Lex Hixon (1941–1995) (born Alexander Paul Hixon Junior, also known as Nur al-Anwar al-Jerrahi in the Sufi community) was an American

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

author, poet, and spiritual teacher. He practiced and held membership in several religious traditions. He believed that all religions are true, which was sparked by his study of the life and teachings of

Ramakrishna Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

Life and education

Hixon was born on December 25, 1941, in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, one of three sons of Alexander and Adelaide Hixon. He married his second wife, Sheila, in 1965; they had two daughters Shanti, India, and one son, Dylan. Hixon also had a daughter, Alexandra, from a previous marriage to Margaret Taylor. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1963, where he majored in philosophy, and he received a PhD in comparative religion from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1976. His doctoral thesis was on the

Gaudapada Gauḍapāda (Sanskrit: गौडपाद; ), also referred as Gauḍapādācārya ("Gauḍapāda the Teacher"), was an early medieval era Hindu philosopher and scholar of the ''Advaita'' Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. While details o ...

Karika, a Sanskrit scripture of the very early

Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hinduism, Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the Āstika and nāstika, orthodox Hindu school Ved ...

school of Hindu philosophy.

Early spiritual training

Hixon first studied prayer and meditation at the age of nineteen with Vine Deloria, Senior, a Lakota Sioux elder and Episcopal priest in

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ; lkt, Čhúŋkaške, lit=fort) is the capital city of South Dakota, United States, and the seat of Hughes County. The population was 14,091 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least populous US state capital after Montpelier, ...

. In 1966 he began his discipleship with

Swami Nikhilananda Swami Nikhilananda (1895–1973), born Dinesh Chandra Das Gupta was a direct disciple of Sri Sarada Devi. In 1933, he founded the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York, a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, and remained its head until his dea ...

of the

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

, who headed the

Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center The Ramakrishna Vivekananda Center of New York is a branch of the Ramakrishna Order of India, founded in 1933 by Swami Nikhilananda. After Nikhilananda's death in 1973, the center was headed by Swami Adiswarananda until the latter's death in 200 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He simultaneously remained involved in various religions, calling them "parallel sacred worlds".

Radio

From 1971 to 1984, Lex Hixon hosted a weekly 2-hour interview show in New York City called "In The Spirit," where he interviewed hundreds of spiritual leaders and teachers from different traditions, including

Alan Wilson Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...

, philosopher, writer and speaker known for interpreting and popularizing Indian and Chinese traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophy for a Western audience. Buddhism — the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

, the

16th Karmapa The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) was the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Followers believed him to be part of the oldest line of Tulku, reincarnate lamas in ...

Kalu Rinpoche Kalu Rinpoche (1905 – May 10, 1989) was a Buddhist lama, meditation master, scholar and teacher. He was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West. Early life and teachers Kalu Rinpoche was born in 1905 during the Female Woo ...

Lama Ole Nydahl Ole Nydahl (born 19 March 1941), also known as Lama Ole, is a '' lama'' providing Mahamudra teachings in the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the early 1970s, Nydahl has toured the world giving lectures and meditation courses. With hi ...

, Zen teacher Maezumi Roshi and Sensei

Bernie Glassman Bernie Glassman (January 18, 1939 – November 4, 2018) was an American Zen Buddhist roshi and founder of the Zen Peacemakers (previously the Zen Community of New York), an organization established in 1980. In 1996, he co-founded the Zen Peacem ...

; Ch'an Master, Ven.

Sheng Yen Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Lin ...

; Christianity — Brother

David Steindl-Rast David Steindl-Rast OSB (born July 12, 1926) is an American Catholic Benedictine monk, author, and lecturer. He is committed to interfaith dialogue and has dealt with the interaction between spirituality and science. Life and career Steindl-Rast ...

, Father

Thomas Keating Thomas Keating, trappist, O.C.S.O. (March 7, 1923 – October 25, 2018) was an American Catholic monk and priest of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (also known as Trappists). Keating was known as one of the principal developer ...

Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...

; Hinduism —Hilda Charlton, J. Krishnamurti,

Swami Satchidananda Satchidananda Saraswati (; 22 December 1914 – 19 August 2002), born C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder and usually known as Swami Satchidananda, was an Indian yoga guru Modern yoga gurus are people widely acknowledged to be gurus of modern yoga in a ...

, Swami

Muktananda Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa (16 May 1908 – 2 October 1982), born Krishna Rai, was a yoga guru, the founder of Siddha Yoga. He was a disciple of Bhagavan Nityananda. He wrote books on the subjects of Kundalini Shakti, Vedanta, and Kashm ...

