A dervish is an apprentice, one who is learning the profession that will provide eternal livelihood. This profession is still taught in certain "schools of higher learning." While there are many skills that can be self-taught or learned alone, the skills of dervishood are learned by being in relationship to a shaikh, or guide, [...]
October 8, 2020 A talk on Suluuk, and the "Five-Fold Circle of Suluuk" August 6, 2020 Meditation on breath and sohbet on Hold tight to the rope of God. July 30, 2020 Eid July 16, 2020 A contemplation on the Nur of the Beloved. [The sohbet recording was unfortunately [...]
“Homily” by Shaikh Kabir as part of "A Celebration of the InterSpiritual Legacy of Father Thomas Keating"
With unique clarity, this book describes how presence can be developed to vastly improve our lives. Drawing on the work of the beloved Sufi poet, Rumi, as well as traditional material and personal experience, this book integrates the ancient wisdom of Sufism with the needs of contemporary life. Completely revised and updated for its 25th anniversary, this edition of Living Presence offers a wisdom that is both universal and practical.
I can easily imagine the criticism that will arise from the title Holistic Islam, the title of a book of ours that will likely be published in 2017. Some will accuse us of trying to adapt Islam to a fashionable trend of modern society. Some will say there is no need for any word in front of Islam because Islam is the true religion and there is nothing about Islam that needs to change.
I want to ask you about that strange, unsettling episode in your life I’ve only seen in the religious biographies – the story about your heart being taken out of your body. . .
“Sufism reflected the universal human desire to go beyond the practice and precepts of religion for a deeper unity with the Almighty. And, in that spiritual and mystical enquiry, Sufis experienced the universal message of the Almighty: That perfection in human life is reflected in the qualities that are dear to God. That all are creations of God; and, that if we love God, we must also love all his creations. For the Sufis, therefore, service to God meant service to humanity."
The purpose of human life can be stated as: to attain the knowledge of Reality. Everything that is given to human beings through revelation is to guide us to knowing our true selves and through our selves to attain the knowledge of all the dimensions of reality. We are in the process of becoming the non-judging, objective witness, al Shahid. . .
Plenary talk by Shaikh Kabir at the Sufi World Forum in New Delhi, India, where he spoke about the weapons of beauty, friendship, music, poetry, and continual remembrance of Allah, and the urgent need to honor and empower women.
Something you and I share in common is having two families. The circumstances are different, but somehow I feel that both of us came away with a similar sense of belonging everywhere and nowhere at once. . .