship Drive. The center point of the farm is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen's mausoleum or mazar. It was built shortly after his death and completed in 1987. It is a place of pilgrimage for Sufis and Sufi sheikhs, and also is visited by Muslims who have the tradition of family gatherings near a saint's tomb.[22]

He was an artist and created paintings and drawings that symbolized the relationship between man and God. He described his art work as "heart's work."[23] Three examples are reproduced in his book titled Wisdom of Man. In 1976, Bawa Muhaiyadeen recorded and released an album of meditation, on Folkways Records entitled, Into the Secret of the Heart by Guru Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.[24]

M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen authored over twenty books, although he himself did not read or write. These books were created from transcriptions of audio and video recordings of his discourses in the United States, totaling about 10,000 hours. Some titles originated from Sri Lanka before his arrival in the U.S. and were created from notes by a secretary. The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship continues to study and disseminate this repository of his teachings. It has not appointed a new leader or Sheikh to replace his role as teacher and personal guide.

[edit] Titles and Honorifics

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen was referred to as Guru or Swami or Sheikh or 'His Holiness' depending on the background of the speaker or writer. He was also addressed as 'Bawangal' by those Tamil speakers who were close to him and who wanted to use a respectful address. He often referred to himself as an 'ant man',[25] i.e, a very small life in God's creation. After his arrival in the United States in 1971, he was most often addressed as Guru Bawa and he established the Guru Bawa Fellowship. By 1976, he felt that the title 'guru' had been abused by others who were not true teachers in his estimation. In that year, he decided to drop the title Guru and the organization became the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship.[26] Most of his American students use the familiar name 'Bawa' when speaking of him.

By 2007, a new honorific, Qutb, was being used by his students in the publications of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen's talks.[27] Qutb means literally pole or axis, and signifies the spiritual center which explains and reveals through divine wisdom the true nature of man.[28] The name Muhaiyaddeen means 'the giver of life to true belief' and has been associated with previous Qutbs. By using this lofty title, his students are presenting him as a universal teacher for this era.

[edit] Quotes
Sister project Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

A larger selection of quotes is available at Wikiquote.

* "The prayers you perform, the duties you do, the charity and love you give is equal to just one drop. But if you use that one drop, continue to do your duty, and keep digging within, then the spring of Allah's grace and His qualities will flow in abundance."[29]

* "People with wisdom know that it is important to correct their own mistakes, while people without wisdom find it necessary to point out the mistakes of others. People with strong faith know that it is important to clear their own hearts, while those with unsteady faith seek to find fault in the hearts and prayers of others. This becomes a habit in their lives. But those who pray to Allah with faith, determination, and certitude know that the most important thing in life is to surrender their hearts to Allah."[30]

* "The things that change are not our real life. Within us there is another body, another beauty. It belongs to that ray of light which never changes. We must discover how to mingle with it and become one with that unchanging thing. We must realize and understand this treasure of truth. That is why we have come to the world."[31]

* "My love you, my children. Very few people will accept the medicine of wisdom. The mind refuses wisdom. But if you do agree to accept it, you will receive the grace, and when you receive that grace, you will have good qualities. When you acquire good qualities, you will know true love, and when you accept love, you will see the light. When you accept the light, you will see the resplendence, and when you accept that resplendence, the wealth of the three worlds will be complete within you. With this completeness, you will receive the kingdom of God, and you will know your Father. When you see your Father, all your connections to karma, hunger, disease, old age will leave you."[32]

* My grandchildren, this is the way things really are. We must do everything with love in our hearts. God belongs to everyone. He has given a commonwealth to all His creations, and we must not take it for ourselves. We must not take more than our share. Our hearts must melt with love, we must share everything with others, and we must give lovingly to make others peaceful. Then we will win our true beauty and the liberation of our soul. Please think about this. Prayer, the qualities of God, the actions of God, faith in God, and worship of God are your grace. If you have these, God will be yours and the wealth of the world to come will be yours. My grandchildren, realize this in your lifetime. Consider your life, search for wisdom, search for knowledge, and search for that love of God which is divine knowledge, and search for His qualities, His love, and His actions. That will be good. Amin. Ya Rabbal-‘alamin. So be it. O Ruler of the universes. May God grant you this."[33]

[edit] Books by His Students

A number of books have been published by students of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen that explore his teachings and the impact they had on their lives.

