link between hinduism and ismalism

danu · Joined: 09 Sep 2003 Posts: 12

As has been already mentioned above, it would be preposterous to attempt to offer a general summary of the Sat-Panth dogma and practice before its literature is properly studied. All that may be offered here is a few explanatory notes which perhaps may be useful to the reader by drawing his attention to certain points.

The most important point, however, should be the advice to exercise patience and restraint in the discovery of various "influences" in the doctrine. We must not forget even for a moment that this religion is of a very late origin. Its ingredients, i.e., the elements which composed that unique combination, both Islamic and Hinduistic, themselves had a very long evolution, absorbed many influences, local modifications and adjustments to new conditions. It would be no exaggeration to say that we probably know even less about mediaeval popular Hinduistic beliefs than we do about their Islamic corresponding numbers.

There is no doubt, indeed, that the form of Islam which has given Satpanth a final touch was Persian Nizari Ismailism of a very late date. But, surely, it was by no means the only form of Islamic ideology which went into the melting pot. Mediaeval Sind was not only the land of Islam, of the orthodox beliefs, but also to a very great extent the land of the Sufis, of varied learnings. As Sufic organisations surely stood incomparably nearer to the non-Islamic rural population than the learned theologians of the cities, we must expect, and really do find, many traces of Sufic influences.

Not being a specialist on Hinduism, I cannot take upon myself to discuss the extent to which Tantrism influenced Satpanth. If Tantrism, especially the cult of Shakti, was the autochthonous religion of pre-Aryan India, particularly associated with the Dravidian population, it would be necessary to ascertain how far it was spread in Sind. As is known, the province in which it is particularly common is the opposite side of India, namely Bengal. There is also another question, which perhaps may sound very paradoxical : are those practices which look very similar to Ali-Ilahism genuinely old? There is a general tendency to treat every thing in Hinduism as coming from immense antiquity, a tendency which is by no means reliable in every case. 1. Cosmogony, it seems, remains entirely Hinduistic, with all its mythological elements, hyperbolism, "astronomical" figures in the calculation of periods, etc.

2. God, as the Creator and Supreme Ruler of the Universe, despite mythological Hindu names, appears to be a purely Islamic idea, contrary to the system of the cosmology. Significantly, Satpanth chiefly uses foreign terms to express the idea : Persian term khud� , rarer Allah, and only much more rarely the Indian terms Ishvar or Parmeshvar. Equally, the basic idea of the Creator is chiefly rendered by the Arabic (through Persian) Kh�liq . Bhirma, the Hindu term, is rarely used. The idea is somewhat vague, however because the gnans do not enter theological discussions, and because the idea of God is very closely associated with that of the Imam.

3. Im�m, as has been mentioned above, the idea of the Imam here appears in its later Nizari form, as the Manifestation of the Divine Light, i.e. Divine Intelligence and Creative Will. The Satpanth Imam bears closer resemblance to the Christian Jesus than to the Hindu Parmeshvar. As a purely Hinduistic feature, everywhere in evidence there is that characteristic vagueness, or rather "blurredness" of the ideas. It is by no means easy to discern the difference in the attributes of the Supreme Deity, the Im�m , and the Pir , just as in Hindu speculations distinctions between the Supreme God the Brahman, the sacrificed offerings, etc., are all, intentionally or otherwise, rendered imperceptible.

The Imam, who is technically termed Sh�h , or Nar 1, residing in the mysterious countries of the remote West, in strict disguise, and continually "reviving", in the sense of the transfer of his powers from, father to son, was obviously little more than an abstraction for the ordinary member of the community. Although the usual hyperbolism of the gnans makes some Pirs visit him, in company with something like 120 millions of followers at a time, nobody could possibly take this literally, seeing in the abnormal number merely a sign of devotion and piety on the part of the author.

4. Guru, or Pir Just as in Hinduism, the most important participant of the Divine Substance becomes the Guru, or Pir 2, the term obviously derived from Sufism, and standing instead of the post-Alam�t Persian term hujjat have already emphasised elsewhere the fact that late Nizari Ismailism of Persia in a striking way repeats the earliest theories of Ismailism, only promoting each rank to the next highest. The Imam becomes divinized ,the hujjat Pir takes the functions of the early Imam and the idea of the hierarchy of dignitaries, already given up in Persia, becomes atrophied.3 The religious and political aims which the dawat organisation had to pursue became obviously unattainable under the changed circumstances, and Nizari Ismailism became the religion of personal salvation, just as other forms of Islam.

The Pir , who is the "door", b�b , to the Imam, i.e of paramount importance, because without him no one can attain the knowledge of the Imam, and God. As in Christianity and some other religions, the ordinary mortal is incapable of comprehending the Divine nature ,and this could only be done by one who participates in the Divine substance. Thus the Guru becomes a parallel to Christ, consubstantial to God, and yet born as a mortal. He is thus a link between God and man, really the " door", b�b, of the Imam, without whose guidance and instruction all efforts of the individual may remain futile and fruitless. The most remarkable feature of this doctrine is the disregard of the earlier institution of the dawat hierarchy which formed the channels through which the Imam's (later the Pir's ) instruction should flow to all sections of the community. Strangely, no such apparatus is ever mentioned. The Pir is everything, but it does not require much imagination to see that he can directly guide a comparatively very small proportion of the whole Jamat 4 . It seems that there is no arrangement for those individuals or communities who for various reasons are deprived of the possibilities of coming into personal contact with the Pir . Satpanth knows no priests. 5 The head of the community in every place is the local mukhi or headman, whose functions are rather those of a honorary magistrate and president of the parish. He is assisted by his kamadiya (pronounced kamriya), who is the honorary secretary and treasurer, and has no religious functions whatever. These dignitaries are not supposed to carry out any instructional duties. Such duties are often relegated to special functionaries, apparently corresponding with earlier dais of different ranks. It is also remarkable, however, that not only is the term dai never used, but it even had never been replaced by a proper term derived from the Indian languages. Formerly he was called bhagvat , which really means "devotee, ascetic". Now the English term "missionary" is in use.

