Sufi Conference 2008, "Opening Talk" with Pir Zia Inayat-Khan and Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

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Duration: 57 minutes and 25 seconds

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Language: English

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Posted by: oneness on Jan 15, 2010

The opening talk from the October 2008 Sufi Conference held on Asilomar Conference grounds. Visit http://www.suficonference.org and www.goldensufi.org for more information.

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I would like to begin by welcoming you all
and I thought I should begin this gathering with explaining a little bit about the beginning of these gatherings and
and kind of include you in that
purpose and really why we are here in that moment in time
it began about 9 yrs ago in Sufibrook in New york
in a meeting between somebody in our group and Andrew Harvey who had a suggestion that there should be a Sufi conference
and he said in fact there should be one on the East coast,one on the West and one in the middle
and when I heard this I think I went restless about the idea and then I was told I should not only participate but I should host it
and so we started here on the west coast
and we wanted to come here in Solimar but Sufism was a little bit suspect at the time and we didn't get any response from the people here
they just wouldn't answer their telephone, we couldn't get through to anybody. So, as Sufis we are trained
to look at the signs, so I said to the person who was helping me arrange it, to Barbara,
i said, look, there is this tradition
that really belongs to the land here
that belongs to the spiritual dimension of the land,
that you have to go somewhere and you have to sit on the land until you are invited
because that really belongs to the native american tradition of the place, of the land, I said
if we are really going to have a spiritual gathering
we have to be welcome by the spirits of the place
So, she came down here and she actually sat on the place for 3 days
and then after 3 days, somebody approached her
and the person who approach her happened to work here and also be a native american
and really, out of that meeting, welcomed her.
and that enabled this particular gathering to take place not just
in the outer world, not just in the visible world, but also
in the unseen world, in the world of spirits, because in this country
the world of spirits is still held
in the land by the native american tradition
and so it was deeply important that we were welcomed
and so over the years these gatherings have continued, some on
the east coast some on the west coast
and Pia has been very kind to participate and other presenters
that you shall hear this week-end
and this is in a way a accumulation of these 8 years
it is as if..... something
that has been given can be receive. In a way it is
a moment in time. As Sufis, we are trained to learn to
be very attentive to the moment
and to catch the moment
and so this is the share of a moment,
it is in a way an 8 yrs moment because it has been present for 8 yrs ever since Barbara came and sit on the land here and maybe before
that meeting in Sufibrooks. And it has to do with different threads of sufi coming together, about
honoring the oneness that is the foundation of sufism
the oneness of being, the oneness of life, the oneness that
is within the heart.
and in order to capture that moment
we are actually filming that gathering, that is the purpose of filming
it, is to capture that moment
that also can be shared with people who weren't able to come
so you will see many of these events are being filmed for that purpose so this Sufi moment, which is
really what it is ; this coming together, this sharing, this being present
in this circle of sufis is held, both in our hearts
and through this filming to make it available to people who weren't able to come and I just described this evening
: I just will give an introduction for a while and then Pia Zia is going to give use
some sufi meditation
together with some flute playing which is very very dear to the heart and then
we will have a short playing of the Nayi flute and then into 20 mns of
of silence
to bring this evening to a close and this gathering to an opening.
and I was saying, for me the nayi has always been infinitely precious
because it has this call
that for me is the essence
of the sufi path, in fact
my favorite definition of sufism is
, as many of you know, sufism at the beginning is heartache only later it became
something to talk about.
and the Nayi for me capture this heartache, this incredible longing
of the soul, that is really the only road back to god
it is love in its purest
simplest essence
that stamp in the heart that really makes us a sufi. If you have that stamp of longing
then you are a sufi. and, as many of you know in fact
the Rumi' achmaoui begins with the cry of
the reed flute listen to the reed how it tells the tale
complaining of separations
saying, every since I was parted from the reed bed,
my lament has caused man and woman to moan
it is only to a bosom torn by severance
that I can enfold the pain caused by love desire.
everyone who is left far from his source
wishes back the time when he was united with it.
so that is the imprint
