Swami Veda Reflects on Yogi-Sufi Connections

Tuesday, 23 March 2010 - administrator
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"There is no option for the world but to search out the unifying streams"

-Swami Veda Bharati


Three of Swami Veda's new friends from the Sufi-Yogi Dialogue, which was held January 27th – February 1st, 2010 in Rishikeh, India, are:


Sheikh Syed Ahmed Shah Madaudi

Sheikh Syed Ahmed Shah Madaudi  is the direct descendant of the Founder of the Chishti Order of Sufis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chishti_Order). This is one of the four major Orders of the Sufis and the leading Sufi tradition in South Asia including India, which has given birth to illustrious names in the last 800 years history. As soon as Syed Ahmed Shah and Swami Veda Bharati saw each other in the lobby of the hotel, they fell into an affectionate hug out of mutual recognition.


Khwaja Ghulam Qutab-ud-Din Faridi


Sakena Yacoob

Swamiji was especially proud to meet Madam Sakena Yacoobi. During the Taliban rule in Afghanistan when the girls schools were being burnt down and acid was being thrown on the faces of school going girls Sakena Yacoobi had organised an underground education network which secretly taught 350,000 girls hidden away in people's homes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakena_Yacoobi and

The Dialogue was organized by Dena Merriam

The Dialogue was organised by Dena Merriam, Founder of Global Peace Initiatives in New York (http://www.gpiw.org/), in association with AHYMSIN. The next dialogue is scheduled from 6-10 April 2010 in Lahore, Pakistan, which Swami Veda  will be attending with one or two other Swamis and Swaminis of the ashram.

Unifying Streams

Swamiji says there is no option for the world but to search out the unifying streams.

Upon seeing Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram, the delegates from Kashmir and Pakistan both said, "Why do we not have such a Sufi Ashram in our part of the world? We should work on establishing one."