The Satpanth tradition makes the Pirs at least the last five, form a dynasty. There are, however, apparently no dogmatic reasons for Pir -ship being hereditary. During the Fatimid period there were, or at least were expected to be, always 24 hujjats , promoted from the ranks of talented and efficient da'is surely not on account of any hereditary rights. The late Nizari doctrine of the hujjat as a supernatural "witness" of the Imam's identity, the only speaker on his behalf, was, as has been mentioned above, accompanied by the practice of the dignity of the hujjat being conferred only upon the Imam's closest relatives. 6 It is, however, obvious that the new practice by no means implied the post being hereditary. After centuries of merciless persecutions, the Ismaili community in Persia most probably had shrunk to a great extent, and no longer required any complex organisation for its control. We know nothing as to how the Imams of that period generally exercised their control and guidance of the communities in such remote corners as in Sind, Badakhsh�n, etc. In the Satpanth community tradition is preserved that the Imams kept their relations ,with their followers through special emissaries, wakils , while the community itself used to send its representatives to the Imams when need arose. The custom was established according to which such persons had to receive special certificates (technically called daresh ), testifying to the fact that they really had visited the Imam. 7.

In connection with the doctrine of the hujjat or Pir it is not out of place to mention also that the usual prototype of the super-human dignitary of this rank, Salm�n-i F�rsi, so popular in Persian Nizari texts, is entirely forgotten here. He was a national religious hero of the Persians, and the Indians obviously had no special interest in him. Instead of Salm�n, as also amongst Persian darwishes, a far more prominent place is occupied by Qanbar, a Negro slave of Ali, who is only referred to in early works on Shi'ite tradition.

5. Dogmatic system. Satpanth, it seems, does not possess a properly formulated creed, or, even formula of the profession of religion. It seems that its dogmatic principles have never been elaborated and systematize .The gnans contain a profusion of exhortations to piety, offering of prayers, paying the dasondh , or tithe, but it seems that all this has never been properly arranged in a systematic way. There are collections of advices on how to live a righteous and pious life, as in the well-known So Kiriya , translated in this collection. All this, however, has nothing to do with religious law, shariat , as a system. It may be noted that while living under the government of various Muslims principalities and at the same time, forced to preserve their caste organisation, the Satpanth community solved the problem by following Muslim custom in some matters and Hindu custom in others. For instance, marriage and burial were performed by Muslim mullahs, but in matters of inheritance the community preserved Hindu practice.

Strangely, the gnans , as far as I could ascertain, never enter into discussions of abstract theological matters, on the lines of the Muslim works on 'aq�'id , or Ismaili literature of haqa-iq. There is, however, a powerful stream of interest in ascetic practices, according to Hindu style with the use of Hindu terminology.

6. Eschatology In eschatological ideas, more than in any other branch of the doctrine, it seems, two currents, Islamic and Hinduistic, are struggling in the Satpanth beliefs. The Pirs apparently found it impossible to uproot the ancestral outlook of their Hindu converts, based on the belief in immortality of the soul, and re-births in accordance with the Karma theory. The idea of re-birth, as is well-known was not entirely alien to ancient Greek philosophers, to the Coran itself; in the Ummu'l-kit�b it is openly recognized, being apparently developed without any Indian influence. In Ali-ilahism and Nusayrism it is also accepted though in a different form. Thus, in a purely Hindu way, it is believed that the soul is gradually purified, and ultimately becomes saved, in the sense that it no longer belongs to the 'wheel of re-birth", and joins the Divine Infinite. At the same time the gnans often discuss Paradise, hurries , etc., in a fully Muslim style, make all this located on a certain Heaven, and the faithful are promised they shall stay there eternally, "ruling as princes", i.e. probably living blissfully as princes on earth. They are promised immortality, although both in Hinduism and Islam the soul is regarded as immortal. The Jannatpuri , translated here, gives a wealth of interesting details of such Indo-Islamic ideas. Here Paradise is independent of the Hindu Paradise, the mount Meru. The hurries huran are pictured on the model of temple hierodules, devadasis , and everything is obviously taken from the actual practice of their profession. An interesting addition, however, is that Hindu deities and ancient heroes are admitted there for their piety.

Hell, obviously supplementing the "wheel of re-birth" is also superimposed upon Hindu theories. Therefore it is not entirely certain which method should be taken as the standard. Such ambiguity is eloquent testimony to the struggle of opposite currents in the evolution of Satpanth, that of Islamisation, and of the Hindu reaction. The term Nirvana is not used, and salvation is expressed with the term mukti .

7. Worship , As in all popular religions the central point in religious life is occupied by worship. Satpanth is determinately iconoclastic in its tendencies and outlook. Prohibition of idolatry is the most prominent motif in the gnans accompanied by admonitions arguing that idols are made by man and possess no power. Such attitude implies a complete dissociation from Hinduism in which idol worship cannot be separated from the usual daily worship. On the other hand, Satpanth has not adopted the Muslim sal�t , obviously on account of its Arabic form. The Pirs steered midway by introducing and developing the Sufic form of prayer, dhikr pronounced zikra, The numerous converts from lower classes also have probably brought in various details connected with the Tantric cult, which is supposed to be a relic of the ancient local religion of pre-Aryan India, as has been mentioned above.

Contrary to orthodox Hindu worship, which is based on the individual and intercession of the priest, Satpanth knows no priests, and its prayer is congregational, in which even women and children also participate. In Hinduism such features are exhibited only in Tantric cults. Such prayers take place three times a day in Satpanth, namely morning, evening, and before going to bed, in a special praying hall, called Jamat khana At such meetings any one, young or old, may be appointed by the mukhi or head man to recite the prayers. The most interesting detail is the distribution of sacred water from a vessel in which water is either mixed with clay of Kerbela, or with water blessed by the Imam. Thus this is a kind of communion and as such it is conceived. In the gnans this ceremony, called ghat-pat , literally "table (in) assembly"8, is particularly regarded as a symbol of conversion and participation in the religious life of the community In addition to the distribution of sacred water, or certain occasions a kind of solid vegetable food, jure is distributed. Some particular gnans are recited on various special occasions.9

There is no secrecy about all this, and although spectators are not encouraged, they are by no means completely excluded with a rigidity similar to that amongst the Ali-Ilahis and Nussayris who never admit anyone who is not a member of the community.

Communal drinking of consecrated water, or whatever it may be, or partaking of consecrated food, is a custom of immense antiquity amongst all races and nations, accepted as a symbol of bond between the members of an assembly, party, gang, etc. There is no ceremony of this kind prescribed in orthodox Islam, but various customs including such Eucharist are in use amongst Persian darwishes. It is the piy�la which is offered at the initiation of the darwish into the tar�qat This institution is supposed to have been introduced by the Prophet himself, on the night of the Miraj under the "blue cupola without doors". He offered it to the mystical chihil tan ("forty bodies"), symbols of Sufic fraternity, crushing a piece of raisin in a bowl of water 10. Thus it plainly symbolizes the religious bond of a confraternity.

