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SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

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The soul can be likened to the rose; as a rosebud blooms, so the soul unfolds itself . The Newsletter of the Sufi Movement in Australia, Inc Hazrat Inayat Khan Greetings Winter 2010 Volume 14, No. 2
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Greetings When the Murshid arrived at the assembly of his disciples, each one greeted the other, saying, ‘Ishq Allah, Ma’bud Allah. God is love and Beloved. Spirit Matters The Newsletter of the Sufi Movement in Australia, Inc Winter 2010 Volume 14, No. 2 The soul can be likened to the rose; as a rosebud blooms, so the soul unfolds itself. Hazrat Inayat Khan
Transcript
Page 1: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Greetings

When the

Murshid

arrived

at the

assembly of

his disciples,

each one greeted

the other,

saying,

‘Ishq Allah,

Ma’bud Allah.

God is

love

and

Beloved.

Spirit Matters The Newsletter o f the

Suf i Movement i n Austral i a , Inc

Winter 2010

Volume 14, No. 2

The soul can be likened

to the rose;

as a rosebud blooms,

so the soul unfolds itself.

Hazrat Inayat Khan

Page 2: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Spirit Matters Page 2

What’s Inside Spirit Matters this season?

Memberships & SubscriptionsMemberships & SubscriptionsMemberships & SubscriptionsMemberships & Subscriptions

Membership to the Sufi Movement in Australia is open to all.

If you find yourself drawn to the ideals of universal spiritual brother-and-sisterhood,

you may be interested in becoming a member.

The Sufi Movement in Australia offers an annual Sufi Summer Retreat, classes in

centres around Australia and a quarterly newsletter, in addition to affiliation with

The International Sufi movement, its teachers & activities.

Annual Membership Fees

Single—$75

Family—$100

Annual Newsletter Subscription $20

Please contact the Treasurer

(see back page for details)

Editorial The choice of the gorgeous red rose on this issue’s

front cover was guided by a number of factors. Firstly,

I was perusing the Nature Meditation section of the

Spirit Matters website, trolling for photos to illustrate

this issue (thanks to Nuria and Azad for all the floral,

arboreal (below) and mountain[al?] pics) and I fell in

love with the deep red in this photo. Secondly, for

some reason the rose seemed wintry to me, perhaps

because Perth is an excellent city for roses and it defi-

nitely feels like winter over here (though no snow,

alas). Thirdly, the rose, as a symbol for the soul and

spiritual endeavour, has always been close to my own

heart. And last but not least, I hope you enjoyed its

vibrant colour as you opened your electronic copy of

Spirit Matters.

Thank you to all our poets, scribblers, financial adviser

and message-bringers for the content of this season’s

newsletter.

May your hearts stay warm and toasty (and blossom-

ing), even if your toes and fingers are stiffening from

the nip of winter.

With love, Sakina

Contents

3 Letter from the national representative —

Nuria Daly

4 Poetry Page — Chamanafroz

5 Poetry Page — Kafia Airey and Zora Floren

6 Sufi Teaching — Health & Order of Body &

Mind: Balance — Hazrat Inayat Khan

9 A poem by Rumi

10 Story — Ariel’s Eternity —

Ananda Bernadette Hogan

11 Story — Autumn Walk in the Forest:

A Stumble — Nuria Daly

12 Sufi Movement Business —

A letter from Nawab Pasknak

13 September Retreat flyer

14 Financial Business— Financial statements for

financial year

15 Upcoming Events

Page 3: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Page 3 Winter 2010

These last few months have been very pleasant down here in Melbourne, with no news of floods or fires, in fact we have had an Indian summer so to speak and it is still very mild. Rhu na Craig has now passed to its new owners and Devaki has had various garage sales and activity on EBay, selling much of the contents of the house. Devaki plans to give the proceeds to the Dargah in India. It has been a very huge effort on her part. In the meanwhile we have found a new venue which is smallish but cosy, with a kitchen we can use for retreat days. We are finding it very comfortable and the atmos-phere is lovely – warm and inviting. The Buddha Birthday celebration on 15th May has be-come an annual event for us, as we were once again invited to take part in the Interfaith Prayer service there. With the weather being so good there was a great turn-out with lots of people in Federation Square for the occasion.

We have belatedly had out autumn day of Peace and Repose which had the theme of remembrance and we now are preparing for our Winter Retreat. To date we have 18 participants booked in this year so this is en-couraging, especially as it is being held in Amberley and there is a minimum attendance target!

