Word: pir
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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This is the "Cosmic Mass," performed last week at New York's Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The show (admission: $5) was conceived two years ago by Pir ("Elder") Vilayat Inayat Khan, 59, British son of an Indian mystic who founded the Sufi Order in the West (Sufism is the mystical movement within Islam). Pir Vilayat, a well-known guru in the spiritual counterculture, now heads the order, which has practically divorced itself from Islam. The message, one that Pir Vilayat implored his audience to spread, is "the unity of all religions...
Supported by an all-volunteer cast of 200, Pir Vilayat narrated from the high cathedral pulpit as the Sufi choir sang themes from various religions and a small orchestra, complete with conch and sitar, emitted a variety of sounds. The sequence of the performance, if not the message, is borrowed from the Christian Eucharist. In each section, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians and Moslems are given a turn to express their devotion. As the Mass ends, Pir Vilayat intones: "I am the One I love, there is but One. One in all. All in One." With that, the cast bursts into...