within the heart, it is also the cry
of the reed flute.
this longing, this desire to go home, this simple home sickness
of the soul, and it is something
so simple, it is something so primary : we are separated from god
separated from his or her beloved, because for us, the whole business is a love affair
heartache, your heart cries to god
for some reason, you do not understand, you do not ever know
why ? why somebody stamped your heart?
with that most ancient, most primal of imprints
that cry of the soul
and in that cry of the soul, in that imprint, there is the whole journey
, the whole mystery of both separation
and also union.
because you wouln't long for oneness with god unless you knew oneness with god
you cannot long for something if you do not know it.
so it is this most basic human quality
we're separate from god. the lover is separate from
is beloved, and also
within our heart, we know the secret
of un ion.
and this is very very precious
because we live in a world that is fractured, fragmented beyond
our imaginings.
we live in a world that is tethering on the edge
of falling apart.
as in the poem of Yates "the center cannot
hold"
and we know the secret of both separation and union
and we come together
in remembrance of it
the purpose of these gatherings is just to
be together for his sake
for the sake of our beloved
and celebrating that oneness that belongs to god
the oneness of being
the oneness in which everything is included. and we know it in our hearts.
mostly for the mystic it is a very solitary journey
and, because it is the inner journey
from the alone to the alone
and there is also something very precious in
coming together to share that journey
for a moment in time
in being together with fellow wayfarers on the path
rumi says somewhere "be with those who mix with god
as honey blends with mild
with those who says anything that comes and goes
that raises and sets
is not what I love.
so we are together in that mystery of love, which is also a mystery of oneness.
we re just together. In sufism, there is a simple secret
in just being together for his sake
just being present for his sake, and knowing that we are one
there is a lovely story of Shamsi tabriz
in which someone became a plaintiff in a case
and they wanted witnessess
and so the person took 10 sufis
to the courtroom for witnessess
and the judge said "i want another witness"
and the man said "you honor
you call into court 2 witnesses ! I have brought 10 !
why do you want another witness ? I have brought 10
and he said " this 10 are 1 witness
if you bring a 100000 sufis, they'll all be one
we are one, that is what we live
that is in our heart, in our breath, in our knowing
in our sharing in our being together.
it;s something very simple but the world has forgotten it
the world things we are separate
the world is obsessed by me, mine
as opposed to somebody else
and we know a different truth and we live a different truth
and we make a simple statement by coming
here together
to honor that oneness
there is only one part, one love affair
one cry of the heart
one lover and one beloved. Yes, there is
this mirage of everything fragmentes
into a thousand, into a million, into a billion
that is just a mirage because we know
otherwise
but when you go in the heart there is only one
there is only you and your beloved
and when you sit together in a circle of friends, there is
only one
there is still only one lover and one beloved
there is one. that is one of the great great mystery of creation
you could call it unity or multiplicity.
it does not matter what you call it because we live it
we are the witnessess
one witness, a hundred witness, it is one witness
because we are sufis
and what I find so precious and what I have experienced myself
in a way
it is, I hadn't experienced before
I need gatherings to see these different threads of love
these different ancient sufi paths
which have different qualities, different textures
there is music, there is silence, there is dance
there is dreams
and they all weave the same thread of love
they all weave that same thread of love and we are that thread of love
being woven into the world,, being woven into creation
I met my teacher when I was 19
and I just sat at her feet for many many years
and I knew nothing
of other paths
until I came to america and then not much of other sufis paths until these gathering
and I saw there are all one
it is the same cry, the same heart
yes, some people need to dance
some people need to sit in silence
it doesn't matter
the beloved expresses himself in so many ways
it is said there are as many paths to god as there are human beings
as many as the breath as the children of men
and we honor that
we know it is all one
nobody's path is better nobody's path is nearer
because they are just aspects of love
they are just ways the beloved is called
back to godf
in different path of love
and this is the time coming together to share
those. to say yes we are one
i do my practice but i also honor your practice
it is in a way the real adab of the sufi
that deep recognition of that mystery of creation
which is present in our hearts
i think it is a very precious
contribution one can make in a world
that is fragmented, in a world that is tearing itself apart
both in the inner world and in the outer world
to say : there is another aspect to life
there is another way to be
