Spirit Matters The Newsletter of the Sufi Movement in Australia, Inc
Volume 14, No. 2 Winter 2010
Greetings
The soul can be likened to the rose; as a rosebud blooms, so the soul unfolds itself. Hazrat Inayat Khan
When the Murshid arrived at the assembly of his disciples, each one greeted the other, saying, ‘Ishq Allah, Ma’bud Allah. God is love and Beloved.
Spirit Matters
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What’s Inside Spirit Matters this season?
Contents
Editorial
3 Letter from the national representative — Nuria Daly
The choice of the gorgeous red rose on this issue’s front cover was guided by a number of factors. Firstly, I was perusing the Nature Meditation section of the Spirit Matters website, trolling for photos to illustrate this issue (thanks to Nuria and Azad for all the floral, arboreal (below) and mountain[al?] pics) and I fell in love with the deep red in this photo. Secondly, for some reason the rose seemed wintry to me, perhaps because Perth is an excellent city for roses and it definitely feels like winter over here (though no snow, alas). Thirdly, the rose, as a symbol for the soul and spiritual endeavour, has always been close to my own heart. And last but not least, I hope you enjoyed its vibrant colour as you opened your electronic copy of Spirit Matters.
4 Poetry Page — Chamanafroz 5 Poetry Page — Kafia Airey and Zora Floren 6 Sufi Teaching — Health & Order of Body & Mind: Balance — Hazrat Inayat Khan 9 A poem by Rumi 10 Story — Ariel’s Eternity — Ananda Bernadette Hogan 11 Story — Autumn Walk in the Forest: A Stumble — Nuria Daly
Thank you to all our poets, scribblers, financial adviser and message-bringers for the content of this season’s newsletter.
12 Sufi Movement Business — A letter from Nawab Pasknak 13 September Retreat flyer 14 Financial Business— Financial statements for
May your hearts stay warm and toasty (and blossoming), even if your toes and fingers are stiffening from the nip of winter.
financial year
With love,
Sakina
15 Upcoming Events Memberships & Subscriptions Membership to the Sufi Movement in Australia is open to all.
If you find yourself drawn to the ideals of universal spiritual brother-and-sisterhood, you may be interested in becoming a member. The Sufi Movement in Australia offers an annual Sufi Summer Retreat, classes in centres around Australia and a quarterly newsletter, in addition to affiliation with The International Sufi movement, its teachers & activities. Annual Membership Fees Single—$75 Family—$100 Annual Newsletter Subscription $20 Please contact the Treasurer (see back page for details)
Winter 2010
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Letter from Nuria National Representative of SMiA
Beloved brothers and sisters These last few months have been very pleasant down here in Melbourne, with no news of floods or fires, in fact we have had an Indian summer so to speak and it is still very mild. Rhu na Craig has now passed to its new owners and Devaki has had various garage sales and activity on EBay, selling much of the contents of the house. Devaki plans to give the proceeds to the Dargah in India. It has been a very huge effort on her part. In the meanwhile we have found a new venue which is smallish but cosy, with a kitchen we can use for retreat days. We are finding it very comfortable and the atmosphere is lovely – warm and inviting. The Buddha Birthday celebration on 15th May has become an annual event for us, as we were once again invited to take part in the Interfaith Prayer service there. With the weather being so good there was a great turn-out with lots of people in Federation Square for the occasion.
We have belatedly had out autumn day of Peace and Repose which had the theme of remembrance and we now are preparing for our Winter Retreat. To date we have 18 participants booked in this year so this is encouraging, especially as it is being held in Amberley and there is a minimum attendance target!
Shortly after winter retreat, Azad and I are off to Summer School in Holland again. It has been a few years since we were there last, but we felt a strong desire to see our Pir O Murshid again and to celebrate 100 years of the Sufi message. Indeed there will also be a retreat in Sydney from 24th September to 28th September 2010 to also celebrate this occasion. This past year I have been involved and absorbed in the genealogy of my father’s side of the family, which was, until now, totally unknown to me. It has been fascinating but also difficult to deal with at times. The history of Eastern Europe from the 17th to 20th centuries really reflects the human condition, both good and bad, and the laws to restrict and control the people who managed to rise above all of that and to survive and even thrive. So I have once again been seeing the good in the bad and the bad in the good. This outer search for who we are, is part of the inner search and helps in our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. So after Summer School we will be visiting the Czech Republic – Prague and Brno from where my father’s family have lived in the past, before visiting my cousin in Vienna. Unfortunately for poor Azad, we will be doing a few Jewish cemetery tours finding the (my) ancestors! He is really looking forward to that! We both wish you a warm, calm and peaceful winter.