* Owner's Manual for the Human Being by Mitch Gilbert, One Light Press publisher, 2005, ISBN 0977126706

* The Illuminated Prayer: The Five-Times Prayer of the Sufis by Coleman Barks and Michael Green, Ballantine Wellspring publisher, 2000, ISBN 0345435451. According to the publisher, the book "offers a compelling introduction to the wisdom and teachings of the beloved contemporary Sufi master Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, who brought new life to this mystical tradition by opening a passage to its deepest, universal realities. It is the loving handiwork of two of Bawa's best-known students, Coleman Barks and Michael Green, who also created The Illuminated Rumi."

* One Song: A New Illuminated Rumi by Michael Green, Running Press publisher, 2005, ISBN 0762420871

* My Years with the Qutb: A Walk in Paradise by Professor Sharon Marcus, Sufi Press publisher, 2007, ISBN 0973753404

[edit] See also

* Sufi
* List of famous Sufis

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 90.
2. ^ Divine Luminous Wisdom, p. 254.
3. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 93.
4. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 93.
5. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 91.
6. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 91.
7. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 91.
8. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 91.
9. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 92.
10. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p 92.
11. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 92.
12. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 92.
13. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 92.
14. ^ To Die Before Death, p. xix.
15. ^ Haddad and Smith, p 103.
16. ^ The Truth and Unity of Man: Letters in Response to a Crisis
17. ^ Article Is the Ayatullah a Heretic? in April 28, 1980 issue of Time Magazine
18. ^ Article The Mind is in the Heart by Sam Keen in an issue circa 1978
19. ^ Harvard Divinity Bulletin. Harvard University Divinity School. December 1982 - January 1983, Volume XIII, Number 2
20. ^ Haddad and Smith, p 104.
21. ^ Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship web-site.
22. ^ Malik and Hinnells, p. 96.
23. ^ Acknowledgments page, Wisdom of Man
24. ^ Smithsonian Folkways recording FW08905.
25. ^ The Tree That Fell to the West, p. 165.
26. ^ Truth and Light, p. 10.
27. ^ The Point Where God and Man Meet, p. xi.
28. ^ Resonance of Allah, p. 716.
29. ^ Sheikh and Disciple, p. 63.
30. ^ Islam and World Peace, p. 3.
31. ^ Questions of Life Answers of Wisdom, Vol.1, p. 220.
32. ^ Come to the Secret Garden, p. 188.
33. ^ My Love you My Children; p. 466.

[edit] References

* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (1972). The Divine Luminous Wisdom That Dispels the Darkness. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390112.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (1974). Truth and Light: Brief Explanations. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 091439004X. Radio Interviews by Lex Hixon - WBAI, New York, and Will Noffke - KQED, San Francisco
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (1976). My Love You, My Children: Stories for Children of All Ages. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390201.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (1980). The Truth and Unity of Man: Letters in Response to a Crisis. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390155.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (1980). The Wisdom of Man: Selected Discourses. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390457.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (1983). Sheikh and Disciple. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390260.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (1985). Come to the Secret Garden. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390465.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (1997). To Die Before Death: The Sufi Way of Life. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390392.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (2001). Questions of Life, Answers of Wisdom, Vol. 1. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390325.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (2001). The Resonance of Allah: Resplendent Explanations Arising from the Nur, Allah's Wisdom of Grace. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390619.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (2003). The Tree that Fell to the West: Autobiography of a Sufi. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390678.
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (2004). Islam and World Peace: Explanations of a Sufi. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390651. *Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. (2006). The Point Where God and Man Meet. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press. ISBN 0914390791.
* Y. Y. Haddad and J. I. Smith, editors (1994). Muslim Communities in North America. Albany: SUNY. ISBN 0791420191. Chapter 4: Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary American Islamic Spirituality: The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship by Dr. Gisela Webb, Professor of Religious Studies at Seton Hall University
* J. Malik and J. Hinnells, editors (2003). Sufism in the West. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415274074. Chapter 4: Third Wave Sufism in America and the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship by Dr. Gisela Webb, Professor of Religious Studies at Seton Hall University
* Snyder, Benjamin H. (2003). HEARTSPACE: The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship and the Culture of Unity. Philadelphia: Haverford College thesis.

