Sufism Reoriented’s Charter Is Symbolic
Much if not all of Avatar Meher Baba’s work can be called symbolic. In other words, the work he accomplished can not be simply defined by either stated fact or speculative opinion. Baba always insisted on this point.
This is as true of Sufism Reoriented as it is of the schools, dispensaries, ashrams and other projects he established to only later tear down. The charter that Baba helped write that gave Inayat Khan’s Sufi Movement a new identity is a superb example of this.
Baba wanted SR to represent a pure channel of love for God shorn of its Islamic aspect; The charter would highlight the defining importance of the Avatar and the Perfect Master as the only legitimate representations of God, with the perfect saint- the 6th plane murshid/a, a surrogate in lieu of them.
Sufism is defined by Baba as the devotion to the person of the Avatar or the Perfect Master. This path is defined as love and longing for and obedience to the Avatar/ Prophet, or the Qutub/ Perfect Master.
Baba’s assistance in writing a charter for SR was to create a symbolic template for the public recognition of these spiritual facts. That SR has taken literally and falsely Baba’s words on these matters is above all a lack of faith and imagination. Every sufi order, and including SR, derives its legitimacy from its relation to the Prophet or Perfect Master. The proper role of any sufi is to long for the Prophet or the Perfect Master above all else; His empty sandals can be filled by no other. The perfect saint can only point to those sandals; he can never fill them.
When Baba passed away in 1969, there was no need to replace him with a real perfect saint, let alone an ersatz saint. He had said that for 100 years after his passing, it would be as if he were still incarnate; That a direct relationship with him would still be possible during this time, and that any intermediary would be insulting to his continuing presence; And that the Perfect Masters would not assume a public role in directing the spiritual hierarchy until after this time period, in any case.
SR’s charter is just a piece of paper. It has no reality apart from the relationship with the Avatar/ Prophet or Perfect Master. It guarantees nothing. The reality of Sufism has no guarantee but the Prophet and the Perfect Master.
And there is no building, no temple or sanctuary, however grand or beautiful- even if engineered to last 700 years and wrapped in marble, that can command the will of God and guarantee his presence.
“The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know from where it comes and where it goes.”
The Avatar and the Perfect Master- God become man and man become God, are the only legitimate representations of God. They are the only examples or instances of the divine beloved, and which alone allow for the lover/ beloved relationship; This is what defines sufism. And this is what sets sufism apart from the path of yoga, an intermediary path based on the cultivation of prana resulting in the meditative states known as samadhi. The path of love with the divine beloved as the object of love is what defines sufism. The direct relationship with the divine beloved, who is… Read more »
The time period of 100 years after the passing of the Avatar- during which time he is as if physically among us, allows for the free and unfettered development of the lover/ beloved relationship. This is a very special time period; This is why it is said that the “wine shop is open”. Anyone can avail himself or herself of the Avatar’s direct contact at this time.
i’m interested to know more about the 100 years, I’ve never been able to find a direct quote of Baba saying he will be as if physically present for 100 years after the dropping of the body, i’ve only found quotes of mandali saying this, and a comment of Baba’s from Sheela Kalchuri’s book, can you give me some direct quotes of Baba saying this?
Lee Walter