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| Ishaq with a beard after Northwest Sufi Camp, with Akbar and coffee |
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| Ishaq at Humboldt Camp the day Munira was intiated, levitating his sheikh's robe! |
Dear Beloveds
On Anna's prompting, I'm writing about reflections of Ishaq. Today I was looking at my own address book and seeing that
I've called it Ishq, and realized how close ishq and Ishaq are in terms of words, and also energy.
Ah, I'm one of those folks who met Ishaq rather recently, first at Saratoga Springs at the Jamiat Khas. Well, I'd never
laid eyes on this fellow and Shabda invited him in to lead a dance. He came into the circle with his well worn guitar and
introduced us all for the first time to his new Om mane peme hum dance. I remember well thinking that it felt a little rock
and roll, and also I remember well feeling that the basketweave move that we did coming in and out was pretty ingenius. I'd
only ever done the basketweave movement going to the right and left, and loved how it felt undulating, like the opening and
closing of the lotus flower. Genius. Later on when a group of us circled him to go over the dance, he shared attunement.
He had this great combination of being so relaxed, detached, yet engaged and deep. A great combo all around.
Then, we wound up having a meal together that I will never forget. We started sharing stories and ideas about our Dances
of Universal Peace, with origions of some melodies, and impressions, and all and all had a great, laughing time. Then, he
got a special twinkle in his eyes and said, well, you know the story of the Kalama? I said, wait, oh, no, there's a back
story to the Kalama melody? He laughed heartily and said yes. That Sam Lewis had lifted the melody from a song that was
on the radio in San Francisco at the time in the late 1960's..."O How Happy You Have Made Me"....I said, I know
that song, and we sang it together in the dining room. For years I have happily shared this story, always feeling Ishaq's
presence.
At that time I had suggested to Ishaq that he write up an article about the Kalama and also other songs and Dances. Perhaps
he has told others some of the stories he was going to write about.
When I heard about Ishaq, I called one of his mureeds on the East Coast, Tasnim Janice Burton and after many hours of
calling each other back and forth and talking, we wound up in the late afternoon talking again. This time I told her about
this story and she loved it so much. She'll probably write you all about it also. She went up on the internet and found
the version of the song that was on the radio in San Francisco in the late 1960's. Now the chorus of O How Happy, rings in
my heart, and as Tasnim points out, these lyrics that follow read like Rumi and also seem so much like Ishaq.
Love to you all,
Ayesha Lauenborg
Philadelphia
Oh How Happy you have made me, Oh How Happy you have made me.
I have kissed your lips a thousand times, And more times than I can count,
I have called you mine. You have stood by me in my darkest hour.
Oh How Happy you have made me, Oh How Happy you have made me.
Oh How Happy you have made me, Oh How Happy you have made me.
Through our years together we have had stormy weather,
But our love has been so strong, That's, love, how we carry on.
Oh How Happy you have made me, Oh How Happy you have made me.
You brought joy in my empty life, All that was wrong, you made it right.
My love, my love, my love
Oh How Happy you have made me, Oh How Happy you have made me.
Oh How Happy, Oh How Happy, Oh How Happy
Oh How Happy you have made me, Oh How Happy you have made me
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| Ishaq at Tumalo River Trail, May 2004 |
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| Ishaq and Saladin at Northwest Sufi Camp |
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| Ishaq and Anna Armaiti, New Year's Day 2004, on Greenway Bridge, Eugene |
I was so sorry and grieved to hear of Ishaq's passing. He was/is a beautiful being - truly full of "love and light".
Ishaq and I first met while we were at Columbia College - we became good friends while in college and had some wild and
wonderful times together. Ishaq and I did everything from playing music (he on guitar, me on harmonica), to protesting the
war in Vietnam, to taking some road trips together.
A couple of quick memories from those days:
One afternoon the Columbia School of International Affairs was holding an awards ceremony at an outdoor plaza. Ishaq's
(Dan's) dorm room overlooked the plaza where the ceremony was being held. The school of International Affairs had been heavily
criticized for its ties to "the military industrial complex", especially as it related to the war in Vietnam. So
Dan, myself and a couple other friends had the bright idea of disrupting this ceremony. We opened wide the windows of the
dorm room, Dan turned up his electric guitar, I amplified my harmonica and we played loud rock and blues ...The speaker at
the ceremony was having a hard time being heard over our electric music - until the campus police came to the room and told
us to shut it down....
