TOWARD THE ONE, THE PERFECTION OF LOVE, HARMONY AND BEAUTY, THE ONLY BEING, UNITED WITH ALL THE ILLUMINATED SOULS, WHO FORM THE EMBODIMENT OF THE MASTER, THE SPIRIT OF GUIDANCE. | |
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“You cannot collect flowers without a basket.”
The Value of an Organization on the Path of Awakening
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Dear Ruhaniat Family,
We live in a world of seen and unseen, evident and hidden, outward and inner. We seek to know ourselves and the truth, and even with that effort, not all is apparent to us.
The tree in all its glory, trunk and branches, leaves and flowers and fruits, are only the outward representation of the tree. The tree’s beauty and stability support life. However, the hidden microbiome and nourishing ecosystem that support the tree, the organizational structure of the tree, and the forest and the animals and the weather patterns that support the life of the tree, are not always recognized for their value and essential contribution.
The Ruhaniat, our organization, is similar to the ecosystem of the tree. Our branches reach far and wide: the God is Breath program, River of Guidance online courses and Library, our publications including Sunrise in the West and Physicians of the Heart, Ruhaniat Family Zoom Gatherings, Sufi Retreats, the Murshid SAM Archive, Khankah SAM, Murshid SAM’s Dargah, our Murshids’ Circle, our lineage, our sangha.
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Our infrastructure, the work of supporters, staff, and volunteers in the unseen system, is integral and not separate from the beauty and bounty of the tree that nurtures and nourishes us all. This connectedness invokes a tremendous blessing, everything remembering the gratitude, the Hamd, the root in Alhamdulillah and al-Hamid. So, the gratitude in the organization, continues from all parts, to all parts.
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Murshid Wali Ali Meyer spoke as a Board Member
at the Jamiat Aam 2009:
“We were an organization that got started by people that didn’t like organization, and had a suspicion of organization from the very outset…
It is natural for people to project on an organization all their issues about parents and authority… The best thing that could happen is for people to take a look at how much of what we think about the organization is our projection about authority.
The thing that would help the Ruhaniat the most in the long run, is if people said good things about it… the thing that would benefit the organization’s prosperity the most… is our inner integrity and dedication to the purpose of what we stand for.”
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Hazrat Inayat Khan wrote about organization:
“Many I found willing to follow the Message, but not to belong to an organization, and I… had constantly to answer on that question… agitated against the idea of an organization. It is natural that people who would be attracted to my ideas should not necessarily be attracted to the organization.
I had to answer them that an organization is like a ship which is built for a purpose, to carry the people and things from one port to another… in absence of organization there [is] nothing to keep [us] together… You cannot collect flowers without a basket, so the organization is the ideal.”
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We need a container,
a basket, to serve our purpose. And we need financial support for the basket itself. We ask you to join us in strengthening the Ruhaniat with your prayers, positive representation and generous donations.
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Donate Here
Your love and support are essential to the nourishment of our organization.
Thank you.
With Sincerity and Love,
The Fundraising Committee of the Board of Trustees:
Rashida Cullumber, Chair
Waduda Welsh, Treasurer
Murshida Rahimah Sweeney
Jilani Prescott
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Left to right, Top: Waduda Welsh, Jilani Prescott. Bottom: Rahimah Sweeney, Rashida Cullumber | |
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Join with the Fundraising Committee as they share the value of a basket. Watch the Video of the recent Ruhaniat Family Zoom Gathering. | |
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The Ruhaniat is a container for a living transmission anchored in lineage practices and teachings handed down to us through centuries. Please support the future of our organization by including Sufi Ruhaniat International in your will or trust.
Easy guidance for legacy giving can be found on our website
For more information or assistance contact:
Waduda Welsh, Treasurer waduda@ruhaniat.org
We are so grateful to those of you who have already taken these steps in a commitment to our future ~ please contact us and let us know your plans.
Thank you!
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