Qalander Baba Auliya

Syed Muhammad Azeem Barkhiya a.k.a.Qalander Baba Auliya (1898-1979) was the founder of the Sufi Order of Azeemia. He was the direct descendent of Prophet Muhammad(S.A.W.) through Imam Hasan Askari (R.A), the eleventh. Qalandar Baba's maternal grandfather was a cousin of the great Indian Sufi Saint Baba Tajuddin of Nagpur. His mother was adopted by Baba Tajuddin and hence Qalandar Baba always referred him as his Nana(maternal grandfather).During his stay in Aligarh an inclination towards spirituality developed in him and he start spending most of his time in the company of a local Sufi Kabli Baba. He used to go there early in the morning and would come back late in the evening.

After completing the 12th grade education at Aligarh, Baba Tajuddin summoned him to Nagpur, India where he spent nine years under the vigilant guidance of his Baba Tajuddin of Nagpur until he physical demise in 1929. During his stay in Nagpur, his mother died, leaving four daughters and two sons. Qalandar Baba Auliya was the eldest son and most of his siblings were very young at the time. It was becoming difficult for him to serve as the surrogate parent for his siblings. Realizing that Baba Tajuddin arranged his marriage with one of his disciples' daughter in Delhi. Qalandar Baba moved his family to Delhi and worked there as a journalist until the partition of India in 1947.

After the partition, he migrated to Pakistan along with his family, and stayed in Karachi's Lyari subdivision. At the time, Karachi was not a fully developed city and finding a job was hard. He believed in hard work and was not ashamed of odd jobs to support his family. Later on, He chose journalism as a career and was appointed the "sub-editor" of the "Daily Urdu Dawn".

In 1956, a famous dervish of Suhurwardiya Sufi Order, Hazrat "Abul-Fayz Qalandar Ali Suhurwardi", came to Karachi. Qalandar Baba Auliya met and asked to be initiated in his Order. The visiting Shaykh told him at arrive at his hotel room at three in the morning. It was during winter; nevertheless, Qalandar Baba Auliya went at 2 A.M. to the hotel where Hazrat Abul-Fayz was staying and sat at the doorsteps. At 3 A.M sharp, Shaykh Abul-Fayz opened the door of his room and summoned him inside. Qalandar Baba Auliya sat before Hazrat Abul-Fayz, and Hazrat Abul-Fayz blew three times on the forehead of Qalandar Baba Auliya. On first blow, the "Alam-e-Arwah" (Cosmic World) was revealed to Qalandar Baba Auliya; on the second blow, the "Alam-e-Malkut" (Angelic realm); on the third one, the "Arsh-e-Mu'alla" (The Divine Throne).

Hazrat Abul-Fayz Qalandar Ali Suhurwardi completed his teachings of Qutub-e-Irshad to Qalandar Baba Auliya, in three weeks. After that, he spiritually(oweysia) received divine knowledge from many saints including Shaikh Najamuddin Kubra. That phase ended when he received the divine knowledge directly from Lord of Both Worlds Beloved Prophet Muhammad. During that entire phase, he remained sleepless for ten days.

When Qalandar Baba Auliya was working as a journalist in the local magazine in Karachi, it was his routine that he would go to the residence of his beloved disciple Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi where he conducted Sohbet(satsung).People from all walks of life would come to discuss various topics.

One week before of his death, he told to his disciples and friends that, "I'm a guest here for a maximum of one week". He appointed Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi as the head of the Sufi Order of Azeemia. He died on January 27, 1979. His tomb is in the Shadman Town subdivision of Karachi.

The essence of the teachings of Qalandar Baba Auliya is that man has not been created solely to earn a livelihood. The first and foremost purpose of his creation is that he should recognise his own Self and have an intimate relationship with his Creator.

His famous quote: " One can not find Truth in the outward (zahir), it can only be realized by turning to inward(batin). Your inner is the doorway the Cosmos that is why Man is called microcosm (al-alam sughra)."

Books and publications

[http://www.esnips.com/web/Azeemi-books THREE BOOKS AUTHORED BY Qalander Baba Aulia 1-Loh-o-Qalam" - (The Pen and the Scripturum), 2-Tazkira-e-Tajuddin Baba, 3-Ruba'iyat-e-Qalandar Baba Auliya(Poetry) and his Sufi Order "AZEEMIA SUFI ORDER"] Shamsuddin Azeemi concerning to Spiritual mystic and Sufi orders in Urdu and English]
[http://irfanfaooqi.spaces.live.com Azeemia Blog of Azeemia sufi order poineered by Qalandar Baba Aulia ]
[http://sufiblog.com/qalandar-baba-auliya.html Short biography of Qalander Baba]
[http://www.mmhall.net/ Meditation Halls Network]
[http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/irfanfarooqi/ShrineQalandarBabaAuliaTheGreatSpiritualScientist See Pictures of Shrine of Qalandar Baba Aulia]
[http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/irfanfarooqi/AzeemiaSufiOrder See More Pictures of Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi]

*Silsila-e-Azeemia inherited the following three books to spread the teachings of Qalandar Baba Auliya:
*"Ruba'iyat-e-Qalandar Baba Auliya" - a valued collection of enlightening mystic verses.
*"Loh-o-Qalam" - (The Pen and the Scripturum) - a treasure of divine knowledge of mysteries and secrets.
*"Tazkira-e-Tajuddin Baba" - an authentic work of metaphysical sciences and scientific interpretations of divine and wondrous work performed by spiritual people.

ee also

*Qalander
*Sufism
*Auliya
*Baba Tajuddin of Nagpur
*Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi
*Azeemia