[edit] External links

* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Wikiquote page
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship Web Site
* Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship Farm Web Site
* HEARTSPACE: The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship and the Culture of Unity Haverford College Thesis by Benjamin Snyder
* Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary American Islamic Spirituality: The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship - Chapter 4 of Muslim Communities in North America
* Third Wave Sufism in America and the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship - Chapter 4 of Sufism in the West
* A Sufi View of Spiritual Rebirth: Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Essay by Joseph F. Morales with extensive quotes from To Die Before Death: The Sufi Way of Life
* Vegetarian quotations from Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
* M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Books Online at Books.Google.Com
* Into the Secret of the Heart by Guru Bawa Muhaiyaddeen record details at Smithsonian Folkways
* Video Song and Discourse "Practicing the Constant Remembrance of God", July 19, 1980, Philadelphia, 57 min.
* Video Discourse "We Need The Qualities of God", May 6, 1975, Philadelphia, 26 min.
* Video Discourse "The Learning of an Ant Man" May 18, 1975, St. Peter's Church, New York City, 83 min.

EJ Gold was born December 27th, 1941 in New York City to Horace and Evelyn Gold. His father Horace was the editor of Galaxy magazine, a seminal science fiction periodical and his mother Evelyn was a dancer and artist. He grew up surrounded by some of the greatest science fiction writers of this century, artists and intellectuals, the Who’s Who of the Arts in America of the 40’s and 50’s: Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Alfred Bester, Harlan Ellison, Theodore Sturgeon and Robert Silverberg to name just a few. Other celebrities associated with his family included geniuses from the arts and the sciences like John Cage and Merce Cunningham who were frequent Friday night card players at the Golds'. As an infant he was known to deeply enjoy listening to classical music, a favorite composer of his was observed to be Shostakovitch and he would happily listen to his pieces for hours. He entered as an awakened being.

He is a true "Renaissance Man" and has been involved/worked with/in a multitude of fields/endeavors, some of them include the TV/Film Industry, Intelligence Op, Midwifery, Professional Photographer, The Music/Recording Industry, Tree Planting, Acting, Mime, Gold Mining, Dance, Theatre, Bookstores, Restaurants, Videogame Deign, Art of every type and Plasma Physics just to name a few. There truly is no way to effectively cover all his myriad interests in this forum and i strongly suggest the purchase of "More Color Less Soul" The Photobiography of E.J. Gold as a starting point to all interested seekers, here is a link- www.hei-art.com/books/ejgbio.html

The Institute for the Development of the Harmonious Human Being, Inc. or IDHHB is the school EJ Gold founded beginning in the early 60s, it was incorporated as a non-profit in September 1971. The School is located in Grass Valley, California and has both local and worldwide students. Many of his students have been working with him for 30 years or more. This School has a strong focus on group work and knowledge gained by experience. For more information click here- www.idhhb.com/

