Lex Hixon
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Lex Hixon, Ph.D. (born Alexander Paul Hixon), (Nur al-Anwar al-Jerrahi) (1941-1995), an accomplished poet, philosopher and spiritual practitioner and teacher, extensively explored the truth of the great religious traditions. He documented these explorations in nine books and many articles and teachings given to various groups. Most of his writing focuses on his conviction that all of the great religions are true. This idea was sparked by his reading of the life of Sri Ramakrishna who gave these radical teachings in 19th century Calcutta. It became a passionate conviction for Lex and he made his life a witness to this belief by fully immersing himself in multiple religious practices and studies. This was not a research project, it was an act of faith.
Originally a disciple of Swami Nikhilananda of the Ramakrishna Order, a Hindu and Vedantist, As Nur al-Anwar al-Jerrahi, Lex became a teacher in a traditional Sufi Lineage, the Jerrahi Order of Dervishes. He co-founded the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order in the United States, named for his teacher Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak (Ashki)[1]. He simultaneously remained involved in various religions, or as he called them, "parallel sacred worlds". His experience of being "orthodox in five different spiritual traditions" produced a unique philosophy, a "theory of relativity for religions". He touched thousands of lives in his warm, joyful manner of teaching, celebrating, and encouraging spiritual seekers of all kinds.
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"I grew up in the cultural openness and wild sacred energy of Southern California. I was not raised conventionally or religiously. Freedom was the keynote of my parent's philosophy. At thirteen I went to a conservative Boy's Academy in Connecticut. These were four years of blessed discipline. The effect of this almost monastic atmosphere was a great intensification of my awareness. Here, under the guidance of wonderful minds and spirits, I became a practicing poet, philosopher, musician, and spiritual seeker. These four strands have interwoven in my life ever since then.
"Rather than returning to the cultural comforts of California, I remained in the more challenging context of the east coast, attending Yale University for four years, then moving to New York City. I graduated in Philosophy, with an honors paper on Soren Kierkegaard, my first formal spiritual guide. Kierkegaard opened wide for me the dimension of the spiritual, which he clearly demonstrated to lie beyond what he called the aesthetic and the ethical or logical.
"At age 19, I became consciously Christian, under the guidance of the father of a college roommate, Vine Deloria Senior, a Lakota Sioux Episcopal priest. The rich, non-European Christianity of Father Deloria, subtly based in his Native American heritage of vision-quest, blended into the intense, existential Christianity of Kierkegaard, with its sharp critique of Hegelian rationalism, the tendency of European expansionist thinking. Thus, my spiritual life began as a confluence of European and non-European currents. "During college, I encountered traditional Zen through Alan Watts as well as the non-tradition of Krishnamurti. I also discovered The Gospel of Ramakrishna, which I began reading after graduation in 1963. I met the author of this extraordinary book, Swami Nikhilananda, by visiting the address of the publisher, printed on the back cover. My wife Sheila and I studied, traveled and meditated with the Swami for the last seven years of his life. He became the God-father of our four children. Following his guidance, I began studies for the Ph.D. at Columbia University, finally completing my dissertation on the Gaudapadakarika in 1976. My gratitude to him knows no bounds.
"During my ten years as a graduate student, I became a radio journalist, broadcasting a weekly, two hour interview show called "In the Spirit," over New York radio (WBAI), from 1971 to 1984. This endeavor involved a tremendous amount of fieldwork in newly emerging American spiritual consciousness, as well as an opportunity to meet the finest representatives of world-traditions who visited New York City. I met literally hundreds of teachers and students - both unknown and well-known, both authentic and not-so-authentic-observing the interesting dynamics of cultural interaction and spiritual growth. At this time I also began to study classical Indian music under the master sarodist, Vasant Rai.
"In 1975 I offered a course at the new School for Social Research. These well-attended spring term lectures were recorded, transcribed, and painstakingly edited. They became Coming Home: The Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Traditions, published by Doubleday in 1978. Some twenty thousand copies were sold before the book went out of print. In 1988, Jeremy Tarcher [1] reprinted Coming Home, and it has become a classic in its field.
"In 1980, I accepted the formal responsibility as a spiritual guide, or Sheikh, in the seven hundred year old Halveti-Jerrahi Order from Egypt and Istanbul. My duty included care and guidance for four communities of Sufis. I was privileged to make the traditional Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, with my Sheikh in 1980, at the pivotal age of forty. Three books emerged from this Islamic experience: Heart of the Koran published in 1988, Recollecion de la Miel (Gathering Honey) published in 1989, and Atom from the Sun of Knowledge. These books are well regarded by Muslims and non-Muslims alike and they represent a kind of informal peace initiative.
"Beginning with Zen, under the Japanese master Eido Roshi during the late sixties, and moving into Tibetan Tantric Buddhism in the mid seventies, my study and practice of Buddhist meditation has been ongoing. A book, Mother of the Buddhas, has emerged from this experience as well. My wife and I were privileged to make the pilgrimage to Bodhgaya and Sarnath in India with our Lama, Tomo Geshe Rinpoche, in 1981. In 1983, Sheila and I entered a formal, three year study of the mystical theology of the Eastern Church at Saint Vladamir's Seminary. We sacramentally joined the Orthodox Church, attending for a period of several years, and we still attend the chapel there as parishioners. None of these spiritual studies and practices have become outmoded in my life, and I try to remain current in four sacred traditions - Ramakrishna Vedanta, Vajrayana Buddhism, the Jerrahi Dervish Order, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
"In 1992, came the publication of Great Swan: Meetings With Ramakrishna. This book holds the key to unlock all my life experiences. It provides a bridge between East and West, a bridge which I have crossed in both directions and which many people will be able to cross comfortably, maintaining their intellectual, cultural and spiritual integrity. Essential secrets for the unfolding of cultural interaction and spiritual growth in the 21st century are encoded in this vibrant portrait. With Ramakrishna as our inspiration, our subtle task is to create a global society based on the intuitive sense of the Sacred, a society with rich diversity yet without boundaries."
During the last years of his life, including his struggle with cancer, Lex completed his Zen koan studies with Roshi Bernie Glassman. His final book entitled Living Buddha Zen was released just prior to his passing. The interrupted plans for his ordination as a Zen teacher were fulfilled at his memorial service.
On November 1st, 1995, Lex Hixon died as he had lived: consciously, happily, and in love with the Divine.
[edit] Books
Lex Hixon's literary works came about from direct experience in the field of spirituality combined with intellectual refinement and human sensitivity. Being intensely involved in both the cultures and religions of the world, his was a view of universal acceptance honed by discrimination and dedicated to harmony based on unity.
- ISBN 0-8356-0822-0 The Heart of the Qur'an: An Introduction to Islamic Spirituality
- ISBN 0-943914-74-4 Coming Home, The Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Tradition
- ISBN 0-8356-0702-X Mother of the Universe: Visions of the Goddess and Tantric Hymns of Enlightenment
- ISBN 0-8356-0689-9 Mother of the Buddhas: Meditation on the Prajnaparamita Sutra
- ISBN 81-208-1297-2 Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna
- ISBN 1-879708-17-5, 101 Diamonds from the Oral Tradition of the Glorious Messenger Muhammad
- ISBN 0-943914-75-2 Living Buddha Zen
- ISBN 1-879708-04-3 Blessed Virgin Mary/Hazreti Maryam (Ashki Book)
- ISBN 1-879708-10-8 Sufi Meditation
[edit] References
- ^ Sufi Review (Pir Publications, Spring 1997), p.5-8
