Nature Meditations - The Collected Works of Hazrat Inayat Khan

by Hazrat Inayat Khan

The "Nature Meditations" were dictated by Hazrat Inayat Khan to his secretary, Sheikh Sidar van Tuyll, at his first summer school in the wheat field of Wissous, France, in 1921. In this book, Hazrat Inayat Khan gives us a means of experiencing in our everyday routine a new way of thinking and feeling, phrases were given out so they could be repeated slowly on the breath as a form of spiritual practise.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Hazrat Inayat Khan (Urdu: عنایت خان ) (July 5, 1882 – February 5, 1927) was an exemplar of Universal Sufism and founder of the "Sufi Order in the West" in 1914 (London). Later, in 1923, the Sufi Order of the London period was dissolved into a new organization formed under Swiss law and called the "International Sufi Movement". He initially came to the West as a representative of classical Indian music, having received the title Tansen from the Nizam of Hyderabad but soon turned to the introduction and transmission of Sufi thought and practice. His universal message of divine unity (Tawhid) focused on the themes of love, harmony and beauty. He taught that blind adherence to any book rendered any religion void of spirit.

Reviews

[Paméla Overeynder]

Profound words about nature, human and natural, from the great Sufi master of the 20th century--Hazrat Inayat Khan. I love the simplicity and accessibility of the words guiding us to a deeper connection with the natural world and our own human nature which is made of the same elements--earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Each verse is intended to be used as a meditation.

In the essay titledd Nature, Inayat Khan says: "Anyone who has some knowledge of mysticism and of the lives of mystics knows that what always attracts the mystic most is nature. Nature is his bread and wine; nature is his soul's nourishment; nature inspires him, uplifts him, and gives him the solitude for which his soul continually longs."

In this meditation called Still Water, we breathe in and out reflecting on the quality of stillness:
Breathing in: Let my heart reflect Thy calm
Breathing out: as the stillness of the water.

This small book contains universes. I highly recommend it as a life companion.