Ya Ali Madad,
The following two articles authored by late Alwaez Shamshudin Haji are related to the concept of "DAS AVTAAR". The first one is a lecture given by Mr. Jafferali Laji after he was converted from Hinduism. The second one relates to Mowlana Sultan Muhammad Shah's recollection of His manifestation as Lord Krishna at Mathura. The purpose behind posting the two articles is two fold:
- First, to illustrate the reinforcing aspect of a miracle to reason in the progression of faith. Mr. Lalji's group were first introduced to the SATPANTH religion by Ismaili missionaries who used reasoning based on scriptures. The group was convinced of the truth and needed further evidence before they could comit themselves to the SATPANTH religion.
- Secondly, to demontrate that the concept of "DAS AVTAAR" is not a product of Hindu mythology used as a conversion ploy by our Peers, but a reality as verified by the Imam in the most dramatic manner. More about DAS AVTAAR is given in "Anant Akhado (Ashaji)" verse 404 onwards. Here they are... I hope you enjoy them..
A HOLY DIDAR OF “DAS AVTAARS”
“IT WAS DUE TO THE GRACE OF IMAM SULTAN MUHAMMAD SHAH (A.S.) THAT HE BESTOWED HIS UNIQUE HOLY DIDAR - - A DARSHAN OF ‘DAS AVTARS’ TO ME AND IT LED TO EMBRACE ISMAILI SATPANTH”
A LECTURE DELIVERED BY MR. JAFFERALI LALJI AT THE GOLDEN JUBILEE HALL, DAR-ES-SALAAM, IN SEPTEMBER 1941. THE AUTHOR WAS PRESENT.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
A few years ago, I was a Hindu by cast, resident of Gujerat. Ismaili missionaries from the Recreation Club of Bombay were visiting our Province on mission of propagating Ismaili Faith. They used to arrange ‘BHAJAN PARTIES’ and ‘SATSANG’ gatherings where I was invited several times.
Your missionaries were, no doubt, well versed in VED, GITA, and PURAN Shashtras and through these scriptures, they endeavoured to prove Ismaili Dharma (Religion) as THE TRUE “SATPANTH” DHARMA where in “NOOR-E-ALI” had descended and IMAM SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH is the FORTY_EIGHTH BEARER of THE “NOOR-E-IMAMAT,” DASMA NAKLANKI AVTAR.
After a number of SATSANG MULAKATS most of the members of our group, numbering two hundred, were convinced of what the missionaries had said about the DIVINE ASPECT of MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH, who was the FORTY_EIGHTH JOMADHARI NOOR MOWLA MURTAZA ALI (SHRI VISHNU VAR DATAR). We, the participants of the ISMAILI BHAJAN MANDALI, were well convinced and agreed to embrace ISMAILI FAITH, but in one way wished it was practically proved – the DIVINE POWER and the PROOF of the “DASMA NAKLANK AVTAR” by MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH HIMSELF. Our group submitted the above suggestion because it would be extremely hard for us to discard our faith and desert our relatives, friends and fellow brothers unless we had been convinced to the fullest as to the genuineness of the DIVINE “LIGHT” OF SHRI VISHNU.
After some years following this, good news of Mowlana Sultan Mohammed Shah’s MUBARAK PADHRAMNI was announced and our aspirant group was invited to visit Bombay for HOLY DIDAR. We all readily agreed to go to Bombay.
During the misssionaries’ MEHMANI, a request was submitted to KHUDAVIND HAZER IMAM explaining how a group of Hindus has been given instruction on the present LIVING DASMA NAKLANK AVTAR and a result of various meetings everything was done pending final “PROOF” of KHUDAVIND’S KHUDAI NOOR NAKLANK AVTAR.
Mowlana Sultan Mohammed Shah was much delighted to read the missionaries’ ARIJA and most graciously made HOLY FARMAN for the arrangement of a meeting with our Hindu group, of approximately two hundred in number – young and old, ladies, gents, and children.
The next day was a RED LETTER DAY! for us. We made ourselves present at the Recreation Club Office in the morning and KHUDAVIND HAZER IMAM arrived at about 11:00 a.m.
At first glance we were very much touched to behold KHUDAVIND’S HOLY DIDAR. MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH, on HIS arrival, said:
“ACCHA TUMKO NAKLANK KA DARSHAN KARNA HAY? SHABASH.”
MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH was seated on the sofa. HIS ‘NOORANI’ complexion was so charming that our hearts and souls, totally and instantly, became devoted and dedicated to HIM.
And LO! In moments there were the amazing appearances of the HOLY DAS AVTARS.
We beheld DIDAR of SHRI MACHHA AVTAR, then KORBHA, VARAH, NARSINHA, VAMAN, FARSIRAM, RAMCHADRAJI, SHRI KRISHNA, SHRI BUDHA, and lastly DASMA NAKLANK AVTAR MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH in HIS DIVINE ASPECT.
We all bowed down immediately in front of the “NOOR-E-PANJTAN PAK” SHRI VISHNU, ALI VAR AVTAR. (ALLAHUMA SALI ALLAH MOHAMMADAN WA AALE MOHAMMED.) Tears of unsurpassable happiness and joy were shed from our eyes. It was truly an unforgettable event of our lives, which cannot be expressed in its perspective.
However, all the members of our group prayed to KHUDAVIND to accept us all as HIS Spiritual Children.
HAZER IMAM SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH blessed us and said: “KHANAVADAN”.
HIS “NOORANI” ARSHIDWADS enlightened our souls to such a high extent that we, to this day, cannot express it by words. It was a day greatest of all days, the day we embraced THE ISMAILI SATPANTH DHARMA where THE “NOORANI” LIVING JYOT is EVER-PRESENT.
We realize that we have SAVED our BILLIONS of BIRTHS and RE-BIRTHS by the HOLY NOORANI DARSHAN and DIDAR. It is because we recognized the “NOOR” of ALI. SHRI VISHNU, we recognized the “NOORANI” JYOT. We had been always reading in our SHASHTRAS (Scriptures) of the advent of SHRI KRISHNA, but we were not knowledgeable of the LIVING KRISHNA, we were not knowledgeable of NAKLANKI AVTAR. We were most fortunate to be graced with the DARSHAN and DIDAR of SHRI NAKLANK – MOWLANA SULTAN MUHAMMAD SHAH, in our lives.
Finally, Mr. Jafferally Laji recited a verse of Holy Ginan.
EJI JO JEEV JAAVE SHAAHKA NAAM NA CHHODU,
DHAR SEER KARVAT ANGA NA MODU….
Explanation:- If someone were to cut my throat even, I would not leave the HOLY HOUSE OF HAZARIMAM: HIS HOLY NAME will be on my lips till the last breath of my life. AMEN.
Truly wonderful, amazing and unique, the story of Huzur Mukhi Jafferali Lalji’s family and colleagues.
**To give a brief introduction of the lecturer: Mr. Jafferali Laji and Count Mohammed Alarakhia were related through the marriage of their son and daughter respectively, which took place after the above incident.
“MISSIONARY! YE KONSA STATION HAY?” Mowlana Sultan Muhammad Shah while recollecting His Divine “Noorani” aspect and “Noorani” incarnation of five thousand years ago, asked one of the missionaries on His Huzur staff while travelling in the interior of India.
“KHUDAWIND! YE MATHURA KA STATION HE! ,” the missionary replied.
“MISSIONARY, KRISHNA AVTAR ME MAYNE IDHAR BAHOT KHEL KIYA, AUR MOMINOKO BAHOT LADD LADAYA,” Mowlana Sultan Muhammad Shah uttered these unique and most wonderful recollections of His Divine Avtar.
The DARSHAN OF DAS AVTAAR
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Guest
Firman on DAS AVTAAR
While I am at it, I thought of the following Firman of Mowlana Sultan Muhammad Shah which is of relevance to the subject.
"The philosophy of Ten Incarnations (DAS AVTAAR) should be taken and explained in the light of Islamic principles; also the understanding of ALLAH'S NOOR, whose lineal descent is from even before creation, should be given. These principles, Pir Sadardin during the time of Shri Islam Shah has explained, they should be explained in a similar manner.
(Kalam-e Imam-e Mubin, II, p473).
"The philosophy of Ten Incarnations (DAS AVTAAR) should be taken and explained in the light of Islamic principles; also the understanding of ALLAH'S NOOR, whose lineal descent is from even before creation, should be given. These principles, Pir Sadardin during the time of Shri Islam Shah has explained, they should be explained in a similar manner.
(Kalam-e Imam-e Mubin, II, p473).
A useful insight and explanation of the significance of the 'Avtaars' meaning 'incarnations' - manifestations of God's special expressive (Sifati) aspects, in the context of the world's religious history from a Hindu perspective. According to Ismaili version, the Kalki avataar is the Dasmo Naklanki Avtaar - present cycle of Imamat beginning with Hazarat Ali.
SanathanaDharma.com
Gita Govinda Mahakavya of 13th Century Poet Jayadeva
Introduction
Sri Jayadeva was the court poet of King Lakshmanasena who ruled in Bengal in the twelfth century. His mastery of the Sanskrit language was matched by his proficiency in both music and dancing. He was a mystic and a devotee of Sri Krishna.
Jayadeva's only known work, Gita Govindam, embodies the great wealth of his devotion and mystical experience. It is a great poetical masterpiece in twelve cantos of mellifluous verses and songs in Sanskrit, set to music and adapted to representation through dance. The theme of it is the love of Radha and Krishna, symbolizing the longing and striving of the individual, for communion with God, culminating in their blissful union. The language and the imagery expresses the most intense form of love in all its moods and phases.
The First Astapadi
The first section sings of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The text, transliteration, and translation of it are given here.The Dasavatara Stotra is a hymn to Lord Vishnu. It is the first section in the Gita-Govindam of Sri Jayadeva.
Incarnation is a special manifestation of God for a specific purpose. The scriptures tell us that the incarnations are innumerable. Some of these are described in detail and the others are left to the imagination of the devotee. The general principle is that wherever some thing grand, beautiful, or glorious is seen, it is to be understood as embodying a part of God's glory.
In the Bhagavata, twenty-four incarnations are enumerated and described. These include Kapila, the great rishi a founder of the Sankhya school of philosophy, and Rishabha whom the Jains revere as their first prophet. By extending the analogy, all the great sages, whose lives and teachings have reinforced spirituality should be considered as incarnations, descents, or embodiments of God's glory. All incarnations have a common purpose, the protection of the good, the destruction of evil and the establishment of dharma.
Jayadeva enumerates ten of them. They are : (1) Matsya, the Fish; (2) Kurma, the Tortoise; (3) Varaha, the Boar; (4) Narasimha, the Man-lion; (5) Vamana, the Dwarf; (6) Parasurama; (7) Rama; (8) Balarama; (9) Buddhu; and (10) Kalki.
In the Fish incarnation the primary purpose was the recovery of the Vedas, which has been stolen by a demon and hidden in the waters. This required the destruction of the demon. This symbolizes the restoration of true knowledge, subverted by egoism, which has to be destroyed in the process.
The second incarnation is the Tortoise. The gods and demons undertook the Churning of the milk-ocean with the mount Meru as the churn to obtain the nectar of immortality. They found the churn sinking into the ocean and were unable to hold it up. Then God appeared as the great Tortoise on whose back the mountain could rest and allow the process of churning to proceed, bringing up different products, and ultimately, the nectar of immortality.
When we proceed to churn the ocean of experience with the churn of knowledge, in search of reality, we find that knowledge itself requires a base to prove its validity. The attempt to find an ultimate base on which to erect our structure of reasoning can end in an infinite regress, unless it reset on the immovable, all-sufficient, all-sustaining basis of self-evident truth symbolized by the Tortoise form of God.
The third is the Boar. God incarnated this time to lift up the earth which had been taken away into the regions of darkness, under the waters, by Hiranyaksha, a demon. The demon was destroyed and the earth was retrieved. In the both Vishnupurana and the Bhagawatha, the Boar form of God is identified with sacrifice. And Sacrifice, in its turn is not different from God himself. This can be understood as illustrating that stability or order, as contrasted with instability or chaos, can be achieved only through sacrifice, which is again based on the absolute.
In the next, the Man-lion incarnation, the emphasis is on devotion. This guarded the child devotee Prahlada. He was put to endless tortures by this father, Haranyakasipu, a demon, for repeating God's name instead of his own. But Prahlada withstood all the tortures with steadfast devotion. Finally God appeared as Man-lion, of terrible form and killed the demon. This Man-lion incarnation indicates that God is incomprehensible, i.e. He is not limited by our knowledge. It also illustrates that the real devotee alone is truly fearless and even the terrible form has no terror for him.
The dwarf incarnation shows us that valor finds fulfillment only in complete surrender to God. King Bali, the mighty, vanquished all gods, including Indra, the lord of heaven. But he found his true fulfillment when he surrendered himself completely to God. When the might of the ego is thus crushed under the holy foot of God, it is not annihilated but transformed to everlasting blissful existence in the awareness if His presence and protection and ultimate union with Him.
Note the gradual change of form. The Divine appears first as aquatic fish, then as the amphibian tortoise, the land animal boar, and the half-animal-half-human Man-lion. Finally emerges the pygmy, Vamana. This transition for a wonder, anticipates the modern theory of evolution of species.
Next is Parasurama. When the power conferred for protection, grown mighty by its proper exercise, had however degenerated into an oppressive tyranny, it had to be crushed ruthlessly. The terrible Parasurama was the appropriate form for this need.
Then came Sri Rama, perfect in his general dharma as man and in his particular dharma as king. This is a demonstration of how man can rise to divinity, by unswerving adherence to the law of his being, his dharma, in all its details.
In this text, the eighth incarnation is Balarama, the elder brother of Sri Krishna. To Jayadeva and the Vaishnavas, Sri Krishna is not an incarnation, He is God Himself, here addressed as Hari and Kesava, the Entity who appeared in the ten forms.
Buddha the ninth incarnation is the embodiment of compassion. When a section of people was steeped in ignorance and the scripture had become inaccessible to them, when most of those who had access to such knowledge were concerned more with the form than with the spirit of their teaching, there was, then an all-round spiritual poverty. The consequent misery of the people stirred God's compassion and He appeared as Buddha to show men the way out of misery.
The last incarnation of the ten is yet to be as Kalki, the mighty warrior, born in a pious family, to rid the world of the oppression of its unrighteous rulers.
Thus, while the general purpose of protecting the good, destroying evil and establishing the law is common to all the incarnations, it is possible to see an emphasis on a particular aspect in each incarnation.
