Its Meaning in the Sufi Way Today

The most common definition of the word “initiation” derives from its Latin root: initiare, “to begin.” In
the context of spirituality, however, the word “initiation” extends this sense of beginning into two
overlapping fields of meaning: one is initiation as a commitment to a relationship, and the other is
initiation as an opening into spiritual realization.

The first — commitment — is the sense of the word initiation that includes the profound moment of
committing oneself to a life of the spirit, and perhaps even further to a committed relationship with a
spiritual guide or body of teachings. The second — opening — is the more experiential sense of the word

initiation that points to the initiatory moment as a living, sacred occurrence that may happen at any
time, and though timeless in itself, may be continuous through time.

Background

When we look at the many traditions of religious and mystical training throughout the world we can see
there is most often a ceremony marking an individual’s entry into that particular community of spirit.
Christians observe baptism and confirmation; Jews the bar mitzvah; Muslims the shahadah;
Buddhists taking refuge; Tibetan Buddhists initiations and empowerments, etc. These ceremonies may
serve as an individual’s entry into a tradition of teachings, the recognition of a bond between initiate
and teacher, or as a means of transmission to the initiate of the lineage’s wisdom and blessing.

Initiation has always served an intimate function within sufism. A person wishing to receive teachings
and guidance in one of the many sufi orders or paths is admitted to an order through a brief ceremony
known as “taking hand.” Taking hand refers to the moment during the initiation ceremony when the
student takes the hand of his or her initiator and symbolically receives the blessing of the lineage and a
welcome into its stream.

The Sufi Way is a particular order of western sufism — sometimes referred to as “universal sufism” —
 that was established in the West 100 years ago by the Indian mystic Sufi Inayat Khan. While sufism is
largely known as the mystical school of the religion of Islam, Inayat Khan explicitly founded his universal
sufism as not exclusivelyIslamic. Adherents of all religions, as well as those with no religious affiliation,
may find themselves at home in the several non-sectarian branches of universal sufism that have
emerged since Inayat Khan’s time. Indeed, as Inayat Khan and many others have pointed out, the
inclusive stream of teaching and guidance represented by the name “sufism” can be found existing prior
to, as well as parallel to, the religion of Islam.

Sufi Inayat Khan’s View of Initiation

Inayat Khan described initiation as the taking of a step forward with “hope and courage” in a direction
one does not know. He understood it as a willingness to let go of habits of self-identification — to be able
to live freshly, without preconceptions, open to the moment.

In many ways Inayat Khan equated the path of initiation with being alive: “It is life itself,” he said, “it is
the living. Those who live the life of initiation live and make others who come in contact with them
alive.”
It is instructive to consider the unity of these two recognitions: that life itself is initiation, and it is
embraced by stepping into the unknown. Here we may be able to appreciate how our basic experience
of livingness is the essence of initiation. Initiation is the freshness of this moment lived without drawing
conclusions about it. We can sense how the whole universe — all of existence — initiates itself in this
living, eternal moment. God begins now, always.

This is the reason Inayat Khan, when considering the “aim” of initiation, simply said, “The aim is to find
God within yourself. To dive deep within yourself that you may be able to touch the unity of the Whole
Being.”

“Diving deep within yourself” is essentially a process of what Inayat Khan called “self-effacement.” “The
result brought about by initiation is self-effacement,” he said, “and it is self-effacement which is needed
in order to arrive at true wisdom.” What does he mean here? Self-effacement is both the incremental
and sudden process of seeing through and letting go of the self-concept, the sense that “I” exist as a
separate subject in a world of separate objects. Self-effacement is a recognition that there never was an
“I,” simply the projection of one. Much of the training in all mystical traditions is focused on facilitating
this central recognition of non-self — not intellectually but in the core of our experience.

There are two additional threads in the rich tapestry Inayat Khan has woven on the subject of initiation.
One is the primacy of friendship in the sufi view of initiation, and the other is the role of sincerity. Both
of these threads weave together the two aspects of initiation mentioned earlier — a
spiritual commitment and a continuous spiritual opening.

Friendship, in this context, refers first of all to the relationship between the initiate and the teacher.
Here friendship is not necessarily the typical friendship of two companions in everyday life, but has a
deeper sense of a trust and an intimacy that is beyond the personal. As Inayat Khan described it:

People make a great many mysteries out of the name initiation, but the simple explanation is trust on
the part of the pupil and confidence on the part of the initiator. I heard from my murshid, my initiator,
something I will never forget: “This friendship, this relationship which is brought about by initiation
between two persons is something which cannot be broken, it is something which cannot be separated, it
is something which cannot be compared with anything else in the world; it belongs to eternity.”

