About us

Murshid Karimbakhsh Witteveen

Netherlands
(† April 23rd 2019)

Murshid Karimbakhsh Witteveen is one of the former leaders of the International Sufi Movement in Geneva and The Hague. At the same time he is an economist, who has been a professor in economics, Minister of Finance and vice Prime Minister in the Netherlands and later Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. He has shown in this career how the inner and outer life can grow together, inspiring and testing eachother. As leader of the International Sufi Movement – together with Murshid Hidayat Inayat Khan, the son of Hazrat Inayat Khan – he has succeeded in creating a harmonious cooperation between the different Sufi organizations that are following Hazrat Inayat Khan’s message, creating in that way the Federation of the Sufi Message. Murshid Karimbakhsh has brought many different spiritual leaders of Sufi orders, who recognize this universal character of Sufism and other leaders of mystical orders in other religions harmoniously together in international Sufi conferences.

Brigitte van Baren studied Dutch law in Amsterdam and specialized in environmental law. She founded Inner Sense in 1992. Inner Sense aims to enhance inner depth in the corporate and industrial world by applying ‘essentials in leadership’. Inner Sense has endorsed the values of the Earth Charter, working with the framework and striving to achieve fair and sustainable leadership. An integral part of this vision is the engagement of young (potential) leaders at events concerning sustainable leadership. Brigitte van Baren has led projects for international organizations; coaching and training people in leadership positions, managers and teams.

Furthermore, she is an author and a Zen teacher. She works with the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (known as VNO-NCW). She has organized several international conferences and initiated the Wings conferences by organizing Wings for Rio+20 and co-organizing the Wings for Earth Charter (VNO-NCV and Soetendorp Institute) and Wings for Water and Wereld Waterdag (commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs) international conferences.

Brigitte van Baren

Netherlands

XII Kenting Tai Situ Rinpoche

His Holiness the Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa popularly known as His Holiness Kenting Tai Situ Rinpoche is proclaimed in number of sacred texts as the incarnation of Bodhisattva Maitreya in Tushita heaven crowned as the future Buddha in 623 BC and Subsequent incarnations as Guru padmasambhava. In 1012 AD he was born in Tibet as Marpa the Great enlightened Translator who introduced sacred kagyu lineage from India and continued by his disciple such as the Milarepa and Marpa’s incarnation Gampo Tsultrim Nyingpo and in 1148 as first Tai Situ Drogon Rechen.  In 1407 enlightened Chokyi Gyaltsen received title (ཀྭན་ཏིང་དབེན་ཐོང་མེའུ་ཙི་གོ་སཱི།) “Kuan ting yuan thong miyu tsi guo shi”.

In 1727 His Holiness the Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa the great popularly known as Situ Panchen founded the Mount of Excellence, nonsectarian, multidisciplinary, Palpung Institutions and established the Palpung Monastic Seat. 300 pre-Buddhist and Buddhist monasteries and 180 monasteries of Kagyu lineage looked up to Palpung Monastic Seat and its supreme head His Holiness the Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa. The current His Holiness the Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa is born to a farming and nomadic dual family in the east Tibetan kingdom of Dege in 1954 and shortly after enthroned to the Palpung Monastic Seat. In 1959 read more

Pujya Swamiji is President and Spiritual Head of Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, India, one of the largest interfaith, spiritual institutions in India. Under His divine inspiration and leadership, Parmarth Niketan has become a sanctuary known across the globe as one filled with grace, beauty, serenity and true divine bliss. Pujya Swamiji has also increased several-fold the humanitarian activities undertaken by Parmarth Niketan (www.parmarth.org). Now, the ashram is not only a spiritual haven for those who visit, but it also provides education, training, and health care to those in need. Pujya Swamiji is the Co-Founder of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA), the world’s first-ever international interfaith initiative which brings together the world’s faiths as allies in ensuring every child around the world has access to safe, life-giving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).

Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati

Bishop Ruben Tierrablanca

(†December 22nd 2020)

The Holy Father has appointed Fr. Rubén Tierrablanca Gonzalez, O.F.M., as apostolic vicar of Istanbul (Catholics 15,650, priests 42, religious 80), Turkey, and apostolic administrator of the exarchate for faithful of Byzantine rite. The bishop-elect was born in Cortázar, Mexico in 1952, gave his religious vows in 1977, and was ordained a priest in 1985. He holds a degree in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome, and has served in a number of pastoral and academic roles, including formator in the Franciscan seminary, professor of sacred scripture and master of students of theology at the St. Anthony Seminary, El Paso, U.S.A., rector of students of the Pontifical University Antonianum, Rome, and parish priest. He is currently delegate vicar of the apostolic vicariate of Istanbul. He succeeds Bishop Louis Pelâtre, A.A., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same apostolic vicariate upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

Bhai Sahib is the third in line of Sikh religious leaders of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, GNNSJ UK, and since 1995, Chairman of the Nishkam Group of Charitable Organizations, active in religious practice and propagation; social regeneration; heritage conservation; and education, health and infrastructure development. He is passionate about empowering individuals and organizations with common religious values, through selfless service, education and exposure.

Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh

Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp

Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp is an award winning human rights advocate, lecturer, writer, environmental activist and champion of civil society worldwide. He is the founder and president of the Jacob Soetendorp Institute for Human Values in the Netherlands, a founding member of Green Cross International, and the founder and chair of the Day of Respect Foundation, as well as the Hope for Children Fund.

Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq, shaman, healer, storyteller and carrier of the Qilaut (winddrum), is an Eskimo-Kalaallit Elder whose family belongs to the traditional healers from Kalaallit Nunaat, Greenland. His engagement for the Environment and Indigenous issues brought him to more than 70 countries in the world.

It is easy to melt the ice on the ground. The hardest thing is to melt the ice in the heart of man. Only by melting the ice in the heart of man, man will have a chance to change and use his knowledge wisely.

Angaangaq Angarkkorsuaq

Syed Salman Chishty

Syed Salman Chishty has been engaged in practical research studies on world Sufi traditions and their interaction with world cultures and traditions. His passion for Sufi and spiritual world cultures has enabled him to travel to many Sufi sites around the world. In addition, he has a regular participant in international conferences on interfaith dialogue and has represented the Chishty Sufi Order in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Senegal, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, Bosnia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, among other countries. A founding member of the Chishty Foundation, he has also served as its director for the last past five years. He has also written several articles on Sufism, spiritual understanding, and related subjects for various English national and international newspapers, journals, publications, blogs, and websites globally.

Familiarly known as Sarafil Bawa, is a teacher of Sufism in the lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. He received his Ph.D. in Religion from Duke University. His books include Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity, and the Mystical Quest and Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions. Pir Zia is president of The Inayati Order and founder of Suluk Academy. Now based in Richmond, Virginia, (successor of Murshid Karimbakhsh Witteveen in this Council)

Pir ZiaInayat Khan

Brigitte van Baren

Brigitte van Baren studied Dutch law in Amsterdam and specialized in environmental law. She founded Inner Sense in 1992. Inner Sense aims to enhance inner depth in the corporate and industrial world by applying ‘essentials in leadership’. Inner Sense has endorsed the values of the Earth Charter, working with the framework and striving to achieve fair and sustainable leadership. An integral part of this vision is the engagement of young (potential) leaders at events concerning sustainable leadership. Brigitte van Baren has led projects for international organizations; coaching and training people in leadership positions, managers and teams. Brigitte van Baren is Zenteacher of the lineage Empty cloud.