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Bhakti-Sufi Traditions
Question
Read the following excerpt carefully and answer the questions that follow:
The Pilgrimage of the Mughal Princess Jahanara, 1643
The following is an excerpt from Jahanara’s biography of Shaikh Muinuddin Chisti, titled Munis al Arwah (The Confident of Spirits):
After praising the one God…. this lowly faqira (humble soul) Jahanara… went from the capital Agra in the company of my great father (Emperor Shah Jahan) towards the pure region of incomparable Ajmer… I was committed to this idea, that every day in every station I would perform two cycles of optional prayer…
For several days…. I did not sleep on a leopard skin at night, I did not extent my feet in the direction of the blessed sanctuary of the revered saving master, and I did not turn my back towards him. I passed the days beneath the trees.
On Thursday, the fourth of the blessed month of Ramzan, I attained the happiness of pilgrimage to the illuminated and the perfumed tomb… With an hour of daylight remaining, I went to the holy sanctuary and rubbed my pale face with the dust of that threshold. From the doorway to the blessed tomb I went barefoot, kissing the ground. Having entered the dome, I went around the light-filled tomb of my master seven times ….Finally, with my own hand I put the finest quality of itar on the perfumed tomb of the revered one, and having taken off the rose scarf that I had on my head, I placed it on the top of the blessed tomb.
(16.1) Give the meaning of Ziyarat.
(16.2) How did Jahanara show her devotion to Shaikh Muinuddin Chisti ? Give examples.
(16.3) Why was dargah of Khwaja Muinuddin popular amongst devotees ?
Solution
(16.1) Ziyarat means Pilgrimage.
(16.2) Jahanara devotions:
(i) she did not sleep on a leopard skin at night
(ii) she did not extend her feet in the direction of the blessed sanctuary
(iii) she did not turn her back towards him
(iv) she rubbed her pale face with the dust of that holy sanctuary threshold
(16.3) It was popular because of the austerity and piety of its Shaikh, the greatness of his spiritual successors, and the patronage of royal visitors.
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Some More Questions From Bhakti-Sufi Traditions Chapter
Discuss the major beliefs and practices that characterised Sufism.
Examine how and why rulers tried to establish connections with the traditions of the Nayanars and the Sufis.
Analyse, with illustrations, why Bhaktland Sufi thinkers adopted a variety of languages in which to express their opinions.
Read any five of the sources included in this chapter and discuss the social and religious ideas that are expressed in them.
On an outline map of India, plot three major sufi shrines, and three places associated with temples (one each of a form of Vishnu, Shiva and the goddess).
Choose any two of the religious teachers/thinkers/saints mentioned in this chapter, and find out more about their lives and teachings. Prepare a report
about the area and the times in which they lived their major ideas, how we know about them, and why you think they are important.
Find out more about practices of pilgrimage associated with the shrines mentioned in this chapter. Are these pilgrimages still undertaken? When are these shrines visited? Who visits these shrines? Why do they do so? What are the activities associated with these pilgrimages?
Mention the two earliest Bhakti Movements of Tamil Nadu, giving the main difference between them.
Mention two features of the protest movement started by Nayanars and Alvars.
Who led a new religious movement in Karnataka? What were his followers known as?
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