Call of the Earth

“Not only human beings, but animals, birds, insects, trees, and plants all have a spiritual attainment. No creature that has ever been on earth will be deprived entirely of spiritual bliss.” Nirtan: Aphorisms Hazrat Inayat Khan

We are writing as governments and civil society from around the world are coming together in Montréal to agree on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse loss of the world’s estimated 8 million species of plants and animals.

“Murshid taught that in following the spiritual path it becomes imperative to consciously realize one’s kinship with the animal world. Since ancient times, human beings have looked to our fellow animals for inspiration and guidance. Today, animals are all too often treated merely as chattel, pests, or oddities. Whole species are rapidly vanishing before our eyes and we are losing our ability to commune with the animate Earth and its animal personifications.” Pir Zia Inayat Khan

This fall our journey through the Sophic Whorl, which illuminates seven ways of being in the universe with awakened conscience and consciousness, was hosted by twenty one animals.  By breathing and being present to the qualities that each animal bought we became more whole, and grounded, and set into motion a path of continually returning to our connection. 

In this last Call of the Earth we would like to express our gratitude to the wider Inayatiyya community for the web of life that it continually nourishes in communion. That it prays with, and not preys on. That it attunes with, and not tunes out. 

In that spirit, we would like to draw your attention to this Conference of Animals that we are now working alongside as part of the process of having Earth as an ex-officio board member of the Inayatiyya International Board. 

We hope as you breathe with them, pray and grieve with them, and embrace and celebrate the qualities that they bring that, you too, will be inspired and guided to feel our kinship with these earthlings and the work we are called to at this time in our world.

Station 1: Standing Strong 

• Snake: Go silently with purpose
• Wolf: Find your pack
• Eagle: Gaze intently

Station 2: Letting Go 

• Eel: Return to the ocean
• Toad: Wait underground
• Bat: Navigate darkness

Station 3: Born Again

• Tortoise: Reside within
• Cat: Watch in stillness
• Swan: Float on the current

Station 4: Imaging things

• Chicken: Investigate your patch of earth,
• Ant: Small as you are, be part of great whole
• Dog: Stay humble and loyal

Station 5: Ripening

• Lion  Be morally courageous
• Mountain Goat: Ascend the peak
• Crow: Riddle out life’s puzzles

Station 6: Always New

• Elephant: Remember
• Dolphin: Jubilate and compassionate
• Chameleon: Disappear

Station 7: The Eyes of the Universe

• Nightingale: Marry joy and sorrow
• Bee: Extract the essence
• Hoopoe: Be a guiding light

In peace,

Gulrukh Patel and Tariq Al-Olaimy on behalf of the Inayatiyya International Board.

P.S.: If you would like to know more about the climate change and biodiversity work of the Inayatiyya please write to iib@inayatiyya.org

 “The swinging of the branches in the forest, the rising and falling of the waves, all has its music. And once we contemplate and become one with nature our hearts open to its music. Something in us has been touched by the rhythmic movement, by the perfect harmony which is so seldom found in this artificial life of ours; it lifts one up and makes one feel that nature is the real temple, the true religion. One moment standing in the midst of nature with open heart is a whole lifetime, if one is in tune with nature.” ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

 “If one observes the superficiality of the life lived today in the so-called civilized parts of the world, one will certainly find that humankind is far removed from nature both within and without, and has become an exile from the ideal state of life.” ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

These passages from Hazrat Inayat Khan illustrate how his mystical vision encompassed both profound comprehension of the sacred eminence of Nature and the deleterious currents that he witnessed in the world:

 “No period like this can be traced in the history of the world; this age has accomplished a much greater destruction than ever before. And if one goes to the root of this subject one sees that all this disorder has been caused by the ever-growing spirit of materialism and commercialism.”  ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

As a contemporary witness in this era of ecological crisis, I would respond: The living Earth is ‘calling’ us to awaken from our human-centered trance, and to respectfully re-turn to the natural world with fresh eyes, in kinship with all. Then, stirred by appreciation and delight, we can whole-heartedly dedicate ourselves to protect and restore the web of life, and to bring all other pursuits into accord with this call.  

