Dear friends of Sulūk Press,
We are excited to launch a new section of our newsletter: “Ask the Editor”. Beginning in July, we’ll feature comments from our editor, Alim Cannon Labrie, in response to your questions about his work, our books, book craft, and book culture. We hope this will the start of an ongoing conversation. Whether you’re curious about commas or cosmology, please send your questions to [email protected]. Let us hear from you!
A wonderful discovery
We recently discovered a wonderful complement to our freshly released, revised and expanded Gayan, Vadan, Nirtan by Hazrat Inayat Khan: a body of commentary on its poems and sayings by Pir Zia Inayat Khan. Whether you are new to or warmly familiar with the Gayan, you will surely find light in Pir Zia’s inquiries and elaboration.
“Every soul stands before me as a world, and the light of my spirit falling upon it brings clearly to my view all it contains.”
—Hazrat Inayat Khan
from “Gamakas”, Gayan Vadan Nirtan
Pool of Nectar: Sufi Interpreters of Yoga by Carl W. Ernst
We are proud to share the latest work from the revered scholar and translator, Carl Ernst, The Pool of Nectar. Professor Ernst brings to us the first English translation of the two most important texts on yoga by Sufis. The unexpected existence of these texts—translated here from Arabic and Persian—offer an all-new view of yogic practices that crossed South Asia and connected Hinduism and Sufism. Full of rich detail and accounts of astonishing experiences, The Pool of Nectar is enhanced by 21 striking illustrations of yoga postures. We expect it to be a landmark publication in Sufism and yoga studies.
Toward the One by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
In the mid-1970s, a dedicated group of devotees gathered in the Bay Area to create Toward the One, a collection of the teachings of Pir Vilyat Inayat Khan illuminated by hand-drawn and classical images. (Interestingly, this was the same group that produced the original edition of Be Here Now by Ram Dass.) We have updated the original with new images and a sleek design in a celebratory, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition.
This new edition makes Pir Vilyat’s teachings on a wide range of subjects available both to students who have long cherished its wisdom and to new generations on the Sufi path.
Darakshan Farber, a student of Pir Vilyat and a member of our Board, offered these words about the importance of Toward the One:
“Pir Vilayat shared with us a story. After a deep retreat, he was struck speechless and told his teacher the experiences he had could not be put into words. In reply, his teacher asked him to ‘only speak that which is unspeakable.’ He managed to do just that, using language that is refined, evocative, and saturated with the imagery of light. His devotees lovingly gathered and organized his words. Toward the One, like no other book, will lead you on a journey through the landscapes of divine consciousness.”
We look forward to sharing the journey with you.
Volume 8 of our Sufi Message series
For those of you new to our Centennial Editions of the Sufi Message, they are the definitive collection of Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings on love, harmony, and beauty, painstakingly authenticated against archival transcripts. Volume VIII: Sufi Teachings, will be ready for release later this year. This volume brings together the texts of the orange volume VIII: Sufi Teachings with the versions of these and additional texts that appeared in The Art of Being and The Smiling Forehead of the 1990s Element series. The new volume VIII will contain a wide range of Inayat Khan’s teachings spanning from the first transcripts made in London in 1916 to the final Suresnes Summer School in 1926.
Volume 8 of our Sufi Message series
Ever been lost in a bookstore, unsure of which among the many compelling volumes to take home with you? Thank goodness for those shelf cards describing staff members’ “picks”. Ever wonder which Sulūk Press book will be your next portal to wisdom? Fortunately, the Inayatiyya has a deeply engaged staff willing to share their picks with us.
This month we hear from Josh Octaviani, Director of Operations at the Inayatiyya in Richmond:
“Henri Corbin’s The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism is my Sulūk Press treasure. I return to it for its rare combination of exacting scholarship and visionary synthesis, drawing together Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Zoroastrianism, and Iranian Sufism with extraordinary precision. Above all, I am drawn to Corbin’s articulation of an Islamic esoteric physiology that, while distinctly its own, breathes in the light of many older traditions.”
Thanks Josh!
We are always delighted to hear from you! Questions? Comments about our books and website? Feedback about the ordering experience? Please do share them with us at [email protected].