It was in this same spirit that my own teacher, Murshid Fazal Inayat-Khan, Sufi Inayat Khan’s grandson,
said:

...there is one thing that has always been sacred, and that is initiation. Why? Because initiation is a sort
of union, a sort of bond, a sort of transmittal of love between two people which is real. At least to me,
having analyzed the realities as much as I can from my limited point of view, I have found that it is real.

I believe the friendship and love they both are referring to is experienced so profoundly because it is
fundamentally a recognition — a seeing — of the other as one’s self. That is, the initiatory recognition is
a recognition that there is only One Being, not two or many, but One. Even to call it “One” is not
completely accurate, since the idea of counting, of number, is irrelevant to the recognition of the
spontaneous presence of This that we are.
When the “One” is seen, there is no one and no “One,” just the seeing. This seeing is the essence of the
friendship between initiate and guide. It is like a tuning of vibration between them, a tuning that
continues to be refined over the years of encounter and training they share.

There is also another way in which the ideal of spiritual friendship is present in sufic initiation. This is the
sense in which being initiated “as a sufi” signifies the opening of the initiate’s heart not only to the
teacher and to the essence of the teachings, but to all initiates in the order, and beyond to the initiates
in all sufi orders everywhere in the world, and beyond that to all of humanity. It is a beautiful ideal, this
poetry of sufi friendship. I have experienced it in sufi gatherings in many countries and situations in
which I was a complete stranger. The simple fact of my presence in a sufi gathering, even if I did not
know the language or the customs, has always been received with expressions of welcome and
friendship.

The deeper ideal of being a friend to humanity beyond the boundaries of one’s social, ethnic, religious,
or national identity, is at the heart of sufi realization as it seeks to express itself in the world, although it
is not always achieved. Throughout his life Sufi Inayat Khan emphasized this ideal above all others. In its
relation to initiation he said, “On the path of initiation two things are necessary: contemplation and
living the life the sufi ought to live.” Contemplation in this context means the realization of Truth —
 touching “the unity of the Whole Being” in such a way that “everything one does in life becomes a
contemplation.” As for the life a sufi ought to live:

The life the sufi ought to live may be explained in a few words. There are many things in the life of a sufi,
but the greatest is to have a tendency to friendship which is expressed in the form of tolerance and
forgiveness, and in the form of service and trust. In whatever form one may express that central theme,
the constant desire is to prove one’s love to humanity and to be the friend of all.

The final point I would like to mention here that is at the heart of Inayat Khan’s view of initiation is
sincerity. We may not think much about this particularly virtue — it may seem old fashioned to our ears,
or if we speak of someone being sincere we might even think they are a little self-preoccupied or
wooden. But the word can be refreshed when we think of its opposite: insincerity. If we were to engage
in an initiation ceremony insincerely, or were insincere in our involvement with someone — a friend or
teacher — or with the essence of a teaching, we can easily sense how our insincerity would drain away
any possible benefit or blessing from this connection. As Inayat Khan pointed out:

There is one law which applies to everything in life: sincerity, which is the only thing that is asked by a
teacher of a pupil, for truth is not the portion of the insincere.

To summarize — and this is only a partial accounting — in Inayat Khan’s view initiation holds within it
many living functions:

• it expresses the taking of a step forward into the unknown;

• it signifies opening into the freshness of life in this moment;

• its aim is finding God within oneself;

• its method is self-effacement;

• it empowers spiritual friendship between teacher and student, among all
Sufis everywhere, and with all of humanity;

• its essence is sincerity.

Limitations of the Idea of Initiation

In spite of the refreshing realities represented by the idea of initiation, it can also crystallize into
something dense and unhelpful. Perhaps this is a tendency of all spiritual realities as they are necessarily
expressed as concepts and translated into the structure of social organizations — from whole religions to
mystical inner schools. In the case of initiation we can see this distortion happening in several ways:

• The establishment of in-groups. Initiation into a group is one way of ensuring that the group
maintains its identity through time. This of course has benefit for the group’s cohesiveness — the
Catholic Church, for example, would lose much of its coherency if there were no catechism and
ceremony marking an individual’s entrance into its fold. And yet just this desire for coherency can create
polarization and separation — a “them” and an “us” — when in fact the original meaning of the word
catholic is “all-embracing.”

