The Zephyr, November 2023

15 November 2023

Dear Companions on the Path,

For years now I have been writing to you every month through the channel of this Zephyr newsletter. During this time, our community has grown and expanded significantly. I have recently been feeling that the time has come to diversify the voice of the Zephyr, so that news from multiple quarters of our Sufi caravan can be shared with you. To this end, my plan is to write every other month rather than every month, and in between, to pass the pen to Gulrukh Patel and Jennifer Alia Wittman, who have fingers on many pulses and eyes on many horizons in their roles as International Chair and Astana Director respectively.

This issue of the Zephyr features Gulrukh’s voice, coming to us from Africa. You will also find a reflection from me in this link.

Yours ever,
Pir Zia

Dear Companions on the Path,

I am writing this from Africa where I have been working in Refugee camps in Malawi and Mozambique for the last 10 days.

I would like to invite you to take a seat in a circle which is made of known and unknown beings. The known I have met in the flesh, the unknown are still in my imagination.

As in any circle made in the heart, the space is limitless. Here there are refugees from the DR Congo, Syria, Burundi and Rwanda who have escaped war, genocide, insurgency, political abuse and gender based violence. There are local Malawians and Mozambicans. There are staff from UNHCR and local non profits. My life collaborator Helen is next to me.

Our circle is aged between 72 and a yet to be born baby. One of the refugees has been here for 22 years and a few have been born in the camp.

Some of you are already here, reciting the word Amaan.

Next to this group the imagined ones include an Israeli soldier, a Hamas fighter and the children of Palestine and Israel.

Every beings’ Ancestors and Angels hover in the air. The air is also filled with birdsong, again, known (crows and sparrows) and unknown. In the distance even from here it feels like we can hear the sound of the bombs dropping and the gunfire in Gaza.

So far I have not been able to invite world leaders to the circle; my heart is not open enough yet but as I write this I can feel the fluttering of the wings of their angels.

We are seated under 40 degree celsius (104 fahrenheit) heat (this is the hottest year on record) and in plain sight of a rock that is shaped like the face of an old man whose mouth looks like it is whispering words of silence.

Our conversation ebbs and flows between learning new skills, laughter, singing and hearing stories of pain and courage which are often followed by silence as tears flow and hearts are broken.

Each one of us has a unique way of navigating this thing called life. There is a group of young men in our group who do it through style and fashion. They are called Sapologists. This movement which originated in Congo has its own rules and dress code and while there is much to say about this, right now I want you to imagine a young man called Light, dressed in the finest pink suit with a walking stick and polished shoes, standing strong as he dares to challenge the gang culture of the camp just in the way he shows up.

One thing that we hear over and over again as we sit here is the level of betrayal and disappointment that people bear as they negotiate with governments and humanitarian agencies to live a life of dignity. It is expressed in the cry “I will never be free” on the inhale and on the exhale letting go so that their faith in God can show a different way.

There is a two year old whose laughter and glee as she runs around the circle stops us in our tracks and reminds us of the innocence of life. This is why the pain of a child dying every 10  minutes in Gaza feels so unbearable.

The writer Graham Greene said hate was a failure of imagination. In our work in the camps and in this circle it feels as though without the audacity it takes to imagine the impossible we are doomed to fail.

It is in the depths of our collective creativity that we have found ripened fruit. To get there we have learnt that is not only our goal to not cause harm but as important is to know what to do when harm is caused, which I am sad to say  it inevitably is.  This is a humbling and frightening experience because it requires a level of vulnerability that it is not easy to live in or show.

In our circle Helen and I are very aware that we have the luxury to take a pause and leave.  It can be easy from here to slip into guilt. The one thing that pulls us out is the phrase that Helen lives by “Only here once!” As soon as she thinks the words we know we have to look at the situation with new eyes and bring a different perspective.

Which brings me to this moment and the ongoing war in Israel and Palestine. In our heart circle there is pain, anger, disillusionment and hopelessness, there are lies and facts, there is the taking of sides and the not taking of sides, there is what can be done in my name and not in my name, there are lofty ideals and inhumane behaviour.

So what words can I express from my heart, where Murshid says “the whole universe is reflected”? And as he explains, “The universe is like a dome; it vibrates to that which you say in it, and answers the same back to you; so also is the law of action; we reap what we sow.”

It is this that has me saying out loud the inner prayer that I have been reciting with you and the words that I have not yet uttered in public: In my name, ceasefire now!

Yours,
Gulrukh Deepa Patel

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.

Dear Friends, 

Over the next week the Inayatiyya will be asking you very big questions. Questions about you, questions about us, questions about how we can work together toward the unfoldment of our souls. We want to know what you experience, feel and think! Read more…

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 .