Can we say, then, that each incarnation was a manifestation suitable for a particular time and the conditions then prevailing? This would be only partially true, for the conditions that evoked the different manifestations never totally ceased to be. It would be more correct to understand them as embodiments of an eternal message; an eternal response of God in His unlimited compassion, to the eternal need of His creatures, in the infinite variety if their moods, temperaments and abilities, for guidance in their struggle for communion with Him.
Jayadeva's DASAVATARA STROTRA
O God, in the form of a Fish! In the flood of dissolution you have held up the revealed knowledge of the Vedas, like a boat, without effort. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Boar! The world rests in peace on the tip of your tusk, like the dark marking on the disc of the moon. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of Man-lion! In your hand of lotus-like beauty, are the finger nails with their wonderful tips which have torn asunder the most powerful demon Hiranyakasipu, as if he was a huge insect. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Dwarf! By planting your feet you have cheated Bali, the mighty. Ganga, the river which sanctifies the world, has come out of your toe-nails. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Lord of the Bhrigus, you have bathed the world in the blood of the tyrannous rulers, thus cleansing it of sin and destroying the misery of its relative existence. Hail! Hari, God of the universe, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the body of Sri Rama! You have made a beautiful offering of the ten heads of the demon Ravana in battle to the guardians of the cardinal directions. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Balarama, the bearer of the plough! You wear on your immaculate body a garment of the colour of the cloud, blue like the Yamuna, darkened by the fear of being dragged by your plough. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the body of Buddha, the enlightened! Out of Compassion o your heart you have condemned the ritualistic portion of the Vedas ordaining the killing of animals. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Kalki! For the destruction of the wicked, you carry a meteor-like sword in your hand, trailing a train of disaster to them. Hail! Hari, God of the World, Victory to Thee!
O God, who took ten forms! Please listen to this song of jayadeva. It bestows goodness, and joy; it is the essence of life. Hail! Hari, God of the world, victory to Thee!
http://www.sanathanadharma.com/jayadeva/stotra.htm
SanathanaDharma.com
Gita Govinda Mahakavya of 13th Century Poet Jayadeva
Introduction
Sri Jayadeva was the court poet of King Lakshmanasena who ruled in Bengal in the twelfth century. His mastery of the Sanskrit language was matched by his proficiency in both music and dancing. He was a mystic and a devotee of Sri Krishna.
Jayadeva's only known work, Gita Govindam, embodies the great wealth of his devotion and mystical experience. It is a great poetical masterpiece in twelve cantos of mellifluous verses and songs in Sanskrit, set to music and adapted to representation through dance. The theme of it is the love of Radha and Krishna, symbolizing the longing and striving of the individual, for communion with God, culminating in their blissful union. The language and the imagery expresses the most intense form of love in all its moods and phases.
The First Astapadi
The first section sings of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The text, transliteration, and translation of it are given here.The Dasavatara Stotra is a hymn to Lord Vishnu. It is the first section in the Gita-Govindam of Sri Jayadeva.
Incarnation is a special manifestation of God for a specific purpose. The scriptures tell us that the incarnations are innumerable. Some of these are described in detail and the others are left to the imagination of the devotee. The general principle is that wherever some thing grand, beautiful, or glorious is seen, it is to be understood as embodying a part of God's glory.
In the Bhagavata, twenty-four incarnations are enumerated and described. These include Kapila, the great rishi a founder of the Sankhya school of philosophy, and Rishabha whom the Jains revere as their first prophet. By extending the analogy, all the great sages, whose lives and teachings have reinforced spirituality should be considered as incarnations, descents, or embodiments of God's glory. All incarnations have a common purpose, the protection of the good, the destruction of evil and the establishment of dharma.
Jayadeva enumerates ten of them. They are : (1) Matsya, the Fish; (2) Kurma, the Tortoise; (3) Varaha, the Boar; (4) Narasimha, the Man-lion; (5) Vamana, the Dwarf; (6) Parasurama; (7) Rama; (8) Balarama; (9) Buddhu; and (10) Kalki.
In the Fish incarnation the primary purpose was the recovery of the Vedas, which has been stolen by a demon and hidden in the waters. This required the destruction of the demon. This symbolizes the restoration of true knowledge, subverted by egoism, which has to be destroyed in the process.
The second incarnation is the Tortoise. The gods and demons undertook the Churning of the milk-ocean with the mount Meru as the churn to obtain the nectar of immortality. They found the churn sinking into the ocean and were unable to hold it up. Then God appeared as the great Tortoise on whose back the mountain could rest and allow the process of churning to proceed, bringing up different products, and ultimately, the nectar of immortality.
When we proceed to churn the ocean of experience with the churn of knowledge, in search of reality, we find that knowledge itself requires a base to prove its validity. The attempt to find an ultimate base on which to erect our structure of reasoning can end in an infinite regress, unless it reset on the immovable, all-sufficient, all-sustaining basis of self-evident truth symbolized by the Tortoise form of God.
The third is the Boar. God incarnated this time to lift up the earth which had been taken away into the regions of darkness, under the waters, by Hiranyaksha, a demon. The demon was destroyed and the earth was retrieved. In the both Vishnupurana and the Bhagawatha, the Boar form of God is identified with sacrifice. And Sacrifice, in its turn is not different from God himself. This can be understood as illustrating that stability or order, as contrasted with instability or chaos, can be achieved only through sacrifice, which is again based on the absolute.
In the next, the Man-lion incarnation, the emphasis is on devotion. This guarded the child devotee Prahlada. He was put to endless tortures by this father, Haranyakasipu, a demon, for repeating God's name instead of his own. But Prahlada withstood all the tortures with steadfast devotion. Finally God appeared as Man-lion, of terrible form and killed the demon. This Man-lion incarnation indicates that God is incomprehensible, i.e. He is not limited by our knowledge. It also illustrates that the real devotee alone is truly fearless and even the terrible form has no terror for him.
The dwarf incarnation shows us that valor finds fulfillment only in complete surrender to God. King Bali, the mighty, vanquished all gods, including Indra, the lord of heaven. But he found his true fulfillment when he surrendered himself completely to God. When the might of the ego is thus crushed under the holy foot of God, it is not annihilated but transformed to everlasting blissful existence in the awareness if His presence and protection and ultimate union with Him.
Note the gradual change of form. The Divine appears first as aquatic fish, then as the amphibian tortoise, the land animal boar, and the half-animal-half-human Man-lion. Finally emerges the pygmy, Vamana. This transition for a wonder, anticipates the modern theory of evolution of species.
Next is Parasurama. When the power conferred for protection, grown mighty by its proper exercise, had however degenerated into an oppressive tyranny, it had to be crushed ruthlessly. The terrible Parasurama was the appropriate form for this need.
Then came Sri Rama, perfect in his general dharma as man and in his particular dharma as king. This is a demonstration of how man can rise to divinity, by unswerving adherence to the law of his being, his dharma, in all its details.
In this text, the eighth incarnation is Balarama, the elder brother of Sri Krishna. To Jayadeva and the Vaishnavas, Sri Krishna is not an incarnation, He is God Himself, here addressed as Hari and Kesava, the Entity who appeared in the ten forms.
Buddha the ninth incarnation is the embodiment of compassion. When a section of people was steeped in ignorance and the scripture had become inaccessible to them, when most of those who had access to such knowledge were concerned more with the form than with the spirit of their teaching, there was, then an all-round spiritual poverty. The consequent misery of the people stirred God's compassion and He appeared as Buddha to show men the way out of misery.
The last incarnation of the ten is yet to be as Kalki, the mighty warrior, born in a pious family, to rid the world of the oppression of its unrighteous rulers.
Thus, while the general purpose of protecting the good, destroying evil and establishing the law is common to all the incarnations, it is possible to see an emphasis on a particular aspect in each incarnation.
Can we say, then, that each incarnation was a manifestation suitable for a particular time and the conditions then prevailing? This would be only partially true, for the conditions that evoked the different manifestations never totally ceased to be. It would be more correct to understand them as embodiments of an eternal message; an eternal response of God in His unlimited compassion, to the eternal need of His creatures, in the infinite variety if their moods, temperaments and abilities, for guidance in their struggle for communion with Him.
Jayadeva's DASAVATARA STROTRA
O God, in the form of a Fish! In the flood of dissolution you have held up the revealed knowledge of the Vedas, like a boat, without effort. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Boar! The world rests in peace on the tip of your tusk, like the dark marking on the disc of the moon. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of Man-lion! In your hand of lotus-like beauty, are the finger nails with their wonderful tips which have torn asunder the most powerful demon Hiranyakasipu, as if he was a huge insect. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Dwarf! By planting your feet you have cheated Bali, the mighty. Ganga, the river which sanctifies the world, has come out of your toe-nails. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Lord of the Bhrigus, you have bathed the world in the blood of the tyrannous rulers, thus cleansing it of sin and destroying the misery of its relative existence. Hail! Hari, God of the universe, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the body of Sri Rama! You have made a beautiful offering of the ten heads of the demon Ravana in battle to the guardians of the cardinal directions. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Balarama, the bearer of the plough! You wear on your immaculate body a garment of the colour of the cloud, blue like the Yamuna, darkened by the fear of being dragged by your plough. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the body of Buddha, the enlightened! Out of Compassion o your heart you have condemned the ritualistic portion of the Vedas ordaining the killing of animals. Hail! Hari, God of the world, Victory to Thee!
O God, in the form of the Kalki! For the destruction of the wicked, you carry a meteor-like sword in your hand, trailing a train of disaster to them. Hail! Hari, God of the World, Victory to Thee!
O God, who took ten forms! Please listen to this song of jayadeva. It bestows goodness, and joy; it is the essence of life. Hail! Hari, God of the world, victory to Thee!
http://www.sanathanadharma.com/jayadeva/stotra.htm
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arshad1988
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In my opinion, by 'Mazhar', it is meant 'locus of manifestation' and hence there is no conflict between the body and the Noor that manifests in it - just as the our soul is created and given a physical form.arshad1988 wrote:According to their interpretation, Krishna was not a manifestation of the Noor, but the Noor itself. What do we Ismailis say about this? Do we believe Krishna was the Noor in his physical form (if that what they are saying)?
As discussed in many threads, there are two facets of Imamat; the Shah and the Pir. The former is the mazhar of the Essence (the Ultimate Source) and the latter the mazhar of the Noor (the Divine Intellect).
Since everything (including the Noor) is derived from the Essence, it follows that the Shah can be the Pir as well but not vice versa. The present Imam being the mazhar of the Essence is also the Pir.
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arshad1988
- Posts: 159
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:02 am
- Contact:
Thanks for the reply - but this sort of confuses me - Can you expand on this? Since mazhar represents the body and the soul - Is Hazar Imam (body and soul) the mazhar of Allah or just the soul? I don't know if I'm making sense -- does Hazar Imam have a soul? Is His soul His Noor? And if the body and soul together are the mazhar of Allah - does that mean the body is the mazhar of the Noor? I don't know if that is what you alluded to as the Shah and the Pir. Sorry you might think this topic is being escalated - but you can feel free to email me at 06zavera@gmail.com - anyone with helpful insight.
Ya Ali Madad!
Ya Ali Madad!
Yes in my opinion. In Islam there is no dichotomy between body and the soul - they are one. As MHI has said in his Farman, the soul is created and given a physical form. The body is the form or expression of the soul.arshad1988 wrote:Is His soul His Noor? And if the body and soul together are the mazhar of Allah - does that mean the body is the mazhar of the Noor?
The body of the Imam is different than the bodies of the rest of us (although it appears the same). If we were to function as the Imam, our bodies would collapse in a day!
O Ali, I rely on thee...
"Hey Madhavji bapa, Mawla one or two?"
Asked one illliterate Koli villager to Peerbhai Madhvji.
"Oh my innocent brother , how can there be 2 Mawlas?" replied Madhvji.
"But I saw 2 of them" replied the Koli villager named Chhagan
"Then you were not paying attention .Didn't I teach you in the Ginans that there is only one Lord?That means you did not do the Deedar."
said Madhavji with a little concern .
"Oh , no, I did.I saw the 2 men with bright red Jabhhas and golden headwear looking very impressive and everyone in the Pandol were looking at them and reciting salvat I saw both of them very well!", said Chhagan the Koli villager.
Madhvji burst into laughter as soon as he heard this.
"No Chhagan , those two were the Mukhi Kamadias but the one in between them the very young man in white English style coat and suit with the hat looking so very impressive was the Imam!The Saheb!"
"Oh, my dear! I was doing sazdas to those two men in red Jabhhas and golden turbans
First I bowed down to one and then I said Salvat as you taught me, and then I bowed to the second and said salvat.
Now you are laughing but how am I suppose to know who is Hazar Imam? I am a new Ismaili illiterate and ignorant. I have never seen him before .The blind and ignorant are both same." replied Chhagan.
The above conversation took place in a very rural gujarati language in a remote village of Limdi , India after the Deedar.
In 1939 Imam Sultan Mohammadshah visited a small village called Limdi in Gujerat India.
The Ismaili Dawat was in a very significant phase those days.
Persons like Peerbhai Madhvji used to travel from village to village and raise the awareness about the Tenth Naklanki avtar now manifested in the Imame Zaman since 1st Imam Hazarat Murtaza Ali.
It was not an easy task but some of our Fidai workers were very persistent and devoted to the work of davat and many people from various tribes like Kolis, rabaris, Kanbis, lohanas all very poor farmers and shepherds and grocery Men, cooks etc were getting converted to khojas.
(most of us living now in U.S.A, canada, africa,India and Pakistan owe our origins from there.)
Bhagat Peerbhai Madhvji lived a long life of about 80 years but his entire life was devoted to the work of dawat on the path of Satpanth(Sirate Mustakim)
With the ginanic literature given by Peer Saderdin and Peer Hasan Kabirdin thousands of murids were made aware of the Imamat and the satpanth.
His life was full of marvels and miracles of Imame Zaman.
It was a golden period for Ismailis in Hindustan. ( now India and Pakistan) .
Three Imams (47th,47thand 49th) lived there for the longest period and also availed the Jamats of their Deedars and personal interactions which were
so rare in the previous periods and also the current time.It was truly an unique period!
(So much of history lies undisclosed because of language barriers.Nothing was recorded properly because of poor or no technology and also people were very uneducated hence very poorly preserved for future generations)
Madhvji Bapa was inspired to do the work of davat since early childhood.
Peerbhai Madhvji once while travelling from village to village ,spreading Ismaili faith stayed over in a place called "Kanoter"
There lived a Koli villager named "Chhagan"
He was a simple individual with a clean heart and a pious mind.
Just as the birds of the similar feathers flock togather there was a natural affinity among these 2 gentle men based on their lifestyle and piety.
