INTRODUCTION
Sufism and Santmat
Sufism claims origin about
1500 years back from Islamic thought defined by Prophet Mohammad
(PBUH), subsequently amplified and followed by his successors starting from
Hazrat Ali, who happened to be the son-in-law and nephew of the Prophet.
Earlier Sufism spread in
Middle East— Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. Some of the well-
known names of Sufi Murshid are Mansur, Al-Ghazali, Bayzid-Bistami, Shamz
–Tabriz, Melvana Rum, Moinuddin Chisti, Rabia Basri, Bakhtiar Kaki, Hafiz, Baba
Farid, Nizammudin Aulia, Aamir Khusro,
Sarmad, Sultan Bahu, Baba Bulle Shah, Waris Shah, Gulam Farid etc. There are several
derivatives of Sufism called-Kadris, Chistis, Naqshbandis , Suharwardis etc depending upon the methodology of
accessing inner Awareness.
Some of
the Sufi Masters migrated to the Indian subcontinent (especially between
Afghanistan and Central India) 700 years back, because of invasions of Mongols
in the Middle East and eastern Europe (between 1200-1300 AD). An animated Map
of growth of Mongolian Empire is given in the link below --
The message of Sufi
Masters is of One God, Tuheed--Oneness of God (the Truth) or Monotheism
in the entire creation—that God can be realized by a seeker (Murid) with the
grace of a perfect Master (Murshid, Insan-e kamil) who is the “Word
made flesh” or God incarnated in human body. Tuheed prohibits worship
or reverence of deities.
The prime aspects of the
teachings of a Murshid is to make Murid “lovingly” conscious of one’s
connectivity with Allah by invoking the inherent but sleeping power of Kun
or Bang-e-Asmani, Kalam-e- ilahi within the human body through a specified
meditative concentration.
The love for the Master
Murshid (understood as Ishq and then
Virah—passionate yearning) and life style (of Tussavf**)
subdues the outward and down ward tendencies of human mind (nfas) and
raises Murid’s state to that of “fnaa”—self-annihilation.
Fnaa is extinguishment of the conscious self or khudii, for
merging into Totality of Consciousness called Khuda.
** Tussavf means
detachment and total exclusion from the pull of world; truthfulness, purity of
mind, obedience; faith, trust and passionate yearning for the Murshid; mental
renunciation of self, inner intention of self-annihilation. (त्याग , तोबा, सचाई,
सफाई , सदाकत , विश्वास , विरह , फकीरी और फना )
Four well known steps of
Sufism are—
a) Shariat, following the
path of Dharma.—righteousness as defined by any religion or a Master. The
intrinsic aim and purpose or “maqsad” of
Shariat is to lead a life that benefits the soul for higher realization , but
Maulvis or Kazis of Islam have applied Shariat for the appropriation of daily
life, necessities, money, property and social welfare.
b)
Tareeqat,
to obtain a technique or method of self- realization from a Murshid on how to
meditate or do Muraqaba—(an Arabic word meaning
"to watch over", "to take care of", or "to keep an
eye" for meditation. The sitting
ceremony in which Muraqaba is taught iscalled is called Bayaid. Meditation
takes care of spiritual heart (or soul),
and acquires knowledge about it, its surroundings, and its creator. This is the
core concept of Sufism). This includes a life style of purity consistent with
precepts of the Murshid. {Note- Spiritual heart is different from the physical heart which is an
organ of the body. The seat of the
spiritual heart is deemed at the forehead just above the eye centre.}
c) Marfatt, is intensive application of
the technique defined by the Murshid for equanimity of mind with the help of
Zikr (simran), Fikr (awe of presence of
God), Tussavar (dhayn or focusing attention on the form of Murshid), and
Riayazat (practice of of Zir, Fir and Tussavar).
d) Haqeeqat is
experiencing the Truth.
The focus is to quit the
ritualism of Shariat and tread inner path starting from “Shahrag”—the invisible
jugular vein in the forehead above two eyes and then progressing towards higher
consciousness.
