The Path of Sufism
and
The Sufi Order
The Sufi Order International in Seattle
As human beings, we have inherent, deep potentials for a life filled with joy, wisdom, love, for living in felt connectedness to each other and the earth’s ecology, for acting with justice and integrity, and to shape our experience and world towards the good of all.
Our potentials are frequently blocked in their full expression by emotional wounds, social conditioning, and simple unawareness or disbelief of what is possible for a human being. Lasting happiness and inner peace elude us. As Thoreau said, “Most... lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” This has never been truer than now, when even life itself has become commoditized.
The Sufi path offers keys to unlocking these human potentials. It does so in a way that engages and works with the stuff of life: body, vocation, emotions, relationships — in addition to the realms usually considered to be “spiritual.” Sufi spiritual practice is in life rather than a monastic withdrawal from life, using the experience of daily life to fuel the interior harmonization of our being. The Sufi path is one of direct personal experience and personal transformation, rather than one of subscription to beliefs or premises, and the results are felt as a sense of spacious inner freedom, deep fulfillment, and fluid aliveness.
These are not the goals of our practice; they are natural results of unfolding ourselves as the divine beings which we truly are. As we release ourselves from what we are not, our felt-sense of self moves from one of contraction and limitation to one of spaciousness and freedom.
Our bodies are star-dust, gathered and animated by an all-pervading life force, informed and illuminated by a timeless, transcendent intelligence. Some deep part of us has always known this, and the desire to know it fully is the source of all our outward longings. This path is the promise of the fulfillment of that desire.
We offer our rich heritage of Sufi teachings for those whose heart’s desire it is to uncover their true nature and purpose in life.
The Sufis are an ancient spiritual association, of somewhat uncertain historical origins, taking its present form in the Mid-East and Central Asia beginning about a thousand years ago. One may recognize a confluence of characteristically “Sufic” elements reaching back to the Egyptian and Greek Mysteries, the Zoroastrian Magi, the Kebzeh tradition of the Caucasus, and Central Asian shamanism, as well as inner teachings of the Judaic, Christian, and Islamic streams indigenous to the Mideast.
The term “sufism” is an unfortunate linguistic convention. The Sufi “way” is not an “-ism” or a religion or a belief system; it is an empirical approach to self-work, designed to nurture and unfold our latent human potentials under Divine Guidance. This work leads to an awakened consciousness and an abiding happiness which is independent of outer circumstances. The Sufi approach is not based upon beliefs or premises but upon direct personal experience. While having much in common with other paths such as Yoga, Buddhism, Kabbalah, and the teachings of the Christian mystics, it is also a particular approach to spiritual practice in its own right, having its own style and methods which answer the need of humanity in today’s world in a unique way.
There are numerous Sufi “orders” throughout the world. These are lineages founded and inspired by one or more historical Sufi masters in an initiatic succession down to the present day. Each order has its particular form of ritual and practice, but the inner teachings differ only in detail. As the basis of this path is held to be inherent in the essential structure of the human being and in consciousness itself, Sufism has had exemplars but no “founder,” and can be said to have existed since human beings attained their present form.
The Sufi
approach was brought to the West early in the 20th Century by the Indian master
Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882–1927) (far left), in a form which is particularly suited to the
needs and outlook of our time. The order he founded, the Sufi Order International
(known formerly as the “Sufi Order of the West”) is currently headed by Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
(right). Pir Zia is the grandson of Hazrat Inayat Khan and was born and educated in America. He received his
training in Sufism from his father, the renowned Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan (1916–2004) (left) and from
Indian and Turkish Sufi masters. Pir Zia holds a Ph.D. in Religion from Duke University and is a recipient
of the U Thant Peace Award. Audio and text transcripts of Pir Zia’s discourses can be found
here and
here, on the Sufi Order International website.
Since much of the historical development of Sufism has been in parts of the world where Islam is the predominant form of religious practice, most Sufis worldwide are Muslims. However, the Sufi Order International is an inheritor of a stream of “universal” Sufism which began in India over 700 years ago, affirming the common ideals of all religious faiths. We do not ask or inculcate an acceptance of any specific religious or philosophical beliefs — even belief in God — nor do we seek to convert anyone from one faith to another. We feel that real development can only take place if people work with what is meaningful for them, and that a deepening of one’s spiritual experience is essential to informed practice within any faith tradition. We create a safe environment where people can feel free to be spiritually open and to discover their own inner truth for themselves.
The Sufi path is one of initiation and
apprenticeship, as well as one of individual study of spiritual
teachings; the written teachings actually make a living guide
necessary, not dispensable. “Initiation”
signifies a deep commitment to one’s personal growth; it
is not “membership in a club,” but is a linking
of the deep consciousness of the seeker with a profound source of
inner guidance and the Initiatic Lineage.
The Sufi Order International is a school that provides a setting in which real spiritual experience — and transformation — is possible, and we work towards a balanced and grounded spirituality.
The Sufi teacher is not the deified “perfect
master” of other traditions, but is rather a spiritual
friend who is living a human life, one who has traveled the
path ahead and knows the territory. The guidance relationship
is one of equal beings whose role and function are different;
the role of the Sufi teacher, especially as articulated by
Hazrat Inayat Khan, does not assume or promote the teacher as
having a position of authority or superiority.
Sufi Order International teachers undergo a rigorous and
lengthy training and mentoring before being deputized by the
head of the Order (the “Pir”), and ongoing training
and supervision are a mandatory part of the function of a
teacher in this Order. “Representatives” and
“Guides” are authorized to confer initiation into
the Order and to give and guide the spiritual practices of
initiates. A “Retreat Guide” is someone
specially-trained in guiding the process and practices of
individual and/or group Sufi spiritual retreat.
Sufi Initiates, and also those just exploring the Path, are encouraged to connect with an authorized teacher to receive individualized guidance and instruction in the framework and practices of the Order.
We hold regular public classes for those interested in the Sufi perspective. We sponsor visits by senior teachers of the Order, all of which are open to the public, and we hold classes reserved for initiates which serve the large community of practitioners in the Greater Seattle area.
Teachers of the Order offer individual spiritual guidance and coaching, and most are authorized to guide personal private spiritual retreats. It is our experience that private spiritual retreat is the most effective method of accelerating one’s personal transformation. One need not be an initiate to make a personal retreat; however, the breakthroughs achieved on retreat are solidified and integrated into one’s life through the personalized meditation practices which one receives from one’s guide.
We also offer the “Universal Worship Service,”
designed and inspired by Hazrat Inayat Khan (http://www.sufiorder.org/activities_universal.html). It is a “Church
of All” where the world’s religious traditions are
celebrated inclusively, offering an opportunity to those
belonging to all faiths to join in worship of the one Source
from which all wisdom flows. Its ministers are legally
ordained and are available to the community and to the public
for weddings, funerals, house blessings/house purifications,
and similar occasions where a spiritual and truly
inter-religious ceremony is desired.
The Sufi Healing Order (www.sufihealingorder.org) offers spiritual healing by explicit request through communal prayer in absentia, or in person through touch, breath, and Presence in session with specially-trained and authorized practitioners. The ministers of the Healing Order are known as “Healing Conductors.”
The Ziraat (www.ziraat.org) is a mystery school within the Sufi Order, one whose “transformational metaphor” is farming and agriculture. Ziraat is an initiatic school which is open to all who feel a commitment to spiritual awakening and to the protection of this sacred world. One need not be a member of the Sufi Order to join. Initiation in Ziraat confirms a pledge to affirm and cultivate the divine seed within our being, and thereby to help in the preservation and restoration of our world.
