Hazrat Inayat Khan
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Krishnadas Pierce
Oct 5th, 2008 by khushi Edit |
A remembrance of Krishnadas:
Krishnadas came to Eugene for a year in the middle 1980’s when we had no sheikh for our gatherings. His style was quite eccentric, and we became fast friends. He loved to sing and taught us harmony as well as many breath practices, all for developing the breath.
He was completely dedicated to Murshid Sam Lewis, both during and after Sam’s time on Earth. I never saw or heard of him as disloyal to his Teacher, ever. His devotion was completely steadfast for his teacher.
In my early Sufi years, I was having vision-dreams; KD was very helpful in clarifying their meanings for me, as my own intitiator lived in a faraway state. His guidance has proven itself for years.
KD’s devotion to this path was complete-and probably still is! I imagine him walking up a long spiraling path to the top of the mountain, hand in hand with Murshid Sam.
Peace and belsssings to you, KD, and may God preserve your secret.
Ya Fattah, brother; Toward the One.
Ouapiti Robintree
Krishnadas was a true Madzub with an wonderful love for God. His eyes would tinkle and shine with an intensity that I have rarely seen. And he could be a mix of stern task master one minute and love puppy the next. I remember sitting at the dinner table at Allah’s Acres after a long work day as Krishnadas taught a four part round while dinner sat getting cold. We would go over and over the parts until it was as close to perfect as we could get. Silly and joyful and sublime. I remember sitting under a tree at Allah’s Acres on a 5 day retreat led by Wali Ali and Krishnadas. On about the 3rd day, after doing the Zikar of Inayat Khan for several hours one morning and in my ignorance feeling like I was starting to get somewhere, KD suddenly sat down in front of me and just changed the note a step, the next thing I knew I was in tears, and could only laugh or cry with each continued round of the zikar. Ya Allah, released beyond thought
Toward the One , KD you put the hu in human
Krishnadas taught his class in the meadow at Mendocino camp back in the 70’s when we used to be in the smaller camp. There was a small steep bank or hill on one side of the meadow, and he would walk us up and down the embankment using different breaths so we could see for ourselves that emphasizing the in-breath made it easier to go up hill and a stronger out breath made one feel steadier going down hill. We learned to feel from our own experience the practical usefulness of different breaths for calming or energizing.
Lest we get too serious, we sang the silliest of rounds at the end of his class, like “Why doesn’t my Goose sing as well as thy goose, when I paid for my goose twice as much as thou?”
He inspired many of us, and was genuine and bluntly honest. His devotion and fiery intensity was wonderful to me, and I loved his class best of all. Peace and Blessings, Krishnadas, and thanks for your time with us.
Love, Haqiqa Hampton
Well rung John Boy well rung John
Ding Dong Cuckoo well rung John
The Owl and the Cuckoo
The Fool and his Song
Well rung, Cuckoo
Well rung John
Learned and sang this round at the NW Sufi Camp as led by Krishnadas back in the early 80’s. I just returned to Breitenbush for the first time in 30 years this fall and all the time spent with Krishnadas came rushing back. I was initiated by him there and spent a lot of time with him and learning. I sang that round solo for him in the early early dawn sitting on a bench by the river.
“if you don’t think breath is important, try this experiment! Put your head in a bucket of water…..”
So went the iconoclastic teachings of the Sufi Path via Krishnadas Pierce….
“Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram” over and over again, ringing out through the meadow at Mendocino Camp where his voice and shruti box beckoned us to a bhakti bash in front of his tent…
In around 1978 (I believe it was), I went to Mendo camp and went on retreat with about 20 others. Many of those people are still with us, some as teachers now. Krishnadas was very stern at the beginning warning us that this practice was not for those who just wanted to have a good time at camp. A number of people dropped out. He then proceeded to blow our minds with an incredible retreat. I remember him leading us to the river, walking backwards, in a snake line, to teach us about attunement and breath….
At the very first Northwest Sufi Camp near Portland in the late 70s, we were a total of less than 50 campers including staff. We had rented a Camp Fire Girl’s camp that had not been used for a while and was badly in need of cleaning. So EVERYONE pitched in and helped. Later that day Krishnadas arrived in his old MG with the top down from Allah’s Acres, announcing that he was volunteering as part of the teaching staff, “Inayat Khan sent me”. He pitched in and helped us get set up. Then later, when inevitably it rained, and he had left the top of his MG in California, we scrounged up enough plastic bags to cover the open top…..
In the early 1980’s Krishnadas was touring the Nothwest, with a stop in Seattle as part of his itinerary. The second day the theme of the teachings was “peace”. We did quite a few “as-salaam aleikhum” greeting dances and other peace practices. When I took him to Seatac Airport later, helping carry his luggage, he walked up to the ticket counter and said softly to the attendant, “Peace be with you….” I learned from that, how a Sufi translates and relates to everyone.
I know he was human, and had his problems, we should never duck that as we are all works in progress and have our shortcomings, but OH WHAT AN AMAZING TEACHER AND DERVISH HE WAS !!
Wherever your spirit is in your journey now, sing us a little Ramnam. The planet still needs it.
Krishnadas’s soul leaves me with the memory of a royal dervish. I did not get to know him well but he promised ” close your eyes I will be there” when I moved from California. He was a sincere man. I danced with him in the forests of the Northcoast redwoods. My son disturbed his morning meditation when he discussed with his friend the world’s problems. We again discovered each other thru the “waves of the air”… email… when I was exploring Pir Viliyat’s teachings. He sent me many teachings and words of inspiration. Recently some old camp tapes surfaced and now i remember him again. I send him my rose memories. …..the sweetness … remains my Beloved Friend.
I met Krishnadas very soon after I came into the SIRS in San Francisco, at a Healing Order gathering in Marin. He was not an “official” participant, and Nick/Saul allowed him to give Krishna darshan. I thought he was from another country, very darvish in appearance. I was guided into a room where he was sitting, he opened his eyes, and it was really Krishna sitting there, flooded everything with love and light. This was his transmision from Samuel and it was real. There was something other-worldy about him, many things he had a hard time getting a grasp of, human sexuality, organizations. An outsider by nature, he first turned up in black leather on a motorcycle, and Samuel received him with love and without judgment. A devoted and hard working caretaker of his inherited land Allah’s Acres, which I visited a couple of times. Rest thee in the love you demonstrated!