At this point we arrive in the NOW, as in, what is EJ Gold doing now? As always, many things! He teaches on a daily basis, has recently opened the Brane Power meditation center, creates videogames in the Godd engine, gives regular onsite workshops, caretakes a Zen garden, paints, sculpts, teaches art classes at a local art store each week, runs gorebaggtv- www.justin.tv/gorebaggtv gives online realtime workshops each Saturday and Sunday at 6:30am PST on www.idhhb.com/stream and has recently started a new guitar lessons series called Beginning Guitar, you can watch the first lesson here- http://tinyurl.com/ldmmyk He does all this and more while continuing to teach and guide his many students. On top of all these areas of work he recently invented/created a new and powerful mediation technology called Beta Blockers and spends the greater part of each day producing various pieces for students and non-students alike. The Beta Blockers are created with early 1900s crystal radio technology and each piece is handmade by him. The purpose of this new technology is the blocking of the Beta or "thinking" mind thereby allowing easier access into deep meditation states, creative zones and the psychic/intuitive areas of the mind. EJ works tirelessly each day and every day, producing these so that each and every person that wishes this opportunity can have it. You can find out more about EJ Gold's new gift to the world @ www.brane-power.com

I thank you for your attention and send you best work wishes. And i strongly urge all those that are interested in EJ Gold's teachings to get in touch, make contact, come to the Brane Power Meditation Center or get online with him...in other words i urge interested seekers to take the opportunity to BE with EJ GOLD right HERE, right NOW.

May this be used for the benefit of all beings everywhere...peace
spacebuddhaa

Hazrat Tajuddin Baba (January 21, 1861 – August 17, 1925) was an Indian Sufi master considered by his followers to be a sadguru or qutub, was born at a place called Kamthi near Nagpur in the state of Maharastra, India. From the birth itself, there was something unusual about the child, for the newborn baby would not at all cry. He would, at times, open his eyes, look at people, and then go to sleep.

Baba Tajuddin's father died when he was about one year old and his mother died when he was only nine years old. The care of this orphan was taken over by his maternal grandmother and maternal-uncle Abdul Rahman. As a child, Baba started his education at the age of six in a local madrasa in Kamthi.

During this time a Sufi Saint of Qadri Order Hazrat Abdullah Shah, visited the madrasa and saw the young Baba Tajuddin. He took out a dry fruit from his bag, ate half, and put the other half in the mouth of Baba Tajuddin saying: "Eat less, sleep less and speak less. Read Quran". As soon as Baba Tajuddin ate the dry fruit, Divine Consciousness dawned on him and for about three days, he remained in a state of Jazb (spiritual intoxication).

At the age of 18, the financial condition of his maternal uncle's house deteriorated due to floods. As a result, both Baba Tajuddin and his maternal uncle started looking for a job. In 1881, Baba joined the Nagpur Army Regiment. Soon a contingent of the Regiment, where Baba was serving, was sent to a place called Sagar. At Sagar, Baba used to manage his duties as an army sepoy (soldier), somehow spending the best of the time in doing Muraqaba at a local Sufi shrine. His absence from the army camp at nights, and his least regard for the service created problems from the higher authorities. One day, in a God-intoxicated state Baba suddenly submitted his resignation from the army and left the camp.

He spent the next few years as a spiritual wanderer. People at first regarded him as a madman. However, soon miracles also started taking place around him. He would suddenly tell people about their past and warn them about future problems.

