25 November 2019
Dear Friends,
Blustery greetings to you on this fine November morning. May these lines find you well.
I would like to record here my gratitude to my good friend, Dr. Srinivas Reddy, who graciously welcomed me at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, at the end of October. Brown has a cutting-edge program in Contemplative Studies, and it was a great pleasure to meet the faculty and students there. Many ashiqs, murids, and friends joined us, making it a joyous New England Sufi reunion. In addition to being a superb scholar and translator of classical texts, Srinivas-ji is an amazing sitarist. Srinivas-ji assigns Murshid’s Mysticism of Music and Sound in his class on music, and he tells me it is very well received by the students.
Not long after the weekend in Providence, the last of four sessions for Emergent Leaders in the Esoteric School was convened at the Astana. We focused on Murshid’s teachings to Murshida Rabia Martin and the ethics and adab of leadership. These Emergent Leaders, who are of various ages and who come from various places, are part of a rising wave of dedicated up-and-coming leaders in the Order who are increasingly discovering their vocation and finding their path of service. I am particularly struck by the camaraderie that is growing, the sense of being part of a school that is also a community founded on friendship.
Speaking of community, we recently had a delightful day at the Astana as we welcomed the family of Karamat and Elizabeth Hess for a blessing of their baby Elijah. Karamat’s late father Maharaji (God keep him) was an inspiring guide at the Abode, and his mother Telema has for decades led a wonderful Sufi center in Philadelphia. It was moving to see the lineage continue in the glowing face of Elijah Hess.
Yours ever,
Pir Zia
Please take a moment to read our Keynotes 2020, which looks forward to our activities for next year. See inside for details on how we plan to Come Together, Reach Out, Build Community, Strengthen our Infrastructure, Make Pilgrimage, and Deepen our Roots. Ya Fattah!
We are launching two new Suluk classes in 2020, one in France (January) and one in Virginia (September). Suluk offers two years of intensive study in the core teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, with Pir Zia and other Inayati teachers as faculty. If you are a lover of Sufi teachings, this is the program for you! inayatiorder.org/suluk
Purchase the complete collection for $165 by clicking here OR purchase individual sessions for just $15 each, clicking here to view all individual sessions.
Music of the Spheres: Gamaka Commentaries, Vadan
“My friends lull me to sleep, but my enemies keep me awake.”
The presence of a friend is pure ease. Friends think alike, and when they differ, differ amicably. With a friend one feels little need to watch one’s step; the friend is always ready to overlook or forgive missteps. The friend knows one’s heart.
Inayatiyya
Inayatiyya
112 E. Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219
804-447-1898
astana@inayatiyya.org
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