SOI Community
The Sufi Order International community was founded by Indian mystic Hazrat Inayat Khan in 1910, to help spread the message and wisdom of universal Sufism. The teachings of Inayat Khan emphasize the unity of religious ideals, and the universality of all religions in the awakened heart. People of any religion, ethnicity, and background were invited and guided toward the experiential understanding of unity in the human heart. These teachings were carried on by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, and continue under the current spiritual leadership of Pir Zia Inayat Khan. The Sufi Order International community now numbers thousands of students cultivating their inner life according to Khan's teachings on every continent, with the greatest number in North America and Europe.
For more on the SOI, its history and activities, and Hazrat Inayat Khan, please see www.sufiorder.org
The Universel
In 1925, as Hazrat Inayat Khan prepared to return to India for the last time, he inaugurated the cornerstone of a universal temple he called the Universel, after the French pronunciation, in Suresnes, France. This was to be a temple in honor of the light of truth within all religions, and a monument to the mystical ideals of love, harmony, and beauty. To read the original intention in Inayat Khan's own words, please see his talk on the Universel from July 21, 1925. Hazrat Inayat Khan passed away in India, and a Universel was not built in France until 1989.
Today, students in the SOI continue to pray for our founder's vision with the following prayer:
The Abode of The Message
The Abode of the Message was founded by Hazrat Inayat Khan's son and successor Pir Vilayat Khan in 1976, as a residential community and retreat center. Cradled in the Taconic-Berkshire Mountains of Upstate New York, it is owned and operated by the Sufi Order International of North America. This 400-acre Berkshire Mountain sanctuary consists of a complex of historic Shaker buildings, and a secluded campground conference center capable of hosting up to 200 guests in tents, huts and cabins. Atop the mountain a sanctuary was built, with a quartz stone foundation and a pyramidal structure intended to represent four cross-legged Buddhas.
Just before Pir Vilayat's passing in 2004, the sanctuary burned to the ground, leaving only the foundation intact. The community understands this incident as a release of energy, and as clearing the way for a new structure that re-dedicates the community with its intention to consciously realize its spiritual aspirations and values. Furthermore, the fire marked the passing of one spiritual leader and opened an invitation to Pir Vilayat's son and successor, Pir Zia Inayat Khan.
The Current Project
Pir Zia has chosen to rebuild this sanctuary as a Universel, consciously connecting our community today to the intentions and dreams of our founder. Pir Zia's vision for this structure is as a meeting place of Heaven and Earth, a vessel for Divine Presence, and an energetic focal point for both the Abode community and the Sufi Order International. A physical manifestation of our remembrance of Unity, the temple will be a central, unifying symbol of the mission of the SOI and an inspiration for the proliferation of future Universels in various settings. It will also serve the practical function of an open-air chapel for various kinds of worship. The temple is to be a place of sacredness, purity and transformation, dedicated to inter-spiritual worship, a place to come close to God.
In addition to unity, the principal ideals of the Sufi Order International are love, harmony, and beauty. These ideals, therefore, are to be structurally and symbolically represented in the Universel. Furthermore, in today's age of ecological crisis, it is imperative that our effort in building provide a structural, symbolic, and energetic connection to the earth, that the design is in harmony with the surrounding landscape and forest.
For additional background information on Pir Zia's vision for the Universel, please read: