Fazal Inayat-Khan (Urdu: فضل عنایت خان) (July 20, 1942 – September 26, 1990), also known as Frank Kevlin, was a psychotherapist and poet who led the Inayati Order from 1968 to 1982.[1]
He was the author of Old Thinking, New Thinking: The Sufi prism (1979) and, published in Dutch, Modern soefisme: over creatieve verandering en spirituele groei (Modern Sufism: on creative change and spiritual growth) (1992).
Born in Montélimar,[2] Vichy France to a Dutch mother and the composer, Hidayat Inayat Khan, Inayat-Khan was brought up speaking Hindi, Dutch, English and French. His grandfather was Inayat Khan and his aunt was Noor Inayat Khan. Fazal Inayat-Khan is buried at the Oud Eik en Duinen cemetery in The Hague.
Inayat-Khan found work as a poet, psychotherapist and publisher.[2] Finding that his family name influenced people's perception of his work, he changed his name legally to Frank Kevlin.[3] As an early promoter of Neuro Linguistic Programming, he was the main motivating force behind the creation of the Association for Neuro Linguistic Programming.[4]
From 1968 to 1982 he was head of the Sufi Movement, a movement started by his grandfather and kept in the family.[5] He held that Sufism has three aspects: it is non-definitive, inclusive, and experiential –
non-definitive because the real exists without needing to be defined;
inclusive because it is found in all religions and accepts any form of worship or meditative practice that is appropriate to the moment;
experiential because it goes beyond theology and second-hand spiritual experience, accepting the possibility of direct revelation.
Inayat-Khan, Fazal (1992). Modern soefisme : over creatieve verandering en spirituele groei (Modern Sufism: on creative change and spiritual growth) (in Dutch). Katwijk aan Zee: Panta Rhei. ISBN90-73207-28-2. OCLC65771646.
Notes
^Melton, Gordon J. and Baumann, Martin. Religions of the World, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. ABC-CLIO, p. 1482.
^ abHeart of a Sufi: Fazal Inayat-Khan, A Prism Of Reflections. Arch Ventures Press. 2010. ISBN978-1-907303-01-2.
^"A Short Biography of Fazal Inayat-Khan 1942-1990". Self and Society: European Journal of Humanistic Psychology.