murshid sam dargah dedication and celebration will do my best to share some of the wonderful moments...

Subject: Murshid Sam Dargah Dedica�on and Celebra�on

From: Shabda Kahn <[email protected]>

Date: 9/2/2017 8:59 PM

To: [email protected]

Murshid Samuel Lewis

A Brief Biography

The Dargah Project

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"So here I am in aspiritual commune wayup in the Rockies, where

Beloved Family,

I will do my best to share some of the wonderful moments during the Murshid Sam Dargah

Dedication and Celebration Retreat. This will likely be a long note, so wait until you have some

time to make your way through.

We arrived at noon on Thursday August 24, so as to have the afternoon to prepare for the 80

folks attending the retreat from near and far which would swell to 200 pilgrims on Saturday

August 26, 2017 for the public Dedication Day. As we walked up the construction access path,

so many wildflowers greeted us.

Our Project Manager, Malik Lee Braun, and the masons had the task of turning a construction

work site into a safe zone for pilgrims. A small bridge was built for pilgrims that is only

temporary, the enormous forklift/crane had to move tons of stone off the dance floor into a secure

area. LED lights were put up so we could zikr into the evening.

MurshidSamDargahDedicationandCelebration

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they practice, practice,practice what otherspreach, preach, preach".

- Murshid Samuel L. Lewiswriting about Lama in anexcerpt from his diaries datedJune 6, 1970

The retreat began Thursday evening with a public Zikr in the Lama Dome with some 150 in

attendance.

Friday morning our 80 retreatants met in the Lama Dome and we set off in silence carrying a

green chaddar (tomb cover) from Khwaja Moineddin Chishti's Dargah and a golden chaddar

from Hazrat Inayat Khan's Dargah. I requested that women lead the way.


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The chaddars were placed on the grave mound one over the other.

We began with singing Zikr! Many of us shared our experiences and aspirations for the Dargah,

but the most moving was when we all rose and did Zikr and Dancing around the grave. Touching

and inspired stories of Murshid were told.


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By far the most beautiful time together was Friday afternoon, when the Zikrs went very deep. It

felt as if every stone and piece of wood used in the building was expressing gratitude for being

used. We will work on a video montage of the many zikrs and ceremonies.

Friday night began with the traditional Lama Shabbat ceremonies, led by Mirabai Starr and

Zuleikha.

Zuleikha danced a beautiful story of a place where people experienced hell because even though

they had everything they could want, their arms didn't bend at the elbow and they couldn't eat.

That later turned into heaven, when they realized they could feed each other!

Saturday morning we began the Open Day Dargah Dedication Celebration in the Lama Dome

with the 200 pilgrims in attendance. Naturally we began with Murshid Sam's Opening Dance

Allah, Allah,...Er Rahman Er Raheem.


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Mirabai Starr and I were the hosts.

Mirabai began with a very moving, beautiful text/poem which she had received.

Invocation for Dargah Blessing

Beloved One,

Boundless Ground of All That Is,

Thank you for your luminous Presence among us

As we gather to honor this great being,

Murshid SAM,

Who embodies the truth of Oneness,

Who lived that wisdom in every cell of his body,

Whose awakening to Love overflowed the vessel of his soul

And spilled like light into the cup of countless other souls,

Radiating through song and dance,

Grounded in the very ground of Mother Earth,

Who burst into blossom at his loving touch.

Murshid welcomed everyone to the Table,

Celebrating the sweet and fiery elixir of transformation

Bubbling from the heart of all spiritual traditions:

From the transcendent ecstasy of Sufism

To the noble stillness of Zen,

From the vibrancy of the Christian Trinity

To the ancient rootedness of his own Jewish heritage,

Drawing on the wisdom of the Indigenous ways

And the love-longing of the Bhakti path.

And his enduring spirit welcomes us,

Each of us,

As we allow the gates of our hearts to open,

Releasing the flood of unifying love we yearn for,

Dispelling the shadows of sorrow and separation,

Melting the walls of otherness,

So that in this moment,


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In this sacred place,

We may experience the quintessence of Sam's legacy

In the bones of our bodies

And the vast reaches of our consciousness.

