Fazal Inayat-Khan

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A mystic, poet, psychotherapist and publisher, he was a magnetic and controversial genius who provoked both lasting affection and deep antipathy, sometimes simultaneously.

International Sufi Movement

From 1968 to 1982 he was head of the International Sufi Movement.

He held that Sufism has three aspects: it is non-definitive, inclusive, and experiential -

*"non-definitive" because the real exists without needing to be defined;

*"inclusive" because it is found in all religions and accepts any form of worship or meditative practice that is appropriate to the moment;

*"experiential" because it goes beyond theology and second-hand spiritual experience, accepting the possibility of direct revelation.

Two collections of his lectures have been published: "Old thinking, new thinking: The Sufi prism" [>] .

Poetry

His challenging and evocative poetry is occasionally performed privately by his followers and has been used successfully for prisoner rehabilitation at one of Britain's high security prisons. Sadly it remains unpublished, apparently too controversial for the copyright holders.

Quotations

"Sufism is a call, a cry to awaken, to the minds who are ready, to the human beings who have slept enough, but to those who still want to sleep, it is merely a lullaby along in their dream."

"My mind is limited. But my heart is not, I hope."

"... minds are not made to agree, but to express beauty ..."

"Sufism, then, is an attempt to bring us to the point at which we have the freedom, the courage, to look at things as a baby does, without foreknowledge"

"Many people are interested in meditation, but not so many are interested in computer programming. Yet computer programming is so similar that you could call it meditation."

Notes