History of the Fellowship
Little is know of the personal history of Muhammed Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) before he emerged from the jungles of Sri Lanka more than 75 years ago. He rarely spoke of himself, never deviating from his focus on God.
Since truth has no limits or boundaries, it can never be confined to any religion. And so he could talk to Hindu about God in terms of Hinduism, to a Jew of a Catholic, he would talk about God terms of Judaism or Catholicism, to a Muslim in terms of Islam. But to an atheist who was a car mechanic, he might talk about God in terms of cars, or whatever was best for the individual's understanding. The actions of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) were a living example of the truth he spoke of, his words no different from his actions. Sometimes he spoke of himself as an ant man, the least conspicuous being.
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) is no longer physically among us. He passes away on December 8, 1986, and yet the essence of Muhaiyaddeen is amazingly alive and well.
To find a teacher who is a truly, absolutely pure guide is to find the rarest of the rare, someone completely surrendered in God’s qualities with no gap between what he is and what he says; someone who is the truth he speaks of. He is a clear mirror showing us how to be transformed, how to become our true self.
Such a perfect guide lives in his connection to God through all time. Such a connection is never born and never dies. This connection is the master who is the teaching of God’s truth.
The living presence of M.R. Bawa Muhaiyyaddeen is very much here in Philadelphia and at his resting place in the fellowship cemetery about an hour outside Philadelphia. Here, there are thousands of videos and audiotapes of his discourses and songs.
And there also is the loving support of the fellowship family, people who had years of close personal access to Bawa Muhaiyyddeen – formally during the discourses which were open to the public, informally during his spontaneous songs, during question and answer sessions, or during the routines of those responsibilities which filled his days and nights.