With love,
Nuria and Azad
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Poetry Pages
The Hawthorn Bush Multiflorous, each flowerhead five white cupped circles centered around the middle. Out of it arise the androecium like a gathering of little people bowing their heads to the one in the centre where the nectar, the pollen, awaits to be collected by the bees to dance it into sweet honey, nourishment in abundance. There is abundance in a hawthorn bush, a gift for all the senses. Plentiful, overflowing, graceful blossoms move on their branches in the early summer breeze, reflecting the beauty of Allah, The One. Beauty cloaked in rich green fingered foliage; protected. Cleansed and purified by a May shower.
Chamanafroz (poem & illustration)
KUNG FU MEDITATIONS: MEDITATI0N I human life is full of sorrow and conflict until we know of the way, whose course may be confusing to the ego. MEDITATION II With deep Self-realization one influences the universe with subtle vibrations and remains unaffected the ebb and flow of events MEDITATION III to attain self-realization on earth is to live a dual existence; one performs worldly duties conscientiously, but is inwardly immersed in spiritual peace.
Chamanafroz
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Poetry Pages
Prone to Lean My mind has lost its snap which renders it more comfy What it now lacks in acuity it seems to spread into width Helpful notions appearing unearned by reasoning Noor smiled when I told her and hinted of more to come To Die in Love Show me the way To the Mountain of Flight Is it here; is it there? Is the mountain in sight? Where the One can be seen And Angels’ delight, As Seers take the leap In such beautiful flight Then weep as they gently glide Through that veil of pure Light To their Beloved’s embrace Where clasping so tight Joyous songs echo loud From each Lover’s Heart As they gaze and they drown In a Oneness so pure In a wine; a delectable wine Yes, they drink of that nectar And gaze even more Then dance in that drowning But still want to live – In order to die Beyond their ecstatic deaths – to die in a drowning of heavenly wine – to die in the Purist of Light – to die as Love in – Love?
Kafia Doris Airey
Caught there in her sky eyes I felt myself lean to the future yearning to follow the waymarks of her journey into gratitude
Zora Bria Floren (a poem about lunch with Noor)
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Spirit Matters
Sufi Teaching — Health & Order of Body & Mind: Balance by Hazrat Inayat Khan 1 When looking at the world with the eyes of the seer, we shall see that people who are called wise and people who are called foolish are much nearer to each other than they are ordinarily thought to be: because of their unbalanced state their different occupations are much nearer to each other than they usually appear. The person who sees the good in others will see more and more good. The person with a fault finding tendency will see so many faults that at last even the good seems bad in his eyes; the eyes themselves are bad. There is much more chance of a fall for a person who is running than for one that is walking. The activity itself brings about a fall. The activity tends to grow more and more, and by this, balance is lost. Sometimes a person has no balance in telling the truth. He says, ‘I tell the truth,’ and he is regardless of whether it is harmonious with his surroundings, whether people are prepared to receive it. He says, ‘I tell the truth, and I want to fight with everybody because I tell the truth!’ therefore, the lesson of repose is the most important one to be learned. Philosophy itself – the greatest, the highest thing in the world, the knowledge of God – has often been lost through lack of balance. This is why in the Bible, in the Vedanta, in the Quran the truth, told so plainly, is nevertheless told in a veiled manner. If the prophets, the masters had spoken the truth in plain words, the world would have gone to the left instead of the right. It has been my own experience that philosophy, when plainly expressed, is understood differently than when it is expressed in a veiled manner. When we speak we become inclined to speak more and more, and we become so fond of speaking that we speak regardless of whether anyone wishes to listen. We say what we do not really wish to say. Afterwards we think, ‘Why did I insult that person? Why did I tell my secret to somebody else?’ Sadi, the great Persian poet says, ‘O, intelligent one, of what use is thine intelligence, if afterwards thou repentest?’ Whatever we do, whether good or bad, increases in us more and more. If one day a person thinks about music for five minutes, the next day that thought will continue
for half an hour. If one day he thinks about poetry for ten minutes, the next day that thought will continue for an hour. If a person has a little thought of bitterness, unconsciously the thought will grow until his mind is full of bitterness. Every sin comes about in this way. Zarathushtra distinguishes three kinds of sin: the sin of thought, the sin of speech and the sin of action. To have a thought of bitterness, the thought of evil, is like doing evil; to speak evil is like doing evil. And when a person commits an evil action, then the evil is concrete. We have balance of thought, when we can see things not only from our own point of view, with the ideas and feelings in which we are trained, but from all sides. The one-sided person has no balance.