Madvji Bapa used to join the Bhajan Group that recited the devotional songs for the prayers mainly in praise of "Krishna",lead by Chhagan.
There was a verse in Bhajan which indicated towards the arrival of the Tenth avtar in the Kaliyug to destroy the Kalinga.
Lord Krishna was being worshipped as the eigth manifesttion of God
Madhvji asked Chhagan and others the meaning and implication of that verse.
When none of them knew Madhvji explained the presence of Hazar Imam in all ages and time and based on the Ginan affirmed he was the tenth Naklanki avtar, the Mazhar of God.
He explained that God is ever present in this world since time immemorial in various form. It is we who are not recognising him.
He also explained that after Krisna the ninth avtar is finished long time ago and the Tenth avtar is already here for almost 1400 years but we are still stuck to the worship of stone Idol of the God when there is an opportunity to witness a living God and listen to his current guidance.
He convinced a lot of people of Ismaili faith based on his integrated knowledge of Geeta ,Veda Bhagvat and Peer Saderdin's ginanic philosophy.
"Has any of the scriptures said that the God will be in the form of a stone statue?"
Then why are you still not willing to accept the living God instead of a stone Murti?",Madhvji Bhagat asked
"So where is this tenth manifestation of God?and how can we see him?" asked the curious Chhagan.
Madhavji bapa said:
"Yes ,he is present on this earth and I have also seen him." affirmed Mahvjibapa.
He is in the form of a Muslim leader called Agakhan and dresses like a Western man and hence many are not able to recognise him.
The further discussion was so much full of spiritual and batuni concepts that at the end of it the entire group was full of inspiration and love for the Imam and unique eagernes to meet him.
Their eyes were full of tears and heart full of love they requested Madhvji to take them for the deedar of the LORD.
Deedar or darshan was a familiar word for them because some of their Bhajans talked about it.
Madhvji bapa showed them the photo of Imam Sultan Mohammad Shah.
From then onwards started the devotional ginans and Giriyazari tasbihs for the Deedar.
After few months , there came the news that Imame Zaman will be arriving in Limdi( a small town near Kanoter) for the mela.
Mela was like a 7day conference packed with events of few Deedars and other religious ceremonies like Mehmani, Hastamilap(marriages) ,Isme Azam navajish etc.
People from surrounding villages gathered in thousands.There were lots of celebrations and lots of prayers!
So Madvji Bapa took Chhagan and other few men for the Deedar Mela to Limdi.
Now on the occasion of the first Deedar, Chhagan apparently did not recognise the Imame Zaman!
Although illiterate, Chhagan was an intelligent man.
There was one more Deedar next day.
Chhagan came up with a clever new plan!
"Hey Mahvji Bhagat, this time I am going to sit in the very back of the pandol.
You are saying he is the Lord ,so since I did not recognise him atleast He must recognise me as He is our spiritual father.
A child can make mistake but not the father."
"Also Since I have always imagined my Lord to be in a certain form I would like to see him in the same form as I am used to only then your Agakhan can be my Lord otherwise he is the Lord of you Khojas and I have nothing to do with him." said Chhagan in a decisive manner.
"What form ?" asked Madhavji bapa rather alarmed!
"I won't tell you that."
With this sentence he went to the back of the pandol and sat down and with his head down he started the tasbih of "Peer Shah, Peer Shah"
The pandol was full with thousands of murids.
Finally Imame Zaman Shah Sultan Mohammad Shah arrived.The moment was blessed.
Savats were being recited. There was Happiness in the air.
He kept moving everywhere on the red carpet saying Khanavadan and showering blessings.
Here Chhagan was sitting with his face down eyes closed, with a determination that only if Mawla will be seen to him in the "Krisna Bhagvan" form and will recognise him he will be convinced of the Ismaili faith.
A little further away Madhvji bapa was sitting nervously praying" Mawla, you please fulfill Chhagan's desire otherwise I will lose my credibility"
Mawla was walking slowly towards the Takhat after walking around on all the red carpets.
When he was about 10 to 15 steps away from the stage ,he suddenly made a right turn....he stepped out of the redcarpet and making his way through the people sitting he was moving towards the rear end of the pandol! Everyone especially the leaders became confused.
"Mawla, this side, here is the takhat"they tried stopping Mawla.
But Mawla just kept his direction and reached to Chhagan,who was sitting and reciting his tasbih with face down and eyes closed.
Chhagan Bhagat, look up Said Mawla.
Chhagan was indeed startled, he looked up and Lo... he saw Krishna Bhagwan!
He is wearing Yelllow silk pitamber,a jewel studded mukut with peackok feather on the side, a charismatic smile on the face and lot of light surrounding him.
This form was visible only for Chhagan.(as he described later)
"Chhagan bhagat,Is your doubt now cleared?"
"I am the same one who was in Gokul, taking care of the cows.
this is my tenth avtar, now forget Ram Krishna and say Ya Ali madad"
Chhagan Bhagat fell in Mawla's feet and said loudly:
"Ya Ali madad! Ya Ali madad!Forgive me my Lord, that I doubted your reality!" He was full of awe!
Mawla asked the Mukhi to get a bowl with water and he himself gave Chhanta to Chhagan.
Just like a man wakes up from a deep sleep and sees the reality so different from the dream, Chhagan 's soul got awakened, he reached a unique moment of spiritual awakening like no other!
His entire being got filled with the Noor of Mawla murtaza Ali.
His eyes were filled with tears and he experienced a happiness like no other.
He was totally dumbstruck!
What happened? His world changed!
Imame Zaman then went to the stage , finished the entire program and went away.
After Mawla went away Chhagan rushed to Madhavji bapa and embraced him dearly and greatly overjoyed accepted:
"Madhavji bapa, Mawla is the truth ,he indeed is the Lord of 14 worlds,there is no doubt. Oh Muskilkusha we rely on thee".
He described the form he saw Mawla bapa in.
Madhavji bapa felt so relieved.
They both became great friends then on and later on Chhagan Became one of the greatest Missionary of the time.
He became known as "Chhagan Bhagat" because he made great strides in the spirituality.He was a great lover of the Murtaza Ali.
The next chapter will describe some more miracles in his life.
source:
Mawlani Madhur Vaato (Gujerati)
part 2,page 56 to 67
author:Sairab Abu turabi
English translation:
Dolly Chandani M.D.
Los Angeles California
(9/5/2009) FOR ISMAILI MURIDS ONLY
"Hey Madhavji bapa, Mawla one or two?"
Asked one illliterate Koli villager to Peerbhai Madhvji.
"Oh my innocent brother , how can there be 2 Mawlas?" replied Madhvji.
"But I saw 2 of them" replied the Koli villager named Chhagan
"Then you were not paying attention .Didn't I teach you in the Ginans that there is only one Lord?That means you did not do the Deedar."
said Madhavji with a little concern .
"Oh , no, I did.I saw the 2 men with bright red Jabhhas and golden headwear looking very impressive and everyone in the Pandol were looking at them and reciting salvat I saw both of them very well!", said Chhagan the Koli villager.
Madhvji burst into laughter as soon as he heard this.
"No Chhagan , those two were the Mukhi Kamadias but the one in between them the very young man in white English style coat and suit with the hat looking so very impressive was the Imam!The Saheb!"
"Oh, my dear! I was doing sazdas to those two men in red Jabhhas and golden turbans
First I bowed down to one and then I said Salvat as you taught me, and then I bowed to the second and said salvat.
Now you are laughing but how am I suppose to know who is Hazar Imam? I am a new Ismaili illiterate and ignorant. I have never seen him before .The blind and ignorant are both same." replied Chhagan.
The above conversation took place in a very rural gujarati language in a remote village of Limdi , India after the Deedar.
In 1939 Imam Sultan Mohammadshah visited a small village called Limdi in Gujerat India.
The Ismaili Dawat was in a very significant phase those days.
Persons like Peerbhai Madhvji used to travel from village to village and raise the awareness about the Tenth Naklanki avtar now manifested in the Imame Zaman since 1st Imam Hazarat Murtaza Ali.
It was not an easy task but some of our Fidai workers were very persistent and devoted to the work of davat and many people from various tribes like Kolis, rabaris, Kanbis, lohanas all very poor farmers and shepherds and grocery Men, cooks etc were getting converted to khojas.
(most of us living now in U.S.A, canada, africa,India and Pakistan owe our origins from there.)
Bhagat Peerbhai Madhvji lived a long life of about 80 years but his entire life was devoted to the work of dawat on the path of Satpanth(Sirate Mustakim)
With the ginanic literature given by Peer Saderdin and Peer Hasan Kabirdin thousands of murids were made aware of the Imamat and the satpanth.
His life was full of marvels and miracles of Imame Zaman.
It was a golden period for Ismailis in Hindustan. ( now India and Pakistan) .
Three Imams (47th,47thand 49th) lived there for the longest period and also availed the Jamats of their Deedars and personal interactions which were
so rare in the previous periods and also the current time.It was truly an unique period!
(So much of history lies undisclosed because of language barriers.Nothing was recorded properly because of poor or no technology and also people were very uneducated hence very poorly preserved for future generations)
Madhvji Bapa was inspired to do the work of davat since early childhood.
Peerbhai Madhvji once while travelling from village to village ,spreading Ismaili faith stayed over in a place called "Kanoter"
There lived a Koli villager named "Chhagan"
He was a simple individual with a clean heart and a pious mind.
Just as the birds of the similar feathers flock togather there was a natural affinity among these 2 gentle men based on their lifestyle and piety.
Madvji Bapa used to join the Bhajan Group that recited the devotional songs for the prayers mainly in praise of "Krishna",lead by Chhagan.
There was a verse in Bhajan which indicated towards the arrival of the Tenth avtar in the Kaliyug to destroy the Kalinga.
Lord Krishna was being worshipped as the eigth manifesttion of God
Madhvji asked Chhagan and others the meaning and implication of that verse.
When none of them knew Madhvji explained the presence of Hazar Imam in all ages and time and based on the Ginan affirmed he was the tenth Naklanki avtar, the Mazhar of God.
He explained that God is ever present in this world since time immemorial in various form. It is we who are not recognising him.
He also explained that after Krisna the ninth avtar is finished long time ago and the Tenth avtar is already here for almost 1400 years but we are still stuck to the worship of stone Idol of the God when there is an opportunity to witness a living God and listen to his current guidance.
He convinced a lot of people of Ismaili faith based on his integrated knowledge of Geeta ,Veda Bhagvat and Peer Saderdin's ginanic philosophy.
"Has any of the scriptures said that the God will be in the form of a stone statue?"
Then why are you still not willing to accept the living God instead of a stone Murti?",Madhvji Bhagat asked
"So where is this tenth manifestation of God?and how can we see him?" asked the curious Chhagan.
Madhavji bapa said:
"Yes ,he is present on this earth and I have also seen him." affirmed Mahvjibapa.
He is in the form of a Muslim leader called Agakhan and dresses like a Western man and hence many are not able to recognise him.
The further discussion was so much full of spiritual and batuni concepts that at the end of it the entire group was full of inspiration and love for the Imam and unique eagernes to meet him.
Their eyes were full of tears and heart full of love they requested Madhvji to take them for the deedar of the LORD.
Deedar or darshan was a familiar word for them because some of their Bhajans talked about it.
Madhvji bapa showed them the photo of Imam Sultan Mohammad Shah.
From then onwards started the devotional ginans and Giriyazari tasbihs for the Deedar.
After few months , there came the news that Imame Zaman will be arriving in Limdi( a small town near Kanoter) for the mela.
Mela was like a 7day conference packed with events of few Deedars and other religious ceremonies like Mehmani, Hastamilap(marriages) ,Isme Azam navajish etc.
People from surrounding villages gathered in thousands.There were lots of celebrations and lots of prayers!
So Madvji Bapa took Chhagan and other few men for the Deedar Mela to Limdi.
Now on the occasion of the first Deedar, Chhagan apparently did not recognise the Imame Zaman!
Although illiterate, Chhagan was an intelligent man.
There was one more Deedar next day.
Chhagan came up with a clever new plan!
"Hey Mahvji Bhagat, this time I am going to sit in the very back of the pandol.
You are saying he is the Lord ,so since I did not recognise him atleast He must recognise me as He is our spiritual father.
A child can make mistake but not the father."
"Also Since I have always imagined my Lord to be in a certain form I would like to see him in the same form as I am used to only then your Agakhan can be my Lord otherwise he is the Lord of you Khojas and I have nothing to do with him." said Chhagan in a decisive manner.
"What form ?" asked Madhavji bapa rather alarmed!
"I won't tell you that."
With this sentence he went to the back of the pandol and sat down and with his head down he started the tasbih of "Peer Shah, Peer Shah"
The pandol was full with thousands of murids.
Finally Imame Zaman Shah Sultan Mohammad Shah arrived.The moment was blessed.
Savats were being recited. There was Happiness in the air.
He kept moving everywhere on the red carpet saying Khanavadan and showering blessings.
Here Chhagan was sitting with his face down eyes closed, with a determination that only if Mawla will be seen to him in the "Krisna Bhagvan" form and will recognise him he will be convinced of the Ismaili faith.
A little further away Madhvji bapa was sitting nervously praying" Mawla, you please fulfill Chhagan's desire otherwise I will lose my credibility"
Mawla was walking slowly towards the Takhat after walking around on all the red carpets.
When he was about 10 to 15 steps away from the stage ,he suddenly made a right turn....he stepped out of the redcarpet and making his way through the people sitting he was moving towards the rear end of the pandol! Everyone especially the leaders became confused.
"Mawla, this side, here is the takhat"they tried stopping Mawla.
But Mawla just kept his direction and reached to Chhagan,who was sitting and reciting his tasbih with face down and eyes closed.
Chhagan Bhagat, look up Said Mawla.
Chhagan was indeed startled, he looked up and Lo... he saw Krishna Bhagwan!
He is wearing Yelllow silk pitamber,a jewel studded mukut with peackok feather on the side, a charismatic smile on the face and lot of light surrounding him.
This form was visible only for Chhagan.(as he described later)
"Chhagan bhagat,Is your doubt now cleared?"
"I am the same one who was in Gokul, taking care of the cows.
this is my tenth avtar, now forget Ram Krishna and say Ya Ali madad"
Chhagan Bhagat fell in Mawla's feet and said loudly:
"Ya Ali madad! Ya Ali madad!Forgive me my Lord, that I doubted your reality!" He was full of awe!
Mawla asked the Mukhi to get a bowl with water and he himself gave Chhanta to Chhagan.
Just like a man wakes up from a deep sleep and sees the reality so different from the dream, Chhagan 's soul got awakened, he reached a unique moment of spiritual awakening like no other!
