Dr. Ghazi Brax passed away on December 28, 2014, after 2 years and 1 month from the passing away of his soulmate and wife, Najwa Salam Brax, and 30 years from the departure of our Beloved and Guiding Prophet, Dr. Dahesh. Our Beloved Dr. Dahesh once wrote: “Life is like a flash, it strikes and then gone.” It is very difficult to believe that time had passed by so quickly! It wasn’t long that I was living the spring days of my life, and now I am entering the autumn days. I am sure it won’t be long before it is time for me to depart from this world to begin another life somewhere in this vast universe. Our Beloved Dr. Dahesh also wrote: “People are asleep! They are awakened when they die!” Only after death, that many of the mysteries of existence are unveiled to the Soul. Once we shed our physical bodies, the Soul will become aware of all the lives it had lived since the creation of the universe(s) and the reason for living each of these lives. On December 28, 2014, Ghazi Brax was awakened!
My first recollection of meeting Dr. Brax was during my early teen years in Beirut, Lebanon. At the time, Dr. Brax held a series of informational sessions about Daheshism held at the clinic of the late Daheshist, Dr. Fareed Abu Suleiman. My impression of him at the time was that of a very knowledgeable and dedicated individual. As I progressed through my teen years, I would occasionally run into him at the house of the Mission during my family visits to our Beloved Dr. Dahesh. Then the Lebanese civil war broke out in 1975 and I left Lebanon to the United States to study. In 1976, the balance of my family also moved to the United States, as well as, our Beloved and Guiding Prophet.
I did not see Dr. Brax until late May, 1978, when many Daheshists congregated in a New York suburb to celebrate June 1, which is the birthday of our Beloved and Guiding Prophet. Among those that arrived from Lebanon was Dr. Brax, who rented an apartment in Manhattan after the celebration, and at times, our Beloved Dr. Dahesh, would stay with him. I recall visiting them, along with my family, in that apartment. Dr. Brax returned to Lebanon and I did not see him until late December of 1979, when I made a trip to Beirut to spend a few days at the house of the Mission with our Beloved and Guiding Prophet. I recall vividly when Dr. Dahesh told me that Dr. Brax is engaged to Najwa Salam. Dr. Brax was present and a great smile filled his face. I congratulated him and then returned to the United States not to see him again until late 1986, when he migrated to the United States and took the position of Managing Editor at the Daheshist Publishing Company, in New York City.
From 1986 through mid 1992, I had very little contact with Dr. Brax. He was busy preparing some of the books of our Beloved Dr. Dahesh for printing, and I was busy running a business. By 1992, I finished a book titled “Daheshism and the Journey of Life” and I printed about 10 books as a first draft before going to press. I sent 3 books to the Daheshist Publishing Company for review and editing. Dr. Brax, Fares Zaatar, and Fawzi Berjass took on the task. We communicated back and forth and I implemented most of the changes they had recommended. It was also the beginning of a friendship that lasted for over 20 years with Dr. Brax and Fares Zaatar. I would talk over the phone at least once every week with Dr. Brax, where we would discuss a number of topics, but mostly the state of the Daheshist Mission and I would visit them once or twice a year.
At the time, I was active in publishing articles on Daheshism in a newspaper that caters to the Arab-American/Arab Canadian populations. This created some rift between certain Daheshists and myself. Finally, in 1995, Dr. Brax arranged a meeting with one of the trustees of our Beloved Prophet’s heritage and myself. The meeting ended with an agreement that I would seize to publish articles in the aforementioned newspaper. Instead, I would publish in a Daheshist magazine to be formed, as per the wishes of our Beloved and Guiding Prophet. In 1995, the first issue was published and I had an article in it. Unfortunately, I did not continue my contribution to the magazine because certain individuals wanted to alter my articles—something that I deemed as a form of censorship. Instead, I decided to concentrate my efforts on writing and publishing online. In August of 2001, subliminally, I felt strongly that Dr. Brax and his wife visit me in Virginia and went to the extent of sending them the airline tickets. It turned out that they were planning to visit for reasons mentioned in their autobiography. It was their only visit to Virginia together, while I visited them at least once a year—usually the day after Thanksgiving.