In 1892, Baba was admitted in the mental institution. Soon after, he was locked up in the asylum that a strange incident took place that spread Baba's name everywhere. The day he was admitted in the asylum,several people saw him roaming freely in the streets of Kamthi, even after he was locked up. On the next day an army sepoy, who, under the orders of the magistrate had brought Baba to the asylum the previous day, saw Baba in the street. The shocked sepoy ran back and informed the British officer of the regiment, about it. The officer immediately rode his horse and searched for Baba. He eventually found him sitting under a tree smiling at him. British officer was so enraged seeing him moving freely that he straight away rode to the asylum. He asked the doctor on duty "Where is that insane whom I sent here yesterday?" The doctor informed him that Baba was still in a locked room and also showed him the room. There the officer found Baba Tajuddin sitting inside the room in the same posture in which he had seen him sitting under the tree only half on hour ago smiling at him. On seeing the officer, Baba Tajuddin said. “Brother, you are doing your work and I am doing my work". The officer was so influenced by the divine personality of Baba Tajuddin that he instantly became his disciple and started visiting Baba Tajuddin on every Sunday with his family members. Thereafter, the asylum authorities reconciled with Baba Tajuddin, allowing him to move freely inside the asylum compound and outside. Gradually, Baba Tajuddin’s name became so famous that thousands of people from far and near started lining up before the asylum everyday.

During his 16 years stay in the asylum, Baba Tajuddin cured thousands of people of diseases, granted children to the childless, and took on his shoulders the responsibilities (both temporal and spiritual) of thousands of his devotees.

The doctor finally gave a report that Baba Tajuddin was not mad but a person of unusual qualities which medical science cannot explain. In the meantime, Raja Raghu Rao Bhonsle, the Maharaja of Nagpur had become an ardent devotee of Baba Tajuddin and started visiting him regularly. One day, in the evening, he thought of getting Baba released from the lunatic asylum and bringing him to his palace at Shakardara. The same night, he saw a vision in the dream in which Baba appeared and pointing towards Red Palace said, "Oh, elder brother, let me stay here." It was early morning in 1908, Raja Raghu Rao immediately called his officials and discussed about the steps to be taken to get Baba Tajuddin released. The Council decided that the Raja Raghu Rao should immediately make an application for release to the Governor, Central Provinces. Ultimately, after depositing security money of rupees two thousands, the Maharaja secured the release of Baba Tajuddin. From his palace, Baba started his divine work.

In Shakardara, Baba Tajuddin used to sit under a tree quietly for many hours by looking on the floor, downing his head on the knees, such as he was performing meditation. People used to sit around him, waiting for Baba Tajuddin's attention towards them. Sometimes he would be in such a Jadhab, that for many days he had been sitting there in the same condition, without movement or having meal.

Once Maharaja Raghu Rao asked Baba Tajuddin about the unseen creautres. Baba Tajuddin was lying on the floor at that time, and looking at the sky. Baba Tajuddin's reply to that, was very much scholarly & a kind of Divine-knowledge, Baba said:

"Raghu Rao! We have been watching the stars since we are born. Every night we look towards the sky, and it is interesting that we say that stars are visible before us, we watch them, and are familiar to the cosmic world. However, what we are looking at, and we are familiar to which kind of cosmic world? We are unable to define it. Still we think that 'we know'. Moreover, when we claim that we know about something, we do not try to find that how much that claim is right or not. We know that the Sun rises, but we do not know its hidden reality, also we don't know the hidden reality of day and night. Raghu Rao! Day & night are not angels or Jinns, but still they are visible for us. When you claim that your eyes can watch day and night, it is because they are believable for you! Nevertheless, you should also know that, thought works with the eyes. If the eyes couldn't work with the thoughts, then you would not be able to define anything. In short, everything depends on thoughts, and it is the thought that gives us vision and hearing to our senses. People think that there are other beings out of our sense of thoughts. Although, nothing exists out of our thoughts, human is just a thought, angel is just a thought, Jinn is just a thought, and thus, everything is a nothing but a thought."

At that time, Baba Tajuddin was still staring at the stars, he continued: "There is a strong relationship between us and the universe. The information that comes to our mind, they come from the universe, and that information comes to us through light. The rays of light bring to us information, and we call them imagination, superstition etc. Moreover, we think that these are our own creation, but actually it is not so."