Shortly after winter retreat, Azad and I are off to Sum-mer School in Holland again. It has been a few years since we were there last, but we felt a strong desire to see our Pir O Murshid again and to celebrate 100 years of the Sufi message. Indeed there will also be a retreat in Sydney from 24th September to 28th September 2010 to also celebrate this occasion. This past year I have been involved and absorbed in the genealogy of my father’s side of the family, which was, until now, totally unknown to me. It has been fascinat-ing but also difficult to deal with at times. The history of Eastern Europe from the 17th to 20th centuries really reflects the human condition, both good and bad, and the laws to restrict and control the people who man-aged to rise above all of that and to survive and even thrive. So I have once again been seeing the good in the bad and the bad in the good. This outer search for who we are, is part of the inner search and helps in our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. So after Summer School we will be visiting the Czech Republic – Prague and Brno from where my father’s family have lived in the past, before visiting my cousin in Vienna. Unfortunately for poor Azad, we will be doing a few Jewish cemetery tours finding the (my) ancestors! He is really looking forward to that! We both wish you a warm, calm and peaceful winter.

With love, Nuria and Azad

Letter from Nuria National Representative of SMiA

Beloved brothers and sisters

Page 4: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Spirit Matters Page 4

The Hawthorn Bush Multiflorous, each flowerhead

five white cupped circles

centered around the middle. Out of it arise the androecium

like a gathering of little people

bowing their heads

to the one in the centre where the nectar,

the pollen, awaits to be collected

by the bees to dance it

into sweet honey, nourishment in abundance.

There is abundance in a hawthorn bush,

a gift for all the senses.

Plentiful, overflowing, graceful blossoms move on their branches

in the early summer breeze,

reflecting the beauty of Allah, The One.

Beauty cloaked in rich green fingered foliage; protected.

Cleansed and purified

by a May shower.

Chamanafroz

(poem & illustration)

Poetry Pages

KUNG FU MEDITATIONS: MEDITATI0N I human life is full of sorrow and conflict until we know of the way, whose course may be confusing to the ego. MEDITATION II With deep Self-realization one influences the universe with subtle vibrations and remains unaffected the ebb and flow of events MEDITATION III to attain self-realization on earth is to live a dual existence; one performs worldly duties conscientiously, but is inwardly immersed in spiritual peace.

Chamanafroz

Page 5: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Winter 2010 Page 5

To Die in Love Show me the way To the Mountain of Flight Is it here; is it there? Is the mountain in sight? Where the One can be seen And Angels’ delight, As Seers take the leap In such beautiful flight Then weep as they gently glide Through that veil of pure Light To their Beloved’s embrace Where clasping so tight Joyous songs echo loud From each Lover’s Heart As they gaze and they drown In a Oneness so pure In a wine; a delectable wine Yes, they drink of that nectar And gaze even more Then dance in that drowning But still want to live – In order to die Beyond their ecstatic deaths – to die in a drowning of heavenly wine – to die in the Purist of Light – to die as Love in – Love?

Kafia Doris Airey

Poetry Pages

Prone to Lean My mind has lost its snap which renders it more comfy What it now lacks in acuity it seems to spread into width Helpful notions appearing unearned by reasoning Noor smiled when I told her and hinted of more to come Caught there in her sky eyes I felt myself lean to the future yearning to follow the waymarks

of her journey into gratitude

Zora Bria Floren

(a poem about lunch with Noor)

Page 6: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Spirit Matters Page 6

Sufi Teaching — Health & Order of Body & Mind: Balance

by Hazrat Inayat Khan

1 When looking at the world with the eyes of the seer, we shall see that people who are called wise and people who are called foolish are much nearer to each other than they are ordinarily thought to be: because of their unbalanced state their different occupations are much nearer to each other than they usually appear. The per-son who sees the good in others will see more and more good. The person with a fault finding tendency will see so many faults that at last even the good seems bad in his eyes; the eyes themselves are bad. There is much more chance of a fall for a person who is running than for one that is walking. The activity itself brings about a fall. The activity tends to grow more and more, and by this, balance is lost. Sometimes a person has no balance in telling the truth. He says, ‘I tell the truth,’ and he is regardless of whether it is harmonious with his surroundings, whether people are prepared to receive it. He says, ‘I tell the truth, and I want to fight with everybody because I tell the truth!’ therefore, the lesson of repose is the most important one to be learned. Philosophy itself – the greatest, the highest thing in the world, the knowledge of God – has often been lost through lack of balance. This is why in the Bible, in the Vedanta, in the Quran the truth, told so plainly, is nev-ertheless told in a veiled manner. If the prophets, the masters had spoken the truth in plain words, the world would have gone to the left instead of the right. It has been my own experience that philosophy, when plainly expressed, is understood differently than when it is ex-pressed in a veiled manner. When we speak we become inclined to speak more and more, and we become so fond of speaking that we speak regardless of whether anyone wishes to listen. We say what we do not really wish to say. Afterwards we think, ‘Why did I insult that person? Why did I tell my secret to somebody else?’ Sadi, the great Persian poet says, ‘O, intelligent one, of what use is thine intelligence, if af-terwards thou repentest?’ Whatever we do, whether good or bad, increases in us more and more. If one day a person thinks about music for five minutes, the next day that thought will continue

