| Dear Companions on the Path,
Greetings! I’ve just returned from the Easter Retreat in the Rhön Mountains in Germany, where in the Name of the One we commemorated the feast of the archangel Eostre, story of the Exodus, and the fana and baqa of Jesus.
This year our gathering had a bittersweet aspect as we lovingly remembered the spirit of Munir Voss, a long-time Inayati Order leader in Europe who suddenly passed from the world in March. I have been coming to Germany at Easter every year since my father’s passing in 2004, and each year until now Munir has been there, leading the early morning meditations. Munir’s presence was sorely missed this year, as he will be missed in the Alps, in Heidelberg, and in many other places. Nonetheless, Munir’s legacy of service to the Sufi Message lives on among those whom he inspired and trained, and his spirit lives on, and shines, in the inner spheres. May God enfold his soul in love and light.
Our caravan is moving through the world, and from this world into the next. One never knows when the sight of a friend might be one’s last—one’s last, at least, here on Earth. Sometimes one is given the chance to say goodbye, but often one is not. Friends suddenly vanish, and we are left with the inner relation of our soul to theirs. One by one, each of us will disappear. But if we are truly linked, our companionship will continue on the other side.
Murshid said, “Initiation among the Sufis has, for one of its many objects, to find a caravan in the hereafter that journeys to the desired goal. Therefore, by initiation it is meant that a Sufi prepares himself here on earth to be capable of appreciating the spiritual souls, and unites with them in the brotherhood of initiation on the Path, which may keep him connected with the caravan which is continually journeying toward the goal.”
May we be such companions to one another, here and in the hereafter.
Yours ever,
Sarafil Bawa
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