Once Baba Tajuddin went to the hills of Waki Sharif with some people. After reaching there, Baba Tajuddin smiled, and said, "Whoever fears the Lion, should leave. I will take rest here for a while and I think that the Lion would be coming here". Many left, and some hid themselves nearby. Hayat Khan and Qalandar Baba Auliya also hid themselves and closely watched Baba Tajuddin. After about one hour, a Lion showed up, and went near Baba Tajuddin, who was sleeping at that time. The lion sat near the feet of Baba Tajuddin and started licking them. After few minutes, the Lion closed his eyes and put his head down on the floor. Later on the Lion started to lick the feet of Baba Tajuddin again, and this time Baba Tajuddin woke up, he sat before the Lion and rubbed his hand on the head of the Lion. Baba Tajuddin said, "You've come! Now you are quite alright, and I'm happy to see you in good health, now you should leave". The lion then left obediently.

By 1925 A.D, Baba was 64 and during the month of August, his health started deteriorating. Raja Raghu Rao hired the best doctors, but his time had come. Raghu Rao understood that Baba Tajuddin is getting ready to depart. He asked Baba to allow people to see you even if medical advice did not permit. The ever-benevolent Baba just smiled and agreed. As the news spread thousands of people came to the Maharaja's palace and had last sight of their beloved master who had served and protected them for decades. The stream of visitors continued until the last moment of Baba’s departure on the 17th August 1925.

He did not marry and remained celibate. The famous Sufi saint Qalandar Baba Auliya was his disciple, and close relative. Qalandar Baba's mother, who was his niece, was adopted by Baba Tajuddin when she lost her parents, that is why Qalandar Baba always called him "grandfather".

Meher Baba contacted Tajuddin Baba in his youth and later said that Tajuddin was one of the five perfect masters of his time.

(updated by Azeemi)

Hazrat Inayat Khan was a Sufi teacher from India who started "The Sufi Order in the West" (now called the Sufi Order International) in the early part of the 20th century. Though his family background was Muslim, he was also steeped in the Sufi notion that all religions have their value and place in human evolution.

Inayat was born into a family of musicians in 1882. His grandfather was a well-known musician respected as a composer, performer, and developer of a musical annotation which combined a group of diverse musical languages into one simplified integrated notation.

The house in which he grew up was a crossroads for visiting poets, composers, mystics, and thinkers. There they met and discussed their views (religious and otherwise) in an environment of openness and mutual understanding. This produced in the young man a sympathy for many different religions, and a strong feeling of the "oneness" of all faiths and creeds.

Inayat would listen to the evening prayers sung in his household with great interest, and was impressed with the spiritual atmosphere produced by the chanting. From a young age, he was interested in going beyond thinking about religious issues. He wanted a direct "link with God".

He developed considerable skill at the Vina (an Indian instrument). At eighteen, he went on a concert tour throughout India intent on reviving some of the older folk songs which were being replaced by more popular melodies. He felt these songs carried a special spiritual quality which was being lost. This brought him some critical acclaim, and he was invited to perform in the courts of Rajas (the rulers of India's princely states who cooperated with the British).

Inayat began to seek spiritual guidance at this point. He had seen the face of a very spiritual bearded man off and on in his dreams for some time. One day in Hyderabad, he had a premonition that something important was about to occur. A short time later, the man he had seen in his dreams entered the room.

Both teacher and disciple were immediately drawn to each other. The teacher was Mohammed Abu Hasana (or Said Abu Hashim Mudan depending on one's source) whose family originally came from Medina, the sacred city of Islam in Saudi Arabia. Mohammed was a member of the Chishti Sufi Order that was introduced into India at the close of the 12th century A.D.

Inayat describes the close relationship the disciple should develop with his or her teacher:

The next thing in the attainment of the inner life is to seek a spiritual guide - someone whom a man can absolutely trust and have every confidence in, someone to whom one can look up to, and one with whom one is in sympathy - a relationship which would culminate in what is called devotion. And if once he has found someone in life that he considers his Guru, his Murshad, his guide, then he should give him all confidence, so that not a thing is kept back. If there is something kept back, then what is given might just as well be taken away, because everything must be done fully, either have confidence or not have confidence, either have trust or not have trust. On the path of perfection, all things must be done fully.
The Inner Life, Hazrat Inayat Khan, Orient Books, 1980, P. 43)

Inayat maintained close contact with his teacher for four years. During this time, he experienced a level of realization that made God a reality in his life.