Perhaps, alongside Murshid’s unequivocal message: “The solution to the problem of the day is the awakening of the consciousness of humanity to the divinity of man [human being],” we might add: May the consciousness of humanity awaken as well to the divinity of all creation.

“There are many beings, but at the same time there is one, the only Being. Therefore objects such as streams and mountains are also living, but they only exist separately to our outer vision. When our inner vision opens, then the separation is shown as a veil. Then there is one vision alone, and that is the immanence of God.” ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

Submitted by Shams Kairys of the Kinship Council

Step by Step, We Need Not Wait for Tomorrow

“If there is something that can be accomplished today, we need not wait for it to be accomplished tomorrow.”  ~ The Way of Illumination

Inayat Khan gave practical instructions for how to manifest visions, dreams, and wishes. Those same teachings apply to actualizing the ideal of living harmoniously with all species and life on our planet. 

“…if a person is on the path of accomplishment, each accomplishment gives [her] a greater power to go forward…” ~ Volume XIV

Give yourself a micro-task (inner or outer) to embody your ideals and strengthen willpower in service of conscience. 

After each action, each brushstroke, the artist (or activist) must then step back to see its effect, and, from this new and changed context, listen and look for the next step. 

“To the eye of the seer every leaf of the tree is a page of the holy book that contains divine revelation, and he is inspired every moment of his life by constantly reading and understanding the holy script of nature.” ~ The Way of Illumination

We’re reminded to constantly check in with nature for guidance, let our souls be where our soles are, feel deeply, and act again with hope. 

“No doubt there is one thing that keeps one alive, and that is hope.”

“When one is pessimistic about things, one destroys the roots of one’s desires; because, by denying, one casts away that which could otherwise have been attained.”  ~ The Way of Illumination

In the face of daunting odds, should hope and will to engage be threatened:

“Hopelessness can be overcome by faith.”  ~ The Way of Illumination

In the Hadith Qudsi, God says, “Take one step towards me, I will take ten steps towards you. Walk towards me, I will run towards you.”

“Success is in store for the faithful, for faith ensures success.” ~ Gayan

 Action by action, step by step, may God grant our faith be strengthened. 

Submitted by Akbar Chris Miller of the Young Adults Council

“My deep sigh rises above as a cry of the earth, and an answer comes from within as a message”. ~ The Complete Sayings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. 517.

Our world is full of pain and suffering from wars and abuses, including to each other and to the planet. We struggle to understand our connection to each other and to the earth at this time of climate crisis. How can we help? How might we be? What guidance is given?

When asked such a question by his murids at the end of WWI, Pir o Murshid said that what is needed is a “religion that invigorates and gives life to souls and illuminates hearts.” ~ Vol 6, 1.

This is the path of the Inner School of the Inayatiyya.

“When the soul becomes a torch in his [the seeker’s] hand, it is his own light that illuminates his path”. ~ Vol 14, 1.

“To her [the seeker] all things have their meaning, every movement in this world: the movement of the water, of the air, of the lightning and the thunder and the wind. Every movement has a message for her, it brings to her some sign”. ~ Vol 1, 87. 

“Since life becomes clear to the awakened soul it shows another manifestation: every aspect of life becomes communicative with him. The idea is that life is communicating, the soul is communicating…it becomes communicative with life”. ~ Vol 14, 1.

Like in the stories of saints, sages and elders of past and present, those who can hear messages from trees, plants, animals, rocks, mountains, seas, the breeze…we can become sensitive to and illuminated by the light of the soul and heart within. If we learn how to communicate with life, we support its flourishing. 

Submitted by Amida Cary, Co-Vice President of the Inner School

“The Universal Worship is not another Church to be included among the variety of existing Churches. It is a Church, which gives an opportunity to those belonging to different religions to worship together. Also it gives practice in paying respect to the great ones who have come from time to time to serve humanity.” ~ Volume IX, Hazrat Inayat Khan

We have a wonderful opportunity in the Universal Worship to build and strengthen our ideal of divine unity. In offering “our reverence, our homage and our gratitude”, we are committing ourselves to something greater than ourselves. We are in service to the One, to Mother Earth, to nature, to one another. What we are grateful for we are also responsible to. As our practices awaken our sensitivity to the beauty and challenges of current times, they also provide the opportunity to participate and take action in the world in which we live. In reverence we are fed, in homage we can emulate, in gratitude we can serve.

