Sufi Saints of India
- December 8, 2020
By Swarn Khandpur
The Sufis were saints or mystics of Persia who formed themselves into several orders and spread out to distant lands. Some of them lived as householders.
Khwaja Muinnudin
Khwaja Muinnudin of the Chishti order came to India in the 12th century and settled down at Ajmer. His piety and humility endeared him to Hindus and Muslims alike. They affectionately called him Garib Nawaz, one who cherishes the humble. His tomb has become a place of pilgrimage for his following all over the world.
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Baba Farid
After his raid on Delhi in 1398, Taimur was returning home to Samarkand, laden with gold and riches. Suddenly, at a place in Punjab, the caravan stopped. The horse refused to move. Taimur became furious. When told that the place was sanctified, Taimur demanded to know by whom. A voice answered:
“Baba Farid, the king of kings.”
Taimur, the story goes, bowed to the memory of the saint and spent the night at the Dargah (or tomb) of Baba Farid.
Baba Farid was popularly known as Ganj-Shakkar or the treasurer of sweetness. It is said that, as a child, he would get some sugar from his mother after every prayer. One day, she forgot to put it under the prayer mat. But, by some divine power, sugar did appear when Farid turned to take his reward! His hymns are included in the Granth Sahib, the Holy book of the Sikhs. He would say,
“Do not give me scissors. Give me a needle. I sew, I do not cut.”
Nizamuddin Auliya
Another great Sufi was Nizamuddin Auliya who settled in Delhi and spent his life in the service of God and his creatures. Around his tomb has grown a settlement popularly referred to as “Sufi Basti”.
Sheikh Salim
Sheikh Salim Chishti, a Sufi saint during the reign of Emperor Akbar, had settled down at Sikri near Agra. It was with his blessings that a son was born to Akbar. The child, named Salim after the saint, later became known as Emperor Jahangir. Akbar built a marble tomb for the saint at Fatehpur Sikri.
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The Sons of Rama
The story of Rama and Sita was first set down by the sage Valmiki in his epic poem 'Ramayana.' Rama was the eldest son of Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, who had three wives - Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. Rama was the son of Kaushalya, Bharata of Kaikeyi and Laxmana and Shatrughna of Sumitra. The four princes grew up to be brave and valiant. Rama won the hand of Sita, the daughter of King Janaka. Dasharatha wanted to crown Rama as the king but Kaikeyi objected. Using boons granted to her by Dasharatha earlier, she had Rama banished to the forest. Sita and Laxmana decided to follow Rama. While in the forest, a Rakshasi, Shoorpanakha, accosted Laxmana but had her nose cut off by him. In revenge, her brother Ravana, king of Lanka, carried Sita away. Rama and Laxmana set out to look for her and with the help of an army of monkeys, defeated Ravana. On returning Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile, Rama banished Sita because of the suspicions of his subjects. In the ashrama of sage Valmiki, she gave birth to her twin sons, Luv and Kush.
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