Prophet Mohammed.(PBUH)

Prophet Mohammed.(PBUH)

The first man Adam was the son of God and thereafter everyone is a child of the One and Only God.

Prophet Mohammed was a descendent of Ishmael, son of Abraham and father of the warring tribes of Arabian peninsula.

Now Ishmail was a child of Abraham from his Egyptian maid and along with his mother he was left in the desert by Abraham.

It’s a strange story that Abraham first had Ishmael and then later had Issac from his wife Sarah. Both Moses and Jesus trace back their lineage to Issac.

Anyway the story is that Ishmail and his mother were left in the desert and were desperate for water and hearing their prayers God showed them a well (Zamzam well), both mother and son settled in the same place which soon grew into a prosperous city known as Mecca. Ishmail was later married to an Egyptian girl and had twelve sons who later went on to form the twelve warring tribes of Arabia.

Very interestingly Mecca was the focal point in the trade route between Syria and Egypt and other cities. So Ishmaiel and his mother traded water for goods from the traders who rested their caravan in Mecca. Both Ishmael and his mother lie buried in a place near Kabbah which is the first house of worship built on earth for the worship of Allah and rebuilt by Prophets Abraham and Ishmaiel.

Prophet Mohammed was born in 570 AD in Mecca which had idols of 360 gods and goddesses and this was a source of huge revenues for the Quraysh Tribes in charge.

The mission of Prophet Mohammed was similar to Moses and his ten Commandments,  to re-establish law & order in society, demonstrate and complete the laws of moral, ethical, legal, social conduct and other matters of significance for humanity at large. He united the fighting Arab tribes under Islam and brought about clarity that there is only One God.

Humanity had evolved and with growing complexity of trade and warfare the Prophets always worked for the greatest good for the greatest number and they always redefine religious codes and re-establish moral values on earth.

The Qur’an mentions twenty five Prophets by name and provides an insight of their mission , struggle and their communities. The Qur’an also mentions four previously revealed Scriptures of Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus. Islam requires belief in all Prophets and revealed scriptures as part of the Articles of Faith.

The laws of Moses in Israel had lost their relevance and therefore the Holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed through Archangel Gabriel.

Another interesting fact is that the Byzantine & Sassanid Empires were on the decline as the Holy Roman Empire could not hold itself together.

Therefore we see that Islam at that time within a span of hundred years spread till China in east and Europe in west thus bridging the east & west through the silk trade route to bring about assimilation of cultures.

Personally,I have not read the Qur’an but find it very interesting that it was so detailed on all aspects of human life and social conduct and relationship. We must read all the scriptures for proper understanding of human evolution throughout history.

Sheikh Noor-ud–din Wali or Nund Rishi.

Sheikh Noor-ud–din Wali or Nund Rishi.

The anchor of any society lies in spirituality, the thoughts and feelings of the people determine what sort of life and society they build. Mahatma Gandhi fought for the freedom but was against violence and hatred. He stressed on love and service to humanity.

Indian society has been very fortunate to have great Spiritual leaders like Buddha and Guru Nanak who have founded religions. Adi Shankara reorganized Hinduism.

One of the Sufi saints who has impressed me a lot was Nund Rishi – founder of Rishi Sufi Silsilah a funny name which came to my mind repeatedly and I was forced to write about him. Nund Rishi or Sheikh Noor-ud-din-Wali lived between 1379 and 1438 and is known as the patron saint of Kashmir and had his Khanqah at Charar-e-Sharif near Srinagar.

Nund Rishi is unique because he inherited the spiritual legacy of Lalla Arifa, a Shavite female mystic when he was born. Nund Rishi belonged to the family of Raja of Kishtwar, they had embraced Islam at the hands of Sufi saint Yasman Rishi , spiritual preceptor of Nund Rishi also. Nund Rishi founded the Rishi order or Silsilah Rishian which is indigenous to Kashmir.

Kashmir had witnessed a unique amalgamation of three prominent cultures and religion – The Shaiva Philosophy of Rishis of the ancient traditional followers of Lord Shiva, the Sufi mystic movement which came from Arabia through Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan and Buddhism which was a remnant of the ancient Silk Trade Route as Buddhism had entered China through the Silk Trade Route.

The Buddhist monasteries had become centers of literacy, culture with well organized marketplaces, lodging and storage, but the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism ended with rise of Islam in Central Asia and the Sufi Khanqahs replaced the monasteries.The Sufi Khanqahs became something like Caravan Sarais where merchants often rested in their travels along the Silk Route. Any progressive society apart from Spirituality needs a strong network for trading and a robust economy for progress.

