Meher Baba was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of hundreds of thousands of people, mostly in India, with a smaller number of followers in North America, Europe, South America, and Australia.
Sufism is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism.
The Chishti order is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam named after the town of Chisht where it was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami. The order was brought to South Asia by Mu'in al-Din Chishti in the city of Ajmer.
Samuel L. Lewis also known as Murshid Samuel Lewis and Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti was an American mystic and horticultural scientist who founded what became the Sufi Ruhaniat International, a branch of the Chishtia Sufi lineage. After a lifetime of spiritual study with teachers East and West, primarily Inayat Khan and Nyogen Senzaki, Lewis was recognized simultaneously as a Zen master and Sufi murshid by Eastern representatives of the two traditions. He also co-founded the Christian mystical order called the Holy Order of Mans. His early interest in international seed exchange and organic agriculture also established him as one of the pioneers of green spirituality. His most enduring legacy may be the creation of the Dances of Universal Peace, an early interspiritual practice that has spread around the world in the 50 years since his death.
Sayyid Abdullāh Shāh Qādrī, known popularly as Baba Bulleh Shah and Bulleya, was a Punjabi revolutionary philosopher, reformer and a Sufi poet of the 17th and 18th centuries, universally regarded as the "Father of Punjabi Enlightenment". He spoke against powerful religious, political and social institutions and is revered as the "Poet of the People".
The Qadiriyya or the Qadiri order is a Sufi mystic order (tariqa) founded by Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani, who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order relies strongly upon adherence to the fundamentals of Sunni Islamic law.
Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam in which Muslims seek divine love and truth through direct personal experience of God. This mystic tradition within Islam developed in several stages of growth, emerging first in the form of early asceticism, based on the teachings of Hasan al-Basri, before entering the second stage of more classical mysticism of divine love, as promoted by al-Ghazali and Attar of Nishapur, and finally emerging in the institutionalized form of today's network of fraternal Sufi orders, based on Sufis such as Rumi and Yunus Emre. At its core, however, Sufism remains an individual mystic experience, and a Sufi can be characterized as one who seeks the annihilation of the ego in God.
God Speaks: The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose is the principal book by Meher Baba, and the most significant scripture used by his followers. It covers Meher Baba's view of the process of creation and its purpose and has been in print continuously since 1955.
Hazrat Babajaan was a Pashtun Muslim saint considered by her followers to be a Sadguru or Qutub. Born in Balochistan, Afghanistan, she lived the final 25 years of her life in Pune, India. She was the original master of Meher Baba, an Indian spiritual master.
Daniel Ladinsky is an American poet and interpreter of mystical poetry, born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Over a twenty-year period, beginning in 1978, he spent extensive time in a spiritual community at Meherabad, in western India, where he worked in a rural clinic free to the poor, and lived with the intimate disciples and family of Meher Baba.
Zia Inayat-Khan is a scholar and teacher of Sufism in the lineage of his grandfather, Inayat Khan. He is president of the Inayati Order and founder of Suluk Academy, a school of contemplative study with branches in the United States and Europe.
Friedrich von Frankenberg, born Friedrich Elliot von Frankenberg and also known as Frederick von Frankenberg and by his Sufi name Sheikh Momin, was one of the early founders of Sufism in Australia. Von Frankenberg studied under Inayat Khan, who first brought this mystical order of Islam to the West, before going on to found the first Sufi society in Australia.
The Sufi Ruhaniat International (SRI) is a stream of Universal Sufism and draws inspiration from traditions of Sufism within and beyond historic Islam. SRI is an initiatic order within the lineage of Inayat Khan (Inayati-Chishtiyya). Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti, a disciple of Inayat Khan, formally founded the order in 1970. There are centers throughout the United States, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Syed Abdullah shah, popularly known as Hazrat Hajji Bahadar Kohati, Sufi saint of Kohat, was born on July 31, 1581, AD, in Agra (India) during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
Maula Shah (1836–1944) was a poet associated with Punjabi epic poems and folk tales. He later became a Muslim ascetic-Sufi and mystic poet. He wrote seven books of poetry. He was creator of great folk tales in Punjabi literature but his known books of poetry are Sassi Punnu, Bughamal Bishnoon, Mirza Sahibaan, Heer Ranjha, Zohra Mushtari and Chandar Badan.
Syed Mohammad Baba Tajuddin, also known as Tajuddin Baba, was an Indian Sufi Master who is considered as the Shensha Haft Aqleem. "Emperor of the Seven Realms is such a title of Baba Tajuddin that demands explanation and clarification. Its brief explanation is that the entire universe is divided into seven Realms in Allah's system of creation, which are called the seven (Haft) realms. Therefore, the vicegerent of the Prophet Muhammad - the ultimate reason of the creation of the universe, has all seven Aqleem (realms) under his control and authority, is called the "Shahenshah-e-Haft Aqleem". His shrine is in Nagpur, India.
Western Sufism, sometimes identified with Universal Sufism, Neo-Sufism, and Global Sufism, consists of a spectrum of Western European and North American manifestations and adaptations of Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam. Many practitioners of Western Sufism follow the legacy of Inayat Khan and may identify with a variety of Sufi traditions, some of which have evolved to be pluralistic and not exclusively Islamic. In addition to Western Sufism, traditional Sufism also exists in the West, although it is significantly less prevalent among Muslims in the West than Sufism in the Muslim world. Most Sufi organizations in the West outside of the Balkans are Western Sufi.
Syed Nadir Ali Shah, popularly known as Murshid Nadir Ali Shah, was a Sufi saint of the Qalandariyya Sufi order of Islam, a Muslim preacher, ascetic, mystic, philanthropist and humanitarian. Born in Gandaf in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent, he eventually settled in Sehwan Sharif, Sindh. He was a spiritual descendant of the well-regarded Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar and the custodian of the revered Sufi Khanqah, Kafi Sakhi Sarwar located in Sehwan Sharif. Nadir Ali Shah's legacy primarily revolves around his distinction as one of the most remarkable figures among the saints of the Qalandariyya Sufi order. He is renowned for his pursuits in Islamic preaching, mysticism, and asceticism. Beyond his spiritual contributions, he is recognized for his substantial efforts in advancing human welfare and uplifting the underprivileged, in line with the teachings of the Qalandariyya Sufi order of Islam. Notably, he also served as the custodian of the shrine of the Sufi saint Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi.
The Theme of Creation : An Exploration of Meher Baba's "God Speaks" is a 2005 American documentary film produced, written, edited and directed by Tim Thelen. The film is an analytical exploration of Meher Baba's "God Speaks", and William Donkin's "The Wayfarers", with interviews from religious scholars Carl W. Ernst, Rick Chapman, Allan Cohen, Kendra Crosen Burroughs, Robert Dreyfuss, Charmian Duce Knowles, Bhau Kalchuri, Pascal Kaplan, Phyllis Ott, Tom Riley, Don Stevens, and Adele Wolkin. Tim Thelen adapted, and co-wrote the film with God Speaks editor Don Stevens.