His entire being got filled with the Noor of Mawla murtaza Ali.
His eyes were filled with tears and he experienced a happiness like no other.
He was totally dumbstruck!
What happened? His world changed!
Imame Zaman then went to the stage , finished the entire program and went away.
After Mawla went away Chhagan rushed to Madhavji bapa and embraced him dearly and greatly overjoyed accepted:
"Madhavji bapa, Mawla is the truth ,he indeed is the Lord of 14 worlds,there is no doubt. Oh Muskilkusha we rely on thee".
He described the form he saw Mawla bapa in.
Madhavji bapa felt so relieved.
They both became great friends then on and later on Chhagan Became one of the greatest Missionary of the time.
He became known as "Chhagan Bhagat" because he made great strides in the spirituality.He was a great lover of the Murtaza Ali.
The next chapter will describe some more miracles in his life.
source:
Mawlani Madhur Vaato (Gujerati)
part 2,page 56 to 67
author:Sairab Abu turabi
English translation:
Dolly Chandani M.D.
Los Angeles California
(9/5/2009) FOR ISMAILI MURIDS ONLY
-
FreeLancer
- Posts: 180
- Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:20 pm
Many stories mentioned in the book named "Mowla ni Madur Vaato" written by Soraab Turabi proved to be fake. I do not want to criticize his niyat because 100+ years back it was a practice by senior missionaries to coin such fake stories to make Iman strong of momins. I have heard many in waizes proved wrong. I do not want to mention couple of late missionaries who were masters of coining stories. There intentions were good, I am not troubled with that. As I know during Didaars in various countries in past many miracles floated without proofs. Even DJ didaars I have heard few such stories without proof couple of posted on Heritage. Again I do not want to criticize though there are many flaws.
Why Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah kept showing Dus Avtars to some particular persons or a person and not other jamait members? Why Shah Karim has not shown such kind of miracle, never heard.
Why Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah kept showing Dus Avtars to some particular persons or a person and not other jamait members? Why Shah Karim has not shown such kind of miracle, never heard.
I wish you would come to the level of the shoes of those missionaries you are criticising without any evidence, surely then most of the discussions you bring would net be necessary. Meanwhile stop shouting "fake" for info brought to us by people who have gain our respect though merit . If you are a Murid of Trump, you can post all fake news on his website. Not here.
The Imam decides where when or to whom to perform the miracles. In this particular situation the group was comprised of Hindus who wanted to be converted but wanted a proof of the continuity of Imamat from the 9 Avatars they believed in. Hence he provided the proof and they became the most devoted Ismailis.FreeLancer wrote: Why Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah kept showing Dus Avtars to some particular persons or a person and not other jamait members? Why Shah Karim has not shown such kind of miracle, never heard.
Do you know that in the modern era, the proof of Imamat in the court of law is based on a miracle? For more on that, go to:
Haji Bibi Case Incident.
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... opic&t=355
-
FreeLancer
- Posts: 180
- Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:20 pm
You and none of other member of this Forum answered me about my query.kmaherali wrote:The Imam decides where when or to whom to perform the miracles. In this particular situation the group was comprised of Hindus who wanted to be converted but wanted a proof of the continuity of Imamat from the 9 Avatars they believed in. Hence he provided the proof and they became the most devoted Ismailis.FreeLancer wrote: Why Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah kept showing Dus Avtars to some particular persons or a person and not other jamait members? Why Shah Karim has not shown such kind of miracle, never heard.
Do you know that in the modern era, the proof of Imamat in the court of law is based on a miracle? For more on that, go to:
Haji Bibi Case Incident.
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... opic&t=355
Why Dus Avtars made compulsory for Satpunthi khojas and not imposed on Central Asians, Afghan, Chinese, or Arab Ismailis? As I have mentioned before hardly any Central Asian Ismaili knows about Dus Avtars, or familiar with names Muchh, Kuchh, Varaha, Nar sei(n)h or Krishna.
For Haji Bibi case as you pointed (I have read it and I have different views), question is why in first place this dispute went out of control. This case was about wealth, virasat,and money.
When true Imam claims he is Imam, there is no need of court of law or miracles. The cousins of Imam knew he was Imam. During Prophet's or Mowla Ali's tenure there is no mention of Dus Avtars in history or Ahadith.
I think each tradition within the diversity of our Jamat has evolved through different cultural and historical contexts. In the contexts of the Jamats in Central Asia, China and Middle East, the prevalent mainstream ideas were based upon the prevalent cultures and traditions. From the Qasidas that I am familiar with, they don't mention any prophets other than those mentioned in the Qur'an.FreeLancer wrote: You and none of other member of this Forum answered me about my query.
Why Dus Avtars made compulsory for Satpunthi khojas and not imposed on Central Asians, Afghan, Chinese, or Arab Ismailis? As I have mentioned before hardly any Central Asian Ismaili knows about Dus Avtars, or familiar with names Muchh, Kuchh, Varaha, Nar sei(n)h or Krishna.
However as the Imam tells us in his Farmans, there is strength in diversity and we can learn from each other. If the other Jamats did not know about Das Avtars, there is no reason why they should not learn about them.
MSMS says in his Memoirs:
All Islamic schools of thought accept it as a fundamental principle that for centuries, for thousands of years before the advent of Mohammed, there arose from time to time messengers, illumined by Divine Grace, for and among those races of the earth which had sufficiently advanced intellectually to comprehend such a message. Thus Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the Prophets of Israel are universally accepted by Islam. Muslims indeed know no limitation merely to the Prophets of Israel; they are ready to admit that there were similar Divinely inspired messengers in other countriesGautama Buddha, Shri Krishna and Shri Ram in India, Socrates in Greece, the wise man of China and many other sages and saints among peoples and civilizations, trace of which we have lost. Thus man's soul has never been left without a specially inspired messenger from the soul that sustains, embraces and is the universe. Then what need was there for a Divine revelation to Mohammed ?
When custody of money is involved, it is necessary to establish the basis of authority legally in this time and age.FreeLancer wrote: For Haji Bibi case as you pointed (I have read it and I have different views), question is why in first place this dispute went out of control. This case was about wealth, virasat,and money.
When true Imam claims he is Imam, there is no need of court of law or miracles. The cousins of Imam knew he was Imam. During Prophet's or Mowla Ali's tenure there is no mention of Dus Avtars in history or Ahadith.
-
FreeLancer
- Posts: 180
- Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:20 pm
Is Dus Avtar a concept, a philosophy, a tradition, or is it included in Tenets of Ismailism? If that is so special or beneficial, Why Imam did not introduced this philosophy to jamaits of Central Asia, or Middle East.kmaherali wrote:I think each tradition within the diversity of our Jamat has evolved through different cultural and historical contexts. In the contexts of the Jamats in Central Asia, China and Middle East, the prevalent mainstream ideas were based upon the prevalent cultures and traditions. From the Qasidas that I am familiar with, they don't mention any prophets other than those mentioned in the Qur'an.FreeLancer wrote: You and none of other member of this Forum answered me about my query.
Why Dus Avtars made compulsory for Satpunthi khojas and not imposed on Central Asians, Afghan, Chinese, or Arab Ismailis? As I have mentioned before hardly any Central Asian Ismaili knows about Dus Avtars, or familiar with names Muchh, Kuchh, Varaha, Nar sei(n)h or Krishna.
However as the Imam tells us in his Farmans, there is strength in diversity and we can learn from each other. If the other Jamats did not know about Das Avtars, there is no reason why they should not learn about them.
MSMS says in his Memoirs:
All Islamic schools of thought accept it as a fundamental principle that for centuries, for thousands of years before the advent of Mohammed, there arose from time to time messengers, illumined by Divine Grace, for and among those races of the earth which had sufficiently advanced intellectually to comprehend such a message. Thus Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the Prophets of Israel are universally accepted by Islam. Muslims indeed know no limitation merely to the Prophets of Israel; they are ready to admit that there were similar Divinely inspired messengers in other countriesGautama Buddha, Shri Krishna and Shri Ram in India, Socrates in Greece, the wise man of China and many other sages and saints among peoples and civilizations, trace of which we have lost. Thus man's soul has never been left without a specially inspired messenger from the soul that sustains, embraces and is the universe. Then what need was there for a Divine revelation to Mohammed ?When custody of money is involved, it is necessary to establish the basis of authority legally in this time and age.FreeLancer wrote: For Haji Bibi case as you pointed (I have read it and I have different views), question is why in first place this dispute went out of control. This case was about wealth, virasat,and money.
When true Imam claims he is Imam, there is no need of court of law or miracles. The cousins of Imam knew he was Imam. During Prophet's or Mowla Ali's tenure there is no mention of Dus Avtars in history or Ahadith.
The paragraph you quoted from Memoirs suggests that like Abraham, and Jesus; Rama, Krishna, Budha were also messengers or prophets.
Haji Bibi case was all about money. In court of law you have to play smartly to prove you are right.
As per Farman quoted in the second post of this thread, Das Avtars is a philosophy and is applicable to all Ismailis. Why it was not introduced to the Jamats in Central Asia or Middle East could be due to logistical and accessibility issues. However today contacts are established and these concepts can be disseminated to them as well.FreeLancer wrote: Is Dus Avtar a concept, a philosophy, a tradition, or is it included in Tenets of Ismailism? If that is so special or beneficial, Why Imam did not introduced this philosophy to jamaits of Central Asia, or Middle East.
The paragraph you quoted from Memoirs suggests that like Abraham, and Jesus; Rama, Krishna, Budha were also messengers or prophets.
Haji Bibi case was all about money. In court of law you have to play smartly to prove you are right.
MSMS was asked to provide the proof that he was the direct descendant of the Prophet. No smartness would have worked except to perform a miracle.
-
FreeLancer
- Posts: 180
- Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:20 pm
Hello kmaherali, are you awake or sleeping? You wrote, I quote;kmaherali wrote:As per Farman quoted in the second post of this thread, Das Avtars is a philosophy and is applicable to all Ismailis. Why it was not introduced to the Jamats in Central Asia or Middle East could be due to logistical and accessibility issues. However today contacts are established and these concepts can be disseminated to them as well.FreeLancer wrote: Is Dus Avtar a concept, a philosophy, a tradition, or is it included in Tenets of Ismailism? If that is so special or beneficial, Why Imam did not introduced this philosophy to jamaits of Central Asia, or Middle East.
The paragraph you quoted from Memoirs suggests that like Abraham, and Jesus; Rama, Krishna, Budha were also messengers or prophets.
Haji Bibi case was all about money. In court of law you have to play smartly to prove you are right.
MSMS was asked to provide the proof that he was the direct descendant of the Prophet. No smartness would have worked except to perform a miracle.
'Why it was not introduced to the Jamats in Central Asia or Middle East could be due to logistical and accessibility issues'".
Karim, what kind of LOGISTIC or ACCESSIBILITY issues? Were those Dus Avtars heavy enough to carry there. Or that philosophy needed heavy cranes to put on ship to carry that heavy weight to Central Asian countries!!
Admin, please help.
The subject of Das Avatar should be discussed in the Das Avatar thread. This thread is only to add ANECDOTES on Das Avatar.
In this Forum, the software does not allow us to port from this thread to the Das Avatar thread the discussion unfortunately so I would suggest that whatever is important discussion and not anecdote should be copied in the appropriate thread as they will be cleaned from here soon. lets keep Anecdote thread only with Anecdotes and doctrinal or pre-adam discussion in the appropriate thread.
In this Forum, the software does not allow us to port from this thread to the Das Avatar thread the discussion unfortunately so I would suggest that whatever is important discussion and not anecdote should be copied in the appropriate thread as they will be cleaned from here soon. lets keep Anecdote thread only with Anecdotes and doctrinal or pre-adam discussion in the appropriate thread.
DELIVERED BY MR. JAFFERALI LALJI AT THE GOLDEN JUBILEE HALL, DAR-ES-SALAAM, IN SEPTEMBER 1941.
THE AUTHOR WHO has documented WAS PRESENT. !!!
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
A few years ago, I was a Hindu by cast, resident of Gujerat....
Ismaili missionaries from the Recreation Club of Bombay were visiting our Province on mission of propagating Ismaili Faith.
They used to arrange ‘BHAJAN PARTIES’ and ‘SATSANG’ gatherings where I was invited several times.
Your missionaries were, no doubt, well versed in VED, GITA, and PURAN Shashtras and through these scriptures, they endeavoured to prove Ismaili Dharma (Religion) as THE TRUE “SATPANTH” DHARMA where in “NOOR-E-ALI” had descended and IMAM SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH is the FORTY_EIGHTH BEARER of THE “NOOR-E-IMAMAT,” DASMA NAKLANKI AVTAR.
After a number of SATSANG MULAKATS most of the members of our group, numbering two hundred, were convinced of what the missionaries had said about the DIVINE ASPECT of MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH, who was the FORTY_EIGHTH JOMADHARI NOOR MOWLA MURTAZA ALI (SHRI VISHNU VAR DATAR).
We, the participants to the ISMAILI BHAJAN MANDALI, were well convinced and agreed to embrace ISMAILI FAITH, but in one way wished it was practically proved – the DIVINE POWER and the PROOF of the “DASMA NAKLANK AVTAR” by MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH HIMSELF.
Our group submitted the above suggestion because it would be extremely hard for us to discard our faith and desert our relatives, friends and fellow brothers unless we had been convinced to the fullest as to the genuineness of the DIVINE “LIGHT” OF SHRI VISHNU.
After some years following this, good news of Mowlana Sultan Mohammed Shah’s MUBARAK PADHRAMNI (visit) was announced and our aspirant group was invited to visit Bombay for HOLY DIDAR (encounter).
We all readily agreed to go to Bombay.
During the misssionaries’ MEHMANI, a request was submitted to KHUDAVIND HAZER IMAM explaining how a group of Hindus has been given instruction on the present LIVING DASMA NAKLANK AVTAR and a result of various meetings everything was done pending final “PROOF” of KHUDAVIND’S KHUDAI NOOR NAKLANK AVTAR.
Mowlana Sultan Mohammed Shah was much delighted to read the missionaries’ ARIJA (submission) and most graciously made HOLY FARMAN for the arrangement of a meeting with our Hindu group, of approximately two hundred in number – young and old, ladies, gents, and children.
The next day was a RED LETTER DAY for us.
We made ourselves present at the Recreation Club Office in the morning and KHUDAVIND HAZER IMAM arrived at about 11:00 a.m.
At first glance we were very much touched to behold KHUDAVIND’S HOLY DIDAR. MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH, on HIS arrival, said:
“ACCHA TUMKO NAKLANK KA DARSHAN KARNA HAY? SHABASH.”(You want to have the Vision of the Pure?, Excellent)
MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH was seated on the sofa. HIS ‘NOORANI’
complexion was so charming that our hearts and souls, totally and instantly, became devoted and dedicated to HIM.
