Sufi Remembrance

Birthdate: April 28, 1946 URS: June 25, 2022

Administrator’s note:

It is such a rare occasion when we are blessed with the words of the person whose life we are honoring. This is a precious letter written by Lance from Suresnes at the occasion of Murshid’s 100th birthday celebration:

( Thank-you to Iman Heinlin for sharing Lance’s letter with us)

Lance wrote:

Suresnes, France. July 5, 1982

“I cannot really express the feelings I have on this day. Despite a cultured intellect and refined articulation the events of this day are basically Sufic – an experience rather than an idea, an unspeakable emotion that cannot be contained in mere words.  No poem or song can do justice to the reality.  I am only sorry that the whole world wanted nothing more than to just be in the garden at Fazil Manzil today. I have reduced some emotions into thoughts, and those thoughts into words, and those words follow; but. . .

And so the great day has arrived and been successfully concluded.  The moon is full and so is my heart; for my resolution to make this pilgrimage, and the centenary of Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan are fulfilled in celebration. The sacred succession of the Chisti Order is this day enacted as Pir Vilayat gave benediction to his son Seraphil. The Sufi emblem of Murshid has passed from son to grandson, leaving Pir Vilayat overwhelmed with emotion, unable to speak and with tears resting on his cheeks.  A gesture so brief in time and yet filled with the meaning beyond Time itself.  We who were privileged to witness this event will always remember – this is our great joy and honor and duty. 

And in the sweet, celestial affirmation of our chorus of voices singing the Song for the Universel we became the second stone of the temple.  It is we – and all our brothers and sisters – who have created this day.  It is both our divine inheritance from the ages and our heritage to the future.  For one moment outside of Time each of the hundreds assembled touched the Infinite – and dissolved.  God was at work in the garden of Suresnes today, and all of us received that blessing.  In that transcendence of personality lay the answer to our heart’s desire. In the radiant diffusion of individuation lay a glimpse of resurrection and the reunion to come.

Here is the answer to the cry of humanity.  Here is the path towards lasting peace.  Here is the path towards personal joy. Here is the path that contains in each step the illumination of the cosmos.  Here is the path that reveals the true secrets of the heart and is the key to unlock the mysteries of the ancients. Here alone is the path for the final transformation of human existence.  So simple, so near – and yet so seemingly far away.  This is the task of the Sufi: to awaken each and every person to the voice within.  To become sensitized and attuned to the song of our own heart – and thus become notes with which others can harmonize, until the voices in the garden of Suresnes on this day have become an unheard whisper in the great song of God as humanity.

May the Message of God spread far and wide.

May the beauty and meaning of this day illuminate our lives, now  and forever more.

And may Murshid in Heaven within us, and all the other prophets, saints and masters rejoice – for on this day we are all united.

Toward the One!

The following obituary is offered by Lance’s family:

Lance Diskan, Founder of the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition, returned to the One on June 25th, 2022.

Once he received his first box Kodak at age 10, Lance was never without a camera. His career as a documentarian included videography and astrophotography, spanning the film and digital eras.

After majoring in “Diner” and “Speck’s Fried Chicken” at Ursinus College, Lance spent 20 years working for social justice causes in Coastal Los Angeles. This included co-founding the Venice Family Clinic, negotiating disability access at the Hollywood Bowl, contributing to the Free Venice Beachhead, and serving a 4 year term as Los Angeles City Council Deputy. While in Venice, Lance also met his wife Jan and discovered the Sufi path.

After relocating to Flagstaff, Lance fulfilled his lifelong dream of working with indigenous populations by partnering with Black Mesa Trust in its ongoing fight for water sovereignty and protection of indigenous religion and the sacred peaks. Lance also leaves behind a legacy of night sky preservation, including the founding of the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition in 1999 and the establishment of Flagstaff as the World’s First Dark Sky City in 2001. For over two decades, Lance was a constant fixture at Night Sky events, often seen in his star-covered top hat or space-themed pants, always making friends for the sky.

Lance was preceded in death by his father, Dr. A. E. “Red” Diskan, and his “three mothers”, Nellie Louree “Call me Lou” Diskan, Eugenia Carter, and Amy Gannutz. He is survived by wife Jan Busco, daughter Noor Eliza Sophia Busco Diskan, son Cosmo Fazal Caleb Busco Diskan, daughter-in-law Lynn Diana Busco Diskan St. Martin, and sister Jill Diskan. He encourages those who remain on the mortal plane to remember that Water is Alive, Capitalism is Biocidal, and that We Get By With a Little Help From Our Friends.

The family asks for donations to a GoFundMe to cover a memorial star-gazing bench, with any remainder donated to Black Mesa Trust and The Hopi Foundation.  https://www.gofundme.com/f/memorialize-lance-kane-diskan