The Global Peace Initiative of Women (http://www.gpiw.org/) brought together for the second time , Hindu yogis and Sufi spiritual leaders to deepen bonds between these two profound contemplative religious traditions - exploring their ties of the past and their visions for the future.

"The idea of the unity is not just that God is one, but also that in God we are one."

The second Sufi-Yogi Dialogue organized by the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW) took place in early April in Kathmandu, Nepal.  The goal was to deepen the bonds developed during the first dialogue in January in Rishikesh, India, and to specifically look at what these two spiritual traditions had to say about the nature of the times in which we live.  Many people sense that we are in a time of transition; some see this as a positive, upward movement; others see it as a decline and disintegration.  There are many predictions in the various spiritual traditions, and this dialogue explored the Yogic and Sufi views of the current state of affairs.

The dialogue began with several hours of prayer, meditation and readings to help create the spiritual container in which the dialogue could be held.  This opening was a way of centering and focusing on the deeper wisdom that emerges from interiorized contemplative practice.

The words that first flowed after this meditative time were philosophical overviews of both the Yogic and Sufi traditions.  Ahmad Jawaid, from the Naqshbandi Sufi Order in Lahore, Pakistan and Sraddhalu Ranade from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India presented the two overviews.    The core of Yoga philosophy was described by Sraddhalu as the Divine coming into manifestation as individualized consciousness and forms and then a gradual awakening of individualized consciousness to its true nature. The moment a human being is self-aware, he or she is able to choose to participate and speed up the process of awakening.

The mind within us is nothing but the same One seeing itself through a point of limitation.  The nature of the mind is nothing but the One choosing to extend itself infinitely into points of perspectives in order to know itself completely. It is He/She who knows and enjoys through limitation, explained Sraddhalu Ranade.

Ahmad Jawaid expanded on the metaphysical reality in Yoga and Tasawwuf  --the purification of the soul and realization of the Self.  He explained that the difference between these two is the concept of law.  The Sufi follows the religious prescriptions and laws found in Islam, i.e. Sharia, and this facilitates the realization of the Self.    He said that these differences are not in conflict, for the spirit of the religion in Yoga and Tasawwuf is the same. Thus, from the opening session, common ground was established, confirming the shared wisdom that was uncovered during the first Sufi-Yogi Dialogue in Rishikesh.

Swami Atmarupananda  from the Sri Ramakrishna Mission added that although there are different ways of practicing religion, the religious impulse in every tradition comes from a single source.  We must recognize the single source and also recognize that there are different ways of reaching this source. There are differences but we must view these differences within the larger commonality.

Professor Patrick Laude of the Shadhili Sufi Order and Suheyl Umar, Director of the Iqbal Academy in Lahore, Pakistan spoke from the Sufi perspective on The Crisis of the Modern World and Source Texts on the Current and Future Age, respectively.  Sister Maureen Goodman from the Brahma Kumaris and Sraddhalu Ranade spoke from the Yogic perspective on The Current Transition in the Context of the Awakening Consciousness and The Nature of the Current Transition, respectively.

Sraddhalu drew insight from the 20th century Hindu sage Sri Aurobindo and described a spiritual evolution in consciousness now unfolding.  He said we face an evolutionary crisis where we must develop spiritually in order to survive.  Individual participation through heightened personal awareness is necessary to help foster the radical shifts that are needed to develop  structures and institutions that reflect a higher awareness.  "Strengths of the past are the current weaknesses,"  Suheyl Umar drew upon his lineage and challenged the concept of evolving consciousness.  There is no evolution in the ultimate reality, he explained.  The nature of the Self is constant.  Sraddhalu responded by saying that awakening was a better word than evolution.  There is an awakening to one's true nature, rather than an evolution to a higher form.

Sister Maureen Goodman of the Brahma Kumaris said the call of our time is to see that the body is merely a costume and to move into soul consciousness.    She described the current age as the Confluence Age  where spiritual energies are beginning to counter the forces of materialism.  The most important things now is to contemplate the nature of the Self and connect with the Divine.

Dena Merriam introduced the topic by saying that all change has a spiritual as well as physical component.  Energies begin to mobilize in the spiritual field before manifesting in the material world.

Ahmad Jawaid explained that according to the Sufi tradition, the spiritual and material are two aspects of the same circle. He explained that this manifests as a basic urge in human beings to maintain balance and harmony between the two.  He said, "Today man needs to deconstruct the metaphysical manifestation of reality, which is to understand that it comes from inside."  He added that without the purity of nature, we cannot balance and harmonize ourselves.  Humans and nature are the same being, and the true manifestation of the supreme Oneness is oneness of man and nature.  So addressing the relationship between man and nature would be essential for rebalancing the physical and spiritual world.

