SUFIS - SONOMA COUNTY

"My deep sigh rises above as a cry of the earth, and an answer comes from within as a message."
                                                                                     -- Hazrat Inayat Khan

SUFI? WHAT DOES SUFI MEAN ?

The term Sufi is used here because Hazrat Inayat Khan, a musician and
spiritual master from North India who was one of the first to bring eastern
mysticism to the West, called his universalist teachings the Sufi Message
and founded the Sufi Movement and the Sufi Order.  Inayat Khan's
teachings are the primary inspiration and source for the activities we
describe here.

Click here for Pir Zia Inayat Khan discussing the Sufi Path

WHERE DOES SUFISM COME FROM

Historically, the mostly-secret initiatic orders of dervishes, faqirs or sufis
arose within the religion of Islam during the time of its beginnings. Some
were Christian and other mystics, fleeing persecution in Europe and the Near
East at that time; their roots can be traced ultimately back to the Egyptian
mystery schools.

In Muslim Spain, these orders came in contact with the rich Safardic Jewish
transmission as well. All over the world, members of these orders were
prominent scientists, healers, poets and philosophers.

For links to more inspirational Sufi readings, information about traditional
Islamic Sufism and descriptions of various Sufi orders, click here

When Islam -- and with it the dervish or sufi orders -- took root in India,
the great melting pot, there was an interchange with Hindu and Zoroastrian
transmissions. The Chishti order, with its open-minded view of other spiritual
paths and its cultivation of devotional music (forbidden in many other orders)
was and is prominent in India.

These are the roots of the message Inayat Khan brought to the west.

Of course many Sufis have been and are more traditional devotees of Islam.
As in any spiritual tradition,  there are fundamentalists and there are universalists.
Neither is inherently good or bad. But the Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan is that
of the essential unity of all religions.

Truly, from this point of view, any seeker after Truth can be said to be a Sufi.

THE LINEAGE AND TEACHINGS
OF HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
AND OF "SUFI SAM" LEWIS

Inayat Khan's teacher was Abu Hashim Madani in Baroda, India, in the Chishti
line of transmission. In 1910, Following the call of God and the guidance of
his teacher, Inayat Khan left India for the Western world. In America, Europe
and Russia, he introduced Indian music ("raga") and his spiritual message for
13 years, attracting many followers.

While in Marin County, Hazrat Inayat Khan taught and initiated the young
Samuel L. Lewis. Later known as Murshid Sam, this gifted San Francisco
eccentric, who was also a Rinzai Zen Master and who had traveled and received
transmission from teachers all over the world,  taught Sufi and  Buddhist
mysticism and began the Dances of Universal Peace in the late 60's  "The dances
of Universal Peace have gotten out of hand, as they should. I feel I am a conveyor
and instrument rather than author."

Murshida Vera Corda, in the book 'In The Garden' describes him this way:
"If you met him and looked at him in the Spirit, then you would understand that here
was a man who had a divine work to do, and no obstacle or life situation could stop him."

        Lessons on Meditation       . More about Murshid Samuel Lewis

Inayat Khan's inclusive view of Sufism can be seen in his Ten Sufi Thoughts .

For a link to his prayers, including the ones often used at Sufi gatherings, click here

Sufism has never been an organized religion

   It's not something you join, it's something you do.

      Or maybe, if you allow it, it does you.

         "Sufism is based on experience and not on premises" --
         Sufi Al Ghazzali, as frequently quoted by Murshid SAM.

                                                                                                                        Back to top

When I moved to Sebastopol over 10 years ago, I accepted the role of newsletter editor for the community,
and the newsletter gradually grew into a web page and an e-mail bulletin. I am blessed with
the ongoing guidance of my Sufi teachers and by participation in dance meetings,
camps, the New Sufi Choir and the healing work.

The purpose of this web site is to make available some basic information about Sufi Sonoma, their activities, and the
Sufi lineages of the followers of Hazrat Inayat Khan. Schedule information is made as accurate as possible to assist
the reader in finding events of interest in Sonoma and surrounding counties. (Calendar listings are the responsibility of the leaders or other persons posting them.) Generally we try to list local events of the Sufi Order and the Sufi Ruhaniat International, both of which are active in the North Bay --
adding at times events of the Sufi Movement and other orders such as
the Mevlevi and Naqshubandi with significant cross-over participation in our area.

About Sufis Sonoma:

Sufis Sonoma is not an organization in the usual sense; I think of it more as an affinity group
with a loosely-defined membership of people who in general are attracted to and spiritually fed
by the sort of activities listed above. Some have chosen any of several Sufi paths as vehicles for
their unfoldment; others are devotees of another path, formally or informally, or none at all.

If  there are additions or corrections to these pages, please let me know (shaffee@sufisonoma.org).

May  our work be for the benefit of all sentient beings, and all glory be to the One.

     --- Shaffee

  One of the words to which the term 'Sufi' is related is the Greek Sophia, meaning wisdom; wisdom which is a knowledge acquired both from within and without. Therefore Sufism is not only an intuitive knowledge nor is it only a knowledge acquired from the outer life of the world. Sufism in itself is not a religion nor even a cult with a distinct or definite doctrine. No better explanation of Sufism can be given than by saying that any person who has a knowledge of both outer and inner life is a Sufi. Thus there has never in any period of the world's history been a founder of Sufism, yet Sufism has existed at all times.

     As far as we can find out there have been esoteric schools since the time of Abraham; and many of them may be called Sufi schools. The Sufi schools of Arabia absorbed Arabic culture and were largely metaphysical; the Sufi schools of Persia developed more the literary aspect, and the Sufi schools of India developed the meditative faculty; but the truth and the ideal have remained the same, as the central theme of Sufism, in all these schools. Several exist even now, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that there are millions of souls, the followers of different religions, who are benefited by the wisdom of these schools.

