Beloved Family,
After a whirlwind three weeks journey I am very happy to be home for a week, before traveling to a Sufi retreat on Kauai!
I thoroughly enjoyed being with our German family at Rahmana’s retreat center HausAnanda about 45 minutes into the countryside near Berlin. Please welcome new mureed Sophia Kimpel. She is a wonderful being who WILL make a difference in this world!
From there I traveled to Scotland, hosted by Maris, whose new name is Dakini, along with her two beautiful daughters Iona and Alana Maya. Murshid Saadi and I shared teachings at Allanton Peace Sanctuary in Southern Scotland.
After Sunday lunch at Allanton, I quickly drove to Edinburgh and flew to Heathrow and Delhi, arriving Monday midday to help facilitate and participate in the Universal Sufi Council Pilgrimage, with distinguished participants from all over the world. Hosted by Murshid Karimbakhsh, 95 year old leader from the Sufi Movement, former Dutch Finance Minister and head of the IMG.
The head Imam of India, Dr Umer Illaysi, joined us, as did Lungelwa, a wonderful light of a being, a Reverend and Chancellor and the wife of the Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa. The deep and refined Mevlevi Sheikha Nur Artiran joined us from Istanbul along with 3 lovely senior mureeds. Sufi Sheikhs from Ajmer, Bangladesh, Sheikh Tijani from Ghana, Rabbi Gabriel a Sephardic Rabbi from France, Ahamed Jonathan Granoff, a very dear friend, disciple of Guru Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, now centered at the UN as the head of the Global Security Institute to end nuclear weapons worldwide. Leaders from Kirpal Singh lineage, Kriya Yoga, as well as leaders from Brahma Kumaris participated. Leaders from the Temple of Understanding as well as the Parliament of World Religions also joined.
With the wish of promoting human values beyond race, gender, religion and wealth we came up with the following Peace Pilgrims Pledge which I invite you to join in (See below)!
We started at Hazrat Inayat Khan’s Dargah with Zuleikha opening the proceeding by performing a dance while symbolically holding the world. The next morning I gave a Raga Concert invoking Sufi saints. We made pilgrimage to the various Sufi saints, had substantive dialogue, an evening public program with music and keynote speeches, a meeting in the President of India’s office, and then off to Ajmer and more festivities at the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
Later in March I will travel to Madison WI for the Annual Jamiat Aam, and then much of April I will be in New Zealand and Australia!
Mid May I travel to the Abode to host the Annual Federation of the Sufi Message Gathering and June begins with a Sufi Celebration at Omega Institute.
This year I am the Spiritual Director of the Mendocino Sufi Camp and have the privilege of teaching at the Northwest Sufi Camp. In late August we have the Murshid Sam Dargah Blessing Ceremony Retreat marking the completion of the construction of the Dargah!
Much love,
Shabda
Recite 101x YA JABBAR
9. Ya Jabbar (yaa jab-BAAR)
Al-Jabbar is an expression of divine power that allows you to accomplish things or to act in the world. It is a healing strength. It carries the root meaning of setting a broken bone to heal it. Al-Jabbar means the strength to continuously heal all things all the time, the strength to heal brokenness. It is compelling, but only in the sense of stabilizing you in a consistent direction of movement.
When recited, Ya Jabbar empowers the sincere practitioner with an enduring strength so that nothing can shake you. Through embodying this quality your existence becomes unified. It is the mender of our fractured existence.
To hear the pronunciation: Ya Jabbar
TEXT and COMMENTARY to STUDY
This month we continue reading Yours in the Infinite, a series of letters from Hazrat Inayat Khan to Murshida Rabia Martin. Read pages 40-56. Click here to download the document.
Initiating Sophia in Germany
New mureed Sophia Kimpel
Scotland Retreat
Group shot Scotland Retreat
Pir Shabda and Iona selfie
Pir Shabda and Alana Maya selfie
Scottish Blue Tit
Zuleikha Dancing at Hazrat Inayat Khan’s Dargah
Sitting in Hazrat Inayat Khan’s Dargah
Raga Concert for Universal Sufi Council
Making prayers inside Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia’s Dargah
Pir Shabda inviting the dervish into the mosque
Our group in the mosque by Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia’s Dargah
Pir Shabda, Sheikh Tijani and Syed Salman Chishty
Ahamed Jonathan Granoff giving keynote speech at public event
Dialogue at the Universal Sufi Council
Brigette van Baren–Codirector of the Universal Sufi Council
Our very own Dylan Smeder attending and filming the Universal Sufi Council
Our visit to the President’s office
Group photo in the President’s office
Woman saint welcoming us to Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s Dargah
Carrying Chaddar to Khwaja Moinuddin’s Dargah
Evening time around Khwaja Moinuddin’s Dargah
Khwaja Moinuddin’s Dargah at night
Purana Qila, 13th century architecture in Delhi
Brahminy Myna Birds in Delhi
Delhi Eagle
Rose Ringed Parakeets
Upcoming Events and Teachings
See Shabda's calendar for more information.