for half an hour. If one day he thinks about poetry for ten minutes, the next day that thought will continue for an hour. If a person has a little thought of bitterness, unconsciously the thought will grow until his mind is full of bitterness. Every sin comes about in this way. Zarathushtra distinguishes three kinds of sin: the sin of thought, the sin of speech and the sin of action. To have a thought of bitterness, the thought of evil, is like doing evil; to speak evil is like doing evil. And when a person commits an evil action, then the evil is concrete. We have balance of thought, when we can see things not only from our own point of view, with the ideas and feelings in which we are trained, but from all sides. The one-sided person has no balance.

Page 7: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Winter 2010 Page 7

Suppose you are very patriotic and see everything from the point of view of patriotism, and you go to an ironmonger and demand that he should sell you some things at a certain price. But the ironmonger is a poor man and, even for a patriotic purpose, he cannot sell the things at that price. After all he is an ironmonger and he thinks of his trade. He cannot be expected to see with your patriotic eyes. One person thinks only of patriotism. Another says, ‘God save the trade.’ A third, who is a musician, says, ‘They are mad, crazy! Music is the only thing that matters.’ The poet says, ‘poetry is the only thing in the world.’ Each thinks only of that in which he is active. A pious person exag-gerates his piety so much that there is nothing in him but piety, which at last becomes hypocrisy. One will ask: What is balance; and how can we achieve it? First there is the balance of activity and repose, of sleeping and waking. If a person thinks that by sleeping very much he will become great and so sleeps very much, he will become a monster instead of a man, because the body, which is given in order to experience the world, is not used. If one does not sleep at all, in a few days one will have a nervous breakdown. If one fasts very much, certainly one will become very ethereal, one will see into the other world, into other planes. If one has learned the way of inspiration, inspiration will come. But this body, these senses will become weak, so that one will not be able to experience the world for which they were given. Extremity is undesirable in everything, whether good or evil. The majzubs, in India, are those mystics who go to the extreme of spirituality. Their external self is so much forgotten that they leave the experience of the world altogether. To sleep and wake, to eat and fast, to be active and to be still, to speak and to be silent – that is to have balance. The Sufi teaches control of the activity of the body, the balance of the body, by pose, posture and movements, which include namaz, wazifa and zikr. He teaches the balance of the mind by concen-tration. To sit at home and close the eyes is not con-centration. Though the eyes are closed, the thoughts go on. The right object of concentration must be cho-sen. By concentration and meditation a person experiences ecstasy, the greatest happiness and bliss. Guidance of the Murshid is needed for this; otherwise the balance will be lost. A disciple was taught a practice by the

Prophet Muhammad, through which he experienced ecstasy. After some days he came bringing fruit and flowers, which he offered to the Prophet, thanking him greatly and saying, ‘The lesson that you taught me is of so great a value to me. It has brought me such joy. My prayers, which used to last a few min-utes, now last all day.’ The Prophet said, ‘I am glad you liked the lesson, but, please from today on leave it.’ By control of the self a person experiences the higher plane in which all beings are one. The guidance of the teacher, the Murshid, is needed. No one can accom-plish this by themselves. And if anyone could, he would become so much interested in what he experi-enced there, that he would become absent from this world. Absent-mindedness, even lunacy and many other evil consequences would result. Ecstasy is the greatest happiness, the greatest bliss. A person always thinks, ‘I am this which I see. This small amount of flesh and blood, bones and skin is I.’ By ecstasy the consciousness is freed from this body, from this confinement. It experiences its true exis-tence above all sorrow, pain and trouble. That is the greatest joy. To experience it, and to keep control of the body and the senses through which we experience all the life of this world is to have balance. That is the highest state. 2 It is not only strength or nervous energy that enables man to stand on the earth. Besides muscular strength and nervous energy, there is balance. It is balance which enables man to stand and walk without falling. In the absence of balance man will not be able to stand or walk in spite of his muscular strength and nervous energy. When we think of the mind – is it reasoning, is it far-reaching imagination which makes man thoughtful? No, it is balance. There are many whose imagination reaches so far that they can float in the air for hours together, and there are others whose reason is so powerful that they can go round and round and round and end nowhere. If there is anything that makes man thoughtful, it is not great reasoning or far-reaching imagination: it is balance.