Winter 2010
Suppose you are very patriotic and see everything from the point of view of patriotism, and you go to an ironmonger and demand that he should sell you some things at a certain price. But the ironmonger is a poor man and, even for a patriotic purpose, he cannot sell the things at that price. After all he is an ironmonger and he thinks of his trade. He cannot be expected to see with your patriotic eyes. One person thinks only of patriotism. Another says, ‘God save the trade.’ A third, who is a musician, says, ‘They are mad, crazy! Music is the only thing that matters.’ The poet says, ‘poetry is the only thing in the world.’ Each thinks only of that in which he is active. A pious person exaggerates his piety so much that there is nothing in him but piety, which at last becomes hypocrisy. One will ask: What is balance; and how can we achieve it? First there is the balance of activity and repose, of sleeping and waking. If a person thinks that by sleeping very much he will become great and so sleeps very much, he will become a monster instead of a man, because the body, which is given in order to experience the world, is not used. If one does not sleep at all, in a few days one will have a nervous breakdown. If one fasts very much, certainly one will become very ethereal, one will see into the other world, into other planes. If one has learned the way of inspiration, inspiration will come. But this body, these senses will become weak, so that one will not be able to experience the world for which they were given. Extremity is undesirable in everything, whether good or evil. The majzubs, in India, are those mystics who go to the extreme of spirituality. Their external self is so much forgotten that they leave the experience of the world altogether. To sleep and wake, to eat and fast, to be active and to be still, to speak and to be silent – that is to have balance. The Sufi teaches control of the activity of the body, the balance of the body, by pose, posture and movements, which include namaz, wazifa and zikr. He teaches the balance of the mind by concentration. To sit at home and close the eyes is not concentration. Though the eyes are closed, the thoughts go on. The right object of concentration must be chosen. By concentration and meditation a person experiences ecstasy, the greatest happiness and bliss. Guidance of the Murshid is needed for this; otherwise the balance will be lost. A disciple was taught a practice by the
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Prophet Muhammad, through which he experienced ecstasy. After some days he came bringing fruit and flowers, which he offered to the Prophet, thanking him greatly and saying, ‘The lesson that you taught me is of so great a value to me. It has brought me such joy. My prayers, which used to last a few minutes, now last all day.’ The Prophet said, ‘I am glad you liked the lesson, but, please from today on leave it.’ By control of the self a person experiences the higher plane in which all beings are one. The guidance of the teacher, the Murshid, is needed. No one can accomplish this by themselves. And if anyone could, he would become so much interested in what he experienced there, that he would become absent from this world. Absent-mindedness, even lunacy and many other evil consequences would result. Ecstasy is the greatest happiness, the greatest bliss. A person always thinks, ‘I am this which I see. This small amount of flesh and blood, bones and skin is I.’ By ecstasy the consciousness is freed from this body, from this confinement. It experiences its true existence above all sorrow, pain and trouble. That is the greatest joy. To experience it, and to keep control of the body and the senses through which we experience all the life of this world is to have balance. That is the highest state.
2 It is not only strength or nervous energy that enables man to stand on the earth. Besides muscular strength and nervous energy, there is balance. It is balance which enables man to stand and walk without falling. In the absence of balance man will not be able to stand or walk in spite of his muscular strength and nervous energy. When we think of the mind – is it reasoning, is it farreaching imagination which makes man thoughtful? No, it is balance. There are many whose imagination reaches so far that they can float in the air for hours together, and there are others whose reason is so powerful that they can go round and round and round and end nowhere. If there is anything that makes man thoughtful, it is not great reasoning or far-reaching imagination: it is balance.