A similar ceremony is used by the Ali-Ilahis who, how ever, usually distribute cooked food prepared from a sacrificed cock or sheep. The darwishes also have the same custom dik-jush . We may note that the most Satpanthis are meat-eaters.

Similar customs are used in India by the followers of the Tantric cults. At such ceremonies both men and women are present. After various prayers, milk, wine, meat, honey, etc. are distributed, also obviously to symbolize the bond of unity. It is said that in the cult of certain secret Tantric sects of the Vamachara branch 11 on specific occasion one of the men present at the ceremony, as a part of the worship, copulates with a woman. This detail is not in keeping with other ceremonies which consist of partaking of some food or beverage. I therefore feel inclined to give credence to what I heard from some informed people that the performance of the couple is merely a means of obtaining a quantity of sperm which is diluted in water and distributed to the faithful.12 Now, as they say, with advance of education, this ceremony became rarely enacted and sperm is symbolically substituted by some other liquid.

An interesting feature is the terminology. The old term for consecrated water was ami, now replaced by Persian �bi-safa (water of purity). In old gnans , however, it is called p�val , a term not of Sanskrit origin, unknown to orthodox Hindu literature. It would be very interesting to trace the origin of the term, and the history of its association with the Tantric cults.

An interesting gnan , though obviously not of an early origin, preserves a significant story of the reason why animals are no longer immolated for the sacramental food. During different ancient epochs various animals were sacrificed such as elephants, horses, and so forth. By a prayer of the assembly these animals were miraculously revived by God, but on a certain occasion their prayer remained ineffective, and thus the practice came to an end. This legend apparently has far reaching implications. We may remember the Jewish injunctions against breaking the bones of the sacrificial animal. The Ali Ilahis and Persian darwishes at their d�k-jush ceremonies do not break the bones of the animal, carefully collect them, and bury with the rites intended for the burial of human beings. This detail apparently forms a trace of the earlier idea of a vicarious sacrifice. Should we think that originally, in remote antiquity, such sacrifice was human ?

It is quite possible that in India the disappearance of animal sacrifice was due to the continuous pressure of orthodox Hindu ideas, and, of course, also the influence of the change in economics, with, the growth of prices.

8. Initiation In various gnans conversion is mentioned on comparatively numerous occasions, but, unfortunately few details of the rites accompanying it are given. There was apparently no special formula to be repeated, or taught to the neophytes. Their explicit desire to accept the new religion was sufficient, they received a special dhikr 13 (" zikra"), and were urged to participate in the daily worship (ghat-p�t) . Neither circumcision, nor any fixed period of apprenticeship, are mentioned. I was told that at the present time, conversion (or rather the ceremony of the initiation, admission into the new religion) is accompanied also by a symbolical act, obviously implying the fact that the new convert becomes loyally bound to the rules and duties imposed upon him. The person who converts the neophyte dips a finger into consecrated water and passes it around the wrist of the convert, as if drawing the image of a bracelet.14 The dhikr, given to the neophyte, should be kept secret and not revealed to others.

It must be added that the conversion to Satpanth by no means implies admission into the caste. According to Hindu ideas one can only be born into a caste, not transferred from another community.

star_munir · Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 1602

Ya Ali Madad

I totally disagree with what you told. I think it was extract from some book but it is incorrect. The topic is incorrect. It is wrong to say that Ismailism is like hinduism or christanity. Ismailism is Ismailism. It is not the NEW religion. It is the first and true religion. Our pirs who made ginans were not hindus. They were not only muslims but aal -e-Rasool.
There is nothing like hinduism in Ginan. If I read Islamic book and in it read about Hazrat Essa would I say it christanity so why we use the word hinduism when there are words like pahelaj and hari chandar in ginans.
Similarly the word Pir not means only Pir sadardin,Pir Hassan Kabirdin etc or one who makes Ginans. All Ginans were not made by pirs and All pirs not made Ginans. Hazir Imam is our present Pir and Pir is always in earth like Imam although the word Pir is not Arabic but some othe word was used for it.

ISMAILISM IS NOT MIXTURE OF HINDUISM AND ISLAM BUT ISMAILISM IS PURE ISLAM WE BELIVE IN ALLAH AND PROPHET MOHAMMAD

you wrote that
The Satpanth Imam bears closer resemblance to the Christian Jesus than to the Hindu Parmeshvar.

First of all it is in Farman that Christ was NOT son of God and aacording to Islam there is no son of God. He was Prophet and Imam is not the Prophet.

You also wrote that Although the usual hyperbolism of the gnans makes some Pirs visit him, in company with something like 120 millions of followers at a time, nobody could possibly take this literally, seeing in the abnormal number merely a sign of devotion and piety on the part of the author.

I think it as insult of Ginan and Pir. Pir are not liars and each and every word of Ginan is true.Another wrong thing was

connection with the doctrine of the hujjat or Pir it is not out of place to mention also that the usual prototype of the super-human dignitary of this rank, Salm�n-i F�rsi, so popular in Persian Nizari texts, is entirely forgotten here. He was a national religious hero of the Persians, and the Indians obviously had no special interest in him. Instead of Salm�n, as also amongst Persian darwishes, a far more prominent place is occupied by Qanbar, a Negro slave of Ali, who is only referred to in early works on Shi'ite tradition.

It is totally wrong. The Ginans are not wrong. Qanbar was MUKHI and Hazrat Salman Farsi was Kamariya.

You wrote
All this, however, has nothing to do with religious law, shariat , as a system.

Ismailis are Haqiqati above than Shariat laws.

You are right when you said that Ismailis not recite arabic islamic salat.
They recite salat in Gujrati made by Pir Sadardin. Whats wrong Arabic means Islam and Gujrati means kufar or God know only arabic not gujrati?

danu · Joined: 09 Sep 2003 Posts: 12

how can u said that i am wrong
ok
try it by your self
search it in thhe google"link between hinduism and ismailism" and go to the second option the page will open the address of page is http://ismaili.net/Source/nikaismsub.html
and for your kind information
there is a great link between in the ismailism and hinduism is that
the aim first of all is the same and it has beeen said by a hindu person personally to me.
soo if this is totally wrong them why the adrress of ismaili.net

Admin · Joined: 06 Jan 2003 Posts: 1752

[go to the second option the page will open the address of page is http://ismaili.net/Source/nikaismsub.html ]

This is just a link to Dominique-Sila Khan's article. There are all kind of article in the Heritage Web Site, it does not mean that everything written is right.

