Description
Biography of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan
Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) was born into a family of musicians and dedicated his early life to the mastery of the subtle intricacies of classical Indian music, winning the high title of Tansen from the Nizam of Hyderabad, a renowned patron of the musical arts. In Hyderabad he became the disciple of Sayyid Muhammad Abu Hashim Madani. He studied with him for four years, receiving training in the ways of the Chishti Order, and also in the practices of the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Suhrawardi orders. These studies reinforced his belief in the need for unity over and above creed or race.
In 1920 Inayat Khan came to the West with his brother and cousin, traveling first to America and then to England, Russia, and France. During his sixteen years in the West he created a school of spiritual training based on his vision of the unity of all religions and the awakening of humanity to the divine within. In his unique form of Sufism, there are no barriers of race, creed, or religion. He did not see Sufism as a religion, but rather a way of life that enhances and fulfills every religion. He said “Sufism is not a religion or a philosophy, it is neither deism nor atheism, nor is it a moral, nor a special kind of mysticism, being free from the usual religious sectarianism. If ever it could be called a religion, it would only be as a religion of love, harmony, and beauty.”
This is a highly anticipated reprint of the 1979 edition that been out of print for some time. Inayat Khan dictated part of it during 1919 in London, and the majority of it during the 1920s when he was settled in Suresnes, France. Additional material and anecdotes have been added by the staff of the Nekbakht Foundation, which publishes the Complete Works of Hazrat Inayat Khan.