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Is it the deep feeling of the heart, or is it living in a spiritual ecstasy that makes a person illuminated? No, neither of these things. A person can be in ecstasy, see visions phenomena and yet he may not be called spiritual. A person may have religious ideas, he may live a pious life, have lofty ideals, and even then he may not be called an illuminated soul. This shows that in order to make the body as it ought to be, to keep the mind in order, and to maintain it to that pitch, it is balance that is necessary.
Spirit Matters
progress can be explained as coming from balance and lack of balance. There is another idea connected with what we call balance. Life is movement, balance is something that controls it, but perfect balance controls movement too much, bringing it to the pitch of inertia. For instance, if the strength of the right hand were equal to the strength of the left hand, if the right leg and the left leg were equal, man would not be able to work or to walk. If each of the two eyes had the same power of sight, a person would not be able to see. In this way balance controls everything. But, too much balance destroys it, because too much balance brings stillness. The ordinary balance, which is not complete, brings about success. Now the main idea is to know how balance is to be obtained and to be retained. In answer to the first question, how balance is to be attained, I would say that balance is naturally there, so there is no need to attain it. The question is only how to maintain balance and not how to attain it. The influence of our way of life in this active world always puts us off balance. No matter what direction we take in life, no matter what our occupation, our business in life, there is always difficulty in maintaining balance.
When we study nature, we find that the growth of plants and the life of trees all depend upon balance. And when we think of the cosmos and study the condition of the stars and planets, the main thing we realize is that the one holds the other, thereby producing balance. All destruction caused in nature, such as volcanic eruptions, floods, earthquakes, comes from lack of balance. As long as nature holds its balance, the abyss in the heart of the earth can remain as it is. People can walk over it without any damage. Storms and famine, all the difficult conditions caused by nature, show that balance is missing. All the different plagues that come to mankind are caused by the lack of that balance which is the security of the health of humanity. What we call art also comes from a balanced sense of line and color, and what we call genius in science comes from the balance between perception and conception. What do we learn from all this? That the secret of existence of the individual as well as of the whole cosmos lies in one thing and that is balance. It would not be exaggerated if I said that success and failure are caused by balance and by the lack of it. Progress and lack of
The Sufis therefore, have found a key to it, and that key is to isolate oneself within and thereby, to gain a complete balance within oneself. I have already said that perfect balance means destruction of action, but when we think that from morning till evening our life is nothing but action, we naturally cannot keep that balance. By keeping a few minutes for a process of meditation, of silence, we can touch that complete balance for a moment, and then, naturally, in our active life a balance is maintained. Very often people make the mistake of thinking that by the help of meditation or silence they can bring about success in activity. If it brings about a successful result, it is only because complete balance in meditation makes one capable of maintaining the balance necessary for activity. Success, failure, progress, standstill, one's state of being, it all comes from the condition that a person is experiencing within himself. A man of common sense will say, ‘For this reason or for that reason you have met with success or failure.’ A person who is clairvoyant will say, ‘Because a spirit or a ghost has said this or that, the conditions must be worse or better.’ The astrologer will say, ‘Because this star is in its house or not in its house, you are experiencing such or such conditions.’
Winter 2010
But according to the Sufi idea the condition of life around one depends absolutely on the condition of one's inner self. So what is needed to change the conditions in outer life, or to tune oneself, is to work with one's inner self in order to bring about the necessary balance. Once balance is lost, it is very difficult to bring it about again. In the first place it is often difficult to keep balance in everyday life, and once it is lost, there is very little hope of success, of happiness, or of progress. It is just like a clock getting out of order. It cannot work as long as it is not brought into a proper balance again. And the same is true for the conditions of the soul. If a person has lost his wealth, has become a spendthrift, has become thoughtless, all these things are signs of his loss of balance. To be too sad, to be too busy, to be too lazy, all these things are signs of lack of balance. All that can be called too much is always out of balance. Balance is the security of life, not only in our outward life, but even in maintaining meditation and contemplation. People in the East have always considered balance to be the principal thing to maintain in life. All different exercises they have prescribed, whether in the form of religion or in the form of devotion, whether in the philosophical or in the psychical realm, are all meant to maintain balance.
