Wise Words
Friday, April 20, 2012 By Maryam
Jashn e Khusrau
sufism
tasawwuf
sufi poems
sufi masters
Art in Sufism
Friday, April 20, 2012 By Maryam
This is a breathtaking water color painting made by S. a. Noori. An article about a recent exhibition in Islamabad covers the spirituality that lives in them:
From Tribune.com./pk:
Noory’s work is nuanced with Sufism- white bearded men in trance, holding the Quran. Perhaps the most intriguing piece is a painting of a tall, bearded man with his hand outstretched upwards holding onto a rope as he looks serenely towards the sand. The rope goes straight into the sky and out of the painting where the viewer is left wondering where the other end of the rope must be.You can read the complete article here.
sufism
tasawwuf
sufi poems
sufi masters
Sanam Marvi
Friday, April 20, 2012 By Maryam
From GulfNews comes this article about Sanam Marvi, considered one of the youngest singer-story tellers:
The rising voice of Sufi music
It's about love … the love of humanity.
It's about a world with no boundaries, no violence and no hunger.
It's about a path that says the only true thing to live by is ‘Haq' or ‘right'.
Its instrument is music. Its storytellers are poets and singers.
Its battle, or ‘jihad', is against the ever-manifest human ego.
Sufism is — compassion. And Sanam Marvi perhaps its youngest storyteller.
To continue reading this article please click here
sufism
tasawwuf
sufi poems
sufi masters
What is Real Love?
Friday, April 20, 2012 By Maryam
tasawwuf
sufi poems
sufi masters
Finding the Mystic Life in All of Us
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 By Maryam
To read the full article, visit this article that appeared on the Huffington Post.Mysticism seems to move beyond the barriers of duality created by traditional religious doctrines, and expresses the "one Reality" that the saint-like Hindu, Mātā Amritānandamayī Devi, known as Ammachi, addressed during her 2000 visit to the United Nations. Mysticism is the search for an accord with, or awareness of, a spiritual truth or God through direct experience or insight. This idea is investigated by one of Ammachi's followers, Ethan Walker III, who, in the Mystic Christ, claims to have found God in his own life. He declares:
By exploring other faiths we begin to see what is common to all paths: love, tolerance, innocence, compassion, devotion to God, forgiveness and service to others. As these essential aspects are clarified and reinforced by their appearance again and again in the major faiths of the world, we begin to find acceptance and tolerance toward other faiths.
Sufism and Peace
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 By Maryam
This article talks about how scholars and educationists in India are urging the government to hold an international conference on Sufism to promote the message of peace and love as well as an invitation to people from all over the world to attend the conference in which it would be asked the creation of a Sufi University for research.
Call to hold international moot on Sufism
The Breath of the Merciful
Sunday, January 30, 2011 By Maryam
The Breath of the Merciful is understood as the cosmic dynamic that vitalizes the many in the One. It is the ever-present ‘Breathing’ that makes it possible for this infinite universe of duality to come into being while never being other than the nondual essence of the One. Seeing the nature of this dynamic gives us a chance to intuitively understand how there can simultaneously be the one indivisible essence of the Realand the endless proliferation of phenomena. This understanding, if it occurs, is not conceptual and is not simply a metaphysical nicety. ‘Getting’ the relation between the relative and the absolute is at the heart of all experiences of spiritual awakening.
This is a very interesting article about the Mysticism of Music that I invite you to read
Three Pearls
Sunday, September 26, 2010 By Maryam
Three pearls fell down the river, from my broken necklace. I let them go, let them see what I couldn’t, let them encounter adventures I would never dream of.
But don’t look at us, the pearls said while I glanced from the distance, and my feet started to wallk back home over the dusty ground.
Look at the pearls of the Unseen, you are lucky, we are almost there, and we are tears now. Not pearls. You are lucky, they said, for the waiting, the searching, the seeking, is the whole adventure, the great reward, where rivers of pearls become tears of joy. We are now tears going to encounter the ocean of Love. But you are still not there, so feel and cry, and suffer and smile and struggle, because this is where all the signs of Love can lead you to be what we are now. And I sighed and desired to be them.
Thoughts from a young girl.
