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Hadhrat Bawa Muhaiyaddeen(ra)

Devoted Sufi and Great Shaikh Hadhrat Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (ra) was a saintly Tamil-speaking teacher and Sufi mystic from the island of Sri Lanka.

According to the older Sri Lankan students, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen emerged from the jungles of that country in the early 1940s and met pilgrims who were visiting shrines in the north. Reports of dreams or mystical meetings that preceeded a 'physical' meeting by these early students were not uncommon. According to an account from the 1940s, Bawa had spent time in 'Kataragama', a jungle shrine in the south of the island, and in 'Jailani', a cliff shrine dedicated to Shaikh ul Jilan Hadhrat Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani of Baghdad. Many of his followers who lived around the northern town of Jaffna were Hindus and addressed him as swami or guru. His role was often as healer of both medical and spiritual illnesses, including curing possession by demons.

Eventually an ashram was formed in Jaffna, and a farm was started south of that city. After business travelers from the south of the country met Bawa, they invited him to visit in Columbo, the capital of Sri Lanka. By 1967, the 'Serendib Sufi Study Circle' was formed by these Colombo students who were predominantly Muslims. Earlier in 1955, Bawa had set the foundations for a 'God's house' or mosque in the town on Mankumban, on the northern coast.This was the result of a spiritual meeting with the Mary, the mother of Jesus. After two decades, the building was finished by students from the United States who were visiting the Jaffna ashram.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bawa's teachings through stories reflected the background of the student or listener and included both Islamic and Hindu religious texts and traditions and welcomed persons from all traditions and backgrounds.

During the years 1978-1980 when the Iranian hostage crisis was occurring, he wrote letters to world leaders such as Iran's Khomeini, Prime Minister Begin, President Sadat and President Carter to encourage a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the region. Time Magazine, during the crisis in 1980, quoted him as saying that when the Iranians understand the Holy Quran "they will release the hostages immediately". Interviews appeared in Psychology Today, the Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Pittsburgh Press newspapers. He continued his teaching and personal guidance to his students and visitors until his passage from this life on December 8th, 1986.

Hadhrat M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen authored over twenty books, although he himself did not read or write. These books were created from transcriptions of audio and video recordings of his discourses, totaling about 10,000 hours. The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship continues to study and disseminate this repository of his teachings. It has not appointed a new leader or Sheikh to replace his role as teacher and personal guide.

He was an artist and created paintings and drawings that symbolized the relationship between man and Allah. He described his art work as "heart's work."


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Hadhrat Bawa Muhaiyaddeen(ra)

Writtings

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