     No doubt every school has its own method, and every method has been colored by the personality of its leader. There are the schools of dervishes and there are the schools of faqirs; and there are the schools of the Salik, who teach moral culture together with philosophy.

     The present-day Sufi Movement is a movement of members of different nations and races united together in the ideal of wisdom; they believe that wisdom does not belong to any particular religion or race, but to the human race as a whole. It is a divine property which mankind has inherited; and it is in this realization that the Sufis, in spite of belonging to different nationalities, races, beliefs, and faiths, still unite and work for humanity in the ideal of wisdom.

     Another word which has a connotation with Sufism is the Arabic word Saf which means pure. All the tragedy in life comes from the absence of purity, and as pure really means to be natural, the absence of purity means to be far from being natural. Pure water means that no other substance is mixed with it, in other words that it is in its natural condition. Sufism, therefore, is the process of making life natural. One may call this process a religion, a philosophy, a science, or a mysticism, whatever one wishes. All the religious teachers who have come to this world at different times have brought this process of purification in the form of a religion. It is not a new process, it is the same ancient process that the wise of all ages have bestowed. If anything new is given in it, it is the form in which it is presented to suit a certain period of the world.

     One may perhaps think that by spirituality it is meant that one must learn something which one did not know before, that one must become extraordinarily good, that one must acquire some unusual powers or have experiences of a supernatural kind. None of these things does Sufism promise, although on the path of the Sufi nothing is too wonderful for him. All these things, and even more, are within his reach; yet that is not the Sufi's aim. By the process of Sufism one realizes one's own nature, one's true nature, and thereby one realizes human nature. And by the study of human nature one realizes the nature of life in general. All failures, disappointments, and sorrows are caused by the lack of this realization; all success, happiness, and peace are acquired by the realization of one's own nature.

 In short, Sufism means to know one's true being, to know the purpose of one's life, and to know how to accomplish that purpose. Through disappointment many say, 'I shall probably never be successful in my life', not realizing the fact that man is born to do what he longs to do, and that success is natural while failure is unnatural. When man is himself, the whole world is his own; when he is not himself, then even this self does not belong to him. Then he does not know what he is, where he is, nor why he is here on earth; then he is less useful to himself and to others than a rock.

 It is in self-realization that the mystery of the whole of life is centered. It is the remedy of all maladies; it is the secret of success in all walks of life; it is a religion and more than a religion. And at this time when the whole world is upset, the Sufi message conveys to the world the divine message. What is wrong with humanity today is that it is not itself, and all the misery of the world is caused by this. Therefore nothing can answer the need of humanity save this process of the sages and the wise of all ages, which leads souls to self-realization.

 Very often the Sufi message, in its form of beneficence, is taken to be what is nowadays called pacifism, and those who do not favor the idea of pacifism say that it means peace at any price. Sufism does not teach that. Sufism does not mean goodness, kindness, or piety; Sufism means wisdom. All things in life are materials for wisdom to work with, and wisdom cannot be restricted to any principles. Among Sufis there have been great souls who were kings, and others who were in the position of beggars, saints, workmen, commanders, generals, businessmen, statesmen, or prophets; and in all ages the Sufis have practiced Sufism in all walks of life. This shows that no one can point out a particular belief or tenet and say it is a Sufi doctrine.

     In music there are two things: sound and notes. Notes indicate the degree of the sound, but sound can be all notes, no note in particular. So it is with Sufism: it is all beliefs and no belief in particular. There is no action which the Sufi calls right or wrong, for every action can become right and can also become wrong. It depends upon the use or abuse of the action, its fitness or unfitness. Right or wrong depends upon the attitude and the situation, not on the action. This naturally gives the Sufi tolerance towards others and makes him ready to forgive them, and he is unwilling to form an opinion about the action of another person. This attitude keeps the Sufi far removed from saying that peace is good or war is good. The Sufi will prefer to say that war is good at the time of war, and that peace is good at the time of peace.

     But, if all things are right in their proper place, what then has Sufism to do in life? The principal mission of Sufism is to dig the soil under which the light of the soul has become buried. It is the same as the teaching of Christ, who has said that no one should hide his light under a bushel, and also that one should raise one's light on high.

     The condition of the world today is such that humanity has become abnormal. Man is not only scared of badness but also of goodness; man not only dreads war but also peace; he is not only tired of enmity but also of friendship; he not only suspects his adversary but even his own brother. It seems as if the mind of the world is not only tired but ill: as if humanity has had a nervous breakdown. Individually or collectively man does not know his life's purpose or goal. The Sufi message warns humanity to get to know life better and to achieve freedom in life; it warns man to accomplish what he considers good, just, and desirable; it warns him before every action to note its consequences by studying the situation, his own attitude, and the method he should adopt ...

Sufism can not be called a religion because it is free from principles, distinctions, and differences, the very basis on which religions are founded; neither can it be called a philosophy, because philosophy teaches the study of nature in its qualities and varieties, whereas Sufism teaches unity. Therefore it may best be called simply the training of the view ...

Murshid S.A.M. ON MEDITATION:

The Reverend Frida Waterhouse said, "The greatest gift you can give to a spiritual teacher is your own realization."

Here are the last two paragraphs from Murshid Sam's 'Ten Lessons on Meditation':

"Initiation is the beginning and perfection is the end, the making complete.  But where is the beginning and where is the end?  They are both in silence, in God.  In silence we were born, and to it we return.

"Therefore, the perfection of meditation is meditation. It is the perfected souls who continue ever in meditation, being absorbed in meditation, creating from their meditation, and living in that meditation. The spiritual life is the drawing of sustenance through the