As his master lay dying, the teacher told him: "Go to the Western world my son and unite East and West through the magic of your music". Two years later, in September of 1910, Inayat sailed for America.

Inayat began to teach and discuss his world view with different people who would ask what to call this mode of thought. For a long time, Inayat refused to give it a name fearing it would create barriers between people. He would say only it was ancient wisdom from the one and only source. He emphasized how none of the great spiritual teachers gave a name to their religious views. Finally, knowing that a body of thought needs some identifier to unify it, he told people it was Sufism.

Inayat began to travel and lecture first in the United States and later in Europe. He traveled widely between 1910 and 1920. He decided to do more intensive teaching during the summer in France, and took up residence there near Paris in Suresnes where he could hold his "summer schools".

His teaching strongly emphasized the fundamental oneness of all religions. He was deeply concerned that many of the western religious traditions had lost knowledge of the "science of soul", and the prayer and meditation techniques necessary to develop higher consciousness in mankind.

This Sufi universalism, or interest in and respect for different religions is reflected in a saying by the thirteenth century Andalusian Sufi teacher Ibn 'Arabi. This respected scholar and mystic who authored among other works the classic Sufi retreat manual Journey To The Lord Of Power wrote:

Beware of confining yourself to a particular belief and denying all else, for much good would elude you - indeed, the knowledge of reality would elude you. Be in yourself for all forms of belief, for God is too vast and tremendous to be restricted to one belief rather than another. (Awakening - A Sufi Experience by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Jeremy P. Tarcher - Putnam, New York, 1999, p. VIII)

It was at Suresnes that Inayat developed the Universal Worship service that is now associated with the "Sufi Order in the West". The ritual consists of an invocation, a reading from one of the holy books of the world's major religions, and the lighting of a candle for each tradition. A candle is also lit for all those individuals or religious systems (unknown or forgotten) that have inspired mankind. The ritual continues with a discourse, and ends with a blessing. One goal of the Universal Worship service is to show people from different cultures the many common elements they share in their religious traditions, and to create a sense of unity among people from different cultures by teaching them to read each other's scriptures and "pray each other's prayers".

Inayat said that he traveled a great deal not only to introduce people to the teachings but also to "tune the inner spheres of a country" to a "higher pitch of vibration". His disciple Sirkan Von Stolk talks about these vibrations during his meditation with Inayat:

At those moments he attuned and raised my consciousness to such a high degree that I could hardly stand it. The rate of vibration- that is the only way I can describe it - was so fantastic that it was almost too powerful for me, and I longed to return to the limited security of my own personality where I could I go on living at my own rhythm! (Memories of a Sufi Sage, Hazrat Inayat Khan by Sikar Van Stok with Daphne Dunlop, East-West Publications Fonds B.V., The Hague, 1967, p.40)

Inayat was also concerned that people who did esoteric practices and had deeper spiritual experience find ways to harmonize with the larger religious community and society of which they were a part. He wrote that a person deeply involved in the spiritual life could go to church, mosque, or temple and act in harmony with their fellow religious seekers though their paths might inwardly be very different. Thus, the Sufi at the Mosque, the householder sadhu at the Hindu temple, or the saintly person at the church would fit in with the larger community. Inayat recommended the such people carry out their responsibilities and practice the group's rituals as an ordinary member of their religious congregation. Such an approach conveys respect and admiration for religious people regardless of how they choose to practice their tradition.

