How many a rain of largesse hath rained, so that the sea was made thereby to scatter pearls! – Rūmī’
18 November 2025
Dear Friends,
The mystics have long spoken of the soul as an ocean – vast, unfathomable, and brimming with secrets. Its surface may shimmer with light or boil with storm, but its depths remain serene, ancient, and filled with remembrance.
In the Qur’an, we are told of two oceans meeting, maraj al-bahrayn, one sweet and one salty – an image of the merging of opposites, of spirit and self, of the visible and the hidden. The sea, in all its mystery, is not just the setting for spiritual experience. It is the very substance of it.
To walk the Sufi path is to become like the diver in Rūmī’s verse, descending beneath the waves in search of the hidden pearl. One must leave the shallows of certainty, surrender the safety of the shoreline, and give oneself to the depths of Divine Love.
And yet, deeper still, beyond the reach of ordinary light, lie the abyssal depths– that region of the soul where silence is complete, where form dissolves, and where even the most refined selfhood begins to unravel. Here, in that oceanic stillness, we encounter the Divine not as idea, but as Presence. Not as something to reach, but as what already is: immeasurable and beyond end.
Hazrat Inayat Khan poetically expresses it:
I will dive deeper than the depths of the ocean,
I will reach further than the wide horizon,
I will enter within my innermost being.
In our ongoing Fall Appeal, as part of the Inayatiyya’s spiritual campaign honoring sacred elements of the natural world, we now turn to the ocean – not merely as symbol, but as sacred reality.
The ocean is water in its most expansive and mysterious form, an emblem of Divine Unity. It calls us to remember that while each wave appears separate, all are born of the same boundless depth. It reminds us that the greatest truths are not always found in the light above, but in the hidden places where only love can see.
In the Inayatiyya, we seek to embody this oceanic consciousness – offering spaces of refuge, silence, and depth in a world that so often remains on the surface.
Your contribution supports this sacred work:
Sustaining teachings that help seekers dive beneath the noise into stillness and presence,
Supporting our teachers, staff, and volunteers who serve as companions on the journey into the deep,
Extending the wisdom of the path to those longing to return to the ocean within.
Our 2025 campaign goal is $200,000 by December 31st. So far, we have received $86,016 (43%), and we hope to raise the remaining $113,984 with your help.
Like drops returning to the sea, your support helps us remember that we are not separate. We are not alone. We are the wave, and we are the deep.
Please consider making a gift today, and help us keep this ocean of remembrance flowing through every heart.
With deep gratitude and surrender to the tide,
Josh & Tajalli
on behalf of the Inayatiyya Fall Appeal 2025 Committee
Nazish Riaz, Board Chair | Ambreen Coombs, Treasurer | Nilufar Maryam Hasnaa, Board Member | Mika’il Petin, Executive Director | Tajalli Roselli, Astana Staff | Josh Octaviani, Astana Staff
The Inayatiyya is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization (Tax ID #23-7159641). Your donation may be fully deductible for tax purposes per United States IRS guidelines. Please note that donations made by check must be received by Friday, December 26th to be considered as within 2025. If you would like to make a donation by mail, please send it to Inayatiyya, 112 E Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23219.
