That person is living whose heart is living, and that heart is living which has wakened to sympathy.
There are many attributes found in the human heart which are called divine, but among them there is no greater and better attribute than sympathy, by which man shows in human form God manifested. - Hazrat Inayat Khan
When we read the scriptures of the great world religions, whether the Bible, the Kabala, the Qur´an, the Gita, or the Buddhist scriptures, we find that in some form or other, in the manner best suited to the people to whom the religion was given, it was the same moral, the same symphony, it was the same music which was performed before there. Were the great teachers specially engaged in giving mystical or occult teachings to the world? Were they engaged in discussing philosophical problems? Not at all, although they were mystics and knew philosophy and occultism, that was not the principal thing that they had to give. What they gave to the world was that simple philosophy which is never new to anyone and which even a child knows: to love one another, to be kind, to be sincere, to serve one another.
When we consider this question from a still deeper point of view, we shall find that in the spirit of brotherhood is hidden a way to illumination. A man who may live by great principles, or who prays all day or meditates in the caves of the mountainside, if he does not show the spirit of brotherhood, is no good to himself or to others, because brotherhood is the way to develop spirituality. It is not exclusiveness, it is not running away from the world which is the way of the really spiritual ones. Their way is to consider one´s obligations, to keep one´s word, one´s honor, and to prove sincere in whatever minor capacity one may be working, faithful to friends and true to everyone. These are the merits which develop by themselves when the spirit of brotherhood has matured in man. - Hazrat Inayat Khan
Individuals, Sufi centers and communities have all found ways to serve humanity and make concrete the ideals to which they aspire. Schools and retreat centers, food banks, soup kitchens, transformational theater, counseling, birthing and health clinics, the Prison Book Fund in the United States and The Hope Project in Delhi, India are but a few of the avenues in which lives have been enriched. In Germany support is given to the Christopherus-Hospiz society working with incurable sick people, the soup kitchen express for homeless people in Bremen - a private initiative of our mureed Zia Hüttinger - , and of course the Hope Project.
The Hope Project was founded in 1975 by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan. Moved by the extreme poverty of the people living in the vicinity of the dargah of Hazrat Pir-o-Mursheed Inayat Khan, he resolved to do something to relieve their suffering. The Hope Project is Pir Vilayat's reinterpretation of the ancient tradition of alms giving at Sufi tombs. Rather then simply receiving hand-outs, the poor are helped to help themselves.
You can make a vital difference in the lives of destitude children and adults. A gift of any size & kind will help maintain current programs and provide the funding necessary for future expansion. You may also make a commitment to become a monthly sponsor.
Contributions in the United States: Recipient: Please send checks made out to US contact person: | Contributions in the United Kingdom: Recipient: Sufi Order International International contact person: Martin Zahir Roehrs |
Recipient: Hope Project Charitable Trust Indian post address is: | Contributions in Switzerland: Recipient: Sufi-Bewegung, Gruppe Basel Contributions in Austria: Recipient: Indienhilfe
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Contributions in Germany: Recipient: Lebenshilfe Indien Contact in Germany : Sa'adia Öztümer (Kinship) & | Contributions in Netherlands: Recipient: Soefie ordre Nederland Contributions in France: Recipient: ISIF Enfants Indie
English Website : |