Page 8: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Spirit Matters Page 8

Is it the deep feeling of the heart, or is it living in a spiritual ecstasy that makes a person illuminated? No, neither of these things. A person can be in ecstasy, see visions phenomena and yet he may not be called spiri-tual. A person may have religious ideas, he may live a pious life, have lofty ideals, and even then he may not be called an illuminated soul. This shows that in order to make the body as it ought to be, to keep the mind in order, and to maintain it to that pitch, it is balance that is necessary.

When we study nature, we find that the growth of plants and the life of trees all depend upon balance. And when we think of the cosmos and study the condi-tion of the stars and planets, the main thing we realize is that the one holds the other, thereby producing bal-ance. All destruction caused in nature, such as volcanic eruptions, floods, earthquakes, comes from lack of bal-ance. As long as nature holds its balance, the abyss in the heart of the earth can remain as it is. People can walk over it without any damage. Storms and famine, all the difficult conditions caused by nature, show that bal-ance is missing. All the different plagues that come to mankind are caused by the lack of that balance which is the security of the health of humanity. What we call art also comes from a balanced sense of line and color, and what we call genius in science comes from the balance between perception and conception. What do we learn from all this? That the secret of exis-tence of the individual as well as of the whole cosmos lies in one thing and that is balance. It would not be exaggerated if I said that success and failure are caused by balance and by the lack of it. Progress and lack of

progress can be explained as coming from balance and lack of balance. There is another idea connected with what we call bal-ance. Life is movement, balance is something that con-trols it, but perfect balance controls movement too much, bringing it to the pitch of inertia. For instance, if the strength of the right hand were equal to the strength of the left hand, if the right leg and the left leg were equal, man would not be able to work or to walk. If each of the two eyes had the same power of sight, a person would not be able to see. In this way balance controls everything. But, too much balance destroys it, because too much balance brings stillness. The ordinary balance, which is not complete, brings about success. Now the main idea is to know how balance is to be ob-tained and to be retained. In answer to the first ques-tion, how balance is to be attained, I would say that balance is naturally there, so there is no need to attain it. The question is only how to maintain balance and not how to attain it. The influence of our way of life in this active world always puts us off balance. No matter what direction we take in life, no matter what our occupa-tion, our business in life, there is always difficulty in maintaining balance. The Sufis therefore, have found a key to it, and that key is to isolate oneself within and thereby, to gain a com-plete balance within oneself. I have already said that perfect balance means destruction of action, but when we think that from morning till evening our life is noth-ing but action, we naturally cannot keep that balance. By keeping a few minutes for a process of meditation, of silence, we can touch that complete balance for a mo-ment, and then, naturally, in our active life a balance is maintained. Very often people make the mistake of thinking that by the help of meditation or silence they can bring about success in activity. If it brings about a successful result, it is only because complete balance in meditation makes one capable of maintaining the bal-ance necessary for activity. Success, failure, progress, standstill, one's state of be-ing, it all comes from the condition that a person is ex-periencing within himself. A man of common sense will say, ‘For this reason or for that reason you have met with success or failure.’ A person who is clairvoyant will say, ‘Because a spirit or a ghost has said this or that, the conditions must be worse or better.’ The astrologer will say, ‘Because this star is in its house or not in its house, you are experiencing such or such conditions.’

Page 9: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Winter 2010

Page 9

But according to the Sufi idea the condition of life around one depends absolutely on the condition of one's inner self. So what is needed to change the conditions in outer life, or to tune oneself, is to work with one's inner self in order to bring about the necessary balance. Once balance is lost, it is very difficult to bring it about again. In the first place it is often difficult to keep bal-ance in everyday life, and once it is lost, there is very little hope of success, of happiness, or of progress. It is just like a clock getting out of order. It cannot work as long as it is not brought into a proper balance again. And the same is true for the conditions of the soul. If a person has lost his wealth, has become a spendthrift, has become thoughtless, all these things are signs of his loss of balance. To be too sad, to be too busy, to be too lazy, all these things are signs of lack of balance. All that can be called too much is always out of balance. Balance is the security of life, not only in our outward life, but even in maintaining meditation and contempla-tion. People in the East have always considered balance to be the principal thing to maintain in life. All different exercises they have prescribed, whether in the form of religion or in the form of devotion, whether in the phi-losophical or in the psychical realm, are all meant to maintain balance. 3 Balance must be maintained between what is physical and what is eternal by being conscious of both. One must not dive so deep into eternity that one does not know what time it is, nor so immersed in the physical that one is unaware of immortality. As there is night and day, so there is the change of consciousness from the physical to the spiritual, and from the spiritual to the physical. By keeping a balance between these two conditions a person leads a complete life. Balance is something which is as rarely found among mystics as among others. When we become interested in something, it is our nature to want more and more of it, whether it is spirituality or something material. If we become very spiritual and are not material [enough], we lose the world. If we were not meant to live in this world, we would not have been sent here.

