Dear Sulūk Press Community,
Praising this month’s marriage of freshness and fulfillment, the poet Leigh Hunt wrote, “There is May in books forever.” Sulūk Press offers a bouquet of books that suggest the aptness of this assertion.
No God or Only God, a new book by W. H. Suhrawardi Gebel
Although it will be released next month, Suhrawardi Gebel’s latest book, No God or Only God can now be preordered. As a special spring surprise, we are also offering this new volume as part of a discounted three-book bundle. Pir Zia Inayat Khan writes of the book:
“In this gentle but robust tour de force of theological detective work, W. H. S. Gebel sifts through centuries of debates, spanning multiple cultures, on the subject of God’s existence and nature. Gebel is as closely conversant with scientific and philosophical theories as he is with religious teachings, and his survey is never polemical or doctrinaire. But in these pages Gebel is not merely documenting intellectual history; he is illuminating the central theme of human life, the relation in which we stand to the Absolute.
By a process of alchemical solve et coagula, Gebel first relativizes the reifications by which God is conventionally conceived: this is the via negativa of ‘no God.’ But Gebel does not leave the reader in the abyss of nihilism. In an enlightening turn, he shows how the very mind that adjudicates God’s existence is a condition of the cascading revelation of reality that is the Divine self-disclosure: and here we are brought to the via positiva of ‘only God.’”
The Alchemy of Happiness, Volume VI of the Sufi Message Series
The publication of The Alchemy of Happiness scheduled for July, brings us halfway through the twelve volumes projected to compose the Centennial Edition Sufi Message series. Available as either a handsome hardback book or a sturdy paperback edition, this newest Message book is planned to be the foundational text for Pir Zia’s autumn course.
From the introduction by Pir Zia Inayat Khan:
“In this sixth volume of the Centennial Edition of the Sufi Message series, Hazrat Inayat Khan approaches the question of happiness from various angles. Sometimes the context is a discussion of desire, other times an analysis of ethics. What links these investigations is that, in every case, Hazrat identifies happiness with the soul. ‘Happiness is your own being, your own self, that self that is the most precious thing in life.’ From this perspective, happiness is something to be discovered rather than acquired.”
What is unique about the Centennial Edition series of Sufi Message volumes?
Why has Sulūk Press been issuing a new series of Sufi Message volumes, and what is unique about the Centennial Edition series? This series prioritizes faithfulness to the integrity of the original talks, with the exception of modifications to give equal representation to both genders. Following the basic form of the orange volumes from the 1960s, we locate the original lecture transcriptions in the Complete Works for each text to use as our starting point. In Pir Zia Inayat Khan’s words from his Introduction to the series in Volume 1 “The changes that have been made have not been made lightly, but rather with full awareness of the gravity of altering, even slightly, the Pir-o-Murshid’s words. Every effort has been taken to avoid interrupting the music of his speech.” We consider our series to present Inayat Khan’s unvarnished teachings in a form that balances fidelity to his original words with sensitivity to the contemporary evolution of the English language.
In Case you Missed It . . .
- Breathtaking Revelations was the focus of a discussion of Drs. Carl Ernst, Patrick D’Silva and Pir Zia Inayat Khan. If you missed the “live” (and lively) discussion, you can watch and listen by clicking on this recording.
- Updated to reflect the most recent version of the prayers, a lovely new booklet of Prayers of the Inayatiyya is available.
- A book is a beautiful gift of love. Sulūk Press makes giving easy. At sulukpress.com you can choose to send the book you select with a gift message in your own words, or leave the choice to the lucky recipient by opting for gift cards.
We always welcome your questions and feedback about our books, our website, and your experience ordering with us.
With very best wishes,
Beatrice Upenieks
Business Manager