A Quote by Ibn Arabi
Monday, August 30, 2010 By Maryam
All those among the Sufis who had no visible murshid (guide), that is, an earthly man like themselves and a contemporary, called themselves Uwaysis. One of the most famous was abu'l-Hasan Kharraqani (d. 425/1034), an Iranian Sufi, who left us the following saying: I am amazed at those disciples who declare that they require this or that master. You are perfectly well aware that I have never been taught by any man. God was my guide, though I have the greatest respect for all the masters.
Ibn al-'Arabi (1165 - 1240)
Say I Am With You
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 By Maryam
The Shadow of your Soul
Saturday, March 20, 2010 By Maryam
Where is the shadow of your soul?
It rests silent among the chaos;
it looks for a sparkle of light to be gone;
suddenly, a myriad of joy reflects upon your soul, dismissing the echoes of terrible nights, wondering, wandering, for the perfect flower, the perfect bird, the perfect love.
The shadow awaits, in silence, until you give to your soul the delicious tears, the miracle of tasting the bitterness with joy.
Then, it goes away, waiting to return, to be sheltered in your heart’s lap, until you understand that it is what makes you desire the Light of Lights. Until you understand it is a companion you are aware of, forever in your path.
Do not ignore it, just embrace it. Like the child who has no mother, transform the sadness into laughter, into Love. Do not ignore what is giving you the Desire to attain True Love. After all, it is also a guide, a silent guide that brings you to the contrary way, the way you follow when you Love. Be always thankful to the wrong things that happen in your life, because they are the key to your inner strength. The shadow of your soul follows you, no matter what.
Maryam
A Mystic Journey - Canada
Friday, March 19, 2010 By Maryam
Saturday March 20. 10:15- 11.
Place:
109 855, rue Sherbrooke Ouest Montréal, QC Canada H3A 2TMore Information: Pavillon Leacock
Osho : The Sufi is not an escapist
Monday, March 15, 2010 By Maryam
Please read this article about the sufi character, it is very beautiful, and important. Via The Mystical Path
Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam
Monday, March 15, 2010 By Maryam
For hundreds of millions of Sufi followers worldwide, music is at the heart of their tradition and a way of getting closer to God. From the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey to the qawwali music of Pakistan, Sufism has produced some of the world�s most spectacular music celebrated by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Dalrymple�s film traces the shared roots of Christianity and Islam in the Middle East and discovers Sufism to be a peaceful, tolerant and pluralistic…
International conference on Sufism and peace begins in Pakistan
Monday, March 15, 2010 By Maryam
Delegates from 70 countries are attending the conference which is aimed at promoting the philosophy of Sufism as it can help fight the menace of extremism.
Source: Xinhua
READ MORE
Religious experts explore other faiths
Thursday, March 11, 2010 By Maryam
There are two things people should never to bring to the dinner table: politics and religion. But when four experts of clashing religions converge on grounds to understand one another, the outcome like the attempt, is unparalleled.
Spiritual Heritage
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 By Maryam
Written by Lewellyn Vaughan-Lee, I have thought of sharing it here too.
Peace and Blessings, Maryam.
We live in a culture of religious diversity that is at present experiencing a reawakening of interest in spirituality. If we are to more fully understand what this reawakening might mean, it seems to me that we need to clarify the traditional difference between religion and spirituality, between the exoteric and the esoteric.
Exoteric refers to a religious doctrine or body of knowledge that is accessible to anyone. It does not rely upon one's individual inner experience of the divine or what is sacred. Religious teachings have often emphasized that following religious doctrine is more important than one's individual spiritual experience, and some have discouraged inner experiences altogether.
In contrast esoteric teachings and their practices are usually a way to help the individual have a direct inner experience of the sacred. They are based upon the understanding that there is a world of the spirit that is very different than the purely physical world of the senses. Esoteric studies often involve specific spiritual practices that are quite distinct from religious observances. These practices are a way to access the world of the spirit--leading finally to awaken or be born into this reality that is invisible to our physical eyes.