A poem by Rumi thinking and the heart's mystical way a peaceful face twists with the poisonous nail of thinking. a golden spade sinks into a pile of dung. suppose you loosen an intellectual knot. the sack is empty. you've grown old trying to untie such tightenings, so loosen a few more, why knot! there is a big one fastened at your throat, the problem of whether you're in harmony with that which has no definition. solve that! you examine substance and accidents. you waste your life making subject and verb agree. you edit hearsay. you study artifacts and think you know the maker, so proud of having figured the derivation. like a scientist you collect data and put facts together to come to some conclusion. mystics arrive at what they know differently: they lay a head upon a person's chest and drift into the answer. thinking gives off smoke to prove the existence of fire. a mystic sits inside the burning. there are wonderful shapes in rising smoke that imagination loves to watch. but it's a mistake to leave the fire for that filmy sight. stay here at the flame's core. Offered by Chamanafroz

Page 10: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Spirit Matters Page 10

Once upon a time there was a little girl whom I call

Ariel, and she could see eternity, sometimes. Some-times, she still can. Her first memory is of being on her fa-ther’s shoulders in a crowd, and know-ing she was safe. On that day, her mother and father had decided to buy a child’s chair for her and it was while they were looking for a chair in a large shop, that her father lifted her onto his shoulders, probably so that she could see better, as she was a very curious child. She still has a photo of herself sitting proudly on the

chair at the back door of her parents’ house, and the chair is beside her bed today. It was on loan to her brothers for a few years, when she seemed too old for it, but one day she took it back and decided it should stay with her.

Ariel’s second memory is of being in her nana’s kitchen on a hot day, barefoot and wearing a pink dress, and feeling totally alive and happy. She was three years old.

Her great-aunt, who was her nana’s sister, had been making pikelets and their smell filled the kitchen. If she thinks back to it now, she can remem-ber the old sink in the corner and the soap that her great-aunts used to wash the dishes.

Ariel also remembers the garden, an old crab-apple tree halfway down the drive, a swan bush and pansies in the front. There was a tall boy named Michael who used to peer over the back fence on one side, and a cobblestone lane on the other side. In autumn the lane would fill with oak leaves and Ariel would wade through them.

There were also hot summer days when she and her Nana would walk up to the shops, and that did seem like an eternity until they were home in the cool old house once again. Time was her own, and she would lay out a set of playing cards along the floor against an old wooden door and make up stories about the Kings, Queens and Jacks, or tease ants by putting them on leaves in a saucer of water and watch them try to escape. It was a half-house, shared with the owners and their son, who would use the shared bathroom for his shave in the morning. Ariel’s great-aunts shared a bedroom in the front, and

she recalls sharing the bedroom with one aunt on one stay but also sleeping under a large black umbrella on the couch in the lounge-room, perhaps when she was younger. Even under the black umbrella, she didn’t really sleep until they went to bed, because the radio and lights were still on.

These memories are unfinished as yet, as I discover that unraveling them is an enchanting process with which I want to take time, but they come to me whenever I look through a lightly curtained window at a sunny sky, and Ariel says to me “Eternity is here”.

Story Pages — Ariel’s Eternity

by Ananda Bernadette Hogan

Page 11: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Winter 2010 Page 11

It was the day before out Autumn Peace day and

Azad and myself were out for our weekly walk in Sher-brooke forest. Every week the atmosphere and feel of the forest is different. On this day it was cool, damp and misty, with lots of bark from the mountain ash cushioning the path. A loop of bark caught my ankle and I went flying in a spectacular stumble, shooting past Azad at speed. What was amazing was that I did not fall with my face on the forest floor. I was able to hold myself up and avoid the crash. When I thought about it I figured that my two years of going to the gym and training to keep myself upright, in spite of crumbling bones, meant that my core muscles were able to keep me upright in that par-

ticular emergency. I saw a parallel with doing spiritual exercises too. If we do our practice, then when life pro-duces these setbacks and problems, we can hold our-selves up and keep going or rise above it all. Further along the walk we came across a lyrebird scav-enging for grubs in the soft damp earth – a very special sight and of course we saw the usual crimson rosellas and a pair of King Parrots. The following day was also very special – our belated autumn Day of Peace and Repose on the topic of Re-membrance. It also happened to be Arif’s birthday and was also the day when Dhanyata’s little son, Theo, came into the world. A wonderful blessing.

