A Sufi matriarch: Hazrat Babajan (Intercultural research series of anthropography)

By Kevin R.D. Shepherd

A biography using the early version of Dr. Ghani as a framework. The author has often said that the brevity of this work was obligatory in view of the scarcity of reliable data. An Afghan Pathan by blood, Hazrat Babajan (d. 1931) was an unorthodox Sufi who lived under a tree at Poona, India, in the days of the British Raj. Some have viewed her as a second Rabia. Her case history is a significant addition to the meagre data on female Sufis. She gained an inter-religious following, reflecting her tolerant attitude. She was reputed to be over a century old at her death. This monograph is annotated, with reference to the work of scholars like Schimmel, and has an introduction defending aspects of traditional mystical psychology.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0950868019
• ISBN13: 9780950868011
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Anthropographia Publications
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.9" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Very readable and informative

Hazrat Babajan was a female qalandar, an attained Sufi who functioned outside the usual structure of a Sufi 'Order' and formal Islamic religious practice. She lived to a very advanced age (possibly in excess of 120 years) and was instrumental in the spiritual elevation of the renowned Hazrat Inayat Khan and of Meher Baba. This account of her life by Kevin Shepherd is readable, obviously informed by his personal involvement with the living tradition of Sufism (Tasawwuf), and is useful to serious students of the Way. The narrative is marred somewhat in the Introduction by the author's rant-and-rail against the materialism and profanity of postmodern society; I can't say that, on balance, I don't agree with him -- but the same thing could have been said with less ink and a more thoughtful tone. If you can get this book, it is otherwise quite worthwhile.