Sufi Master Shaykh Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi is the Patriarch of the Sufi Order of Azeemia and a renowned Spiritual scholar and best-selling author from South Asia. Besides being the author of over 35 books, he has written numerous articles on Parapsychology, Telepathy, ESP, Color therapy and on meditation. He has spent most of his life guiding the serious seekers of Self-awareness from all walks of life and also in dispelling the ignorance of the orthodox Muslims by awakening the higher consciousness of the Ultimate Reality.

Born Khwaja Shamsuddin Ansari on October 17, 1927 in Siharanpur, U.P., India into a radical Sunni cleric household; young Shamsuddin saw firsthand the superficiality of the legalistic outward religion. Growing up he had several encounters that provoked his interests in the esoteric side of religion. At the young age of twenty, he set out on the quest of finding a true murshid (Sufi Master). That nine-year journey took him from his native city to places like the Patiala State, India and then to Lahore and then later Sadiqabad, Pakistan. Finally in Karachi, he arrived at the doorsteps of the Syed Muhammad Azeem a.k.a. Qalandar Baba Auliya (1896-1979), founder of the Sufi Order of Azeemia and grandson of the famous Indian Sufi, Baba Tajuddin of Nagpur (1852?-1929).

The next fourteen years under his tutelage saw his transformation from an undereducated and functionally illiterate person into the respected author, advisor, healer and spiritual teacher. In 1962, Shaykh Azeemi started writing articles on spirituality in various Pakistani newspapers and magazines. The most famous of them was his advice column Roohani Daak, in Urdu Daily Jung. People from all walks of life and faith would write to him for his advice on their problems. On average, Shaykh Azeemi received 3,000 mails a day. Because of its huge success, a monthly magazine Roohani Digest was launched in 1978. Shaykh Azeemi is the Editor in Chief of the magazine. In 1979 before his physical death, Qalandar Baba Awliya designated Shaykh Azeemi as the Patriarch of the Sufi Order of Azeemia.

What sets this Sufi Order apart from most of the other Orders is that it is available to people from all the faiths. Hence, a number of Shaykh Azeemi's students are Hindus, Christians and Zoroastrians as well as members of other faiths. The main headquarters of the Sufi Order of Azeemia is its convent (khanqah) at Surjani Town, subdivision of Karachi, where Shaykh Azeemi still receives and gives free advice to people daily. The convent holds weekly Muraqaba sessions as well as training classes and lungar.

Since 2001, Shaykh Azeemi has delegated most of his editorial responsibilities to his eldest son and shaykh-designate Dr. Waqar Yousuf Azeemi. Mr Waqar Yousuf Azeemi, Ph.D. himself an author, was recently elected the Finance-Secretary of the prestigious All-Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS), an organization credited with upholding and striving for the freedom of press in that country.

WHAT IS MURAQABA (SUFI MEDITATION)?