Samuel L. Lewis :: An illuminated soul and inspiration

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad) (1896 - 1971)

Samual Lewis was an American mystic and dance teacher who founded the Dances of Universal Peace movement. He was also known under his Sufi name of Murshid and to the popular press as Sufi Sam. He was a sufi and at the same time a student of Zen and Yoga. Perhaps he is the first one born in the West to have received the divine message.

Before leaving his body, Murshid Samuel writes a letter to Barkat Ali, saying: "Praise be to Allah! This has been a glorious exit, and one which will go down in history, a sign of all the beauty, truth and goodness in the universe. One has been truly saved from the jaws of death and adversity, and may live on indefinitely, as God wills. It is the sign and symbol of all goodness, and the establishment of God's message in the Western world forever, praise be to Allah! For I am the first one born in the West to have received the divine message, and believe to have representatives in all the purity and goodness of which Allah is capable, and which will now be presumed done forever."

In 1925: During a spiritual retreat in Fairfax, Samuel receives inner initiation from Khwaja Khidr, often identified with Elijah and known to Sufis as "the Green Man of the Desert." This initiation leads to appearances by all the prophets in turn, culminating with Mohammed.

Quote from Murshid Samuel:

"Words are not peace. Thoughts are not peace. Plans are not peace. Programs are not peace. Peace is fundamental to all faiths. Peace is fullness, all inclusive ...and must be experienced."

"One of the reasons I am teaching this music and dancing is to increase Joy, not awe towards another person, but bliss in our own self. This is finding God within, through Experience."

More on Samuel: Ruhainiat.org, Wikipedia Entry, The New Age in Person, Dervish Healing Order, Marin Sufis.