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
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 CampOn 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-KhanContinuing 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.
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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.
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.
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.
Inayatiyya
Inayatiyya
112 E. Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219
804-447-1898
astana@inayatiyya.org
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