3 Balance must be maintained between what is physical and what is eternal by being conscious of both. One must not dive so deep into eternity that one does not know what time it is, nor so immersed in the physical that one is unaware of immortality. As there is night and day, so there is the change of consciousness from the physical to the spiritual, and from the spiritual to the physical. By keeping a balance between these two conditions a person leads a complete life. Balance is something which is as rarely found among mystics as among others. When we become interested in something, it is our nature to want more and more of it, whether it is spirituality or something material. If we become very spiritual and are not material [enough], we lose the world. If we were not meant to live in this world, we would not have been sent here.
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A poem by Rumi
thinking and the heart's mystical way a peaceful face twists with the poisonous nail of thinking. a golden spade sinks into a pile of dung. suppose you loosen an intellectual knot. the sack is empty. you've grown old trying to untie such tightenings, so loosen a few more, why knot! there is a big one fastened at your throat, the problem of whether you're in harmony with that which has no definition. solve that! you examine substance and accidents. you waste your life making subject and verb agree. you edit hearsay. you study artifacts and think you know the maker, so proud of having figured the derivation. like a scientist you collect data and put facts together to come to some conclusion. mystics arrive at what they know differently: they lay a head upon a person's chest and drift into the answer. thinking gives off smoke to prove the existence of fire. a mystic sits inside the burning. there are wonderful shapes in rising smoke that imagination loves to watch. but it's a mistake to leave the fire for that filmy sight. stay here at the flame's core.
Offered by Chamanafroz
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Story Pages — Ariel’s Eternity by Ananda Bernadette Hogan
Once upon a time there was a little girl whom I call Ariel, and she could see eternity, sometimes. Sometimes, she still can. Her first memory is of being on her father’s shoulders in a crowd, and knowing she was safe. On that day, her mother and father had decided to buy a child’s chair for her and it was while they were looking for a chair in a large shop, that her father lifted her onto his shoulders, probably so that she could see better, as she was a very curious child. She still has a photo of herself sitting proudly on the chair at the back door of her parents’ house, and the chair is beside her bed today. It was on loan to her brothers for a few years, when she seemed too old for it, but one day she took it back and decided it should stay with her.
There were also hot summer days when she and her Nana would walk up to the shops, and that did seem like an eternity until they were home in the cool old house once again. Time was her own, and she would lay out a set of playing cards along the floor against an old wooden door and make up stories about the Kings, Queens and Jacks, or tease ants by putting them on leaves in a saucer of water and watch them try to escape. It was a half-house, shared with the owners and their son, who would use the shared bathroom for his shave in the morning.
Ariel’s second memory is of being in her nana’s kitchen on a hot day, barefoot and wearing a pink dress, and feeling totally alive and happy. She was three years old.
Ariel’s great-aunts shared a bedroom in the front, and she recalls sharing the bedroom with one aunt on one stay but also sleeping under a large black umbrella on the couch in the lounge-room, perhaps when she was younger. Even under the black umbrella, she didn’t really sleep until they went to bed, because the radio and lights were still on.
Her great-aunt, who was her nana’s sister, had been making pikelets and their smell filled the kitchen. If she thinks back to it now, she can remember the old sink in the corner and the soap that her great-aunts used to wash the dishes.
These memories are unfinished as yet, as I discover that unraveling them is an enchanting process with which I want to take time, but they come to me whenever I look through a lightly curtained window at a sunny sky, and Ariel says to me “Eternity is here”.
Ariel also remembers the garden, an old crab-apple tree halfway down the drive, a swan bush and pansies in the front. There was a tall boy named Michael who used to peer over the back fence on one side, and a cobblestone lane on the other side. In autumn the lane would fill with oak leaves and Ariel would wade through them.
Winter 2010
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Story Pages — Autumn Walk in the Forest: A Stumble by Nuria Daly
It was the day before out Autumn Peace day and Azad and myself were out for our weekly walk in Sherbrooke forest. Every week the atmosphere and feel of the forest is different. On this day it was cool, damp and misty, with lots of bark from the mountain ash cushioning the path. A loop of bark caught my ankle and I went flying in a spectacular stumble, shooting past Azad at speed. What was amazing was that I did not fall with my face on the forest floor. I was able to hold myself up and avoid the crash. When I thought about it I figured that my two years of going to the gym and training to keep myself upright, in spite of crumbling bones, meant that my core muscles were able to keep me upright in that par-
ticular emergency. I saw a parallel with doing spiritual exercises too. If we do our practice, then when life produces these setbacks and problems, we can hold ourselves up and keep going or rise above it all. Further along the walk we came across a lyrebird scavenging for grubs in the soft damp earth – a very special sight and of course we saw the usual crimson rosellas and a pair of King Parrots. The following day was also very special – our belated autumn Day of Peace and Repose on the topic of Remembrance. It also happened to be Arif’s birthday and was also the day when Dhanyata’s little son, Theo, came into the world. A wonderful blessing.