Each people is entitled to his opinion.

Some people may feel Ismailism comes from Hinduism and some may feel that the mentions of Prophets like Adam, Moses or Jesus in Islam was just for the sake of converting the Jews and Christans, and some people may feel that the use of the word Allah to define God was just made to please the idole worshippers od Arabia, whose biggest idol in Qaba before Islam was named Allah...

But I have to say, the debate is interesting, I hope more people join in...

Admin

kandani · Joined: 18 Jun 2003 Posts: 238

Admin has a point.

For some reason, they call us Hindu's for accepting Ram and Krishna, while no one calls orthodox Muslims Jews or Christians for accepting Jesus and Moses, or calls them Pagans, even though the Allah deity was worshipped as one of the gods along with the idols.

star_munir · Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 1602

Ismailis are muslims because ismailis believe in one God and Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] as last prophet but the truth is that the religion was not started after the birth of Prophet Muhammad .It was before Him.
There were Prophets there were Imams. True religion was from the begining of world. It was same at the time of Jesus Christ and Moses and before them there was also true religion.

shamsu · Joined: 15 Apr 2003 Posts: 646

DANU THIS ARTICLE IS HILARIOUS

IT IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF EDUCATED IGNORANCE, INADEQUATE RESEARCH, FANTASTIC ASSOCIATIONS, EROTIC PROJECTION, PREJUDICED JUDGEMENTALISM AND KNOWLEDGELESS ELOQUENCE.

HA HA HA HA HA HA

THANK YOU FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT.

SHAMS

shamsu · Joined: 15 Apr 2003 Posts: 646

ShamsB · Joined: 04 Aug 2004 Posts: 870

The practice of Gathpat and Juro were there in the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)...i believe Dr.AbuAly Aziz mentions this in some of his waez's as well as refers to a Muslim manuscript that speaks of this.
i would encourage you to go and research all that before attempting to arabcize ismailism again.
and by the way Sanatan Dharma which is core hinduism is a monotheistic faith..trying reading the Upanishads as well as the Ved Puranas..
or the Guru Granth Sahib for that matter and you will find parallels and similarities in that and our literature and the quran.

kmaherali · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 9913

As we celebrate Idd and Divali being auspicious days of Muslims and Hindus respectively, in a couple of weeks, I would like to share with you the following article which appropriately reflects the theme of unity and shared principles and concepts between the two faiths. Hopefully it will also set perspective to MHI's forthcoming visit to India this month.

ttp://www.sabrang.com/cc/comold/march98/ethos.htm

A Hindu-Muslim synthesis

The amazing eclecticism of Khoja beliefs represent a unique and lasting synthesis of Hindu and Islamic doctrines and tenets

Numbering no more than 15 million worldwide, the Nizari Ismaili Shias are one of the smallest and the least known of all Muslim sects. Over half of the Ismaili population resides in the Indian sub-continent, where they are commonly known as Khojas or Aga Khanis, so called because they regard the Aga Khan as their spiritual leader. Because of centuries of persecution, the Ismaili religion has evolved into a highly esoteric tradition. Like other Shia sects, the Ismailis recognise Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, as the Prophet�s legitimate successor, and consider a long chain of Ali�s direct descendants as spiritual authorities or Imams.

What distinguishes them from other Shia groups are their hidden doctrines (batin, in Arabic) and a complex theology which while deeply mystical, is considered heterodox by mainstream Muslim groups. What particularly sets the Ismailis apart from other Muslim sects in India, Sunni as well as Shia, is the amazing eclecticism of Khoja beliefs, representing a unique and lasting synthesis of Hindu and Islamic doctrines and tenets.
According to popular Khoja lore, the first of the many Ismaili missionaries or dais to India was the twelfth century Sayyed Nuruddin Nur Muhammad. He is commonly referred to as Satgur Nur, or �the true Guru of Light�. He first landed at Patan in Gujarat, where he set about making a deep study of Hindu and Islamic religious texts, gradually evolving the Ismaili mystical order known as the Satpanth, a Sanskrit word meaning �the True Path�, combining features common to both the Hindu as well as the Islamic traditions. Satgrur Nur is said to have so deeply influenced the Raja of Patan, Sidhraj Jaisingh, with his mystical piety that the royal family became his disciples, as did the ruler of the neighbouring kingdom of Dhara-nagari, Raja Surchand, whose daughter Palande he later married.

Fearful of persecution by their more powerful Sunni Muslim and Hindu neighbours, these and other new adherents of the Satpanth kept their religious beliefs concealed. Hence, they later earned the epithet of gupti momins or �secret believers�.

From Gujarat, Satgur Nur then travelled to the Punjab and eventually to Kashmir preaching the Ismaili Satpanth all the way. The gradual inter-meshing of Hindu and Islamic beliefs that Satgur Nur had initiated was carried forward by a growing number of Islamili mystics who followed in his wake. Of these, the most renowned was the 14th century Pir Sadruddin al-Hussaini, commonly known as Bar Guru (�The Great Teacher�) or Suhdev. Born in Sabzvar in Persia, Pir Sadruddin was sent to India by the 13th Imam known among the Khojas as Shri Islam Shah, to further spread the message of the Satpanth.

Like Satgur Nur before him, Pir Sadruddin had a deep understanding of Hindu as well as Islamic doctrines and mysticism; his teachings represent a strikingly harmonious intermixture of the two. In his development of the Satpanth, he laid particular stress on the poor, speaking out against oppression and for the rights of the marginalised. This won for the Satpanth a large number of followers from down-trodden castes. Among them, the Lohanas were the most numerous.

Perhaps the greatest contribution of Pir Sadruddin to the Ismaili Satpanth tradition in India was the vast body of mystical poetry and prose that he composed. Known by the Sanskrit term of gyan (knowledge), this corpus of profoundly mystical writings, mainly in Gujarati and Sindhi, is particularly noteworthy for its unique synthesis of Hindu and Islamic motifs and beliefs. In his lengthy poem, Chhatis Crore (360million), for instance, Pir Sadruddin refers to the four Hindu yugs or ages and writes of the millions of souls that have already been saved in past yugs by Prahlad, Raja Harishchandra and Yudhishtra, and of a similar number who have earned salvation in the present kaliyug by following the Satpanth.