Dr. Shazad Quaiser spoke about the challenges to preserving spiritual traditions.  He said that in earlier ages there was a spontaneous interaction between humankind and the Divine, but over time this ability has been lost.  In the modern age we no longer link spirituality with all aspects of life.  Art, culture and language have lost their spiritual underpinning.  He focused on the importance of language as a link to the spiritual world. Indigenous languages and oral traditions must be preserved, he said, because they maintain much of our relationship with the Divine.     "Linguistic oppression does not make spirituality sustainable," he said.  He also talked about the need to see the immanence of the Divine, not just the transcendence.  See the hungry orphan boy in the marketplace as God in the market.  If you cannot find him there, then you cannot find him in the places of worship. He spoke about his own Sufi master who was a simple, humble figure, with no notable position in the world.  The Divine often manifests through such hidden figures.

Swamini Pramananda offered a Vedic perspective on the inner-outer dimensions of being.  "Human life is concerned with the immediate.  Humans wonder if there is a Lord, and if He is, where exactly is He?"   She responded, God is everywhere.  Everyone of us is the "seer."   In reality there is no subject/object duality.  That is incidental to consciousness.  Consciousness is infinite.  It has no limit.  When one establishes the "other" as "I", that is when humanity will come together  and overcome the appearance of separation.

We welcomed Bob Maat, a longtime friend and colleague of GPIW, as a special guest to the dialogue. He addressed the relationship between contemplation and action by saying, "Contemplation in action happens through entering into the silence, which takes you back to the people, and this takes you back to the silence, and then you come to realize it's one."  Bob shared his personal narrative of his work in Cambodia with the Buddhist master Venerable Maha Ghosananda during and after the Khmer Rouge regime.  Bob quoted one of  the great sayings of Maha Ghosananda, "Wisdom and Compassion must talk together.  One without the other is like hopping on one foot, eventually you will fall.  Together, however, you can walk eloquently."

Swami Atmarupananda addressed the issue of spiritual action by saying that "The search for truth (God or enlightenment) is the greatest way to affect social change and to help the world.  The awakened spiritual heart is of the most use and service to humankind."  Swami indicated that we "need insight to know what to do,"... "we need love. If you want to help the world but don't have love, what kind of help can you offer?"  He also stressed that to serve the world, one needs spiritual practice to keep one's foundation and sustenance. Without this there is danger of burnout.  "We need the will (strength and power) to serve the world and that comes through contemplative practice and spiritual seeking -- from a unified mind that knows the power of concentration and has a developed will. As we grow spiritually, we grow the desire to help from a higher standpoint.

During the first gathering of the Sufi-Yogi Dialogue that was held in Rishikesh, India, one of India's most highly regarded Swamis, Swami Veda Bharati played a major role in co-hosting the dialogue. Swami Veda led many of the sessions during this time. We were again honored to have Swami Veda with us in Nepal, though only for a day due to his full schedule. All of us were deeply grateful for his presence at the meeting.

After leading the group through a meditation, Swami Veda Bharati began by saying that the idea of the Sufi-Yogi  gathering is a long-time tradition in both religions, going back centuries. He said, "The idea of unity is not just that God is One, but also that in God, we are one."  Not only are the philosophies of the world's religions similar, but also they share practices, actual spiritual methods.  One can find cross-overs in Christian mysticism, Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism,  in Hindu Yoga and Sufism.

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche expanded by saying how important it is to know and understand the other religions. The Buddha was able to attain enlightenment by taming his own mind.  This is what we all must learn to do.  All sentient beings are permeated by Buddha nature (or the seed of awakening). Along with compassion, you need power, ability and the wisdom of the Buddha.  These qualities are present within each of us. Through practice we can reveal this Buddha nature and achieve the ultimate result. During a question and answer session with Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, he was asked about Tibetan prophesies concerning the nature of these times.  He replied "There are prophesies in the Tibetan tradition and some are spot on, others are not.  In the Buddhist tradition, it is said that we are always changing and in a time of impermanence. Practicing and realizing our Buddha nature can help us through these times.  Prophesies of change relating to environmental conditions are not Dharma prophesies but rather observations of intelligent people based on science."

On the morning of day three during the closing session it was agreed to continue the Sufi-Yogi dialogue and recommendations were made for future work together.  Along with creating an extensive list of ideas for practical collaboration , the group  also expressed wishes to explore the doctrines and theories in greater depth in the future as well as visit one another's holy places. Effort would be made to share the proceedings with the greater public and continue holding the dialogues in sacred places.

The Global Peace Initiative of Women would like to gratefully acknowledge Taimoor Khan Mumtaz for coordinating the Pakistan delegation and for his efforts in helping GPIW to bring this dialogue to the region.  We also acknowledge the Iqbal Academy for their support and offer to originally host this dialogue in Lahore. We hope to take the opportunity to hold a dialogue in Pakistan in the future.

We'd like to acknowledge and thank GPIW Country Coordinator of Nepal, Manjeshree Rana, for her tireless effort to bring this dialogue together in Kathmandu with very short notice.

This gathering was made possible with the generous support of Kalliopeia Foundation with additional on-ground support from Manjeshree Rana, GPIW Country Coordinator, Nepal.  We extend deepest thanks for their support of this work.

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Editor's note: There is a video taken at this event at http://vimeo.com/11492939.