and to share it. Not to have just as an inner idea,
you see, most of us, as mystics
it happens innerwordly
those are experiences that take us deeper and deeper within ourselves
through the veils, back to the source
but from time to time, there is a need
to express it outwardly
to bring it from the inner to the outer, to see that reflection
in the outer world/ And that is what
i'd like you, if possible, to share
in these next few days
,to be present, to taste
these different fragrances of love
:you cant taste a fragrance, that's terrible,
to smell these different fragrances of love
to taste this different swetnessess
and to be present within it
and to be together with friends you know and with friends you don't know
and to eat together, and to laugh together and to walk on the seashore together
it is a sufi way
we don't take it too seriously because
it is a love affair
and like my teacher said you have to hold love with light hands
and sufis like being together
from time to time we like to be together and to share this oneness
"companions are attentive to meeting with each others
friendship is their profession
all are servants of each other and all are teachers of each other
all are disciples of each other because
they are in essence one"
i repeat that, it is so profound
it is about a real sufi gathering
'companions are attentive to meeting with each other
friendship is their profession
all are servants of each other
and all are teachers of each other
all are disciples of each other because
they are in essence one.
when companionship appears
it brings stability
even when it is disturbed
in all conditions it is to be chosen
it is the trace of God for it is the representative
of God to his creation
If there was no companionship, one would not be at rest in the flow
of fate and destiny
and would not be literate and learn in the assemblies
of intimacy
they are the people of god's house
among whom there is no stranger
They are the people of god's house, amongst whom there is no stranger
because we are people of the heart
. There was a time in the middle-east when
you could travel the land by going from sufi group to sufi group
to Hanuka to hanuka, where you'd be
welcome because you were a dervish
you didn't have to belong to anything
you were a wandering love of god, you were taken in
it's the true meaning of hospitality
because your soul was made welcome
and that is something very precious
. It isn't so anymore here
in this part of the world
but maybe, we can share it
just to be together
just to honor that intimacy of the heart,
that companionship that is the real companionship
why ? because it is the reflextion on the companionship of the soul with god
that is the real addab
that is the real respect
we are with each other as we would be with god
it is a deep knowing in the heart
we are together for his sake
it is a simple saying
infinitely profound
we are together for his sake
and, we all live such busy lives
and the demand of this culture, this world today
grips us in every way it can
much more than we know sometimes
we don't even know what are our thoughts
or if they are somebody elses' thoughts
, like the other evening, because i was watching
a presidential debate on television, i had a dream about healthcare
we are so easily swallowed up
by the collective thought forms and particularly
in this time of anxiety, of nobody knowing what is exactly going to happen
and yet, as sufis, we
honor something deeper
we know that we never know what is going to happen
we know that disaster is always around the corner and we welcome it
and there a smile somewhere
there is a smile because
we belong to our beloved, we don't belong
be in this world as if you were a traveler, a passerby
because this is not home
we belong in a different way
and again, I would like you, in these few days, to share that belonging
like you pick up these threads of love
of the different gatherings
there are, the different meetings
of the dance of the music, of the silence
, and you sense, underneath it all, there
is a deeper mystery that belongs to the soul,
that belongs to your soul and also the soul of all humanity
because we don't do this for ourselves
. There is that lovely definition of a sufi
: as a brotherhood of migrants
who keep watch on the world and for the world.
For some strange reasons, we are
drawn into this circle of love; not for ourselves
, so as much as we are making our journey,
we are also making the world's journey
we carry that secret for humanity which is why
the sufis have been known as the people of the secret
it's part of the mystery of life
ibn el arabi says '
how can i know you
when you are the inwardly hidden who is not known
. How can i not know you
when you are the outwardly manifest
making yourself known to us in everything
How can i not realize your unity
when union is the very secret of servanthood
." He is hidden within our own hearts,
unknowable, always, and for ever
No one knows god but god
And yet, in everything, in each other, in the flowers, in the cup, in the trees,
in the sea, he reveals himself
, one of the great secrets of creation
our beloved speaks to us around in everything,
nothing is hidden,
everything, everything is revealed, if we know how to look,
if we know how to love,
and in this, there is oneness
and we are part of it all,
nothing is separate, nobody is alone,
