SUFI RUHANIAT INTERNATIONAL

Handbook for Guides A Ruhaniat Manual for Working with Mureeds

This paper is not to be transferred or duplicated without the expressed written permission of Sufi Ruhaniat International. It is intended only for private circulation among Ruhaniat Jamiat Khas members, and this printing does not constitute publication.

If you wish to print a copy for yourself or a friend, please make a donation to the Sufi Ruhaniat International. Your receipt acknowledges our permission.

© OCTOBER 2010, MAY 2014 Sufi Ruhaniat International

410 Precita Ave San Francisco, CA 94110-4727

info@ruhaniat.org

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Table of Contents

Working with Mureeds, by Pir Shabda Kahn ....................................................................................... 5 Sufi Guides and Checkpoints .................................................................................................................... 13 Maintaining the Ruhaniat Database of Mureeds .............................................................. 14 The Ruhaniat Esoteric School ............................................................................................... 15 Self-Assessment Tool for Mureeds, by Murshid Wali Ali Meyer .................................................. 17 The Process of Selection for Higher Initiations, by Murshid Saadi Shakur Chishti and the Murshids Circle ................................................... 22 The Silsila of Sufi Ruhaniat International ........................................................................................... 30 Training Mureeds, by Hazrat Inayat Khan ........................................................................................... 33 Shuyukhuyat, On Being a Sheikh, by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis ................................................... 52 Purification Breaths, Kasab & Shagal ..................................................................................................... 68 Sufi Ruhaniat International Ethics Agreement ................................................................................... 69 Excerpt from Essence of the Heart Sutra, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama ..................................... 72

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Working with Mureeds by Pir Shabda Kahn

TOWARD THE ONE, THE PERFECTION OF LOVE, HARMONY, AND BEAUTY, THE ONLY BEING, UNITED WITH ALL THE ILLUMINATED SOULS

WHO FORM THE EMBODIMENT OF THE MASTER, THE SPIRIT OF GUIDANCE Being a Sufi Guide Being a Sufi guide is both a great privilege and an act of generosity. It involves making an effort to give unconditional love and support to another human being, all the while trying to transmit the great tools of the lineage. It requires humility and emptiness to recognize the one Spirit of Guidance coming through you and to feel the guidance stream starting from your own Sufi guide and stretching back through the chain of Sufi masters, saints and prophets.

As guides, we are always working towards constancy of support for our mureeds. We work to meet the challenge of providing empowerment based on unconditional love instead of performance, to be a mirror, and to develop our own capacity to see the flower in the mureed. We work toward being a friend—all the while recognizing the provocative nature of the relationship.

We offer our commitment to the mureed for at least this lifetime, while realizing that we can’t expect that same commitment from a new mureed.

We prepare ourselves for times when our mureeds idolize us or have an opposite reaction, and we learn to recognize our own feelings of love with attachment as they arise. When personal love for a mureed does arise, we understand that it is not only against our ethical guidelines to act on these feelings, but that it can be deeply damaging to the psyche of the mureed. Being a guide depends on great self-control. Beginning as a Guide In our lineage, a seasoned mureed is offered the opportunity to become a guide when they receive the initiation of the Sufi, which we call the 9th initiation. Further, when someone becomes deeply established in guiding mureeds, their guide may offer them the 10th initiation of Sheikh/Sheikha or Khalif/Khalifa.

The protocol for these higher initiations requires one’s own guide making a recommendation for the 9th or higher initiation to the Murshid’s Circle, see The Process of Selection for Higher Initiations, page 22. Thus, these initiations happen with approval of the whole circle, and, in this way, one immediately has the whole-hearted support of the entire senior circle of Ruhaniat guides. This also balances the tendency for a guide to see only the best in their mureed without seeing weaknesses that could impair their capacity as a guide. Guides may initiate a mureed up to one’s own degree.

Once initiated, then what? We are not a group of people who put out signs, “Come and get initiated!” So how does the process of serving mureeds begin?

Shortly before his death, Murshid SAM was teaching from the text Akibayat, Hazrat Inayat Khan's texts on Life After Death. He told us again and again that the connection between the murshid and the mureed is in no way dependent on one or the other being in the body. This is a very high standard - since most of us don't have broad experience beyond this life, it would be irresponsible to make a commitment of that magnitude (though we may find ourselves serving in that capacity as we transition from this life).

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One recommendation is to find a vehicle for sharing the ways your life has been touched by this lineage. A class on the Gathekas is a means to begin activities. Leading Dances of Universal Peace is another good way to begin. However, some very advanced dance leaders are not ready to be Sufi teachers.

No one can become a master in all of the various vehicles and methods that our rich lineage provides. We can only authentically teach from our own experience, but it is useful to prepare for being a guide by having a broad understanding of the lineage’s pedagogy. Some recommended texts can be found in this Handbook for Guides including:

• Murshid Wali Ali Meyer’s Self Assessment Tool for Mureeds • A compilation of quotes from Hazrat Inayat Khan from the Sangitha Series 1 & 2,

Training Mureeds • Murshid SAM’s Shuyukhuyat, On Being a Sheikh

We do have the responsibility of transmitting the teachings of the lineage, but what is far more profound is the transmission of heart—the lessons of strength, joy, compassion, patience, ease and equanimity. Beginning the Mureed-Teacher Relationship Once someone has asked you to be their guide, it is helpful to understand that the guide-mureed relationship provides an opportunity for both of you to learn—for you to learn how to be a guide, and for the mureed to learn how to be a mureed. Naturally, it is good if you both have some capacity, but one is not completely dependent on the other. Hazrat Inayat Khan said he learned far more from his mureeds than they did from him!

It is important to point out that there is a tendency on the part of the mureed to think that initiation is the goal; clearly, it is only the first step. As Murshid SAM said to us often, the word initiation comes from the word initiative, so try to prepare the mureed for that.

It is also important to realize that it is your choice to take a mureed or not—not every candidate who sees you as their potential guide is someone with whom you feel in tune. When you feel that taking a potential mureed is appropriate, it is wise to begin with a long meeting.

Outlining Expectations for the Relationship It is quite valuable to dialog about the relationship itself:

• What does it mean to you to be a guide? • What does it mean to them to have a guide? • What do they expect from the relationship?

In the initial interview you can ask the candidate for a sketch of their life history, their relationships to their parents, other personal relationships, education, their current condition and challenges they feel that they are facing. You may not retain all the information, but it does form an impression in you.

It is also important to point out that any patterns around authority will likely arise, so be prepared for those. In that way, typically, the first year of being a mureed can be the most challenging—not by anything the guide does, but by the surfacing of wounds in the mureed. It is highly unlikely that you will try to bring up their “stuff,” but through the excellent workings of the unconscious, they’ll find a way to use you for that.

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Offering Initial Practices It is wise to discuss the path and the rhythms of being a mureed, including the tradition in our lineage of the guide offering practices to the mureed. It is wise to emphasize the importance of daily practice. You will need to assess with the mureed how much time and drive they have for a daily regime—which may change with life circumstances.

Orienting the Mureed to the Organization Many candidates entering this stream may not be aware of the breadth and width of the Sufi Ruhaniat International organization, which supports the work and transmission. This is an important time to share as much as you can about the organization, including the value of giving regular financial support. And to offer the instruction to give whatever they are sending with a blessing of the breath and heart, so that it carries their well-wishing with it.

Waiting Period Before Bayat Before giving Bayat, it is not uncommon and often healthy to create a waiting period so that the candidate can test the longevity of their inspiration to become a mureed. If you choose to establish a waiting period, you may offer some simple practices and connect the candidate with some study materials such as the Gathekas of Hazrat Inayat Khan.

In your own communities, with people who are close by, it is natural to take some time during or after that long meeting to let them absorb the information before bayat. If someone is very eager, and yet you feel you want to take some time before initiation, the initial practices are often enough to get them started. You can emphasize that you simply wish to allow what you have talked about to ripen.

Other times, someone will ask for bayat and you will see into their heart and immediately know: “yes” or “no.” Especially for traveling teachers who may not have the chance to return to the area in the near future, right then and there, you make time for them after lunch or sometime during the day. As a matter of adab (courtesy) for traveling teachers, it is important that they consult with local teachers and colleagues before initiating a new mureed. This creates harmony with the local teachers who may already be working with these potential mureeds.

Murshid SAM told us he knew all of his mureeds at first glance, except one. Initiation (Bayat) While it is natural to create a sacred setting and atmosphere for the initiation ceremony, mureeds have been initiated in airports, at train stations, and other unusual circumstances. It is against our lineage nature to make a show of giving initiation; at the same time, there is value in having a circle of friends around to witness and support. It is nice to have a candle, incense and pictures of the lineage, especially Hazrat Inayat Khan and Murshid SAM.

Whatever you choose to do, feel the sacredness of the event. My music teacher would say to me, “You must sing with confidence. If you don’t, the notes are wrong even if they’re right.” Bring confidence to the ceremony.

The ceremony begins by holding hands with the mureed, the mureed’s arms being crossed as a symbol of their surrender, and yours not crossed, fingers clasped and thumbs touching.

Often, the 10 Sufi Thoughts by Hazrat Inayat Khan are read.

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Then, you ask the mureed: - Is it your wish to become a disciple on the path of Sufism? - Can you accept me as your guide on the Sufi path? - Are the 10 Sufi Thoughts acceptable to your being?

Then, recite: In the name of Allah, the All Pervading Reality, in the name of the masters, saints and prophets of all time, invoking the rivers of the Sufis, especially invoking Hazrat Inayat Khan, Murshid Samuel Lewis, Murshid Moineddin, (and the current guides in the lineage),

At this point, feel free to invoke any of Murshid SAM’s other teachers, including Papa Ramdas, Mother Krishnabai, Nyogen Senzaki and any other great beings you feel moved to include.

Naturally, you are sharing with your mureed through the glance, giving darshan and feeling the spirit of guidance coming through. Then, while drawing a Sufi symbol on their forehead, recite:

I initiate you for the first time on the path of Sufism, that all you receive will lead to your full illumination in this lifetime, and that all your actions be of great benefit.

Initiation Ceremony from Hazrat Inayat Khan Here is the initiation ceremony, based on the Book of Instructions for the Murshid, a text that Hazrat Inayat Khan gave to his chief student, Murshida Rabia Martin, with instructions on how to carry out initiation. Even though we can’t accurately date this text, it likely was written earlier in his teaching career and it is very probable that the ceremony changed later on. From the text:

After choosing a person for initiation, sit alone in a room, on a tiger skin or a prayer rug. Both make Wuzu [ablutions]. Have a little glass of syrup on table. Have Murshid’s robe on.

Sit on floor exactly opposite focus to disciple. Murshid facing North, mureed facing opposite in perfect focus, in position of virtuous or lovers. Incense burning.

1st concentration for five minutes, during which time make Fikr on the breath, rhythmically, calmly.

After which lift up both hands, open palms toward the face and recite Al hamdo Kul Darood just loud enough to be heard. When finished smooth down face with hands.

Then make Murshafa [?] with person; hold fast to his hand; palms locked, thumbs crossed, each other’s right hand and left hand over for cover. After holding hands fast, fix gaze on middle of forehead of person without winking eye. Make Fikr slowly on breath, audibly, from 5 to 15 minutes, according to disposition of person, and then ask the person to look at you steadily, and with command repeat following:

“From this time I initiate thee in the Chishti Branch of the Sufic Order of America and connect thee with an indissoluble link with the chain of all Murshids in chain, all Prophets, Saints, and Leaders. Also Mohammed, the Sum of All Prophets and Murshids, in order to elevate and enlighten thee toward the highest realization, that thou mayest know the mysteries of the material and spiritual world, and thereby accomplish the aim of life, and most sincerely serve human kind.”

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Secretarial Details—In the ecstasy of such a moment, there may not be much inclination to be well organized. However, it is important to be sure that you gather all the information on your new mureed that you need. It may be easier to get this before the ceremony. In any case, get your mureeds full name, address, telephone, email, date of birth, and a photograph.

Send this information to the Ruhaniat Secretariat; see Maintaining the Ruhaniat Database of Mureeds, page 14. When the Secretariat receives your information, your new mureed will immediately receive a rich Welcome Packet, which includes the Ruhaniat Companion and other materials that will help them feel part of a larger family. At any point in time, the Secretariat can provide you with a pdf file of all the information on your mureeds, including their pictures.

Murshid SAM made it a practice to keep an esoteric notebook on the practices he gave to his mureeds—as a transmission for other guides and for your mureeds. Giving Practices There is wisdom in giving practices that you have directly experienced. You can follow much the same general shape as the practices you were given by your guide. A suggested framework:

• Invocation • Purification breaths • And later, Kasab and Shagal (see supporting documents, on the different breathing

practices) • Wazifa practices • Zikr practice • Meditation (see attachments on meditation) • Prayers of Hazrat Inayat Khan

Fazl’s initiation story: I had the great good fortune to meet Murshid Sam in 1969. Murshid suggested I come to Mentorgarten at 2pm and that he would initiate me. So of course, I lived in Marin County, I had envisioned music and candles, this very sacred ceremony that was about to take place, a very big step in my life at 19 years old.

So when I arrived, I came upstairs and Wali Ali was in the kitchen. He said, “What do you want?” There weren’t any classes or anything going on. I told him that Murshid had asked me to come for an initiation, and he said, “Well, he’s sleeping. He’s taking a nap.”

He asked me to wait in the hall and he went in to the bedroom and woke up Murshid and a few minutes later he stumbled out of the bedroom. I remember he had a white v-neck short-sleeved t-shirt on and a pair of stained khaki pants with his zipper down.

There in the hallway he said, “OK, you came to be initiated, so OK. Wali, get a cup, drink from this cup.” So Wali got me a cup to drink from but there was nothing in it. So I said, “There’s nothing in it.” He said, “That’s all right, go ahead.” So after Murshid’s initiation he said, “Oh, good, now you can come in and peel potatoes with me and watch Perry Mason.” So for the next hour we watched Perry Mason and peeled potatoes. It was a powerful moment, but far from my expectations.

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As a young mureed, before I was married, Murshid SAM gave me practices to do both in the morning and evening. Since marriage more than three decades ago, I rarely do evening practices, so rarely give them, except where a mureed is willing.

Try to avoid solving problems for the mureed, but give the lineage tools that will help the mureed solve the problem on their own. Murshid SAM often spoke about the value of strengthening someone in their virtues rather than focusing on correcting faults and weaknesses. Clearly, both need attention.

As Hazrat Inayat Khan has said, sometimes it takes 40 years of practicing a wazifa for that attribute to bloom. This suggests that some practices are life long. It is also natural to give certain practices based on current conditions. Training as a mureed is in some ways training to be an alchemist; therefore, it is wise to experience a broad spectrum of practice.

In 2000, I began an e-group for my mureeds. Every few weeks, I send out a letter that includes a greeting and news. More importantly, I include a new wazifa practice with explanations in each letter that the whole mureed group practices until the next letter. Further, with each letter, I send out a portion of an important text from our lineage drawing from Hazrat Inayat Khan and Murshid SAM. It may be that you have just a few mureeds, and this can be done in an individual rather than a group method.

We are all aware of the rich lessons of the Gathas and Githas, offered to us by Hazrat Inayat Khan. It is natural to learn these from beginning to end in a serial manner, but unfortunately, all mureeds don’t take initiation at the same moment, so you’ll need to find a way to navigate the opportunity for the mureed to study these texts.

Murshid Wali Ali Meyer, the head of the Ruhaniat Esoteric School, has created an Esoteric Studies Program to take the mureed through the various stages and texts of the lineage in a curriculum patterned on the model offered by Hazrat Inayat Khan to Murshida Rabia Martin, see The Ruhaniat Esoteric School, page 15. You might suggest that a student engage in this course individually or create a study circle of mureeds. Murshid Wali Ali is available to support the individual or group. Recordings of his Gatha and Githa classes in San Francisco are available as an online resource as well.

Following the example of Murshid SAM and our dear spiritual godfather Joe Miller, seek to make yourself as available as possible for mureeds to contact in a time of need. It is always an exercise in striking a balance between encouraging those mureeds who have little time with you and the gently setting boundaries for those who need too much time.

If you have more than five mureeds, you may find it valuable to have an annual mureeds’ gathering/retreat. These gatherings have a sweet intimacy that is different than other retreats.

Aside from giving practices, so much of what you are transmitting is the stability of your station: your heart, fearlessness, strength, patience, generosity, ease and a manner of friendliness. Giving Spiritual Names It has been a tradition in our lineage to give a new spiritual name at the time of initiation or at a later time. It is intended to help the aspirant to unfold their life’s purpose in being a blessing to humanity and to awaken to their true nature. Having the rhythm of a divine quality or great being of history reverberate each time your name is called or held in someone’s mind is a great blessing.

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There is no consistent method in doing this. Naturally, the teacher should first consult their intuition. Most people receive a name in Arabic, but, in our Sufi tradition, a name can be drawn from any of the streams of wisdom.

Murshid SAM, especially when he taught the astrological yoga, made it a point to accentuate someone’s virtues rather than working on correcting their faults. Thus often there is wisdom in finding a name that helps a person’s virtue flower.

One should also consider the context and place that a person lives and how that name will sound and affect the people around them.

Another approach is to find a name that has similarities to their birth name, like Karen to Karima, especially if you feel the beginning consonant is useful for the mureed’s path.

One can keep the name to oneself for a while, calling that person the new name in your heart over a few weeks’ time. When you feel ready, it is wise to offer the name in a way that allows the student to accept it if it pleases them as well. Most often, it is a fit. But when it is not, be willing to search your intuition again. Self-Examination and Ethics as a Guide You have to assume, as a guide, or coming into a role of responsibility, that you have an unconscious wish to be seen. And you must realize that this role we play is a very provocative one, very intoxicating, because someone is looking up to you.

Adoration is a natural response that you will face. And if someone puts you up on a pedestal, there will likely come a time when they knock you off. This kind of rejection is also something you need to be prepared to handle.

Before a Tibetan teacher, lama or rinpoche gets on their throne to teach, the first thing they do is make prostrations—to humble themselves, to recognize that they themselves are not the teacher and that it is the Dharma itself is expressed through their vehicle, see Excerpt from Essence of the Heart Sutra, by Hi Holiness the Dalai Lama, page 69

It has always seemed delightful that the Spirit of Guidance/Dharma has the capacity to come through limited vehicles like ourselves. It can be a daunting experience being faced with this responsibility—how can we live up to that? Just do your best.

It is natural that a mureed will fall in love with you, a fixated love. You don’t have to push it away, but you can address it. When you see that this is the case with a mureed, you can point it out in a loving way, saying, “This is what I feel is arising, let’s see if we can keep refining our relationship and move beyond this romantic love.”

Nothing gets communicated without sympathy, which is based on love, so as we seek to change the nature of the personalized love to something more profound.

Because we have an extraordinary amount of power as a guide, it is critical to keep yourself to a very high ethical standard. You will make mistakes—you will likely fall in love with one of your mureeds. You have to find a way to negotiate these places. Being a guide, you need to develop more stability and strength to withstand difficult situations and more ability to learn from it, and without expecting the same from the mureed. Just the slightest mis-step on your part may seriously wound their psyche and create years of pain and suffering.

In the same way, it is just as important for us as guides to be courageously aware our own feelings and wounds. The feeling of being in love is fantastic—the lamp of your being is lit up,

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you don’t need to eat or sleep, you’re happy, energetic, you’re full of life. If that arises, even in a selfish or small way, don’t sweep it away, but don’t act on it. Check inside. Learn from it. Become familiar with that part of yourself as you operate as a guide. Even though it would be natural to be ashamed of the feelings of possessive love toward a mureed, this would be a wise time to dialogue with your own guide.

Whatever the mureed’s experience is, whatever their wounding is, and however that manifests in their human relationships, they will find a way to transfer that to you. You have to be relaxed about that. Everything that happens in our life is a projection: we project onto the world the state of our own fears, loves, and rhythms. The world takes on the tint of the glasses of our own experience.

If we are fearful, we look for things to be fearful of. If we believe we’re abandonable, we’ll look for those people and situations that will abandon us. If those aren’t to be found, we’ll skillfully create them. The unconscious is magnificent, the finest casting agent in the universe. The mureed will project onto you, or transfer to you, those roles that they need unconsciously and sometimes negatively.

Educate yourself about this and be sensitive. Likely, they found you because you yourself might have a little hook in there, too. So their transference may touch some chord in you: a need to be seen, a need to be controlling, a need to be loved. That is called counter-transference.

Each of us as guides is required to have a Sufi guide in the lineage or, if our guide has passed, living checkpoints in the lineage, see Sufi Guides and Checkpoints, page 13. If a mureed feels the need to make an ethical complaint about you, they can inform your own guide or checkpoint person and/or go through the process outlined in the section, see Sufi Ruhaniat International Ethics Agreement, page 66.

Murshid told us about a time when he was particularly feeling his faults. He said that he meditated, and God said to him, “Your faults are my perfections.”

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Sufi Guides and Checkpoints

Sufi Ruhaniat International recognizes that the link between initiator and disciple can continue after death. Consequently, we don't require a mureed whose teacher has passed to find a new guide unless they choose to do so. To help in navigating your life and your relationship to the spiritual path after the loss or change of relationship with your guide, we wish to offer the possibility of having a “checkpointʺ.

A checkpoint is someone you see as a spiritual friend and as a living connection to the teachings that come through the spiritual lineage of the Ruhaniat and our sangha. This person is a not intended to be a new guide, although they could be if you wished. A checkpoint is someone on whom you can call for direction, advice or practice when you feel the need. They could even help you to find a guide. It is notable that Murshid Sam made it a practice to always have a living teacher, and many of us have followed this example.