Spiritual teachings of all cultures tell us that just as we have a physical body, so too do we have a spiritual body. This is the body of our spiritual self. In some Indian traditions it is described as having a series of energy centers, or chakras. In Sufism it is described as a series of chambers within the heart--that just as we have a physical heart we also have a spiritual heart which contains our divine consciousness. In Taoism it is sometimes imaged as a spirit body or light body. Our spiritual body has qualities such as peace, bliss and endless love that are rarely found in our outer lives. What is common to most esoteric traditions is that we can access this spiritual body through specific practices or techniques, meditation, mantra, breathing practices and others.
Many religions have an esoteric core, for example the Jewish Kabbalah, or Sufism which is known as the heart of Islam. Yet, at different times in history religions have banned or persecuted as heresy esoteric teachings and their practitioners. Early Christianity had a known esoteric dimension, for example in the teachings of the Gospel of Thomas that point to an inner spiritual mystery, as in the words of Jesus: "I disclose my mysteries to those who are worthy of my mysteries." Sadly the orthodoxy of the early Church banned the inner, esoteric aspect of Jesus' teachings, and the Gospel of Thomas became heresy, its copies destroyed, until one copy was rediscovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945.
The esoteric, spiritual teachings that can be found within many religions, shamanic and other traditions form part of our spiritual heritage. They remind us that we are not just physical beings in a physical world, but that our lives and also our bodies have a spiritual dimension. We are beings of light as well as flesh and blood. There is a world within and around us to which we can have access that is very different to the physical world. Yet the spiritual and physical worlds are not separate, but interpenetrate and nourish each other.
At this present time there is a hunger for direct inner experience, a need to reclaim our spiritual heritage. While our materialistic culture tries to keep our attention firmly in the physical world of the senses, many of us sense a longing to know this hidden mystery of what it means to be human. And so we are able to turn to the teachings and traditions that have been given to us, whether in yoga, Buddhist meditation, Sufi dhikr or other spiritual practices. It is important to recognize the root of our longing, that we are no longer prepared to live in a purely physical world, but need the living presence of the spiritual. We need to know and be nourished by the invisible world that is within us and all around us. We need to reclaim the mystery and magic of being fully alive.
We also need to confront the specter of death. So many people, knowing only the physical world, remain frightened of death. Religious teachings create a clear division between this life and the afterlife, which may carry the promise of heaven or the threat of hell. Spiritual experience can lift the veils between the worlds, allowing us to glimpse a spiritual reality while we remain present in the physical world. Many people have had near death experiences in which they see a light at the end of a tunnel. Our spiritual heritage can give us access to this light while we are still in this world. This is the light found within the heart, the light of our divine self. It is beautifully imaged in the Gospel of St. Matthew which speaks about the oneness of real inner perception: "If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."
Spiritual life can take us beyond death. In Sufism this is called "to die before you die," to awaken to the world of light while still alive in this world. Then you know that there is no such thing as death, or in Jesus' words in the Gospel of Thomas, "Whoever discovers the interpretations of these sayings will not taste death."
Spiritual truth is at the heart of all religions, and yet it is also beyond the divisions that plague our world. It is about the oneness, the love and the light that is within us all, and to which as human beings we can have access. Spiritual teachings and their practices can give us each our own individual experience of this very human reality, help us to live in the light of this oneness rather than stumbling in the darkness of so many divisions. I feel that our present spiritual reawakening is a deep longing, a need to step into this light.
17-24 April: 4th Festival of Sufi Culture in Morocco
Friday, February 26, 2010 By Maryam
The 4th Fez Festival of Sufi Culture will be held from 17 to 24 April in the palaces, riads and Andalusian gardens of the city of Fez around the theme "Mysticism and poetry”.
The festival will , according to the Association of Fes Festival of Sufi Culture, continue to show Morocco as the land of the ancient home of Sufism and promoter of dialogue among cultures, but also as a bridge between the East and the West, symbolized by the mediating role that Morocco has always played, especially in its modern history.
As in previous years, the festival offers a musical program blending various artistic creations of the Sufi world. It will celebrate the Shahi Qawwals of Ajmer Dargah Sharif, who come from India, and the troupe of Chinese music and Sufi songs "Maqamat", Mustafa Zaman Abbasi from Bangladesh, Hussain Al Aadhamy from Iraq, Syria Shaykh Habboush and Jalal Eddine Weiss of France. *
The festival will bring together the Moroccan artist Karima Skalli and the Haj Younis, who will pay tribute to Abu al-Hasan Ash Shusturi.