His is a call to remembrance.

We remember.

We give thanks.

(Mirabai Starr, August 26, 2017, Lama Foundation)

Next, Mirabai led a ritual where everyone was given a paper and pen and asked to write their

aspirations and prayers. As we wrote our aspirations, Murshida Leilah sang with harmonium.

Then the prayers were ceremonially offered into the sacred fire.

Then we gathered with the two chaddars from Khwaja Moineddin Chishti and Hazrat Inayat

Khan, led by the women, up the hill to Murshid's gravemound.


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After opening remarks by Mirabai and myself, Jai Cross, the Lama Bean who was instrumental

in planting many, many trees after the fire, gave a beautiful blessing for the land and the Dargah

using water and tobacco in the Native American manner.


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Malik, our Project Manager for the past 6 years, gave some history of the construction process,

his own direct inner and outer experiences at the Dargah and introduced many of the

extraordinary craftspeople who contributed to the beauty and strength of the Dargah.

The chaddars were now removed and Siddiq Von Briesen, one of Lama Foundation's founders,

known to some as Asha's brother, led us in a beautiful ritual of washing the stones. Every single

person present came up to the grave and washed the quartz rocks as they washed their hearts and

purified the atmosphere, all accompanied by Zuleikha singing and leading "Sufi Ahmed Murad

Chishti, Shakur Allah Shakur Allah!"


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Washing the Stones

The morning concluded with all 200 dancing the Kalama, somehow all fitting on the on the


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Dargah floor!

In the words of Rebecca's son Gavin, writing a school report:


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In the afternoon all pilgrims met at the Dargah. We began with Murshid Allaudin and Murshida

Asha leading Drink with the Beloved, followed by a meditation led by Murshida Asha.

We then heard from Eric Doud, the architect, speaking on how Sacred Geometry was the

compass of his design. He shared that the zome geometry of the Dargah dome echoes the same

zome geometry in the old Lama kitchen.


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Ravi Babcock, Lama Dargah Liaison, who has been involved in nearly every part of the

construction followed, eloquently walking us through all the many beings who have contributed

their mastery of construction.

Now we were treated to stories of Murshid Sam told by his direct disciples who were present,

beginning with Mansur Johnson,


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followed by Nasima Bernhardt (then Lomax).

Both Mansur and Nasima were present in January 1971 when Murshid's coffin arrived at Lama,

placed in the center of the Lama Dome with the newly printed boxes of BE HERE NOW all

around the edge of the dome!

Then Sara Morgan shared


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and Wahid Miller, who spent time with Murshid Sam when he travelled to the East Coast in Fall

1970, had us laughing throughout! We did Zikr again to close.

After dinner Saturday we went back up the hill for evening Zikr at the Dargah, the sound and

feeling echoed into the canyon with our first evening zikr at Murshid's Dargah. LED lights lit up

the space.

With the Saturday dedication ceremony complete, on Sunday morning we were back with our

retreat group. We met at the Dargah, sang some Zikr and heard from Tawwaba Bloch, from the

Murshid Sam Biography Project, Kabir McKinnon, head of the Murshid Sam Dargah Committee

for the Ruhaniat Board of Trustees, Waduda Welsh, head of the Dargah Fundraising Committee

and Basira Beardsworth, Ruhaniat Secretariat and Treasurer.

We closed with Shakur Allah ~ Each Breath I take is through Thy Grace and of course, the


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Kalama.

Closing Kalama Dance

We were grateful the weather tuned to our time together. The day we arrived it was stormy. As

soon as the Dedication and Celebration began, the weather was very beautiful and clear,

Thursday evening until Sunday midday. As soon as we made the closing prayers on Sunday

before lunch, the dark clouds gathered and thunder and lightning accompanied us down the hill

to Lama Central!

Much love,

Pir Shabda

SUFI RUHANIAT INTERNATIONAL, Pir Shabda Kahn, San Rafael, CA 94903

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murshid sam dargah dedication and celebration will do my best to share some of the wonderful moments...

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