It is required, however, that all mureeds who become initiators in their own right must have a checkpoint who is a Sheikh, Khalif, or Murshid within the Ruhaniat. Murshid Samuel Lewis's teaching was that one should always have a person on earth whom one is willing to listen to and check in with on a spiritual basis.

Also, initiators are representatives of the lineage and as such should be held accountable for their actions. In the event of concerns and accusations that may arise from their students and communities, there needs to be a person within the organizational structure to whom those with concerns can be referred, as a person they can talk to about what is happening. This is especially true if they are afraid or discouraged from bringing it up directly with their guide. That is also the function of the checkpoint.

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Maintaining the Ruhaniat Database of Mureeds

We are an organization with nearly 3,000 mureeds and friends and our database requires continual maintenance to keep these records up to date. To facilitate this work, we ask that each of you keep in communication with the Ruhaniat Secretariat about your mureeds. The information that we track in the database is listed below.

Upon your request, the Secretariat will provide you with a a pdf file of your mureeds with their photo and contact information, or if you prefer, a Microsoft Word or Excel file (without photos).

When you initiate a new mureed, please provide the following information: • Full name • Address, City, State, Country, Postal Code • Telephone(s) and email address • Date of Initiation • Photo and date of birth are optional, but recommended

All new mureeds are mailed or emailed a Welcome Packet (mailed to USA mureeds only). The Welcome Packet includes the Ruhaniat Companion, a welcome letter from Pir Shabda, a letter from the Secretariat, the River of Guidance CD (mailed to USA mureeds only), and instructions for joining OurSohbet on Yahoo Groups.

Please contact the Secretariat with ongoing information about your mureeds such as: • New address, telephone or email • Death of a mureed, please provide date of death • Initiation given to 9th degree or higher, optional to notify for other initiations. • Spiritual name given

Contact information for the Ruhaniat Secretariat, Basira Beardsworth

Sufi Ruhaniat International PO Box 22 Makawao, HI 96768 basira@ruhaniat.org 808-280-2710, Hawaii

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The Ruhaniat Esoteric School

Murshid Wali Ali Meyer writes: “Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings on Sufism, along with the subsequent teachings of Murshid Samuel Lewis, are the core materials in our esoteric school. This can be briefly defined as a program of practices that may lead to spiritual realization and the fulfillment of the purpose of the soul in this lifetime. As the body of material is vast, it is important to have a structured approach to its assimilation. We have attempted to frame one in a fresh way for initiates on this path at this time.

Hazrat Inayat Khan gave Rabia Martin, his first student in the West and his first Murshida, recommendations on how to proceed with a systematic program of prayer and practice for mureeds. Our program is a series of courses based on these instructions, designed to take Sufi initiates forward in this universal stream, while honoring its historical development in the Chishtia Order in India.

What we have offered is simply one way that this study and practice might be accomplished. We begin with the exploration of prayer and the subject of the God ideal. This proceeds through a full course on the different Names of God through wazifah practice with a focus on psychological integration. Subjects such as the Breath and its work in Concentration, Contemplation, and Meditation are considered as well. This overall approach is described in more detail below.”

In 2003, Murshid Wali Ali began the development and presentation of this curriculum of esoteric study which now includes Prayer and the God Ideal, Fikr and Breath, Wazifah Studies, Zikr and Concentration, and Mushahida and Mujahida.

Each of the courses incorporates selected texts from the writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan and Murshid Samuel Lewis. Spiritual practices and other assignments are provided to support the student’s inner growth at the specific level of the focus of study. Prayer and the God Ideal This course offers a way for the mureed to begin his or her journey on the spiritual path. It provides an introduction to the Sufi path of self-realization, a path that places the God reality in the very center, and asks each one to shape a God Ideal creatively. This study is taken up in the context of the wisdom of our root teachers. Clearing ingrained and inherited perceptions of God that do not serve, forming a personal relationship with God and developing a practice of prayer are the foundations of this course of study. Wazifah Studies This course explores the 99 Beautiful Names of God. Extended periods of recitation of these sacred phrases is an important part of the developmental program for mureeds as given by Hazrat Inayat Khan. The repetition of these divine Names, often in pairs and in relational families, is used as a means of God-realization. Part of this realization is to come into wholeness and integration of self, through a process of embodiment of the divine qualities and individuation. This process involves the healing of psychological wounds that reinforce our creation of a false ego, one marked by a painful sense of isolation. The practice expands the limitations imposed by the “false self” into an increasing sense of the Real.

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Zikr and Concentration While the wazaif are the emanations of God’s qualities, the Zikr points to the One essential all-inclusive reality that is both transcendent and immanent. Long periods of recitation of Zikr in different forms and with different accompanying concentrations, such as on different divine Messengers constitute a central theme of this course. We also study the writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan and Murshid Samuel Lewis as they relate to this stage of practice. Fikr and Breath Having taken prayer from full oral recitation, to the focused prayers of the each individual wazifah, to the all-inclusive reality of the One and Only Being, now the direction of our practice is to internalize the prayer on the breath. This inner direction invites consideration of the breath itself as an indwelling Divine presence. Sufi teachings on this subject are studied in depth as well as practices for the development of intuition and insight. Mushahida and Mujahida This course takes two very important esoteric practices of Sufism and offers one approach to engaging with them as an activity. Mujahida is “the greater holy war”. It has to do with overcoming the conflict within one’s own heart, of becoming victorious over ill-will, lust, anger, and the like. Mushahida is the “awe-filled witnessing” where the heart of the practitioner becomes the altar in the temple of God. Contacting the Esoteric School These courses have been recorded for the benefit of students separated by time and space from the original classes. The audio recordings of the original classes and the associated texts are available to download from the website. The audio component can also be provided on CDs by request.

Esoteric School on the Ruhaniat Website: www.ruhaniat.org On the home page, look under the heading Ruhaniat Concentrations, and then click on Esoteric School

For more information about Esoteric School classes, please contact Ali Charles: alicharles.sri@gmail.com (818) 880-4811

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Self-Assessment Tool for Mureeds The Beginning of an Outline

by Wali Ali Meyer

TOWARD THE ONE, THE PERFECTION OF LOVE, HARMONY, AND BEAUTY, THE ONLY BEING, UNITED WITH ALL THE ILLUMINATED SOULS

WHO FORM THE EMBODIMENT OF THE MASTER, THE SPIRIT OF GUIDANCE

The purpose of this outline is to start a process of examination on each mureed’s part of where gaps may exist in his or her study and mastery of the materials within the esoteric school. By this, I mean in particular the teachings brought by the lineage of Pir-O-Murshid Inayat Khan and Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti. By taking a systematic look at our relationship with the study program, practices, and stages of realization on this path we can better assess where focused effort is needed. So our first goal would be to make a reasonable assessment of where we stand and then formulate a plan of development specifically focused on addressing the gaps in our study and practice. Teachers may also work with their mureeds to actively shape an ongoing plan in relationship to their needs, while also taking into account their interests in choosing which of the many options to concentrate upon.

Since the body of material contained within this transmission is vast it seems appropriate to approach it at several levels of magnification. The first outline is consequently quite general. Each of the subject headings would be properly followed up in much more detail and depth. As head of the Esoteric School concentration for the Ruhaniat, it is my commitment to follow this up with interested persons and study circles. 1. Study and mastery of the Gathas/ Githas/ Sangathas/ Sangithas and published

materials of Hazrat Inayat Khan, and commentaries on these materials by Murshid SAM. Also study and mastery of other writings of Murshid SAM specifically for mureeds.

There are several levels at which we can assess ourselves here--how much of this material have we read and re-read? How have we received it? In what sense have we assimilated it and manifested the realization of it? Murshid SAM’s practice of continually applying himself to these texts for inspiration is an example for us. Our goal would be the mastery of this material with particular emphasis on applying teachings directly to oneself and one’s life. To do this we need to systematically find the practices specifically given and implied in the texts and put them into use.

What follows is just suggestive and there are many important texts not mentioned in this outline.

Gathas: • Breath (pasi anfas) - The Gathas and commentaries on Breath are simply the beginning of

this subject which is of the greatest importance in Sufi development. • Insight (kashf) - The attainment of Insight, which Murshid SAM equates with Prajna

development, is one of the principle realizations of the path.

• Moral Teachings (saluk) - A small amount of practice outweighs a wealth of ideas here. These texts give us the opportunity to apply these teachings to the various conditions and relationships in our lives.

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• Everyday Life (takua taharat) - This deals with the purification of body, mind, and heart.

• Metaphysics (tassawuf) - This is again an introduction to a vast subject matter. Murshid SAM also emphasized the importance of studying the text Metaphysics published in Volume V of the Sufi Message volumes.

• Superstitions, Customs, and Beliefs - A beginning for appreciating what is behind culture. This invites the application of these principles to the current international cultural and political stew.

• Symbology (naqshibandi) - To begin to appreciate the mystery in symbols which can best be uncovered ultimately in concentration.

In the Githas, the teachings give much more explicit emphasis to spiritual practices. This should give us all the more reason to mine the rich resources of the Gathas for practices and applications to our lives. Murshid SAM’s commentaries are invaluable in this regard.

Githa topics include: Esotericism (ryazat), Mastery (sadhana), Health (shafayat), Concentration (murakkaba), Mysticism (asrar-ul-ansar), Psychology (amaliyat), and Occultism.

A deeply dedicated study and practice of these texts offers the greatest reward to a mureed. I would hazard to say that all of us would benefit profoundly from a renewed study and application of the principles presented in the Githas. Very briefly…

• Concentration (murakkaba) – Presents a rigorous program of concentration practice. This can be discouraging to people because most have not progressed beyond the most elementary stages. We need to take up this practice afresh accepting our present state simply for what it is, and seeking to systematically improve our abilities, without judgment and without comparison with others. As love is the key to concentration, the practices presented in the Githas need to be augmented with other types of concentration to sweeten the interest and attract the heart of the mureed. We need to find the key to open the door of interest in actually practicing concentration, and if we are teachers, we need to find the key to inspiring others to actively pursue this practice. One of the principal places where Murshid Samuel Lewis taught concentration was in the astrological Walks and Spins, centering walks, tassawuri walks, etc

• Health (shafayat) - Deep dedication to this subject may be the special calling of those in the Dervish Healing Order, but each of us obviously needs to see how deeply these teachings are translated into our lives.

• The githas on Mysticism and Esotericism offer a whole world of understanding to explore within the breath and using one’s insight. It should be specially emphasized that these texts give the dedicated mureed great opportunities for development with proper attunement and practice.

• Mastery (sadhana) - “Word spoken, action done.” The keys to the path of self-mastery are described and we are invited to live in this manner.

• The githas on Psychology, Occultism, and Spirit Phenomena offer guidance in the psychic world, including dreams.

The purpose of listing all these texts with a few brief comments, is only by way of inviting each mureed to sincerely investigate for himself or herself the degree to which they have mastered

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not only the teachings in the Gathas and Githas and commentaries but their actual realization and practice.

The Sangathas and Sangithas offer advice to teachers in this lineage, a deep look into the heart and vision of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, and a depth of practices and teachings. Many of the items included into the next unit of this outline are found in these texts as well. 2. Conscientious application and realization of the spiritual practices recommended by

Hazrat Inayat Khan and Murshid SAM (note: those on the path of the Teacher will need to undertake a broader and more varied program of practices in order to prescribe remedies for different types of mureeds). These practices would include: prayer, darood, purification breaths, wazifa, fikr of the wazifa, zikr, fikr of the zikr, kasab, shaghal, concentration, contemplation and meditation, mushahida, walking attunements and amal.

No attempt will be made in this outline to describe how to do these or other related practices. I will make a few comments though, just to point to the ways of approaching a given subject or in order to draw attention to certain areas that may have been overlooked. This again is simply the briefest beginning to a deeper focus of each element.

• Prayer The prayers Saum, Salat, and Khatum express the essence of the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. These teachings are offered as a prayer. We join him in this prayer. To do this we need to learn to pray, to understand what prayer is, to manifest a clear intention to pray so that it becomes a prayer of our whole being, and not just a speech we are reciting. An excellent approach for anyone, but also one which is particularly useful for a person who is philosophically minded, is to take up the prayers of Inayat Khan line by line as a contemplation until the meaning fully opens to one. Other areas to note include: the movements to these prayers and their effects; our participation with inner appreciation of the prayers of different religions.

• Darood We know this as “Toward the One” on the breath. It is a fundamental walking practice and a fundamental practice of self-protection in all atmospheres. At one with the breath that rises and falls in us, we are constantly merging with the One in and about us. It leads us further into a full investigation and assimilation of The Sufi Invocation.

• Wazifa o Rhythmical daily practice o Address all inner specific needs with specific wazifas o Realize meaning in depth o Practice with visualization and inner attunement o Practice a wide range of wazifas as prescribed by a teacher in a cyclic manner o Study instructions on wazifa in sangathas, sangithas, and Murshid Sam’s esoteric

writings such as “On the Performance of Zikr” --in walking practice --in a retreat setting

• Zikr o As daily practice o As extended daily practice o Sung and spoken

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o Along with specific concentrations as in Murshid SAM above. o Practice with the four forms given: la illaha el allahu, el allahu, allahu, and hu.

Extended periods and on retreat.

• Fikr The wazifa in thought on the breath and the zikr in thought on the breath are practices of paramount importance. This is an area that deserves much more time and attention than it has received from many mureeds. For example, Hazrat Inayat Khan has said that the silent repetition on the breath of the wazifa or zikr is more important for the depth of realization than the oral repetition. The time periods he prescribed in his various programs as presented to Murshida Martin and others gave more time to this practice. To do fikr for any extended time does take development in concentration. It is easier to initially get the mind’s attention in vocal repetition. People are always given fikr to do on retreat, but its inclusion in the ordinary regimen of practice is essential. Those that are trying to do extended fikr practice for the first time will find that initial vocal repetition to begin to focus the mind before beginning the extended fikr will be helpful.

• Kasab o Performed daily up to 10 times o Teachers to experience both alternate nostril method and separate nostril method; also

to do with shafee/kafee or with rassoul/makboul o Examination of the effect on ones breath by this practice.

• Shaghal o Complete program systematically done sense by sense, and then with all senses as one

as given in the Sangathas and Sangithas. o Additional shaghals from the Instructions to the Murshid and early instructions to

Murshida Rabia Martin o Thorough examination of the state of consciousness one enters through this practice:

Light, Sound.

• Amal o Systematic practice o Extended period of absorption

3. Practice and realization of fana-fi-Sheikh, fana-fi-Pir, fana-fi-Rassoul, fana-fi-Lillah,

fana-i-baka.

Naturally we cannot assess ourselves in relation to having passed through these stages of the path. God alone knows to what extent we have been empty of self in the radiance of that Being, but there are some questions that we can ask ourselves that can help us learn more about our own inner attractions and openings. The category of fana-fi-Pir is not ordinary in these lists but Murshid SAM said that he would be known for this ability to continue to manifest fully into the consciousness of beings after his passing. His last written work entitled “Fana-fi-Sheikh” is an invaluable text in approaching the whole subject of all these states of fana. It also seems appropriate to characterize the concentration of effacement in the being of Hazrat Inayat Khan as fana-fi-Pir as well. He can rightly be called the Pir of the West. The inner secrets of beings are to be discovered not proclaimed. This doorway through fana-fi-Pir may open into effacement in Rassoul and in God.

What we can easily do is see where our heart is attracted. Also, where is our mind attracted? Our soul? Where do we find our inspiration and connection with the sacred? One could start

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for example, with inwardly examining one’s relationship with the Rassouls mentioned in the prayer Salat. We ask to know God, as Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Buddha, Abraham, Solomon, Zarathustra, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. As a step in that direction we can make the effort in contemplation to adopt the point of view of that teacher. The Holy Mother in all Her forms, such as Devi, Mary and Qwannon is open to our attunement in the same way. We have a great opportunity within this lineage to fulfill fana-fi-Rassoul in more than one human being Who has fully manifested divine perfection and Who has offered a teaching for all of humanity. 4. Life in the world as a Sufi/Bodhisattva.

What we do in our lives is done in relation to all. Spiritual development and realization can never be fully accomplished in isolation from the whole. Thus we are led to manifest in the world for the benefit of all sentient beings and in the living presence of the One and Only Being. This can be called being a Sufi or being a Bodhisattva. Murshid SAM said the realization was the same. The six paramitas which are cultivated by a Bodhisattva are also cultivated by a Sufi. Briefly, the six paramita (perfections) are called Dana—the Gift of Interest; Sila—The Stream of Purity; Ksanti—Patience with the Pragmatic Reality; Viriya—The Thrust of Awakening; Dhyana—The Creative Absorption; Prajna—Knowing Grace.

This is just another way of saying that actual states of realization cut across all the apparent demarcations of different esoteric schools. May all beings be well. May all beings be happy. May all beings be peaceful.

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The Process of Selection for Higher Initiations By Murshid Saadi Shakur Chishti and the Murshids Circle

The Murshids Circle spends much of its in-person meeting time each autumn discussing potential initiators who have been recommended for this work by their own guides. Some of the factors the circle considers in recognizing a “Sufi” (9th degree) are: realization of stages of fana, manifestation of realization in service, psychological stability, maqam in life, and the person’s location in and relationship with their community. For the Sheikh(a)/Khalif(a) (10th) initiation, we consider all of these plus the candidate’s experience working with mureeds to date. We rarely consider an initiation to the 10th degree without the person having been active in guiding mureeds.

Although this may sound like a simple checklist, the decisions can be difficult and complex. Our circle devotes a great deal of attention to this recognition process with consensus as the intended result. In other words, the Murshids stand behind and with initiates at this stage. This appendix is an attempt to explain some of the background, as well as to discuss how the Ruhaniat compares with and differs from some other Sufi lineages, both East and West, in recognizing guides.

In most Sufi schools, tariqas and orders around the world, the head of the lineage makes all decisions concerning higher initiations and the permission to act as a guide. Hazrat Inayat Khan functioned this way, and so did Murshid Samuel Lewis with the mureeds that gathered around him in the late 1960s, which became the Sufi Ruhaniat. In the mid-1990s, after two more Murshids had been recognized, Pir Moineddin began to consult with them and later gathered a circle of Murshids to advise him on higher initiations. Today, the Murshids Circle continues to function as an advisory council for the Pir concerning these and other decisions.

The protocol for these higher initiations requires one’s own guide making a recommendation for the 9th or higher initiation to the Murshid’s Circle. Thus, these initiations happen with approval of the whole circle, and, in this way, one immediately has the whole-hearted support of the entire senior circle of Ruhaniat guides. This also balances the tendency for a guide to see only the best in their mureed without seeing weaknesses that could impair their capacity as a guide. Guides may initiate a mureed up to one’s own degree. Evaluating Stages of Fana The keynote of the Ruhaniat, as expressed by Murshid Samuel Lewis, has always been the direct, inner relationship and transmission between guide and student. It was Murshid S.A.M.’s experience that this living transmission, which the Sufis call fana, can continue after the passing of one’s teacher. Murshid experienced this with Hazrat Inayat Khan and believed that writing commentaries in a state of fana was a requirement for higher initiation in Hazrat Inayat Khan’s original vision of the esoteric side of his work (called the “Sufi order”). He writes:

“My own journey in fana-fi-Sheikh began on February 5, 1930, exactly three years after his death, when the Pir-o-Murshid appeared to me and helped me ‘from the other side’ to write the commentaries on his esoteric works, i.e., his lessons for mureeds (initiated disciples). This was a provision in the constitution of the Sufi order.”

As he described it in his diaries, Murshid’s first experience of Hazrat Inayat Khan, the day before he met him in person in 1923, was in the “spiritual body.” His personal retreat in March 1925 resulted in many other experiences of effacement in various saints and messengers (see

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Sufi Vision and Initiation). Hazrat Inayat Khan confirmed these experiences in meetings with Murshid Samuel Lewis in 1926, as the latter reported in “Six Interviews with Hazrat Inayat Khan.” Murshid S.A.M. felt that this transmission of fana was the essence of what Hazrat Inayat Khan brought and a requirement to pass on teaching in the Sufi lineage. In The Lotus and Universe, Murshid writes:

“In the early days, the teachings were based on two interconnected methods. One has to do with zikr and involves a long series of disciplines and practices called ryazat, all of them having for their purpose the remembrance of God in all times, in all places, under all circumstances. Perhaps in some form or other all of the Sufi and Dervish orders utilize them.

“The other method dealt with self-effacement, called fana. This has three distinct grades or stages: fana-fi-sheikh, fana-fi-rassul, fana-fi-lillah. In fana-fi-sheikh, one practices self-effacement by holding the ideal of the living teacher before him and practicing whatever has been imparted to him. It can go on indefinitely. At the same time, the experiences of Sufism carry one through what are called states (of consciousness) and stages (of evolution) or “stations” (from “Lotus and the Universe,” excerpt in Sufi Vision and Initiation, p. 20).

In the Ruhaniat, the Murshids Circle has agreed that progress in these stages of fana is the best indicator of a person’s readiness to become a guide. In addition, Murshid Samuel Lewis once said that his most enduring legacy might be opening the inner gateways for fana-fi-pir, effacement in the teacher who has passed.

Only those who have experienced these states can evaluate them in others, and even so, with some caution. Seeing a teacher in vision, hearing his/her voice, channelling messages—none of these are necessarily indicators of fana, nor are they not indicators. In his paper “On Channeling, Tassawuri and Telepathy,” Murshid advises that one look at several factors in evaluating the authenticity of such states or experiences: the feeling of separateness of the receiver, the degree of nafs or sense of self involved, the amount of life energy present in the person, and the way that the experience reveals itself in the person’s everyday life (the “fruits” of the experience in Jesus’ language).

