Living In Truth

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Living In Truth

 

(This series of articles attempts to draw the attention of the readers towards

the path and the conduct)

 

Since ancient times mystic India has allured the travellers from all over the

world . The metaphysics, Vedantic school, Upanishads and ashrams of sages

provided guidance to the seeker on the path while allowing the general milieu to

continue their association with institutions built around arth (materialism

wealth) . Similar features also present themselves in other civilizations, e.g

the Egyptian Civilization. However examples of repressive regime, conflicts in

the form of branching of new sects / religion also punctuated the development of

the Civilization.

 

Hinduism, which in fact is a way of life (code of conduct), draws much of it

thoughts and metaphysics from Vedas and Upanishads. The most outstanding

contribution of this school was the ability to assimilate the thoughts and

cultures of distant shores and this is reflected in the existence of large

number of Sufi Shrines of Muslim Saints in many parts of the country. Perhaps no

other country has such a rich heritage of spiritual, cultural and social

integration.

 

Sufis are a class of mystics. The word Sufi has several meanings in

Arabic. It means “wool†– the Sufi dervishes often wore a

simple woolen cloak hall mark of simplicity, purity and non attachment on the

path of self realization. The Sufi dervishes carried within them the love of

God, (also termed as beloved, Saki, Friend etc.) which they shared with

other fellow travellers.

 

The path is often lonely, punctuated with personal trials and tribulations. The

guidance of the Spiritual Master (Murshid, Pir, Yaar,

Sheikh etc.) is very similar to that of the sages/gurus/ Rishis of Indian

culture. The love of the Master/Pir (guru) transformed the child

Murid(shishya) into a self realized state which surpassed normal human

emotions. Only the Perfect Master could see the spark of divinity and help it

blossom. Could there be a more intimate relationship? It is said that when

Mulana Rumi met Shems Tarbiz another Sufi mystic, he lost himself in his Master.

The love between the Master and the disciple baffled the then existing social

hierarchy and only a few could comprehend it. The Masnavis of Rumi continue to

guide. The wives of the Saints were also realized souls as in the case of Sheikh

Muinnidin Chisti as also in the case of Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa.

 

Around the sixth century, Sufism made its presence in India. Sheikh Moinuddin

Chisti, disciple of Sheikh Usan Haruni, a great Saint belonging to Chistiyya

Silsila (school), arrived in India and ultimately made Ajmer his abode. The

spiritual wealth of Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti provided succour to both Hindu and

Muslim alike who revered the Saint as “Khawaja Garib Nawazâ€. Sufi

saints underlined the necessity of being Garib i.e. a sense of complete

detachment from the material world and complete surrender to the God. No

wonder,the Saints though bestowed with great spiritual wealth / powers often

went without food for days, lived in penury smilingly as a gift of God (Allah)

while continuing to remove the diseases, afflictions and maladies of the

aggrieved persons.

 

As Baba says

 

Garib rakho par Karib rakho

(Quote: Sai Charan Se)

 

Shri Shirdi Sai often said “Faquiri avval badshahi and Allah

Malik, very similar to Sufi Saints. The principles of spiritual science

remain the same till date. Only a faquir – one lost in the contemplation

of God (Allah) - can be karib (near) to God. The faquirs often led normal lives,

raised families while silently looking within very much similar to Indian saints

like Kabir, Raidas etc. Only a person who is Karib (near) to God could be a

Faquir(a completely detached person) or vice versa, while still working in the

physical domain. No wonder then, God himself protected His own  a state of

complete surrender.

 

It was not unusual for the Masters to be presented with wealth by the so called

existing rich persona of the society. Strange are the ways of the world. A

faquir possessor of immeasurable wealth - was always presented with a measurable

token of respect by the rich elements of society indifferent to the fact that

wealth of the Master could only be partaken with the blessings / grace of the

Master based on ones own endeavour / conduct .

 

The Sheikh /Master led the pupil on to the path of detachment by example. The

Nath yogis of India too follow a similar path. It was not uncommon to see the

Rulers of the State paying a visit to the Sheikh to seek divine blessings, which

however were not very welcomed by the Sufi Saints for apparent reasons.