And LO! In moments there were the amazing appearances of the HOLY DAS AVTARS.
We beheld DIDAR of SHRI MACHHA AVTAR, then KORBHA, VARAH, NARSINHA, VAMAN, FARSIRAM, RAMCHADRAJI, SHRI KRISHNA, SHRI BUDHA, and lastly DASMA NAKLANK AVTAR MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH in HIS DIVINE ASPECT.
We all bowed down immediately in front of the “NOOR-E-PANJTAN PAK”
SHRI VISHNU, ALI VAR AVTAR. (ALLAHUMA SALI ALLAH MOHAMMADAN WA AALE
MOHAMMED.)
Tears of unsurpassable happiness and joy were shed from our eyes.
It was truly an unforgettable event of our lives, which cannot be expressed in its perspective.
However, all the members of our group prayed to KHUDAVIND to accept us all as HIS Spiritual Children.
HAZER IMAM SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH blessed us and said:
“KHANAVADAN”.
HIS “NOORANI” ARSHIDWADS enlightened our souls to such a high extent that we, to this day, cannot express it by words.
It was a day greatest of all days, the day we embraced THE ISMAILI SATPANTH DHARMA where THE “NOORANI” LIVING JYOT is EVER-PRESENT.
We realize that we have SAVED our BILLIONS of BIRTHS and RE-BIRTHS by the HOLY NOORANI DARSHAN and DIDAR.
It is because we recognized the “NOOR” of ALI. SHRI VISHNU, we recognized the “NOORANI” JYOT.
We had been always reading in our SHASHTRAS (Scriptures) of the advent of SHRI KRISHNA, but we were not knowledgeable of the LIVING KRISHNA, we were not knowledgeable of NAKLANKI AVTAR.
We were most fortunate to be graced with the DARSHAN and DIDAR of SHRI NAKLANK – MOWLANA SULTAN MUHAMMAD SHAH, in our lives.
Finally, Mr. Jafferally Laji recited a verse of Holy Ginan.
EJI JO JEEV JAAVE SHAAHKA NAAM NA CHHODU, DHAR SEER KARVAT ANGA NA MODU….
Explanation:- If someone were to cut my throat even, I would not leave the HOLY HOUSE OF HAZARIMAM: HIS HOLY NAME will be on my lips till the last breath of my life. AMEN.
Truly wonderful, amazing and unique, is the story of Huzur Mukhi Jafferali Lalji’s family and colleagues.
**To give a brief introduction of the lecturer: Mr. Jafferali Laji and Count Mohammed Alarakhia were related through the marriage of their son and daughter respectively, which took place after the above incident. ..
Shree Budh came in the form of a leper...Shree Budg had given them a specific time and place he will show up....all the people had gathered....they did not recognize him....Bhim (guard at the door) drove him away....now until today they are still waiting for Dasma Avtar...even today he is right in front of them ! Which other "messiah" are people waiting for?
(Ali) Fatehali Karim, MBA
St Joseph Health System
500 South Main Street, Suite 700
Orange, CA 92868-4507
E-mail: ali.karim@stjoe.org
THE AUTHOR WHO has documented WAS PRESENT. !!!
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
A few years ago, I was a Hindu by cast, resident of Gujerat....
Ismaili missionaries from the Recreation Club of Bombay were visiting our Province on mission of propagating Ismaili Faith.
They used to arrange ‘BHAJAN PARTIES’ and ‘SATSANG’ gatherings where I was invited several times.
Your missionaries were, no doubt, well versed in VED, GITA, and PURAN Shashtras and through these scriptures, they endeavoured to prove Ismaili Dharma (Religion) as THE TRUE “SATPANTH” DHARMA where in “NOOR-E-ALI” had descended and IMAM SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH is the FORTY_EIGHTH BEARER of THE “NOOR-E-IMAMAT,” DASMA NAKLANKI AVTAR.
After a number of SATSANG MULAKATS most of the members of our group, numbering two hundred, were convinced of what the missionaries had said about the DIVINE ASPECT of MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH, who was the FORTY_EIGHTH JOMADHARI NOOR MOWLA MURTAZA ALI (SHRI VISHNU VAR DATAR).
We, the participants to the ISMAILI BHAJAN MANDALI, were well convinced and agreed to embrace ISMAILI FAITH, but in one way wished it was practically proved – the DIVINE POWER and the PROOF of the “DASMA NAKLANK AVTAR” by MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMED SHAH HIMSELF.
Our group submitted the above suggestion because it would be extremely hard for us to discard our faith and desert our relatives, friends and fellow brothers unless we had been convinced to the fullest as to the genuineness of the DIVINE “LIGHT” OF SHRI VISHNU.
After some years following this, good news of Mowlana Sultan Mohammed Shah’s MUBARAK PADHRAMNI (visit) was announced and our aspirant group was invited to visit Bombay for HOLY DIDAR (encounter).
We all readily agreed to go to Bombay.
During the misssionaries’ MEHMANI, a request was submitted to KHUDAVIND HAZER IMAM explaining how a group of Hindus has been given instruction on the present LIVING DASMA NAKLANK AVTAR and a result of various meetings everything was done pending final “PROOF” of KHUDAVIND’S KHUDAI NOOR NAKLANK AVTAR.
Mowlana Sultan Mohammed Shah was much delighted to read the missionaries’ ARIJA (submission) and most graciously made HOLY FARMAN for the arrangement of a meeting with our Hindu group, of approximately two hundred in number – young and old, ladies, gents, and children.
The next day was a RED LETTER DAY for us.
We made ourselves present at the Recreation Club Office in the morning and KHUDAVIND HAZER IMAM arrived at about 11:00 a.m.
At first glance we were very much touched to behold KHUDAVIND’S HOLY DIDAR. MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH, on HIS arrival, said:
“ACCHA TUMKO NAKLANK KA DARSHAN KARNA HAY? SHABASH.”(You want to have the Vision of the Pure?, Excellent)
MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH was seated on the sofa. HIS ‘NOORANI’
complexion was so charming that our hearts and souls, totally and instantly, became devoted and dedicated to HIM.
And LO! In moments there were the amazing appearances of the HOLY DAS AVTARS.
We beheld DIDAR of SHRI MACHHA AVTAR, then KORBHA, VARAH, NARSINHA, VAMAN, FARSIRAM, RAMCHADRAJI, SHRI KRISHNA, SHRI BUDHA, and lastly DASMA NAKLANK AVTAR MOWLANA SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH in HIS DIVINE ASPECT.
We all bowed down immediately in front of the “NOOR-E-PANJTAN PAK”
SHRI VISHNU, ALI VAR AVTAR. (ALLAHUMA SALI ALLAH MOHAMMADAN WA AALE
MOHAMMED.)
Tears of unsurpassable happiness and joy were shed from our eyes.
It was truly an unforgettable event of our lives, which cannot be expressed in its perspective.
However, all the members of our group prayed to KHUDAVIND to accept us all as HIS Spiritual Children.
HAZER IMAM SULTAN MOHAMMED SHAH blessed us and said:
“KHANAVADAN”.
HIS “NOORANI” ARSHIDWADS enlightened our souls to such a high extent that we, to this day, cannot express it by words.
It was a day greatest of all days, the day we embraced THE ISMAILI SATPANTH DHARMA where THE “NOORANI” LIVING JYOT is EVER-PRESENT.
We realize that we have SAVED our BILLIONS of BIRTHS and RE-BIRTHS by the HOLY NOORANI DARSHAN and DIDAR.
It is because we recognized the “NOOR” of ALI. SHRI VISHNU, we recognized the “NOORANI” JYOT.
We had been always reading in our SHASHTRAS (Scriptures) of the advent of SHRI KRISHNA, but we were not knowledgeable of the LIVING KRISHNA, we were not knowledgeable of NAKLANKI AVTAR.
We were most fortunate to be graced with the DARSHAN and DIDAR of SHRI NAKLANK – MOWLANA SULTAN MUHAMMAD SHAH, in our lives.
Finally, Mr. Jafferally Laji recited a verse of Holy Ginan.
EJI JO JEEV JAAVE SHAAHKA NAAM NA CHHODU, DHAR SEER KARVAT ANGA NA MODU….
Explanation:- If someone were to cut my throat even, I would not leave the HOLY HOUSE OF HAZARIMAM: HIS HOLY NAME will be on my lips till the last breath of my life. AMEN.
Truly wonderful, amazing and unique, is the story of Huzur Mukhi Jafferali Lalji’s family and colleagues.
**To give a brief introduction of the lecturer: Mr. Jafferali Laji and Count Mohammed Alarakhia were related through the marriage of their son and daughter respectively, which took place after the above incident. ..
Shree Budh came in the form of a leper...Shree Budg had given them a specific time and place he will show up....all the people had gathered....they did not recognize him....Bhim (guard at the door) drove him away....now until today they are still waiting for Dasma Avtar...even today he is right in front of them ! Which other "messiah" are people waiting for?
(Ali) Fatehali Karim, MBA
St Joseph Health System
500 South Main Street, Suite 700
Orange, CA 92868-4507
E-mail: ali.karim@stjoe.org
-
aatimaram1
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 9:01 pm
Below are two anecdotes which allude to Imamat during the previous Yugas. They are given in Mumtaz Ali Tajdin's "201 - Sweet Anecdotes of Four Beloved Imams" which can be accessed at:
http://ismaili.net/source/books/225anecdotes.pdf
(9) The Imam visited Burma for the first time in 1900. Imam was to go Japan, but he first came in Calcutta and went to Burma by a special boat. On those days, there were about 85 Ismaili families in Rangoon. Here Varas Kara Ruda had established a Sindhi Night School and himself taught religious education to the children.
The Imam was highly delighted to see the Ismailis in Rangoon and said, “It was my fervent desire to see Burma and secondly, I want to bring your small jamat into light.” The Imam closed his eyes for few moment, and said, “Had I seen a small jamat of my believers ever before?” Saying this, the Imam began to think, then said, “Of course, in past during the Duapur Age, I had gone in very dangerous forest to see five Pandvas, Mata Kunta and Sati Dropati, the small jamat of seven souls.” Then, the Imam laughed.
******
(100) In 1934, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah attended in Bombay a private gathering of the members of the Baitul Khiyal, who reached to different spiritual ranks. The Imam enjoined upon Pir Sabzali (1884-1938) that when any member entered, he/she would whisper in his ear, and according to their ranks, he would make their sitting in the respective rows before the arrival of the Imam. One woman came and spoke something to Pir Sabzali, but he could not comprehend. He again heard second time, but could not grasp to locate her rank. In the meantime, the arrival of the Imam became due, therefore, he told the woman to sit in the last row.
The Imam made gracious arrival and saw the seven row beginning from high to low ranks. Pir Sabzali asked the Imam, where he himself stood, to which Imam pointed with a finger and said, “You sit behind that woman who was given seat in last row.” The Imam started the proceeding and then the members left the room. When all have gone, Pir Sabzali asked the Imam about that woman. The Imam said, “Sabzali, she was Tara Rani. I had promised her to give my didar in my every form (joma).” Pir Sabzali tried
hard to search the woman, but failed.
http://ismaili.net/source/books/225anecdotes.pdf
(9) The Imam visited Burma for the first time in 1900. Imam was to go Japan, but he first came in Calcutta and went to Burma by a special boat. On those days, there were about 85 Ismaili families in Rangoon. Here Varas Kara Ruda had established a Sindhi Night School and himself taught religious education to the children.
The Imam was highly delighted to see the Ismailis in Rangoon and said, “It was my fervent desire to see Burma and secondly, I want to bring your small jamat into light.” The Imam closed his eyes for few moment, and said, “Had I seen a small jamat of my believers ever before?” Saying this, the Imam began to think, then said, “Of course, in past during the Duapur Age, I had gone in very dangerous forest to see five Pandvas, Mata Kunta and Sati Dropati, the small jamat of seven souls.” Then, the Imam laughed.
******
(100) In 1934, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah attended in Bombay a private gathering of the members of the Baitul Khiyal, who reached to different spiritual ranks. The Imam enjoined upon Pir Sabzali (1884-1938) that when any member entered, he/she would whisper in his ear, and according to their ranks, he would make their sitting in the respective rows before the arrival of the Imam. One woman came and spoke something to Pir Sabzali, but he could not comprehend. He again heard second time, but could not grasp to locate her rank. In the meantime, the arrival of the Imam became due, therefore, he told the woman to sit in the last row.
The Imam made gracious arrival and saw the seven row beginning from high to low ranks. Pir Sabzali asked the Imam, where he himself stood, to which Imam pointed with a finger and said, “You sit behind that woman who was given seat in last row.” The Imam started the proceeding and then the members left the room. When all have gone, Pir Sabzali asked the Imam about that woman. The Imam said, “Sabzali, she was Tara Rani. I had promised her to give my didar in my every form (joma).” Pir Sabzali tried
hard to search the woman, but failed.
Re: The DARSHAN OF DAS AVTAAR
Has Kalki Already Appeared as ʿAlī? The Influence of Hindu Beliefs on the Nizārī Ismaili Khojas: A Case Study of the Ginans
Abstract
The Historical Interaction of Hinduism and Islam since the seventh century has witnessed periods of cooperation and syncretism. In this sense the Khojas, who were the main representatives of Nizārī Ismaili thought in India, are a unique model as they were influenced by Hindu customs and beliefs, particularly Vaishnava terminologies. For instance, the Hindu concept of Kalki avatara, the messianic tenth incarnation of Vishnu, renamed in this tradition as Nakalanki, 'the stainless one', was identified with ʿAlī, the first Shiite Imam. Therefore, an attempt is made in this article to disclose the influence of Hindu terms and doctrines on the Nizārī Khojas by focusing on their religious texts, Ginans, which were composed by dāʿīs, the so-called propagators of this sect. This paper also deals with the historical development of Khoja community in India where the second-largest Shi'a population in the world is located.
KEYWORDS: Ginan, Hindu-Muslim interaction, India, imamah,
Nizārī Ismaili Khojas, Shi‘a, syncretism.
The article can be accessed at: https://www.academia.edu/38731899/Has_K ... view-paper
Introduction
The Ismāʿīliyyah is a Shiite sect whose adherents believe that Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar, son of the sixth Imam (spiritual leader) Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, was the
rightful seventh Imam after him. The information about the early period of the Ismāʿīliyyah, which covers the period from the death of Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq to the establishment of the Fatimid State, is quite limited. In this process, the Ismaili thought spread to different regions such as Iran, Kufa, Yemen, and Bahrain through dāʿīs, the propagators of this sect. The historical sources reveal that in the period of the Fatimid Dynasty
(910-1171), the sect split into two subgroups named Mustʿali and Nizārī.
