The Zephyr, August 2023

16 August 2023

Dear Companions on the Path,

There is something numinous about a place of striking natural beauty. The visitor is transported from the mundane world to the Earth of Visions. The Zenith Sufi Summer Camp in Ticino, Switzerland, is such a place. Amidst the brays of donkeys and the screeches of kites, white tents rise through swirling mists into a sapphire sky. The wildflowers that spangle the mountainside are as numerous as the stars with which they converse. At the Camp, Heaven and Earth are in close touch.

Pirani Sartaj and I have just come down the mountain. The Camp is now many miles away, but the memories we carry with us will not soon fade. We will not forget the many cheerful words exchanged over steaming bowls of tea or the long silences when words disappeared into the three akashas. We will long remember the haunting and rousing music of Sinan, Mehmet, Ali, Ophiel, Tammo, Fereshta, and Tarana, Jeremy’s glowing theatrical interpretation of Parzival, and the soaring zikrs of Cheikh Sufi and Shaykh Hamdi.

The first week was a colloquy on the challenges and rewards that come with the observance of a daily spiritual practice. In the second week we immersed ourselves in Ziraat, the greening of the Earth and ourselves. We paid our respects to the elementals of the mountain, gave ourselves to the work of cultivation, and undertook conjunction with the Kalima-Sakina (Logos-Sophia) through seven terrestrial domains. There can be no doubt as to the potency of the seeds that have been entrusted to us.

One day Cheikh Sufi, Pirani, and I were ascending a steep pasture. Above us on the slope were dozens of grazing cows. Suddenly a cowherd appeared and blew his whistle, sending a dog running and barking into the herd. All at once the cows began stampeding down the hill, hurtling straight toward us. There was nothing to do but stand together and face the impending juggernaut; we were now entirely at the mercy of the charging behemoths. But just look! As they reached us they abruptly slowed their steps. They surrounded us, breathing hard and sniffing our bodies with deep pants. At last they licked us, making it clear that a bond of friendship had been established. This done, they galloped away.

Dear friends, I hope that you, too, are having a magical summer – or winter, if you are in the southern hemisphere. If you are struggling, my prayer is that there is peace in the midst of the struggle, and that your angels are watching over you. I hope to see you again before long. It was a pleasure, before Camp, to see friends at Omega Institute, and in the coming weeks I look forward to seeing some of you in Katwijk and London.

May you sip the Water of Life
And walk in meadows of clover
May all the fairies smile at you
And may your chalice run over

Yours ever,
Pir Zia

The Lexicon of the Sufis
Second Mondays—Sep 11, Oct 9, Nov 13 & Dec 11, 2023

All friends, new and returning, are invited to join us as we explore the terminology of the Sufis as set out in A Glossary of Sufi Technical Terms by Abd Al Razzaq Qashani, a key textbook in Sufi circles for the last six and a half centuries. During each class, Pir Zia reviews the terms in alphabetical order, according to the original Arabic. Then he may also add terms unique to the lexicon of the Inayatiyya. More details and registration.

Spiritual Liberty
A Six-Part Course w/ Pir Zia Inayat Khan via Zoom
Sundays, October 8th to November 12th

After a two-year hiatus, this fall we will return to the study of the Sufi Message Volumes of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan. Spiritual Liberty, Volume V, of the Centennial Edition is almost ready from Suluk Press. Spiritual Liberty comprises several early works, including the only book of teachings ever written by Hazrat Inayat Khan, namely A Sufi Message of Spiritual Liberty, published in his first year in London, 1914. Also included are Aqibat: Life After Death; The Phenomenon of the Soul; Love, Human and Divine; Pearls from the Ocean Unseen; and Metaphysics.

From Pir Zia Inayat Khan’s introduction to the volume: “To read volume five is to be transported to the salon of the London khankah. Outside, air sirens shriek at intervals and the mood is bleak. Inside, however, an atmosphere of melody and luminosity is palpable. The inner world has a message for the outer world, but it is a message no ideology can express. Evocation is its allusive language.” More details and registration.

Inner History: The Beginning
From the Garden of Eden to the Tower of Babel
With Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Marcia Hermansen & Omid Safi
November 17th – 19th, 2023 via Zoom

Please join us for the first gathering of our new series, Inner History, with Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Prof. Marcia Hermansen, and Prof. Omid Safi. In his teachings in The Inner Life, Hazrat Inayat Khan describes the process that leads from spiritual exile to homecoming. The inner life is attained when the body, mind, and soul become consciously conjoined. To realize this entelechy, or perfection of nature, the mystic must make common cause with the animal, vegetal, mineral, jinnic, angelic, and universal dimensions of the Earth, step by step.

Our autumn gathering marks the beginning of our contemplative investigation of the spiritual history of the world. In this initial convening we will survey the vast tract of time from Earth’s inception to the Copper Age (5th-4th millennium B.C.E.). Subjects will include the primordial elementals of the Earth, the advent of humans, nascent prophecy and primal religion, ancient upheavals, forgotten migrations, and the ecstasy of shaman and animal.

Our primary sources will consist of Genesis and the Qur’an, the Tales of the Prophets (qisas al-anbiya’), the mystical historical writings of Shaykh al-Akbar Ibn ‘Arabi, Mawlana Rumi, Shah Wali Allah, Hazrat Inayat Khan, Pirzadi-Shahida Noor, and Pir Vilayat, as well as prehistoric art. Afterward, we plan to come together again twice a year through 2026. More details and registration.

Inayatiyya International Board – News

Our friends Alia Sura Kirsten and Shams Uwais will be stepping down from their roles as National Leaders of the Inayatiyya in Norway.  We are very grateful for their efforts, particularly Alia Sura who worked in this role for many years and we will work with the Norwegian Inayatiyya community to find successors.

We are also sending our thanks to Roshan Priese who has for many years held the position of National Leader in Italy. She will carry on nurturing murids and seekers in her work as a guide and Representative at Cala Jami (her retreat centre). She is handing on her National leadership role to Salima Claudia Grigolli who is a long-time murid in the Inayatiyya and who is looking forward to building the community in other parts of Italy.

The Zephyr is a monthly newsletter of Inayatiyya, an interfaith mystical fellowship with branches worldwide. For more gatherings, please visit our Inayatiyya Digital Programs Calendar .