March 2019 Message

Beloved Family,

Spring Equinox Blessings! Hope to celebrate with some of you tonight at our Zikr Circle!

So pleased to be back from India where we had plenty of adventures. It was especially moving to bathe in the confluence of the three sacred rivers, the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Saraswati in Allahabad at the Kumbha Mela during the auspicious time with millions of other pilgrims!

Further, traveling with my Tibetan Guru, HH the 12th Tai Situ Rinpoche is always a privilege and absorbing the beautiful teachings he gave is transformative. Our Peace Pledge Pilgrimage traveling family also included other luminaries like Mohanji, Swami Chitanand Saraswati, Sadviji Bhagawati Saraswati, Inuit elder “Uncle” Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq, Dr. A.K Merchant, Syed Salman Chishty along with premier educators and water scientists.

While in Delhi we had a conference at the Bahai Lotus Temple on “Spreading Loving Kindness and Compassion” and at Hazrat Inayat Khan’s Dargah on “Bringing Loving Kindness and Compassion into Childhood Education” Here are the links to HH the 12th Tai Situ Rinpoche’s talk at the Bahai Lotus Temple. Part 1 Part 2

Naturally while in India I used spare time to visit Bird Sanctuaries and met many birds for the first time.

Tamam and I just returned from Boulder, Colorado where she taught at Naropa Institute on the Mothers of Islam and Pir Netanel and I led a Sufi Retreat.

I feel great gratitude to be offering a Morning Raga Concert at the Garden of Allah on April 20, 2019 ay 10:45AM. On the flyer I wrote:

In 1972 Vasheest Davenport, a tenor in our Sufi Choir and like myself, a direct disciple of Murshid Samuel Lewis, attended a concert at Project Artaud in San Francisco of a Master North Indian Classical Vocalist named Pandit Pran Nath.

Vasheest came back to the home we all lived in, the Garden of Allah, and swooned about the mastery and subtlety of the singer. Within a matter of days, he had arranged for Pandit Pran Nath to come to the Garden of Allah and give a Raga Concert for our Sufi Choir.

It was at that concert at the Garden of Allah that I connected deeply with Pandit Pran Nath and he became my Music Guru and guided me in Raga Singing and Life through his passing June 13, 1996 and to this day.

Our Raga Concert April 20, 2019 is to honor Guruji and commemorate that lucky day.

The month of May brings me to the Annual Federation of the Sufi Message Gathering May 2-5, then a Kauai Sufi Retreat May 17-19 and lastly our annual Jamiat Aam at Murshid Sam’s Dargah at Lama Foundation May 30-June 2.

June 16-23 I’ll be leading the Annual Russian Ruhaniat Camp along with Murshid(a)s Halima and Abraham Sussman. For information contact Ilona Vorslav.

You still have another month to take advantage of the Early Bird discount for the 45th Annual Mendocino Sufi Camp, where I am the director.

Sending all love,

Shabda

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Wazifa Practice

As Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere lets recite:

Recite 101x YA QAWIYY -U- YA 'AZIZ

When reciting these 2 names together put the sound 'U' in between them.

53. Ya Qawiyy (yaa ḲO-weeyy)

Al-Qawiyy is overpowering strength. Its omnipotent power persists through all the possible permutations of temporal being. Al-Qawiyy is the strength to overcome the impulse of self-expression. It is the strength to not use the power that we feel is ready to burst forth from within us.

Realizing al-Qawiyy allows us to overcome the feeling of always being the doer, or active controlling agent, in every situation. A physical form of the root means to completely empty out one's house. Al-Qawiyy's power is strong enough to overcome the superego, the lusts, and the desires. Al-Qawiyy is in command of the commanding self, a self that is very primitive and adamant. It disarms the commanding self so that human beings can see that all personal power is the result of the real power that is coming from the divine source.

In addition, recitation of Ya Qawiyy is an antidote for those who feel that they have to be in control. Control issues in the personality often stem from fear of death, and al-Qawiyy can be experienced as a pathway for conquering the fear of death.

8. Ya 'Aziz (yaa 'a-ZEEZ)

Al-'Aziz is a kind of divine strength or power that is beyond the dualism of praise and blame. It is the strength that naturally flows from intrinsic, essential worth. The power of al-'Aziz is sweet, and it actually carries an inner meaning of sweetness. It also means precious and rare, like a baby eagle among birds.

The strength of al-'Aziz is the power of God itself. It is the true worth, utmost dignity, and strength that manifests directly from God, without an intermediary. It can be contemplated in the incredible precious value of the human soul. Invocation of Ya 'Aziz brings freedom without limitations and is a remedy for our experience of being powerless and under great restraint due to restrictions that may be real or imagined.

Repetition of Ya 'Aziz is also an important remedy for the common human experience of feeling undervalued and worthless. Al-'Aziz is the marriage of strength and self-worth.

To hear the pronunciation: Ya Qawiyy ~ Ya 'Aziz

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TEXT and COMMENTARY to STUDY

This month we continue working with theGitha Ryazat Series IIwithCommentary by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti). Read and reflect on the topic of Fikr and purification of the breath, Numbers 5-6, pages 18-27. Click here to download the document.