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 |
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ISSUE 7 ~ DECEMBER 2020
New Year's Message from Pir Shabda Kahn
Murshids' Circle Welcomes New Murshids
Murshid Sam Archive, Selected Readings
The Mantle of Ministry, by Siraj Najat Roberts
Connecting with the Sangha, by Wali van der Zwan
The Role of the Mureed Advocate
Upcoming Town Hall Meeting
plus Connections & Ruhaniat Pets
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Beloved Family,
Welcome 2021! Blessings on the NEW YEAR with sincere aspiration for each of you and all beings to find relief from suffering in the NOW and continue on the Path into Spiritual Liberty.
Let us dedicate ourselves to care for each other, which must include care for that which provides us our bodies, care for Mother Earth.
Further, we can dedicate ourselves to transform our human behavior that separates and harms others through our ignorance, jealousy and pride around gender, race, income and nationality.
Let Loving Kindness and Compassion be our companion for 2021!
With All Love and Gratitude,
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Pir Shabda Kahn and the Murshids' Circle Welcomes
Murshida Rahmana Dziubany and Murshid Jelaluddin Hauke Sturm
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During the Jamiat Khas Leaders' Retreat held November 13- 15, Pir Shabda Kahn initiated Rahmana Dziubany and Jelaluddin Hauke Sturm as Murshids. Alhamdulillah!
Though the initiations were given via Zoom, the limitations of being physical apart were transcended. The beauty, joy and blessing of the moment was transmitted through the etheric realms and felt by all. Rahmana traveled to Berlin to join Jelaluddin and the Berlin Khankah residents who gathered for the occasion, and where they were held and welcomed into the arms of our community.
We are grateful to Murshida Rahmana and Murshid Jelaluddin for their extraordinary service and accomplishment. May their works continue to flourish and be of great benefit. Ya Fattah! Ya Fattah! Ya Fattah!
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Golzow, Germany
Rahmana was born 1961 in southwest Germany into a family from paternal side as war refugees coming from Poland and from her mother’s side with unrevealed hidden Jewish roots. She very much feels connected to the Slavic part of her soul, her ancestors line going way back to a rural life as shepherds in Romania and the traces of Yiddish-ness in her...continue reading
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Top row from left: Murshida Mariam, Pir Shabda, Pirani Tamam
Bottom row from left: Murshid Hakim Saul-uddin, Murshida Baraka, Murshida Rahmana, Murshida Sophia, Murshid Jelaluddin
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Berlin, Germany
Born in Germany in 1951, Jelaluddin was attracted to painting and art at an early age with a longing for beauty and expanse. In addition, his interest in psychology and his curiosity to better understand human relationships grew...continue reading
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Top row from left: Murshida Mariam, Pir Shabda, Pirani Tamam
Bottom row from left: Murshid Hakim Saul-uddin, Murshida Baraka, Murshid Jelaluddin, Murshida Rahmana, Murshida Sophia, Achim Qalbi
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Excerpt from Takua Taharat: Everyday Life
Gatha with Commentary Series II: Number 8
by Hazrat Inayat Khan with Commentary by Murshid Samuel Lewis
GATHA: The action of every illness or weakness is more manifest in its impression on the mind. There are many people who after an illness that has lasted some time become so much impressed by it that even after their cure the impression remains. Therefore to those who suffer for many years from an illness, their illness becomes natural, becomes a part of themselves, and the obstacle to their cure is not the illness but the impression engraved on their mind.
TASAWWUF: There are stories in the literature and also in the book Health which verify this. It should be clear to devotees that we may be as our mind has made us; that is to say our ego is not our reality but a creature of our own thinking.
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Attunement for Reading Esoteric Papers from Murshid Tansen
Give yourself space and time. Focus on the words with awareness of the heart space and not just the head. Reading and absorbing such papers is a deep spiritual practice in itself. As you attune through the rhythm of words you also dance in the rhythm of Murshid S.A.M. and Hazrat Inayat Khan especially if you read the words out loud. You will find as you persevere that what may at first seem to be hidden is gradually or even suddenly revealed.
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The Mantle of Ministry by Siraj Najat Roberts
written March 29, 2020
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We are here because we felt a calling to serve in this manner.
