Sufism Reoriented

Sufism Reoriented

File:Sufism reoriented.png
Founded	1952
Type	Non-profit religious corporation
Location	11 White Horse Court, Walnut Creek, California
Key people	Carol Weyland Conner
Website	sufismreoriented.org

Sufism Reoriented is an American school of spiritual training established by Meher Baba in 1952. In November of that year he signed The Chartered Guidance from Meher Baba for the Reorientation of Sufism. Meher Baba appointed Ivy O. Duce as the first Murshida, or spiritual guide, of Sufism Reoriented. Sufism Reoriented is currently headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, with additional facilities in Washington, D.C., and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Background

Sufism was originally brought to the West by Inayat Khan (1882–1927) in 1910. Members of Sufism Reoriented believe that Inayat Khan appointed Rabia Martin as his successor and Murshida of his Sufi Order. In the 1940s, Rabia Martin recognized Avatar Meher Baba as the reigning spiritual authority of the age and surrendered herself and her spiritual order to him. Meher Baba received Rabia Martin as his follower, and agreed to guide her and her Sufi group. However, Rabia Martin died before meeting Meher Baba in person. Before her death, Rabia Martin appointed Ivy Oneita Duce as the next Murshida of the Sufi Order. After meeting Ivy Duce in India in 1948, Meher Baba confirmed her role as Murshida and announced that he intended to reorient Sufism under his guidance and her leadership in the near future. This was realized in 1952 with the creation of Sufism Reoriented. Upon her death in 1981, Ivy Duce named James S. B. MacKie (1932–2001) as the next Murshid of Sufism Reoriented. In turn, James MacKie designated Carol Weyland Conner, the current Murshida, as his successor in 2001.

The members of Sufism Reoriented celebrate Meher Baba as the Avatar, the human incarnation of God and the spiritual authority of this age. This represents a substantial departure from Sufism in either its traditional Islamic form, or in the form taught by Inayat Khan. However, members of Sufism Reoriented assert that Sufism pre-dates the Islamic prophet Muhammad, having existed as early as the prophet Zoroaster of Persia.

The spiritual director of Sufism Reoriented is known as the Murshid or Murshida. Sufism Reoriented asserts that its spiritual director is qualified to provide personalized spiritual guidance to the organization's members.

Meher Baba Publications and Media

Sufism Reoriented is the copyright holder and publisher of several books by and about Meher Baba including Meher Baba's most important published book, God Speaks: the Theme of Creation and Its Purpose. It also owns and publishes Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama, Life At Its Best, Glimpses of the God-Man Meher Baba. Volume I, and How a Master Works by Ivy Oneita Duce. In addition Sufism Reoriented owns and preserves numerous films and photographs of Baba. These include color 16mm films taken of Baba during his trip to the United States in 1956 by Charmian Duce Knowles, daughter of Murshida Ivy Oneita Duce.

New Sanctuary

After decades of operating out of temporary facilities, Sufism Reoriented began construction of a new, permanent sanctuary on May 24, 2012. The new sanctuary, designed by the architectural firm of Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie, was formally inaugurated on February 26, 2017. The sanctuary is located on three acres of land in the Saranap neighborhood of Walnut Creek, about twenty-five miles east of San Francisco. Carol Weyland Conner, the current Murshida of Sufism Reoriented, has characterized the sanctuary as follows:

“In all spiritual traditions, the design of a sanctuary strives to be an outward expression, in material form, of the still, sacred space at the center of the human heart where man is joined with and can know God. It therefore aspires, first, to be the most beautiful form its creators can envision....My primary aim was to create a beautiful building that is an expression of our worship. The sanctuary’s curvilinear design is based on the form of the circle. Like God, the circle has no beginning and no end. This expresses eternity, the eternal life in God the Infinite. The circle is also recognized as a symbol of unity since all points on the circle are equidistant from the center, as all beings are in relation to God. This symbol embodies the essential unity of Creation and the Universal Love at the heart of all life.”

Succession of Murshids

Name	Begin	End	Notes
Inayat Khan	1914	1927	Founder of the Sufi Order in the West
Rabia Martin	1927	1947	Inayat Khan's designated spiritual successor
Ivy Oneita Duce	1947	1981	Successor to Rabia Martin and first Murshida of the new Sufism Reoriented under Meher Baba's directive
Dr. James S.B. MacKie	1981	2001
Dr. Carol Weyland Conner	2001		Current Murshida of Sufism Reoriented

See also

• Sufism

External links

• Official Website of Sufism Reoriented
• Letter from Murshida Rabia Martin to Meher Baba dated August 24th, 1945
• Who brought the Inayat Khan Sufi Group to Meher Baba
• Sufism Reoriented - Fifty Years Later
• Article about Murshida Carol Weyland Conner
• Interview with Murshida Conner
• New Sufi Sanctuary opens in Saranap area
• History of the Sanctuary

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