 

The gifts presented to the Sheikh were distributed as alms amongst the poor,

used to run “langarsâ€/ provide food to hungry, for social purposes

such as building social and spiritual institutions etc,. leaving the Sheikh

again in abject poverty by the end of the day. Shri Shirdi Sai also used the

dakshina that he received from various persons to renovate the Hanuman Temple,

Ganapati temple in Shirdi apart from giving money to the poor.

 

In Ajmer, the degâof Khwaja Garib Nawaz till today feeds the poor. Sheikh

Nizamudin Auliya of Delhi too fed the poor from the presents gifted by the rich.

Examples of refusal to receive the gifts from the Rulers too abound. While the

act of feeding the poor is an act of charity per se, yet the underlying current

of complete surrender to the divine's will, cannot be missed.

 

The feeding of the masses also fulfilled a larger objective of social

integration where rich and poor alike received Prasad / langar from the home of

the Master, The practice of distributing Prasad in temples, Gurudwara etc

continue on the same principle.

 

Shri Shirdi Sai too ran a Kitchen, often taking keen interest in personally

buying lentils, spices etc to prepare Khichdi himself, to feed the

devotees. The khichdi was served by Shri Shirdi Sai himself to the devotees and

was partaken with relish in company of Baba. The dakshina that Baba received

during the day was used in giving alms, feeding the poor, running the Kitchen

etc., leaving nothing at the end of the day. Baba often at times refused gifts /

dakshina from people, similar to Sufi Saints.

 

It is important to understand the significance of refusal by the Master to

receive dakshina / gifts from all. The state of realization - the purity of

conduct merits acceptance / denial of the gift. Dakshina / Gift is in itself

symbolic of the purity of the conduct. It is said that Shri Guru Nanak Dev once

refused to partake food from the house of a rich merchant. Instead, he ate the

morsel of food (chapati) that a poor farmer had brought for him. On being asked

the reason, Shri Guru Nanak Dev squeezed the rotis brought by the rich merchant

to find blood oozing out of the same. How could then such food / gift be

accepted by a Master.

 

The Masters always look at the internal state of the followers. Hazrat Baba

Tajuddin Auliya (whose mazaar is in Nagpur) was once sitting in his darbar . As

was then the norm, people from all strata had come to pay respects to the Baba

Tajuddin. Many had come with expensive gifts including costly sweets. Seeing

this, a lady who was very poor, could not gather enough strength to request Baba

Tajuddin to eat the simple food that she wanted Baba to partake. Instead she

kept the food near the jamun tree. During lunchtime Baba Tajuddin asked his

attendants to procure the food kept near the tree and partook only that

food,while refusing the other costly sweets. The Masters are one - only their

persona

and external appearance varies. Is it not amazing that people of all creeds and

religions seek Baba's blessings.

 

The disciples of such Saints too follow the conduct of the Master. Sheikh

Bakhtiyar Kaki was a disciple of Sheikh Moinuddin Chisti. Though possessor of

great spiritual wealth, which he frequently invoked to provide relief to the

poor and aggrieved, including rich persons, his family often went without food

for days together despite small help from a neighbours wife. On continuous

lamentations of his wife and on his prayers, the God agreed to provide roti

(called Kaki) daily for his family and ended his travails.

 

Similarly, Narendra (later called Shri Vivekananda) on seeing the pitiable

condition of his family members, frantically looked around for steady job to

provide succour and income for his family members. He failed in his endeavour

and besieged Shri Ramakrishna to intercede on his behalf. Shri Ramakrishna

directed Narendra to seek the boon from Ma Kali; every time Narendra went to Ma

Kalis temple he could not ask for material gains but instead sought wisdom,

realizatio etc. On coming out of the temple and on

realizing the physical domain, he sought help from his Master Shri Ramakrishna

Paramhansa who promised him that his family members would always receive income

sufficient to feed and clothe themselves, thus ending Narendra's trials.

 

ShrShri Shirdi Sai also gave such solemn promise to his devotees as stated in

Sai Satcharita. Shri Shirdi Sai stated that his devotees shall always have

sufficient income to clothe and feed themselves. What else is required to to

follow the path?

 

On a higher plane, the trial of the disciple was also a trial of the Master.