Nund Rishi used poetry as a tool to spread knowledge of the absolute. He was a revolutionary and taught love for humanity along with tolerance and service. His poems and clarity of his teachings that Islam crusaded against social injustice and stressed on love, tolerance and service impressed a large number of people who embraced Islam.

Nund Rishi or Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali played the role of a social reformer and raised his voice against oppression.

Today we need to understand our history and culture and work towards building a better future with love and tolerance. The society will always evolve as per the thoughts and feelings of the majority of the people and Spiritual thrust and strength is only provided by God.

Buddha.

Buddha was a nice guy who was born in a palace, he had a lovely wife and had everything going fine, but then he wanted to know the ultimate truth.

I really don’t know why he had to leave his house when he could have sat in his garden and meditated under any tree – guess he also realized his own stupidity when he announced that the middle path is the best way, a balanced way between extremes of indulgence and abstinence.

I have always been fascinated by Buddha because I had a lot of Amar Chitra Katha Comics and had read a lot of Jataka Tales or stories about Buddhas past life as various animals.

I used to imagine myself sometimes as an ant or deer or monkey leading a life in the forest and wondered how I never remembered my past lives.

Being a logical person and not believing in any superstitions, I liked Buddha’s approach of simple four noble truths and eight fold path. It was very easy and simple to practice.

Later, I started appreciating Buddha a lot when I realized that evolution of life of a child inside the mother’s womb was similar to evolution as per Charles Darwin – an egg slowly became a fish, snake, lizard, monkey and then finally a human. The Jataka Tales are similarly about evolution and have lessons of love and sacrifice.

The turning the wheels of Dharma was also deeply appreciated when I realized that our life is nothing but a series of cause and effect and the law of karma is nothing but a simple rule of reaping the fruits of whatever we have sown in the past. The cycle of life is nothing personal and it was always possible to get off by attaining liberation through work or karma, for Buddha said that it was possible by doing work with detachment and not getting entangled to the results.

Buddhism has spread all across the globe due to its simplicity and in today’s world it remains the most scientific and relevant teaching. We should practice love, compassion and generosity for all living creatures for life is constantly evolving as the wheels of time keep turning in a cyclical fashion. Let’s sow seeds of love, kindness, forgiveness and goodness.

Hazrat Baba Tazuddin – (The saint who was admitted to the Mental Asylum.)

The Genesis is in the Genetics – it’s a controversial statement, but scientists are now finding out a lot of truth in this statement. It seems our DNA contains all the information and memories are passed down through generations. The wise ones have always said that all knowledge is within us, it seems to be more appropriate with the latest research in Genetics, DNA, Cloning, etc.

My humble research on the Sufi Saints since the last twenty five years has lead me to belief that most Sufi Saints trace back their lineage to Prophet Mohammed.

Today I write about Hazrat Baba Tazuddin, one of the Perfect Masters or Qutabs. The Qutab is the pivotal point in the administration of the perceptible and the imperceptible universe around us. Some of the Qutabs or Perfect Masters in the past have been Hernes, Enoch, Orpheus, Abraham, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Christ, Prophet Mohammed, Adi Shankracharya and many others.

The Sadgurus or Perfect Masters or Qutabs are extremely busy in evolving the human capacity to higher potentials and magnitudes to bring in the fifth human race with much superior potential. The exploration of space, genetics engineering, discovery of sub-particles of the atom, unbelievable expansion of information technology , oceanic explorations, cloning of animals, spread of occultism and paranormal experiments are indications in that direction. Today communication takes place through the medium of electromagnetic waves. Tomorrow, the fifth human race will develop the capacity to communicate through a mental process with each other. Newer and newer energy fields will be discovered and used by human beings.

Hazrat Baba Tazuddin was one such Sufi Saint and Perfect Master who was a direct descendant of Sufi Naqshbandi order Baha –ud-din- Naqshband Bukhari. Baba’s forefathers migrated from Mecca and settled down in Madras. When he was six years and studying in madarasa, a highly evolved spiritual saint Hazrat Abdullah Shah came and give him  a dry fruit after eating which he remained in spiritual ecstasy for three days- this was similar to Shaktipata in Hindu Yoga system . Hazrat Tajuddin joined the Nagpur Army Regiment at the age of twenty in 1881 and served in Sagar as an army sepoy .

Later Hazrat Tazuddin used to meditate with a highly developed spiritual soul known as Hazrat Baud Saheb in Sagar.  A favourite couplet that captured his heart was ……”Drink wine , burn Quran and Kaba; dwell in the mandap (temple) but never hurt the feelings of ,or cause pain to, any human heart.” At height of spiritual ecstasy he submitted his resignation directly to the Commandant of his Unit and left the camp.

