Today we will discuss DARA SHIKOH: THE PRINCE WHO LONGED TO BE FAKIR
DARA SHIKOH: THE PRINCE WHO LONGED TO BE FAKIR
To God belongs the East and the West: whichever direction you turn there is countenance of God. For God is All-Embracing and All-Knowing. (Quran 2.215)
Dara Shikoh, son and heir apparent of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had an unusual ambition for a prince, to be recognised as a Sufi fakır (mendicant). The historical accounts show that he went through a spiritual crisis at an early age and found solace after initiation into Sufi Qadri order in 1640. He had become weary of the theological dogma and dialectics and religious legalism, sought relief in the Sufi doctrine of Wahdatul Wigood, (Unity of all religions) and Sullu Kul (Peace with all).
After joining Qadri order he took to intensive studies in mysticism and acquisition of Sufi meditational exercises. He benefited a great deal from the works of Ibn Arabi, Al-Hujwiri, Hafiz, Jami, Rumi and other Sufi masters and in a period of about 13 years produced five books of great importance, namely, Safinatul Auliya (1641), Sakinatul Auliya (1643) Risalae Haq Numa, Tareeqatul Haqeeqat (1647) and Hasnatul Arifin (1653) First two books contain biographical details of various Sufi masters and, other three books deal with exposition of Sufi doctrines. He was so fascinated with the works of famous Sufis that he wrote ‘If one had not the privilege of knowing them personally, he can at least take pleasure in their noble works.
His literary pieces gave rise to cleric ressentiment leading to stealthy propaganda against him. Dara Shikoh himself writes that ‘malicious tongues had started wagging accusing him of heresy and apostasy’ He dubbed his detractors as ‘ignoramuses to themselves and learned to the ignorant. Every Prophet and Saint of God had suffered at their vicious hands.
In 1653. Dara Shikoh met a Hindu saint Baba Lal Das Bairagi and held long sessions with him discussing Hindu mythology, asceticism and transmigration of the soul. Baba also helped him to make comparative study of Yoga with Sufi meditational exercises. The result of these studies was that Dara Shikoh translated both Bhagwat Gita and Yoga-Vashishta into Persian. This was an important achievement as the translation of Gita done during the time of Akbar had become extinct
But the real fruit of his study of comparative religions came in the form of Majmaud Bahram (Meeting of Two Oceans) in 1656. This literary masterpiece is a brilliant effort to find the common thread in the cosmological, philosophical, theological and spiritual concepts of Hinduism and Islam. While defining the purpose of his work, he says. It (Mamaul Bahrain) is a collection of the truth and wisdom of two truth knowing groups’.
In 1657 Dara Shikoh with the assistance of some scholars from Benaras translated the Upanishads into Persian under the title of Sirre Akbar (Great Secret). He explained that he had undertaken study of various religious traditions to fully understand the theological and philosophical doctrines. He further said that in Vedas he discovered the essence of monotheism and Upanishads he regarded as divine secrets and asserted that he had translated the Upanishads for has own spiritual benefit and benefit of his children, friends and the seekers of truth
It was this Persian translation brought to Europe by a traveller Francois Berner and translated into French and Latin after about hundred years that exposed Europe to Hindu religious thought and philosophy It was again the same translation that helped Aurangzeb to procure a legal decree (fatua) against Dara Shikoh accusing him of heresy (kufr) and apostasy Dara was killed most brutally but his contribution to the cause of religious harmony is everlasting.
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