The practical importance of experience in fana in our lineage is threefold: first, one is able to teach from transmission rather than from one’s own sense of self or one’s individual learning. Second, the state of fana-fi-sheikh and similar states—the teacher seeing/feeling through one—is a safeguard against one’s own self inflation. The outer equivalent of this was Murshid Samuel Lewis’s practice of always having a living, in-person guide as a “check on the ego,” a practice that the Ruhaniat continues. Third, in Murshid’s view, the livingness of a transmission depended on the ability of people to feel this inner connection and pass it on. Without it, a group has to orient itself around the worship of a person, or the affirmation of particular ideals or concepts. The group can become dogmatic or a personality cult. The name ruhaniat traditionally means this type of inner soul-to-soul transmission through ruh (the soul), and was given to Murshid Samuel Lewis to use by one of his Pakistani Sufi Pirs.

It is worth noting here that in other Sufi tariqas and lineages worldwide, other factors may come into play as more important than experiences of fana: longevity; service to the organization or community; loyalty to set of concepts or ideals; wealth or status, and very often family lineage. None of these necessarily exclude a transmission being passed on, since as all Sufis agree “Allah is the best planner.”

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Reality Checks Even when it is clear that a person has experienced states of fana on a regular basis and can call on them in her/his teaching, other factors come into play. The life energy raised by these experiences may also unearth deep-seated psychological issues that can undermine potential guides and their further growth as well as their work with mureeds. Such issues need to be recognized by the person and dealt with, which may or may not involve some form of psychotherapy. Some of the deepest issues are often hidden from the mureed and may also be hidden from the guide. The guide carries the intention to always see the mureed in her/his perfection and so often needs a reality check by colleagues. Related to this, the Murshids Circle also considers the mureed’s condition in life, their family and community relationships, and their ability to fulfill themselves in healthy ways in the areas of love, work and knowledge.

In addition, some visionary states (ahwal) can come and go without causing any change in the person or his/her life. Some of these states may last for months, or even longer. So again looking to the evidence seen in a person’s life is the better indicator than merely a report of a vision. Other factors that play a role are: the presence or absence of other initiators in the area, whether the mureed seems to have a unique community of service, and the amount of time and energy a mureed might have to be at this stage of her/his life to be of service in unpaid spiritual direction.

If there are other guides in the prospective initiator’s area, we sometimes consult them, especially when few members of the Murshids Circle know the person. How to ask for and receive this type of feedback in confidentiality but also with some semblance of objectivity is a delicate issue. The method of doing local consultation usually ends up being tailor-made to each situation.

When in doubt, we generally counsel each other to wait. While this may have the appearance of unfairness, especially when mureeds compare outer appearances or qualities of people they know (or think they know), waiting is also a final check on a potential guides’ purity of heart and mind, effacement, and character while they prepare themselves to become a guide.

As described in the rest of this handbook, a guide preparing a mureed to become a guide usually has a conversation with the person about many of the factors mentioned above. In addition, they usually send the mureed on an extended retreat and notice the results. The Twelve Grades of Initiation Most Sufi lineages do not use the 12 degrees of initiation that Hazrat Inayat Khan created; however, one does find in other tariqas and lineages some similarity to some of these degrees.

As mentioned above, Hazrat Inayat Khan initially tried to impart a transmission through self-effacement, silently through atmosphere, the way he had experienced with his teacher Abu Hashim Madani. In his talks and lessons, Pir-o-Murshid frequently tells the following story:

“When first I became initiated at the hands of my spiritual teacher in India I was eager as any man could be to assimilate, to grasp, as much as I could. Day after day I was in the presence of my Murshid, but not once did he speak on spiritual matters. Sometimes he spoke about herbs and plants, at other times about milk and butter. I went there every day for six months to see if I could hear anything about spiritual things. After six months the teacher spoke to me one day about the two parts of a personality, the outer and the inner. And I was overenthusiastic; the moment he began I took out a notebook and pencil. But as soon as I did this my teacher changed the subject and spoke about other things.

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“I understood what that meant; it meant in the first place that the teaching of the heart should be assimilated in the heart. The heart is the notebook for it; when it is written in another notebook it will remain one's pocket, but when it is written in the heart it will remain the soul. Besides one has to learn the lesson of patience, to wait, for all knowledge comes in its own time. I asked myself further if it was worthwhile to come to a place after a long journey, and go there every day for six months to hear of nothing but trees and butter. And my deepest self answered: yes, more than worthwhile, for there is nothing in the whole world more precious than the presence of the holy one. His teaching may not be given in theories, but it is in his atmosphere. That is a living teaching which is real upliftment” (from “Mental Purification”).

Most of Hazrat Inayat Khan’s early Western students, however, were not familiar with this Eastern, non-conceptual way of teaching. They wanted lectures and classes, and so he accommodated them. This was a more familiar way they were able to receive the blessing of his teaching.

In contrast to this, one of Hazrat Inayat Khan’s earliest mureeds in London, Khorshed de Ravalieu, describes her training with him, as occuring totally through the inner experience of fana:

“Inayat Khan asked me not to join the Sufi Order, but desired to lead me according to the wish of his Guru in the path of the Sufi way of life, where no explanations were given, no questions were allowed. Discussion, according to Inayat Khan was postponement of application. I had to take the vow of immediate obedience. I was directed towards within by transcendental meditation. I had to live in space inside the body. In the dark. This was necessary to awake, accept and create the inner interrogative state” (from A Book of Self Re-Education, 1981, p. 174).

The ‘twelve degrees’ represent Hazrat Inayat Khan’s attempt to accommodate both methods of teaching. They show that Hazrat Inayat Khan felt that, perhaps, a person could learn to be a student in the Eastern sense (a talib or mureed) after six to eight years:

The Study Circle Grade 1 - Elementary Grade 2 - Junior Grade 3 - Senior

The Advanced Circle Grade 4 - Associate Grade 5 - Licentiate Grade 6 – Initiate

The Inner Circle Grade 7 - Talib Grade 8 - Mureed Grade 9 – Sufi

The Higher Circle Grade 10 - Khalif/a or Sheikh/a Grade 11 - Murshid/a Grade 12 – Pir

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In a larger view, he expresses the tension between the wordless, fana-based, and more conceptual, institutional ways of teaching as something that exists in Sufism worldwide:

“There are two kinds of Murshid. In the first place there is the Murshid who receives inspiration in the jungle or in the solitude, and when he arrives at the fullness of the message he comes forth to find a suitable Talib or Mureed, one who is responsive, to whom he can give this message, for the light must find expression. For this light to manifest, no learning is necessary. The most unlettered have been the greatest teachers in the world. One notable example is Kabir, the weaver who wrote volumes of inspired verse. His poems were in the language of an illiterate man, but in spite of this they have been read and admired all over India, and Kabir is looked upon as one of the greatest and most enlightened teachers. This class of Murshid therefore gathers around him mureeds who are responsive, and who will make themselves passive to receive his training. This is difficult for some people who say that they cannot give up their individuality to another. But when we consider this question, we may ask ourselves, 'Who is another?' Then we realize that in the true sense of being there is but one. When the veil of ignorance is raised there is no longer any 'I' and 'you', but only the One exists. This is the teaching of the Bible and of all scriptures. The Murshid and the mureed are one.

“The other Murshids are Khalifs, those who belonged to a special school such as the Chishtias, Qadiri, Naqshibandi, Sohrwardi, and who base their training on a careful and special observation of human beings, and their character and tendencies. They teach exactly the same truth as the other class of Sufi, but they follow a method adapted to suit the faith, belief, nature, and manner of the people who come under their care. The system is only the outer garment, the coat as it were. Many people claim to know all about Sufism from simply reading about it in books, but what such people know is in reality only the system, the outer garment, not the inner truth (from ‘The Murshid’ in “Pearls from the Ocean Unseen,” emphasis added).

Most members of the Murshids Circle do not give all twelve ‘degrees’ to each mureed. After bayat, the pledge of transmission in the first initiation, which is common in all Sufi lineages, many guides give some subsequent initiations up until the seventh to encourage a mureed to keep progressing, to mark a change in guide, or to help the person consolidate some “state” (hal) into a more stable “station” (maqam) in life. “Initiate” means to begin, we should remember.

The “7th degree” is equivalent to the "dervish" initiation in many non-Inayati orders. It marks a person who has begun to have experiences of hal, who has a faithful connection to his/her guide and the tariqa, and who, for the most part, is of the maqam nafs mutmaina. Simply put, this maqam is one in which mureeds recognize that the challenges they face in life are not imposed upon them by other people or circumstances, but by themselves. They are established in the Sufi path, and have gone beyond the stage of looking outside of themselves for some new ‘saviour’ in the form of a person, a self-help technique or a different spiritual path. Hazrat Inayat Khan expresses this maqam beautifully in the following way:

“We can have all good things, wealth, friends, kindness, love to give and love to take, once we have learned not to be blinded by them, learned to escape from disappointment, learned to escape from repugnance at the idea that the things are not as we would want them to be” (from “In an Eastern Rose Garden”).

In this station, a mureed may already be conducting local classes (if such exist), or serving the local Sufi community in various capacities. Sometimes, around or after giving this initiation, we

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have given a more specialized one, for instance, as a naqib—one who helps to gather or sustain a spiritual community in practical matters.

A mureed at this stage may or may not be on the path of fana-fi-sheikh. They may, in fact, be fulfilling the purpose of this lifetime without doing so. The Murshids Circle is currently looking at other means of recognizing senior mureeds who have been in this maqam, in service for many years, without resorting to giving higher initiations. Looking at the early history of the Sufi Movement, one could argue that, once having set up a 12-degree--and by implication, 12-year—program, Hazrat Inayat Khan himself felt compelled to give more higher initiations than he might have otherwise done. Hence his statement to Murshid Samuel Lewis that he had fewer loyal mureeds than the fingers on one hand (in “Six Interviews”).

The 9th initiation is the "Sufi" initiation in our and most non-Inayati orders. It marks a person who is on the path of fana-fi-sheikh and has perfected at least some experiences of hal. This means that s/he can go into and out of certain states of consciousness whenever called upon to do so by the Spirit of Guidance (for teaching, although not limited to this). This person not only has a deep connection to his/her teacher and the order but has repeatedly experienced fana-fi-Pir (effacement in the teacher who has passed) and so an inner connection to the silsila as well as fana-fi-Rassoul in some form. S/he will for the most part be of the maqam nafs selima. In this maqam, a person has given their lives over to using this inner transmission to convey blessing through service. This means serving people as they are, rather than through the lens of some ideology that would try to “fix” them.

We recognize that, while inhabiting a certain maqam, we also carry the others within us (the "jungle" that Rumi speaks of in relation to the nafs). Experiences of fana, even very profound ones, do not necessarily transform all of the elements of nafs without further work. In reality, one is never finished with either side of the work--transformation of the nafs or deeper attunement through fana. This is why Hazrat Inayat Khan says, "Self-realization is higher than God-realization." The purpose of the path of initiation and discipleship may be fulfilled at the 9th degree, but the web of relationship and growth continues. The purpose of life unfolds through one's whole life, inshallah.

In our lineage, the 10th initiation is used “horizontally,” that is, the person may have the same attunement in fana as a Sufi, but also be led by the Spirit of Guidance to work with mureeds more intensively, or in a wider or specialized sphere of life. Distinguishing “sheikhs” from “khalifs” has really been a matter of feeling in our circle. However, one can compare what we do with non-Western Sufi orders, as well as with the descriptions given by Murshid Samuel Lewis and Hazrat Inayat Khan.

In this light, the path of the sheikh is marked by mureeds who, while having a fana connection, follow direct insight or kashf from the One in whatever way life calls. They often are called to new communities and walks of life to share blessing and alleviate suffering. They may have what Hazrat Inayat Khan and Murshid Samuel Lewis call a more rind character, that is, one that functions best outside of perceived rules or established channels of teaching. The path of the khalif is marked by mureeds who follow kashf in protecting, deepening and expanding the spiritual transmission of a particular lineage. In non-Western orders, the ‘khalif’ is the representative of the pir or murshid and usually succeeds him or her. In Hazrat Inayat Khan’s terms, this person may have a more salik character, one that functions within and revivifies the established channels of teaching.

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“Sufism is Based on Living Experiences, Not Premises” These words of Murshid Samuel Lewis say it all.

When functioning on one’s own, a Sufi teacher may give higher initiations totally intuitively, without explaining things in any of these terms. However, it was both Murshid Samuel Lewis’ and Murshid Moineddin’s vision that this transmission would be conveyed as a circle rather than as isolated individuals:

“The links in the chain of the Silsila should not be viewed as straight and rigid lines but as the linked hands of dancers in spiral, of hearts which attune to any breath, whatever be their time/space. For it is true, and must never be forgotten, that for two hearts that are linked, time and space mean nothing, and Death itself is but a filmy veil. Because, indeed, the intention of the practices of Tasawwuri is unity with the Divine Being, who is Omnipresent, All-Pervading, Eternal.” (From “On Channeling, Tassawuri and Attunement” by Murshid Samuel Lewis).

“The circle's inclusivity and hierarchy's 'line,' when perfectly balanced, form infinity's spiral, a constant, unified movement of the interaction of what the mind perceives as heaven and earth." –Murshid Moineddin Jablonski

So communicating all this to you results from years of discussions arising from the trust and friendship in our Murshids Circle. Our intention is to demystify as well as to create a wider circle of awareness around the issues involved with initiating mureeds. The wordless factors spoken about here--kashf or insight, fana and transmission—all play a role in our process of supporting a mureed to take on the service of being a guide to another. A guide may have a clear vision that now is the right time for their mureed to receive a higher initiation. We take this into consideration in the same light we have talked about above.

From the human viewpoint, we cannot predict the ultimate outcome of any action we take in life. Allahu Akbar means that there is a greater Reality than what we can know or understand, and there is a power in resting peacefully in this awareness. The point is not so much that one never makes “mistakes,” as it is to listen within and also to have our feet firmly on the earth. Seeming mistakes sometimes turn out to be successes in the long run. The opposite also happens.

Supporting a mureed, and really recognizing and seeing them as a person, means supporting them through the difficulties of daily life. This includes any frustration the person may feel in waiting for recognition as a guide, in comparing themselves to others or with the inevitable ‘group dynamics’ in a community. Group dynamics are part of daily life, and the Ruhaniat community represents a cross-section of humanity in this regard. If we regard it through the tyranny of an ideal concept, we might expect our group to be somehow higher, more noble or better adjusted. Setting one’s ideal too far above actuality just creates a canyon that can only be filled with neurotic behaviour, which is why Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan says, “Shatter your ideals on the rock of truth.” In the end, it is all just another opportunity for growth. We are looking for people to represent our silsila as a living transmission, in whatever way life calls them to do so. We are not trying to grow people to be other than who they really are. For at least 20 years of his life, Murshid Samuel Lewis was on his own and didn’t guide mureeds, teach classes or hold workshops. The image of the travelling teacher doing workshops and retreats is recent and not for everyone. In reality, only 10% of our initiators guide more than 16 mureeds, and 50% do not guide any.

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It is very important for the survival of the transmission that we have initiators who, as Sufis, simply hold their inner attunement in whatever walk of life they are called to serve. Most initiators function in this way. As the life of Murshid Samuel Lewis proved, one loyal mureed is enough to keep a lineage alive for the next generation, providing blessing for millions.

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The Silsila of Sufi Ruhaniat International

TOWARD THE ONE, THE PERFECTION OF LOVE, HARMONY, AND BEAUTY, THE ONLY BEING, UNITED WITH ALL THE ILLUMINATED SOULS

WHO FORM THE EMBODIMENT OF THE MASTER, THE SPIRIT OF GUIDANCE

February 5, 2013

Beloved Ruhaniat Family, While our Secretariat & Treasurer, Basira Beardsworth was preparing for our pilgrimage to India to celebrate the Urs of Hazrat Inayat Khan in February 2012, she starting reading Sadia Dehlvi’s book, Sufism, The Heart of Islam. I had made arrangements for our group to meet Sadia and to have her join us on our visit to the Dargah of Bibi Fatima Sam. Her book has short biographical sketches on many Sufi masters, which inspired Basira to study the Ruhaniat Silsila.

We found some major errors in our current silsila list. We further consulted with both the Sufi Order and the Sufi Movement about their lists. What follows is a summary to reflect the changes that we have made.

We do not know the exact origin of the current version of the Ruhaniat Silsila, though we do know that it was revised in 1977. It is similar to the silsila published in Toward the One, by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, and in all likelihood this is the source we used. Further, we could not find a silsila document given to us from Murshid Samuel Lewis anywhere in the archives, nor does a document still exist from Hazrat Inayat Khan that we know of.

The traditional Chishti silsila is quite available through research and it is natural to conform to that until our own period of history is added.

The first correction was to put Prophet Muhammad at the beginning of the silsila, as he was not named on our current version.

The next correction was to add Hazrat Khwaja Abu Muhammad Chishti, who was missing from our current version.

One person was divided into two separate names: Hazrat Jemal ul Haq Chishti and Hazrat Jamam Chishti. This has been corrected to: Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Jamaluddin Jamman.

Keeping with Chishti tradition, we added the title Khwaja starting with Hazrat Khwaja Hasan Basri through Hazrat Khwaja Nasiruddin Chiragh Delhi. In the Chishti silsila, the line of Khwajas ends with Khwaja Nasiruddin, who asked that the tabarrukat, or insignia of spiritual office, be buried with him.

The spiritual chain from Prophet Muhammad to Khwaja Nasiruddin is referred to as the Silsila of 22 Khwajas, with Archangel Gabriel being the first in the sequence, though he is mostly not named in the Chishti silsila. The title Khwaja is not usually used for Prophet Muhammad and Hazrat 'Ali Wali Allah, as they are exalted figures.

From Pir Zia Inayat Khan we learned that the figures who followed Khwaja Hazrat Nasiruddin Chiragh Delhi held the title Shaykh al-Masha’ikh. Pir Zia’s source for this is the unpublished Persian chronicle, Takmila-yi siyar al-awliya', circa 1815, by Gul Muhammad Ahmadpuri.

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The spelling of Shaykh al-Masha’ikh specifically in this manner conveys the meaning, “Shaykh of Shaykhs”. If one was to spell it Sheikh al-Masheikh, the meaning, in the grammatical sense, would be lost.

Our lineage is commonly and scholarly referred to as Chishti. Our Murshid Samuel Lewis spelled his spiritual name Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti, without the second “h”. On the silsila we have chosen to use the widely accepted “Chishti” spelling in general and keep Murshid’s name as he spelled it “Chisti”. There is precedence in allowing for a different spelling of the word in modern time, and still keeping a historical spelling.

On how we have listed Murshid Samuel Lewis in our silsila, Murshid Saadi Douglas-Klotz wrote:

“Pir-o-Murshid Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti. This may seem a large step, but if we are correcting the silsila now, then now is the time to make it reflect what is actually, functionally, the case.

We know that Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan was not the designated successor of Hazrat Abu Hashim Madani. Likewise Murshid S.A.M. was not Hazrat Inayat Khan's designated successor. So with all due respect to the Pir-o-Murshid title, we could properly affirm that Murshid S.A.M. also began a new branch of the Chishti tree, which has been tempered and tested through two successors.”

In each generation only one person is mentioned in the silsila, though we know from direct experience, the transmission is carried by many beings in each generation and we wish to honor them all, known and unknown.

I invite you to keep this document, and place it where you do your practices and spend some time invoking our Silsila. In a letter from Hazrat Inayat Khan to Murshida Rabia Martin he wrote:

“All the praise of your advancement in this line is due to our masters in the chain who are sending the vibrations of their joy, love, and peace.”

Yours in the Infinite, Inayat Khan Yours in the Infinite,

Pir Shabda Kahn

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Silsila of Sufi Ruhaniat International

Hazrat Muhammad Rasul Allah Hazrat ‘Ali Wali Allah Hazrat Khwaja Hasan Basri Hazrat Khwaja ‘Abd al-Wahid bin Zayd Basri Hazrat Khwaja Fuzayl bin ‘Ayaz Hazrat Khwaja Ibrahim ibn Adham Balkhi Hazrat Khwaja Huzafa Mar’ashi Hazrat Khwaja Hubayra Basri Hazrat Khwaja Mumshad ‘Ulu Dinwari Hazrat Khwaja Abu Ishaq Shami Chishti Hazrat Khwaja Ahmad Abdal Chishti Hazrat Khwaja Muhammad Chishti Hazrat Khwaja Nasiruddin Yusuf Chishti Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Maudud Chishti Hazrat Khwaja Sharif Zindani Hazrat Khwaja ‘Usman Haruni Hazrat Khwaja Moineddin Chishti Ajmeri Gharib Nawaz Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki Hazrat Khwaja Baba Fariduddin Mas’ud Ganj-i-Shakar Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya Mahbub-i Ilahi Hazrat Khwaja Nasiruddin Chiragh Delhi Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Kamaluddin ‘Allama Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Sirajuddin Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh ‘Ilmuddin Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Mahmud Rajan Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Jamaluddin Jamman Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Hasan Muhammad Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Muhammad Chishti Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Yahya Madani Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Shah Kalimullah Jahanabadi Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Nizamuddin Aurangabadi Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Maulana Fakhruddin Delhi Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Ghulam Qutbuddin Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Nasiruddin Mahmud Kale Miyan Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Muhammad Hasan Jili Kalimi Hazrat Shaykh al-Masha’ikh Muhammed Abu Hashim Madani Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti Hazrat Pir Moineddin Jablonski Pir Shabda Kahn

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Training Mureeds Ta'lim from Sangithas Series 1 & 2

by Hazrat Inayat Khan

TOWARD THE ONE, THE PERFECTION OF LOVE, HARMONY, AND BEAUTY, THE ONLY BEING, UNITED WITH ALL THE ILLUMINATED SOULS

WHO FORM THE EMBODIMENT OF THE MASTER, THE SPIRIT OF GUIDANCE TA`LIM TEACHING When a pupil asks his spiritual guide, "Do you know this?" or, "Can you do this?" he certainly mars the principle of modesty for both the teacher and himself. In the first place the pupil proves himself insolent, and certainly he moves the teacher to break his principle of modesty by uttering what he would not have liked to utter.