When we go out to serve, we put on the mantle of this calling. We are lighting the lamp. But when our service is done, we take off the mantle until the next time. We need to rest and engage in self-care to restore our balance. The mantle may be seen as an actual robe or stole or prayer shawl. The mantle comes from the source of all blessings, which I like to think of as the Divine Cloud. A version of this practice I first learned from Murshid Saul Barodofsky some years ago. Say the Invocation every time you put on the garment, both actual and as a visualized mantle. The Invocation brings the protection of all the Holy Ones.
This is the practice:
Visualize the mantle coming down onto your shoulders. Feel the dignity and confidence it brings. Feel the magnetism and protection that the Invocation brings as you linked to the holy chain of the Silsila. Breathe in Ya Nur through the crown and exhale Ya Munawwir from the heart: Divine light and manifest light. Then inhale Toward the One and exhale United with All. Now you are prepared to give service. After your service is concluded it may be time for tea or household duties. Now is the time for taking off the mantle. Visualize returning it to the Divine Cloud closet for next time. Ya Shakur we breathe, in and out, thankful for the opportunity to serve.
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Connecting with the Sangha: The Zikr of the Doorknob ~
News from Khalif Wali and Sheikh Ariënne van der Zwan at Khankah Samark in Germany
When my partner Ariënne and I first experienced Thich Nhat Hanh, he talked about interbeing and being mindful and showed his wonderful way of teaching children. He also talked about the importance of the sangha. It may be over 20 years ago, but I still clearly remember him saying that if you live alone and have no pets or plants in the house, you can always use your doorknob or handrail as your sangha.
All that mattered was to have something to remind us of the sangha we had created that weekend in the Netherlands. Next to the bell of mindfulness, he gave us the doorknob of 'sangha-ness'.
In Sufi terms, Thich Nhat Hanh offered us a zikr to remember that we are connected with our spiritual family, even if we are miles apart in physical space. This doorknob zikr works if you go home after a workshop and notice how the feeling of togetherness and intimacy with the spiritual world slowly but surely fades away, drowns in the humdrum of daily life and by halfway through the following week has become a memory of something you once experienced.
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A Mureed Advocate is available to students of The Message who encounter conflicts with others in SRI. The Mureed Advocate is intended to address difficulties that occur within unequal power situations, where the person in the lesser power position may need support to address a problem at hand. While severe ethical concerns (e.g., boundary violations and abuses of power in teacher-student relationships) are referred to the SRI Ethics Council, the Mureed Advocate is available to help mureeds in situations of lesser, yet real, significance. These might involve issues that arise between those working in volunteer positions - where the parties need guidance in speaking and listening to each other in a safe, responsible atmosphere. In most cases, the process will begin by utilizing the Compassionate (Nonviolent) Communication model authored by Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., to help participants to identify and to express their observations, feelings, and needs that arose during and after the problem situation - and then to make clear, respectful requests that would help them to meet their needs and, hopefully, to resolve the problem that occurred. The process is envisioned to be constructive and healing, not judicial or punitive.
If you would like to request the assistance from the SRI Mureed Advocate, please contact Daniel Wasserman
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Upcoming Town Hall Meeting with the Board of Trustees
Sunday, February 21, 2021
We will provide details and Zoom link as the date draws nearer.
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for those who are facing financial difficulties due to the pandemic
Ruhaniat Mureeds Pandemic & Crisis Relief Fund
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Connections ~ virtual gatherings, recordings and online communities
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Saturday, January 9, 2021
10:00 am Pacific, USA * UTC-8
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Recordings: Ruhaniat Family Zoom Gatherings
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Your donations help us to answer the continuing call of our mission. We are grateful to our donors, volunteers, teachers, the Murshids' Circle and the Board of Trustees, who help us in our work and service.
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Ruhaniat Pets ~ for delight's sake!
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Sweet Pea
from Ayat Kindschi of Mill Valley, California
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Winston and Smokey
from Mariam Baker and Nizamuddin Robinson of Fairfax, California
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Photo of White-crowned Sparrow by Pir Shabda Kahn
Hu
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