“God’s mercy shows its hands and eyes everywhere in nature, so man must try to imitate it in his own life.” ~ Volume V, Hazrat Inayat Khan

“It is God, who by the hand of man, designs and carries out His intended plans in nature” ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

Submitted by Latif Tony Bedell, Board Member of the Universal Worship Activity

The purpose of the Healing Activity is to awaken humanity to the power of the Divine Spirit to heal. ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

 Through relationship with the Divine Spirit, humanity and the environment are realizing themselves as One living whole. When we breathe with thoughts of healing and compassion, with the intention of offering healing to the world, our breath, is a source of healing.  When our intentions, thoughts, and actions align, they have great power.

 What is the secret of healing power? The secret is to make oneself strong enough to pull oneself together. And that is the secret of the life of the mystic. The world has lost its health, and when one can picture the world as an individual, one can see what it is to lose one’s health.~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

We can tend to the earth with thoughts of healing; tend to our friends with kindness; tend to the animals and plants with love and respect.   We offer prayer, which through the Divine breath, offers healing to all.

The world needs reconstruction today, the world has to pull itself together… all these things which make civilization, seem to have been scattered; and in order that they may come together again, the secret of life must be studied. ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan 

Given the seemingly precarious state of the world, we trust that we are each doing that which we are called to do, and together, united with All, we form a more powerful agent of healing. In this union we have hope and faith in world healing. 

The secret of healing is to rise by the power of belief above the limitations of this world of variety, that one may touch… the oneness of the whole Being. It is there that one becomes charged with the almighty power, and it is by the power of that attainment that one is able to help oneself and others in their pain and suffering. Verily, spirit has all the power there is.~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

May the Divine Healing Power flow through your deeds, your words, your glance, your thoughts and your breath.  And may love, harmony and beauty light your way.

Submitted by Devi Tide and Amina Feliou, Vice Presidents of the Healing Activity

Earth Calls, How Do Kin Respond?

This ideal of kinship develops, taking different forms. In the first stage the mystic becomes respectful to all beings…. In the next stage his sympathy goes out to everyone he meets, no matter who it is. In the third stage he understands the conditions of every person because of his sympathy and respect… In each being he sees himself. ~Volume XI, Philosophy, Psychology and Mysticism, Hazrat Inayat Khan

Can we broaden our consciousness of kin to include the earth and her inhabitants? By cultivating respect for all – mineral, vegetal, animal and human – we can expand our sense of family.

Spending time in nature we can attune our senses to the gifts of each domain. Look anew at the beauty, diversity and relationship of each part. With sympathetic resonance, sense the light in each part.

Creation is a gradual evolution of that light which is the source and goal of all beings.~The Way of Illumination, Hazrat Inayat Khan

Climate change and loss of biodiversity disproportionately impact poor and marginalized communities. The injustice of the ecological crisis, caused by consumption, extraction and commercialism, touches our hearts. Communities on the front-line of climate change are losing their homes and way of life. Earth’s species call for restoration. 

There is One Law, the law of reciprocity, which can be observed by a selfless conscience together with a sense of awakened justice. ~“Ten Sufi Thoughts”, The Way of Illumination, Hazrat Inayat Khan.

By harmonizing with the natural world we find resilience, countering feelings of hopelessness and despair. Breathing the breath of unity we acknowledge the destruction while witnessing wholeness. Out of respect, sympathy, and understanding, we are called to respond.

We came into manifestation responding to a call. Now we are called by the many voices of the One to support the community of earth. How do you respond? We invite you to send a brief description of your response to Kinship@ inayatiyya.org to share with our caravan.