Thereafter he roamed around Sagar and probably to secure food and shelter and a place from where he could function, he deliberately went naked in front of the British women,  was arrested and sent to the lunatic asylum in 1892 .

He lived happily in the mental asylum for 16 years and operated out of his cell where all people including the top dignitaries and British administrators came to have his darshan , the crowd was so huge that British government started charging fees for his darshan, so as to recover his fooding & lodging expenses.

After living in the Asylum for 16 years he shifted to the Palace of the Maharaja of Nagpur , here he operated a langar for feeding the huge crowd which came to have his darshan. He was always kind, compassionate & generous & fulfilled all the wishes of his devotees.

The effect & influence of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer and of Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi on the rulers of that time can be historically established. Similarly Hazrat Tajuddin had a profound influence on the different rulers as Raja & British Administrators all were lovingly guided by him. We find behind every temporal ruler a spiritual ruler throughout history and the Sufi saints were always an influence on the rulers.

Today human civilization is on the threshold of a big change through change in rulers, wars, large scale destructions, new discoveries which will lead human civilization forward in the path of evolution.

We need at this time sustenance and spreading of spiritual energy on earth through temples, churches, mosques and revival of ancient spiritual sites like the Dargah or Khanqahs of Sufi Saints to guide us forward.

Amma – Mata Amritanandayi.(The saint who hugs you like a mother.)

Amma was born in 1953 in a small coastal village in Kerala, India. At the age of nine years she was withdrawn from school to look after her seven siblings and the household as her mother was ill. She collected food scrapings from door to door for feeding her cattle and realized the pangs of hunger and suffering.

The sufferings made her delve deep into meditation and she realized that suffering is due to past actions or karma of the person. Amma accepted the concept but she refused to accept it as a justification for inaction. “If it’s one man’s karma to suffer, isn’t it our Dharma (duty) to help ease his pain and suffering?”

Since 1987 Amma has been conducting programs throughout the world in selfless service, her  unique form of Darshan is hugging people like her children, she hugs almost 12000 people in a span of twenty two hours and has hugged more than thirty six million people over a span of thirty years. Simply spreading love, compassion and kindness.

Amma stresses on the importance of selfless service to purify the mind and cultivating divine qualities of compassion, forgiveness, patience and self control. She recognizes two types of poverty – one is lack of food , clothing and shelter and the other is lack of love and compassion. She believes if we have love and compassion in our hearts , then we will wholeheartedly serve those who suffer from lack of food , clothing and shelter. This is the secret behind her charitable mission. Amma says that once we experience the highest truth of oneness with an attitude of serving others knowing them to be extensions of one’s self we attain liberation.

Amma says that her religion is love which when expressed is compassion – meaning accepting the needs and sorrows of others as one’s own. She has never asked anyone to change their religion but only to contemplate the essential principles of their own faith and try to live accordingly.

Amma has recorded more than ten thousand bhajans or devotional songs and regards devotional singing as a spiritual practice.

Amma holds free public programs throughout the world and offers words of wisdom and guidance on personal fulfillment as well as climate change, terrorism, women’s right, cross cultural tension and invites everyone to get involved in rebuilding a concerned and caring society.

More information on Amma’s activities can be found on her website www.amritapuri.org which spans across disaster relief, healthcare, education, social welfare , cultural and spiritual activities.

The saints , fakirs, pirs, yogis always focus on love for Humanity across caste , religion , nationality and break down all barriers to help the individual evolve beyond his karma or destiny to liberation by serving humanity.

Guru Nanak.

A lot of things can be said about Guru Nanak, He was a nice guy who was born in a merchant family, He got married and had two sons. He travelled around the world with His Muslim friend named Mardana, He was kind, generous and taught people to love each other and all nice things.

However the purpose of this story is to show another side of history & how the Sadguru’s have been shaping Humanity and our evolution in their unique styles.

Guru Nanak was one of the greatest religious innovators of all time who lived during a very interesting period of history when Babur invaded India and the life of the ten Sikh Gurus runs parallel to the Mughal Empire.

We have seen how the Sufi saints of Chisti order played an important part in the assimilation of Hindus and Muslims.The assimilation stated with Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer during the time of Mahmud Ghori’s invasion and rule of Prithvi Raj Chauhan, it then spread to Delhi ,through Qutab-ud-din Bhakhtiar Kaki during the establishment of the Slave Dynasty of Qutabuddin Aibak & Iltutmish, thereafter it spread to Punjab through Baba Farid and then again Hazrat Nizzamuddin Auliya in Delhi and His famous disciples Amir Khusro and Nassiruddin Chirag –I –delhi. They shaped the social, political and cultural life mainly through their writings , poetry , songs and music. The Delhi Sultanate in the process of trying to destroy the Sufi Saints destroyed themselves and paved the way for the Mughal Empire.