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Sufi Movement Business
THE INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE SUFI MOVEMENT Office of the General Representatives O Sufi, did you know that the Inner School is like a ship in which one is sailing on the great waters of Love, Harmony and Beauty, guided by the compass of the Spirit of Guidance, and driven by the energy of Spiritual Liberty, heading toward the goal of the annihilation of the ego, where one may begin at last to realize that the sailor is a ray of the Divine Presence, sailing in the past, present and future on the waves of our illusions.
DESK OF THE MADAR-UL-MAHAM To the kind attention of:
Date: June 1, 2010
All Mureeds of the International Sufi Movement Subject: Revision of titles in the Esoteric School Dear brothers and sisters in the Message, This is to bring to your deeply appreciated attention a decision recently taken in the Pir-o-Murshid Council and the Jamiat Khas of the Esoteric School of Inner Culture regarding the titles used for the 10th level of initiation, the Junior Representative of the Inner School. Specifically, the decision is to retire the use of the words “Shaikh” and “Shaikha,” leaving only the words “Khalif” and “Khalifa” to signify the function of the Junior Representative. Those who received the designation “Shaikh/a” on the occasion of their 10th initiation are kindly encouraged to change now to the use of “Khalif/a.” This change is to avoid any possible confusion in the public mind, as the title “Shaikh” is also applied in nonspiritual contexts, and its continued use could create an unfortunate association between the Sufi Movement and groups or organizations with very different and sometimes dangerous motives. In that same connection, all workers and representatives are kindly reminded that the titles in the Esoteric School (Naqib/a, Khalif/a, Murshid/a) are not intended for public display, but only for use in the Esoteric School. With hearty thanks for your attention to this matter, and with kindest greetings, Nawab William Pasnak Madar-ul-Maham (Leader of the Esoteric School)
Winter 2010
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THE SUFI MESSAGE OF UNITY A celebration of 100 years of the Sufi Message of Love, Harmony and Beauty in the west. west “Our being reaches further than birds can fly, our own being is finer than the moth and brighter than the flame.”
4pm Fri 24th to 12 noon Tuesday 28th September, 2010 At The Chevalier Resource Centre 1 Roma Ave, Kensington, Sydney NSW 2033 (Parking onsite). The celebration/retreat will be guided by experienced leaders of the Sufi Movement in Australia and will include silence, tuning, wazifa and zikar.
Cost:$445 includes retreat, meals, accommodation, linen and parking. For further information please contact: Hamida - 02 9387 5263 m 0420 302 739, hamida.janice@yahoo.com or Zubin - leonieshore@bigpond.com
REGISTRATION Please email participant name and phone to leonieshore@bigpond.com and you will receive program, map, dietary needs & next of kin contact forms. Please deposit $50 asap, full payment by Friday 10th September 2010 to Commonwealth Bank, Brandon Park Branch, Sufi Movement in Australia Inc, BSB 063 587 Account number 10251994, Payee Reference: Your name. “We look forward to celebrating 100 years of the Sufi Message in the west.”