Story Pages — Autumn Walk in the Forest: A Stumble

by Nuria Daly

Page 12: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Spirit Matters Page 12

Sufi Movement Business

THE INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE SUFI MOVEMENT

Office of the General Representatives

O Sufi, did you know

that the Inner School is like a ship in which one is sailing on the great waters of Love, Harmony and Beauty,

guided by the compass of the Spirit of Guidance, and driven by the energy of Spiritual Liberty,

heading toward the goal of the annihilation of the ego, where one may begin at last to realize

that the sailor is a ray of the Divine Presence,

sailing in the past, present and future on the waves of our illusions.

DESK OF THE MADAR-UL-MAHAM

To the kind attention of: Date: June 1, 2010

All Mureeds of the International Sufi Movement Subject: Revision of titles in the Esoteric School Dear brothers and sisters in the Message, This is to bring to your deeply appreciated attention a decision recently taken in the Pir-o-Murshid Council and the Jamiat Khas of the Esoteric School of Inner Culture regarding the titles used for the 10th level of ini-tiation, the Junior Representative of the Inner School. Specifically, the decision is to retire the use of the words “Shaikh” and “Shaikha,” leaving only the words “Khalif” and “Khalifa” to signify the function of the Junior Representative. Those who received the designa-tion “Shaikh/a” on the occasion of their 10th initiation are kindly encouraged to change now to the use of “Khalif/a.” This change is to avoid any possible confusion in the public mind, as the title “Shaikh” is also applied in non-spiritual contexts, and its continued use could create an unfortunate association between the Sufi Movement and groups or organizations with very different and sometimes dangerous motives. In that same connection, all workers and representatives are kindly reminded that the titles in the Esoteric School (Naqib/a, Khalif/a, Murshid/a) are not intended for public display, but only for use in the Esoteric School. With hearty thanks for your attention to this matter, and with kindest greetings, Nawab William Pasnak Madar-ul-Maham (Leader of the Esoteric School)

Page 13: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Winter 2010 Page 13

THE SUFI MESSAGE OF UNITYTHE SUFI MESSAGE OF UNITYTHE SUFI MESSAGE OF UNITYTHE SUFI MESSAGE OF UNITY

A celebration of 100 years of the Sufi Message A celebration of 100 years of the Sufi Message A celebration of 100 years of the Sufi Message A celebration of 100 years of the Sufi Message of Love, Harmony and Beauty in the westof Love, Harmony and Beauty in the westof Love, Harmony and Beauty in the westof Love, Harmony and Beauty in the west.

“Our being reaches further than birds can fly,

our own being is finer than the moth and brighter than the flame.”

4pm Fri 244pm Fri 244pm Fri 244pm Fri 24thththth to 12 noon Tuesday 28to 12 noon Tuesday 28to 12 noon Tuesday 28to 12 noon Tuesday 28thththth September, 2010September, 2010September, 2010September, 2010

At The Chevalier Resource Centre

1 Roma Ave, Kensington, Sydney NSW 2033 (Parking onsite).

The celebration/retreat will be guided by experienced leaders of the Sufi Movement in Australia and will include

silence, tuning, wazifa and zikar.

Cost:$445 includes retreat, meals, accommodation, linen and parking.

For further information please contact:

Hamida - 02 9387 5263 m 0420 302 739, [email protected]

or Zubin - [email protected]

REGISTRATION

Please email participant name and phone to [email protected]

and you will receive program, map, dietary needs & next of kin contact forms.

Please deposit $50 asap, full payment by Friday 10full payment by Friday 10full payment by Friday 10full payment by Friday 10thththth September 2010September 2010September 2010September 2010 to

Commonwealth Bank, Brandon Park Branch, Sufi Movement in Australia Inc,

BSB 063 587 Account number 10251994,

Payee Reference: Your nameYour nameYour nameYour name.

“We look forward to celebrating 100 years of the Sufi Message in the west.”

