This June we had the great good blessing of teaching the Mandala
Dance of
the 21 Praises of Tara at The Abode of the Message in New Lebanon,
New
York. The Abode is the residence of a community dedicated to the
lineage of
Pir-O Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan. The Abode was established by
his son, Pir
Vilayat Khan. The lineage has now passed to his son, Pir Zia who
is in
residence and gives teachings in the beautiful shrine room. He
was
scheduled to give a teaching right after the Tara Dance and we
were
fortunate enough to be given a cassette of the talk. Jessica transcribed
the section below and we sent it to Pir Zia asking for his permission
to
print it and put it on our web site. He most graciously made some
corrections and gave his blessing.
Pir Zia is a young and gentle man. We were all delighted when
he came to
witness the dance with his lovely Indian wife and adorable little
daughter.
We will return to The Abode May/June 2002.Please join us.
Registrar programs@theabode.net
518-794-8095
June 3, 2001
Pir Zia:
The hall feels very magnetized with the energy of the beautiful
ritual that
has been enacted, the 21 Praises of Tara. I would like to deeply
thank and
welcome Anahata Iradah and Prema Dasara, who have brought this
incredible
energy here, and for us in this Sunday evening class it is auspicious
to
begin this series on that note.
I believe that every spiritual tradition has as an essential
component the
attunement of the divine feminine, but very often that is not
so strongly
felt, perhaps due to concessions to popular culture in civilizations
that
have a patriarchal heritage. For the most part, urban civilizations
have
had a patriarchal ethos, and for that reason one finds that even
among
spiritual traditions which ultimately resonate very deeply with
the
feminine, these aspects are suppressed. I think this is perhaps
as much
true of Buddhism as it is of Sufism.
If one looks at the tradition of Sufism, in the "silsilas"
of the great
Sufis one finds exclusively men's names. But if one looks deeper,
one does
find that there have been the most profound contributions made
by women,
and, in fact, the very realizations of Sufism contain much that
is resonant
with the feminine attunement of the divine being. This was certainly
manifest in the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. He was far ahead
of his
time in this regard, realizing the central role of the feminine
in the
spiritual tradition.
It has been almost a hundred years since his mission to the
West. In the
West at that time, women did not have the right to vote, and the
social
situation was not one of equality. But even in that context, he
emphasized
the role of women to the extent that he elevated women to the
highest
initiatic positions in his order. Rabia Martin, his first mureed
and the
teacher of Murshid Samuel Lewis, was a Murshida, the highest level
of
initiation. Sophia Saintsbury-Green, who was in many ways the
co-creator
with Hazrat Inayat Khan of the Universal Worship, was initiated
as
Murshida. So also Sherifa Goodenough, who was the Madar al-Maham
of the
esoteric school and perhaps had the keenest insights into the
esoteric
system of Sufism; and finally, there was Murshida Fazal Mai Egeling.
Hazrat Inayat Khan also made some very daring pronouncements.
He said, "I
see as clear as daylight that the time has come when women will
lead
humanity on to a higher evolution." Can you imagine? He
said this in the
1910s, and it is only now developing amongst the most progressive
aspects
of various spiritual traditions. Even in Sufism; most Sufi orders
do not
yet invest women with the full authority that comes with the transmission
of Sufism.
So he was very much ahead of his time in that regard. And,
from what I
could understand of what was presented this afternoon, there has
been a
similar case in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. I have had that
experience
myself in studying Buddhism. It was mentioned that this particular
form,
this particular ritual, had existed previously, and yet, for a
very long
time, has not been practiced as a dance. And so, another example
of
something that is essential to a spiritual tradition having been
really
neglected or suppressed because of the cultural context. But now,
because
of the era in which we live, it can be revived and restored. In
a time in
which we see beautiful traditions all over the world dying out,
there is
also this counterpoint: that some exquisite traditions are being
revived
and are taking on a new meaningfulness in our time, which is truly
inspiring, and it is truly the hope for the future of humanity.
As I was experiencing those dances this afternoon, I was recalling
my time
in Dharamsala as a student of Buddhism more than fifteen years
ago. I
studied at the dialectic school, the school of debate, and a tutor
was
appointed for me by H.H. the Dalai Lama. I was graced with several
audiences with His Holiness, and I remember, in the course of
my study--I
studied with several lamas and also attended this debate school--I
cannot
remember whether it was in a class or in something that I read,
but I came
across the statement that to attain Buddhahood one must be born
in a man's
body. So that women could attain Buddhahood, but they would first
have to
die and be reincarnated as a man, and in that body they could
attain
Buddhahood.
That really surprised me, and I remember what I so much appreciated
about
Buddhism at that time--as a young man with a lot of questions,
not wanting
to take anything for granted--what I so much appreciated about
Buddhism was
precisely the aspect of inquiry and debate. That is why I felt
called to
the dialectic school, that nothing is taken for granted but really
explored
and challenged. So I felt free to challenge my teachers on that
lesson, and
I did. In fact, after I had read that statement and had contemplated
it for
some time, then when I had an audience with H.H. the Dalai Lama,
I asked
him the question: "Is it really true that women could not
attain Buddhahood
in a woman's body?" And he said, "That was true until
Tara became a
Bodhisattva." Then he looked at me and he said, "Tara
was the world's first
feminist." And then he burst out laughing.
When I saw His Holiness the next time for another audience,
he presented me
with an exquisite, old statue of Tara, which is a really beautiful
relic
which he must have brought from Tibet, an exquisite piece which
to this day
I cherish very deeply, for it arose out of that exchange that
we had.
So thank you for bringing this ritual to us.
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