Santmat has its roots in Northern
India. The spiritual legacy of the past was renewed with the advent of Saint
Kabir Sahib and Guru Nanak Sahib and their successors in 14th-15th
century. They were followed by other mystics of Hindu origin like Namdev,
Ravidas, Pipa, Beni, Bhikhan, Trilochan, Surdas and many more. More recently,
in 19th century, Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, Soami Ji of Agra extended
the same line of Nam-Simran bhakti for the One God Who is eternal Truth. The
path is of experiencing Divinity trough a pre-defined path of Mysticism.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib,
(compiled primarily by Guru Arjan Dev Ji for hymns of 5 gurus and later on
inclusion of hymns of 9th Guru, Teg Bahadur by
the 10th Guru Gobind Singh Ji ) contains hymns of 6 gurus, 17 bhagats like
Kabir, Namdev, Ravidas etc-- and 11 poets/Bhatts. While the Granth acknowledges and respects the
scriptures of Hinduism and Islam, it does not imply or endorse a moral
reconciliation with either of these religions.
Though Ram-Krishna Bhakti or Devotional Puja
has been prevalent in India since ancient times in a diversified manner in the
form of Idolatry, Pilgrimages, Reading and Reciting of Holy scriptures,
applications of specified Mantras, Havans , Fastings etc--- Sant Mat equates it
to “Sharia” of Sufism and Islam, dominated by priestly class, that is
far removed from spiritualism.
ü Traditional
idolatry is symbolic of worshipping a form of God, Who is formless.
ü Pilgrimages
represent purification of mind but bathing in holy places is ritualism of
cleaning the body only;
ü Recitation
refers to reading of the inner experiences and teachings of the mystics
(without applying them on our own selves);
ü Mantras mean to
create holy vibrations externally or for some materialistic benefit;
ü Fasting is
meant to control the sensual desires (of Gyan and Karm Indiryas) to keep a good
karmic profile.
Sant Mat believes that
external ascetic practices have limited benefits and keep the soul tied to the
creation where it suffers in the cycle of 84.
a. Sant Mat like
Sufism believes in a mystical relationship between the Shishya and living True
Guru—just like Murid and Murshid.
b. Guru guides the
disciple into technique of Nam –Simran Bhakti, (Simran
is repetitive remembrance and Bhakti is Bhav=Love, and Kriti= karna in which the emphasis is
of reciprocal love and devotion, where the devotee loves God, and God loves the
devotee); advises do’s and don’ts of life style to subdue the
power of mind from outward direction and pull it to the inner self. A true Guru or Murshid is mandated to
initiate the disciple. This is akin to Tareeqat of Sufis.
c. The disciples
pursue the path and validate inner experience by intensive meditation. Mind is
rendered inert. This is equivalent to Marfatt.
d. The process of
acknowledging Reality, when blessed is called Sat or Haqeeqat.
The major parallelism is
of living Murshid or Satguru or Guru or Perfect Master—who in human form
blesses the Murid, Shishya, Seeker, Disciple, and Aspirant--the method of
getting in touch with the Shabd, Nam, Kun, Word or invisible formless
Lord. The real form of Satguru and the
shishya is shabd –the one in the realized state and the other in unconscious
state. The starting point is the body (Sargun state, of attributes), while the
end or realization is of formless Shabd (Nirgun state of without any
attributes) of both the seeker and the sought.
Fifth Guru has rendered a
very beautiful composition in Granth Sahib corroborating a synthesis of Sufism
and Sant Mat.
ALLAH AGAM
KHUDAII BANDE
अल्ला अगम खुदाई बन्दे
FIFTH GURU PAGE
1083 SGGS
1.
अल्ला
अगम खुदाई बन्दे// छोड़ ख्याल दुनिया के धंदे//
2.