Similarly, in his Bavan Bodh (�52 Lines�), he writes of the need for Satpanthis to strictly abide by the sandhya (evening prayer) and the vandana (hymn-recital), both clearly Hindu practices, albeit modified to suit Satpanthi doctrines. In the same work he warns his followers against lying, which, he says, is against the teachings of both the Quran as well as the Vedas. In another text, the Sakhi Samrani Granth (�Book of God, Advice Worthy of Remembrance�), he writes of the falsity of mindless ritualism, and creatively reinterprets the Brahminical thread as �a hundred kiriyas (noble deeds)�. �Only those who attain communion with the Guru Brahmaji are the real Brahmins�, he says in a biting critique of the caste system, adding that, �they alone are those who know the Brahmagyan (knowledge of the divine mysteries)�.

Pir Sadruddin�s unique blend of Hindu and Islamic tenets is carried even further in his Dasavatar (�The Ten Incarnations [of Vishnu]�). Here he writes of the nine previous incarnations of Vishnu familiar to Hindus, and, while glorifying them, presents Ali as the tenth avatar, saviour for the Kaliyug. In so stressing the equal validity of both Hindu as well as Islamic religious traditions, Sadruddin laid the basis of a remarkable culture synthesis that still survives almost intact among the Khojas of the country.

Khoja syncretism was carried further by Pir Sadruddin�s son and successor, Pir Hassan Kabiruddin, who, like his father, was the author of numerous gyans. Thus, in his Anant Akhado (�Eternal Gathering�), a lengthy prayer still recited daily by the Khojas, Pir Kabiruddin equates the Muslim Allah with the Hindu Ishvar. Each verse of the poem ends with the distinctly Hinduistic cry of �Hari Anant !� (�Hari, the eternal One !�).

Here the Prophet Muhammad is equated with �Guru Brahma� and Ali with Vishnu. India, which he calls by the Sanskrit name Jambudwip, is said to be the final meeting place of all the holy men of the world. The same word is also used symbolically to refer to �the eternal home� of the soul that has attained salvation. Here, again, the ten avatars of Vishnu are talked about, as is Sita, who is extolled along with Fatima, daughter of Prophet Muhammad and wife of Ali, as �the perfect ones of their age�.

God, in fact, is shown in a remarkable feminine light, with particular stress given to God�s role of a �mother� caring deeply for her children. Kunti, Draupadi and the Pandavas come in for praise along with Ali and the Prophet. Pri Kabiruddin speaks of the �four books� (the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of David, the Bible of Jesus and the Quran of Muhammad) as well as the four Vedas, as all divinely revealed. Elsewhere, he writes of the Quran as being the fourth Veda (atharved).

It is perhaps in the gyans of Pir Kabiruddin that the Satpanthi call for a harmonious fusion of Hindu and Islamic tenets finds its most forceful expression. Thus, in the Anant Akhado, he writes that the Satpanth �encompasses all paths to God�, and that �the Husband [God] plays mysteriously in many forms�. This remarkable Ismaili Satpanthi religious eclecticism, which so clearly symbolises the spirit of the faith, is best expressed in one of the Pir�s many gyans:

O Lord, the Hindus and the Muslims
all together are one being,
The Lord has simply given them
different forms and shapes,
But without real recognition of this
fact all is darkness
O Lord, You are the Eternal One.
Yoginder Sikand
YOGINDER SIKAND

kmaherali · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 9913

The following communication makes one wonder whether the Hindus are more closer to us than the Sunnis in terms of their thinking.

HAF COMMENDS AGHA KHAN FOR COMMITMENT TO PLURALISM

The Hindu American Foundation wrote a letter to His Highness the Aga
Khan, the spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim
community, commending him for his recent $40 million investment for
the establishment of the Global Centre for Pluralism in Canada.

April 30, 2005

To His Highness the Aga Khan,

On behalf of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), I would like to
commend you, as the spiritual leader (Imam) of the Shia Imami
Ismaili Muslim community, for the establishment of the Global Centre
for Pluralism in Canada. Furthermore, we are pleased that the
Government of Canada has also pledged support towards the
development of this institution. We hope that your magnanimity and
commitment to pluralism will inspire members of other faiths to come
forward and embrace this concept as well.

At HAF, we believe that pluralism must be a fundamental part of any
nation that values diversity, democracy and multiculturalism. HAF
will support your efforts to promote pluralism as this concept has
always been a central component of the Hindu faith as articulated in
an ancient Sanskrit hymn: "Ekam sat vipraha bahudha vadanti"
meaning "Truth is one, the wise call it by many names." We strongly
feel that acceptance of pluralism is the only way to bridge
religious divisions and to bring together people of all faiths
during these troubled times.

Representing the 2 million strong Hindu American community, HAF is
dedicated to providing a voice that educates government, media,
think tanks, academia and public fora about Hinduism and issues of
concern to Hindus locally and globally. We would like to meet you
and your key representatives in the near future to discuss ways we
can collaborate to promote pluralism together. You may learn more
about HAF and our efforts at our website at

www.hinduamericanfoundation.org.

Sincerely,

Pawan Deshpande
Member, Executive Council
Hindu American Foundation

kmaherali · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 9913

In contrast to the views of the Hindu organisation supporting pluralism in the previous post, the following are the views of a prominent Sunni who views pluralism as divisive and weakening rather than strengthening and indeed advocates all Muslims go back to the origins!

Los Angeles, California: Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia, addresses the IslamiCity Benefit Banquet celebrating it's 10th Anniversary on April 24th 2005 ..

As salaam alykum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatu

Dear Brothers and Sisters

I would like to congratulate the organizers on the 10th Anniversary of IslamiCity for their effort. I would like to thank them for this opportunity to speak to my brothers and sisters in America.

A few years back I spoke to a small audience of Muslims and non-Muslims in Oxford University regarding Islam and how it is misunderstood not only by non-Muslims, who think of it as an oppressive religion but also by the Muslim who claims it is the greatest religion which would save mankind but have not saved it. We can easily explain why the non-Muslims misunderstand Islam. But why did I say that the Muslims also misunderstand Islam.