Could Narendra really have asked for material wealth from Ma Kali even after

being in contact with the Master Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa? Can One who has

seen the Ultimate ask for anything less fine for his disciple and allow his

disciple to choose the same? As is said, the path is full of delusions,trappings

etc and a Master is needed to reach the goal. The life sketch of Sufi Saints

depicts remarkable similarity. Loss of parents at a tender age, personal

deprivation, heaping of personal degradations by the so called sane elements of

the society and terming them as Kafir / pagal abound.

 

An interesting Sufi Story aptly brings this to the fore. A Sufi Saint (also

called as master) used to roam naked in the street with children throwing

stones at the Saint and elderly people calling him a madman. As per the rule of

that land, all mad men were executed. Soon the news reached the King who ordered

him to be produced in the Court. In the royal Court, the King asked him whether

it was true that he was indeed a mad person. To this the Sufi replied : People

who are wise call me a mad man. I pray to God to increase their wisdom and to

increase my madness. The King at once begged forgiveness and ordered his

release.

 

Shri Shirdi Sai during initial days of his stay in Shirdi was termed as

Pagal by the local populace. Shri Gajanan Mahraj of Sheogaon lived in near

naked condition during his lifetime. Saint Sarmad was termed as Kafir by

the Moulavis and was sentenced to death during Aurangzeb's regime. It is said

that Aurangzeb once requested the Saint Sarmad to cover his nakedness with the

blanket. Saint Sarmad unfolded the folds of his blanket for King Aurangzeb to

see the blood drenched beheaded faces of his brothers whom he (King) had got

murdered, which depicted the nakedness of the misdeeds of Aurangzeb. Unnerved

and rattled, Aurangzeb left the presence of Saint Sarmad. Soon, due to

persistent intrigue and other factors, Saint Sarmad was termed as Kafir

(infidel) and executed. As is the wont of Sufi Saints to go along and play with

nature, they seldom correct the so called correct prevalent perceptions of the

society and accept death.

 

While on one hand, disbelief in the divine nature of Saints by the wise men of

society abounds, yet examples of a selected few reposing utmost faith and

surrender in the Godliness of the Saints, is also manifested. A similar

situation arose in the life history of Shri Shirdi Sai, Shri Tajuddin Auliya,

Shri Gajanan Maharaj , Hazrat Babajaan (of Pune) , Saint Sarmad , Rabia etc.

 

Hazrat Babajaan of Pune (a Sufi woman saint) was termed as paagal by the local

populace until her sighting by the Afgani paathans (soldiers) who

recognized her as the persona whom they had met during their sojourn in

Afghanistan .Thereafter, people in Pune realized the greatness of the

matriarch.Shri Shirdi Sai in the initial days was recognized as a Saint on his

arrival by Mahalsapathy (priest of Khandoba temple), tenderly looked after with

motherly affection by Baijabai and other selected few only. Hazrat Tajudin

Auliya was recognized as a divine person by Raja Bhonsle of Nagpur who sought

his release from the prison where he was kept by British Administration for 16

years. Shri Kashinath of Waki looked at Baba Tajuddin as a Living God and

worshipped Him as such.

 

Saint Rabia of Basra (now Iraq) - a woman Mystic- was sold as a slave girl.

While working as a slave girl , she prayed at night to ask for His forgiveness

for not praying during the day. One night, her master looked through the window

and found a divine halo surrounding Rabia while she was in praying. He realized

his folly and set her free, begging her forgiveness and offering her gifts /

riches etc. Saint Rabia of Basra declined all the gifts accepting only her

release as a means to offer prayers to Him during daytime too. The path followed

by the mystical Saints were often turbulent and yet they steadfastly held on to

the path seeking HIM.

 

Saint Rabia said

 

If I seek You for the fear of Hell, put me in Hell.

If I seek you for love of Heaven, Banish me from Heaven.

Allow me to seek You for Your sake.

 

Can this path be then easily explained in words and articles? No wonder,

then,often Saints provide example by living conduct instead of lengthy

discourses and consistently refused to be drawn into discussions / controversies

with other religious zealots of the day. Even their silence incurred the wrath

of zealots.