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Contribution of Chishty Sufis to Indian culture and society:
The message of Gharib Nawaz and the Saints
of Chishtiya denomination was echoed by the Saints of Bhakti movement.
The fact that the religious leadership of the Bhaki movement in the 14th
and the 15th centuries came from the lower strata of Hindu society a
section which had been deeply influenced by the Chishty Sufis and their
Khanqah life is too significant to be ignored. Probably never before in
the long history of Hinduism, religious leaders had sprung from those
strata of society to which Chaitanya, Kabir, Nanak, Dhanna, Dadu and
others belonged. There was hardly any Saint of the Bhakti school who had
not passed some of his time in a Khanqah of Chishty Saint.
A mind which failed to see any wisdom or truth in any way of life or
thought except his own, was the greatest obstacle to the growth of
syncretistic tendencies. The Chishty Saints adopted an attitude of
sympathy and understanding towards all cults and creeds. For example
Amir Khusrau, an exponent of Chishty ideology and a favourite and
beloved disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya exhorted his
co-religionists : A-e-K-e-Zebut Tana ba Hindu Bari, Hum Azo Amoz
Parastishgari. (O you who sneer at the idolatry of the Hindu, learn also
from him how worship is done.)
This broad and cosmopolitan outlook helped in breaking that spirit of
mistrust and isolation which honeycombed relations between the various
culture groups of India and paved way for rapprochement at all levels,
social and ideological. Amir Khusrau who is, by far, the most powerful
exponent of this attitude of Chishty Sufis, refers to Hindu customs and
ceremonials in a spirit which must have been instrumental in discovering
the principles of essential unity between different religions.
Sufi Hameeduddin Nagauri adopted the life style of Rajasthani peasants.
He became a vegetarian, mixed with the local inhabitants and learnt
their language. Baba Farid lived upon Pelu and dela which grow in
Punjab. Eminent Sufis and Yogis used to meet at his Jamaat Khana to
discuss and practise Sufism. His Punjabi poetry which is full of
teachings and mysticism is given place in Guru Grantha Saheb as it was
very much liked by Guru Nanak Ji. Shiekh Nizamuddin Aaulia attracted
largest crowds after Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti. Thousands of people
used to live upon the Langar distributed from his langar khana. Such
people included Muslims as well as Non-Muslims. His broad-mindedness can
be adjudged by the fact that once he saw a procession of Hindu devotees
with music and chanting proceeding towards Jamuna. He uttered “Har quame
raast rahey din-ey wa quibla gahey” i.e. every people has its own path
of righteousness, beliefs and focus of adulation. This shows the inborn
sense of toleration and appreciation of other religious traditions by
Chishty Sufis
Chishty Sufi Hazrat Amir Khusro is the embodiment of cultural ethos of
India by being inventor of Sitar and so many Ragas, Raginis, Pahelis,
Geet and Sufi renderings and so he is called Tuti-e-Hind (Nightingale of
India)
Music has been another field to which the Chishty saints contributed
generously. They came to realize that, like poetry, music also
stimulated emotions to the ecstatic state, necessary for union with God.
The Chishtiya order, sanctioned Sama based on musical rhythms that
enhanced the effect of poetry. They enabled the devotee to plunge into a
state of trance called Haal. The effectiveness of Sama can be gauged by
the fact that many Sufis embraced death while listening to certain
poetic lines which intensely affected their heart. It is said that
Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki spiritual successor of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin
Hasan Chishty (R.A.) surrendered his life while hearing the following
lines:
Kushtagan-e-khanjar-e-taslim ra
Har zamana ghaib jane digarast.
(To those who have been killed by the dagger of submission,There comes
new life every moment from the unseen world.)
Chishty order of Sufis, and their spiritual
mission is to shatter the barriers which stands between man and man for
diverse reasons and knit them together in common bond of fraternity,
love, regardless of religion, caste or creed affiliations. We also
believe and practise that God is symbolic of love and the entire
humanity in its diverse form constitute a single family. It is indeed
almost a-kin and similar to the VEDANTA PRINCIPLE “VASU DHEVA KUTUMBAKAM"
(THE WORLD IS ONE FAMILY) |
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