Sama
Sundays, February 4th, 2:00 pm ET / 8:00 pm CET
March 17th & May 5th, 12:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm CET
Dervishes are those among Sufis who adopt a certain method of progressing through the spiritual path . . . They are dreamers and lovers of God; they worship God in nature, especially in human nature. Among the many ways of spiritual development, they have one way which is called Sama’, which is listening to music. They . . . make themselves as a medium of resonance of the music they hear. Therefore, music touches them differently from any other person, music touches the depth of their being. Moved by music, they manifest different conditions, termed by Sufis hal, which means “condition.” Anyone among them who is moved by spirit may manifest the ecstasy, which is called wajd, in the form of tears, sighs, or in dance . . . the bliss of the dervish is understood by very few. But something that one can learn from this is the theory of the whole process of their spiritual development. By making God their Beloved and by seeing God in the sublimity of nature, they create the presence of God. . . By the help of concentration, poetry, and music, joy and pain both are felt more deeply. Therefore, God becomes living, God’s presence is before the dervish in all moods. In the Sama’, their musical ceremony, when once the dervish’s pain had an outlet in some form or other, the condition that follows is that of deeper insight into life. — Hazrat Inayat Khan, Music
Sama is sacred listening—an ancient practice of the Chishtis—attuning deeply to the divine music and harmony of the spheres. Sometimes this inspires one to whirl; some are trained in this practice, and others may be spontaneously struck by a sense of Vajd, or ecstasy. All are welcome to participate as they feel.
Sama dates this spring will be centered around special occasions, with a few opportunities to gather in person and as always, together on Zoom.
Sunday, February 4th: 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET / 8:00 – 9:00 pm CET—live from Fazal Manzil with Shams al Haqq
Sunday, March 17th: 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET / 6:00 – 7:00 pm CET— Sama with special guests Khaja Ehrari, Hossain, Aziza Rekha Bhardwaj and friends
Sunday, May 5th 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET / 6:00 – 7:00 pm CET —join us live from the Astana with Pandit Srinivas Reddy
All are welcome to attend. A suggested tuition of $10 per session is recommended for this program. Donations of any amount are also welcome, in lieu of tuition. Please see the sidebar to register and more details. Recordings of each class can be found on the Inayatiyya Vimeo page..
If you have questions about Music, or about this series, please email us at music@inayatiyya.org.
Speakers
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Aziza Rekha BhardwajAziza Rekha, a seeker on the path, is trained in Hindustani Classical Music under Guru Pandit Amarnathji of the Indore Gharana. Her inner journey started with an album of Sufi poems “Ishqa Ishqa” (2002) penned by filmmaker, poet Gulzar and composed by filmmaker, composer Vishal Bhardwaj initiating her into the world of Sufism which became a way of life. An opportunity in film, “Omkara” (2005), earned her success as a playback singer in the Indian Film Industry. She has won a prestigious National Award and two Filmfare Awards for her songs. She has a distinctive soulful voice which leads one to a touch of Divinity. Her daily riyaaz heals her. Music is Ibaadat to her. She was initiated by Pir Zia in July 2020, is a Salik in the Suluk Global class, Na koja abad, and has been working on songs from Murshid’s Minqar i Musiqar. Her music can be heard on Spotify, Instagram and YouTube.
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Shams al HaqqShams al Haqq is classically trained in Sama. He has extensively studied the turn, sama meditation, as well as mysticism and Persian mystical poetry of Sufism and Irfan. He curated and has taken part in many spiritual music Ceremonies and sama presentations. He serves the Sufi communities in Canada, presenting some of their work through Rumi Canada. He is also a student within the Inayatiyya & graduate of Suluk Academy. He currently lives in Vancouver, Canada & holds monthly sessions for Sama / inner listening meditation.
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Srinivas ReddySrinivas Reddy is a scholar, translator and musician. He studied classical South Asian languages and literatures at UC Berkeley and currently teaches at Brown University and IIT Gandhinagar. Srinivas is also a concert sitarist who trained in the traditional guru-shishya parampara in the lineage of late maestro Pandit Nilkhil Banerjee. He spends his time performing, teaching and conducting research around the world. His latest book is Raya: Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara (2020). www.srinivasreddy.org
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Khaja EhrariKhaja Ehrari is a Sufi musician from Herat, Afghanistan born in 1960. He has worked as a musician and composer since 2001, performing both as a solo artist and with the band he co-founded, Shams & Mawlana Sufu. In addition to being a singer, he is also an expert at the rubab (type of lute) and ney (ancient type of flute), as well as a special drum called a “daf.” Mr. Ehrari has become very well-
known and respected throughout Afghanistan and other Asian countries. His concerts have been televised on Afghan national television, and his music can be heard on a BBC news broadcast featuring Afghanistan’s only female whirling dervish. In addition to numerous performances at concert venues and other events in Afghanistan, he has also performed at festivals and concerts in
Turkey, India, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. He received a medal from the former President of Afghanistan in recognition of his work. Together with his band, he has been an active partner of Mediothek Afghanistan, a non-governmental organization committed to peace and democracy in Afghanistan.
Links to his performances on YouTube are below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzzpueT-jmU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAIVTusx4Rc
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-58602631
https://youtu.be/2bDzny91FCQ. -
Anirudh Alva ChangkakotiAnirudh Alva Changkakoti, the son of Dr. Rupak Changkakoti and Sarojini Alva Changkakoti, is a young promising tabla player from Virginia. Anirudh’s love for tabla was very evident from a young age, when his father was learning from Dr. Narendra Verma, disciple of the illustrious, Ustad Allah Rakha of the Punjab Gharana. Dr. Verma started teaching Anirudh at the tender age of 3 years. Since then, Anirudh has won many awards of excellence in both state and national level contests in the US. Over the years, he has developed his own style of playing for solos as well as, refined accompaniment. Anirudh has performed across the US, Canada, Mexico and India and in prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center and Department of State as well. He has recorded albums with multiple Grammy nominated artists and even Grammy winners. Through his Guru’s referral, Anirudh has been training with his hero, the maestro, Ustad Zakir Hussain for the past 11 years.