Submitted by Rabia Povich & Halim Knobel, Vice Presidents of Kinship

This month we hear from the Music Activity:

“When we pay attention to nature’s music we find that every thing on the earth contributes to its harmony. The trees joyously wave their branches in rhythm with the wind; the sound of the sea, the murmuring of the breeze, the whistling of the wind through the rocks, hills and mountains, the flash of the lightning, and the crash of the thunder, the harmony of the sun and moon, the movements of the stars and planets, the blooming of the flower, the fading of the leaf, the regular alternation of morning, evening, noon and night – all reveal to the seer the music of nature.” – Mysticism of Sound 

“For a mystic one’s whole life is one continuous symphony of music, each soul contributing to the symphony by one’s particular part in the music.” – Sufi Mysticism

We can try to perceive this symphony by first listening to the outer sounds of nature, but then listening more deeply:

“[Nature’s music] gives us a sense of exaltation to be moving about in the woods, to be looking at the green, to be standing near the running water which has its rhythm, its tone and its harmony. The swinging of the branches in the forest, the rising and falling of the waves – all has its music. Once we contemplate and become one with nature, our hearts open to its music.” – Vol. 2, The Music of the Spheres 

When we perceive not only the sublimity of nature but also its great need, the wish will awaken to contribute only those sounds to this symphony that sanctify its music and promote life.

“In order to live in the world one should become a musician of life. Every person therein is a note.” – Sufi Teachings

Submitted by Fereshta Bechtloff, Tarana Jobin and Ophiel Maarten van Leer of the Music Activity

 This month we hear from the Ziraat Activity:

The Rhythm of Loving Kindness

The meaning of the name of our order offers guidance in addressing the Call of the Earth. Inayat means loving kindness.

If, in speech and action a person shows a friendly attitude, love and kindness, the activity is mobile, and every impulse prompted by this activity will manifest in the form of gentleness, generosity, gratitude and goodwill. – Hazrat Inayat Khan

The Earth has generously and unselfishly nurtured us. The time has come for humanity to reciprocate by practicing loving kindness with all of nature’s realms and beings. When we isolate ourselves from nature, out of fear, greed, or the busyness of our lives, we limit the opportunity to cultivate a relationship of loving kindness. 

Hazrat Inayat Khan gives an important clue in developing loving kindness. It involves maintaining a balanced and fluid rhythm between receptivity and activity. Humanity must both listen and respond to the call of the Earth. We have to slow down enough to listen, and have the willingness to act.

“There is one Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, the only scripture that can enlighten the reader.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan

“The mobile rhythm is creative, productive, constructive, and through that rhythm all power and inspiration are gained, and peace is experienced.” Hazrat Inayat Khan

Can we, the Inayatiyya community rise to the call to help humanity birth a new culture in harmony and support of the Earth? This is our task.

To a little band of Sowers has been given a handful of living grain. Faithfully, it must be sown, surely, it will be reaped; and the harvest shall be for the sustenance of all who are hungering for the “Bread of Life”. The Ziraat Papers of Hazrat Inayat Khan

Submitted by Wali Via & Firos Holterman, Vice Presidents of Ziraat

 This month we hear from the Knighthood of Purity:

Sublime nature, my ears did not hear your music.
Your heart has heard it, your soul has danced to it.
– Nirtan, Tanas

Indigenous wisdom addresses nature as “all my relations.” What is our moral responsibility toward “all my relations?”

Murshid offers us a pathway for examining our morality in relation to another.

For those searching after truth, journeying through the spiritual path, this is the first thing to learn, to find out for themselves under all conditions in life what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong, not from what they are taught or told, but from their own feeling, which can be perceived by a delicate sense of realizing through life what really gives comfort and what causes discomfort. – Gathas II, Everyday Life

What feels right and what feels wrong is determined by our conscience. The artificiality of our lives hides from us what truly gives comfort and ease of conscience. When we walk in nature, we can rise above artificiality by giving appreciative attention to what is around us. When we give “all my relations” our appreciative attention, we see its beauty and we feel a kinship. Our soul begins to dance. Then we can apply what Murshid next recommends for our journey on the moral path.

That which we seek in life we must give to another; if it is kindness, give it; if goodness, give it; if service, give it. The whole secret of happiness in life lies in this… as long as we look to another to make us happy, we keep expecting that which we ought ourselves to have given. Not till then do we know what justice is. – The Sufi Message, Vol VII, Mind, Human and Divine

Submitted by Suhrawardi Gebel, Chancellor, The Knighthood of Purity