Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, was his father’s (Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan) successor and during his fifty years as head of the Sufi Order International (now succeeded by the Inayatiyya) became an internationally-recognized spiritual teacher and master of meditation. He was an avid student of many religious and spiritual traditions and incorporated the rich mystical heritage of East and West into his teachings, adding to it the scholarship of the West in music, science, and psychology. He initiated dozens of international inter-religious conferences as well as convening spiritual and scientific leaders for public dialogues. He founded the Abode of the Message, (now The Abode an Eco-Sufi Village) a spiritual community in the Berkshires for over forty years, and Omega Institute, a flourishing learning center.

He published many books on aspects of meditation and realization. His last book, In Search of the Hidden Treasure (2003), is an imagined congress of classic Sufi mystics commenting on contemporary and universal themes.

Pir Vilayat passed on June 17, 2004 in Suresnes, France. His Dargah is in Nizamuddin West, Delhi, India not far from his father’s Dargah and that of Nizamuddin Awlia. Many pilgrims visit his Dargah on the Urs and during the Urs celebrations of Hazrat Inayat Khan and Khwaja Nizamuddin Awlia, may Allah have mercy on them all.