The basis for stating this is simple. We all know Muhammad the Prophet brought only one Islam, just one. But today we have all kinds of beliefs which claim to be the Islamic faith but the beliefs are so different and so inconsistent with each other that each condemn the others as not being Islam or Islamic, condemn to the point of labeling them as apostates against whom they are willing to fight and to kill.

For example we are seeing today Sunni Muslims fighting and killing Shiite Muslims every day, each claiming the other is not Muslim. There were no Sunni or Shiite during the time of the Prophet .

Which one is right and which is wrong. They cannot both be right because their interpretations are so different that they are killing each other claiming the other is not Islamic.

One of them could be right and the other wrong. But which one? Neither Sunni nor Shiite are willing to admit that their sect is wrong and the other is right. Both claim to be right and to fight and kill to defend their assertion. So we do not know who is right. We simply follow the teachings of the sect we were born into - right or wrong.

Is it possible that both are wrong? The answer is yes. In the view of those of the numerous other sects, the Alawaites, Druze and very many others both Sunni and Shiite are wrong. For the followers of thousands of imams, only their own imam is right and the others are wrong to some degree or are completely wrong.

Islam does allow for differences in the interpretations. But does it allow interpretations which are so different as to cause accusations of not being Islamic and the believers not being Muslim, so different that each is willing to fight and kill because of what each claim to be heresy on the part of the others.

We Muslims claim that there are 1.3 billion Muslims in this world today. But we do not regard very many of these people to be Muslims because of differences in interpretations and practices. So there cannot be 1.3 billion Muslims. According to each sect there are only a few million true Muslims. The others are not Muslims and therefore are not members of the brotherhood of Muslims. Indeed they are worse than enemies of the Muslims for each is more willing to kill the others than to fight and kill the declared enemies of Muslim and the oppressors of all who consider themselves to be Muslim regardless of their sects. These enemies of the Muslims do not care whether those they define as Muslims are Sunnis or Shiite, followers of which of the imams of the Sunnis or Shiahs or the innumerable imams whose interpretations have resulted in the emergence of the different and differing sects of Islam. To the detractors and enemies of Islam and the Muslims, they are all Muslims, followers of the same religion and therefore deserving of the oppressive treatment meted out to them.

In the meantime we, members of the different sects of Islam, will continue to fight each other, reject the Quranic teachings that all Muslim are brothers and thereby weaken ourselves.

Many say that this fragmentation of the Muslim ummah is the work of the enemies of Islam. If that is so why are we allowing them to succeed, why are we retaining and adhering to the different and differing sects that we say the enemies of Islam have created?

No. Let us not delude ourselves. Let us not try to blame our enemies. They are not so smart - Machiavellian that they can so easily break us up and cause us to fight each other so they will gain.

The break up of the Muslims is brought about by the Muslims themselves, by their own learned ones who made the interpretations, sincerely and faithfully sometimes but self-serving in many cases. It is they, these interpreters of Islam who have broken us up into so many antagonistic sects. Unless we admit this and stop blaming others, we will not be able to make any corrections, to bring the ummah back together again.

Malays say, when you lose your way, you should return to the beginning, to the starting point and start all over again. We cannot say we have not lost our way when the one Islam brought by the Prophet has now become a thousand Islams. It cannot be that all are right. Some of us or all of us may have lost our way and we therefore need to go back to the start.

What is the starting point? Obviously it is the Islam as taught by the Prophet. We agree that most of the teachings of the Prophet are in the Al Quran. Some are in the Hadiths.

But the Quran contains two kinds of verses; the very specific ones and those which constitute parables or allegories. The specifics are very clear e.g. that there is no Allah but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger or that all Muslims are brothers.

If we consider belief in these specifics, qualifies one to be a Muslim then the difference in our interpretations of the parables etc need not divide us. We should all go back to these specific and basic teachings of Islam and, disregarding the differences, we should consider all are Muslims and are brothers in Islam.

Then there are the Hadiths or the traditions of the Prophet. We know that by the time Bukhari and others studied the Hadiths in order to verify them there were more than a hundred thousand Hadiths. Bukhari could verify only about 7000. Other scholars differed from Bukhari.

Since all these scholars are normal human beings they are not infallible. Still there are many Hadiths which have been verified by almost all the scholars. These we should accept. The practice of what is enjoined by the Hadiths is not compulsory. They are optional. So if we differ in our belief or practice of the Hadiths it should not make us apostates. We would still be Muslims and as such we can consider each other as brothers and be united.

I am not preaching my own version of Islam. But the great scholars should not just dismiss this because it comes from what the Christians call a "layman". We have no priesthood in Islam. Any man can lead the prayers. Any man can therefore study the religion and try to understand it. We need guidance but we must remember that the guides are also human and such have been their teachings and interpretations that there are now thousands of beliefs which claim to be Islam. They cannot claim a monopoly of knowledge of Islam and a monopoly of interpretation.

Islam is not just a faith, a belief. It is a way of life. And the way of life of the Muslims of today is so varied and different from each other that there is utter confusion. Islam is not meant to confuse its followers and deny their hassanah in this world. If it does then it is not Islam, the religion of Allah . that is wrong, but the numerous and tendentious interpretations of Islam which are wrong. What needs to be corrected is not Islam but the interpretations of Islam by mere man, no matter how learned he may be.

If Islam is to bring hassanah to the faithful then it needs to be interpreted by all who are learned in all fields. And the interpretations should begin from the beginning, from the Quran and the verified Hadiths, without regard for the interpretations of those who through their own understanding and interpretations in the past have divided the ummah.

Wassalam.

arifsali2000 · Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 42

kmaherali · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 9913

http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Islamand_Hinduism/id/50381

Islam and Hinduism: Symbiotic Mysticism In Devotional Poems
By A N D Haksar

Symbiotic Mysticism In Devotional Poems

Few have heard of the mystic poems Brahma Prakash or Dasa Avatar by the mediaeval Muslim saint Pir Shams. Both are famous ginans of South Asia's Ismaili community, sometimes also known as Khojas or Aga Khanis in popular parlance.

Ginans are hymn-like poems of spiritual import. They are revered by the faithful in deep veneration as repositories of wisdom and spiritual knowledge, and as transmitting the essential teachings of the Holy Qur'an in the vernacular. Composed in Sindhi, Gujarati, Hindustani and Punjabi among other subcontinental languages, the oldest are ascribed to the pirs or saints who first preached Ismaili Islam in India nearly 1,000 years ago.

