Bismillah’er Rahman’er Rahim
It seems antithetical to write a biography of one’s spiritual journey. In Sufism we work on becoming less and less, to die before you die, but in the world of media and lectures, people want to know who you are, what degrees you have, who you know, and how much more you are than others doing the same thing. In spiritual work, it is who you are not that is most meaningful. Doing real spiritual work necessarily makes one humble as you face the enormous Truth of the Unity of the Creation. It is with great reluctance that I inform you about my “self”.
I always wanted to know if there was a God, why there is pain and suffering, why people hurt each other, why there are wars and what holds everything together. In a sense I was driven to Sufism. I looked for answers everywhere. I searched by studying Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, Hinduism, Kabala, Alchemy, Masons, Rosicrucianism, Judaism, Christianity, Teachings of Don Juan, Magic, and many other shops of spirituality... I also went to various spiritual teachers, sacred spaces and events. I learned many things and had many insights.
When I read The Sufis by Idries Shah, things started making more sense. I began a new search - one for a true teacher. It would be 20 years later that I would finally find my Shaykh, Taner Ansari. Through my Shaykh and the teachings of the Qadiri-Rifa’i Tariqa came the answers, slowly, and with a continually deeper understanding. When I was young I asked God many times to teach me how to do His will. One day I saw an ad in the newspaper. I answered it. It was someone leading zikrs. I went and learned and asked questions. Finally my Shaykh came to visit. I could feel a door opening for me.
During those 20 years before I met my Shaykh, I took courses in Kabbala, Tibetan Buddhism, Sanskrit, Anthropology of World Religions eventually graduating with an MA in Music Composition from Mills College in Oakland.
I have been a musician and composer almost my entire life - that’s about 60 years of practicing and performing and recording. Music and those years of experience have taught me much about self-discipline, and without it I would not have understood the way of Sufism or other true paths. It has become more and more clear to me, working with students for the past 20 years, that it is vital to be able to tell the difference between true and false paths. It is also important to understand the need for long-term commitment to a true path. As our society tries to adapt to worsening education and the continued greed of capitalism, the need for an ethical and spiritual reality makes itself not only apparent but also vital to the soul of Australia. True paths such as Sufism and Buddhism offer a remedy of mercy and compassion in a heart-starved world.
I offer my services to the spiritual communities, as Khalifa of the Qadiri-Rifa’i Tariqa, now known as the Ansari Sufi Order. Through gracious permission of my Shaykh, Taner Ansari, I have been ordained as a Shaykh to continue these practical and profound teachings.
