Dearest Family,
Greetings of the Heart for the Spring Equinox!
Had a wonderful visit in Ashland with great musicians accompanying for the Raga Concert and a sweet community turnout for the retreat.
On Saturday I travel down to Colombia for a weeklong Easter retreat at the Ecovillage Atlantida, meeting old friends and new, sharing the teachings along with Murshida Darvesha.
April takes me to Charlottesville, VA where I share in guiding the Annual Jamiat Aam.
For our next wazifa practice lets recite three wazifas that appear sequentially on the list and all deal with opening the flow, having what one needs on the path and opening the Way, all in tune with the coming of Spring.
For our next text lets study a paper, Githa Dhyana (On Meditation) that was originally thought to be by Hazrat Inayat Khan and later assumed to be Murshid Sam’s writings.
Much love, Shabda
16. Ya Wahhab (yaa wah-HAAB)
Al-Wahhab gives divine blessings continually and universally. It is a flow that is without disruption and which is freely given without any expectation of return. It is the one who constantly refreshes.There is no restraint based on scarcity, as its source is super-abundant. A form from the same root,mawhibah, is a cloud that rains freely on everything. Another form, mawhoob, is a child or any blessing given to you by God.
By invoking Ya Wahhab you become identified with a stream flowing continuously from the divine source, and everything you need in life is already fully present and flowing in that stream. It is closely related to Ya Razzaq (17) and Ya Fattah (18). In the sound code of the Arabic language, all three share aform that conveys continuous activity.
There is a developmental aspect in considering these three Names together. Al-Wahhab is the free rain that is given to all. Ar-Razzaq is the water that flows into irrigation ditches. Al-Fattah is all the fruit you harvest from all the trees you've irrigated. In other words, Al-Wahhab is a free gift; ar-Razzaq offers the means for achieving abundance; al-Fattah is the continuing action of all that will be accomplished.
17. Ya Razzaq (yaa raz-ZAAḲ)
Ar-Razzaq is the one who continuously provides the means for each of us to get what we need for our daily sustenance, our bread and butter. The noun rizq, formed from its root, means a gift of blessing from which all can benefit. The adage “The bounty of the dates can be seen at the bottom of the well” illustrates the meaning of ar-Razzaq. If you make use of the water of the well and draw it up and irrigateyour palm trees every day, you will get the dates.
There are endless opportunities to benefit from the divine gifts that are offered by ar-Razzaq, and endless ways to make them available to others. Ar-Razzaq is also seen in a person’s openness to receivedivine provenance. The word al-arzaaq means “endless gifts.” The truly endless gifts are the gifts ofrahma: compassion, mercy, and love. The one who always gives these gifts has an infinite supply in treasure houses of infinite love.
18. Ya Fattah (yaa fat-TAAḤ)
Al-Fattah means both to begin and to open. Through it you begin to open your heart to the infinite possibilities of the divine presence. With al-Fattah, the opening is continuous. It is an enlightenmentthat keeps happening. Al-Fattah brings great power to clear the way of obstacles and open the path ofyour life for success. It is the one who opens the heart to love and ecstasy.
Al-Fattah means to open something with something else, a key. It is the key to opening the heart to Allah, the key to finding the God within. Reciting Ya Fattah is a very powerful practice because, even in the midst of despair, it brings the possibility of awakening to love and ecstasy. Its activity in us is opening up the veils of darkness over the heart to uncover the light within. Al-Fattah is the continuous action of all that will be accomplished. Invocation of Ya Fattah sets up the dynamic of going deeper and deeper in the process of opening.
TEXT and COMMENTARY to STUDY
This month we begin reading Githa Dhyana (On Meditation) by Murshid Samuel Lewis, also known as Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti (One Who is Drawn to God by Grace). Read the Introduction and Series I: Numbers 1 through 2(A), pages 1-9. Click here to download the document.
Ashland Raga Concert
Pir Shabda with the band
Ashland Retreat
LOCAL BIRDS AND SIGHTS
Snowy Egret
Common Gallinule
Female Common Merganser
Female Mallard
Night Heron
Otter
Water Speedwell
Upcoming Events and Teachings
See Pir Shabda's calendar for more information.