The tradition continued, and recent composers include the Karachi saint, Sayyida Imam Begum, in the 19th century. "Ginans are recited daily", writes Ismaili scholar Ali Asni, "Whenever members congregate for ritual prayers.'' The recitation is itself a ritual on special occasions like birthdays of the Prophet and the Imam, and on the new year, Navroz.

Outside the context of formal worship, ginans are sung as auspicious blessings and quoted as proverbs. They feature in concerts and cassette recordings.

The contents of ginans are varied. Some are supplications for grace and enlightenment, like Ruhani Visal or spiritual union by Pir Hasan Kabiruddin. Others, like Moman Chetamani or warning to the faithful by Pir Sadruddin, impart ethical and moral instruction. Yet others deal with cosmological themes or the mystic life, like Brahma Gayatri and Boojh Niranjan by the same saint.

Devotion and piety is a common theme. One feature of ginans is of wider interest for plural societies. It is the Ismaili pirs' interpretation of Islamic concepts and ideas that could relate to indigenous religious and cultural contexts. Not only were the hymns composed in local languages, they also utilised the poetic forms and musical modes of local tradition. At the level of religious ideas, there is record of ginans sung to Sikh and Hindu gatherings in East Africa.

The acculturation with the larger Indian environment is reflected also in the name Satpanth by which the Ismaili tradition came to be known. "The pir," says Asni, "introduced his teachings as a natural culmination of local belief systems." One ginan cites the mythological king Harichandra as a model of righteousness. Another is titled Darshan diyo mere nath, a popular sentiment.

In Dasa Avatar, as noted by Islamic historian Annemarie Schimmel, "Muslim and Hindu traditions seem to merge as the poet represents Ismaili Islam as fulfilment of Hindu religious tradition." In such mythopoesis, the tenth avatara of Vishnu is renamed Nakalanki (stainless), and is identified with Ali, the first Shia Imam.

Such an assimilationist approach sees no contradiction between people's religious identity and their participation in indigenous culture. It is natural that it should be opposed by those who tend towards exclusivism. Ginans were termed by some orthodox commentators as lacking as Islamic personality.

Elements which constitute culture are being viewed increasingly from a purely religious perspective in parts of South Asia today. The adoption of Arabic and Persian cultural elements and more is considered by some as an essential aspect of Islamisation. Then there is the process of Sanskritisation, now reformulated as Hindutva. Both result in greater cultural distancing between the two communities, to the detriment of both.

The word ginan is similar to jnana, which means wisdom. This goal is by no means exclusive to any creed or culture. The hymns manifest a cultural synthesis for a devotional purpose. Their symbolism stretches across religious barriers towards a higher harmony.

kmaherali · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 9913

The following re-write of the account of an important personality in the Hindu tradition illustrates how our tariqa influenced reform of the wider socities through conversion of important personalities. The account is very similar to the conversion of Mowlana Rumi who though not an Ismaili overtly, was a disciple of an Ismaili (Shamsh Tabriz).

I wonder how many such stories are there to be uncovered!

Rewriting the History of a Dalit Nizari Hero

Friday November 17 2006 17:53:12 PM BDT

Yoginder Sikand, India

Rama Pir, also known as Ramdev Pir or Ram Shah Pir, is a widely revered folk hero in western India and parts of Pakistan. He is particularly popular among the Dalits (low caste), especially of the Meghwal caste.

The cult of Rama Pir is shrouded in mystery. Today, popular accounts present him as a miracle-mongering Rajput, the incarnation of Krishna of the Kali Yug. Over the centuries, legends that have been woven about the Pir have effaced his role as a crusader against caste injustice and Hindu-Muslim rivalry, or so Rajasthan-based social activist Bhanwar Megwanshi argues in his recently published Hindi book �Ramdev Pir: Ek Purnavichar� (�Ramdev Pir: A Revaluation�).

Megwanshi is a noted writer and edits the monthly Hindi magazine �Diamond India�, which deals with a range of social issues from the standpoint of the marginalized and the oppressed. He comes from a Meghwal family from Bhilwara in southern Rajasthan, which for three generations served as priests of the local Ramdev Pir shrine. As a child he was entrusted with the duty of performing rituals at the shrine, and this experience, he writes, set him questioning established myths about Ramdev Pir. His book summarises his critical revaluation of the tradition of the Pir, seeking to retrieve and highlight forgotten aspects of his image as, above all, a crusader against caste oppression.

In most available hagiographical accounts, the fifteenth century Ramdev Pir is presented as an incarnation of Krishna who took birth in the house of Ajmal, a Tanwar Rajput chieftain in western India. Based on his analysis of Tanwar genealogical accounts Megwanshi writes that this claim is fallacious. It represents a denial of the possibility of a saintly figure being born in a �low� caste, and reflects a broader strategy to Brahminise the Ramdev tradition and drain it of its radical social thrust. Drawing on Dalit oral accounts, Megwanshi claims that Ramdev was actually the son of a Meghwal cowherd Sayar Rikh and his wife Magande, who accompanied Ajmal�s queen when she shifted to her marital home. In other words, he argues, Ramdev was a Meghwal by birth and not a Rajput. Nor was he, as is now claimed, an incarnation of Krishna.

Megwanshi also contests the manner in which the close connection between Ramdev and Ajmal is presented in popular accounts. Examining oral and written traditions related to Ramdev, he writes that Ajmal was probably a Pir of the Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslim sect, and that Ramdev was taken by him as his disciple. In placing this argument, and in claiming that Ramdev was possibly an Ismaili, he explores the fascinating but little- known Nizari Ismaili Shia traditions among the Dalits of Rajasthan.

The Nizaris are a branch of the Ismaili Shias, whose present-day followers acknowledge the Aga Khan as their spiritual leader or Imam. Following the collapse of their Fatimi Caliphate in Egypt, the Nizari Imamat shifted Alamut in Iran, where the Nizaris kept their beliefs secret, fearing Sunni persecution.

The first Nizari missionary to India, the eleventh century Nur Satgur, who is buried in Navsari in Gujarat, established the practice of spreading Nizari beliefs by using Hindu motifs and idioms, presenting the Nizari faith as a fulfillment of the millennial expectations of the Hindus of an Avatar. This was in line with the Shia practice of taqiyya or secret concealment of beliefs, in order to stave off Sunni persecution as well as to make the Nizari message more intelligible to a largely Hindu audience.