The same could be said for sufi orders — a sufi, after all, is simply a human being, not a “Sufi.” There is
actually no such thing as a “Sufi,” and the essence of sufism recognizes this. In fact, there is also no such
thing as “Sufism.” Despite what you may read in some accounts, there are no dogmas, doctrines, or
essential beliefs involved in sufism. There is no “ism” at all. Sufism is simply an openness of heart. If
there is too much emphasis on an initiation ceremony as an entrance into a special membership, this
can have the effect of enclosing the openness of heart within an in-group identity. This can lead to the
dream of a group ego, an identification of us versus them even though at its heart the point of the
initiation is to free us from that distinction.

• A related danger of initiation is transference. Of course, there is a temporary utility in an individual

transferring his or her ideal of spiritual authority and nurturing presence onto the figure of a teacher
and the sense of a venerable lineage. Through this kind of spiritual transference we may open to
perceiving a reality vastly greater than thoughts can conceive.

But transference in this realm also carries a potential for limiting spiritual realization rather than
opening it. We see countless examples of this in the guru-worship and adulation of spiritual figures
throughout history. The individual may become weak, passive, dependent, and subservient in the
presence of the teacher. He or she can be caught up in the dynamics of wanting to please and be
accepted, both by the teacher and the spiritual community. The initiate may begin to “lean into” the
imagined safety and identity of the teacher and the community’s self-assurance, creating the conditions
for spiritual inauthenticity and sentimentality, as well as cultism.

• Finally, there is the risk in initiatic organizations of what has been called spiritual materialism.

In many traditions — sufi, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, etc.—there have developed recognized hierarchies
of spiritual maturity and authority, often signified by “levels of initiation” or the bestowal of various
honorific titles. On the positive side, acknowledging these naturally occurring levels of maturity can
facilitate people helping each other along the path. On the downside, people can become attached to
attaining “higher” initiations, and jealous of those with more authority or status. The whole sense of
initiation as self-effacement and spiritual friendship can become distorted by the illusion of power.

Initiation in the Sufi Way Today

In light of these limitations of the outer forms of initiation — as well as initiation’s profound and
continuous function as a spiritual reality — I would like to clarify its expression within the Sufi Way at the
present time.

The Sufi Way emphasizes one initiatic condition and that is the mureed — the committed one. One
never stops being a mureed, and in actuality one never “advances” beyond this natural commitment. In
some sufi orders there is a detailed description of a student’s path of advancement through a system of
spiritual levels. My experience is that this kind of description runs the risk of setting up in our minds a
sense of distance between the initiate and the “destination” of realization. There is no distance.

On this point I often hear the question: what about the gradations of spiritual maturity and realization
that occur during the course of spiritual growth? Why are these gradations not recognized in the Sufi
Way? The answer is not complex: different levels of spiritual maturity obviously occur. However, in
almost all cases I feel it is not helpful to label them. As mentioned earlier, labeling people’s degree of
spiritual realization within a group can easily lead to inflation or jealousy, or to other dynamics of
spiritual materialism. Spiritual maturity is its own proof. In any case, it is best to leave these things
unspoken. The point is not to emphasize the hierarchy of difference, even though on a functional level it
is evident. The point is to continuously invite individuals to open to their natural birthright, and to create
a group context in which this is kindly and clearly available.

Within the Sufi Way as it is presently structured there are two exceptions to this non-labeling policy.
These two exceptions are the roles of Murshid or Murshida (guide or teacher), and Pir (the head of the
order). While these two roles were traditionally known as the two “highest” initiations, I think it is more
accurate to simply see them as positions of responsibility. They signify a kind of servanthood rather than
an elevated state. The teachers and the head of the order exist to serve initiates and non-initiates in
their awakening, and if appropriate, to help them serve others.

Indeed, this is the whole purpose of the Sufi Way. The Sufi Way does not aspire to create a spiritual club
with a large membership. As I have said many times, we are simply a training ground. We set up our
tents in a place and share with those who gather there the beauty of the moment. Then we pack up our
tents and move on. Many people join the caravan for a time and then go their own ways. Others may
stay longer, even for their whole lives, finding ways in which they can serve these intimate
encampments. All are welcome, and those who feel called to serve in this way share exquisite times of
friendship, realization, and adventure.

The ideal of leadership in the Sufi Way is that it can arise spontaneously from anyone as it is needed, in
complement to the established leadership of the Pir, the teachers, and others who have taken on roles
of service with the Way.

In terms of initiation, all Murshids and Murshidas in the order have the power to initiate. The Pir
appoints the Murshids and Murshidas, as well as his or her successor as Pir.
It used to be the case that engagement with the advanced work of the inner school of the Sufi Way was
limited to initiates. However, in recent years, with the advent of the Open Path trainings and retreats,
and the Open Path style of individual guidance, this has changed. The Open Path work is the inner
school of the Sufi Way, and as such it has opened our tent to everyone who comes in a spirit of sincerity.
No formal initiation is required to participate in Open Path programs. When a person wishes to receive
initiation, he or she simply asks for it.

