From Bismillah — Volume 3, Number 1 — December 1977
pp 50 & 51
THE DERVISH HEALING ORDER
The Healing Activity sponsored by the Sufi Islamia Ruhaniat Society will in the future be called the Dervish Healing Order. The work of this Order will be carried out in autonomous fashion, but will be understood to be ultimately under the direction of the head of the Ruhaniat.
The Healing Activity will be organized on the basis of function and assignment, rather than on the basis of one’s grade in the esoteric school. There will be three categories of workers in the Dervish Healing Order:
- Conductors of the Healing Ritual
- Practitioners of Healing (doctors, nurses, dentists, etc.)
- Members of the Activity
No one is to be initiated into this Activity who has not mastered some aspect of Healing, either for himself or for others. Those who are beginners should attend the classes in Health and Ritual until they are ready for initiation. This Activity will be open to all those who meet the requirements of the Dervish Healing Order, whether they are Mureeds or not.
The Head of the Dervish Healing Order will also designate an additional category of persons whose function will be to initiate new members into the Healing Order. Some of these initiators may normally operate outside the Dervish Healing Order per se, but due to their spiritual capacity may be called upon to aid this work. This group of initiators will form a liaison between the Dervish Healing Order and the Ruhaniat. They will have as their coordinator one individual entitled Director of the Healing Activity. This person will nominate his own successor, subject to the approval of the head of the Ruhaniat. The Director will confirm all initiators in the Dervish Healing Order.
There will also be established a consulting board of advisors drawn from the larger spiritual community. The board will advise, assist and support the work of the Dervish Healing Order in various ways as befit the talents of its members. The board of advisors should represent as broad a spiritual and religious base as possible.
The activities of the Dervish Healing Order will maintain and promote the vision of Health and Divine Healing as presented by Hazrat Inayat Khan. Regular meetings of the Healing Ritual will be held to direct Healing energy to those who are in need and have requested assistance. The Teaching of Healing in all aspects of life, as well as periodic general meetings (seminars, camps, colloquiums, etc.) will also constitute activities of this work.
The Healing Ritual will, as mentioned, continue to be offered. It was being done in one of its forms prior to our incorporation into the Sufi Order, and now we will return to that former Service. In form, the Ritual is much like the ‘authorized 1962 version’, and it works equally well.
Members of the Dervish Healing Order will be encouraged to write and comment on the published works of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Murshid Samuel Lewis and others as designated by the head of the Healing Order. There will be no monies received by any member of the Activity for work or prayer done in the Healing Order. The Healing Order will have no dues or fees, but voluntary contributions may be collected toward a specific purpose, such as postage for mailings and so on.
For information concerning the Dervish Healing Order, please contact:
Hakim Saul Barodofsky, c/o Rainbow Bridge Books, 3548 22nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 (Note: address now obsolete).