April 2021 Message

Beloved Family,

Greetings of the Heart from California!

While much of the world is slowly making progress in slowing down Covid and returning to a more normal lifestyle, our family and all those in Mother India are suffering greatly and need our prayers. YA SHAFEE YA KAFEE! The Ruhaniat Pandemic Fund has been sending money to our colleagues in Mother India for food and supplies distribution.

Our annual Ruhaniat Jamiat Aam begins tomorrow. Normally this is a residential retreat in some part of the U.S. or other country but because of circumstances this year it is a virtual gathering. How remarkable that we have over 400 registered attendees from 26 countries! What a privilege to be in such a rich mandala of our worldwide community.

Our vegetable garden is fully planted, with chard and kale, broccoli and cauliflower, peppers and zucchini, tomatoes and artichokes, potatoes and peas, and a large variety of fruit trees.

Like so many of you in your own communities, I am looking forward to reopening our local in-face Zikr Circle and imagine that could happen in the summer, inshallah!

Knowing that many of you have been and are struggling under the weight of the past year’s changes, I want to call forth our approach for mastery through Breath. I suggest we first make a regular practice of meditation, through the method of following the breath with:

Toward the One in and out as Fikr in the belly center

Then moving to the heart center with the Fikr

La ellaha outbreath, el Allah Hu inbreath, or Allah Hu - in and out

We know pessimism and fatigue are connected with over-abundance of outbreath and optimism and vitality with inbreath, I would emphasize the in-breath to bring vitality.

For our next wazifa pair, I want to go to the first two wazifas, numbers 1 and 2, YA RAHMAN YA RAHEEM! ~ Invoking the Boundary-less Container of Love which touches every single place!

Much love,

Shabda

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Wazifa Practice

Recite 101x

YA RAHMAN ~ YA RAHIM

1. Ya Rahman (yaa raḥ-MAAN)

Ar-Rahman is endless love. It is the infinite, unconditional reality of love. This is the Name said in the Qur'an to be inscribed on the heart of Allah.4 In other words, God’s essence necessarily includes this quality of love. Ar-Rahman might be imagined as the inner self of God, an infinite container that is incredibly compassionate, kind, and tender. It is the sun of loving compassion that is endlessly shining. Ar-Rahman includes all the other divine Names. It is the source of all; it is the gate that opens onto all God’s qualities, and an inner secret of each one.

The root meaning comes from the word rahm, “womb.” In human beings, this quality is naturally felt in relation to pregnancy. Allah provides human beings a womb to be born into and through which to have the realization of the love that is at the very foundation of all that exists. Invocation of Ya Rahman is a healing remedy for all who feel disconnected from God and for those marked by a wound of self-loathing.

2. Ya Rahim (yaa ra-ḤEEM)

Ar-Rahim is the embodiment of loving mercy, and it brings the gentle touch of divine mercy. Nothing other than ar-Rahim possesses the mercy that pours forth freely and fully reaches all beings and all things, without exception. It is an all-pervading infinite presence that is manifesting into a boundless number of finite things.

Its root meaning, like that of Ya Rahman (1), comes from the Arabic word for womb, rahm. It carries an inner feeling that is naturally connected with childhood. Ar-Rahim actively brings divine love into human relationships. It enables each and every being to more fully manifest loving mercy. Recitation of Ya Rahim is an antidote for all who feel abandoned by God and who need to experience the healing activity of divine love reaching deeply within them.

To hear the pronunciation: Ya Rahman ~ Ya Rahim

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Text and Commentary to Study

This next month we begin reading:

Commentary on

Cosmic Language of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan,

by Murshid Samuel Lewis

He considered this one of his best works.

Read Chapters 1 - 3, pages 5 - 25.

Click to download

Commentary on Cosmic Language

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