21 April 2021
Dear Companions on the Path,
Imagine a world in which the glorification of the One resounded continuously from pole to pole, offered up in innumerable languages and according to the rites of numerous sacred traditions, a planetary polyphony of praise poured forth in thanksgiving, repentance, remembrance, and communion. Imagine, likewise, all of the people of the earth heeding the guidance of the totality of the world’s divinely-guided prophets, prophetesses, saints, and sages, making no division between them and seeking to follow in their footsteps in the path of love and wholeness. Imagine the concord of spirit that is possible, and all that this would usher in from the inner worlds, just as we are most in need of a turn. This is the vision of the Universal Worship.
This year marks the Universal Worship’s hundredth anniversary. From the beginning, Murshid encouraged his murids to honor all of the prophets of God and to spend a moment every day thinking of their harmony in heaven. In London, during the First World War, murids would regularly gather with Murshid and meditatively read from the world’s great scriptures and mystical testaments, followed by a period of silence. After the war, Sophia Saintsbury Green conceived the form of the Universal Worship as we now know it, and Murshid gave it his blessing. He later said, “At this time when the world is divided into so many sections, one working against another, it is most necessary that humanity must at least unite in God. …. Universal Worship prepares us to sympathize with one another and to be blessed by all forms of wisdom which have come to us by different great teachers of humanity.”
The first-ever Universal Worship service was held in London on May 7th, 1921. A hundred years have since passed, and the vision of the Universal Worship remains as vital as ever, even more so. Under the care of Amina Hall and Qutbuddin Urs Schellenberg, several Sirajs and Sirajas, and many Cherags and Cheragas, the service is quietly flourishing throughout the world. On Friday, May 7th we will gather for an online centennial service featuring respected clergy from several of the world’s great religions. May it be light, may it be life, may it be love.
Yours ever,
Pir Zia
Please see our full Inayatiyya Digital Programs Calendar for more gatherings,
checking timeanddate.com for times in your region.
The Zephyr is a monthly newsletter of Inayatiyya, an interfaith mystical fellowship with branches worldwide. For more information on our activities, please visit inayatiyya.org
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