Murshid Hidayat Inayat-Khan recalls the dedication to the Universal Worship service every Sunday during the Summer Schools in Suresnes.

The Sundays during Summer School months

During the Summer School months, Murshid’s daily schedule was slightly different on the Sundays, compared to the activities of the other days of the week.

Murshid devoted the first part of the Sunday mornings to his private correspondence, sending birthday greetings and congratulations upon different occasions to his mureeds.

Later in the mornings, were the visit of the National Representatives who came especially to Sureness for the Summer School, at different dates between June and September, and for shorter or longer periods of time. Some did stay, however, during the whole three months.

On the Sunday afternoons, Murshid gave the public lectures, dressed in his black shervani. The yellow robe was used by Murshid when offerering the sacred meetings and giving the Message speeches.

After the public lecture, Murshid went out into the Sufi field (Garden of Allah) walking all on his own, up and down, all along the main path, deeply absorbed in thoughts and meditations, while the Lecture Hall was being prepared for the Universal Worship, which was next on the program.

When everyone was seated, Murshid returned to the Lecture Hall and sat in an armchair which had especially been reserved for him, just exactly under the large wooden clock hanging in the centre of the back wall. On the right, there was a long table with a display of Sufi books, and on the left, a cupboard full of documents; and there was also a screen, behind which the cherags sat in meditation, while waiting to come up to the altar to perform the service.

From where he was sitting, Murshid had a perfect view of the large stage, stretched out along the width of the front wall of the hall, on which the Altar was placed, whereas the cherags were seated facing Murshid, whose silent presence was so strongly felt during the entire ceremony by the cherags who were officiating. It had happened that some cherags who had never even stood up there on that high stage before were so deeply inspired that words started flowing in cascades, as soon as they glanced at the flashing light which they could see in Murshid’s eyes, even as far as from the other end of the Lecture Hall.

In Murshid’s presence, a Universal Worship became a mystical experience, during which his mureeds transcended into those spheres where Love, Lover, and Beloved are all one and the same expression of the one “Omnipresence,” Source and Goal of all in One.

After the Sunday Service, Murshid gave the Cherags’ Classes, in his black robe, over the shervani which he had been wearing for the Public Lecture that same afternoon. Murshid’s black robe was decorated with two golden buttons, only to be used by the Seraj-un-Munir. At the Cherags’ Classes there were also Serajs. Their robes had two silver buttons, and the Cherags’ robes had black buttons. All buttons were made out of either gold cloth, silver cloth, or just black cloth. Murshid was not in favor of buttons made out of precious metals.

Images from the Nekbakht Foundation