Other troops famous for Sufi music are also invited to animate the festival evenings. The sumptuous Batha Museum will house the night of Samaa Tariqa Boutchichiyya, Charqawiyya, Darqawiyya, Wazzania and Siqilliyya Khalwatiyya.
Other evenings will also be expected by enthusiasts of Sufi music, including a vigil Samaa Haj Mohammed Bennis and concert Briouel Mohamed, who is accompanied by "great voice" of Samaa Morocco.
At the intellectual level, debate will be animated by personalities from different cultures and religions, academicians, intellectuals, spiritual leaders, politicians, business leaders and actors of civil society, which will meet in the Forum 'Giving Soul to Globalization".
Several other conferences and forums are also in the program.
Source: moroccoboard.com
Musical manna will rain down from a Sufi heaven
Saturday, January 16, 2010 By Maryam
Come, but be careful. That was the advice the composer of Slumdog Millionaire gave to Indians thinking of studying in Australia.
A.R. Rahman said he had not considered cancelling his tour after the attacks and murders of Indians in Australia.
''A lot of my friends' sons [have come] here and they have gone back very happily. They have benefited from Australian studies,'' he said.
Rahman will give a free concert in Parramatta Park tomorrow.
He advised students to take care after dark and avoid areas where drug and alcohol problems were rife, and he called for greater responsibility in the reporting of the murders.
''The media is a great tool but it can also be misused,'' he said. ''Speaking to a lot of people [they say] some of them are racially biased and some are not. But they get painted with the same colour.''
He would not comment on moves by a Hindu militant group in Mumbai, Shiv Sena, to prevent Australian cricketers from playing there until the attacks had ceased.
He believed music could play a role in healing the tensions. ''This concert is about reaffirming the friendship and interest of both people, and I hope this concert brings that.''
Rahman, who shot to international attention with his film soundtrack and its exuberant anthem, Jai Ho, is a practicing Sufi. He converted from Hinduism after meeting a teacher of Sufism, the mystical form of Islam, 20 years ago. He also changed his name, from Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman.
''He [the teacher] never told us you have to become a Muslim, but out of interest I started getting inquisitive about stuff,'' he said. Rahman's music is influenced by his beliefs: ''The whole philosophy of Sufi is to give to the universe, to be unconditional. It is like the rain falls on everyone and the sun's rays fall on everyone … So that philosophy has fascinated me and that's what I follow. Music, too, is about giving.''
Rahman has won two Oscars and been nominated for two Grammys. His concert at Parramatta is at 7.30pm tomorrow (today in fact:-) )
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
Sufism a panacea for all social evils
Saturday, January 16, 2010 By Maryam
Sufism is a panacea for issues related to violence and hatred and an elixir for those who feel inclined to share and promote love, compassion and empathy among mankind for making this world a better place to live. It is the epitome of secularism and the basic premise of a pluralistic society.
These views were expressed by speakers during the valedictory function of a two-day national seminar on ‘Sufism and Sufi Literature’ that concluded at Punjabi University on Friday.
Syed Sarwar Chishti from Gaddi Nashin, Dargah Sharif in Ajmer and H K Dua, Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune were the guests of honour.
Talking of ‘Talibanisation of Islam’, Chishti said militants, who are bent upon destroying the pious fabric of the religion through their virulent and disruptive acts, were the outcome of false indoctrination coupled with ignorance.
“We have to remain vigilant and cautious against spilling over of extremism from across the border as these brutal forces won’t find scarcity of resources to help them in their dastardly mission,” Chishti said.
While assuring the Vice-Chancellor all support in establishing a Sufi Centre, he called upon the media to play a responsible role to help revive a peaceful and congenial atmosphere.
Dua, in his address, said that Sufism provides the most befitting answer to the theory of ‘Clash of Civilizations’.
Rating internal strives as more dangerous than external aggressions, Dua said that various existing denominations have no remedies but people do have. Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh reiterated that truthful living was the quintessence of Sufism.
Source: IndianExpress.com