If the pupil does not learn to show fineness of manner toward his spiritual guide, toward whom will he have the manner of delicacy? In the path of discipleship, the whole beauty of the way is fineness of manner between the teacher and the pupil, and without beauty, whatever path one treads is void of that joy for which the world was created.

TA`LIM TEACHING In the spiritual path the whole process that the Murshid takes with the mureed is the constant testing, testing of his patience and of his faith, and of his confidence in himself.

What Murshid says to the mureed is not always in plain words, but a certain sense covered in words. Sometimes he says something in a jest which can at the same time be an instruction. He says things in parables. He may say things which he himself does not believe. He can call night day or day night if he chooses to. Murshid guides mureeds through a puzzle, he takes them through the mist of illusion. He looks at the mureed with a smile or a frown, with affection or indifference; he may treat him proudly or with respect.

And yet nothing he will mean. Really, it is all a process that the Murshid chooses, and it is a constant puzzle to a curious mureed. Murshid as a rule does not show if he is pleased or displeased, showing sometimes contrary to what he feels; and the mureed remains constantly expectant. The Murshid teaches him sometimes, and learns from him sometimes; and he leads him sometimes and follows him sometimes; and the mureed cannot understand which is which and what is what.

Murshidship and mureedship is a journeying of two persons, one who knows the path, the other a stranger taken through the mist by the Murshid. As near they approach the goal, so clear becomes the path; the clouds break and the path becomes easy until they arrive at a stage where neither Murshid is a Murshid nor mureed is a mureed, though the happy memory of the journey through the path remains in the consciousness of the grateful mureed.

When I become thou, Thou becomest I, And when I become thy body, And thou becomest my soul, Then neither can I call thee different Nor canst thou call me different.

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TA`LIM TEACHING It is the sympathy between the pupil and the spiritual guide which builds a bridge between their hearts for the spiritual knowledge to pass. The unity of brains cannot bring this about.

TA`LIM TEACHING The first initiation is to crucify one's own will to the will of one's spiritual guide with a willing and patient resignation. It is the path of discipline which leads to the goal of liberty.

TA`LIM TEACHING The great virtue of the pupil in the spiritual path is to stick to the Order in which he is initiated and stick to the spiritual guide who has initiated him. A pupil who continually goes from one thing to another cannot be a true pupil. One must take root in the soil of the Order in which one is initiated in order to make one's efforts fruitful.

TA`LIM TEACHING The first important thing that a disciple must do is to give up all preconceived ideas before starting in a spiritual path under the guidance of a spiritual teacher. If he will compare his own preconceived ideas with the ideas of the teacher, it is most probable that they will not agree, and the one who is sure of his own ideas need not go under a discipleship.

TA`LIM TEACHING In the spiritual path, that pupil is desirable who sits in the presence of the teacher with the simplicity of a child. The pupil must unlearn all that he has known before when he wishes to be guided by a spiritual teacher. He must not have his wisdom to dispute with the philosophy of the teacher. He must not be set in his principles or ideas; if so, he will not be able to accommodate in his mind the principles and ideas taught to him by his teacher. It is not the knowledge and the piety of the pupil that appeals to the teacher, it is his simplicity and modesty that alone can appeal.

A pupil that comes today and changes his mind tomorrow must keep away from the beginning. It is no use to go under anybody's guidance, especially on the spiritual path, without a firm decision. A pupil with unwavering faith, with undoubting trust, and with steadiness and enthusiasm, is desirable.

A pupil must learn to respect the teacher before learning even the "ABC" of the mystical path. A pupil who asks a question of the teacher unassumingly and humbly, with a pure motive of learning, is the right kind; but the one who, with sarcasm, asks a question to test the knowledge of a teacher is undesirable and will never be benefited by teaching. A true pupil uses all the goodness and honesty of his nature in his dealings with the teacher; thereby he learns good manner and virtuous action, to be done to others. The worship that one gives to God, a true pupil commences it by giving respect to his teacher. His prayerful attitude begins from there, and culminates in God.

The teacher has confidence in the pupil, so the pupil should prove to the teacher in his thought, word and action worthy of his confidence. The pupil who cannot tolerate a word of his teacher, who cannot forgive his teacher for any human limitation which he sees in him that he does not like, cannot not show the generosity of the heartplane in his need or difficulty, cannot show his sympathy in his trouble, can never be forgiving, tolerant generous, serviceable, and loving to man or God.

An ideal pupil is he who considers even his life the smallest thing to offer to his teacher, and all he can do in the way of service or help to the teacher, he considers too little in comparison to what the teacher gives, and values the least little gift of the teacher more than anything else in

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the world. The pupil who is really devoted finds in the blessings of the teacher a greater inspiration than in the study of the whole life, and finds in the pleasure of the teacher all the bliss that ever Heaven or earth can offer.

TA`LIM TEACHING By judging what one learns, one becomes a critic rather than a student. This study begins in observation and ends in examination. According to the ancient Hindus, there are three stages of study: Observation, assimilation, and lastly, examination.

TA`LIM TEACHING Every TEACHING that a Talib receives from his spiritual guide he must take, not as a principle, but as an answer to that situation at that moment.

TA`LIM TEACHING In what manner may love and devotion between Murshid and mureed be exchanged? What offering may the mureed bring to Murshid, and what gift may Murshid make to his mureed? The answer is that the relationship of Murshid and mureed, made in the path of truth and in the love of God, represents the perfection of friendship, and for the one who understands, it is the closest relationship. The love of all in life has a certain direction. Our relationships in this world have their limitations, but this relationship represents perfection, for it is in the search of perfection. Therefore, in this, all love and devotion is summed up.

Now, the question what offering the mureed may bring to the Murshid. . . There is no better offering than trust, with patience and resignation. And what gift Murshid may make to his mureed is a kind glance of benediction. It is not the study, learning, meditation, goodness, experience or piety of the mureed that answers to what Murshid requires. All those above said things may or may not help Murshid, but what chiefly he requires of a mureed is his confidence, the confidence with which an infant clings to his mother. But the confidence is tested when the mureed's patience is tried, because it may be easy to give confidence, but difficult to hold it.

There are two things in life: one thing, to follow; the other thing, to follow one's own way. But two things cannot go together at the same time. One can travel on land or on the sea, not in both places at the same time. What makes one master is discipline, not what they call self-will. Self-will is a raw fruit; it is ripened by discipline. Just as the light of the sun ripens the fruit, so discipline helps to sweeten the personality.

Lectures, exercises, classes, silences, even the contact with Murshid can help but a little. What can help the most is the moment when a certain thought, word, or action of the mureed has touched the heart of Murshid and moved it so that through his kind glance poured out benediction. One such glance is equal to the whole life's study, prayer, research in the truth or mediation. Verily, success is in store for the faithful.

TA`LIM TEACHING When a disciple begins to judge the teacher or his actions, to criticize his TEACHINGs, or try to test his inspiration or power, however cleverly he may do it, he ceases to be a disciple in the right sense of the word. It may not seem very bad to many, but there is a thin thread connecting the pupil with his spiritual guide, and at any moment this can easily break. Once broken it can never be mended. It does not mean that the teacher would not forgive. If he did not forgive he could not be a teacher. But the thread which connects them is the thread of the ideal, which is as delicate as thin glass. It can easily break. Therefore one must be more careful about maintaining this delicate thread than about one's study or meditation.

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TA`LIM TEACHING The disciple who listens attentively to the instruction given by his spiritual guide learns more than the one who argues. For while the former assimilates the food the latter puts it out.

TA`LIM TEACHING There are certain considerations necessary while treading the path of initiation. It is a process of melting. A personality is first put to melt by the Initiator, and it is after the melting of the personality then something is made out of it. And if it was not allowed to melt, either by oneself, or by the environments and conditions, or by friends and associates, then the efforts would be wasted. It is the same process as the goldsmith works with the metal. If the process is interrupted or interfered with by any influence, then the result is not desirable.

The path of initiation is not a path of study. I have seen people who have not only read fifty volumes, but have written fifty volumes and published them, and not yet fit for initiation. It is not an act of brain; it is a process of the spiritual melting, going from that hard, metal aspect to the form of liquid; the ice turning into water. Therefore the mureed must guard himself against any disturbing influence that would interfere in this process, knowing that it is his responsibility. The teacher would have guarded him against it if the mureeds were children; the mureeds, who are grown-up, must feel responsible for themselves.

And there is another consideration to be taken, that the process of spiritual development is an expansion, and this expansion is brought about by the widening of the outlook. The outlook depends upon the attitude of mind. If a mind is focused to thinking of small things, then this process of widening the outlook will not be completed. For instance, if you want to look at a coin, naturally the whole sight will be fixed upon that coin, the horizon of your vision naturally will be as large as that coin for that moment.

On the other hand, if you were looking at a wide horizon, the scope of your vision will be incomparably wider. Spiritual progress is the lifting of the consciousness in order that the consciousness may expand to perfection. Therefore it is a continual work of trying to look into a wider sphere. By this attitude a person, without learning to be spiritual, will naturally become spiritual; his outlook on life will become different. Little things that people take to heart will seem to him of little importance; things that people become confused with will become clear to him; things that matter so much to everyone will not matter to him.

Many things that frighten and horrify people will not have the same effect upon him; disappointments and failures will not take away his hope and courage. His thought, speech and action, as his outlook becomes wide, so everything he says or does will be different. What we call nobleness, that natural nobleness which belongs to the soul, will blossom. For spiritual attainment is not in making life a riddle for oneself, but it is in the solving of the problem that spirituality is realized.

TA`LIM TEACHING A stern and proud person, sure of his opinion and who builds a wall of his own point of view, is difficult to manage; for he shuts himself by the wall of his own point of view and covers his own eyes by his own pride. In dealing with such a one it is wise to agree first with his point of view, then gently to turn him to your point of view without his knowledge. If this person knows you have a different view from his he will never agree with you, for he is too proud of his opinion. This person by nature is generally stupid.

TA`LIM TEACHING The real mureed borrows the eyes of his Murshid to see, thus he is enabled to see from his Murshid's point of view, sacrificing his own.

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TA`LIM TEACHING Murshid's dignity should become a part of the mureed's self-respect. It is then that the mureed will attain some day to the dignity of the Murshid.

TA`LIM TEACHING What method does the Sufi consider to enlighten or to inspire mureeds?

Zikr, Fikr, or any other exercises are given to prepare the mind of the mureed and no doubt these exercises have their great advantages, but these are the part of the mureed's work. But what Murshid can impart to the mureed is not so much in words but in what is called in the Sufi terms Tawajjuh, which means as a verbal meaning "a glance" but as its right interpretation "attention." Murshid's duty towards his mureed is as the work of the sun towards the plants. The sun gives its light for the plants to grow and to flourish, to blossom and to bring forth fruits and flowers. And in all these stages of the growth of the plant there is a great part that the sun has to perform. So it is with the Murshid, who does not only give his experience in the spiritual path in words but the life, the light, which silently helps the soul of the mureed to gradually unfold.

Therefore many mureeds, ignorant of this secret, begin to wonder no sooner they are initiated, "What have I received from Murshid?" And when they begin to look in their pockets they cannot find anything. If they see in the words what he said they can find the same, perhaps, spoken in a different form by someone else in some or other book, and they begin to think there is nothing new that is being taught, it is the same old story of thousands of years, which has been so constantly repeated. But if one were to understand the truth about it one would know the words are the cover over that what is brought. Under that cover it is light, it is life, and one whose heart is awake to the smallest degree can perceive it.

TA`LIM TEACHING For six months after initiation I went daily to my Murshid and not once I had a lesson, and all the time he talked to me about birds and flowers, and all sorts of things. And then one day after those six months he began to talk of philosophy, and when I took out my notebook he stopped. Truth is the real Illumination, and the real learning is not in words, but in the Presence and not in the words.

And I really know the times when I received, and these were only one or two times, and those times were when through my devotion or humility the heart of my Murshid was moved, and those moments when the heart is opened are like the key. Some beauty, some humility just for a moment in the mureed touches the heart of the Murshid. The secret of discipleship is not study or contemplation, but devotion; at that moment it is not Murshid but God Who is seen. The door is unlocked, the shrine is opened, it is no more Murshid but God; and from that time I realized that, Murshid apart -- anyone in the world, mother, father, servant, poor person, beggar, innocent child, helpful friend, even through them God can answer the cry of the heart, if one went at the right moment and knocked at the door.

But it is only such a wave of sincerity of feeling that can open the door. For life has the power to open the door of Eternal Life. Ways of study and contemplation all take time but there is no limit to the deeps of life. By contemplation how far can we pierce through life? One, two, or three planes, then we must stop, but the nearest way of all is by Love and Devotion, for it is God's way, and God is Love. God cannot be deceived -- God will not be deceived. When any one has taken this way it is by the God in him. And as we give all things they come back to us through Love. The more we give, the more comes back. Love has its limitations when it is

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directed to limited beings, but love that is directed to God has no limitations, God alone deserves all love, and the freedom of Love is in giving it to God.

Devotion to the Teacher is not for the sake of the Teacher, it is for God. Even in the case of a Teacher the devotee may make a mistake by halting at the feet of the Teacher and not progressing to God. The Teacher is a shield covering God, a gate through which one has to go. As it is necessary to enter the gate, so to reach God it is necessary to have devotion to the Teacher first. But the ideal of real progress is that man, through his devotion, arrives to God, freeing himself from all limitations and bondages. For the Teacher, one has gratitude, but love and devotion is for God.

TA`LIM TEACHING When talking with a mureed the teacher must bring up the good side of the mureed's nature before his view. By doing so he will nurture the plant which needs watering, and no one in the world can do it better than the spiritual guide who has insight into the nature of his mureed. The teacher must deny and ignore the weak side of the mureed's nature; yet pointing it out to the mureed, and still making little of it before him, showing him every possibility of overcoming his small faults, and striving with power of mind, but little in words or deeds, to uproot the infirmities of the mureed. The good side of the mureed's nature must not be brought before him in a form of flattery or praise, but in the way of bringing that quality to the surface which is perhaps hidden and buried in the depth of his nature.

There is always some goodness in every soul, and especially in the soul that seeks after truth and tries to follow the right path, he is undoubtedly prompted to do so by the good side of his nature. In many souls their faults are not intentional but are their weakness, and such souls would be most thankful to rise above them. But who must give them a hand -- the one who looks upon their faults with contempt and prejudice or the one who overlooks their faults and pours out to them only love and sympathy?

In correcting a mureed of his faults it is not the intellect that is of much use. It is the pouring out of the stream of love which can wash away the stains; closing one's eyes to their faults, forgiving them, and yet correcting them with all tolerance, gentleness, and humility; making before them all things natural, nothing too horrible, but showing them the picture of a better life and thus drawing them toward that which is ideal and beautiful.

When the teacher finds that the mureed is wrong he will not tell him that he is wrong, but will show him what is right. If the mureed is awakened enough to realize the difference by comparison he will be helped, and if he cannot realize it he is not ready for that conception which the teacher thinks right. Right and wrong are after all only comparative terms; in point of fact all is right and all is wrong.

The teacher must have great patience with the mureed, knowing that the unfoldment of the soul can only come gradually and it is as the opening of cover under cover. When there is one cover opened then there is another to open, and it may take years to touch the pure soul of the mureed. It can only be touched by touching the covers. It is a constant endurance that is necessary, because generally the mureed, being at a different stage of evolution, must always think differently from the teacher.

If he saw from the same plane as the teacher there would be no necessity for him to be a mureed. If the mureed is not ripe enough to see the answer to his question it is not advisable to disappoint him by a refusal. If his soul is yet covered you can cover your answer also. That is the way of the Prophets. The scripture is the poetry of the prophet, and it is beyond this poetry

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that the true knowledge abides. Not every soul is ready to look at the Truth uncovered, and the Truth must take several garbs in order to suit every mind, one different from another.

There is a mureed who is within the reach of the teacher, and there is another who keeps away from his reach. There is one whose heart beats with the heart of the teacher, and there is one whose heart is covered and unaffected by the teacher's influence. Nothing should cause annoyance to the teacher. Forbearance must be the first thing for the teacher to have when dealing with his mureeds. If a mureed is as a tuned harp it is well and good. If he be out of tune then try and tune him gently lest the string may break. If it seems difficult to bring a mureed into tune then wait patiently for the moment to arrive, for in time all things come right. If it be a hopeless case, still do not think it is impossible. Never allow your friend to turn into an enemy. Your mureed must be your mureed whether he is facing you respectfully or whether he has turned his back with bitterness. Your goodwill and blessing must reach each and everyone whose hand once you have held in the sacred initiation.

You must not under any circumstances allow yourself ever to imagine your mureed will not believe in what you say and will not look at it from a favorable point of view. For such a thought reflection from the heart of a teacher to the heart of a mureed must surely create a barrier. The psychological point between yourself and a mureed and the impression upon him solely depend upon your own strength of belief. If you fully believe in what you say you must certainly conquer sooner or later.

You must not give up a mureed if you happen to find out that he was not a right person for discipleship in the past; if he is right just now, that is what is required. If a mureed is not now so fit as you wish him to be, have patience with him. Do not give him up, thinking that he will not improve. Do everything possible to bring out all the good in him, by rearing that in him which is good and by denying in him that which is not right.

TA`LIM TEACHING In guiding mureeds the teacher must know the points on which the mureed has fixed his mind; for instance any idea or belief he holds strongly, having cherished it for a long time in his heart. In such a case it would not be advisable on the part of the teacher to break it, however void of reason or logic that belief may be. The way of breaking an idea so hardened is to melt it gradually, and that is done by bringing the truth opposite to his belief to the notice of the mureed, not all of a sudden, but gradually and little by little, until the mureed is prepared to view it tolerantly.

TA`LIM TEACHING Guide your mureeds gently, descending to their plane of understanding and gradually helping them to rise and to realize by themselves the truth of your teaching.

TA`LIM TEACHING Act as a master and feel as a servant towards your mureeds. TA`LIM TEACHING By accusing a person of his faults, we often strengthen the roots of his faults.

TA`LIM TEACHING When a person keeping his light high directs another person in the path of darkness he must be disappointed, for his own light will show the person he directs the right way.

TA`LIM TEACHING If somebody asks you a question, you must not feel compelled to answer. You must first think what right he has to ask that question, what motive he has in asking that question, what answer

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he expects, what is his attitude in the matter, what answer he is capable of understanding. Then, if you like, you must answer, and if you do not wish to answer, excuse yourself politely.

Take every questioner as an invader and find out what he wants to get at. Does he want to probe the secrets of your heart, does he wish to learn, does he wish to examine you, does he wish to argue with you, or does he want to ask you a question for the sake of conversation or for a pastime? After you have considered these points, then do as suits you.

The one who asks a question becomes stronger than the one who is put in the position of answering the question. The one who asks a question is safe from every criticism, because he has not yet expressed his opinion. Therefore you must defend yourself in answering every question. In answering one person a question, you must think that your answer is exposed before many people; and so you must know what you are saying before answering. There are many clever people who will ask you a cross-question to get out of you a certain answer which they expect to come from you. Then they try to hit against it, for in this way they prepare a ground for a battle.

Those who ask questions and like to argue are not often the convinced ones. They themselves are in doubt and confusion about the question, therefore they ask another. But since many of them do not believe in themselves, they cannot believe in another, so their question remains always unanswered. A person who questions very much is in an unrestful condition of mind, and very often he questions in order to cover his restlessness of mind. By questioning he is, so to speak, scratching his own heart, and by the answer he does not get satisfaction, as scratching does not bring ease to the irritation. On the contrary, it increases it still more. No one is satisfied by asking questions of another unless he has an answer from himself to give him complete satisfaction, unless from within himself a support comes to give him an answer.

Every person must answer your purpose according to the position you take before him. If you are a teacher to him, he will be your pupil; if you are his friend, he will become your chum; if you are his rival he will become your competitor. Decide, therefore, fully well beforehand in what relation that person should be to you and act accordingly with him.

TA`LIM TEACHING Do not make your life entirely different from that of the multitude. Yes, some difference is natural and necessary. And remember that as much difference there is between you and people, so much will there be forming a gulf between you and those whom you must help.

It is an intellectual game to be able to argue a point. And, as in the Western world one meets many seekers after truth who want intellectual satisfaction, it is necessary for the spiritual guides in the Order to keep themselves equipped for this game, knowing at the same time that silence is ideal.

TA`LIM TEACHING In guiding another on the spiritual path, one must thoroughly study the strength and intelligence, as well as the physical, mental, moral and spiritual condition of the one to be guided. The one who guides must be intimately acquainted with the person's life in all its aspects, and must deal with him accordingly. In teaching one must not frighten a person with the strictness of the results of action, one must not bewilder him by the weirdness of mysteries, and one must not force upon him a faith or belief; one must not startle him with ritual or dogma, and one must not puzzle him with the complexity of life and its laws.

The teacher must patiently and most kindly first sympathize with the person, whether he be in the right or in fault, and stand with him on the plane where he is standing -- not try and pull

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him to Heaven when he may be standing on earth -- but hold him fast first and weigh him by testing him sometimes through life, and then lift him with one swing of the arms and raise him to the higher planes. He must advise him in all aspects of his life, especially in things he is interested in and he wishes to accomplish in life. Instead of opposing his wishes, a wise teacher sympathizes with him and helps to accomplish them. Thereby he gives him encouragement and confidence in self control.

One must not make the pupil uncomfortable when he is at fault, for by doing so, one awakens revolt in him and creates a thought, "Why should I not do this or that?" But allow him to notice his mistake himself, and help him in producing such a tenderness in his nature that he may himself feel sorry for his fault. One must not try the patience of the pupil by asking him to do too much or by expecting from him more than he can manage to do, or by loading upon him more study and practice than his interest and strength enable him to carry through life.

