Sufism is the old school of quietism; the ancient school of wisdom which has been the origin of many cults of a mystical and philosophical nature. As the origin of all the occult and mystical schools has been the ancient school of Egypt, so Sufism has always represented that school, and has worked out its destiny in the realm of quietude.

From this school of Sufism came four schools.

The first was the Nakhshibandia, which worked with symbolism, ritualism and ceremony.
The second was the Kadaria, which taught wisdom in the realm of the existing religion of the East.
The third was the Soharvardia, which taught the mystery of life by the knowledge of metaphysics and the practice of self-control.
The fourth was the Chistia, which represented the spiritual idea in the realm of poetry, music, etc.

From these schools many branches sprang forth in Arabia, Turkey, Tartary, Russia, Turkestan. Bokhara, Afghanistan, India, Siberia, and other parts of Asia. With the different schools the ideal remained the same, but the method was different.

The main ideal of the Sufi school has been to attain that perfection which Jesus Christ taught in the Bible: "Be ye perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect."

The method of the Sufis has always been that of self-effacement, but the effacement of which self? Not of the real self, but of the false self (on which one depends, priding oneself on being something) in order to allow that real self to manifest in the world of appearances. Thus the Sufi method works toward the unfoldment of the soul, the self which is eternal, to which all power and beauty belong.

The Sufi Order

The Sufi Order is a school which represents the embodiment of all the schools and is answering the need of the present day. The Sufi Order, therefore, is the body composed of those interested in spiritual attainment who have been initiated in the Sufi Order which was formed in 1910, when the Sufi message was brought to the Western world.

The Sufi Order has the three objects and ten thoughts which you know. The rights of membership in the Sufi Order are the same all over the world. The Sufi Order is constituted of an outer body as well as of an inner spirit. As an outer body it has its Khankah, its branches (Organizations), and its Lodges (Centers).

The inner working of the Order is regulated in this way: there are four circles of initiates: the study circle, the advanced circle, the inner circle, the higher circle. One passes gradually through these by initiations. There is one initiation called the Sufi, where the obligation to the Order is finished. Then if one wishes to continue to help humanity, one is authorized and initiated to work in that direction as a Khalif or a Murshid.

The condition of initiation is that every mureed is trusted with certain exercises or teachings. The mureed is expected to keep the vow of secrecy and to keep these not only from non-members but also from other initiates, because an exercise is a prescription meant for a particular person and that person cannot pass it on to another.

Initiation is a trust that the Murshid gives to his mureeds; he expects sincerity from them. Trust and confidence become a power in the mureed, which enables one to proceed in one's spiritual journey. The study of a certain philosophy alone is not enough, there must be sincerity in life behind it all. Sincerity must be the first thing in the path of spirituality. Jesus Christ termed this faith.

The Sufi Message

In all periods of the history of the world and in all ancient traditions one finds traces of a call from above being given to communities, nations, races and the world at large.

In the Koran it is said, "We have sent our messengers to every part of the earth, that they may not say they were not warned in time."

All traditions declare that a messenger is given to the world at the time of the world's need.

No doubt people have given an unnecessary and excessive importance to the personality of the messenger rather than to the message, and this is the very great error that humanity has made in every age. In taking the messenger instead of recognizing the message, they regarded the pen that wrote the letter instead of the contents of the letter. The letter and the writer are important; the pen is only the instrument. Thus differences came about in religion. The message has always been given at all periods; when it was more needed it was given with a loud voice, when it was less needed, gently.

Christ has said, "I am Alpha and Omega." This means that he is first and last and thus is ever there, not that he is absent between time. The prophesy of Mohammed was: "Now that all the world has received the message through a man who is subject to all limitations and conditions of human life, the message will in the future be given without the claim."

The Sufi message is destined to reawaken the world and to be a warning. The power of the inner force is constantly at work and this promises much for what is now formed as a nucleus composed of a few mureeds under the name of the Sufi Order to be the servant of the new era in the path of God and truth.

I wish that my mureeds who feel in their hearts this trust shall not only receive the sacred message for their own unfoldment but shall feel the privilege of being a nucleus for the coming spiritual reconstruction of the world.

The more conscious they will be of this, the more they will feel the responsibility they have in their life and the duty they must perform. Mureeds can show their devotion to Murshid and to the Cause by doing their very best and by devoting their thoughts and efforts in action to the rebuilding of the spiritual world.

A Sufi is one who guards one's knowledge and wisdom and power in humble guise. A Sufi does not dispute on spiritual subjects with everyone, for this reason: the spiritual evolution of each one differs from that of the other, the knowledge of one cannot be the knowledge of the other, nor is the understanding of one the understanding of the other. A Sufi does not discuss beliefs, for the Sufi knows that at every step in spiritual evolution a person's belief changes until one arrives at a final belief which words cannot explain.

The Sufi learns not only by the study of books but by the study of life. The whole of life is like an open book to a Sufi and every experience is a step forward in one's spiritual journey. A Sufi would rather learn than teach. A Sufi begins one's life by discipline and resignation, realizing that the path that leads to the goal of freedom is the path of self-control, patience, resignation, and renunciation.

Freedom is the object of all esoteric schools, but one must not make the mistake of thinking that one can begin with that which is the end. To expect liberty in the beginning is to be like the seed thinking, "I must be a tree at once and bear fruit." The fruit is the outcome and object, the culmination if its existence; so is freedom the result of the journey. The path of freedom is an ideal, to understand the real meaning of which is not everyone's work.

The method of the Sufi consists in this:

That the Sufi unites with one's innermost being.
One's heart is the shrine of one's God and one's body is God's temple.
The Sufi considers every person not only as one's brother and sister but as oneself.
At the same time, the Sufi never claims spirituality or goodness.
Neither does the Sufi judge anyone, except oneself in one's own doings.
The Sufi's constant attitude towards others is that of love and forgiveness.
The Sufi's attitude towards God is that one's innermost being is the object of one's worship and the Beloved Whom one loves and admires.
The Sufi's interest in life is art and beauty, and
One's task [is] the service of humanity in whatever form possible.

Social Gathekas

5. Different Schools of Sufism

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Social Gathekas

5. Different Schools of Sufism

Ancient Tradition

The Sufi Order

The Sufi Message