that is just an illusion, we are part of it,
we are part of this extraordinary oneness
, that is part of the secret of creation
Mostly, we live it in a world that has forgotten it
,we live in a culture of forgetfulness,
haunted by demons,
but maybe, just for a few days,
we can be present in a world of
remembrance, in which the remembrance in each of us talks
to the remembrance in our soul
We can be present in a space
of remembrance, not of forgetfulness
, we can glimpse what really is,
we can see the love within our own hearts
and the love within each other
, we can return to that simple core of being
that is oneness, that is love.
Don't try to think to much this week-end
Attar when he says ;when love comes, reason disappears'
reason cannot live with the folly or love"
Don't try to make sense of it : you won't
. I didn't know that a meeting in sufibooks
, 9 years ago,
would be here,
Just be present
with each other, with your heart, with the beloved
and love? something to touch you
, this is the real mystery that happens when sufis come together
normally, it is just sufis coming together in their own group, in their own terikas, doing their own practice
and many of you have done that for many years and this is the most precious gathering, I think, one can have
and here we are just embracing a wider horizon
of bringing together different terikas
,different ways of being with god, and saying
it is all one
So I just want you to share in that for a few days
and to be present with him we love, with him to whom we belong,
I just want to remind you, after Pia Zia is finished with meditation
we will have some Nai music that will then take us into 20mns or so of silence within the heart
there is very little to be said after what has just been said
nothing really mains to be said
but we can take the central truth
that flown forward just now
through the inspiration or our host cheick , Llewellyn,
who has, over the years, so kindly hosted all of us
for these very unique occasions,
these gatherings,
in kindred spirits.
we can take in
these essential truths
in the mode of
what is called by the sufis
brakaba, and that is
a word that may be translated
as ;contemplation'
perhaps more precisely, the word
suggests 'keeping watch
, watchfulness"
, and one of the very early practitioners
of this art, and it is an art,
was a great being
a great sufi, named chimbly
who was absolutely enamourate of god
constantly living in the vividness
the urgency of his yearning for god
and his unfolding discovery of the divine
presence. There was times when he was committed to an asylum
because he was so sane that his sanity
seemed to everyone else, insane.
, and he practiced the art of moracaba
contemplation, keeping watch
, and some people, his friends, asked him
'where did you learn that unusual technique that you have?
?', and he answered
'i learned it from a cat
i learned it by watching a cat sittin
in front of a mouse hole
" and he said " i observed
that every single hair
on the body of the cat was
absolutely still
" and he said " and we consider ourselves a superior species
and I realized i could never claim that
superiority if i could not do, at least, what this cat has done.
: sit in absolute stillness, in silence, serenely watching his object
". And for chimbly, the object of his contemplation was,
not a mouse,
but it was the One being, it was reality itself
Now, it has come down to us that we may apply
this technique of stillness, of awareness of the breath
of interior illumination
to the deep study of the Ayat
of the signs of God
revealed in prophetic verses
and so this prophetic verses have been passed down
as a series of contemplation over the generations from heart to heart
as an exercise into deep awareness, exercise of
god, yes
but something still more significant than
that awareness
in additiion
and that is the awareness
of god's awareness
of us.
that is the real moracaba
not contemplating god
but living in the awareness of god's awareness of us
through the breath, through presence
through deepening
our realization of the meaning
of the divinely revealed words that have reached us.
and so in these moments
, i will recite a series of these ayat,
signs of god's presence here
and now, on the horizons and in ourselves
and we will hear the words
and the words will continue to echo
within on each breath
so that after you have heard the words,
the words continue to sound as
you draw in a breath
you breath in the words and the message
, the revelation of god's presence
and as you exhale you are conscious of
the presence, the attunement
, the vibration, quality of being
that flows from that remembrance.
Inhaling again, the words and the message come
, exhaling : expansion of the state of the awareness that is kindled
in the words
We are rediscovering, illuminating, revealing
the one relationship
that is the essential relationship
, the essential relationship that is
enacted in all of our encounters
, in all of the circumstances
of our life. Here in our
moracaba, we are going
back to the essential
confrontation with
the one who meets us in every
moment, weather we are conscious or not conscious
of that meeting.

Sufi Conference 2008, "Opening Talk" with Pir Zia Inayat-Khan and Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

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