Samuel L. Lewis

Samuel L. Lewis on the cover of a book of a series of lectures made by him in 1970

Samuel Lewis (October 18, 1896–January 15, 1971) was an American mystic and dance teacher who founded the Dances of Universal Peace movement. He was also known under his Sufi name Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti and was addressed by his mureeds and others as Murshid. This is an arabic word that means, "Exalted Teacher." He was popularly known as Sufi Sam.

Life

Part of a series of articles on Universal Sufism Figures Inayat Khan · Pirani Ameena Begum · Maheboob Khan · Mohammed Ali Khan · Musharaff Khan · Samuel L. Lewis · Fazal Inayat-Khan · Vilayat Inayat Khan · Hidayat Inayat Khan · Zia Inayat Khan Groups Sufi Order International · International Sufi Movement · Sufi Ruhaniat International v · Levi Strauss jeans manufacturing company. His mother was Harriett Rosenthal, the daughter of Lenore Rothschild of the international banking family. To his parents' dismay Lewis showed a keen interest in religion and spirituality from an early age and later rejected their attempts at as business career for him. Lewis studied mathematics at Columbia University in 1916. In 1919 Lewis entered a Sufi community in Fairfax, California where he met and was influenced by the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan an Indian Sufi teacher and musician . A year later he began Zen study with Sogaku Shaku, a disciple of the Rinzai Zen Buddhist Abbot Soyen Shaku. The twin spiritual influences of Sufism and Zen were to remain central throughout his life. Lewis remained in the Fairfax Sufi community through the early 1920s. In 1926 he collaborated with Nyogen Senzaki, a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk, in opening the first official Zen meditation hall (zendo) in San Francisco. Lewis continued to study Sufism and Zen, as well as yoga. He developed an interest in horticulture and promoted seed exchanges internationally. In 1956, he visited Japan, India, Pakistan and Egypt, seeking the company of other mystics and teachers. In 1960, while visiting Pakistan, he claimed he was publicly recognized as a Murshid by Pir Barkat Ali of the combined Chisti-Qadiri-Sabri orders, founder of Dar ul Ehsan. In 1966, he was ordained a "Zen-Shi" (Zen Master) by Korean Zen master Dr. Kyung-Bo Seo. In 1967, whilst recovering from a heart attack in a hospital Lewis claimed that he heard the voice of god say, "I make you spiritual leader of the hippies." For the remainder of his life Lewis traveled around California developing and teaching the Dances of Universal Peace, which draw on all the spiritual traditions he had encountered. The movement he created continues today in a formal way as Sufi Ruhaniat International, as well as informally through the wide adoption of the Dances of Universal Peace by many other Sufi and non-Sufi groups. Quotations "Words are not peace. Thoughts are not peace. Plans are not peace. Programs are not peace. Peace is fundamental to all faiths. Peace is fullness, all inclusive...and must be experienced." "One of the reasons I am teaching this music and dancing is to increase Joy, not awe towards another person, but bliss in our own self. This is finding God within, through experience." Books In the Garden (ISBN 0517524120) The Jerusalem Trilogy: Song of the Prophets (ISBN 0915424037) Sufi Vision & Initiation: Meetings with Remarkable Beings (ISBN 091542410X) Spiritual Dance & Walk: An Introduction to the Dances of Universal Peace & Walking Meditations of Samuel L. Lewis (ISBN 0915424134) This is the New Age in Person Published by Sufi Islamia Ruhaniat Society (1972). Omen Press (ISBN 0912358130) Murshid - A Personal Memoir of Life with American Sufi Samuel L. Lewis by spiritual secretary of Samuel Lewis, Mansur Johnson (http://www.mansurjohnson.com/ - ISBN 0-915424-16-9) References Samuel L. Lewis biography at Sufi Ruhaniat International. Accessed February 2010. External links Sufi Ruhaniat International , the Sufi Order founded by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis The International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace founded by Samuel L. Lewis Persondata Name Lewis, Samuel L. Alternative names Short description Date of birth 1896 Place of birth Date of death 1971 Place of death Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? Hawridge David Morris Look at other dictionaries: Samuel A. Lewis — was an American Jewish politician and philanthropist. He was born in New York City in 1831. He engaged in business from an early age, and was so successful that he retired with a competency in 1862. In 1868 he was elected a member of the New York …   Wikipedia Samuel W. Lewis — Samuel Winfield Lewis (born October 1, 1930 in Houston, Texas) is a retired American diplomat. During his lengthy career with the United States Department of State he served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs… …   Wikipedia Samuel S. Lewis — (February 17, 1874–January 15, 1959) was the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 1939 to 1943. Lewis was born in York, Pennsylvania. He also served as Pennsylvania State Auditor General and Pennsylvania State Treasurer.External… …   Wikipedia Samuel E. Lewis — Infobox Military Person name= Samuel E. Lewis born= died= death date|1907|3|22 placeofbirth= Coventry, Rhode Island placeofdeath= placeofburial= caption= nickname= allegiance= United States of America Union branch= United States Army Union Army… …   Wikipedia Samuel S. Lewis State Park — Geobox Protected Area name = Samuel S. Lewis State Park native name = other name = other name1 = category local = Pennsylvania State Park category iucn = III image caption = An artistic photo of a scene at Samuel S. Lewis State Park etymology… …   Wikipedia Samuel Lewis — is the name of: *Samuel Lewis (publisher) (???? 1865), English publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps *Samuel Lewis (financier) (1837 1901), English money lender and philanthropist *Samuel Lewis Navarro (born 1957), Vice President of… …   Wikipedia Lewis (surname) — Family name name = Lewis imagesize= caption= pronunciation = Lewis meaning = region = origin = related names = Lewes, Louis footnotes = [ [http://www.census.gov/genealogy/names/names files.html 1990 Census Name Files ] ] Lewis is a surname. It… …   Wikipedia Samuel Lewis Navarro — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Samuel Lewis Navarro Primer Vicepresidente de Panamá 1 de sept …   Wikipedia Español Samuel Lewis Honey — Samuel Lewis Honey, VC, DCM, MM (9 February 1894 ndash; 30 September 1918) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and… …   Wikipedia Samuel Lewis (financier) — Samuel Lewis (1837 ndash; January 13, 1901), was an English money lender and philanthropist. Lewis was born in Birmingham and died in London. He began work when thirteen years old. He became a salesman of steel pens, then opened a jeweler s shop …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. 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