Spirit Matters
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Financial Business—Statement of Income & Expenses Report from the National Treasure, Azad Daly SUFI MOVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER, 2009 2008 $
550 2 448 10,473 436 1,154 1,610 3,500 39 418 313 1,300 2,257 185 1,500 0 0 0 0 24,185 -1,576
INCOME Summer Retreat - 2009 Members’ Fees Magazine Subscriptions Donations SMIA Donations (Other) Sales – Books/CDs Winter Retreat Summer School – 2009 Peace Days (Net) Dargah Fund Murad Hassil Fund
2009 $
18,860 2,200 135 75 1,469 1,810 408 750 500 26,207
EXPENDITURE Audit Fees Bank Fees Insurance Summer Retreat Postage – Spirit Matters Printing & Stationery Purchases – Books/CDs Subscription – Head Office – Consumer Affairs Mid Winter Retreat Sundry Purchases Transfer to India Deposit – Summer School 2007 Web Page Expenses Grant – Murshid Sharif Dargah Fund Murad Hassil Fund Baroda Fund Miscellaneous
550 148 534 18,135 395 629 176 3,500 40 599 498 1,800 900 610 771
EXCESS OF EXPENDITURE OF INCOME
29,285 -3,078
Balance at beginning of period LESS Excess of expenditure over Income BALANCE AT END OF PERIOD
11,038 3,078 7,960
Represented By:Cash at Bank Loan from Azad Daly Stock on Hand (at Cost)
7,275 -59 744 7,960
Continued next page
14,715 1,955 116 75 2,318 1,530 960 200 740 0 0 22,609
$
Winter 2010
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With regards to Income it can be seen that we raised our income from $22,609 to $26,207 ($3,598.00). This was due mainly to increased income from the higher attendance fees charged for the Summer Retreat ($4,145.00). After last year’s decline, SMIA membership fees increased from $1995 to $2,200. Actual SMIA numbers are up from 28 to 31 paid up members. Book sales were more on less on par with last year ($60). Revenue from the Winter Retreat in Melbourne almost doubled from $960 to $1,810. Revenue from the Peace days declined, due to three (3) Peace days being included in last year’s figures as opposed to the ‘normal’, as in this year’s figures, that is two (2) Peace days. Overall Expenditure was up by a hefty $5,100.00 again mainly due to the increase for the Summer Retreat venue of St. Josephs ($7,662). Other increases in expenditure are in bank charges, and insurance and Web Page expenses (Web Page was re–vamped).
INVITATION TO THE SUMMER SCHOOL IN THE UNIVERSEL MURAD HASSIL NETHERLANDS 14th JULY – 21st JULY 2010
Income from the retreat at St. Joseph’s was $18,860 whilst expenditure just to cover venue costs was $18,135, add in some other misc. costs (printing and flowers etc) and the surplus wasn’t all that much. If you then add in the cost of Murshid Nawab’s airfare and the contribution to HQ totalling $3,500, then you can see that our surplus becomes a minus, so that our overall balance decreased substantially by ($3,078). So a surplus from Retreats is very necessary for us to continue to function, as we have over the past years. (By the way, this Financial Year is Oct 1st 2009 to Sep 30th 2010) Just to give a current update on this: We had an attendance of 16 people for this year’s (2010) Summer Retreat. As I had costed for a “worst case” scenario we ended up with a small surplus, however the overall picture for the next few years isn’t a good one. For instance we have, to date, a paid up membership of 26 members (this includes 2 new members) - despite 3 various forms of reminders being sent out. If we continue like this and still have to pay for our annual bills such as: general liability insurance, our accountants fees, our newsletter and all the stuff that I have repeated ad nauseam over the last few years then SMIA will be in financial difficulties – it’s as simple as that!
Upcoming Events THE OIL WHICH KEEPS THE LIGHT BURNING November 1-8, 2010 An eight-day retreat at the Dargah of Hazrat Inayat Khan, New Delhi, India
You are most heartily invited to the Summer School 2010 which will be held in the Universel Murad Hassil in Katwijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. Sufis from all over the world have been coming together at this very special place in the dunes for many years, to experience the sacred atmosphere. Our beloved Master, Hazrat Inayat Khan, inaugurated summer schools in Suresnes. We are privileged to come together in an harmonious and sacred atmosphere to be inspired and to have a wonderful time together. Enquiries to sufiap@hetnet.nl or our own national representative, Nuria Daly. Leaders’ Retreat: Retreat for Mureeds: Summer School: Children’s Summer School: Commemoration and Artistic Evening: Soefi Dagen (Dutch):
11-12th July 14th July 15 – 21st July 16 – 18th July 19th July 23 – 25th July
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF MURSHID NAWAB PASNAK My heart, hold closely the oil which keeps the light burning. —HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN— This retreat is for mureeds of Hazrat Inayat Khan; some experience with the teaching style of the retreat guide is recommended. Each day involves both group practice and suggested individual exercises. The retreat is limited to fifteen places. Cost, Deposit and Accommodation: The retreat fee is €575, or the equivalent, with 50% due upon registration, and the balance payable upon arrival at the Dargah. The fee includes food and accommodation for ten days (the retreat plus two days extra) staff gratuities, a contribution to the Staff Welfare Fund, and a donation to the Dargah. Additional contributions and donations are of course welcome. Extra days of accommodation can be arranged at a modest cost. Accommodation will be either in the Dargah retreat house or a nearby guest-house. Food and lodging are simple, Indian style, but most rooms have western style toilets. Please note that during the retreat, accommodation can only be provided for retreat participants; those planning on further travel in India with friends or family should arrange to meet them before or after the retreat. Health and Visas: When planning your trip, remember that all foreigners require a visa to enter India; a simple tourist visa is usually the easiest to obtain. Also, you may wish to discuss your trip with a doctor or travel clinic.