A much more serious controversy among the adherents of the Ismāʿīliyyah took place following the death of Imam al-Mustanṣir in 1094. After it, the Ismailis who supported and acknowledged al-Mustanṣir’s eldest son (Nizar) as the new Imam were called as Nizārīs, while those who affrmed Nizar’s younger brother al-Mustʿali as his successor, came to be known as Mustʿalis. Even though both of them possessed a common Fatimid heritage, their histories evolved in different aspects because of environmental conditions especially in India (al- Makdisi 1906: 4821-482;
Khan 1975:49).
The Mustʿali thought arrived at the Indian subcontinent through the dāʿīs who settled frst in Yemen and before migrating to India after the
weakening of the Fatimid Dynasty (Tan 2012: 125). Due to the inadequacy of historical data and the tightly sealed structure of this sect, it is not easy
to uncover who was the frst dāʿī settling on the Indian subcontinent, however, it is clear that Yūsuf b. Sulaymān’s departure from Yemen
to Gujarat in 1539 played a signifcant Those who accepted Mustʿali Ismāʿīliyyah in India were generally known as ‘Bohras’, a vernacular term
derived from vehru or vohorvu referring to individuals who are engaged in trade (Najam al-Ghani 1924: 311).
The advent of Nizārī Ismaili dawa (invitation, issuing a summons) into the Indian subcontinent, on the other hand, was associated with
various pīrs (spiritual leaders, Suf teachers) and sayyids (an honorifc title for a descendant of the family of Prophet Muhammad, Islamic title
of respect) who were sent to this area by Ismaili Imams (religious leaders) residing in Iran to teach of Ismaili doctrines.
Sayyid Nūr al-Dīn who arrived from Alamut in the twelfth century has mostly been regarded by Nizārī Ismailis as their frst missionary in
India. He was later renamed as Satgur, which means ‘true guide’ in Hindi, and became famous as Satgur Nūr among Nizārīs. The Nizārī Ismaili
dawa, therefore, was introduced into the Indian subcontinent during the frst half of the thirteenth century. After Satgur Nūr, Pīr Shams ad-Dīn
followed as the second dāʿī to spread this dawa in India. He, according to the traditional lyric, was assigned to this sacred duty at the beginning
of the thirteenth century by Ḳasim Shah, the twenty-ninth Imam of Nizārīs (Faridi 1899: 40) . After him, his grandson Pīr Sadr al-Dīn took
the helm of the sect. The Shiite community dealt with in our study is Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah, which is known as Khojas and has gained a certain
structural characteristic in India with the advent of Pīr Sadr al-Dīn .
Ismaili Khojas / Satpanthis
The activities of Pīr Sadr al-Dīn , as well as the religious and cultural structure of the region in which Nizārī Ismailis were located, played an
important role in the development of the Khoja community, who were south Asian descendants of converts to the Nizārī Ismaili dawa. The term
Khoja comes from the Persian title of respect, khwaja, meaning ‘lord’ or ‘master’ and is believed to have been bestowed by Ismaili teachers upon
their converts in South Asia. Pīr Sadr al-Dīn converted large numbers of Hindus from the Lohana trading caste and gave them the title of ‘Khoja’,
corresponding to the Hindi term thakur by which the Hindu Lohanas were addressed (Boivin 2010: 27; Jairazbhoy 2004: 252).
The Khojas, hence, are said to be disciples of Sadr al-Dīn , one of the most prominent pīrs of the Khoja tradition who lived in ffteenth
century. Their community and many scholars believe that the Khojas were a specialized subgroup, while Pīr Sadr al-Dīn appears to have played a
key role in organizing and consolidating the Satpanth tradition in India. He is in fact, accepted as the founder of the Nizārī Khoja community in
the Indian subcontinent. The greatest number of the Ginans (hymn-like poems) are attributed to him. Moreover, it is believed that Khoji script,
which is a secretive alphabet for recording religious texts and keeping commercial accounts, was founded by him (Asani, 1991: 104).
According to tradition, it is also acknowledged that the frst jamaat khana (community house) for the religious and societal activities of the
Khojas has been built by him in Sind. In the course of time, Sadr al- Dīn preached and conveyed his messages in Panjab and Kashmir by
constructing various jamaat khanas. He took great care to ensure that the jamaat khanas, apart from being places of worship, also served as
centers of social, administrative, cultural, legal and family affairs for the community. He, therefore, laid the foundations of the Nizārī communal
organization in India, where the Nizārī Ismailis became generally designated as Khojas, in order to gain all practical goals (Daftary 1998:
178-180).
Pīr Sadr al-Dīn ensured that the members of the congregation were tightly interlocked and encouraged them to remain attached to the Imam-e
Zamaan (spiritual leader of the age). He imposed that this commitment should be shown not only verbally but practically. The hymns attributed
to him such as ‘All gave the exact offering of tithe and became purifed and pious’ (Pīr Sadr al-Dīn , 105:7) , reveal that he initiated the customary
tithe, an offering to the Imam called as dasond among members of the community. He, on the other hand, considered the customs, beliefs, and
cultures of his subjects when he communicated his message and in this regard, he adopted the local name, Sahadev, which means ‘with God’
(Williams 2008: 1743), to refer to himself. In our opinion, through such a method he wished to convey to his counterparts the idea that he was
appointed for a divine mission.
After the death of Pīr Sadr al-Dīn in Uch, a region in Punjab state, his eldest sons Sayyid Ḥasan Kabīr ad-Dīn (d. 1449), Taj ad-Dīn (d.
1476) and ʿAbdu-r-Rahīm b. al-Ḥasan (d.1512) were regarded as the most eminent dāʿīs of the dawa. They strove to convey the messages of the
dawa to different parts of India until the end of their life, however after them; in particular during the period of Nūr Muhammad, a number
of debates arose over whether the taxes collected from members of the congregation should be sent to the Imam. A small group, who did not
accept to send the tithes to the Imam, left from Khojas and became known as Imamshahis (Ivanow 1936: 43-44).
Periodically, many spiritual leaders came after Ṣadr al-Dīn and gradually, some debates occurred among the members of this sect, in
particular after the arrival of the Aga Khan Ḥasan ʿAlī Shah from Iran to India in the mid-nineteenth century. One of the most important
demonstrations of Khoja protest against their Imam was the giving of tithes. His arrival to India caused a revitalization of the earlier problem
about the rights of the Imam within the Khoja community. Those who refused to pay dasond, were excluded from the congregation by the Aga Khan himself as well as by judges of the court who made some decisions in favor of the Aga Khan. Due to these kinds of events, the Khoja community was divided into three groups. They eventually took the form of three different jamaats: the Sunni Khojas, who are very few, the Ithna Ashari (Twelver) Khojas and the majority Nizārī Ismaili Khojas, followers of the Aga Khan. Those Khojas who proclaimed to no longer work within the main Khoja community, declared themselves to be Sunni and became known as Sunni Khojas or to be Ithnā ʿAshari and were called as Twelver Khojas. The latter, by establishing their own group in Bombay, spread throughout the Khoja world as new jamaats
were formed (Hickling 1998: 52-53; Akhtar 2015: 35-41).
The dāʿīs, pīrs, and sayyids have deeply learned the vernaculars, beliefs, and cultures of their counterparts in order to reach the masses. By
utilizing religious terms and symbols that were familiar to Indian society, they aimed to draw more attention to their teachings. These eclectic
attitudes have also allowed them to acquire supporters and become invincible. They preferred the Sanskrit term Satpanth, which means ‘the
true path, the right doctrine’ while referring to their teachings. Their followers, thus, identifed themselves as Satpanthis rather than Ismailis
(Daftary 1998: 348). They emphasized the importance of joining the Nizārī Ismaili tradition by expressing that those who do not accept the
Satpanth teachings will be exposed to various troubles and cannot reach salvation (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 105:13-14). They have explained such ideas
through the Ginans, which are sacred songs or religious texts of Khojas.
Scholars such as ʿAlī Asani, Noorally Muir, W. Ivanow and Tazim Kassam have conducted important research on these texts, particularly concerning historical, linguistic, and contextual materials. The primary aim of this article, however, is to explore the impact of Hindu belief and culture on Khojas by revealing Indic doctrines, terminologies, metaphors and motifs used or transported in the Ginans especially in Dasa Avatara, attributed to the three important pīrs of the Khojas. Thereby, we hope to forge a broader understanding of the mutual interaction between both traditions. Hence, along with the Khojas’ main doctrines, its evaluation in the process of history and position in the contemporary world is not
handled in this study.
The Ginans: A brief analysis
The term Ginan is derived from the Sanskrit word cnana/gyana for ‘knowledge’, in the sense of esoteric truth or wisdom; hence, the Ginans
may be best understood as hymns of esoteric wisdom. The term Ginan itself also refers to any song or recitation (Nanji 1978: 106). This word
phonetically is similar to Hindi word gana which means ‘song, tune or to sing’ and the Arabic word, gina, meaning ‘singing or exhilarant word’ (Ibn Manzur, 140). The core concepts of Khoja tradition in the Ginans were translated by pīrs or sayyids according to religious discourses or idioms prevalent in western India. The selection of the terms employed varied, depending on various factors such as the period of composition, doctrinal and thematic content, and the historical context of the audience. Therefore, it is known that the formulation of Khoja doctrines in the Ginans wasstratifed in character (Asani 1996: 270).
Various historical and regional elements shaped the character of different Ginans. Therefore, the religious and social characteristics of the Indian subcontinent, where this religious sect fourished, played an important role in the process of the development of these texts. It is known that the Nizārī dawa in India was addressed mainly to the rural, largely uneducated, lower castes. Hence, the pīrs frstly focused on Indian vernaculars, rather than Arabic and Persian used by the educated classes, in order to enhance the effectiveness and spread of their message (Ivanow 1948: 32). For this reason, they used Hindu doctrines, vocabularies, idioms, and mythology, interfacing their Islamic and Ismaili tenets with myths, images, and symbols already familiar to the Hindus. In other words, the pīrs adopted a strategy of accommodating indigenous religious doctrines and concepts in order to reach the Hindu community whose social life was restricted by the caste system. As a result of this strategy, many Hindus, who mostly belong to the lower castes, were won over.
In time, Nizārī Khojas developed their own set of themes and theological concepts emanating from an interfacing of Hinduism, in particular, the Vaishnava tradition, and Ismaili Islam. As a matter of course, a number of other Indic elements, as well as traditions and mystical movements,emerged from Hinduism such as tantra, which is a tradition of beliefs and ritual practices that aims to channel the divine energy of the Godhead into the human being, and bhakti, a movement based on devotion to God, especially prevalent in North India. These two groups affected the evaluation of the Ginan literature (Daftary 1998: 183-84). Besides this, the teachings of sants, a group of lower caste poet saints, who were part of a powerful anti-ritual and anti-caste movement that swept across India contemporaneously with the Satpanthi tradition, did also impact the composition of the Ginans (Syed1936: 47; Esmail 2002: 13).
The texts containing the thoughts of dāʿīs such as Satgur Nūr, Pīr Shams al-Dīn , Pīr Sadr al-Dīn and Imam Shah, whose period is
called as ‘great pīrs’, constitute the backbone of the Ginan collections. In the course of time, the signifcance and status of the Ginans have gradually increased among the Nizārī Khoja community. As a result of this popularity, many Ginans were composed in a number of Indic languages and dialects of Sind, Panjab, and Gujarat (Nanji 1978: 9; Allana 1984: 44). These hymns, which vary in length from four to over a thousand verses, were transmitted orally for several centuries before being recorded primarily in the Khojki script developed in Sind by the Khoja community. Each hymn typically comes to an end with an attribution to a specifc dāʿī or pīr, who was appointed by the Imam (Jairazbhoy 2004: 254). As a result of an oral tradition, it is true that some Ginans also narrate anachronistic and legendary accounts of the activities of pīrs and their converts. In this respect, not all of the Ginans
are generally reliable as historical sources of information. Yet, these texts have continued to occupy a central role in the religious life and rituals
of the Nizārī Khojas, since they are held to contain the teachings of their pīrs (Stans 2016: 19). Even though the authorship of the Ginan is
not certain, these religious texts are in general ascribed to a few early pīrs or dāʿīs in the Indian subcontinent. The composers of the Ginans
are depicted as gurus who guide the disciples to the path of darshan or didar (spiritual enlightenment) and liberation. If a disciple successfully
follows his/her guide’s messages, hence, he or she would be blessed with the vision of the Divine Light (Daftary 1998: 177-78).
Since the late nineteenth century, Ginan manuscripts, which were found in different regions such as Kathiawad, Kutch, Sind, and Punjab,
have begun to be collected and classifed. In this context, Mukhi Lalji Devraj and his colleagues were offcially appointed in the time of Aga Khan III, Sultan Muhammed Shah (d. 1957) to compile different copies and create a standard Ginan literature. This team brought hundreds of manuscripts that were acquired from different regions to the city of Bombay, where they prepared them for printing. Concluding a work of more than ten years, Khoja Sindhi Printing Press frstly published these texts in the Khocki alphabet. Such an attempt has been made so that the Ginan texts can be distributed and read among all members of the congregation. These texts were later published in other alphabets commonly used in the Indian subcontinent (Asani 2002: 44). Khojas argue that only a fraction of the texts of Ginan reached today so that the actual number of these texts cannot be exactly known. An important part of the Ginans, which seems to have disappeared due to various reasons, remains to be discovered.
It is clear that because of several reasons the different groups of Ismailis residing in India have developed various perspectives towards the Ginans. Though the Ginan literature is mostly shared by the Imamshahis in Gujarat, who are believed to have split off from the Khojas at some time during the 16th century, these texts have particularly made an important contribution to the arrangement of the religious life of Satpanth traditions. In the context of Khoja practices, Ginans come to life when they are sung. The religious meaning of these hymns is centered in their ritualized performance. Reading the Ginans with a loud voice is regarded as an important worship since it is believed that via such a method the inner meanings of Ginans reveal. It is also believed that, in this way, the deep meanings hidden in Ginan come to light and that this secret treasure provides various benefts to the person who reads it. These texts are seen as a means by which the person draws closer to God. Therefore, it is emphasized that they should be memorized and read sincerely (Asani 1991: 104). While all of the Ginan texts are important among Khojas, it is more appropriate to read some of them at certain times as well as in rituals. In this sense, some specifc Ginan texts have been identifed to be read in particular situations such as birth, marriage or funeral rites (Kassam 1995: 5).