The teacher must be more patient with the pupil than all others, because he must think the pupil's task is greater than the teacher's. For the teacher says, but the pupil does. There is a difference between saying and doing. The teacher must establish a current of sympathy between himself and the pupil, and as strong as this current will be, as easy will it be for either to fulfill his purpose in life. But at the same time a teacher must not become a chum of the pupil, for it makes the teacher small in the eyes of the pupil, which makes the knowledge, however great it may be, appear small to him. At the same time, he must not be too remote, for it makes it difficult for the pupil to reach him. In the absence of the vision of God, the pupil seeks a master whom he can easily reach and tell all he feels and needs and wants, and if the teacher is distant and exclusive it becomes hard for the pupil.

The position of the teacher toward the pupil is very delicate. He should be closely attached and yet detached, near and yet far. The teacher must be as a father, as a mother, as a brother, as a friend to the pupil, and yet as none of those. For the teacher is much closer and much higher than all relations and connections of this world.

The teacher must not expect service and reverence and respect from the pupil, but if it is the pleasure of the pupil to give it to the teacher he should not refuse it. It does not matter so long as the teacher does not indulge in it by the pupil's doing thus. It is for the benefit of the pupil more than for that of the teacher that he should be allowed to revere and respect and serve the teacher with great willingness and humility.

TA`LIM TEACHING The disciple who listens attentively to the instructions of his spiritual guide learns more than the one who argues, for while the former assimilates the food the latter puts it out.

TA`LIM TEACHING In doing spiritual work one is always seeing friends, pupils, and strangers, with their different ideas, people of different dispositions in their various moods, and the spiritual worker has to expose himself to all natures. Therefore it is necessary to know the way of dealing with the situation, so that one may not give out one's own energy, for the secret of magnetism is in conserving one's energy.

This can be accomplished by keeping back every impulse while one is seeing people, either one single person or a multitude. Always to keep on the defensive; and, instead of feeling compelled to talk, one must keep silent, for that feeling is a weakness. It is better to allow the other person to talk; and if a word is needed to open his heart, to take away his shyness, or to make him feel at home, it should be used; if not, signify "yes" or "no," it is quite sufficient to continue the

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conversation. Words without purpose have no value. If you avoid nine words out of ten, your one word will be equal to a hundred words, your word will have power because you control it.

On no account must one's opinion be given on any work, institution, or affair, on any person or character. No prophesying is necessary, for a spiritual guide is not a fortuneteller. No teaching is necessary unless the person is one's pupil, and no correcting is necessary unless the person is one's own pupil. Even in the case of a child one must go gently; there are natures who become worse by being told.

Therefore there is really very little need for a spiritual teacher to speak. Argument is not his work, it is the work of the pastors and priests, for he is in agreement with all he sees, with everybody's point-of-view. No talking for pastime is necessary. No joking necessary with strangers. A spiritual worker has no time to talk about others, to be curious about people and their affairs, or to talk about what is going on in the city or in the world.

It is the heart of the spiritual worker which must speak, not his lips. All that is necessary as conversation is a word of consolation to the downhearted, a word of courage to the weak, a word of sympathy to the suffering heart, and a word of enlightenment to the seeker. The word of a spiritual person must be like shooting at the target, that one answer may uproot the question and a thoughtful person may become satisfied with that one answer instead of a long argument; but for an argumentative person "yes" is enough as a first and last answer.

TA`LIM TEACHING When the teacher is confronted with disciples who are difficult to deal with he must find out which category of difficult people they belong to. There are three categories of disciples who prove to be difficult to guide:

-- The egoist, whose pride keeps him from being guided. He is self-willed, neglectful and disrespectful.

-- The second is devilish. His attitude is that of a thief. He will come among your disciples as a sneak; he will appear frightened, or observant; he will show humility; but an atmosphere of insincerity will emanate from him and you can never feel a link with him. But in spite of his every attempt to hide his attitude he will give himself away at moments uncontrollably.

-- The third is the ignorant one. He cannot be managed, because he is confused in himself, his vision is not clear, he may honestly try, but he cannot manage to understand truth owing to the denseness of his mind. In teaching these three kinds of pupils the teacher must handle each one differently. The first must not be given cause to become prouder than he is nor must his pride be hurt, for it will upset him so that he will not be able to understand at all. He must gently be led to see for himself the situations of life in which man is helpless, and gently made to see how foolish it is to be proud. The smallness of the false ego must be brought before his view by the comparison of the greatness of the true ego. Besides the very impression of the teacher's independence and indifference must break that frozen spirit in him which gives him conceit.

In dealing with the second kind one must try to exhaust his patience; give him a long waiting, that the falsehood in his nature may die of starvation; because insincerity is fed on yielding. It is not necessary for the teacher to tell the pupil he is insincere, it is against the teacher's principle. The best thing is to give him time to realize for himself that he has been insincere, and that his insincerity was in the end profitless. Let him waste his time and effort in insincerity, and if it is not answered by the teacher he will either be cured or will leave the teacher, for insincerity has no power to endure. In dealing with the third kind of disciple the teacher must use mercy and

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compassion, but not necessarily show it in encouraging his ignorance or supporting it in any way, but use his mercy and compassion in tolerating and forgiving the ignorant one.

Very often an ignorant disciple will act in such a way that the results of his actions may prove him to be worse than an enemy. The teacher must guard against it, but must not consider it as done by the person but only by his ignorance. It must be understood that the ignorant have no place of safety except at the feet of the wise. It is for this reason that the owl is pictured with the image of the Goddess of Wisdom, Sophia. The ignorant person is his own enemy; therefore he must rather be pitied than despised, and if anyone can save him it is the wise. It is possible for a person to be so ignorant that he may be like a rock, which can never understand. But even as a rock can be made useful, so the ignorant pupil can be made of some use in life, as long as the teacher guards himself against his ignorance.

TA`LIM TEACHING The whole science of the inner cult is a psychology of the human sensitiveness. The one who has touched the secret of this, to him the mystery of all such things as clairvoyance, clairaudience, spirit-communication, thought-reading, inspiration, revelation, impressions, intuition, dream and vision becomes clear. It is not necessary to develop different faculties for these experiences; one's sensitiveness and the understanding of it is at the bottom of all these things.

As a rule, every man is a grave of his soul, his soul, so to speak, covered with his frozen heart, which is frozen by selfishness and his material body, with his appetites and thirsts and with the denseness of the earth-covering, his heart as a grave covers a corpse. Everyone who is inclined to seek a spiritual guidance is as a rule one in whose grave a window has been broken open; it is a dead soul who wishes to come to life. A tendency to seek truth is like the corpse beginning to move, showing that it might come to life again.

It is to help this soul to rise from his grave that is the work of the spiritual guide. That he can do by melting the heart first, the process of which is to make him collect his thought, control his body and then dig into his heart, in order to break the frozen surface until the water in the depth can be touched. All the wonderful powers will open with the opening of the heart, for then the heart will become like a searchlight; wherever the light is thrown, that part becomes clear. Besides, all virtues then will rise from his heart.

Only the difficulty is in knowing how sensitive the disciple must be made and how gradually one must proceed to accomplish this. It must not be done too soon, nor should the moment be lost when the iron is hot. One can mold the wax when it is melting and so one can mold the heart when it is in the process of that sensitiveness. The work of the spiritual guide is likened to the work of a potter. If the potter were not careful, pots even after being formed might remain unfinished, for he must watch attentively every step in the progress of his disciple.

TA`LIM TEACHING To talk about sacred things to the immature soul is like singing a romance to a babe in the cradle. TA`LIM TEACHING An appearance of spirituality is a garb under which Satan hides and plays the part of a spiritual guide. For a time he may attract many by wonder-working, by being overwise, by teaching superstitions and by fascinating others by his false personality. He will make false promises, give false hopes and false beliefs and will spread false doctrines. But the success of falsehood is momentary and the success of truth is certain, for truth and success are not two things, they are one.

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TA`LIM TEACHING Do not try to force your broad ideas upon the narrow-minded all at once, but make your ideas so simple and small that the narrow mentality can contain them. You must not tell all things at once, but first prepare your mureed to understand them and then tell him when he is ripe. For every teaching there is a time. Untimely teaching will bear no fruit, as there is a time for sowing and a time for reaping. It is the understanding of this idea and the best way of working it out which is called the prophetic art.

TA`LIM TEACHING It is necessary for the teacher to make an analysis of the physical and mental condition of his pupils. He must gain the trust of the pupil, so that the pupil may keep nothing back and may willingly consult with the teacher openly on any subject. And the work of the teacher is then to compare what he sees with his own eyes and feels intuitively about the pupil; in this way to grasp the condition of the pupil more fully even than the pupil himself may know it. As no physician can treat the patient freely without knowing all about his condition, so with the teacher whose sacred responsibility it is to help the pupil to better his condition in every form.

This work is done by the teacher most gently without causing the pupil any sensitiveness, hurt or insult, even without trying to show that one is desirous of getting into the secret of the pupil. One must know that every pupil that comes to a teacher is not always a thorough pupil. It will take him perhaps a very long time to know what "pupil" means, and the first work and responsibility of the teacher is to train a pupil first to become a pupil. For it is the full qualification in pupilship which alone is teachership. Unless the pupil has realized this he cannot really profit by any teaching given to him.

The teacher therefore must become a friend to his pupil and yet keep his place of a teacher. Once the pupil has lost by friendship that consideration that he must have for the teacher, that will deprive him of the benefit that he can receive from the teacher. Friendship between the pupil and teacher must be in the form of confidence and trust in one another, but the action between them must be that of a patient and a doctor. And the regard that a pupil has toward the teacher must be that of a child toward his parents.

TA`LIM TEACHING The teaching of Sufism is then by knowing thoroughly the psychology of human susceptibilities. When one teaches grown-up people it is not the same as with children, for grown-up people have their outlook quite fixed and it is not always easy to change it from its place. People will wish to learn, but are not willing to be taught. Taking this into consideration, one must proceed thus in guiding the initiated: one must not let them know that they are being taught, and must make them learn automatically.

There are seven different minds that must be dealt with differently, ranging from a simple mind to a most intelligent mind. They stand as seven degrees of sound. Therefore in Sufi teachings abbreviations are used to recognize their degrees, beginning from C, D, E, F, G, A, and ending in B. One may have one initiation in a year, another may finish the same in eleven months, another in ten months, another in nine months, another in eight months, another in seven months, another in six months. One who is of the B degree may be promoted to higher degrees regardless of any fixed period of time. In this way souls must be guided along, that the deserving ones may not have to wait for the reason that their colleagues are not as quick as they in their progress, though such a thing must be wisely done so that others may not take it too much to heart.

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TA`LIM TEACHING With every mureed the Initiator must establish a link of sympathy by his earnest and sincere interest in the initiated one, and let the initiated realize that this link which exists between the teacher and the pupil is more sacred than any relation or connection existing on the earth, a link which is unbreakable. The Initiator must see if the thread on the side of the initiated is thin and cannot endure the weight of the sacredness which belongs to the initiation, to guard it carefully and to strengthen it in every way possible. It wants an amount of sympathy on the part of the Initiator over what is generally due.

Very often this thinness of the thread has a discouraging effect upon the Initiator, for it demands a great deal of consideration, interest and sympathy on the part of the Initiator to hold up something which is dropping. But it is strengthening to both parties, it is a strength developed in the character of the Initiator as well as that the thin thread that connects him with the initiated also becomes strengthened.

The Initiator's attitude towards his mureed must be as towards his own children, for the parents never allow the relation to be broken even if the children happen to prove unworthy. Besides, it is difficult for any soul however evolved really to prove worthy to the tests of the Initiator. Therefore it only depends upon his forgiveness and extraordinary sympathy which can keep the Initiator connected with all those initiated in his hand.

TA`LIM TEACHING In the training of the initiated members, the first thing one must consider is to find out in what realm you must present to them the truth. To the intellectually-minded the truth must be presented in an intellectual form. To a person of a scientific bend of mind we must try to present the truth in the realm of science. To the lover of righteousness, in the form of morals; to the idealistic person, truth garbed in an ideal; and to a devotional person in the form of Love, Lover, and Beloved. The principle thing in training souls in the spiritual knowledge is to know their psychology fully and to present the truth to them in the form in which they can accept it without hesitation. One finds many among the seekers after truth who want to learn and yet don't want to listen.

Their soul wants to receive but their ego does not want to acknowledge. With such souls the Initiator ought to work very gently, not allowing their ego to think that they are learning, for it matters little to the teacher whether they acknowledge or appreciate all they receive; his duty is to give that which is his sacred trust, in all forms possible. In giving medicine to children one has to cover the bitter drop with sugar, for the object is the cure of the child. The compassion of the Initiator must be great, together with his wisdom, and he must try to put into the soul of every person, whether deserving by his action or undeserving, some of that wisdom which is the portion of every soul.

TA`LIM TEACHING The voice has a great secret hidden behind it and the knowledge of this secret helps the Initiator greatly, for it is according to the magnetic power that the Initiator has in his voice that he is able to get the response of his audience. Besides, the voice is the breath and the breath is the soul. The greater the soul, the more wonderful will be the voice. The voice must have resonance to make it concrete and more fully audible. That resonance in the body is the solar plexus and the head, but in the realm of mind it is the heart and mind. In proportion, as one feels more deeply what one says, so the word rises with a greater strength.

When one thinks of the psychology of human beings one will find that the voice makes upon them an even greater impression than the appearance. For in the appearance there is radiance, but in the voice there is light. The tongues of flame rising from the words mentioned in the

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Bible is the power that comes from the words of the illuminated souls and so must it be. The spear of the Initiator is his word, his voice. With this spear he appears on the battlefield of life; thus conquering hearts he proves to be victorious in the service of God, the Truth.

TA`LIM TEACHING There is a certain note that every initiated soul strikes. The work of the Initiator is to harmonize with that note in order to get in touch with the soul of the initiated person. It becomes necessary therefore for the Initiator to descend often to the note of his pupil. But the descending is not necessarily tuning oneself to his pitch, but what it is necessary is to harmonize oneself or become in consonance with the note of the pupil.

Thus a pupil is raised. If the teacher would stand as king on a throne and wish the pupil to rise from the place where he is standing, he will never rise. To lift the pupil either the Initiator must stand on the ground and lift him up to the level of the throne, or by bending low, sitting on the throne he should raise the pupil, lifting him up with his own hands.

The spiritual path is the balance of democracy and aristocracy. The aristocratic part is that the Initiator sits on the teacher's throne and the initiated one stands in his place in all humility. And the democracy of the spiritual path is that the teacher raises him also to the same throne upon which he himself is sitting and even higher if he can; for in raising the initiated one the Initiator himself is raised high. Verily the greatness of God is brought unto Him by the greatness of man.

TA`LIM TEACHING Teaching of the Initiates

The first initiation in the Sufi Order, which is the Elementary Section of the Study Circle, is to admit a pupil into the Order, first, for the study of Sufism. This study is not the study of the Sufi writings of the ancient times, for the reason that there are two sorts of Sufi writings which exist in the East, poetic and prose. The poetic literature tells much more than the prose, because the writers of spiritual literature in the ancient times were persecuted and were greatly hampered in expressing their thoughts freely. Therefore they always had to adopt the Islamic terminology and take steps very gently in expressing, lest they might offend the orthodox and be accused of having said something against the law of religion, which was at the same time the government law. The other literature, which is poetic, demands a certain perception to enjoy it and get benefit out of it. Therefore no Sufi literature of the ancient times is used in the Sufi Order, especially in the Study Circle.

A special interpretation of the Sufi ideal is given in the form of Gathas, to make the Sufi ideal intelligible to the modern mentality. These Gathas have at present seven subjects, ten chapters of each subject making a series. The first series is used for the Elementary section; the second is read before the group of Junior Members and the third before Senior Members of the Study Circle, who are already initiated three times in the Order. The Shaikh who is Khalif has the power of giving these initiations.

The practices which are given to the members of these three sections of the Study Circle are the methods of ablution, purification of breath, exercises of different postures, and concentration by giving the initiated ones a certain form to concentrate upon with a certain phrase, preferably in their own language, which would work in their life as a medicine to heal all infirmities and to help them to rise to that pitch which would regulate their lives. It is, really speaking, a psychoanalysis, not exactly in the sense in which a modern scientist today understands it; psychoanalysis, not from a material point-of-view but from a spiritual point-of-view,

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recognizing not only the animal qualities which man has inherited from his race, but all qualities, which are man's heritage from God.

TA`LIM TEACHING Every candidate for initiation must be brought to the Murshid by a Khalif who has already made the inquiries on the following questions. Special care must be taken so as not to make the candidate think it is an examination. Without the candidate's knowing, these questions must be intuitively and most tactfully perceived, the report of which must be made to the Murshid.

General Examination:

I. Physical Condition Recent illness, injury, operation, or chronic disease.

II. Morale Mind, temperament (optimistic or pessimistic), attitude toward life. Observe mentality, character (whether weak or strong), self-reliant or dependent.

III. Domestic life Does the person live alone or with others? In comfort or privation? In harmony or discord? Married or single? Any children?

IV. Worldly position Successful or the reverse; if dependent upon others; any financial worry.

V. Daily life What is the occupation, what are the amusements and interests?

TA`LIM TEACHING You will establish a communication with your pupils by the link of sympathy. Never think, therefore, that a spiritual teacher is too superior to interest himself in the material needs of his pupils. His feelings for his pupils must be as the feeling of parents toward their children. They are not only interested in their children's welfare in life, but they are also interested in their little, unimportant fancies. Wise parents pay serious attention to the children's little demands. And so it is with the Initiator, to spare no time nor effort in taking interest in his pupils. It is not by TEACHING or correcting a pupil that one helps; it is by associating with the pupil, by winning the pupil's heart, by interesting oneself in his immediate needs that one gets near to his soul, and in this way one can help one's pupil best.

One must not think that by helping in a pupil's worldly affair nothing spiritual is accomplished; for, once on the spiritual path, every material and spiritual thing one does, it only leads him to the spiritual goal. A pupil's material need satisfied is one step further in the spiritual path. Of what use is that spirituality which does not help in any way the material need of the pupil? It does not mean that spirituality is for the material need, it only means that every step a seeker after truth takes, it leads him to the same goal.

The Initiator's responsibility, therefore, toward his pupils is great. He may need, with certain pupils, to keep an outer distance, but in order to make up for the outer distance he must come inwardly closer. If there is a distance between pupil and teacher outwardly and inwardly, there is no point of contact, there is no reason to be pupil and teacher. If there be a distance, it must not be a distance for the vanity of the Initiator. It must be only if it were for the benefit of the pupil.

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One thing must be remembered, that with every goodwill and desire to help the pupil, one must not spoil the pupil by making him too dependent. A human being shows a childlike quality all through his life. As from childhood the soul learns to cling to his mother, when grown up the soul does the same to his Initiator. It is natural, there is nothing wrong in it. It is not in order to save oneself from his clinging, but to make him independent, to stand in the struggle he is meant to be in. You will always give a hand, but will make him stand on his feet.

You will find by observing human nature more keenly that there are many obsessed by a certain idea, a belief, a conception, a thought of sadness or pain which does not exist in reality except in their mind. These obsessed ones will intensely seek their refuge under their Initiator. By your goodwill and sympathy you can heal them or make them more ill. Both things are possible, because obsessions feed on sympathy. It is never enough. The more you sympathize the more ill the person becomes. In these cases you will keep firm outwardly and let your sympathy heal from inward. So, outwardly acting cold, with every warmth within, you will answer the need of such pupils.

You will find some pupils not willing to do the exercises; some willing to do a part of them and not inclined to do the other part. Some will give their thought and their time, but not themselves. Do not allow yourself to be impatient with them. The fruit is not the same when it is ripened; it is different when it is unripe. There is nothing better than leaving a pupil free to do what he can and to leave what he does not want for the moment to do, and so leading pupils gently on the path, without disturbing their tranquility. The work of the Initiator is a practice of self-abnegation, to make one's work everything and one's self a secondary question. It is then only that one can render unselfish service to God and His creatures.

Mostly I would use gentleness. It only depends upon the Initiator's particular temperament. If the Initiator is not naturally very gentle, he must not force himself to be gentle, although tact is a necessary thing. Besides, gentleness is one of the best qualities. In ninety-nine cases I would use gentleness, perhaps in one case I would use firmness. It depends upon the temperament. There is a temperament which can accomplish by gentleness more easily than by firmness. But in that case his gentleness must have developed a power in it, that it is outwardly gentleness but inwardly it is a power.

Once I had a visit from a mureed who came to me in a terrible rage. The man was all to pieces by anger and distress and disappointment. He came to me to say perhaps a thousand things -- "Everything is wrong, everybody does wrong. . ." I heard it all, and I did not at all take that subject, I went to quite another subject. By going to another subject I touched the feeling of the mureed.

Then the mureed said to me, "Murshid, I came to you today to finish forever, but you would not let me finish. I had never thought that after I had come in such a rage you would ever want to see me again. But you have a power that disarms one. What is that power, Murshid?" I said, "Because I have disarmed myself, that is the power."

Sometimes gentleness conquers a person more than desperateness. And if a person is feeble, or in a position where desperateness will make him do a certain thing, that will only go for a moment, it will not continue. But the one whom you have won by gentleness you have won forever.

TA`LIM TEACHING Questions and Answers at Initiations:

Q. My Murshid (Khalif), what does Sufism mean?

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A. Divine Wisdom.

Q. Since when has Sufism existed? A. At all times, from the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth.

Q. Has there been a founder of Sufism? A. God alone was the founder of Sufism.

Q. What is the religion of Sufism? A. Sufism is the essence of all religions.

Q. What is the Sufi Order? A. It is the nucleus formed of those who study and practice Sufism for spiritual attainment and thereby to unite with God and humanity.