After years of little or no progress in promoting Daheshism, I focused my efforts on creating a Daheshist website that is not based on personal opinion, rather on substantiated historical facts and known Daheshist teachings. I had hopes that many Daheshists would join the effort, and it would be a cause that helps bring Daheshists together, however, things did not turn out that way. In 2004, upon my request, Dr. Brax was instrumental in providing me with a site plan and in reviewing some of the translations that I created. I am neither a linguist, nor a competent translator, nonetheless, after years of translating works of Our Beloved, newspaper and magazine articles, and certain Daheshist publications and documents, the end result was a site that conveys to the seeker accurate information about Dr. Dahesh and Daheshism.
Since our Beloved and Guiding Prophet is no longer in our midst, it was my wish that if I am to marry, then I would like Dr. Brax to write the Holy Daheshist Ramz to initiate the Spiritual union—as per the Daheshist Rituals. By 2006, I was very much in love with a woman, and we both agreed that it would be Dr. Brax who would initiate our Spiritual union. I requested from Dr. Brax to do just that on July 29, 2006, while visiting him and his wife, we took the sacred oath of marriage. In less than a year, Dr. Brax had to comfort, advise, and reassure me for years after the sacred oath of marriage was breached and my life was turned upside down.
In November of 2012, I was supposed to visit him, as it was customary for me to do so after Thanksgiving, however, I couldn’t reach him. The second day, he called me and he was crying saying that his wife, Najwa had died. It was a shock to his system and mine! She was his junior and she did not have medical issues. She just died in her sleep. Dr. Brax was devastated. It was too late to travel that evening, however, I did so before the crack of dawn the following day. I arrived around 11 am and spent time with him trying to comfort him as much as possible. The second day, he needed to take care of some financial matters at the bank and soon after, I convinced him to stay with me for several days in Virginia. I noticed that he was repeating himself a lot and I became suspicious that it is a medical issue. When I took him back to New York, he had a doctor’s appointment and I took him there. I slipped a note to his doctor saying that he is getting forgetful. He ordered extensive tests, and yes, my hunch was unfortunately correct. He was suffering from early stages of dementia and prescribed medicine for him in order to slow it down.
For two years, I would talk to him every evening and listen to his depressed conversations about the loss of his wife and how eager he was to depart from this world. Very often, he would break into crying. His memory was fading more and more. He was no longer able to read or write. In October of 2014, he had to be admitted to a hospital and later on released to an assisted living facility, because he can no longer take care of himself. During his short stay there, he fell on his head and things took a very sharp turn to the worst. He was no longer able to walk and recognize individuals. He was in hospice care and I visited him in December knowing that it would be my farewell visit. I couldn’t believe how bad his situation was. As the nurses were bathing him, I can hear his crying. He did not recognize me and I spent few hours with him. After I left him, I visited the resting place of our Beloved and prayed to God Almighty to ease his suffering. On December 28, 2014, he left this world after a life full of struggle and hard work for the sake of what he believed in.
I was happy for his departure, because he now can live a happier life and be united with our Beloved Prophet and also with his soulmate Najwa. May God elevate their Spiritual rank and place them in a lofty celestial paradise. However, I was very sad, because his loss is great for the Daheshist religion. No matter what, he had finished the Book of Daheshism and sent it to the publishing company to be prepared for printing. This book contains thousands of pages and will serve as a guide for anyone who is interested in Daheshism. He also coauthored his autobiography with his wife in 4 volumes shortly before she passed away.
May his hard work and dedication to his faith, and the righteous life he lived, be an inspiration to all of us. Also, may his writings be a lighthouse for Spiritual enlightenment to all of humanity. He was more than a friend to me, for he was a mentor and a father figure.
Godspeed,
Mounir Murad
January 11, 2015
The 2nd of May
Let this blessed day shine by the rhythms of its word of light, and let’s sour with it, remembering the blessed deeds of Dr. Ghazi who is Dr. Dahesh’s student; Dr. Dahesh, our guide, who quenches each thirst and hunger in us, burning it with the everlasting dew of his eternal waterfall of his heart’s ether.