Sufi Message Events, in Portland
Garden of Inayat
The next Garden of Inayat is a Retreat for mureeds. The Garden of Inayat offers an intensive experience of the mystical teachings and practices given by Hazrat Inayat Khan. We will learn and engage with actual practices of Inayat Khan, designed to deepen our attunement with the soul and the purpose of life. Contact Murshida Rani for more information and to register. The next Garden of Inayat will be in the spring of 2019, focusing on the Zikar and the mysticism of sound.
Universal Worship
The Universal Worship is a service that was initiated by Hazrat Inayat Khan, an actualization of the importance he gave to his teaching of the Unity of Religious Ideals. The service involves lighting candles representing six of the world’s religions and readings from the scriptures of these religions. Mystically we are kindling the light which, as Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan says, “is the religion of all those teachers who have come and gone….” Therefore this universal worship, the Church of All, is “… a service, it is a worship and at the same time it is a training to our mind to tolerate the religion of different people.” This importance of this teaching of tolerance, understanding, and respect of other people and the diversity of religions is, perhaps, even clearer now than a century ago when Hazrat Inayat Khan came from India to the West.
“It is this which was the Message of Jesus Christ and all other great teachers of humanity. Therefore it is not a separate line; it is the same line; it is the same Message which is being given to the world. It is the continuation of all the great religions which have come from time to time and a unification of all which was the desire of all prophets. And in reality the wish of the great teachers of humanity is fully gratified in this worship, because it was this that was their idea.”
Zikar of Hazrat Inayat Khan
The word ‘Zikar’ means ‘remembrance’, and there are many ways in which Sufis around the world do this practice. There are many ways of remembering the presence of God, many melodies and rhythms. We have deep respect for them. The Singing Zikar is one of the most beautiful legacies that Hazrat Inayat Khan left for his students. It is a Zikar created for our time. It is based on an Indian raga, a particular melodic pattern sung with sacred words which can create a deep mystical experience in the sincere student, awakening one’s heart.
Sufi meditation classes are offered for mureeds. A new online class on “The Problem of the Day” will begin soon. This class is based on unpublished teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan regarding the purpose of the Sufi Message and its place in bringing harmony to the world.
Individual meditation instruction and Sufi practices are available for sincere seekers. Contact Murshida Rani.