Thus, the Nizari faith was presented as Sat Panth, Sat Dharm or Maha Marg, as well as Nizar Panth, Nizar Panth and Nij Dharm; and Imam Ali as the Nikalank Avatar, the tenth incarnation of Vishnu. The Nizari stress on social equality had a particular appeal for various Dalit communities in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Sindh, and many Dalits accepted the faith, although in a highly Hinduised form.

A key Ismaili missionary, and one who plays a central role in the story of Ramdev, was the fourteenth century Pir Shams or Shamsuddin Sabzvari, whose shrine is located in Multan. Multan was for a long time a major centre of the Nizari Ismaili movement and the Ismailis actually ruled the town for a while till their kingdom was destroyed by Mahmud Ghaznavi. Pir Shams is said to have widely traveled in north India, and visited Rajasthan as well. In the Ramdev tradition he is remembered as Shamas Rishi, and it is possible that he adopted a Hindu guise in line with the Indian Nizari tradition.

Megwanshi unravels the fascinating story of Pir Shams� missionary travels in Rajasthan, relying on Dalit and other sources. Ransi Tanvar, the father of Ajmal, he writes, was a descendant of Anangpal, the last Tanwar ruler of Delhi. He had taken to robbery. Once, in the village of Dudu, near Jaipur, he chanced upon Pir Shams, whom he is said to have looted, because of which the Pir is said to have cursed him with leprosy. Rinsi is said to have been cured by drinking water given to him by a Meghwal woman, the wife of a certain Khivan, a Meghwal disciple of Pir Shams.

On being thus miraculously cured, Rinsi is said to have become a disciple of Pir Shams and accepted the Ismaili faith. Later, the story goes, both Rinsi and Khivan were ordered to be killed by the Sunni Sultan of Delhi. If true, this reflected the fierce hostility of the Sunni rulers and ulama to the Ismaili Shias, whom they considered as heretics.

Following his father, Ajmal, too, Megwanshi writes, became an Ismaili Pir, and so did Ramdev, whom Ajmal considered as his own son. Following the established Nizari practice, they kept their faith concealed, being what is termed in Indian Nizari parlance as gupti momins (�secret believers�). In this regard, Megwanshi argues that the claim that Ramdev was a disciple of the Nath yogi Balinath of Pokhran is incorrect. The fact that terms such as Nizar, Nijar, Shams, Multan, Makka, Nur Satgur, Alamut and so on are found in the verses attributed to Ramdev is ample proof, Megwanishi writes, that Ramdev was possibly a secret Ismaili missionary or at least highly influenced by the Ismailis. So, too, is the fact that Ramdev refers to himself as �Nijari� and that the mantra recited by Ramdev�s followers contains the word �Nizar� (Om Som Nikalank Dev Nizar�). Further evidence is the fact that the grave Ramdev in Ramdevra, Jaisalmer, is fashioned in traditional Muslim style and has Arabic inscriptions on it. However, Megwanshi notes, the grave is kept carefully covered up by the Tanwar custodians of the shrine. Although Megwanshi does not state this, this might possibly be to conceal the Ismaili Muslim connections of Ramdev Pir.

In recent writings about Ramdev, particularly by those who seek to present him in a Brahminical mould, Ramdev is presented as an orthodox Hindu. This, Megwanshi writes, reflects a recent re-writing of the Ramdev tradition. In this rendition, Ramdev is shown as having defeated five Pirs from Mecca in a miraculous contest, after which the Pirs accepted his superiority and then granted him the title of Pir.

Megwanshi argues that the five Pirs were probably Ismailis who came from Multan to meet Ramdev after news of his being an Ismaili missionary reached them. There was probably no miraculous contest between them. After the Multani missionaries were satisfied that Ramdev had indeed reached a high spiritual stature in the Ismaili tradition they granted him the exalted title of Pir. This was possibly a confirmation of Ramdev�s commitment to the Ismaili faith. This is why, Megwanshi writes, Ramdev is still regarded as a saintly figure by many Muslims in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Seeking to retrieve the memory of Ramdev as a Dalit crusader against caste oppression, Megwanshi refers to his being treated as a Kamadiya, a member of a �low� caste that acts as religious specialists for the Meghwals, by some of Ajmal�s relatives. He was taunted for being the Pir of the Dheds or Meghwals, for eating with the �low� castes and for joining them in religious ceremonies (jama jagran) that were held secretly at night, possibly in order to escape persecution.

The message of ethical monotheism and social equality that informs Ramdev�s verses also reflects his opposition to caste and other forms of oppression sanctioned by the Brahminical religion, although Megwanshi writes of how the miracles (parchas) that have been woven around him and the effort to transform him into an incarnation of Vishnu have effectively undermined this. In this regard, Megwanshi attempts to offer a rationalist explanation of the more popularly recounted miracles associated with Ramdev in order to rescue him from being projected as a miracle-worker or the superhuman figure that he is for many of his followers.

Most of Ramdev�s followers were Meghwals, and this further strengthens the claim, Megwanshi argues, of Ramdev having been born in a Meghwal family, although he was later adopted by a Tanwar Rajput, whose flouting of caste restrictions may have been enabled by his possibly having actually been a crypto-Ismaili Shia. Further developing the argument of Ramdev being a social revolutionary, Megwanshi refers to his sister Dali Bai as joining him in the jama jagrans, a revolutionary step considering the restrictions that operated at that time on women seeking to travel on the spiritual path.

A key aspect of Ramdev Pir�s teachings was his critique of conventional communal divisions and rivalries. This possibly reflects his association with the Indian Nizari Ismaili tradition, many of whose sacred texts repeatedly draw similarities between Islamic and Hindu motifs and beliefs and represent a unique cultural synthesis. In this regard Megwanshi refers to a verse often recited by Ramdev�s followers that refers to the hope for the dawning of the day when �Brahmins, Banias, Kshatriyas and Muslims shall eat from the same plate�, when the �gathering shall be held in the house of the Meghwal Rishi��a powerful dream that Megwanshi seeks to retrieve from the layers of myth that have been woven around the figure of the Dalit Ismaili social revolutionary that he sees Ramdev Pir as having been.

Bhanwar Megwanshi can be contacted on
bhanwarmegwanshi@...

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