Malek Jan Nemati, affectionately nicknamed Jani, was born on December 11, 1906 in Jeyhounabad, a village in Iranian Kurdistan where she spent most of her life. Although she lived in a remote location, she was a lively and modern woman, well aware of the problems and challenges of her time. She dedicated herself to clarifying the spiritual questions of our existence and to defending the rights of human beings, especially those of women, in a rather unpropitious environment for such action. Her luminous life ended on July 15, 1993 at the age of 87 in Paris, where she had been staying for health-related reasons. She was buried in France in a small village called Baillou, where a memorial has been erected in her memory. Born into a family of notables from an ancient mystical lineage dating back to the 14th century, Jani's ancestors had settled approximately two hundred years ago in the village of Jeyhounabad. Not far from there stands Mount Bisotoun, renowned for its rock face in which the great Achaemenian King, Darius the Ist, had the narrative of his exploits engraved over 2500 years ago. At the turn of the century, Jeyhounabad, a typical village of clay houses, had about one hundred inhabitants whose main source of subsistence was agriculture. For a period of time, Jani's father, Haj Ne'mat (1871-1920), who was well-known for his honor and integrity, served as counselor to the governor of the region of Kermanshah. However, following an overwhelming spiritual experience in which he was called to the service of God, he fully devoted himself (as did his spouse) to the mystical path. Up until his very last days he lived a life marked by asceticism, contemplation, and sacred music. He authored numerous poetic works, including "The Book of the Kings of Truth", a hagiographic history in verse published under the direction of the French scholar and philosopher Henri Corbin, who considered it "an entire bible onto itself." Haj Ne'mat believed that all divine messengers, regardless of their particular religion or creed, stem from a unique Source. His willpower, incomparable faith, and sincere concern for the preservation of the original divine principles he had inherited from his tradition made him a sought-after, influential, and respected figure well beyond the geographical boundaries of his region. It was in such a context that Jani, the fifth of seven children, was born and raised. Prior to her birth, her father had relayed to his close ones that a soul of uncommon strength and purity would be entering their family. His eldest son, Ostad Elahi (1895-1974), born eleven years earlier, already demonstrated remarkable spiritual aptitude. As he did for Ostad, and contrary to the local custom that granted girls little or no consideration, Haj Ne'mat attended to Jani's moral and spiritual education with the utmost care. Jani's first difficult trial would come at the young age of thirteen, when she had to face the loss of her benevolent father. In spite of this loss, she continued to live in the same atmosphere of pure faith conducive to revelations and spiritual states. In keeping with her father's wishes, she decided not to marry in order to freely devote herself to her vocation, and wore a white outfit throughout her life symbolizing her union with God. Jani's next trial would come around the age of fourteen, when she began feeling a pain in her eyes that would intensify over time; by the age of twenty, she had completely lost vision in both eyes. Nevertheless, she used to say: "God took away my sight, but opened before me the door to the Kingdom of Heaven; no one can imagine what I have gained from this." Indeed, this opening of the spiritual universes increased Jani's aura and, in keeping with her family tradition and the spiritual saints of the past, she accomplished many miracles and her words carried divine impact. Those who came to see her often had various requests-the recovery of a loved one or the ability to bear children, for example-and she would regularly grant them with compassion and generosity. But, as she said, "The spiritual universes are so vast that I was disoriented after my father left. Relentlessly, I sought a spiritual direction that would take me to the Source. Only when I was about thirty did I find this axis in my brother, Ostad Elahi. Everything I have understood and conveyed since then are his principles and teachings. Everything I know comes from him. I am very happy that he accepted me as his student." In line with her brother, with whom she was united through a special spiritual bond and great fondness, Jani opted for a more rational approach to spirituality, one that according to Ostad was better suited to the nature of the mind and based on self-knowledge and discernment. For more than twenty years, she lived either in Jeyhounabad or by her brother's side as he traveled to various towns in Iran on judicial assignments. During that time, she deepened her thought and educated herself, benefiting from her close proximity to him. Before leaving this world, Ostad entrusted Jani with the responsibility of continuing his teachings. After he left, she maintained a constant inner relationship with him and was thus able to develop the principles he had set forth. "Even after having left us," she would say, "he continued to teach me and never abandoned me." Jani had such affection and benevolence towards others that she was at once a mother, a sister, an advisor, a confidant, a refuge, and a guide for those who sought to draw closer to the Divine. Despite her desire to live a discreet life, as her renown slowly expanded so, too, did the number of people who came to see her in order to benefit from her aura and teachings. People from all over the world, of all creeds and backgrounds, even those who were initially atheists, came to visit Jani. For health-related reasons and at the request of her family members, Jani left her village in 1993 and went to France, where she remained for the brief duration of her life. Her purity and virtue elevated her to the rank of a saint in her country of birth, where her memory is honored by thousands of people. Jani left behind approximately forty manuscripts written in Kurdish and Persian in which she relates her spiritual experiences and her intimate conversations with the Lord. Among these works are her advice and recommendations to women, as well as a few compilations of poems that bear witness to her taste for mystic poetry.
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