Warm Greetings Dear Friends,

Our beloved Murshid, Hazrat Inayat Khan, said, “Harmony is the source of manifestation, the cause of its existence, and the medium between God and humanity.” Last year at this time, we were settling into our new home at the Astana after a year of sorting, packing, moving and renovating. With our successful transition behind us, we have begun fine-tuning our priorities and harmonizing our operations to determine just what chords we want to strike and what songs we want to sing.

This year, we have been blessed to have the Inayati Order’s melodies ring out vibrantly as music has filled the Astana. Pir Zia, with diverse musical guests, guided us through Volume II of the Sufi Message series, with a course on The Mysticism of Sound and Music. We welcomed Tarana Sara Jobin as our new Musical Director, and Sukhawat Ali Khan as our first Musician in Residence. We have our harmonium, gifted by Suluk’s Jabalqa class, and have purchased a console piano. We have also acquired a couple of frame drums, a daf and a bendir, to keep the rhythm of our heartbeat.

Murshid’s instrument, the vina, had four main strings and three drone strings. A drone produces a constant and steady harmonic effect where the same note or chord is sounded throughout most or all of a piece, providing the support upon which the melody from the main strings floats. Our amazing staff at the Astana have been our drone strings, providing constant and steady administrative support for our main melodies, which manifest in Pir Zia’s teachings, our Programs and Trainings, our Six Activities, and our Centers.

Sometimes, in our world, it is difficult to muster even a simple tune as many of us struggle with an environment that often feels discordant. In Pirzadi-Shahida Noor’s play, Aède of the Ocean and Land, Ulys states, “Often I feel as to run away from the world, and still more oft I feel as if to run away from myself.” This year a major focus for our Order has been to listen deeply to our different voices, as there is no music without different notes. We have begun to harmonize with respect to diversity, generational integration, and the balance of tradition with innovation, in the hope of addressing the desire to, instead of run away, approach the world in a spirit of beauty and creativity.

We are deeply grateful for all the contributions we have relied upon to support our many accomplishments this year. If the Inayati Order and Murshid’s teachings have helped you to find a measure of love, harmony and beauty, to stand firm in this world without running away, or maybe even to sing out loud, please consider making a generous donation this year.

In love and service,

Tajalli Roselli
Suluk Gulzar Class 2015
Inayati Order Board of Trustees

P.S. We have enclosed our “Keynotes 2018” outlining our recent accomplishments, our future plans, our goal for this appeal, and the various ways in which you can give. The harmonizing of our values, mission, and operations depends upon your support.