Bulent Rauf

Bulent Rauf (1911–87) was a man who escaped definition, deliberately, but whom many varied descriptions fitted easily: a gentleman, a mystic, a world-class cook, archaeologist, writer and translator, consultant to the Beshara School, Life President of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, Turkish citizen and man of the world, lover of Beauty and champion of esoteric education.
His sole concern in life was the absolute Unity of Existence and the perfectibility of man. In an age of gurus, he spurned the title of "teacher", preferring to be a student and thence to share the wealth of knowledge that he had discovered with his fellow students.
Bulent was instrumental in establishing the Beshara School, and served as its consultant from 1975 until his death in 1987.  
Many of Bulent's writings, including the papers mentioned below, are collected in: Addresses I and Addresses II, published by Beshara Publications.  

What is the single most important point that must be understood by a person who wants to know? 'It is that there is only One, Unique, Absolute, Infinite Existence. It must be more than an idea…'

The Essential: A lover has to know for certain that the love is returned for love…' 

Union: It is indeed a pleasure for us of Beshara to talk of Union. This is our daily bread and meat since our constant and only aim is to reach that point in the Unity of Existence which we call Union...' 

Humility: But how can one practice humility?' 

Prayer and Meditation: This main condition of all meditation, this concentration, cannot be overstressed...

Notice to Cooks: Cooking is a responsibility in awareness…' 

An Esoteric Exposition of Finance: Totting up turnover figures for the three largest centres alone and multiplying by the business days of the year produces...' 

To find out more about Bulent, you can read: A personal account
and for more, see also: www.bulentrauf.org

Photo courtesy Johnny Culme Seymour 1972