To ask for initiation is not a casual thing. By asking for initiation, one acknowledges to oneself — and to
others, but most importantly to oneself — the centrality of spiritual realization in one’s life. Asking for
initiation means you intend to stand before the whole universe to say in all sincerity I commit my life to
awakening. This commitment is central to the short ceremony of initiation, which is usually attended
only by the initiate and the Murshid.

The ceremony of initiation also symbolizes the initiate’s entrance into a bond of trust, openness, and
readiness in relation to the order, the teachings, and the teacher. This bond transcends the personal
dimension of the initiate’s life. Through the sincerity of the initiate and the trust established between
initiate and guide, the blessing of realization may occur.

It is not that the teacher “transmits” realization to the student — it is not that mechanical. It is more that
there develops a field of confidence between them, and in that field the student trusts the teacher’s
guidance, and the teacher’s assurance that it is all right to let go — to open the door of the cage of self-
identification. While the resultant upwelling of recognition and relief may be experienced as a
“transmission” from the teacher, it is actually the initiate’s simple awakening to the natural state of all
being, a state that cannot be transmitted because it is already here.

Ultimately, the transmission of realization, the initiatory moment, is grace. It comes, whenever it comes,
by grace, unplanned and free. In a way we can understand grace as the fruitfulness of initiation — the
blessing of its openness and commitment.

Initiates in the Sufi Way are also welcome to engage in the activities and practices ofthe Training
Ground. These include contact with the Pir and other guides through in-person interviews and
telephone work, and the giving of individual practices and chillas.

Conclusion

To conclude it may be best to recall Inayat Khan’s words: initiation is the process of “taking a step
forward with hope and courage in a direction one does not know.” Initiation means living freshly,
spontaneously, with an open heart and mind. Initiation is always in the moment. It signifies the bright
unfolding of life, free of self-preoccupation and self-pity.

We who find this particular caravan, who help to put up its tents, and who share in the training and
beauty that happen here, consider ourselves most fortunate. Together we enter the initiatory condition
of welcoming and blessing. This is another way initiation is described in the Sufi Way — as a welcome
and a blessing. On the one hand initiation welcomes us to enter a stream of spiritual blessing that flows
through history. On the other hand it gives us the opportunity to bless by welcoming each moment. The
seeker must follow a perfect Master able to guide him to the way of Allah, Almighty and Exalted, and to
illuminate for him that way until he reaches the State of Annihilation. The seeker must give his oath and
his promise to his guide, to learn from him how to leave his bad manners and to lift himself to better
conduct in order to reach the Perfect Knowledge of Spirituality.

The meaning of initiation and its conditions have been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, in the Sunnah of
the Prophet and in the life of the Companions.

1. In verse 10 of Surat al-Fath, “Verily those who swear allegiance to thee indeed swear allegiance to
Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hands. So whoever breaks his oath, breaks it to his own loss; and
whoever fulfills the covenant that he has made with Allah, He will surely give him a great reward.”
[48:10]

2. In verse 91 of Surat an-Nahl, “And fulfill the Covenant of Allah when you have made it; and break not
your oaths after making them firm, while you have made Allah your surety. Certainly, Allah knows what
you do.” [16:91]

3. In verse 34 of Surat al-Isra’, “and fulfill the covenant, for the covenant shall be questioned about.”
[17:34]

We see the Qur’an encouraging the people to give their oath and to keep their oath to the Prophet (s),
who leads them to the presence of Allah, Almighty and Exalted. That initiation was done in the time of
the Prophet (s) and after the time of the Prophet (s).

According to the Sunnah of the Prophet (s), the oath was taken from men, as a group, or as individuals;
from women, as a group or as individuals, and even from children. Bukhari and Muslim narrate
that cUbada ibn as-Samit said, “The Prophet (s) said, ‘Give me your pledge and oath not to associate
anything with Allah, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to kill your children, not to backbite, not to
fall into sin; and who keeps his promise, then his reward is from Allah, Almighty and Exalted.’ And then
we gave our pledge to the Prophet (s) and our oath.”

The Prophet (s) used to give initiation (baycah) to all people and urged them to take it. Bukhari and
Muslim narrated in their books that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said, “When we pledged to the Prophet (s) to
listen and obey, the Prophet (s) used to say, ‘To the limit that you can carry.’”