The establishment of an unshakable connection between the Ginans and the devotee’s heart depends on the recitation of these Ginans as a song
at the time of religious practice. This direct link could be obtained not only by a stressing on memorization but also on the correct receptivity or audition of the Ginans. In this context, the following verse, which is attributed to Pīr Sadr al-Dīn , quoted from a Ginan demonstrates the power of singing Ginans by which the heart of prayer attains a deep pleasure. ‘Recite Ginans and the self-flls with Light! Thus will your hearts be made blissful’ (Pīr Sadr ad- Dīn 61: 54-55).
As a result, the Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah has reached until today through the Ginan texts that were compiled and recorded by the religious leaders of the Khoja community. The Ginans contributed to the formation of a social identity and the development of a sense of unity among the members of the congregation. Once they gathered in a meeting, they read these texts in a collective manner. Through the Ginans, they have retained and strengthened their past ties and carried it to future generations. This functional aspect of the Ginans played a crucial role in both the transmission of the Satpanth tradition and teachings to the new generations as well as the protection of Nizārī Ismaili thoughts up until today. In-depth analyzes on the Ginan texts, therefore, will contribute to both the discovery of the development process of the Nizārī Ismaili tradition in the Indian subcontinent and the understanding of the social structure of the contemporary Ismaili community.
Indic elements in the Ginans
The pīrs, compilers of the Ginans, had transformed Hindu mythology, motifs, and concepts into narratives propounding their religious teachings. Though the pīrs condemned and banned idol worship, a variety of symbolic correspondences and equivalences were established in some Ginans between Hindu and Islamic concepts, notions, religious terminologies and fgures. One of the prominent reason for such an attitude probably is expediting the orientation periods of new individuals who have recently approved Nizārī Khoja doctrines by giving up their ancient tradition that is Hinduism.
In this sense, after an in-depth analysis one will be able to disclose religious vocabularies, practices and beliefs such as svarga (heaven), dasond
(paying the tithe), performing the ghatpat ceremony (installation of holy water), seva (service), sakhavat (charity), smarana or dhyana (meditation),
vrata (keeping vows), dharma (moral conduct), satgur (true guide), kaliyuga (the last age of cosmic world), mahadin (the day of judgment), samsara or dvagamana (cycle of rebirth), moksha or avagamana (release from the cycle of rebirth), yama (divine being responsible for death), dasa
avatara (the ten incarnations of god) and kalki or nakalanki (savior) in the Ginans.
It should be declared clearly that Hinduism is a religious system that has emerged as a result of the unifcation of different beliefs and customs in the process of a long period. Therefore, it is impossible to reveal all aspects of the infuence of Indic elements in Ginan literature in a short paper. When we analyze the texts it is revealed that they mostly benefted and were infuenced from beliefs and motifs of the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism because they initially appeared to address a largely Vaishnava audience. In this study, some of these elements such as the concept of bhakti and Kalki avatar have been selected and examined how and why such kinds of doctrines were transformed into Nizārī thoughts by the composers of Ginans.
The founding of religious and philosophical terms of Hinduism indicates that the prominent Hindu religious movement bhakti, which fourished in the medieval period, has more or less infuenced the evolution of the Ginan literature. To comprehend such a mutual interaction between bhakti and Ginan literature, the appearance and evaluation of the bhakti tradition should be mentioned. In brief, the term bhakti was used in Hinduism in the context of a movement emphasizing the mutual intense emotional attachment and love of a devotee towards a personal god and of the god for the devotee. In general, it is accepted that the bhakti movement frstly appeared in Tamil Nadu in Southern India with the Shaiva Nayanars and the Vaishnava Alvars. The bhakti movement swept over east and north India from the ffteenth century, reaching its peak between the ffteenth and seventeenth century through some prominent bhakti leaders such as Caitanya, Nanak, Kabir and Tulsidas and their religious writings. Their religious innovation has affected not only Vaishnava Hinduism and all the rest of the Hindu society but even the worldviews of some outstanding theologians belonging to other
religious traditions (Pandeya 1991: 20-24).
Though the bhakti originally emerged from Hinduism itself, its vocabularies and terms were used by pīrs to express the relationship of devotion between disciples and the Imam (Busch 2006:33; Iraqi 2009: 15- 17). For instance in the Ginans the concept of virahini, one of the most
powerful representative of devotion in bhakti poetry, best exemplifed by Radha (a Hindu goddess mostly depicted alongside Krishna and accepted as the most important gopi) and the gopis (a group of cow herding girls) in their longing for Krishna, becomes symbolic of the human soul who
experiences viraha (painful longing) for the beloved, almost always identifed as the Imam. Many Ginans, hence, portray the believer as a virahini (Asani 2002: 64-70). In this sense, the reality that a member of the community should devote himself/herself sincerely is often portrayed in the Ginan texts in the form of an Imam. Therefore, such concepts borrowed from bhakti thought are remodifed to emphasize the obedience between the individual and the Imam. In this way, the Imam is presented not only as a guide that leads the individual to the divine truth but also as a spiritual being that one must be devoted to with love even if he is physically and geographically distant.
Another important term used in Ginan literature is vaikuntha, which has a signifcant value in the Vaishnava tradition. They believe that those who reach the celestial abode of Vishnu, vaikuntha, have a perfect mood and are deprived of all kinds of bad feelings and thoughts such as desire, will, and ambition. The following verses demonstrate that the Ginans sometimes prefer the term of vaikuntha while talking about the hereafter. ‘Without pīr, there is no heaven (vaikuntha). Know this well, my brother.’ ‘Those who recognize the Satpnath and follow the words of the pīr, can only get rid of the rebirth circle and attain the paradise (vaikuntha)’ (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 43:7; 71:1). The use of these kinds of concepts in the Ginan texts reveals that the composers were infuenced by local elements and that the majority of those who accepted the Satpanth tradition were Hindu by origin (Kassam 1995: 71).
Nizārī Khojas, while explaining their views on the Qur’an, have benefted from Hindu terms related to the concept of a holy book. In the Ginans, the Qur’an is interpreted as a divine book and is compared with Vedas, the basic sacred text of Hindus. The Vedas have been separated into four basic texts, namely Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda according to their content and evolution. In Hindu religious tradition, it is accepted that each Veda contains the basic beliefs of the previous text (Kutluturk 2014: 44-45). From this point of view, they have pointed out that the Qur’an contains the basic teachings of the three previous Scriptures; namely Torah, Psalm and Bible, and thus have they compared the Qur’an with Atharvaveda, the last book of Vedas. Dāʿīs have stated that when Hindus examine their religious text carefully, they will be able to perceive the connection between the Vedas and the Qur’an (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 202:1). It is also understood that the Khojas have tried to establish a connection between the Qur’an and the Vedic texts by the infuence of their social environment and cultural features whose roots
are very ancient.
Has Kalki already manifested as ʿAlī? A syncretic approach
The most explicit and effective impact of the Indic element on the Ginan literature is the doctrine of avatara (incarnation of God) peculiarly developed in the Vaishnava tradition in medieval India, which directly relates with the concept of Messiah or awaited savior in Hinduism as well as Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah. A brief description of the doctrines of Imamah in Nizārī Ismaliyyah and avatara in Hinduism is required to make a clear
comparison between each religious tradition.
One of the most important principles of faith in Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah is believing in the existence of a masum (innocent) Imam, who is the descendent of ʿAlī. Since the essence of this sect is the submission to such an Imam, all adherents have to respect and follow his orders. They believe that Imams are real guides and exemplary personalities; therefore, can the truth only be obtained by obeying them (Öz 1993: 615).
In Hinduism, the doctrine of avatara (incarnation of God) indicates Vishnu’s descending on earth for the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil, and for the re-establishment of cosmic order. In the Bhagavadgita, God explains the basic reason for his incarnations as ‘Whenever dharma (righteousness) wanes and adharma (falsehood) increases I send myself forth’ (Bhagavadgita 4.7). In spite of the fact that the number and names of avatars vary from one Hindu writing to another, ten avataras of Vishnu are the most popular in the Hindu tradition. This standard list of ten avataras includes the Fish, the Tortoise, the Boar, the Man-Lion, the Dwarf, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, the Buddha and Kalki (Garuda Purana, 1.86.10-11). At the end of the world, in which righteousness will wane and corruption will increase, according to avatara doctrine, Vishnu will come again as a Kalki avatara for saving pious individuals and reviving Hindu beliefs. The missions of avatara are what enabled the Hindu religion to survive for centuries by providing the avatara doctrine as a signifcant belief in the eyes of Hindus (Kutluturk 2017: 73).
Both chronicles and vernacular sources demonstrate that the belief in the incarnation of any deity or idea of the forthcoming of a messiah has affected many religious movements and sects that separated in the Indian subcontinent. This kind of an interaction, for instance, may be clearly seen in the Khoja tradition. Such that the concept of dasa avatara, which had a standard list in the historical process and was mentioned in various ancient Hindu religious texts such as Mahabharata, Ramayana, Harivamsa and Bhagavad Purana, was largely transported to the Khoja tradition in terms of utilizing the same denotation, Dasa Avatara. Hence, Dasa Avatara became one of the most signifcant parts of Ginan literature which was regularly recited in Khojas’ prayer assemblies throughout the region. The doctrine of the incarnation of God as a savior of the true religion and all of its devoted members can explicitly be found in an important Ginan entitled Dasa Avatara that has been recorded in three separate versions attributed to Pīr Shams al-Dīn , Pīr Sadr al-Dīn and Imam Shah (Khakee 1972: 11-12). This Ginan with strong Hindu infuences presents the Imam as the long-awaited savior within
a Vaishnava framework concerning the dasa avatara of the Hindu deity Vishnu through the yugas (ages). Dasa Avatara, often hailed as a Khoja classic, created an ostensible equivalence between the Hindu concept of avatara and the Ismaili concept of Imam (Khakee 1972: 305).
The narration of Krishna avatara in the Dasa Avatara literature is another important indication in the sense of the infuence of Indic elements on the Ginan literature. The early Sanskrit writings such as Harivamsa (55-56), Vishnu Purana (2.7) and Bhagavad Purana (10.16) all speak about the myth of Krishna avatara within the framework of his biography. Though there are some small differences between them, they all describe how Krishna jumps from a tree into the basin of Yamuna and how after fooling the spectators with the apparent weakness, he starts fghting the Nag and overpowering him and so on. Pīr Sadr al-Dīn ’s Dasa Avatara also includes the same tale (Devraj 1921: 9-10; Mallison 2010: 120). The last lines of the Dasa Avatara are followed by a few prose sentences detailing the names of Krishna’s parents. The next verses handle almost exclusively Krishna’s numerous heroic exploits to rescue the Baj country from its evils or demons, which is known as the nagadamana story. ‘After listening to these words, the wrestler fulflled since the Lord (Krishna) strangled his body, with his hands. Krishna put an end to king Kams’s lineage by destroying the aforementioned ruler’ (Dasa Avatara Nano 17- 19). Hence in the Dasa Avatara, as in Sanskrit and vernacular stories, the nagadamana episode is mentioned as part of the exploits of Krishna, the eighth avatara of god Vishnu.
Dasa Avatara is composed of ten parts, the last section of the work, particularly, was greatly esteemed by the Khojas and recited during pre- burial rites for the deceased. While the frst nine incarnations mostly remained unchanged in the earlier section of this Ginan, the last one changed in its fnal part and here the frst Shi‘a Imam, ʿAlī, was identifed as the awaited tenth avatar as such:
‘God in his tenth manifestation, assumed a form and became visible. The Supreme frst manifested in the form of a fsh (Matsya); He was the support for the seer Mugdala. In his form as a tortoise (Kurma), he churned the ocean; the fourteen jewels were thus recovered. He became visible to the aid of King Ambarisa; Thus the King reached the other shore. In the form of the boar (Varaha), he seized the universe; He clenched the whole of it with his great teeth. God (Narayana) then descended as the lion (Narasimha); Prahlad fell prostrate and begged at his feet. When he came the form of the dwarf (Vamana), he spoke; He delivered Kamala, the fortunate. He grabbed Kamala’s husband in his hand. Then he manifested in the form of Rama, he killed Ravana; He took a hold of Hariscandra’s hand. He saved Hariscandra’s son as well as his wife. Then, he became visible as Krishna! He preserved Draupadi with reams of cloth. In this fourth age (kaliyuga), he has become manifest; He is ʿAlī, mighty comrade of Muhammad. Whoever worships and respects him determinedly, that man or woman will be rescued.’ (Pīr Shams ad-
Dīn , 28:52-64; 32:10).
In other words, the messianic tenth incarnation of Vishnu that is Kalki was renamed in the Khoja tradition as Nakalanki, ‘the stainless one’, and identifed with the frst Shiite Imam, ʿAlī. The following verses quoted from various Ginans set forth such an identifcation. ‘The avatar of this fourth age is Nakalanki; know that he is a Muslim; He who was wrathful with the infdels, indeed, he has come. He has taken form (avatar) as the man Islam Shah; know that he is the Satgur! Pīr Shams says: O pious ones listen to this wisdom (ginan).’ (Pīr Shams ad- Dīn , 17.5). ‘The tenth is the Shah! He has kindled the Light (jyota) and made the Invisible (alakha) manifest.’ (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 27.5). On the other hand the expression of ʿAlī’s emergence on a vehicle of which title is given as ‘Duldul’ (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 4:1-3), recalls some expressions about the Kalki avatara, an expected savior in Hindu scriptures (Agni Purana, 16.10).
According to Fyzee (1965: 504), Dasa Avatara is precisely a book composed or adapted by dāʿīs of the Nizārī Ismailis to convert Hindus, who were not very learned in their religious faith. Such a book presumed the nine incarnations of Vishnu to be true as far as they go, but not the whole truth, and then supplied the imperfect Vaishnava system by adding the basic doctrine of the Nizārī Ismailis, the incarnation and coming manifestation of the ‘Most Holly’ ʿAlī. As a result, it is understood that the doctrine of the messiah in Hindu tradition was redesigned in the Ginans in accordance with the idea of Imamah. In this context, it is seen that the name of Kalki was changed to Nakalanki meaning ‘innocent, pure, spotless and without sin’ and is associated with ʿAlī, the frst Imam of the Shi‘a.
