India’s identity lies in its diversity: Pir Khan

Express News Service - Express India - New Delhi,India

Sunday, February 11, 2007

New trends of the Sufi philosophy taken from the teachings of Sufi prophets offer the right message to today’s youth, said Pir Zia Inayat Khan, the great grandson of Sangeet Ratna Mawlabakhsh (the founder of Gayan Shala, now Faculty of Performing Arts at MSU) on Sunday.

Khan was in the city [Vadodara/Baroda] for the presentation of planetary prophetology - the concept of unifying all the religions and tradition through Sufism- at 7th Festival of music organised by the Sangeet Ratna Mawlabakhsh and Sufi Inayat Khan memorial trust and faculty of performing arts on Sunday.

Khan’s presentation was about unifying and transcending the philosophy of various castes and creeds of the world into one.

It was Sufism, which transcends beyond the prophets and avatars, he said. Talking to Express Newsline, Khan said with the adaptation of new technologies all the countries appear to be monoculture. “Indian culture is still distinct and has to retain its diversity,’’added Khan.

He said that his great grand father Mawlabakhsh exemplified this when learnt Hindustani music as well as South’s Carnatic classical music. “This is a greatest epitome of blending two talents and also retaining its identity,’’ said Khan.

Khan also conveyed the Sufi scenario in India, and said that there is no special school for the Sufis in India. The reason he gave was that in 1910 Mawlabakhsh immigrated to Paris and than came to Delhi in 1927 and died in Ajmer-e-Sharif later. Therefore, he said, ``We have some followers (Mureeds) in Delhi.’’

He said that there is a Sufi community in New York called as `kanquah’ developed in 1975. It is an academy to teach meditation to the children.

While talking about Khan, Prof. R C Mehta, former dean, faculty of the performing of the arts said that Khan has done his studies in the field of religion at Duke University at USA.

``Khan is also a spiritual leader of the Sufi Order International established by Sufi Hazrat Inayat Khan in1917’’ said Mehta.

Khan is a founding director of the Suluk academy, an esoteric school located in New York and he frequently visits Vadodara to pay respects to his forefathers.