17 April 2024

Dear Companions on the Path,

Spring greetings to those in the North, and a happy Autumn to those in the South!

I am now back in Richmond following several weeks at Fazal Manzil and journeys to India and Germany.

In India I was invited by the revered Daaji, the leader of Heartfulness, to speak at a large conference at his ashram outside of Hyderabad. To say “large” is in fact to put it mildly: there were tens of thousands of attendees. Daaji’s ashram has been called the world’s largest meditation center. The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, graced the occasion.

Daaji’s lineage is an interesting one. It is traced to a Hindu contemporary of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Ram Chandra Lalaji, who was the disciple of a Naqshbandi master. Daaji emphasized our shared Naqshbandi roots when I spoke with him.

Daaji has recently published a detailed book on spiritual anatomy. There is a garden at the ashram in which a winding path takes meditative saunterers through a series of groves representing the thirteen chakras of the Heartfulness system, a wonderfully evocative experience.

Since every school has its own map of the invisible terrain inside the body, it should come as no surprise that the chakras of Heartfulness are not identical to the lata’if we highlight in the Inayatiyya. That being said, Daaji’s tranquil glow speaks eloquently of the effectiveness of his method. And may I add that each one of the disciples I met was a sahib-i dil, a true person of heart.

Being in Hyderabad afforded Pirani Sartaj and me the chance to pay our respects to Sayyid Abu Hashim Madani, the Murshid of our Murshid, whose tomb sits under a bright yellow dome in a little Sufi cemetery just beside a busy road in the Purana Pul quarter. A group of us gathered there on a sunny afternoon to say prayers in Arabic and English, offer roses and perfume, and listen to Hazrat Inayat Khan’s songs sung with roselike sweetness by our friend Aziza Rekha Bhardwaj. An uplifting pilgrimage.

Soon after returning from India it was time to travel to Germany for our annual spring retreat in Gersfeld, coinciding with Ramadan and Easter and anticipating Pesach. The theme this year, “The Song of the Pleiades,” was an exploration of the Inayatiyya’s seven activities—or shall I say “activations,” since they activate essential potentialities in ourselves and the world: the Inner School, Kinship, Universal Worship, Healing, Ziraat, Chivalry, and Music.

As always, the warm hearts of our German hosts and companions on the path made it a delightful occasion. Afterward, we had the chance to visit an ancient and mysterious site in Westphalia, the Externsteine. Legend holds that this was the seat of the eminent seeress Veleda, and there is certainly an unmistakable numinous energy there.

Last week was Eid al-Fitr. For Muslims worldwide, the fast of Ramadan has reached its end. People of all faiths, however, are finding it difficult to enjoy their bread and butter when over a million people in Gaza are facing severe famine due to airstrikes and the blockade of aid. As we know, catastrophic food insecurity is also endemic in Haiti, the Dry Corridor of Central America, multiple regions in Africa, as well as Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

The archangel Mika’il is said to stave off military aggressors and to tend to the fertility of the land. We see today how sustainable agriculture, the preservation of the seasons’ equilibrium, the fair distribution of resources, and the just application of international law are key to fending off the tragedy of mass starvation. We need Mika’il’s touch.

Yours ever,
Pir Zia

Earth Day 2024 – Gaia Sings
April 20th, 6 pm EDT / 8 am Next Day Australia
/10 am Next Day New Zealand

This coming Saturday, April 20th, the Inayatiyya Music and Ziraat Activities invite us to celebrate Mother Earth through music. Our guides include Aziza Barker-Stanton, Saraswati Andrea Burke, Nehmat Bev Kyan, Mariam Mary Neil, Lauraine Carpenter, Mu’izza Mizen, LatifaNoor Anderson, and Saki Lee via video. All are welcome to attend. There is a suggested donation of $10 for this program with the option to donate any amount or come for free. More details and registration.

Astana Open House Weekend
The Astana, Richmond, Virginia
May 3rd – 5th, 2024

In a little over two weeks, May 3rd through 5th, we will gather at the Astana, the Inayatiyya’s home in Richmond, Virginia, for a bit of baraka with our Pir. Many close friends will join Pir Zia including Srinivas Reddy, Anirudh Alva Changkakoti, Jabriel Hasan, Rabia Povich, and Tarana Jobin. We will be together in silence, meditation, ritual, music, sama, suhbat, practice, and friendship, deepening ourselves within the attunement of the mystical teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. More details and registration.

Awakening—Pir Vilayat’s 20th Urs
Monday, June 17th via Zoom
SAVE THE DATE

Please join us for a very special commemoration of the life of Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan on Monday, June 17th, 2024. Our theme is Awakening, with attunements led by Taj, Ophiel, Amida, Saki, Nigel, and Pir Zia, every hour on the hour. This is a free, meditative experience open to everyone. You are welcome to come for all or parts of the day. We will share more details soon! For now, please save the date!

The Sufi Path of Love w/ Pir Zia and Friends
Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York
June 23rd – 28th, 2024

This summer we return to Omega Institute for a five-day retreat with Pir Zia and many friends, including Omid Safi, Nizam un Nisa Husain, Tarana Jobin, Shams al Haqq, and Julianna Takacs. Please join us for teachings, practices, music, whirling, conversation, and friendship! Flowing endlessly from the One, the Sufi discovers a force, an emotion, which will not fit into the narrow boxes of human language. The closest we can come to naming it is to speak of “love.” More details and registration.

Inayatiyya International Board
April 2024 News

As the Inayatiyya International Board, we have some news to share with you about organizational leadership changes. This month, we have several changes in the World Wide Message Council, a dedicated group of leaders that upholds the development and fruition of the Seven Activities. Read more…

Also, please note that we have now posted our full summer schedule. Come be with us in France, Turkiye, Germany, and/or the Netherlands! See our calendar for details.

The Zephyr is a monthly newsletter of the Inayatiyya, an interfaith mystical fellowship with branches worldwide. For more information, please visit us at inayatiyya.org.