Guru Nanak brought about a revolution through a unique spiritual thrust by which he reorganized the social and political platform based on love, equality and goodness by breaking down all barriers of sex, caste, creed, religion. Needless to say that His work was further consolidated by the nine Sikh Gurus after Him and thereafter the Guru Granth Sahib remained the eternal Guru. The Sikh Guru’s had frequent conflicts with the Mughal Emperors as they considered it a spiritual duty to resist evil and injustice. They organized society as political and societal oppression could not be resisted by individuals.

The unique points which were spread by Guru Nanak and helped shape Humanity are

·         He brought out the importance of local language by encouraging Punjabi & Gurmukhi, he was always for the masses and therefore never encouraged Sanskrit language for the select few to understand God and have any monopoly.

·         He emphasized the role of hard work, discouraged begging and believed in the Householder way of achieving God and never encouraged any of the Guru to be an ascetic. He believed that increased Spiritual awareness leads to increased and vibrant participation in everyday world.

·         “From a woman, a man is born” – Guru Nanak gave highest value and importance to women.

·         He believed in a community concept of Dharamshala which later evolved into Gurudwara where Satsang or meeting of people for community development could take place.

·         He believed in langar or community kitchen for feeding the poor and also breaking all barriers of caste and creed by eating food together as human beings.

·         He believed in Naam Jaap or repeating the name of God to have direct access to God without the help of any rituals or priests.·        

     Sikhism is also highly influenced by the secularism of the Bhakti Saints and Sufi Saints like Kabir and Baba Farid as their hymns and couplets have also been included in the Guru Granth Sahib along with music and langar concept to bring about integration in society.

Therefore we see that a lot of nonsense was wiped out and logical and simple rules for spiritual and material evolution and growth was made.

However I cannot resist the urge to point out that Guru Nanak’s body was not found when He died as only flowers were found, similar to Kabir. The true Guru often fills up his body with pure energy which probably disintegrates into the ether, once the mission is completed.

Let us always remember the simple teachings of helping each other, leading a simple life and serving all as a means of serving God.

Baba Ramdev.

One of the most amazing Yogi in modern times is Baba Ramdev.

Lot of information is available on internet, therefore the gist of this blog is to highlight his achievements.

He is one of the most trusted person who used Television effectively to promote Yoga in an unique manner of having mass Yoga camps for the public all over the country.

He has a logical and scientific approach to everything and a lot can be learned from this unique Yogi who turned spirituality into a political, economic and cultural brand.

He popularized Yoga and Ayurveda in a very big way , challenged big brands like Nestle , Colgate Palmolive, Ponds, Nivea , Coke ,Pepsi,Dabur, Godrej, Hindustan Lever, Proctor & Gamble, Kellogs, Kissan, Brittania ,Himalaya, Lakme, Dabur to name a few companies.

Baba Ramdev shows what a man with clear intention and honesty and integrity can achieve, he has set a bench mark for all the Gurus who were previously hiding behind a lot of mumbo-jumbo nonsense and misleading the masses.

Baba Ramdev made simple home remedies very popular for acidity, gas , cough , cold , fever , skin problems , hair problems , he not only gave solutions but produced and marketed pure products which solved problems and gave rise to a new lifestyle.

Today we have toothpaste, shampoo, soaps, oils, ghee, biscuits, noodles, detergent, jams, sauce , energy bars, creams and a lot of other products available at very reasonable rates from Patanjali Brand by Baba Ramdev.

The thought process of a person matters more than his material wealth or the costume worn by him. Baba Ramdev shows that it’s not necessary to know English or to be an intellectual or be highly educated to be successful.

He is one of the most intelligent man whose approach is highly scientific and he is the person who introduced “Anulom Vilom” and “Kaapal Bhatti” a scientific way to decarbonize the blood in our body and store more praana and oxygen in our body to prevent illness.

Baba Ramdev shows us what a man with a clear mission can achieve in a life time and put into action what he says and feels.

A true saint is one who serves Humanity, irrespective of color, caste , creed, religion or nationality. Baba Ramdev has strived to address the problems of health, wealth and happiness and has succeeded in making Yoga a part of regular life without expensive shoes or Gym equipment – in fact a lot of organizations have been inspired to adopt Yoga instead of physical exercises due to his influence.

The whole of Humanity will be Blessed if we have more Yogi’s ; Fakir’s and Saints who can show how serving Humanity is the best form of love and devotion and with their constructive activities they make life much better in a world full of challenges at different levels.