Hazrat Inayat Khan
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Hazrat Inayat Khan (July 5, 1882 - February 5, 1927), founder of the Sufi Order in the West, and Sufi Movement, came to the west as a representative of several musical traditions of his native India. As a sufi teacher his message was one of love, harmony, and beauty developed from several sufi teachings and an innovative approach to the harmonizing of western and eastern spirituality traditions. He dedicated his early life to the mastery of the intricacies of classical Indian music, winning the title of Tansen from the Nizam of Hyderabad, a ruler and patron of the musical arts.
In the fulfillment of his quest for a spiritual teacher, Inayat Khan took his sufi initiation from Shaykh al-Mashaykh Sayed Muhammed Abu Hashim Madani. While he was an initiator of the four main Sufi lineages in India, Madani's primary connection was with the Chishti Order. At the end of his apprenticeship, Inayat Khan was enjoined by his teacher to travel to the West and work at developing a culture that combined the wisdom of the east and the rational scientific outlook of the west.
On September 13, 1910, Inayat Khan began a spiritual quest over three continents. He eventually settled in Suresnes, a suburb of Paris. During his sixteen years in the west, he created a school of spiritual training based upon the traditional teachings of the Chishti Order, and infused with his vision of the unity of religious ideals and a hope for the awakening of humanity to the divinity within. His sons, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and Pir Hidayat Inayat Khan, and grandson, Pir Zia Inayat Khan, have continued their father's teaching role.
While modern sufi scholars and teachers state that his teachings were watered-down versions of the esoteric teachings of other sufi masters it is undisputed that he was one of the first individuals who brought the teachings of the east to a western audience planting a seed for further growth in later generations; a role which had also been played by spiritual teachers such as G. I. Gurdjieff, the Greek-Armenian mystic.
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Beliefs
- Universal Sufis believe that there is only one God who is the source of all creation.
- God is transcendent and unknowable.
- However, He has sent, and will continue to send, great prophets to humanity, through which the Spirit of Guidance has revealed the "Word of God, the Logos." these have been: Adam (? BCE), Abraham (? BCE), Moses (1456 BCE), Krishna (1249 BCE), Zoroaster (1000 BCE), Buddha (757 BCE), Jesus Christ (34 CE), Mohammed (613 CE)
Complementary to the prophets, the Spirit of Guidance has manifest various "Guides" who manifest the Inner Meaning of religion when the people of the world split and forget the Unity of Religion. These have been numerous, some are:
- Ali (complementary to Muhammed)
- Nanak (united folk Hinduism and Islam)
- Kabir (similar to Nanak)
- Rumi (from Turkey and Persia)
- Hazrat Inayat Khan (from Gujarat, India)
Hazrat Inayat Khan is the founder of Universal Sufism in the West. His eldest son Vilayat Khan, second son Hidayat Khan, and grandsons, Murshid Fazal Inayat-Khan, and Pir Zia Khan are commonly regarded as his succesors.
(Dates shown are common estimates from historical and Christian sources; BCE dates are very approximate)
Hazrat Inayat Khan gave ten thoughts, which form the basis creed of Universal Sufism:
- There is one God the Eternal, the Only Being, None exists save God.
- There is one Master the Guiding Spirit of all souls, who constantly leads all followers toward the Light.
- There is one Holy Book the Sacred Manuscript of Nature, the only Scripture that can enlighten the reader.
- There is one Religion the unswerving progress in the right direction, toward the Ideal, which fulfills the life's purpose of every soul.
- There is one Law the Law of Reciprocity, which can be observed by a selfless conscience together with a sense of awakened justice.
- There is one Family the Human Family, which unites the Children of Earth indiscriminately in the Parenthood of God.
- There is one Moral Principle the Love which springs forth from a willing heart, surrendered in service to God and Humanity, and which blooms in deeds of beneficence.
- There is one Object of Praise the Beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshipper through all aspects, from the seen to the unseen.
- There is one Truth the true knowledge of our being, within and without, which is the essence of Wisdom.
- There is one Path the effacement of the limited self in the Unlimited, which raises the mortal to immortality, in which resides all Perfection.
Sufis believe in an essential unity of the great religions of the world. However, this does not mean they believe the various religious creeds and doctrines are identical. Rather, they view all religions as having sprung from the same spiritual source. The social and outer forms of different religions vary due to the circumstances at the time that they were founded. Other differences in doctrine and belief can be attributed to later accretions, after the death of the founder.
Every person has an immortal soul. Unlike everything else in creation, it is not subject to decomposition. At death, the soul is freed to travel through the spirit world. The latter is viewed as a "a timeless and placeless extension of our own universe--and not some physically remote or removed place."
Some of Inayat Khan's most famous sayings are:
- "Shatter your ideals on the rock of Truth."
- "There is nothing valuable except what we value in life."
- "In a small affair or in a big affair, first consult yourself and find out if there is any conflict in your own being about anything you want to do. And when you find no conflict there, then feel sure that a path is already made for you. You have but to open your eyes and take a step forward, and the other step will be led by God. "
- "The difference between the divine and the human will is like the difference between the trunk of a tree and its branches. As from the boughs other twigs and branches spring, so the will of one powerful individual has branches going through the will of other individuals. So there are the powerful beings, the masters of humanity. Their will is God's will, their word is God's word, and yet they are branches, because the trunk is the will of the Almighty. Whether the branch be large or small, every branch has the same origin and the same root as the stem."
Practices
- A Sufi initiate has an association with a spiritual teacher, or guide, who prescribes individual spiritual practices for the intiate. From time to time, the Pir (head of the Order) may prescribe practices for the mureeds (students) to do as well.
- There are Sufi centers throughout America and other parts of the world, with Center Representatives who provide classes and group practices. These are often open to the public, not just initiates.
- Sufis have a clergy that perform the Universal Worship Service. They are called Cherags. The service honors the world's spiritual traditions with readings from the holy books of different religions. Cherags take a class in learning about the different religions and the spiritual essence of these traditions. A Seraj is a person appointed to oversee this training and to ordain Cherags.
Members
- pray three times or more each day
- observe the holy days of their respective cultures, giving them Universal Sufi contexts.
- work to abolish prejudice
- regard work as a form of worship
- do not consume drugs, although Alcohol and Tobacco are personal choices.
- and at the same time, there is no compulsion in Sufism.
Sacred texts
Universal Sufis accept as sacred all the world scriptures, seeing them as steps that guide us toward the ocean of Being. The scriptures are read in the Universal Worship Service, with accompanying meditations.
Holy days
For Sufis all days are holy, and the local culture and personal taste determines which festivals are celebrated at home. Universal Sufis communally celebrate several festivals:
- Noruz: 21st March, the Spring Equinox.
- Urs of Hazrat Inayat Khan, the day he left his physical body: 5th February.
- Viladat Day: 5th July, Hazrat Inayat Khan's birthday.
- Hejirat Day: 13 September, the date Hazrat Inayat Khan left his native India to bring Sufism to the West.
External links
- Sufi Order International (http://www.sufiorder.org)
- Sufi Ruhaniat International (http://www.ruhaniat.org)
- Sufi Movement International (http://www.sufimovement.org/)
- Biography and selected Writings (http://www.poetseers.org/spiritual_and_devotional_poets/sufi/haz/)
- Works of Hazrat Inayat Khan online (http://murshid.net/)
- The Abode of the Message (http://www.theabode.net/about_us.html)
- Toward The One (http://www.towardtheone.com)de:Inayat Khan