Schematic drawing of the Bicentennial Mall.

A couple of days earlier David Coots, who is a 32nd degree Mason and a new initiate of the Chishti Order of Sufis shared a mystical place with Nur. And it was this place that Nur in turn wanted to share with us. Incidentally, David's newly given Sufi name is Sarmad Chishti. According to my Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan: abstract sound is called Saut-i Sarmad by the Sufis; all space is filled with it. The vibrations of this sound are too fine to be either audible or visible to the material ears or eyes, since it is even difficult for the eyes to see the form and color of the ethereal vibrations on the external plane.

The sound of the abstract is called Anahad in the Vedas, meaning unlimited sound. The Sufis name it Sarmad, which suggests the idea of intoxication. The word intoxication is here used to signify upliftment, the freedom of the soul from its earthly bondage. Those who are able to hear the Saut-i Sarmad and meditate on it are relieved from all worries, anxieties, sorrows, fears and diseases; and the soul is freed from captivity in the senses and in the physical body. The soul of the listener becomes the all-pervading consciousness, and his spirit becomes the battery which keeps the whole universe in motion.

Some train themselves to hear the Saut-i Sarmad in the solitude on the sea shore, on the river bank, and in the hills and dales; others attain it while sitting in the caves of the mountains, or when wandering constantly through forests and deserts, keeping themselves in the wilderness apart from the haunts of men. Yogis and ascetics blow Sing (a horn) or Shankha (a shell), which awakens in them this inner tone. Dervishes play Nai or Algosa (a double flute) for the same purpose. The bells and gongs in the churches and temples are meant to suggest to the thinker the same sacred sound, and thus lead him towards the inner life.

When I got to the park I found Nur, Emily, Leah and Olivia waiting. At the apex of the Bicentennial Mall is a circular courtyard surrounded by the pillars containing the largest Carillon Bells in the world. The very epicenter of this is marked by an inconspicuous nail. Nur demonstrated that if you sit directly on this center point (on the nail), even the slightest sound you made came back to you with the most amazing harmonics. If you are even slightly off center, relative to the rest of the courtyard, everything sounds absolutely normal. Amazing, considering we were sitting outdoors, in the open.