Page 14: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Spirit Matters Page 14

Financial Business—Statement of Income & Expenses

Report from the National Treasure, Azad Daly

SUFI MOVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER, 2009

2008 2009 $ $ $

INCOME 14,715 Summer Retreat - 2009 18,860 1,955 Members’ Fees 2,200

116 Magazine Subscriptions 135 75 Donations SMIA 75

2,318 Donations (Other) - 1,530 Sales – Books/CDs 1,469

960 Winter Retreat 1,810 200 Summer School – 2009 - 740 Peace Days (Net) 408

0 Dargah Fund 750 0 Murad Hassil Fund 500

22,609 26,207

EXPENDITURE 550 Audit Fees 550

2 Bank Fees 148 448 Insurance 534

10,473 Summer Retreat 18,135 436 Postage – Spirit Matters 395

1,154 Printing & Stationery 629 1,610 Purchases – Books/CDs 176 3,500 Subscription – Head Office 3,500

39 – Consumer Affairs 40 418 Mid Winter Retreat 599 313 Sundry Purchases -

1,300 Transfer to India - 2,257 Deposit – Summer School 2007 -

185 Web Page Expenses 498 1,500 Grant – Murshid Sharif -

0 Dargah Fund 1,800 0 Murad Hassil Fund 900 0 Baroda Fund 610 0 Miscellaneous 771

24,185 29,285 -1,576 EXCESS OF EXPENDITURE OF INCOME -3,078

Balance at beginning of period 11,038 LESS Excess of expenditure over Income 3,078 BALANCE AT END OF PERIOD 7,960 Represented By:- Cash at Bank 7,275 Loan from Azad Daly -59 Stock on Hand (at Cost) 744 7,960

Continued next page

Page 15: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Winter 2010 Page 15

Upcoming Events INVITATION TO

THE SUMMER SCHOOL IN

THE UNIVERSEL MURAD HASSIL

NETHERLANDS

14th JULY – 21st JULY 2010

You are most heartily invited to the Summer School 2010

which will be held in the Universel Murad Hassil in Katwijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. Sufis from all over the world have been coming together at this very special place in the dunes for many years, to experience the sacred atmos-phere. Our beloved Master, Hazrat Inayat Khan, inaugu-rated summer schools in Suresnes. We are privileged to come together in an harmonious and sacred atmosphere to be inspired and to have a wonderful time together.

Enquiries to [email protected]

or our own national representative, Nuria Daly.

Leaders’ Retreat: Retreat for Mureeds: Summer School: Children’s Summer School: Commemoration and Artistic Evening:

Soefi Dagen (Dutch):

11-12th July 14th July 15 – 21st July 16 – 18th July 19th July 23 – 25th July

With regards to Income it can be seen that we raised our income from $22,609 to $26,207 ($3,598.00). This was due mainly to increased income from the higher attendance fees charged for the Summer Retreat ($4,145.00). After last year’s decline, SMIA membership fees in-creased from $1995 to $2,200. Actual SMIA numbers are up from 28 to 31 paid up members. Book sales were more on less on par with last year ($60). Revenue from the Winter Retreat in Melbourne almost doubled from $960 to $1,810. Revenue from the Peace days declined, due to three (3) Peace days being included in last year’s figures as opposed to the ‘normal’, as in this year’s figures, that is two (2) Peace days. Overall Expenditure was up by a hefty $5,100.00 again mainly due to the increase for the Summer Retreat venue of St. Josephs ($7,662). Other increases in ex-penditure are in bank charges, and insurance and Web Page expenses (Web Page was re–vamped).

Income from the retreat at St. Joseph’s was $18,860 whilst expenditure just to cover venue costs was $18,135, add in some other misc. costs (printing and flowers etc) and the surplus wasn’t all that much. If you then add in the cost of Murshid Nawab’s airfare and the contribution to HQ totalling $3,500, then you can see that our surplus becomes a minus, so that our overall balance decreased substantially by ($3,078). So a surplus from Retreats is very necessary for us to continue to function, as we have over the past years. (By the way, this Financial Year is Oct 1st 2009 to Sep 30th 2010) Just to give a current update on this: We had an at-tendance of 16 people for this year’s (2010) Summer Retreat. As I had costed for a “worst case” scenario we ended up with a small surplus, however the overall picture for the next few years isn’t a good one. For instance we have, to date, a paid up membership of 26 members (this includes 2 new members) - despite 3 various forms of reminders being sent out. If we con-tinue like this and still have to pay for our annual bills such as: general liability insurance, our accountants fees, our newsletter and all the stuff that I have re-peated ad nauseam over the last few years then SMIA will be in financial difficulties – it’s as simple as that!