Dan and I and couple of other friends drove down to Florida during one of our spring breaks. We had numerous adventures
while in Florida - including a strange meeting with devotees of Meher Baba on a deserted beach - but the thing I remember
the most was the long drive back to New York. We were all tired, driving late into the night; Dan pulled out his guitar and
for the next several hours we sang song after song - and after we had exhausted every verse we knew, we started writing our
own verses to the songs - some of which were quite hilarious. This went on for several hours - and before we knew it, we
were back in New York. That was classic Dan - and for me, an example of the power of music.
It was Ishaq (and Mariam) who first introduced me to Sufism some 30 years ago while I was visiting them in Eugene
- for which I will forever be grateful!Ishaq had clearly embraced the Sufi Path, the Way of the Heart, and it was such a natural
"fit" for him.... What was supposed to be a visit of only a few days turned into a stay of a couple of months in
Eugene, after which I moved to San Francisco, and eventually wound up living at Kankah Sam....
Ishaq and I had lost contact for many (25?) years and by one of those strange quirks of the cosmos, we reconnected
only a few months ago. My name had come up in an email that he read and Ishaq called me out of the blue. It was really special
to reconnect with him. We had a nice long conversation about our lives, followed by some emails back and forth (I've pasted
one in below) ....
Part of Ishaq will always be with me - my pal from college, and my first Sufi teacher. His spark, his warm love and light
will continue...
Peace and blessings,
André Uwais Bernard
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| "Sheikh, Rattle & Roll" photo by Allaudin Mathie |
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| Ishaq, Usman (now Halim) Friedman and Basira |
Beloved Friends,
My prayers are with Ishaq's family, friends and mureeds in this time of grief with the passing of our beloved friend.
Ishaq was my first initiator into the Ruhaniat in the fall of 1979 and he gave me the name Basira. Though I have been
a mureed of Shabda's for many years, when I started contemplating Ishaq, since the news of his passing, I realized that just
about every basic practice that I do, I learned from Ishaq. The healing breaths, Zikr, playing for the Dances, the Three
Wazifas....I can feel his tempo in doing all of these things and he is forever inprinted in my being. Alhumdulilah! Ya Shakur!
As many of you know, Ishaq loved being in nature and often brought his mureeds to nature settings where we would do practices
and learn to walk using our breath. "Ya Hay! Ya Huk!" he would teach, for our use in walking up the steep incline
of a mountain path with greater ease.On one occasion, a group of us decided to go to Cougar Hot Springs which is an enchanting
group of natural hot springs set in the forest outside of Eugene, Oregon. In those days, the site was undeveloped and we
could usually enjoy the pools in privacy. Ishaq and I decided to take a walk into the forest (we were stark naked as was
the custom at the time at the springs). We came up to a river where there was a huge tree that had fallen across it to make
a bridge about 12 feet above the water. Ishaq wanted to walk out onto the tree and sit above the river. To get to the tree
we had to take a long, stretched step of about 4 feet from some rocks onto the tree; beneath us was the drop of 12 feet below.
He went first with ease and grace and then turned to hold out his hand to help me across. I was really scared to take the
step, but I didn't want to give up and I gathered up all my courage and coached myself thinking "Surely I won't fall;
this is the hand of my teacher!" I stepped forward. The next thing I knew I was falling through the air and I let out
a blood-curdling scream to meet what felt like my certain death. Boom. Silence.
A moment passed and I opened my eyes and looked up to see Ishaq. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yes!"
I replied to him. Upon hearing this, he burst out laughing and said "What a great scream!! That's the best scream
I've ever heard!!" He helped me up and we walked across the tree trunk to the center of the river and sang chants to
Shiva. I don't recall having any injuries from the fall.
I'll never forgot surviving that "death" and looking up to see Ishaq there, laughing, joyful, holding out his
hand to help me up.
Ya Salaam, Beloved Friend! 'Till we meet again
With Love and Aching in my Heart,
Basira (Hanske) Beardsworth
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| Ishaq at Sweet Creek Falls |
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