Universal Worship Service
Encyclopedia
The Universal Worship Service was created by Inayat Khan
as a prayer service honoring the religious traditions of the world as equal sources of spirituality.
The service is officiated by the clergy of Universal Sufism
who are called Cherags and Cheragas, from the Arabic for 'lamp.'
A candle is lit and readings taken on a particular theme from the sacred texts of six of the major world religions and traditions, each evoking a Divine Quality the tradition is said to illustrate:
Other candles may be lit to honor other world traditions. Some of the more commonly included traditions are:
The first candle represents the light of Divine Truth, and from it all the other nine candles are lit.
The service also includes Inayat Khan's prayers Saum, Salat, and Khatum.
There are often meditations, sermons, songs, or Dances of Universal Peace
following the readings.
The service can be for any theme and is also the background of Universal Sufi weddings, funerals and baby blessings.
Inayat Khan
Inayat Khan was an exemplar of Universal Sufism and founder of the "Sufi Order in the West" in 1914 . Later, in 1923, the Sufi Order of the London period was dissolved into a new organization formed under Swiss law and called the "International Sufi Movement"...
as a prayer service honoring the religious traditions of the world as equal sources of spirituality.
The service is officiated by the clergy of Universal Sufism
Universal Sufism
Universal Sufism is a universalist spiritual movement founded by Hazrat Inayat Khan while traveling throughout the West between 1910 and 1926, based on unity of all people and religions and the presence of spiritual guidance in all people, places and things. It is to some extent influenced by the ...
who are called Cherags and Cheragas, from the Arabic for 'lamp.'
A candle is lit and readings taken on a particular theme from the sacred texts of six of the major world religions and traditions, each evoking a Divine Quality the tradition is said to illustrate:
- Hinduism (Divine Wisdom)
- Buddhism (Divine Compassion)
- Zoroastrianism (Divine Purity)
- Judaism (Divine Law, or Divine Covenant)
- Christianity (Divine Self-Sacrifice)
- Islam (Divine Unity)
Other candles may be lit to honor other world traditions. Some of the more commonly included traditions are:
- the Goddess Tradition (also called the tradition of the Divine Feminine)
- Taoism
- Indigenous Traditions (usually, the indigenous tradition local to the celebration of the service is honored)
The first candle represents the light of Divine Truth, and from it all the other nine candles are lit.
The service also includes Inayat Khan's prayers Saum, Salat, and Khatum.
There are often meditations, sermons, songs, or Dances of Universal Peace
Dances of Universal Peace
The Dances of Universal Peace are meditative, spiritual practices using the mantras of all world religions to promote peace. The DUP dances, of North American Sufic origin, combine chants from world faiths with dancing, whirling, and a variety of movement with singing.-The Dances:Conducted in the...
following the readings.
The service can be for any theme and is also the background of Universal Sufi weddings, funerals and baby blessings.
External links
- http://cheraglibrary.org/
- http://www.sufimovement.org/whatservice.htm
- http://sufiorder.org/activities_universal.html
- http://www.ruhaniat.org/about/univWor.php
- http://sufiatlanta.homestead.com/prayer.html
- http://www.churchofall.us