Lex Hixon

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Lex Hixon
BornDecember 25, 1941 (1941-12-25)
Riverdale, New York
, US

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

Sufi author, poet, and spiritual teacher.[1] 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
.

Life and education

Hixon was born on December 25, 1941, in Pasadena, California, 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 in 1963, where he majored in philosophy, and he received a PhD in comparative religion from Columbia University in 1976. His doctoral thesis was on the Gaudapada Karika, a Sanskrit scripture of the very early Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy.

Early spiritual training

Hixon first studied prayer and meditation at the age of nineteen with

Lakota Sioux elder and Episcopal priest in Pierre, South Dakota. In 1966 he began his discipleship with Swami Nikhilananda of the Ramakrishna Mission, who headed the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York
. 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
, 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
Sheng Yen
; Christianity — Brother
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
; Hinduism —Hilda Charlton,
; Islam — ; Judaism — Rabbi .

Religious traditions

Islam and Sufism

On one of the shows, he met

Sufi 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.[2][3]

Christianity

Hixon and his wife Sheila entered the Eastern Orthodox Church through the inspiration of Father

Crestwood, New York
, 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, and Glassman posthumously ordained him as a Zen sensei
.

Hinduism

Hixon studied meditation with Swamis

.

Arts

Hixon studied flamenco guitar with Carlos Montoya and studied classical Indian music with Vasant Rai, the sarod master.

Books

Death

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

References

  1. ^ "Lex Hixon". www.srv.org. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. .
  3. ^ "Shaykh Nur al-Anwar al-Jerrahi".

Sources

External links