Vilayat Inayat Khan
Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, (Urdu: ولايت عنایت خان ) was the eldest son of Sufi Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan, head of the Sufi Order International. Pir Zia Inayat Khan is Pir Vilayat's son and successor as Pir of the Sufi Order International. Pir Vilayat’s mother, Ora Ray Baker, was said to be a relative of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement.
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[edit] Life
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Vilayat Inayat Khan was born on June 19, 1916, and died on June 17, 2004. Vilayat Inayat Khan was born in London, England, Pir Vilayat was a teacher of meditation and of the traditions of the East Indian Chishti Order of Sufism. His teaching derived from the mystical tradition of the East brought to the West by his father combined with his knowledge of the esoteric heritage and scholarship of western culture. He taught in the tradition of Universal Sufism, which views all religions as rays of light from the same sun.
Vilayat Inayat Khan was educated at the Sorbonne, Oxford, and École Normale de Musique de Paris. During World War II he served in the British Royal Navy and was assigned the duties of mine sweeping during the invasion at Normandy. His sister, Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan served in the French section of SOE as a radio operator. She was shot at Dachau concentration camp.
After the war, Pir Vilayat pursued his spiritual training by studying with masters of many different religious traditions throughout India and the Middle East. While honoring the initiatic tradition of his predecessors, Pir Vilayat continually adapted traditional Eastern spiritual practices in keeping with the evolution of Western consciousness.
Pir Vilayat initiated and participated in many international and interfaith conferences promoting understanding and world peace. In 1975 he founded the Abode of the Message, which continues to serve as the central residential community of the Sufi Order International, a conference and retreat center, and a center of esoteric study.[1]
He was a relative of Pierre Bernard, a pioneering American yogi, scholar, occultist, philosopher, mystic, and businessman. In this way he was also a distant relative to Pierre Bernard's nephew, Theos Bernard, an American scholar of religion, explorer, and famous practitioner of Yoga and Tibetan Buddhism.[2]
[edit] Students
Pir Vilayat gave bayat (spiritual initiation) to thousands of people, teaching seminars and retreats around the world. Some of his prominent students include:
- Zia Inayat-Khan, Pir Vilayat's son and successor as Pir of the Sufi Order International
- Taj Inayat, Vice President of the Sufi Order International, mother of Zia Inayat Khan, co-facilitator of Sufi Retreats
- Gayan and Blanchefleur Macher, co-facilitators of Sufi Retreats
- Shahabuddin David Less
- Stephan Rechtschaffen, author of Timeshifting, and Elizabeth Lesser, author of Broken Open and The Seeker's Guide, co-founders of Omega Institute
- Donald A. Sharif Graham, editor of The Complete Works of Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan
- Aziza Scott, Head of the Retreat Program of the Sufi Order International, co-founder of The Hollow Read School
- Abul Fateh, pioneer of South Asian diplomacy and statesman. A personal friend of Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan; Pir Zia Khan arranged the service following his death.
- Himayat Inayati, founder of the Raphaelite work and Universal Awakening
- Thomas Atum O'Kane, Transpersonal Psychologist and Teacher
- Saki Santorelli, author of Heal Thy Self
- Donald E. Weiner, author of Upgrading the Operating System of the Soul
- Puran Bair, author of Living from the Heart, and Susanna Bair, co-founders of the Institute for Applied Meditation
- Yakzan Hugo Valdez
[edit] Bibliography
- Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat (1974). Toward the One. New York: Harper and Row. ISBN 978-0060903527.
- Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat (1978). The Message in Our Time: The Life and Teaching of the Sufi Master, Pir-O-Murshid Inayat Khan. San Francisco: Harper and Row. ISBN 978-0060642372.
- Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat (1978). "Front matter: Forward". In Khan, Hazrat Inayat. The Complete Sayings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. New Lebanon, NY: Sufi Order Publications. ISBN 978-0930872021.
- Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat (1981). The Call of the Dervish. Santa Fe, NM: Sufi Order Publications. ISBN 978-0930872267.
- Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat (1982). Introducing Spirituality Into Counseling and Therapy. Santa Fe, NM: Omega Press. ISBN 978-0930872304.
- Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat (1994). That Which Transpires Behind That Which Appears. NY: Omega Publications. ISBN 978-0930872496.
- Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat (1999). Awakening: A Sufi Experience. New York, NY: J.P. Tarcher/Putnam. ISBN 978-1585420384.
- Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat (2003). In Search of the Hidden Treasure: A Conference of Sufis. New York: J.P. Tarcher/Putnam. ISBN 978-1585421800.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Sutton, Robert P. (2005). Modern American Communes: A Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwod Press. pp. 3-4. ISBN 978-0-313-32181-8.
- ^ Columbia University Health Sciences Library: Archives & Special Collections. This is a link to a .doc file, but you can also see it as html. See the content of "Box 20" and "Box 21".
[edit] External links
- Sufi Order International, North America
- The Abode of the Message. The community he founded in an old Shaker Village in New Lebanon, New York
- Attunements for Meditation
- Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