Initiation of Women

The Prophet (s) gave baya’h to women many many times. It is narrated by Imam A mad in
the Musnad that Salma bint Qays said, “I came to the Prophet (s) with many people from the Ansar, and
we gave him our bay’ah, our pledge that we would not associate anyone with Allah, we would not steal,
we would not commit adultery, we would not kill our children, we would not backbite and we would not
disobey. We gave him our bay`ah and we went.”

Initiation of Children

The Prophet (s), according to the books of Nisa’i and Tirmidhi gave initiation to Umayymah bint
Ruqiyyah. It was narrated by Tabarani that ‘Izza bint Khayyil took initiation from the Prophet (s) when
they were not yet seven. It was also narrated by Tabarani in in an authentic hadith that the Prophet (s)
gave baycah to al-H asan, al-H ussain, cAbdullah ibn cAbbas and cAbdullah ibn Jacfar when they were 7
years of age.
The Companions of the Prophet (s) gave baycah to the khalifs of the Prophet (s) after his passing. It is
narrated through the books of Sirah of the Sahhaba that the Sahaba gave bay’ah to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq,
to cUmar ibn al-Khattab, tocUthman ibn cAffan, to cAli, to Mucawiya, and to all the khalifs who came
later, as they had given it to the Prophet (s).

The Prophet (s) said in a hadith related by Abu Dawud and Ahmad, “Whoever imitates a group of people
will be of them.” So the inheritors of the Masters of the Sufi orders, especially the Naqshbandi Sufi
Order, inherited the initiation in every century. As it was an obligation in the time of the Prophet, and in
the time of the Sahaba and in the time of the Tabicin and Tabic at-Tabicin, and in the times of the
Umayyads, Abbasids, Seljukids, and Ottomans, so it is also an obligation to give our baycah to a perfect
guide, who guides us to the Way of Allah, Almighty and Exalted. And who is a better guide than the Sufi
Masters who are inheritors of the Prophet (s) and inheritors of the Divine Presence?

The scholar Abul asan cAli Nadwi wrote in his book Rijal al-Fikr wa-d-Dacwah, page 253, “Abdul Qadir
Jilani, the Ghawth of the Sufi Orders, Shaikh Muhiyideen ibn cArabi, and all the Masters of the
Naqshbandi Golden Chain, opened the door of initiation as wide as possible, for every individual who
has good and true belief, to find something that will be of value to him spiritually, and for everyone to
renew his baycah with Allah, Almighty and Exalted. These Sufi Masters of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain
and all Sufi orders lifted their followers to a station of Truthfulness, to feel the responsibility of their
initiation and to renew their faith.”

Thus we see that it is an important factor in every Sufi Order for one to take baycah with the shaikh, in
order to sanctify oneself and to be lifted up to the Divine Presence. These guides are the revivers in
every century, to connect our hearts with the heart of the Prophet (s), who in his turn connects our
heart to the Divine Presence. These guides are the beacon of the light of the Prophet (s) and the light of
the Divine Presence and they are the true examples for all nations to follow.

Initiation: The First Step

“Initiation only means a step forward, a step which should be taken with hope and courage, for without
courage and hope it would be most difficult to take any forward step.”
– Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

Initiation on a spiritual path signifies one’s desire to undergo a spiritual training. Those who do not elect
to make this formal commitment, however, are fully welcome to participate in the teachings and
programmes offered by the Sufi Order. Those who choose to mark their commitment by initiation are
known as mureeds (students).

Initiation into the Sufi Order demonstrates one’s sincerity in entering the Sufi path, strengthens one’s
powers to do so, and confers a blessing upon the pupil which enables progress. This initiation is the
linking of the individual Sufi student with the chain of masters and teachers stretching back through the
ages. The link so formed is of lifetime duration and forges a solemn bond, similar to the practice of
baptism.

One may be initiated into the Sufi Order by one of its Representatives. Those interested in initiation are
encouraged to select a Representative with whom they feel a deep trust and respect, for those qualities
are necessary to facilitate the training offered. The Initiate receives spiritual practices from her/his
initiator which are designed to promote spiritual realization, facilitate the unfoldment of his/her being
and assist in meeting life’s challenges and demands. The practices are not compulsory, but are given as a
gift.

A mureed in the Sufi Order is welcome to be initiated into other esoteric traditions such as Tibetan
Buddhism, Hinduism, or other Sufi Orders. However, it is advised that a student receive his/her daily
practices from only one guide and consult the Sufi Order guide about practices he/she is doing from
other Orders or traditions. The intention is to safeguard the wellbeing of the student, so he/she is not
confused by mixing practices that may not be complementary.