Subject: I wrote Sufism in India

[Guest guest]

philosophers,and encounters of Islam with Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism

left agreat impact on the mind of Muslim thinkers. Sufism, a

psycho-historic phenomenon that developed theesoteric side of Islam had

similarities with other mystic disciplines.The two defining features of Sufism

were transdence and immanence. Afully developed mystical experience involves

the apprehensions of alife time of an ultimate, non-sensuous unity in all

things, a one-nesstow which neither the sense nor the reason can penetrate

..Itentirely transcends our sensory-intellectual experience, and is

notnecessarily a religious experience. The experiences of all mystics,Hindu,

Jew, Christian or Muslim involve an intuitive or spiritualawareness of God,

which transcends empirical experience. Reality isindescribable and so

expressed in symbols, and the best medium forthat is poetry. The concept of

unity

of Being (wahdat-al-woojood) isneo-Platonic and much influenced by Vedantism

i.e., Advaita ornon-duality. Ascetism, purification and love assist Sufis in

findingthe universal self. Tawhid (tawheed) or Divine unification

isinexpressible and as log as he (Sufi) preserves his individuality, hecannot

attain the full state of Tawhid. Tasawof (tasawof) is that Godshould make you

de from yourself and make you live in Him. This iscalled Fana (fana)- the

concept of annihilation in God and isessentially Indian. It involves

i) obliteration of attributes, or characteristics of your

motives.ii) obliteration of your pursuit after pleasureiii) obliteration of

consciousness of having attained the vision of GodThis is similar to concept of

Nirvana". Both terms imply the passingaway of individual. But 'fana' is

accompanied by 'baqa',(baqaa)-everlasting life in God. In this respect it is

positive, and'nirvana' is not purely negative,

because the post 'nirvana' situationis neither existence nor non-existence. For

Sufis, Reality or Haqiqais inward vision of divine power. It is concerned with

knowing thedisposition of God. Contemplation of Him, witnessing and

understandingthe order He decreed. But Sharia' or law is concerned with

observanceof outward manifestation of religion, it regulates mankind in

serviceof God, thus dealing with rites, devotion, ibaadat, duties However,the

Sufis had charted a path for achieving their communion with God.The path was

called Tariqa-Tariqat the mystic path. It was an ardousjourney with risks and

impediments. You had to journey throughdifferent spiritual stagesi) acceptance-

Tawba (also called repentance of past, and v owingfor good

future)ii) conversion- inabatiii) renunciation- zuhd ( includes piousness),

andiv) trust in God- tawakul (it has a higher and lower degree)As Sufism spread

it became

victim of Tariqat and in this esoterism itdrifted from and came in conflict with

Shariat-law. In the earlierstages there was strict discipline to curb

charlatanism. But later itbecame legalistic system obsessed with

authoritarianism. There weresome executions of Sufis for Blasphemy and

Mansur-I-Hallaj - theIranian who said ' I am the truth', is a famous case.From

12th century onwards, the Sufis formed orders-as chains oflineages, and were

called 'silsilas'. Thus established a spiritualhierarchy. These orders absorbed

the main features of earlier Sufischools, but at the same time, relegating them

into the background,they developed a new framework pf their own and sometimes

there weremarked differences between the practices of different orders.