; Islam — Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak,

Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan Vilayat Inayat Khan (19 June 1916 17 June 2004) was a teacher of meditation and of the traditions of the East Indian Chishti Sufi order of Sufism. His teaching derived from the tradition of his father, Inayat Khan, founder of The Sufi Order ...

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (died December 8, 1986), also known as ''Bawa'', was a Tamil-speaking teacher and Sufi mystic from Sri Lanka who came to the United States in 1971, established a following, and founded the ''Bawa Muhaiyaddeen ...

; Judaism — Rabbi

Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Carlebach ( he, שלמה קרליבך; 14 January 1925 – 20 October 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a rabbi, religious teacher, spiritual leader, composer, and singer dubbed "the singing rabbi" during his lifetime. ...

, Rabbi Gedaliah Kenig, Rabbi Dovid Din, and Rabbi Meyer Fund.

Religious traditions

Islam and Sufism

On one of the shows, he met Sheikh Muzaffer Özak Âșkî al-Jerrahi, who became his master and

guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Expl ...

in the

path. He embraced Lex as his spiritual son, and gave him the name Nur, divine light. Sheikh Muzaffer appointed him as the head of the community of American dervishes who gathered in the Masjid al-Farah in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Christianity

Hixon and his wife Sheila entered the Eastern Orthodox Church through the inspiration of Father Alexander Schmemann and studied at

St. Vladimir's Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Ort ...

Crestwood, New York Crestwood is a neighborhood in Yonkers, New York. Located in northeastern Yonkers, Crestwood is separated by the Bronx River from the village of Tuckahoe. Because the majority of Crestwood is served by the Tuckahoe post office, many residents ide ...

, for three years. He also traveled to Mount Athos.

Buddhism

Hixon and his wife received guidance in meditation from Venerable Lama Domo Geshe Rimpoche. Hixon studied Zen koans with

Tetsugen Bernard Glassman Bernie Glassman (January 18, 1939 – November 4, 2018) was an American Zen Buddhist roshi and founder of the Zen Peacemakers (previously the Zen Community of New York), an organization established in 1980. In 1996, he co-founded the Zen Peacem ...

, and Glassman posthumously ordained him as a Zen

sensei Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who comes ...

Hinduism

Hixon studied meditation with Swamis

Prabhavananda Swami Prabhavananda (December 26, 1893 – July 4, 1976) was an Indian philosopher, monk of the Ramakrishna Order, and religious teacher. He moved to America in 1923 to take up the role of assistant minister in the San Francisco Vedanta Society. ...

and Aseshananda.

Arts

Hixon studied

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

guitar with

Carlos Montoya Carlos García Montoya (13 December 19033 March 1993) in Madrid, Spain, was a prominent flamenco guitarist and a founder of the modern-day popular flamenco style of music. Early life He was the nephew of renowned flamenco guitarist Ramón Monto ...

and studied classical Indian music with

Vasant Rai Vasant Rai (1942–1985) was one of the world's most acclaimed masters of Indian music and played the Indo-Afghan instrument the sarod. Personal life and education Rai's family was from a small town in India called Unjha and he was born in Pari ...

, the sarod master.

Books

*''Coming Home: The Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Traditions'', 1978, 1989, 1995. *''The Heart of the Qur'an: An Introduction to Islamic Spirituality'', 1988, 2003. *''Recolección de la Miel (Gathering Honey)'', 1989. ISBN *''Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna'', 1992, 2002. *''Atom from the Sun of Knowledge'', 1993. *''Illahis of Shaykh Nur al-Jerrahi'', 1993. ISBN *''Mother of the Buddhas: Meditation on the Prajnaparamita Sutra'', 1993. *''Mother of the Universe: Visions of the Goddess and Tantric Hymns of Enlightenment'', 1994. *''Living Buddha Zen'', 1995. *''Sufi Meditation'', 1997. *''101 Diamonds: From the Oral Tradition of the Glorious Messenger Muhammad'' (translator, with Fariha al-Jerrahi), 2001.

Death

Hixon died of cancer at his home in Riverdale, New York, on November 1, 1995 at the age of 53.

References

Sources

New York Times obituary, November 9, 1995Yoga Journal Interview, Jan/Feb 1991
*''Coming Home'', 1989 & 1995 (2nd & 3rd Editions) biographical note (note differs in each edition). *Free Spirit Journal, April & May 1996: Article by Cassia Berman.

External links

Nurashkijerrahi.orgLexScape:A cyberspace memorial to Lex HixonInterviewed on public radio's Kindred Spirits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hixon, Lex 1941 births 1995 deaths 20th-century poets 20th-century American non-fiction writers American spiritual teachers American spiritual writers American Sufis Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy Sufi poets Converts to Islam Converts to Buddhism Deaths from cancer in New York (state)