Q. What are the first necessities to be remembered by the initiate? A. Belief in God; respect for all religions, scriptures, and prophets; a recognition of Pir-O-Murshid; a sincere response to one's Initiator; and deep sympathy for all brothers and sisters in the Order.

To the Candidate for Initiation: Q. You will respect all that is given to you as your sacred and secret trust? A. Yes, I will do so.

Q. You will observe the Sufi brotherhood as a nucleus of human brotherhood, beyond all differences and distinctions of caste, creed, race, nation, and religion? A. Yes, I will do so.

TA`LIM TEACHING The responsibility of the Initiator is great, and as great his responsibility so large he must become, for it is the large vessel which will accommodate small objects. The larger your outlook the more accommodating you will be. Working with a new person in the spiritual path is like handling a raw material. You can approach him so far and no further. If you thought about it continually, then alone you will be able to mold his personality gradually.

The pupil must not be given a handle by which he could dispute and make the Initiator commit an error. One must be more on one's guard with one's pupil than with one's opponent; for once the pupil holds a mistake of the teacher he loses his regard for his teacher. And by mistake I do not mean great mistakes -- little things. In this path of esotericism you can never be too conscientious. Therefore, never give way to the impulse of expressing oneself fully. Let each word pass directed by power and wisdom, that not one word may be said that may be taken amiss by another person. An Initiator is responsible not only for all things in life but even for every word he speaks. For the priest is the minister of the Church, the Initiator is the ambassador of Truth.

Do not let that mureed whose feeling has turned sour be mixed with the faithful mureeds, for his association must affect in the same way as sour milk turns fresh milk.

TA`LIM TEACHING In order to serve in the esoteric work the first thing one must cultivate is the trusting in the goodness of the pupil. It is not always easy. In the first place the wiser one becomes, from the worldly point-of-view, the more he begins to distrust, for then he has a great deal of experience of human nature. As a person becomes more spiritual he sees still more in the soul of people

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that should not be trusted. He cannot close his eyes; if he closed his eyes his work would not be fruitful. He must therefore see and not see at the same time.

The work in esotericism is a continual experiment with every individual, testing and trying him, at the same time encouraging him and appreciating every little good he shows. By that you can help the person best. In the East an Initiator tests and tries his pupil to the utmost, but this may not be done in the West. Besides, now the time is different, we must act according to the time. But to appreciate and to encourage a pupil is most necessary.

Your way must be the way of water, not the way of the hammer. For if there is a rock in the way, the water surrounds it and makes its way by rising above the rock. The way of the hammer is to break it down, to turn it into pieces. By this I do not mean to say that you will always restrict yourself to the way of water; the hammer has its purpose also. But as long as you can surmount your difficulties by using the method of water you need not take the hammer in hand.

TA`LIM TEACHING The studies which are given to the mureeds in Sacred Readings must be held and impressed upon them as being of religious and sacred character, for the mentality today is such that however high a subject they take it under the heading of a study and tear it in their debates. In the ancient times studies pertaining to the higher wisdom have always been attached to a religion. And the students were told that they must observe three stages in their study: to receive, to assimilate, and then to express one's idea upon it. The absence of this today makes every young student ready to form an opinion on any question. The child today begins to correct his parents even in things that his parents have a great deal of experience of and he does not know anything about.

A child must therefore be taught from the beginning that it is not as he sees just now, but when he will see differently he will find the same thing different. It is the same with a mureed. If the idea of debate is encouraged in our Gatha Readings maybe it will please some argumentative mentalities, but it will spoil the sacredness of the idea; the idea which is not received thus, with all its potentiality, will lose its spirit. Since we have our open platform for our Brotherhood activities the Sacred Readings must be conducted religiously, with a sacred idea attached to them. For if the mureed will not value them enough he will not be benefitted by them fully.

With every desire on our part to make the Message reach far and wide into the world, we must keep our esoteric school for some few worthy seeking souls. It is only this which will keep the spirit and beauty of Sufism. We must realize in this Esoteric School what tradition we represent. We represent the tradition of such souls who may be called the emperors of the world. We must keep that spirit before us and follow the work.

The scriptures read in all religions have not been considered a study, they have been considered a prayer. And what greater prayer than the words that could enlighten the soul? That is the highest prayer that there could be. When the Muslim reads the Qur'an, he goes out and makes ablutions before he touches the book. When a Hindu reads the Gita he wears sacred garments and sits in the sanctuary made for that purpose. The Zarathustrian makes a special preparation when he recites the Gathas in Zend. We can at least have silence before and after our Sacred Readings and prayers offered before and after them, in order to tune the soul to receive them in the manner that they must be received, that the soul may derive from them the greatest benefit.

The pupil who is initiated in the Order must not be immediately taught Zikr and Fikr; he must be prepared for it, except in exceptional cases. The Initiator must be convinced first of the faithful response of the pupil before he entrusts him with this great treasure of the Sufis. The

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Initiator must know if the pupil is in agreement with the teachings given in the Order before he prescribes to the pupil Zikr or Fikr. The pupil must be in harmony with himself in order to be properly benefitted by these exercises.

The first thing that may be given to pupils is an object to concentrate upon which will centralize their thoughts and make their minds still. Also a phrase may be given to the pupil which might answer in helping the pupil's present problem. If a soul seeking after spirituality is in the midst of a struggle, if a problem is facing him he must not be pushed into the spiritual path by his Initiator, he must be given that strength and power which will enable him to remove the obstacle from his way, thus making himself his way free he will go on forward. Therefore, by helping a pupil to the solving of his present problem, however material in character, the Initiator will be helping him in his spiritual goal. One might ask, "Even if the problem be undesirable?" The answer will be, "In the first place there is no problem which is undesirable, and if there is any the teacher must show the undesirable side of the problem, and if it is really undesirable the pupil himself will give it up. The pupil who comes to learn from a teacher of the spiritual path must certainly respond to the teacher's advice for his own benefit.

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Shuyukhuyat On Being a Sheikh by Murshid Samuel Lewis

TOWARD THE ONE, THE PERFECTION OF LOVE, HARMONY, AND BEAUTY,

THE ONLY BEING, UNITED WITH ALL THE ILLUMINATED SOULS WHO FORM THE EMBODIMENT OF THE MASTER, THE SPIRIT OF GUIDANCE

1. It is not the words of the teacher which feed and sustain the pupil, it is his condition of

heart. When the state of heart of the teacher is the result of his divine attunement, he cannot help feeding his pupils.

2. When pupil argues with teacher, that is not necessarily a sin; it may be natural owing to the grade or character of the pupil. When teacher argues with pupil, it sets up a duality which makes attunement of heart difficult.. Therefore the action and behaviour of the teacher toward the pupil must always be of a higher nature than the action of the pupil toward the teacher in order to raise the degree of spirituality of the pupil.

3. In the eyes of man it seems to be an easy matter to be a teacher, but in the eyes of God it is not so. For the Sheikh can be held responsible for the spiritual evolution of the personalities under his care, and he can even be blamed for their faults. In order to assist his talibs he shows his nobility of heart, and patience.

4. Christ fed the multitudes with loaves and fishes. What are loaves? What are fishes? Loaves are the food which comes from the denseness of earth and fish are the food of the water, which symbolizes spirit. (See Gatha ‘Symbology II, IV’ etc. Articles p. 245, 252 ‘Unity of Religious Ideals’) Christ said he baptized with fire and the spirit; he gave the sacraments of all the elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether. In this sense fish symbolize the spirit hidden in manifestation. The work of Christ and all the Divine Messengers is to bring the kingdom of God to earth thus.

5. Christ instructed his disciples to become fishers of men. In other words, they were to help free humanity from the ocean of Samsara (or Nufsaniat), and extend compassion and peace. In this respect every Sufi Sheikh is a disciple of Jesus, whether he calls himself a Christian or not.

6. Do not expect the virtue to manifest in your mureeds which is not in yourself, but praise God when you behold such a good quality coming to life in one. This is not only a sign of growth in the personality, it is also a sign of increased accommodation for the spirit of holiness in this world.

7. The full concentration of the teacher is not upon anybody but God and His representative, who may in one sense be called Mohammed, but as he appears in the form of the World Messenger, or Kutub, he is so accepted. The true teacher will know this as the result of his own practices. By this concentration and attunement the Sheikh makes a link in the chain of spiritual transmission, which connects him ultimately with God.

8. The teacher may pour the divine love, and light upon the pupil by many methods, chief of which are the glance, the hands, the heart and the presence.

9. There are various means of helping mureeds, both in a positive and in a negative way. By positive way means that you favour the course of action of the mureed. By negative way,

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you do not feel that he is following the right path. If so, it is not always wise to advise him, but either to distract him or help him spiritually only, or to pray for him. The direct opposition of a Sheikh to a mureed may be harmful and is contrary to the principle of unification. God is the only being.

10. The glance may be used to encourage a person, together with the silent repetition of a suitable sacred phrase. The use of the glance for spiritual purposes is called Sulp by the Sufis, and the general practice Tawajjeh. Thought also may be used, and when the thought is for a particular purpose, and the head moved, the practice is called Dum. Dum is an excellent practice for the Sheikh to help his mureed on the path.

11. In employing the glance, one should not feel that the mureed is another person, but rather that a portion of oneself is in disorder. Very often the liver, the stomach, the heart, the nostrils may have a disorder and the rest of the body be in good health. So it is that the mureed is considered as belonging to the Self, and perhaps, momentarily, one aspect of that mureed is in poor spiritual health. Then one may repeat mentally the suitable sacred phrase; or in case of obsession, concentrate upon Allaho Akbar, or ask for Divine Guidance through the Spiritual Chain, or the One representing that Chain.

12. Sulp is of great importance in healing (see Health, etc). The Sheikh, generally, is not concerned with that aspect of esotericism. Still he learns both Sulp and Safi, which is to say, the employment of the hands as channels for vital energy or magnetism. The force of the Shifayat is operated from the heart outwardly, while that of the Sheikh is collected inwardly in the heart. So these two paths appear as if moving in different directions.

13. Silence may be employed without the use of the glance, and without thought, the Sheikh practicing meditation in accordance with the Discourses. When there is any opposition to a Sufi, he does not look directly at the momentary enemy as this consumes magnetism. By keeping the heart attunement and the mind in meditation (again following the Discourses), together with praise for God, one maintains one’s own state of purity.

14. In the company of mureeds silence is generally better than speech. In the company of

strangers, a question is better than an argument or positive statement. Remember that the defense is Jemal, the pupil is Jemali. The deft use of questions may touch a heart sooner than a statement which evokes a reply. Besides, this helps to hide one’s own thoughts, and helps to make another realize his own shortcomings.

15. The presence of everyone may be felt in the atmosphere. It requires some skill to cover one’s self. Esotericism enables the Sufi to influence subtly those who are under the strong sway of ego. The subject of atmospheres is discussed in Cosmic Language.

16. Silence often helps to purify any atmosphere. It has both mental and physical forms. Physical silence is restraint from speech and action without restraining against impressions. Mental silence consists in striving to keep the mind free from impressions or sanskaras.

17. Dauk is the name of the method by which the teacher works with the pupil by means of silence. While telepathy and suggestion may be included, attunement of heart is the most important way and is most used by Sufi Sheikhs.

18. Dauk has been a practice of saints and masters of all times, even under the cover of words. But the Dauk of silence is the highest and leads toward attunement with:

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a) the Sheikh b) the Rassoul, or Perfect Master c) the Chain of Murshids and Prophets d) the lesson [Message ?? Spirit of Guidance ??] e) God.

19. Telepathic suggestion has at least two forms. One method is for the teacher to speak to the pupil indirectly. He may ask a question which is really a statement; he may make a statement which is really a question; he may ask a question which actually another question; he may make a statement which suggests another statement. This method is open open and subtle [sic. open and subtle ?? both open and subtle ??]. It requires great alertness on the part of the pupil, and can become most valuable in awakening dormant faculties and virtues in the disciple.

20. The purpose of telepathic transference is not so much to help the pupil spiritually, as to cultivate obedience and response, attention and a sense of duty, and to follow the moral path. The Dauk of love awakens the heart and also helps to purify mind and character.

21. Silent telepathy is of two kinds, symbolic and direct. It is symbolic when the teacher assigns a symbol, a concentration or a practice, the continuance of which brings rightful and helpful suggestions to the mureed. The direct practice comes when the Sheikh holds the mureed in thought, concentrates and breathes out suggestions. For this prayer, invocation and Fikar must be done before sending out thought or feeling.

22. Dauk and telepathy are for no other purpose than attunement between teacher and pupil in order to align the disciple with the Chain of Murshids and the Hierarchy. For that reason, Prayer, Invocation and Fikar must be performed. Mostly Fikar may be repeated 101 times. But when there is a strong concentration and a ready response, a lesser number may be used according to the occasion. The details of this come under the instructions for Fikar.

23. When there is difficulty in attunement, Fikar is to be increased. If there is ease Fikar is to be lessened. It is generally advisable not to use less than 21 breaths, but sometimes even 5 may be used when there is need, the time is restricted and the atmosphere favorable. It is to be remembered that Fikar is a practice which stresses God as the only being and the self as not at all.

24. The Dauk of love may also result from Fikar. Fikar is needed most by those on the path of the teacher. In this the success of the teacher is in a sense, the success of God. It is for God one works, to become the channel of Divine Love and Life, and not to express oneself as such.

25. The spiritual practices of the Sheikh may not always be different from those on other paths, but they have the highest purpose (they are not directed toward particular ends as in healing, etc.) The heart of one can always help the heart of another. So also Kasab and Shagal complete the work of Fikar.

26. To hold the love of the mureed is the greatest duty and blessing of the Sheikh. This is done by focussing the heart of the mureed to oneself. It may be compared to the adjustment of two lenses, a greater one and a smaller one, so that a maximum of light can pass through both. While it is often easier to adjust the larger lens, this adjustment is not to be construed as a surrender, but as an attunement. The one who has controlled his ego

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a little can always adjust more than another person. And yet response on the part of the pupil is needed more than anything else.

27. The understanding of the mureed is not always increased by intellectual effort. Pain in life, patience on the part of the teacher, as well as Fikar and the performance of moral Dharma are most helpful along this line.

28. The heart of the mureed should be examined before taking him from one grade to the next. The Gathas are most helpful in this. Some mureeds make idols of the words without understanding the teachings. Some receive the teachings without comprehending the full import of the Message. Those whose hearts awaken are always able to pass from grade to grade.

29. The first element in class work is the meditation. It may be long or short. The general routine is to begin with a short meditation, and gradually increase it as the pupil, or the class is fitted therefor. Those who have difficulty with meditation should be given separate interviews until they can maintain an inner silence. The practice of Wazifa also prepares the mureed for mediation, but as all mureeds are not necessarily given Wazifa practices at the beginning of discipleship, prayers and short silences are sometimes given first.

30. The Gathas are the most excellent guides for the path and are very helpful. But the living relationship between Sheikh and disciple is superior over the written word. For love is always paramount over thought and heart is superior to mind in the quest for God.

31. The mureed who is not faithful to his Sheikh will not be faithful to the Murshid or Rassoul. Faith is reflected in one’s behaviour before the Teacher in whose presence one sits. Those who have faith in the Director who is afar and who lack trust in those who are near have not yet come to the threshold of love. For God is even nearer than the nearest, and most certainly not further than the furthest except in an illusory sense for those who are still blind and under the sway of ego.

32. When the Sheikh has given Bayat and esoteric instructions, he becomes responsible for the development of the candidate who has become a mureed. It becomes his opportunity. He regards the disciple as the incarnation of his own opportunity. For the path is not a journey of one, but of two, of the teacher and pupil travelling as if one personality. In the highest sense the journey is that of God through God to God. God is, man is not.

33. The Gatha classes are held regularly to bring people closer to the spirit of the Message and to afford opportunity in meditation. It also gives them the benefit of the spiritual atmosphere which becomes further purified by holy study. It also helps to attune the initiate to the Sheikh, and to awaken the divine love and life in all.

34. In answering questions, the intellectual reply is not always of much value. It is important to bring out the spirit of devotion in mureeds and to study and understand the value of all aspects of esotericism for this purpose.

35. True devotees are less likely to ask questions than intellectuals. And when they come to a realization of the spirit of the Message, they will more quickly assimilate the content of it. So the Sheikh regards carefully both the silence and speech of pupils and all their trends.

36. Safi for the Sheikh. While the Sheikh does not use his hands so much, there is a blessing which can be given through the hands. This is one of the principal reasons why the Sheikh does not specialize in healing. In offering Bayat and in further extending Bayat the Sufi

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teacher passes a real magnetic blessing (baraka) through his hands, and also through his words. There are practices for the development of this sacred magnetism.

37. No doubt an extreme attitude is taken by Hindu ascetics and monks of some faiths who will shake hands with no one. The touch of the hands in any form imparts magnetism and this is discussed in the Gathas. The union of hands of Bayat is a symbol of the unity of life of teacher and pupil, in God.

38. The Sheikh uses mostly spiritual magnetism, the Shifayat psychic and mental magnetism. The Sheikh strives to heal the heart and root out the source of disease by subduing the ego of the mureed; the Shifayat does not always go to the source of trouble in the heart, but may touch the mind and body, of those who are sympathetic with the Sufic methods, mureeds or not. The mureed gains more by going to the teacher than to the healer, for when his heart is purified, he can learn how to control his own mind. The purification of man’s inner being is the only Christ-healing.

39. By raising hands to bless a group spiritual life is imparted. This is used by many sufis on different paths but with a common purpose. When the hands are cleaned by outer ablutions and the heart by inner ablutions, the blessing is more effective. Blessing is a higher form of healing always.

40. The highest healing that the Sheikh can give comes in Bayat. Then he offers all he has to the disciple. Of course those persons who have inner experiences prior to the formal Bayat are the true mureeds. Then the ceremony is a confirmation. For others, the ceremony is a door to the path. But the blessing is most effective when given with purity of heart.

41. All forms of blessing by the Sheikh really come from the heart. It is this which constitutes the essence of Shuyukhuyat, and is more important than intellectual ability to explain lessons. Yet the Sheikh realises that careful study of the teachings is most important, and he strives to improve himself intellectually as an outer aspect of the presentation of the Message.

42. It is not necessary for the Sheikh to behave in public otherwise than as given in the instructions for the Sheikh (Sangithas). The spiritual attitude includes all attitudes. The atmosphere one breathes or carries with him is usually more effective than words. By maintaining the holiness of atmosphere the Sheikh carries the Message with him.

43. The authority for seating mureeds in a crescent appears in Salat where it says: “And speakest the word that is put into thy mouth as the light filleth the crescent moon.” The light of the crescent moon is the same light as in the sun, which appears in the moon when it is receptive.

44. In the mysteries, the participants used to sit in a crescent or semi-circle. This made it easier for the higher energy to be collected. In the Healing Service the devotees sit in a circle, which represent the expressive sun. In the esoteric class the Sheikh, rather than the devotees, is expressive, of which Salat says, “May the star of the divine light shining in thy heart be reflected in the hearts of thy devotees.” Therefore the star is the symbol of the Sheikh and the crescent of the talib. Both of these are included in the symbol of the Sufi Order.

45. The Sheikh understands that it is his Dharma for the star of divine light to shine in his own heart. This is accomplished by the sheikh’s attunement to those who stand higher in the Hierarchy, and so to God. He keeps in close rapport with his Murshid or Master. The

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practices also help to retain attunement, until he can feel the presence of God more and more consciously.

46. There is no reason to alter the crescent formation in the sitting of the disciples. If the altar has been placed on the East side of the room, in accordance with the Universal Worship or for any reason, and this does not permit a proper arrangement of chairs facing the altar, in the esoteric class, then they should be arranged at his direction, in crescent formations, and if there are too many disciples, then in rows of crescents one behind the other.

47. The same formation should be preserved in repeating prayers with movements. Sometimes all mureeds of various grades meet together as in the Elevation Service. Then they should stand in crescent arrangements, in two or more rows, one behind the other. When there are actually a very large number of mureeds, it may call for the appointment of another Sheikh.

48. The disciples should be reminded of the instructions for conduct in the esoteric classroom. Discussions are not proper and questions or remarks on the part of disciples should be limited unless the Teacher sees an important reason for it. If there is important business, either of an organizational or personal kind, it should be held on a separate day from the meeting for the sacred study.

49. If a mureed comes to the Sheikh with a pressing problem and asks for an interview, it is better that he does not attend class at that time. Meditation may be more important for him than study. The purpose of the sacred readings is to awaken and calm the heart, and this is more important than anything else. When a person is nervous, he is not to meet with other mureeds in mediation and study but should be seen separately.

50. In consultation with mureeds the ideal is to see from the point of view of the mureed. Then, having that view fixed in mind, to look as it from one’s own point. Then one should strive by all the means he possesses to attune himself by prayer, meditation, breath and heart-reliance to uncover the wisdom which the mureed needs at that time. All souls are the beloved ones of God, even those who appear to be associated with the cause of pain and stress. When one understands another, he can apply the correction; often this is not given in words, but by meditation or the assignment of a suitable practice which may clarify a situation. For God is All-wise.

51. Sometimes the answer to a problem is a spiritual practice and sometimes a practice will provoke a problem. Some spiritual exercises are like sedatives, some like purgatives, some like emetics. The Masters of Wisdom also use methods like each of these in order to subdue the ego and awaken the heart.

52. Do not encourage questions among those who are in the questioning state of mind. They need meditation more. Three questions at a gathering should be the limit for any person, and if there is a tendency to ask too many questions, one may even limit a meeting to the answering of just three questions. One need not correct a person directly, but meditation, long answers which anticipate other questions,and an intuitive understanding of the questioner and the audience are most valuable.

