Alternate Histories: Aurangzeb’s assault on syncretic culture

We begin the second and last part of this narration with a recap. Sarmad, born in 1590 at Kashan in Armenia into a business family of Persian-speaking Jews, leaves for Hindustan in his youth to start a career in trade. He heads for the ancient city of Thatta, now in Pakistan near Karachi. During his journey, he meets a Sufi and due to his interest in spiritual matters, both discuss religion and Sufi thought, Sarmad converts to Islam and becomes a Sufi.
Upon reaching Thatta, he begins visiting a Sufi shrine. He is drawn towards a young Brahmin Abhay Chand and the feelings are mutual. The orthodox in both communities are not happy with the development but efforts to separate them fail. After some time, both leave for Delhi, camping near the hospice of Khwaja Abdul Hasan, popularly known as Hare Bhare Saheb. Sarmad by now is a Majzoob – someone so totally immersed in an idea that he forgets all else. He has discarded clothes and has been, for many years, roaming the streets, in the style of the Dig amber monks and the Nagas, without a thread on his body.

Every evening Sarmad sat on the steps of the east-gate of Jama Masjid and talked about unity of being, of coming into existence and passing on and many gathered to listen to him. His ideas, like ideas propagated by many Sufis, resonated with many philosophical traditions then prevalent or developing in India. Ideas of Adwaitya (Non-Duality) and Maya were mirrored in the concepts of Wahdat-ul Wujood (Unity of Being) and of Wahdat-us-Shahood (Unity of the Observed).

These ideas highlighted the philosophical similarities between Central Asian and South Asian spiritual practices and beliefs. Exchanges between Sufis and ascetics were on the rise and Dara Shikoh, heir-apparent and elder son of Shahjahan, was deeply involved in these debates. He had already translated the Upanishad’s from Sanskrit to Persian and had authored ‘Majmat-ul Behrain’ (‘Confluence of Two Oceans’), on the philosophical similarities between Sufism and Vedantic ideas.

The Sufis and the followers of the Nirgun (formless god) tradition interacted regularly. The 6th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), visited Kashmir. The Gurudwara Chhati Padshahi on Hari Parbat along the Dal Lake commemorates the visit. The shrine of one of the most popular Sufis of Kashmir, Makhdoom Saheb (1494-1563) is also located on this hill, which is also the site of the temple of Goddess Parvati, worshipped in Kashmir as the 18-armed Sharika.

Dara Shikoh had built a mosque for his teacher, Mullah Shah Badakshi, on Hari Parbat. Mullah Shah Badakshi was the disciple and spiritual successor of the Sufi Saint Mian Mir. It was Mian Mir who introduced Dara Shikoh to Mulla Shah Badakshi and it is Mian Mir who was invited by the Sikhs to lay the Foundation of Gurudwara Harmandar Saheb. So, you see the links between the Sufis and the Nirgunis were rather close and Dara Shikoh is a disciple of Mulla Shah Badakshi and of Sarmad.

The religious orthodox was not happy with Dara Shikoh and his associations with elements that they did not approve of and despite the fact that Shahjahan wanted him as his successor, despite the fact that the 7th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Har Rai, had promised his support to Dara Shikoh against Aurangzeb and despite the fact that Dara Shikoh had the blessings of Sarmad, the most popular Sufi of Delhi, it was Aurangzeb who won the war of succession. One reason for this was the fact that a majority of the Rajput Mansabdars sided with Aurangzeb. They did not think that Dara, who spent all his time with Sufis, mendicants and spiritualists could be a good administrator.

Once Aurangzeb had gotten rid of both Dara Shikoh and Murad Baksh, had chased Shah Shuja to Arakan, present-day Myanmar, where the local rulers captured and executed him, and had imprisoned Shahjahan, he turned to Sarmad.

It is said that he was quizzed by ulemas and was asked to recite the Kalema that all Muslims have to recite to affirm their faith in God and his Messenger, Mohammad. The Kalema reads in Arabic as follows: La Ilaha il lal Lah, Mohammad ur Rasul al Lah (There is no god, but the one God and Mohammad is his Messenger). Sarmad is reported to have said, La Ilaha before stopping and this means, there is no God.

The ulemas were extremely angry and said ‘complete the Kalema if you claim to be a Muslim’ and Sarmad said, ‘I’ll complete the Kalema after comprehending the first phrase’.

He was promptly declared heretic and soon executed. Sarmad is buried near the Shrine of Khwaja Abdul Hasan It is interesting to note that he was not charged for being gay. Had he been alive in our times, both he and Abhay Chand would be in prison for their sexual preferences. Same-sex love was not a crime in pre-British India. It was the colonialists who had criminalised it.

The author is a historian, and organises the Delhi Heritage Walk for children and adults