Ep296: Sufi Music Master - Gerald Ilyas Klawatsch

In this episode, I am joined by Gerald Ilyas Klawatsch, Sufi musician, music therapist, and founder of the international Ensemble Ak Pirim.

Ilyas recalls stories of his Sufi path, his meeting and discipleship under his Sufi sheik, and stories of profound spiritual connection and transcendence through devotional music and religious practice.

Ilyas describes Sufism as a love relationship, reveals his own difficult childhood, and explains how to stabilise divine ecstasy in the human body.

Ilyas also tells the remarkable life story of his spiritual teacher, emphasises the importance of testing a guru, and reflects on the healing potential of religious practice.

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Video version: www.guruviking.com

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Names and titles in Sufism
02:46 - The death of Gerald’s master, Dr Rahmi Oruc Guvenc
03:51 - - Death of the lineage
05:54 - Why didn’t Dr Rahmi Oruc Guvenc pass on his lineage?
07:18 - The intended heir
07:40 - Gerald’s guitar studies and finding Sufism
11:40 - Meeting the master
15:00 - Early Sufi training with the master
17:22 - Sufism is a love relationship
21:47 - Dynamics in the early relationship with the master
23:43 - The remarkable life of Dr Rahmi Oruc Guvenc
36:21 - Islamic Sufism vs Universalist Sufism
38:41 - The love relationship and awakening the heart
44:29 - Stabilising the ecstasy
48:03 - Effects of being in relationship with a master
51:25 - How Gerald dealt with the pain of a difficult upbringing
55:15 - Healing the pain
57:49 - Gerald falls to his knees in front of the master
01:07:58 - Testing the teacher
01:10:33 - Sufi music therapy

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To find out more about Gerald Ilyas Klawatsch, visit:
- bengusu.com/g-ilyas-klatsch
- youtube.com/@akpirimensemble

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James