THE OIL

WHICH KEEPS THE LIGHT BURNING

November 1-8, 2010 An eight-day retreat at the Dargah of Hazrat Inayat Khan,

New Delhi, India UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF MURSHID NAWAB PASNAK

My heart, hold closely the oil which keeps the light burning. —HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN—

This retreat is for mureeds of Hazrat Inayat Khan; some experience with the teaching style of the retreat guide is recommended.

Each day involves both group practice and suggested individual exercises. The retreat is limited to fifteen places.

Cost, Deposit and Accommodation: The retreat fee is €575, or the equivalent, with

50% due upon registration, and the balance payable upon arrival at the Dargah. The fee includes food and accommodation for ten days (the retreat plus two days extra) staff gratuities, a contribution to the Staff Welfare Fund, and a donation to the

Dargah. Additional contributions and donations are of course welcome. Extra days of accommodation can be arranged at a modest cost. Accommodation will be either in the Dargah retreat house or a nearby guest-house. Food and lodging are simple, Indian style, but most rooms have western style toilets. Please note that during the

retreat, accommodation can only be provided for retreat participants; those planning on further travel in India with friends or family should arrange to meet them before or after the retreat. Health and Visas: When planning your trip, remember that all foreigners require a visa to enter India; a simple tourist visa is usually the easiest to obtain. Also, you may wish to discuss your trip with a doctor or travel clinic.

Registration and Information: To register, or to request further informa-tion, please contact Nirtan Ekaterina Pasnak at [email protected].

Page 16: SpiritMatters-Vol14-Issue2 winter 2010

Regional Contacts and Representatives

Contacts

NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE

Nuria Daly Ph: 03 9561 4861

16 Petronella Ave Email: [email protected]

Wheelers Hill. VIC. 3150

VICE-PRESIDENT

Celia Genn Ph: 07 5494 0724

2524 Old Gympie Rd Email: [email protected]

Beerwah. QLD. 4519

SECRETARIES

Sabura Allen Ph: 03 9533 4658

19 D’Arcy Ave Email:

Sandringham. VIC. 3191 [email protected]

Devaki Muller Ph: 03 9515 9660

62 Marshall Ave Email: [email protected]

Clayton. VIC. 3168

TREASURER

Azad Daly Ph: 03 9561 4861

16 Petronella Ave Email: [email protected]

Wheelers Hill. VIC. 3150

International Sufi Movement Contacts

REPRESENTATIVE GENERAL

24 Banstraat Ph: +31 70 346 1781

2517 GJ The Hague Email: [email protected]

Netherlands

GENERAL SECRETARIAT

78 Anna Pulownastraat Ph: +31 70 346 1594

2518 BJ The Hague Fax: +31 70 361 4864

Netherlands Email: [email protected]

Sufi Movement Web Sites

International Sufi Movement

www.sufimovement.org

Sufi Movement in Australia

www.smia.com.au

Melbourne City Sufi Circle

www.suficircle.websyte.com.au

For more related links, please go to

http://www.sufimovement.org/links.htm

ACT Talibah Josephine Lolicato Ph: 02 6297 5107

1 Sorrel Place Email: [email protected]

Queanbeyan. ACT. 2620

ACT—ROSE GARDEN Zubin Shore Ph: 0438 550247

849 Lake Rd Email: [email protected]

Bungendore. ACT. 2621

NSW—GRAYS POINT Kafia Airey Ph: 02 9525 0137

98 Grays Point Rd Email: [email protected]

Grays Point. NSW. 2232

NSW—NEW ENGLAND Karim and Bahkti Parkhurst Ph: 02 6778 4701

Sitara Manzil, 30 Bridge St Email: [email protected]

Uralla. NSW. 2358

NSW—SYDNEY Hamida Janice Ph: 02 9387 5263

PO Box 3371 Email: [email protected]

Tamarama. NSW. 2026

QLD—GLASSHOUSE Celia Genn Ph: 07 5494 0724

MOUNTAINS 2524 Old Gympie Rd Email: cgenn@bigpond. Com

Beerwah. QLD. 4519

TASMANIA Habiba Aubert Ph: 03 6223 6085

82 Princes St

Sandy Bay. TAS. 7005

VICTORIA—MELBOURNE Nuria Daly Ph: 03 9561 4861

16 Petronella Ave Email: [email protected]

Wheelers Hill. VIC. 3150

EDITOR, Spirit Matters Sakina Jacob Ph: 0448 839641

Email: [email protected]


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