Many people long for spiritual growth and freedom. Universal Sufism is a spiritual attitude to life that can help us to free us from our limitations and to discover our real selves. We call it universal to describe the renewal shaped by Hazrat Inayat Khan. This Indian mystic travelled in Europe and America from 1910 to 1926, he gave countless lectures, he presided summer schools in Katwijk and Suresnes (Paris) and knew how to reach a western public with the old wisdom of Sufism from the Middle East and of Hinduism from India. He founded the International Sufi Movement – not as a new religion but as an organisation to spread his ‘Sufi Message’ to help people along on their path of life. From this movement several related organisations have grown, each with their own disposition, the Inayatiyya, the Sufi Ruhaniat, Sufi Way and Soefi Contact. They honour the six great world religions as a source of inspiration. That is also expressed in the Universal Worship, in which readings are done from the holy scriptures of these religious traditions.
Universal Sufism brings the message of love, harmony and beauty. The essence of this message is the realisation and the spreading of the knowledge of the unity of religious ideals and spiritual freedom. Universal Sufism aims at freedom, joy and peace. We can discover that when we tune the rhythm and the tune of our lives to these three. How do we get there? Bij creating space for the light of our souls and to direct ourselves to love, harmony and beauty. Universal Sufism stimulates self knowledge and an aware coexistence with our nearest and dearest. It offers an insight in the meaning of the soul’s journey through space and time. It can deepen our religious experiences to a mysticism that goes beyond the boundaries of dogma, rules and regulations.
Hazrat Inayat Khan
Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) practised what he preached. He was a cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world, who never tired of travelling.
He was able to reach across the boundaries of culture, religion and science. Because of his broad view and his vivid undogmatic understanding of mysticism, he could connect the insights of the old Islamic en Indian traditions to similar insights from de jewish-christian tradition. He could also give voice to these insights in a way that corresponds to our modern western way of living. The teachings and exercises he shared open a perspective on a more conscious life to this very day.