होय
पे खाक फ़क़ीर मुसाफिर एह दरवेस कबूल दरा//
Listen oh man, the slave of inaccessible
God; forsake thoughts of worldly pursuits if you are seeker of God. Ye be a
traveler—unattached to the creation-- like humble dust and that is what is
accepted of a Dervish or a mystic monk-- in the Lord’s court.
3.
सच
निवाज यकीन मुस्सला //मनसा मार निवारो आसा//
4.
देह
मसीत मन मौलाना कलम खुदाई पाक खरा//
Let the Truth be your
prayer (namaz) and faith be “prayer mat”; extinguish desires and mollify hopes.
Let this body be a mosque; your mind a priest of Lord by remembrance of holy
word of true purity.
5.
सर
सरीअत ले कमावे//तरीकत तरक खोज टोलावे//
6.
मार्फ़त
मन मार अब्दुल्लाह, मिले हकीकत जित फिर न मरा //
The seeker may follow a
life of righteousness (Shariat), getting blessed by a Master (Tareeqat),
practicing meditation, and attainment of knowledge by equipoise state of mind
(Marfatt) and realization of the Truth (Haqeeqat), to get rid of cycle of birth
and death..)
(Note: There are five pillars of Islam
mandated for all those who can perform them. They are, faith in One God, Namaz
or prayer five times a day by remembering the Lord as per Koranic verses , Zakat
or charity, Roza or fasting in the month of Ramzaan/Ramadan and Hajj or visit
to Mecca/Makkah in Saudi Arabia once in life on the given dates in the month of
September. These with other aspects are covered in the succeeding verses.)
7.
कुरान
किताब दिल में कमावे// दस औरत राखो बद राही //
8.
पांच
मर्द सिदक से साधो, ख़ैर सबूरी कबूल परा//
Practice the teachings of
Holy books like Koran and other scriptures with all sincerity of your heart.
Rein in the ten sensual organs (referred as women due to patriarchal pattern of
Indian society)—five karma indriyan (feet, hands, mouth, anus and reproductive
organ) and five Gyan Indriyan (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin).
Control the five (men)
perversions of mind—lust, anger, greed, attachment to the world, ego—with love,
faith, charity, patience, contentment and you shall be found worthy of Lord’s
acceptance.
9.
मक्का
महर रोज़ा पे खाका // बहिश्त पीर लफ्ज़ कमावे अंदाज़ा //
10.
हूर
नूर मुशक खुदाया, बंदगी आल्हा आल हुजरा //
Visit to the holy shrine
of Mecca is symbolic of grace of the Lord; Roza or fasting represents the humility,
the feet of dust of the holy people; let paradise be your practice in abiding
by the teachings of the Murshid; Hoor or the most beautiful woman and her
perfumery, is the Divine Light of the Lord; meditation is Lord’s simran or
remembrance in a solitary chamber.
11.
सच
कमावे सोई काजी, जो दिल सोधे सोई हाजी//
12.
सो
मुला जो मालून निवारे, सो दरवेस जो सिफत धरा //
Those who live life of
truthfulness is deemed Kazi—(Kazi is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions, such as
mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors). The one who
purifies the mind is deemed Haji-- a Muslim person who has
successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. The holy mullah or priest is the one who sheds
perversions of mind; mystic monk is the one who meditates on Nam or Kalma
blessed by his Murshid.
13.
सबे
वख्त सबे कर वेला, खालक याद दिले मह मौला//
14.
तस्बी
याद करह दस मर्दन सुन्नत सील बंधान बरा//
The heart should be
immersed in the remembrance or Zikr or Simran of the Creator all the time and
occasions. Let rosary be constant reminder of reining ten sensual organs into
state of numbness by attaining nobility and impeccable character.
15.
दिल
में जानो सब फिल्हाला, खिलकत बिरादर हमू जंजाला //
16.
मीर
मलक उम्रे फानया एक मुकाम खुदाए दरा//
Know in your heart that
this creation is transitory including the family, relationships, near and dear
siblings. The powerful Kings, rulers, and rich nobles are all doomed and
mortal; only the abode of One is the place of permanence.
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