In later life, Inayat went through a three stage set of realizations which had such a profound effect on him as to make him "almost unrecognizable" to those who knew him. Inayat claimed that while his consciousness was far removed from the body, he was obliged to pass through the different states of awareness that all human beings pass through in their development. The experience was analogous to Dante's experience of hell, purgatory, and heaven which concludes in the Beatific Vision of God.

Part of this initiation consisted of an experience of Hell. Hell is a place that the living visit in dreams, and the dead experience when their consciousness lives on to reap the results of their negative actions in life. Inayat's view was that hell in the afterlife is comparable to dreaming but much more intense.

The next vision was an experience of purgatory where souls suffer in an effort to move beyond their attachments and limitations. This act of purification requires a great effort of will.

The third vision was a stage of bliss where the human element was purified and purged to the point of illumination. Von Stalk describes Inayat as "cosmic" and as a being "now given up to service as a superb channel for the divine" following this final experience.

Inayat had been a tireless teacher, writer, and lecturer traveling and lecturing almost continuously for seventeen years. He had established his school in France, and a dedicated group of disciples. But, his difficult schedule had weakened him over the years. He left for India to see his homeland for the first time in seventeen years. He hoped to rest and meditate but was asked to lecture and graciously consented as was common. He died in New Delhi in 1927 of influenza.

Hazrat Inayat Kahn is probably the best known teacher of Sufism in America and Europe in the 20th century. His legacy of Sufi universalism or what one author terms "nonIslamic Sufism" is seen primarily in the three areas of the Sufi Order International organization, Omega Institute, and the Dances of Universal Peace.

Inayat's son Vilayet Khan, who died in 2004, had continued to spread the message of Sufism in the west. He also traveled and taught extensively and wrote several books. He was a co-founder of the Omega Institute, a large "new age" teaching institute in Rhinebeck New York begun in 1977. The center for the Sufi Order International is the Abode of the Message located since 1975 on an old Shaker community farm in New York State near Albany. They publish a magazine for spiritual seekers called Elixir (see link below).

Pir Zia Khan, the grandson of Inayat Khan, is the current leader of the Sufi Order International of North America. He studied Buddhism with the Dalai Lama as well as the classical Indian Sufism of the Chishtiya Order. He recently published a book titled Holy Mysteries of the Five Elements.

The Dances of Universal Peace developed by Samuel Lewis in conjunction with the Sufi Order and the modern dance teacher Ruth St. Denis are known throughout the world as a spiritual practice mixing meditation, song, and dance. Sufi Sam, as Lewis was known, was deeply influenced by his study with two people. One was Hazrat Inayat Khan of the Sufi Order, and the other was Ruth St. Denis, who was a teacher of Martha Graham and a feminist pioneer in the modern dance movement in America and Europe.

Lewis' and St. Dennis' idea of melding peace into the arts through dance drew on such diverse influences as Jalaleddin Rumi's whirling dervishes, modern dance, early American Shaker circle dances, square dancing, and Zen walking meditation (or kinhin) for patterns of movement. They combined the dance movements with spiritual prayers, chants, scriptures, mantras, and poetry from all the world's religions. Sam and Ruth also incorporated the Muslim concept of Zikir or "rememberence" of the divine name by emphasizing the repetition of simple spiritual phrases. They set these phrases to music and added the simple dance steps. Many of the early chants came directly from the sacred Muslim phrases used in Zikr.

The emphasis was on "meditation in movement" and on "participation, not presentation". The original dances, which numbered about fifty, have grown over the years to more than 500 in number. Lewis said he wanted to teach the hippies of San Francisco to dance. There was a cultural renaissance in San Francisco's music and art scene in the late sixtys and Lewis thought some of that enthusiasm could be channeled into spiritual practice through dance. He said he created the dances to show young people how to deepen their spirituality and as a way to help them find bliss (or get high) without the use of drugs.

The essential nonsectarian message of the Sufi Order International is still expressed in the Universal Worship service which honors all the world's major religions by reading passages from their holy books.