Baraka-Direct Experience

by

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis

(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)

Baraka—Direct Experience at the Rock Pir Dahan

In the Spring of 1926 Sufi Inayat Khan visited the properties at Fairfax, California, and named a certain rock Pir Dahan (the Voice of the Prophet) and the house of meditation Kaaba Allah (this house is no longer in existence). I was in Los Angeles at the time but the man who brought Inayat Khan to Fairfax is the same Saladin Paul Reps who has recently visited Hasan Nizami and whom I have sent urgent messages to visit San Francisco and the Academy as soon as possible.

The psychic, mystic and Baraka experiences of myself (and a few others) in the building Kaaba Allah would resemble a fairy tale. I did find some parallels in Efleki’s Lives of the Adepts which may be found in the French copy in the White Memorial Collection, Cleveland Public Library, and in Palladius’ Lives of the Solitaries which I shall refer to in another paper.

1.   Elise Norwood, now living 65 Ramsdell St., San Francisco. Shortly after the demise of Sufi Inayat Khan in 1927, Mrs. Norwood, who has been a clairvoyant, and a disciple in both Sufism and Vedanta, claims she saw on the rock Pir Dahan all the great prophets of all ages greeting Sufi Inayat Khan, and the Buddha was the greatest in the maintenance of the pure spiritual state. She had this vision steadily over a long period.

a.   I wrote of this experience in a poetic form and presented it to the Rev. Ishida, Zen monk and tea-master, who was then a guest of Nyogen Senzaki, the Zen Master in San Francisco, and he was so pleased he gave me a tea-ceremony in honor thereof.

b.   Several years later, when I was in difficulty and went to see Mrs. Norwood, there was with her a clairvoyant from Stockton, Calif. This lady asked me to come the next day, at noon, when she looked at the rock and told me what she said was my spiritual future. The chief difference was that she saw Jesus Christ as the leader, as against Buddha in Mrs. Norwood’s report.

2.   Nyogen Senzaki, Zen monk and to me Master; friend of Watts and Spiegelberg. A friend of many year’s standing. Visited Fairfax one year to commemorate Sufi Inayat Khan’s passing, went to the rock and immediately entered Samadhi. He reported it had the highest vibration of any place he had known in America.

3.   Sabin Orgler, Jewish mystic, visited the rock in 1932. Same general experience as Mrs. Norwood and the psychic, except that he saw Moses in place of Buddha and Christ as above. All saw “angels ascending and descending.”

4.   Vera Zahn, 11 Hilarities St., San Francisco. Disciple in Sufism with some psychic faculties. Always felt the vibrations and had various experiences there.

5.   Theodore Reindollar, long resident of Marin Co. Visited Tlemcen during the war as my representative. Returned to Fairfax in 1947 and claims rock is in full possession of Baraka. A disciple of Sidi Adah in Tlemcen, where he has been staying.

6.   Samuel L. Lewis. Some of my reports in writing and poetry, some very exact prophecies, some not so much. In September 1940, one night at 10:30, went to rock to offer prayer and sacrifice (of sleep, etc.) to pray for the safeguarding of the city of London. Placed myself before the tabernacle, which had been built at my direction to “house” the Baraka (“Shekinah” theory). Heard a voice from Heaven: “Go back, go to sleep and forget everything. If you can absolutely relax and sleep London will be saved. London is saved.” That week the Germans suffered their first terrific losses in bombing fights.