53. Some mureeds may ask no questions because of lack of interest. This is revealed in their eyes. There are lessons in the various grades of sacred studies which help explain the condition of the eyes and how to understand them and to behave accordingly.

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54. A Sheikh benefits most by his understanding of the Gathas, the literature and special studies and by knowledge of meditation. He can also benefit from a receptive study of commentaries and a knowledge of Sufi and sacred literature; this is not so much from the intellectual point of view as from the universal attunement to all aspects of the Message of God.

55. How to Magnetise a Room for Meditation and Study. There are several methods and all may be used. The simplest although slowest is the continual use of a room for study and meditation. In such a place discussions have a tendency to weaken the calmness of the place, diminishing psychic and healing powers. Wherever possible the mediation and sacred study room should be separate from other activities; or else re-purified after dissertation of too intellectual a nature. Every word of a discursive nature has a tendency to keep the consciousness in maya.

56. Repetition of prayers with movements are most helpful. Aid may come to mureeds in a direct or indirect form. The direct benefit comes in the actual words and movements, and this is explained in the Githas on Ryazat. The indirect benefit comes through feeling the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere. The Githas on Amaliat also explain the benefit of atmosphere to personality and personality to atmosphere.

57. The Sheikh can also magnetize a room by repeating his practices there alone. When comes come [sic. – when mureeds come ??] to the house of a teacher for lessons, it is well that the teacher sometimes perform practices and meditations in that room. If the study class is held in the Sheikh’s home, the benefit is in proportion to the use of the chamber for sacred purposes, and in its non-use for inharmonious purposes.

[Could this item be corrupted by mistakes in transcription, combining lines or missing parts of them? Grammatically it seems to set up two situations but then both sentences describe classes held in the home of the teacher/Sheikh ... unless he’s making distinction between a sacred study teacher and a Sheikh.]

58. The purification service of the Universal Worship also is valuable for the room and the house used for study and meditation. It is not necessary to repeat this service often if the atmosphere is kept pure.

59. Every form of Bayat and blessing help a room. Mureeds meditating alone or together in such a place also help sanctify such an atmosphere. And there is also a Sufi service of elevation which can be used for such purposes.

60. Tassawuf, which is to say, Sufism, can be freely translated as “heart philosophy”. The science of the appeal of heart to heart has been described in the sacred lessons which were later published in the book called Metaphysics. The influence of heart upon heart, as well as upon mind and body may be far-reaching and a sincere student benefits most from it.

61. Practice of Fikar is most valuable before all consultations and also before speaking. As is explained in the lessons on Fikar, it helps to clear the mind from impressions or sanskaras and makes the teacher the bridge between the disciple and God, which is the most important element in what has been called spiritual instruction.

62. When one meets with a mureed in consultation, the relationship is different than when having the mureed in one’s presence in class (usually along with others). Every consultation gives the Sheikh a great opportunity to be most helpful to the disciple, and serving God by the performance of his duty. By consideration to his every word, slowness

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of speech, and observation of the effects of his words, together with a kindly expression, one performs his Dharma.

63. What help does the Sheikh really give? It is not so much of a moral or intellectual nature, although some persons who read and explain the sacred studies have great abilities in these lines. But the true relationship between teacher and pupil comes in their heart attunement. This helps to deepen the heart of both. Sometimes it is difficult to explain the moral aspect of the life of a Sufi—and this is discussed in the various lessons on Moral Culture—but it is the love-stream from the heart which always does the work of the path.

64. It is not important that the Sheikh differ from or correct a mureed for what may be called mistakes in public. Those disciples who have not yet learned how to behave, or who have erred with or without reason, can best be reached at some other time. It is the heart-attunement which must precede any correction or advice. The Sufi, recognizing that God alone exists and that all souls in the separative sense are beloved ones of God, and in the unitive sense, are God, bases his behaviour and his relations with mureeds on these premises. It is this line of action alone which is in accord with the Message.

65. Voice of Inayat: “The object of initiation should be no other than to create divine love in the heart and to attain human perfection by realising the highest truth and wisdom practically and theoretically, thereby securing physical, mental, moral and spiritual development.”

66. Voice of Inayat: “There can be no particular law for a perfect Sufi as he has the law in himself, but at the same time for attaining perfection, the mureeds ought to obey certain laws which will make their journey easier and more comfortable as they advance towards the highest aim of their life. These laws are divided into three classes, viz.: Faraz (compulsory), Sunnat (desirable for the most devout), and Nafil (optional).”

67. Voice of Inayat: “The first Faraz is the ceremony of Bayat (initiation) as well as all the ceremonies taking place in the Order, the spiritual Nashishta (asanas or postures), the lessons, practices, and Kalamat (mantrams), the realisations and effects you feel through your practices of Sufism. All these should not be revealed to anybody, a member or non-member of the Order, except to your Murshid. This law should be mostly strictly obeyed.” [sic. - most strictly ??]

68. The word ‘Murshid’ here means the Superior or Director who is in charge over mureeds. The Pir-o-Murshid and Murshids may delegate, either by a ruling of Jamiat, or in the certificate of Khalifship to those who are entitled and instructed to give Bayat, such privileges as may be best for the advancement of the mureeds and the work in general. But as a rule all inner experiences of value are to be communicated to the Murshid.

69. Voice of Inayat: “2nd Faraz: None should be allowed in the room while exercising the Sufi practices.” This means that the disciple should not be interrupted while he is at his devotions. When a class is in sacred study or meditation, it should not be interrupted. Prayers are said without movement in the presence of strangers and with movement when mureeds gather. The Zikar groups are confined to mureeds unless a Murshid requests otherwise.

70. Voice of Inayat: “3rd Faraz: Do not use your spiritual power for good or bad purposes unless taught and permitted by your Murshid, because a patient should not prescribe for a patient. It is also undesirable to speak of your power before others.” Mureeds are not called to help other mureeds or other people of their own self-will. The Sheikh has rights

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and duties which belong to him and the mureeds should consult him before ‘helping’ others which in the end may not be helpful. Even a healing service does not help those who are not sympathetic toward Sufism. Besides it is Divine Grace, not human effort, which accomplishes good.

71. Voice of Inayat: “4th Faraz: Do not impart Sufic practices to others, because it is injurious to your progress and dangerous to others.” The mureed is the pupil not the teacher. He helps others most by his own obedience and effacement.

72. All practices of the mureed are directed toward the goal of self-realisation. In this there is the degree of fana-fi-Sheikh which is self effacement before the living Master. The Sheikh himself acts as representative of the Master or Chain of Murshids and sets the pace for the mureeds.

73. Voice of Inayat: “5th Faraz: Do not have any connection with other religious or philosophic secret orders which take your valuable time and mar your progress in this line, without permission of your Murshid.” This is to be explained to the candidate for Bayat, along with other lessons given to them at the time.

74. Voice of Inayat: “6th Faraz: Have regard for all the great Prophets and leaders, and sympathise with all the great religions of the world, considering them all emanating from the same infinite source.”

75. Voice of Inayat: “7th Faraz: Never search for another Murshid (spiritual guide) when you have already placed yourself under the guidance of one. Be faithful to him and you will surely achieve the highest aim.” Unless man has faith in man, his faith in God my fall short. Therefore explain the spiritual principles to the applicant in the kindliest fashion. In this way the principles of Sufism are preserved.

76. Voice of Inayat: “8th Faraz: It is absolutely necessary that while Sufic instructions or conversations are going on, or in the presence of the Murshid, even though he may be silent, all the members should refrain from humorous or witty remarks and be serious, to make their hearts capable of understanding those ideas and of receiving the blessings of the Murshid.”

77. Voice of Inayat: “9th Faraz: All the vices should be stopped and strong temperance is most desirable.” This may be explained in part or entirely; what is self-evident needs no explaining. What is important for development is often explained in the sacred studies.

78. Voice of Inayat: “10th Faraz: All must have a great patriotic feeling for the Order and must help the Order as much as possible with wealth and knowledge, heart and soul. None should ever fail to do all possible service to make the Order stronger and beneficial to the world at large.”

79. Voice of Inayat: “11th Faraz: If Sufism does not suit you, resign the Order and get a written pass. Even after resigning you can have a secrecy and friendship with the Order forever.” [sic - should this be some other word than secrecy ??] For it is to be remembered that there are many causes for resignation, but the spirit of love, harmony and beauty should be preserved, and every aspect of friendship upheld.

80. Voice of Inayat: “1st Sunnat: Try your best in every way to make the Order stronger by introducing worthy members and prove Sufism superior to everything in this line by perfecting yourself in wisdom and humanity.”

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81. Voice of Inayat: “2nd Sunnat: The members of the Order should not quarrel among themselves and if it so happens accidentally, one of them should first be generous enough to advance and say: ‘Salloo Allah Nabi’ [sic. - what is the actual Arabic/Urdu ?], and both shake hands and remove the ill feeling. In case none of them steps forward to do this, any other member of the Order should get up and say this, in order to bring peace, after which it is most desirable for both parties to honour the Sufic command of peace, shaking hands and forgetting all the ill-feeling at once.”

82. This instruction may be imparted by the Sheikh at his own discretion. Later the common concentration on the Sufi symbol, or meditation on the phrase “Toward the One” were [sic.- is, could, may be ?] used to effect peace and harmony.

83. Voice of Inayat: “3rd Sunnat: It is most advisable to avoid speaking against any of the religious and philosophic societies and their leaders.”

84. Voice of Inayat: “4th Sunnat: Try to choose your mate from the members of the Order if possible; they will suit you better than any one else.” Because they have had the same ideal, and this makes it easier to attune hearts.

85. Voice of Inayat: “5th Sunnat: Make your intended mate interested and initiated in Sufism before your marriage; that will add much happiness to you life.” The forth and fifth Sunnat here cover the same subject, which is developed, from another view, in Rasha Shashtra.

86. The Nafil, or optional rules, were later altered, and the institutions of Purdah (seclusion), sacred gatherings for various purposes, and general gatherings of mureeds, came under different departments of the Movement. But the same purpose was always in view.

87. Voice of Inayat: “1st Nafil: The members should keep the flag of the Order in their drawing rooms and also should have a charm, button, or pin having the motto of the Order.” The Sufi symbol of heart, wings, star, and crescent has superseded the flag, which, however, may still be used.

88. Voice of Inayat: “2nd Nafil: Each member should wear something of a deep green colour, either a tie, scarf, or any other thing in the dress, all the time or while attending the Sufic meetings, as an emblem of the Order.” The Persian green which is a variant of deep sea-green, has been regarded as a sacred colour. The apricot hue has been used in robes, altar-cloths, and for other purposes.

89. Voice of Inayat: “3rd Nafil: Make your husband, wife, brother, sister, friend, relatives, parents and children, interested in Sufism if possible. That will create a most agreeable atmosphere around you.”

90. Voice of Inayat: “4th Nafil: The members of the Order should have for each other the same affection and love they have for their nearest and dearest relatives. Help each other a much as possible in every way during difficulties.” Upon this stands the Sufi Brotherhood, and the human brotherhood in the Fatherhood of God.

91. Voice of Inayat: “5th Nafil: Mushafa: shake both hands with the members of the Order, while saying, ‘Assalam alaikum’, and the answer to this should be given, “Walaikum assalam’. This is used as the greeting for morning, evening, and all the times. This is the sign of recognising the Sufis while meeting each other.” And it will also become a recognition in the greetings of the Sufis of East and West. The first of these phrases means: ‘Peace to you”, and the second, “And to you peace”.

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92. Voice of Inayat: “6th Nafil: Consider the Murshid, the Spiritual Father, and approach him with all humility, devotion and faith, and receive his blessing and wisdom with a free and pure heart.” This is most important in Sufis [sic. – Sufism ?], which transfers the love and light (Ishk) from the teacher to the pupil.

93. Voice of Inayat: “7th Nafil: Do not explain or symbolise the devotion and respect you have for your Murshid, as no formalities or ceremonies or descriptions can well express the inner form of appreciation for your Murshid.” Except that in the class room, the mureeds arise upon the entrance of the teacher. This is in accordance with psychic law, as well as a demonstration of respect.

94. Voice of Inayat: “8th Nafil: Do not hate the members of any caste or creed, religion or philosophy, of the world.” And in time this will develop into universal love. This stage constitutes the Sufi.

95. Voice of Inayat: “There are eleven degrees in the course for the special members.” These have received the following names:

1. Momin faithful 2. Muslim social 3. Salik righteous 4. Abid humble 5. Zahid pious 6. Arrif wise 7. Ashik lover 8. Vajid ecstatic 9. Fana-fi-Sheikh merged in Murshid 10. Fana-fi-Rassoul merged in Prophet 11. Fana-fi-Lillah merged in God

(The 12th degree is baka or baka-i-fana, existence in merging)

96. Voice of Inayat: “1st degree (Momin): Could be given to a person who proves himself progressive in Kalama, Nimaz, and Wazifa, and has improved in character and temper, as to be called a faithful Sufi.”

97. Voice of Inayat: “2nd degree (Muslim): He who has winning manners, who has great sympathy for Sufis, who is a patriot for the Order and advances cause of Sufism, and takes a great interest in it, he is worthy for this.”

98. Voice of Inayat: “3rd degree (Salik): He who proves through his actions righteousness and agrees with Sufic conceptions and has intense desire to progress, and has gone through the intellectual side of Sufism.”

99. Voice of Inayat: “4th degree (Abid): A person who knows more and shows less, has regard for God and Prophets, knows the intellectual as well as the physical and moral directions of Sufism, fully appreciating them, he is worthy.”

100. Voice of Inayat: “5th degree (Zahid): A person who has established his character through his piety and has gone through moral, physical and intellectual directions of Sufism, and no spot noticeable in him in all directions.”

101. Voice of Inayat: “6th degree (Arrif): Person who has accomplished himself in Zikar and the results are achieved, and has become thoroughly interested in seeing the Divine Beauty

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all over the whole creation and has perfected himself in all directions of Sufic advancement.”

102. Voice of Inayat: “Foods for a Sufi: Roots, nuts, fruits and flowers are more desirable than cereals.” Because these contain the life-principles and because they give a wholesome quality to the blood, although, of the cereals, rice has been especially mentioned by Buddha, the other grain-starches cause difficulties in the digestive tract until [sic. – unless ?] one is very active physically.

103. Voice of Inayat: “Roots give strength. Nuts nourish brain. Fruit nourishes internal organs. Flowers produce fineness of skin.” The root contains the strength and life of the plant, and stores up energy; the root is where the energy of spirit has entered into matter.

104. Nuts have oils and salts which are valuable for the brain and nerves. The value of fruits is well known all over the world. Flowers contain stored magnetic energy and aromatic oils which have definitive [sic. – definite ?] purposes.

105. Voice of Inayat: “Hot and peppery and spicy foods induce appetite. Salt, earthly substance produced from water helps the faculty of the imagination, but is not good for the study of Mysticism for it hinders the flow of breath, making its swing heavier.” Therefore curries have been used by some spiritual people in their stead. [sic. - in which or whose stead? This entire entry may be corrupted, with a phrase or line missing between ‘Salt,’ and ‘earthly substance’. As is the theme is ambiguous - inducing appetite, or not, as curries are hot, peppery and spicy ?]

106. Voice of Inayat: “Sour—that which is sour to the taste has a purifying property producing lightness in body; a normal use is desirable.” The citrus fruits in particular carry these properties. In the Hebrew religion the Citron is about [sic. - ? ] the sacred elements at Succoth, the Harvest Festival. These fruits and berries are excellent in keeping the body clean and pure.

107. Voice of Inayat: “Coffee—normal use allowable.” Coffee has been drunk in Islamic countries largely because of the prohibition of the use of wine in that religion. Alcohol can be detrimental to those on the spiritual path. Coffee, being a stimulant, was once used by devotees in order to keep awake to perform certain continuous practices. This is an abnormal use.

108. Voice of Inayat: “Cold water is the best drink of all. It is a tonic.” There are prescription for the use of water given in the Gathas on Takua Taharat (Everyday Life). One should read the Gathas carefully and take seriously the suggestions thereof. These suggestions are hints to the wise. In many religions the importance of water is stressed.

109. Voice of Inayat: “Milk and butter contain the essence of animal food. They develop mental and physical faculties, help the student in his thought and build a gentle manner.” These foods are very valuable during many stages of spiritual development. In Khilvat and at other times when flesh foods are not used they are particularly important. Flesh foods contain the vital magnetism of prakriti and are subject to decay. In milk there is a vital magnetism drawn from the animal which is carried over into the body of the feeder. That is why it is such a valuable food for infants.

110. Voice of Inayat: “Uncooked food is more easily digested. Green vegetables are beneficial to training.” The general principles on food and drink are offered in the Gathas on Everyday Life. But mureeds are not then ready to receive the occult aspect of the use of foods. They must be led gently. One does not change diets suddenly when they have been impressed

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upon the mind. The mind has to be changed before the body receives the other foods, or a new diet willingly. There is one scientific aspect to this, that some of the so-called vitamins are lost in cooking.

111. Voice of Inayat: “Fish are purifying owing to living in water. The small species are more beneficial than the larger. Fish nourishes the brain and develops the intuitional faculty.” Therefore in the Orient fish are eaten in many places and especially among people who refrain from meat-eating. The principles of fish are not the same as meat. The fish contain more water absorbed in a vital form and their blood is different. There are certain biochemical differences. also.

112. Voice of Inayat: “Eggs are more beneficial than any other animal food.” The egg is the repository for all vital forces. It has two portions, the white representing purusha and the yolk representing prakriti. Just as the young of animals are more tender and succulent, so eggs, in this sense are still more tender than the young. The egg has the vital essence which has not yet gone through the stages connected with formation and function of blood.

113. Voice of Inayat: “The diet contains three classes: Sattvic, Rajasic, and Tamasic foods. The Sattvic are milk, cream, butter, rice, vegetables, potatoes, nuts and fruits. The Rajasic are eggs, onions, garlic, tea and coffee, besides some vegetables such as celery and water-cress. Fish is an intermediate diet between Rajas and Tamas, while belonging to Tamas are wine, beer, and meat.

114. These principles are explained in the Hindu philosophies and in the Bhagavat Gita. A detailed study is not needed, except to remember that Sattva represents life and essence, Rajas passion, and Tamas destruction and decay. Each has its purpose. In the final fulfillment of the spiritual life, even Tamasic qualities can be assimilated.

115. Voice of Inayat: “Constipation is cured through blood cleansing. Soak overnight in 2 tablespoons of cold water a cup of the following: Sunmaid seedless raisins, Sultanas, or Muscats; and the juice of one lemon in two tablespoons of cold water. Cleanse the fruit first. This is good in piles, fistula, varicose veins. Lemon dissolves uric acid and other poisons, stimulates the liver, and is invaluable.” The Sheikh may communicate this knowledge to mureeds as needed.

116. Voice of Inayat: “The volume and length of breath make it intensive and extensive. Thus breath can be developed in two forms.” This subject is discussed in the Gathas on Breath and in the Githas on Mysticism and Esotericism.

117. Voice of Inayat: “The nature of the mind is to slip from one’s grip. Concentration is the practice which strengthens the mind and enables the fingers to hold fast to that which they should hold.” Therefore it is often wise to give the disciple some simple exercise in concentration from the very beginning that he may develop and progress step by step, stage by stage on this path.

118. Voice of Inayat: “Another secret is that even with the power of concentration the mind does not hold anything in which it is not interested. It is sympathy in the mind which acts as a stimulus to the holding power of the mind.” This is also expanded in the sacred studies.

119. Voice of Inayat: “The healer from the beginning to end must hold the thought of ‘cure’ and nothing else.” Sheikh [sic. - The Sheikh ?] does not heal but sometimes he must assist in the training of those on that path (Shifayat). But this gives him the idea as to the right attitude toward the mureed. If he emphasizes the reality of the mureed, he is no true

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Sheikh. If his sees the mureed as the Beloved of God, he functions as a Sheikh. If he sees the mureed as God in action though covered by veils and Maya, he is a Sufi.

120. When a person comes and gives the feeling that what he really wants is better health and he wants to become a mureed, how can he be helped best? Voice of Inayat: “The first thing is this. No doubt the work of the Sheikh is an esoteric work, it is not the healing line. Therefore Sheikh [sic.] is not responsible to heal anyone. That must be made clear first. But at the same time, those who work in the spiritual path must do the work just the same. And there is a most beautiful way of doing the work, and that is to do it without telling them.”

121. But if they want to become mureeds? Voice of Inayat: “Yes, but at the same time, the moment you give an initiation, that is a healing too. Then the spiritual practices given to them, Saum and Salat, they read every day, twenty breaths of purification, and any words to elevate their soul, it all helps, it is all healing. It is a greater healing too, because the other healing is only a local healing, but this is a general healing.

122. Voice of Inayat: “No doubt, the healing line is a different line, and I think that is just as well that those who are given to the esoteric line must keep their concentration on that line. Because if you give more time to the healing, then your work is delayed. There is much to think about teaching work, is it not? Much to be thought about. And if one gives one’s thoughts to healing work, then that much time is taken away. And if I had thought that healing was your work, then I would have sent you in the healing work.”

123. Voice of Inayat: “Three things are necessary in sending thoughts to a distance:

1st - Faith in the theory. 2nd - Self-confidence, confidence in one’s own power. 3rd - Power of concentration.

However great the power of concentration without self-confidence it is no use. Self-confidence without faith in the theory is powerless, and self-confidence without faith is powerless.

124. The practice of sending thoughts to a distance brings its own power through effort. Murakkaba is a method used by all schools of Sufis which enables the heart to overcome time and space. It is the practical application of the science of Sufis and makes it most valuable. [sic.]