Someof the well-known orders were Soharwadis, Naqshbandees, and Chishtis.Each

sect onward evolved its own framework of mystic practices underthe guidance of

its director called Sheikh/Pir/Murshid. Often theideologies of different sects

were irreconcilable. Sufis brought theinstitution of monasteries into

prominence-called the Khanaqah(khaanaqaah), which was a Buddhist legacy. These

Khanaqahs becameimportant institutions for social and cultural interaction.The

influence of Buddhism, Vedantism (Advaita, non-duality), Saiviteson Sufism is

well known. The presence of Manchurian, and Sanskritscholars in remote regions

of Khorasan (Afghanistan) and central Asia,which were important centres of

Sufism between 8th and 10th century,has been established. When Sufis came to

India, the interactionbetween the two cultures was inevitable. From 11th

century onwardscontacts and conflicts between Sufis and Yogis became more

frequentand meaningful.the influences, such as Neo-Platonism, monastic

tradition of Buddhismand Christianity, and Vedantic Yogic, were all Islamicized

by

theseorders of Sufis. Sufis introduced a two way traffic-gave their best of

Yogic practices i.e., the Sufi practice of pas-i-nafas- holding ofbreath is

founded in Yogic Pranayama. Sufis infused a new vigour andforce on Indian

thinking on God. In this interaction, two sudden cultsdeserve special mention

Kashmiri Shaivism and Shante Nath cult of Bengal. The Rishi cult or order,

which was the Kashmiri version o0f Sufism,was founded by Nund -Rishi, the most

prominent saint of Kashmir in thebeginning of 15th century. The cross

fertilization of Sufi beliefswith those expressed by Lalla-(Lalla-Ded), the

greater saint poet ofKashmir, through her verses led to the establishment of

Rishi order.For Nund-Rishi, there could be no better source of inspiration

thanLalla-Ded. For Lal-Ded, the Supreme Reality, Or Shiva underlies

thechangeless reality. He is external, all pervading, all-transcendingand

immanent. He is

diffused throughout the universe in histranscendal state; beyond all universal

manifestations. She wasagainst rituals and priests, and believed in finding Him

within. NundRishi an ardent devotee of God was against Mullahs and hypocrisy.

Hebelieved in the valid recognition of the reality of self-He whorecognizes

himself, recognizes God (saying of P.Mohammed). He believedin renunciation and

simple living. He is known for his simplelanguage, and constant effort to

maintain harmony among differentcommunities. However, his faith in fundamentals

of Islam wasunshakable, and the essential character of his cult remained

Islamic. The impact of the interaction could be discerned in the works of

theBhakts or the proponents of Bhakti movement. Ramanuja (In the year1017 AD,

Ramanuja was born in the village of Perumbudur, abouttwenty-five miles west of

Madras and left the world in 1137) preachedthat individual human soul

is not identical with supreme, but afragment of it, dependent on Supreme Being.

It has a separateidentity, but both possessed reality. This was kind of

qualifieddualism. Kabir, the great Bhakti poet was absorbed in his quest

forSupreme, concerned with religious differences between Hindus andMuslims and

sick of false notions of superiority of religions,anti-Brahmin and against

rituals. His main concern was good action andwas absorbed in Tawhid (literary

meaning is monotheism but its largermeaning follows) i.e., in a state of self

effacement. According tohim. Man's spirit blends with infinity. His password

was Soham-I am He.The role of both medieval mysticism and Sufism in the history

ofIndian culture is often exaggerated.Sufis generally lived on the margin of

society, except in Kashmir,where Nund-Rishi had a wider appeal and popularity

with the masses.The orthodox religious schools showed no signs of

being Deviantlyaffected by this intrusion. However the influence of Sufism was

notshort lived. It has to be remembered that while orthodox sectionsmoved in

different spheres, the Sufis and Hindu saints remainedunconcerned. The Sufis

carried on a process of interaction and itsimpact was felt in the cultural

fields. Khanaqahs, the Sufimonasteries, had deep social, political, and

cultural influences. The`Urs' or annual celebrations-in Khanaqahs developed

into significantcultural institutions. Sufism introduced a wide range of

symbolism,which became an indispensable part of Persian poetry. The

mysticpoetry written in Hindi added a new dimension to the cultural scene.The

Hindi Sufi poets rebelled against all forms of religiousorthodoxy, formalism,

falsehood and hypocrisy, and introduced a newworld of spiritual bliss. Sufism

or the Sufi movement has left itsmark on the panorama of Indian culture.

---My

God is my Guru, He leads my sould from darkness into light, My Guru is my Guru,

he helps me learn and differentiate truth from untruth, My relatives are my

Gurus, they teach me unconditionally, continously,My Friends are my Gurus, they

teach me at every stage of life, in every meeting, My Neighbours are my Gurus, I

learn from them all my life, The strangers are my Gurus, I may or may never know

their names , but I names but I learn so much from them, My enemies are my

Gurus, they teach me by showing me my limitations, by critising me, So the

entire Universe is my Guru, I bow In front of all my Gurus in deep reverence

and humbleness and am grateful for their presence and sendthem my love and

peace and blessings , contionously, uninhabitedly, and till my soul exists.

Check out the new Front Page. www.