The School’s purpose is to give sincere seekers access to the many benefits of authentic Sufi teachings. The School aims to serve those from all backgrounds who seek the Truth and personal spiritual development. It offers free individual instruction in five major Sufi Orders – the Naqshbandi, Mujaddidi, Chishti, Qadiri and Shadhili – especially emphasising the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi practices.
Shaykh Hazrat Azad Rasool (ra) founded the school, originally called the Institute of the Search for Truth, in Delhi in 1975 with the consent of his own Shaykh, Maulvi Muhammad Sa’id Khan (ra). The School now has branches in many countries throughout the world, with students in Australia, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Uzbekistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Poland, UK, USA, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Egypt, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Singapore, Oman, Kyrgyzstan and others.
Hazrat Azad Rasool, beloved and revered Shaykh of the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi order of India, passed from this world on the 7th of November 2006 after 55 years of devotion to the goal of spreading the teachings around the world. The work continues under the leadership of Hazrat’s son and deputy (khalifa), Shaykh Hamid Hasan, who now heads the School, giving initiation and direct guidance to students following the Sufi path.
The School offers a structured curriculum that introduces practices of meditation and recitations, which purify and transform the self. Students are asked to do the practices regularly and with sincere intention for an initial period of time. Over time, with sustained effort, the student’s heart becomes more open and he or she begins to perceive their relationship to the world and to God in a new way.
The School’s practices are in accord with the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS); these have been made systematic by successive Sufi shaykhs in order to remain relevant and practical in modern societies. However, in our order it is not necessary to become a Muslim to get the teachings. A particular feature of the School is that it brings teachings, which were formerly considered esoteric, from the East to the West at a very opportune time in history and makes them available to all.