125. Voice of Inayat: “Purification can be achieved in five different ways:

1. Consideration in passion 2. Tranquility in anger 3. Detachment in love 4. Independence in temptation 5. Forbearance in jealousy”

That is to say, the passionate person should learn and practice consideration. One prone to anger should be still inwardly and outwardly. The danger in love is that attachment of any kind to one personality before another leads to injustice. In temptation one must feel one cannot gain so he chooses a free path; this also strengthens the feeling that God is and self is not. When one is jealous he should cease from speech, thought, and action, and seek to regard himself as a shadow or nothing before reality.

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126. In perceiving a person who is readily roused, who may be fiery in his zeal, who feels inspiration and enthusiasm, one does not necessarily take the contrary course. One has to be careful in using brakes on a motor car rushing downhill. In guiding this kind of person it is important to lessen his rhythms. If this can be done gradually that is well. Often a teacher verbally assents to a statement of a pupil because the pupil can best be helped by harmony, even when he may be wrong. The wise do not oppose others intellectually, but seek through esotericism to guide them on the right path.

127. Tranquility is necessary in anger, for there is fire. Fires may be extinguished by water, or by smothering. The same is true in mysticism. The water element may extinguish the fire; it is smothered by earth and ether. An angry person may understand anger but not humour. By one’s knowledge of the elements and self-control, he can meet the angry person, or any person, and gradually lead him to the right path.

128. Detachment in love is very important. The Sufi may see the love of the world and love of God as two, or as one. Mohammed loved his children dearly and he lost all his sons and most of his daughters. But Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, and his son was spared. The full love of the Sufi is given to God. When God is understood, no human being is excluded from one’s love.

129. The idea of independence in temptation is seen in the Christian prayer: “Lead us not into temptation.” God does not lead us toward temptation, but frees us. It is the ego which is the tempter—although sometimes personified as the devil, but it is the ego. When one feels he cannot gain through temptation, he will adhere to the right path. All elements of the spiritual life help to keep the traveler on this right path.

130. Forbearance is always needed, but never more than when there are indications of envy or jealousy. One can learn to judge this for oneself. Those who react, those who continue to create and gather sanskaras, create psychic poisons, and add to karmic retribution. [sic. – the rest of this sentence may be missing] Yet one meets this even among spiritual students. It is necessary for them to pursue a path of devotion and to learn self-control. To love God is excellent, but those who understand love are not envious or jealous. The teacher himself must become a model of forbearance, and show the disciple in every way how to control his speech, thought, and action; and most of all, to learn to restrain impulses, as is taught in the sacred lessons.

131. Forbearance also helps one to see that all ego-action is quite apart from one’s acceptance of God, or the existence of God and the activity of Divine Will. The first step is to receive God as the light and life of every soul. This is easy to understand, harder to practice. If one has faith in the light within himself and also in the light within others, this path becomes easier. For the Sufi affirms that the Divine Light is the essence of every soul.

132. Voice of Inayat: “This purification can be attained by seeing the immanence of God in nature.” This same idea appears in Salat, where it says: “Thy Light is in all forms, Thy Love in all beings.” Also in An Eastern Rose Garden Sufism is presented as the religion of nature. It is only by concentration, intuition, and mystical development, that one comes to this understanding and knowledge. No doubt it is easier and proper to find the divinity within humanity. But there comes a stage also when one begins to realise the Divine Light in all forms. There have been some scientists and more mystics who actually perceive the spiritual circulation through the veins of nature, sometimes even before discovering the light of God within man.

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133. Voice of Inayat: “Hearkening to His word constantly.” This idea is also given in Khatum, where it says: “Open our hearts that we may hear Thy Voice which constantly cometh from within.” The Sufi sees the Book of Nature as the only true sacred manuscript. All holy scriptures in a certain sense have been derived from it, and Quran most of all. Reverence for the sacred writings is completed, not supplemented, by this deeper understanding. The Christian scripture says: “In the beginning was the Word,” and the Hindu scriptures teach that all came from sound, sound was the origin of all. By means of sacred practices, including silence and seclusion, the devotee begins to respond to the truth of this, finding the all-pervading and permeating sound, and seeking it constantly.

134. There are many methods by which the Divine Word can be consulted. It may be in the form of sacred divination. Verses of Sadi [sic. – Saadi, Sa’adi], Hafiz, and Rumi, as well as sections of Holy Scriptures have been used for this purpose. Today one may utilize the lines of Gayan, Vadan, and The Book [sic. - Bowl] of Saki, and consult them to obtain answers to any perplexing question, or as to the course of life to follow. Of course these are not substitutes for intuition. But where there is division, doubt, dissension, this is a safe course.

135. Voice of Inayat: “Breathing His breath continually.” This is the common practice of devotees. It is explained in Confessions of Inayat Khan and in many places in his works and in all Sufic documents. There are many sacred phrases which may be swung on the breath according to the teachings of Esotericism, and also according to the degree of development of the spiritual traveler. As one does this more and more continually and continuously, he comes nearer to the goal which every soul is seeking. As has been taught: “Say Allah, and Allah thou shalt become.”

136. Voice of Inayat: “Being sustained by Divine food.” This is the result of fana, self-sacrifice. Christ especially stressed the idea of food and drink whence one would no longer hunger, no longer thirst. The Sheikh stands between the mureed who has to sacrifice himself, so to speak, and his own Dharma of self-effacement in the Hierarchy and in God. As he awakens and realises the Divine Energies which are everywhere, he becomes freed from his dependence on matter and the illusions of maya.

137. Voice of Inayat: “Having constant remembrance or contact with God.” Zikar literally means resemblance [sic s/b remembrance] but one cannot perform Zikar in the midst of every day life. Therefore practices of Darood, Wazifa, and Fikar are used instead. Besides this, especially for those more advanced in that ‘hearing’ which is a form of direct or indirect contact with God Himself. [sic. – this seems to be an incomplete sentence.]

138. Voice of Inayat: “Purification of soul depends upon Divine knowledge for no matter how pious a person may be he cannot advance until his soul is purified of the ego, which deprives him of the realization of God.” All Sufis, all devotees of every school seek this goal, but mostly it remains an unconscious seeking for a long, long while. It is true that the Perfect masters can and do release those who they feel are ready. Others should nevertheless strive, constantly battling against the ego—the most difficult of all tasks.

139. Voice of Inayat: “Purification of soul can be attained by absolute resignation to the Divine Will, by perfect trust and confidence in God, and no other object in life save union with God.” This is the terminus of Sufism, this is Sufism. All else is vanity. One has to become rid of every kind of ego-accumulation. This is first impressed upon the mureed in the Gatha class as the process of safa, purification, but it continues on and on until the goal, union with God, is reached.

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Purification Breaths, also known as the 20 Breaths

This practice is usually done standing, and can be done outdoors in the fresh air, if possible. One develops power by doing it in the same place daily. The four different breaths are purification through and by the four elements - earth, water, fire and air, in the same order. Breath Rhythm: INHALE 4 counts ~ HOLD 4 counts ~ EXHALE 4 counts Repeat Mentally: Ya Shafee AllahAllah Ya Kafee 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Five Breaths Each: Earth: Inhale through nose / hold 4 counts / exhale through nose Water: Inhale through nose / hold 4 counts / exhale through mouth Fire: Inhale through mouth / hold 4 counts / exhale through nose Air: Inhale through mouth / hold 4 counts / exhale through mouth Then take a moment of silence to feel the ether element and say the prayer Nayaz: Beloved Lord, Almighty God, Through the rays of the sun, Through the waves of the air, Through Thy All Pervading Life in space, purify and revivify me, and I pray, heal my body, heart and Soul.

Kasab

Breath Rhythm: INHALE 4 counts ~ HOLD 8 counts ~ EXHALE 4 counts Repeat Mentally: Ya Shafee AllahAllahAllahAllah Ya Kafee 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 Five Breaths Each: Inhale through left nostril / hold 8 counts / exhale through right nostril Inhale through right nostril / hold 8 counts / exhale through left nostril Inhale through both nostrils / hold 8 counts / exhale through both nostrils

Shagal

Lightly cover the eyes with your 1st fingers (pointer fingers), nose with your middle fingers, mouth with your ring and pinky fingers, and ears with your thumbs. Keep elbows somewhat up. Breathe in through right nostril, hold (for a comfortable length) and out through right nostril (no hold on exhale). Begin with 3 repetitions and over time build to 5 repetitions. After completing breaths remove hands slowly and sit.

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Sufi Ruhaniat International Ethics Agreement

1995 Jamiat Khas; updated November 25, 2008

TOWARD THE ONE, THE PERFECTION OF LOVE, HARMONY, AND BEAUTY, THE ONLY BEING, UNITED WITH ALL THE ILLUMINATED SOULS

WHO FORM THE EMBODIMENT OF THE MASTER, THE SPIRIT OF GUIDANCE Background We are challenged morally and spiritually to make a clear ethical agreement with one another. Rather than a list of rules, this is a simple statement of (1) our mutual respect and responsibility in spiritual community and in the initiatic relationship; (2) the processes for resolving ethical dilemmas where they arise; and (3) ongoing notice of ethical responsibility for new and continuing Sufi Ruhaniat International members. Definitions 1. Teacher and Functionary

Anyone authorized by the Sufi Ruhaniat International to present classes, seminars, workshops, or in any other way represent the organization

2. Initiator: A teacher authorized to initiate and guide individual students in the Ruhaniat esoteric

school. Only the Spiritual Director of the Sufi Ruhaniat International can confirm esoteric school initiators

3. Mureed A student in the Ruhaniat esoteric school 4. Student Any participant in Sufi Ruhaniat International activities 5. Dual Relationship Where the initiatic link is combined with other forms of relationship (business/financial,

counseling, personal/romantic, etc.) Our Ethics Goal To cherish all, regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or marital status. Environmental safety, freedom from peer harassment, and specifically the safety of children are priorities. Organizational representatives are responsible for complying with local laws regarding the prevention and reporting of suspected abuse or neglect. Organizational representatives are responsible for complying with local laws regarding the prevention and reporting of suspected abuse or neglect. Agreement 1. Teachers agree to hold in their heart the fulfillment of their student’s Path in life ...

“Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty ...” 2. Both teacher and student agree to keep their relationship clear of sexual, emotional, or

financial exploitation and/or abuse. 3. Initiators agree not to engage in sexual activity with their mureeds; if an initiator and their

mureed choose to develop a sexual relationship, they agree to first dissolve their initiatic link and to wait until the student has formed an initiatic link with another teacher.

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4. Dual relationship exists in community and carries potential for misunderstanding. Where dual relationship occurs, both teachers and students agree to use caution and discernment; seeking guidance with a third party is encouraged. Dual relationship cannot be a precondition to initiation or to continuing an initiatic relationship.

5. Initiators are expected to honor the initiatic covenant by holding confidential and sacred the private communications between themselves and their mureeds, except where to do so could result in harm to the mureed or to another. (The Confidentiality statement was added to the Ethics Agreement on July 5th, 2000.)

6. The student accepts responsibility for bringing ethical concerns or ambiguities to the teacher, teacher’s guide, Ruhaniat Mureeds’ Advocate, Ethics Committee or Spiritual Director of the Sufi Ruhaniat International.

Resolution Process 1. Students, teachers, and the community share responsibility for keeping the initiatic

relationship free of abuse or exploitation. 2. Wherever possible, issues will be resolved by those involved, with or without a mutually

agreed upon mediator from within or outside of the Sufi community. Immediate local resolution is encouraged. It is recommended that local communities develop their own resolution/mediation processes.

3. Where resolution is not forthcoming, parties may request mediation assistance from the initiator’s supervising guide or Mureeds’ Advocate. Either party may request the assistance of the Ethics Committee.

4. An Ethics Committee, composed of three initiators, at least one of whom shall be a trustee, will be elected by the Jamiat Khas. This committee shall (A) hear and make recommendations on all ethical issues referred to it, and (B) coordinate subsequent revisions of this document with the Jamiat Khas. Terms shall be for three years, commencing at election.

5. Decisions on ethical matters ultimately reside with the Sufi Ruhaniat International Spiritual Director.

6. Copies of this agreement, along with names and addresses of the current Mureeds’ Advocate and members of the Ethics Committee, shall be published in the Ruhaniat Companion available to all mureeds.

Ethics Committee Abraham Sussman 6 Upton St, Cambridge, MA 02139 • 617-876-5272 • abraham.sussman@gmail.com

Magdalena Zubin Goldman 63 Norwich St, San Francisco, CA 94110 • 860-912-0567 • zubinmary@gmail.com

Saladin Frank Pelfrey PO Box 9796, Moscow, ID 83843 • 208-882-1355 • walkinginnature@gmail.com Mureed’s Advocate Madhura Cuadra 22 Miramar Ave, San Francisco, CA 94112 • 415-239-8663 • cuadra@pacbell.net

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This draft agreement reflects ongoing learning both from mistakes and spiritual ideals. It was initially ratified in 1995 following three years of Jamiat Khas meetings and an online group process and dialogue, chaired by Murshida Khadija Goforth. Inspirations from Hazrat Khwaja Moineddin Chishti follow, inviting further consideration.

Some Ethical Considerations of Hazrat Khwaja Moineddin Chishti • The heart was essentially created for making rounds of the love of God.

• There are no rituals or ceremonies to be performed in Sufism, nor are there academic dissertations which may easily be acquired by reading, but according to those who are lovers of God and the sheikhs of tariqat, Sufism means scrupulously maintained moral behavior which one must observe toward all of God’s creatures.

• It is a hardened sinner who commits sin yet simultaneously believes oneself to be one of God’s “chosen few.”

• For a follower of the path of Truth, it is worse than a sin to disdain or look down on anyone.

• A sin committed does not harm an individual so much as the looking down with contempt on one’s fellow human beings.

• The best way of evading the fire of hell lies in feeding the hungry, providing water to the thirsty, removing the wants of the needy, and befriending the miserable.

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Excerpt from Essence of the Heart Sutra by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Essence and Form The fully enlightened Buddha, who had totally overcome all limitations and negativity and who had actualized all levels of realization, was himself a manifestation of the perfection of wisdom. That perfection of wisdom, the true Dharma, is embodied in the realization of the cessation of suffering and the path that leads to that cessation.

Since we venerate and admire the fruit of the Dharma - the resultant state of full enlightenment - we should also venerate and admire all the causes and conditions that give rise to that state. Such circumstances can be profound and transcendental, such as the three perfect conditions mentioned above, or simple and mundane, such as the fact that when the Buddha taught the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, he arranged the seat upon which he sat to give the teachings. Similarly, in the scriptures we find that often when the Buddha was going to give a teaching, the members of the monastic community would fold their yellow garments and stack them on top of each other to make a throne upon which the Buddha would sit. Such veneration, however, is not accorded to the person himself because of his own greatness, but rather is accorded to the teaching that the teacher embodies and exemplifies. Understanding this point is critical.

In the Tibetan tradition, when someone is giving a teaching, it is often traditional for the teacher to sit on a throne. However, this does not mean that the person sitting on the throne is holy or precious, but rather that the teaching that is being given is to be admired and venerated. To indicate this, it is customary for the teacher to make three prostrations before sitting onto the throne. Once the teacher has climbed onto the throne, he or she recites a few verses from a sutra reflecting upon the transient nature of all phenomena. This custom has two main functions: one is to remind the teacher and all present that it is the teaching to which one must pay reverence, and the other is to counter any sense of personal pride that may arise when a teacher sits on a high throne to give a lecture. Furthermore, the throne and the ritual surrounding it serve to remind the teacher to rise above the defilements of mundane motivations for teaching.

The danger of pride is very real. In Tibet, unfortunately, there was sometimes competition among lamas to have the highest throne. There is even a Tibetan expression that speaks of a "throne syndrome"! We read in the Fifth Dalai Lama's autobiography that during his teachings, the organizers of the teaching, being aware of this syndrome, would arrange the thrones of the lamas in attendance to be of equal height. However, some clever attendants of me lamas would manage to slip slates under the cushions on some of the thrones, so although the two thrones themselves were exactly the same height, certain lamas would nonetheless be more highly elevated than others. Ignorant of the true significance of the Dharma, some people would judge the level of spiritual realization of lamas according to such foolish criteria. In addition to judging the importance of lamas in terms of the height of their thrones, people would also judge them in terms of how many horses were in their caravan, concluding that because he had so many horses, a certain teacher must be a lama of great attainment - despite the fact that people also knew perfectly well that a successful bandit could also have many horses in his caravan!

Obviously, the proper way of judging the quality of a lama must be based upon his or her spiritual knowledge, practice, and realization, not on external factors. If one looks at the history of Buddhism in Tibet, there were great spiritual teachers, such as Milarepa, who owned

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nothing and looked like a beggar, and the Kadampa master Dromtonpa, who was a great teacher yet remained an ordinary, humble nomad. In the twentieth century, we see teachers like the Dzogchen master Dza Patrul Rinpoche, who, in his external appearance, looked completely unremarkable, like an itinerant wanderer. These truly great spiritual teachers carried no external signs of grandeur.

The emphasis placed in Tibet upon the hats that lamas wear is another example of affording respect to a teacher for the wrong reasons. You may have heard of the so-called yellow-hat or red-hat sects. If we look at the example of our original teacher, Buddha Shakyamuni, he, of course, wore no hats at all. And, although the Indian Buddhist masters such as Nagarjuna and Asanga are often depicted wearing hats in Tibetan tangka paintings, this may not be historically accurate. In Tibet there is a sensible reason for wearing hats: it is cold! Especially if a teacher is bald, of course, a hat proves very useful. However, Tibetans went to an extreme, making hats of elaborate shapes and sizes to the point where a tendency developed whereby different schools can be distinguished on the basis of their hats. This, I think, is unfortunate.

It is extremely important for us to adopt the essence of the Buddha's teachings and to understand the teachings of the great Indian masters, such as those of Nalanda Monastery. The true gauge by which to evaluate the validity of any teaching should be whether or not it is true Dharma that serves to liberate us from suffering. If the philosophical views, ethical conduct, and meditative practices of a teacher are in keeping with the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni and the Indian masters, that is what is most important. Although external rituals, such as beating drums, playing cymbals, wearing elaborate costumes, and performing masked dances, have a place in the overall spiritual life, we must know what is of the highest significance.

This is especially important today as Buddhism comes to the West. If we lose track of the true significance of the teachings, there is a danger that Western students of Buddhism will adopt the wrong aspects of Tibetan Buddhist culture - external forms and accessories rather than the inner truth. Unfortunately there are some indications that this may be happening already, with certain people who present themselves as teachers wearing bizarre costumes.

Let me give another example. When I was recently visiting Germany, my hosts had arranged for a tangka to be displayed in my hotel room. It was a tangka of Avalokiteshvara, and below Avalokiteshvara was the small figure of a monk. Of course, it would have been appropriate in a tangka of Avalokiteshvara to have a monk below if the monk were, say, making a mandala offering to Avalokiteshvara, or depicted in meditative posture in the corner. This, however, was not the case: the monk was beating a drum and a cymbal, and next to the monk was the figure of a layperson holding a ritual beverage pot used to make serkyem offerings to protector deities. This is utterly inappropriate, because protector deities are propitiated in Tibet often for worldly aspirations rather than spiritual ones. I found out later that the artist was a Westerner. The artist may have been imitating outer forms in what he imagined was a "Tibetan Buddhist" manner, or perhaps he imagined Avalokiteshvara to be some kind of mundane protector, but he clearly did not grasp the significance behind the forms.

This kind of wrongly placed emphasis is by no means endemic to Westerners. For example, if one walks into a typical temple in a Tibetan monastery, there will be an image of Buddha Shakyamuni in the center of the hall, which is as it should be. For Buddhist practitioners, Buddha Shakyamuni is our teacher and guide, the one who reveals to us the path to enlightenment. Therefore, we should entrust, if we can, our entire spiritual well-being to Buddha Shakyamuni. If we need to have some sense of fear, for instance of the consequences of our negative actions, the fear should come out of reverence for the Buddha and his teachings on karma. However, this is often not the case. In such temples, people may briefly pay homage to

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the Buddha and touch the image with their heads - but they pay more attention to the corner of the temple, where there is a small, dark room, called the protector's shrine room. Each monastery has its own protector, which is depicted in wrathful aspect. When Tibetans walk into this room, they whisper with a sense of awe and may even act terrified of the protector. If they make any offerings, they usually make it to the protector, rather than to the Buddha in the main hall.

In the protector shrine, there is usually a monk in charge of making the ritual beverage offerings, which include tea and alcohol. I heard from someone that in Tibet there was once a monk in one of these protector shrine rooms whose main task was to continually perform this ritual of pouring the offering beverage. Originally bald, the monk found after some time that hair started growing on his head. Someone asked him. "How come you now have hair?" and the monk responded, ''I'm not sure, but each time I make the beverage offering, I wipe the leftover drops from my hand onto my head." So for those bald people who would like to grow hair, perhaps this is the solution!

It is important for all of us - including myself - who consider ourselves followers of the Buddha, to constantly check ourselves, to check our motivations, and to maintain our aspiration to liberate all beings from suffering. This is a particular challenge to me in my role as both secular and religious leader of the Tibetan people. Although the practice of merging secular and religious power has sometimes benefitted Tibet in the past, shortcomings to this system have led to a great deal of misconduct and suffering. Even in my own case, although I rarely experience a sense of pride when I sit on a high throne to give a teaching, nonetheless, if I leave my thoughts unchecked, mundane concerns may arise in the corner of my mind. For example, I may become delighted if someone compliments my lecture and I may feel saddened if someone criticizes it. This is a kind of vulnerability to mundane concerns. In order to ensure that one's Dharma practice truly becomes a practice of Dharma, it is important to make sure that one's state of mind and motivation are not defiled by what the Tibetan masters call the eight mundane concerns.

Sitting on a throne and holding political power are extremely seductive, and a teacher can never be too vigilant. We should recall the example of the Buddha, who held no worldly authority, and at the beginning of the Heart Sutra simply sat down and entered into meditation.

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