Registration and Information: To register, or to request further information, please contact Nirtan Ekaterina Pasnak at nirtan.amirmanzil@getmail.no.
Contacts
International Sufi Movement Contacts
NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE Nuria Daly Ph: 03 9561 4861 16 Petronella Ave Email: irenenuriadaly@iprimus.com.au Wheelers Hill. VIC. 3150
REPRESENTATIVE GENERAL 24 Banstraat 2517 GJ The Hague Netherlands
VICE-PRESIDENT Celia Genn 2524 Old Gympie Rd Beerwah. QLD. 4519
GENERAL SECRETARIAT 78 Anna Pulownastraat 2518 BJ The Hague Netherlands
SECRETARIES Sabura Allen 19 D’Arcy Ave Sandringham. VIC. 3191 Devaki Muller 62 Marshall Ave Clayton. VIC. 3168 TREASURER Azad Daly 16 Petronella Ave Wheelers Hill. VIC. 3150
Ph: 07 5494 0724 Email: cgenn@bigpond.com
Ph: 03 9533 4658 Email: sabura.allen@med.monash.edu.au Ph: 03 9515 9660 Email: vernon103@optus.com.au
Ph: 03 9561 4861 Email: rdaly@iprimus.com.au
Ph: +31 70 346 1781 Email: sufihq@sx4all.nl
Ph: +31 70 346 1594 Fax: +31 70 361 4864 Email: sufiap@hetnet.nl
Sufi Movement Web Sites International Sufi Movement www.sufimovement.org Sufi Movement in Australia www.smia.com.au Melbourne City Sufi Circle www.suficircle.websyte.com.au For more related links, please go to http://www.sufimovement.org/links.htm
Regional Contacts and Representatives ACT
Talibah Josephine Lolicato 1 Sorrel Place Queanbeyan. ACT. 2620
Ph: 02 6297 5107 Email: loliavec@ozemail.com.au
ACT—ROSE GARDEN
Zubin Shore 849 Lake Rd Bungendore. ACT. 2621
Ph: 0438 550247 Email: leonieshore@hotmail.com
NSW—GRAYS POINT
Kafia Airey 98 Grays Point Rd Grays Point. NSW. 2232
Ph: 02 9525 0137 Email: kafia@optusnet.com.au
NSW—NEW ENGLAND
Karim and Bahkti Parkhurst Sitara Manzil, 30 Bridge St Uralla. NSW. 2358
Ph: 02 6778 4701 Email: sitaramanzil@bigpond.com
NSW—SYDNEY
Hamida Janice PO Box 3371 Tamarama. NSW. 2026
Ph: 02 9387 5263 Email: hamida@tpg.com.au
QLD—GLASSHOUSE MOUNTAINS
Celia Genn 2524 Old Gympie Rd Beerwah. QLD. 4519
Ph: 07 5494 0724 Email: cgenn@bigpond. Com
TASMANIA
Habiba Aubert 82 Princes St Sandy Bay. TAS. 7005
Ph: 03 6223 6085
VICTORIA—MELBOURNE
Nuria Daly 16 Petronella Ave Wheelers Hill. VIC. 3150
Ph: 03 9561 4861 Email: irenenuriadaly@iprimus.com.au
EDITOR, Spirit Matters
Sakina Jacob
Ph: 0448 839641 Email: sakinallah@gmail.com