INVISIBLE Gardens

PIR ZIA INAYAT KHAN, the esteemed Sufi scholar and a key luminary of the 2024 Global Spirituality Mahotsav at Kanha Shanti Vanam, describes the Sufi concept of the "Invisible Gardens" of our lives.

- PIR ZIA INAYAT KHAN

I can hardly imagine a more perfect place for the convening of the Global Spirituality Mahotsav than Kanha Shanti Vanam.

Imagine, just eight years ago, this land was all dust, and now we see the result of the care given to the land by the venerable Daaji and the Heartfulness community. It is something of a miracle.

The meditation hall is impressive no doubt; but to me, much more impressive are the gardens herethe trees that have been planted, the endangered plants that have been collected, the cultivation that is happening, so that this Vanam can truly be a living garden. Daaji has brought endangered species here, and when trees are about to be cut down elsewhere, he has them dug up and transplanted here so that they may live on. This can be a paradigm for the whole country and for the whole world.

While we may find ourselves appreciating these visible gardens, the ones we see with our own eyes, here we also find invisible gardens as well. The Sufis speak of four spiritual gardens.

The Garden of Deeds

The first of these is called the Garden of Deeds, and this is the place where we rediscover everything that we have put out into the world. The world is like a dome-whatever we say re-echoes and bounces back to us eventually.