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UNITY OF MANIFESTATION

The writings of  Makhdoom Sharafuddin  (1263–1380 CE) contain certain concepts and doctrines which are generally believed to have been articulated a few centuries after him. One such mystical doctrine known as  ‘Unity of Manifestation’  ( Wahdat ash-Shuhud ) was propagated in the eleventh century of the Islamic era by  Shaykh Ahmad al-Faruqi  (1564–1624 CE) to contradict the then prevalent concept of  ‘Unity of Being’  ( Wahdat al-Wujood ). It is true that   Shaykh Ahmad al-Faruqi (nicknamed,  Mujaddid Alf Thani ) was  par excellence  the greatest exponent of the doctrine of the Unity of Manifestation but one is surprised to see that Makhdoom Sharafuddin, too, had clearly delineated the fundamental position of this concept about two and a half centuries before it was revived by the Mujaddid. Makhdoom has explicitly stated in his letters, in the light of his personal religious experiences and intuitive knowledge, that was commonly known by Unity of Being or annihilation of every
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PROPHETHOOD AND SAINTHOOD

An erratic concept prevalent for quite a long time among the then mystics was that sainthood occupies a place more exalted and sublime than Prophethood: the saints being always attracted to divine perfection severed all relationship with the world and sentient beings around them while the prophet’s mission being to propagate and expound the revealed truth, the latter had, very often, to remain in contact with their fellow beings. And, since, the fellowship of God was a task more consecrated than the fellowship of human beings, the saints held a more elevated and hallowed place than the Prophets did. Some other mystics, however, made a distinction between the two states of prophets when they were absorbed in Divine propinquity and when they were busy disseminating the divine message among their fellow beings, and thereby concluded that the prophets in their former occupation enjoyed a higher position than when they performed the function of their ministry. Even this view s
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THE SUFI KING

On arriving in Ajmer the Khwaja and his disciples sat down to rest in the shade of a large tree. This weary group of mystics had barely sat down when some camel-keepers arrived and said in a harsh tone:  “Move out from here. This is the sitting place for the king’s camels.” The Khwaja politely replied that the camels could sit somewhere else as there was a lot of free space available. But the camel-keepers were adamant in their claim and started behaving aggressively. Left with no other option, the Khwaja said in a calm tone:  “Relax! We are moving out. Now your camels would be seated here.” Then the Khwaja with his group of disciples went towards Anasagar Lake and rested on a nearby mountain. When they had departed, the camel-keepers made the king’s camels sit there in the shade of the tree. But the next morning when they returned to raise the camels, they were unable to do so. They tried their best but in vain. It seemed as if the earth had caught hold of the camels and wo
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HINDUISM-GOD-ISLAM

The Almighty God is only and only One but known by various names in different languages. While the Muslims consider ‘Qur’an’ to be the ‘Word of God’ whereas the Hindus consider ‘Vedas’ to be the ‘Word of God’. Vedas consist of four books, namely Rig-ved, Samved, Yajurved and Atharved. Next in importance are the Upanishads of which thirteen are primary. The Vedas and the Upanishads are considered to be ‘smriti’, that which is heard or revealed from God. The later texts are known as ‘shruti’, that which is remembered and written down. The Shruti texts comprises of Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Manusmriti, etc. Let’s see the verses from some of the above mentioned texts that point to the existence of One True God. ‘He is One only without a second.’  (Chandogya Upanishad, 6:2:1) ‘O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him Alone.’  (Rig-ved 8:1:1) ‘Verily, great is the glory of the Divine Creator.’  (Rig-ved 5:1:81) ‘Of Him there
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MANU AND NOAH

In traditional Hinduism, a total of 14 Manu are mentioned by names. Of these the first one to come upon earth was  Svayambhuva Manu  who is better known as  Adam  (peace be upon him). And the seventh Manu is called  Vaivasvata Manu , also known as  ‘ Jal – plavan – Manu’ , i.e.,  ‘Manu of the Great Deluge’ . He was a man of great integrity and a chosen one of God. The  Satapatha   Brahmana  (compiled around 8th to 6th century BCE) has this to say about Manu:  “There lived in ancient time a holy man called Manu, who, by penances and prayers, had won the favour of the Lord of the heaven.” The Mahabharata describes Manu thus: “And Manu was imbued with great wisdom and devoted to virtue. And he became the progenitor of a line. And in Manu’s race have been born all human beings, who have, therefore been called  Manavas  (humans)…” (Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section LXXV) A famous orientalist A.J.A. Dubious, who studied Hinduism for 40 years, stated in hi
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