In Hindu sacred texts, the concept of avatara is often used to mean that God himself descends on the earth and embodies different forms of existence. The question of whether the doctrine of avatara in the texts of Ginan is identical to the meaning expressed in the Hindu religious tradition has been the subject of debate since such a doctrine does not accord with Islamic thought. In general, the avatara doctrine found in the Ginans has been interpreted as a manifestation of the divine being rather than an incarnation of God (Esmail: 2002:27). Most Khoja adherents interpreted this concept in the sense that God’s divine light spread to ʿAlī and other Imams as well as pīrs. In the Nizārī Khoja community, Imams have been considered spiritual leaders bearing the light of ʿAlī. It is believed that the dāʿīs who are in charge of spreading the dawa are procurator of Imams. In accordance with this idea, Imams, as well as dāʿīs, have been sometimes presented as avataras in the Ginan texts (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 17:6). In this way they are presented as holy men possessing divine attributes. It is clear that the composers of Ginan literature have benefted from local Hindu motifs, terminologies and concepts, which are largely famous among Indian people. They have customized such kinds of elements according to their Shiite background. In other words, they re-apply an older method known as mesel-memsul (sample-sampled) in Ismaili tradition in order to expand their sectarian ideas. Thereby they have obtained a good opportunity to clarify Ismaili thoughts, which were not common among local people, by using some specifc samples that were familiar to them.
The attitude of purging of Indic elements
From the beginning of the nineteenth century, Indic elements found in the Ginan texts lead to increasing disputes about the religious and social identity of Khojas who were faced with diverse Hindu, Sunni and Shi‘a rites and customs. The historical sources point out that a series of measures such as the eliminating of Hindu customs and removing of Indic elements from Ginans have been taken by leaders of Nizārī Khojas to end such kinds of tensions, which were raised within the Khoja community itself. The attempts to eradicate both Indic terminologies as well as Hindu religious thoughts from the Ginan literature, which have especially occurred in the last two centuries, will be briefy cited here in order to touch upon the impact of Vaishnava terms and doctrines on the texts that have been continued until the last centuries.
The religious and social developments that have occurred among Khojas should be considered to enable a true analysis of the procedure of erasing Indic elements from the Ginan literature. According to historical data, the debates in the Khoja community fared up further after the arriving of the Agha Khan I (1808-1881), Imam Ḥasan ʿAlī Shah, to India in 1848. He took some precautions to solve the existing problems such as the payment of tithes, the management of the community, and the use of common property. First and foremost, he emphasized on the Shiite identity of the Khojas by the purging of certain Hindu and Sunni infuences such as observance of the law of inheritance, and burial and marriage customs from their life (Shodhan 2010: 173-174).
After him, to crystallize the ideality of the Ismaili Khojas one of the most important efforts has been exhibited by Aga Khan III (1877-1957), also known as Sultan Muhammad Shah, who primarily focused on the religious texts of the community. By using his authority over the society, he carried out a series of reforms regarding the Khoja community directly to reveal their true religious identity. In this regard, he offcially charged some eminent scholars to produce a printed canon of the Ginans in the early twentieth century (Bruce 2016: 15). As Shodhan clearly mentioned (2010: 175), approving of these kinds of Ginans were not as means of conversion but as a declaration of the Nizārī Khojas being different from Muslims and Hindus.
In this period of approving or rejecting of Ginan literature, some manuscripts were not only destroyed or buried but the words and terms that recall the Hindu doctrines were widely altered. As stated by Akhtar (2013: 50), ‘These changes can be seen in the Khoja Ismailis especially in the elimination of their Hindu philosophies, which were carried out by the respective religious leadership of the various Khoja religious communities. The vernacular dua expressions were replaced by Arabic, hierarchical forms of religious authority were created and institutionalized and orthodox belief replaced vernacular expressions of faith.’
In the following years, some parts of the Ginans, which included a large content of Hindu beliefs, were either dropped or changed. For instance, in Karachi, in 1956, the Ginanic verses that mention about ʿAlī as the avataras of matsya, kurma, Rama, etc., were replaced with the names of prophets; namely as Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Isa, etc (Rattansi 1987: 79). However, one of the most important decision to purge traces of Indic elements of Ginan literature has been implied by Karim Aga Khan IV in a conference that was held in Paris. Those who shared similar ideas asserted that to achieve a uniform and a standard religious education syllabus among community members some basic alterations or modifcations were needed to be performed (Rattansi 1987: 157).
From this point of view, it was determined that the Ginans should be classifed into three categories according to their wording and content. The frst one is; the Ginans which do not contain any Indic elements. The texts that were included in this category such as Bujh Nirijan, Sioko Mote were deemed authentic and continued to be read in religious ceremonies. The second one is; the Ginans including few Hindu words or terms. It was recognized that if this kind of notions were changed with new ones, such as the replacement of Hari with ʿAlī, such an intervention would not infuence their content as well as structure. Indeed, during the conference, it was decided to replace Hindu terms found in some specifc Ginans with their Islamic equivalents. Particularly, those Indic elements that recast to incorporate Shi‘a beliefs or to exalt the status of ʿAlī. In this way, Hari was replaced by ‘ʿAlī’, Swam by ‘Maula’, Gur Brahma by ‘Nabi Muhammad’, Gur by ‘Pīr’ and so on (Asani 1992: 108-109; Khan 2010:
106). The following verse attributed to Pīr Ḥasan Kabir al-Dīn , can be given here as an example, which includes the term of ʿAlī/Hari. ‘Full of
hope, I stand at your door, O ʿAlī! Joining my hands, This I ask of you: Let me have sight of you. O, great savior! At your feet, I lay myself…’ (Pīr
Ḥasan Kabir al- Dīn , 43:8; Esmail 2002: 185).
The Ginans comprising excessive Hindu ideas and doctrines were classifed as a third category. Using such texts, which were regarded as ‘including excessive Hindu elements’, were simply forbidden. For instance the recitation of the Dasa Avatara, one of the classic Ginans of Khoja literature that considers ʿAlī as the last, long-awaited manifestation of Vishnu, were to be banned from being recited in jamaat khanas, praying rooms. Such kinds of Ginans were perceived as a potential threat to their identity; therefore, they gradually disappeared from the general consciousness of the community. In the late 1970s, other compositions that clarifed Ismaili doctrine especially within an Indic framework had lost their value among the Khoja community (Rattansi1987: 157).
The prominent supporters of this modifcation attempt, particularly the offcials of the Ismailia Association, clarify their ideas by arguing
these arguments. ‘For basic religious education, it is necessary for young children to have (Ginans) in an Islamic Form ... It is indeed our great
fortune that as a result of minor modifcations, we are able to make the most use of the Ginans, which is our wonderful and unique heritage,
otherwise, as we know, the writings of many our past writers have had to be completely set aside and shelved.’ (Rattansi 1987: 160).
It needs to be stated that the changes in the Ginan literature were not widely supported or accepted by Nizārī Khojas. Some of them claim that
no attempts should be done to change the wording of Ginans. According to them, such alterations would not only diminish the authority of the
Imam and damage the spiritual aspect of Ginans but also cover the real meaning of the verses. Such an intervention, on the other hand, harm the
Ginans’ poetical and religious value. Since the Ginans are believed to be divinely inspired, they should not be reconciled by purging or banning
its local elements. On the other hand, the eminent leaders of the Khoja community generally try to convince their adherents about this issue and
explain why they need to clear their religious texts from Hindu elements. In this regard, they claim that the pīrs had been kind enough to make
things easy for their ancestors by permitting them to pursue their Hindu customs in the beginning. However, these customs or practices were
now no longer necessary, hence the Khojas could return to the original version of their credo (Papanek, 1962: 78).
Along with this eradicating of the literary works and as a result of the contact of Ismali Khojas with Ismaili communities in other parts of the world, the Ginans have won a new meaning and dimension in the sight of some Ismaili Khoja followers. In this context, some of the followers have re-interpreted the literature and suggest that Ginans are only one part of the global literary traditions of Ismaili devotional literature. Therefore, though the importance of the Ginans as sources of a normative understanding of Khoja faith and practice gradually diminished, in the last centuries depending on various developments, it is known that considerable numbers of Ismaili Khojas kept reciting these texts (Rattansi 1987: 157).
Consequently, it is impossible to know exactly when the Ginans were attributed to Ismaili pīrs nor to what extent the oral transmission modifed the content through the centuries. It is certain, however, that these religious texts, in particular, specifc parts including Indic elements, were revised in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Even though defenders of this new method put forward some reasons, like to create a standard corpus of the Ginans and to disclose their religious identity, on their recent regulation on the Ginan literature, such an attempt itself approves that in the process of historical interaction in medieval period in India composers of scriptures of Khoja community have been infuenced and benefted from their Indian environment. As a consequent of this inevitable mutual interaction, many Indic elements seeped into the Ginan literature depending upon various socio-cultural and religious-historical grounds.
Conclusion
A major branch of the Shi‘a, the Ismāʿīliyyah reached the Indian subcontinent via religious teachers, dāʿīs, who were actively propagating the Ismaili faith in areas like Sindh, Gujarat, and Punjab from the tenth to the ffteenth century. They were instructed to become masters of the local language and to learn as much as possible about the cultural and religious avenue in which they resided. As a part of the process of dawa, they composed a number of religious hymns, Ginans, as a method to disseminate their religious thought. The hymns composed by these fgures incorporated many Hindu themes and beliefs, in particular, the Vaishnava doctrine of avatara. These texts, furthermore, drew symbols directly from other religious systems such as using Hindu deities to describe the Imam and expressing their pīrs as yogis, gurus or sadhus.
For centuries, scholars examining the Khoja tradition have tried to construe the basic reasons for such an interaction or resemblance between each tradition and have tried to put forward some solutions. One of them is that the pīrs operating in South Asia used Hindu symbols as a means to express their religious ideas in a framework that would be familiar to potential converts and early initiates (Nanji 1978: 106). On the other hand, while some scholars, like ʿAlī Asani (2002: 5), refer to this process as one in which pīrs presented Ismaili ideas in an acculturated form that drew on symbolism from Indic culture, others argue that using of terms from other religious discourses by pīrs should be understood as metaphorically. According to them, Nizārī Khojas utilized metaphors as a means for acquiring esoteric knowledge and a method for explaining their religious practice. Against this view, it has been asserted that Khojas really believed that the Imam was the tenth incarnation of Vishnu and their aim was not to apply metaphors. According to proponents of this view, Khojas used Indic elements as well as beliefs in their literature torepresent their tradition in a syncretic mold. However, the question of whether the Khojas faith is a syncretic blend of Hindu and Nizārī Ismaili traditions has also been disputed among theologians (Bashkow 2004: 445; Strohl 2011: 122).
Both ideological and theological resemblance between the Khoja community and the Hindu tradition have at times been explained through the idea of taqiyya (dissimulation), one of the primary unique attributes and methods of almost all Shi‘a sects. Dissimulation meant something much more than the masking of the true identity and personality or superfcial embrace of an exterior shape. In this sense, Satpanth was regarded as a complex form of dissimulation adapted to the religious, social, cultural and political issues of their dispersed area. In this context, as Tazim argued (1997: 37), implementation of taqiyya is not easy since the fulfllment of such a method involves a complex process of adhesion and syncretism. That is why the Nizārī Khojas of the subcontinent differ signifcantly from the other Nizārī Ismaili groups that developed in Central Asia, Persia and Syria.
The most reasonable explanation about this process, which is also favored by us, is that the pīrs probably asked to gain support among the non-Muslims by constituting the impression that their beliefs were similar to local Hindu beliefs. On this subject, Zahid, one of the most outstanding scholars on Nizārī Ismailism, put forward signifcant details along with logical solutions and implications. According to him (1975: 49) the Nizārī dawa comprehended the diffculty of recovering the lost following of Fatimid Ismailis in the face of internal debates, hostile orthodox Turkish hukumdars (rulers) along with well-educated suf messengers. Therefore, they decided to obtain new supporters and followers among the non-Muslims, especially in India, by demonstrating that their beliefs were familiar to local Hindu beliefs. It is clear that Hindu doctrines and symbols are deliberately used in their compositions, Ginans, to convey a message of faith. It may be claimed that the motifs and doctrines drawn from the Hindu epic literature such as Ramayana and Mahabharata could have been used as a means to store and thereby preserve in memory, actual events, and incidents that occurred in the early dawa in the Indian Subcontinent.
The Ginan tradition as a whole possesses a remarkable internal consistency and wholeness, even though this tradition is penetrated with Indic concepts, myths, sentiments, and motifs found within the Indian background. Therefore this scene indicates that the composers of this literature were not precipitately adopting Indic practices and doctrines. On the contrary, it is frankly understood that the resulting syncretism of their work, is not an inattentive attempt, but a carefully and successively crafted alliance of ideas.
Abstract
The Historical Interaction of Hinduism and Islam since the seventh century has witnessed periods of cooperation and syncretism. In this sense the Khojas, who were the main representatives of Nizārī Ismaili thought in India, are a unique model as they were influenced by Hindu customs and beliefs, particularly Vaishnava terminologies. For instance, the Hindu concept of Kalki avatara, the messianic tenth incarnation of Vishnu, renamed in this tradition as Nakalanki, 'the stainless one', was identified with ʿAlī, the first Shiite Imam. Therefore, an attempt is made in this article to disclose the influence of Hindu terms and doctrines on the Nizārī Khojas by focusing on their religious texts, Ginans, which were composed by dāʿīs, the so-called propagators of this sect. This paper also deals with the historical development of Khoja community in India where the second-largest Shi'a population in the world is located.
KEYWORDS: Ginan, Hindu-Muslim interaction, India, imamah,
Nizārī Ismaili Khojas, Shi‘a, syncretism.
The article can be accessed at: https://www.academia.edu/38731899/Has_K ... view-paper
Introduction
The Ismāʿīliyyah is a Shiite sect whose adherents believe that Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar, son of the sixth Imam (spiritual leader) Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, was the
rightful seventh Imam after him. The information about the early period of the Ismāʿīliyyah, which covers the period from the death of Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq to the establishment of the Fatimid State, is quite limited. In this process, the Ismaili thought spread to different regions such as Iran, Kufa, Yemen, and Bahrain through dāʿīs, the propagators of this sect. The historical sources reveal that in the period of the Fatimid Dynasty
(910-1171), the sect split into two subgroups named Mustʿali and Nizārī.
A much more serious controversy among the adherents of the Ismāʿīliyyah took place following the death of Imam al-Mustanṣir in 1094. After it, the Ismailis who supported and acknowledged al-Mustanṣir’s eldest son (Nizar) as the new Imam were called as Nizārīs, while those who affrmed Nizar’s younger brother al-Mustʿali as his successor, came to be known as Mustʿalis. Even though both of them possessed a common Fatimid heritage, their histories evolved in different aspects because of environmental conditions especially in India (al- Makdisi 1906: 4821-482;
Khan 1975:49).
The Mustʿali thought arrived at the Indian subcontinent through the dāʿīs who settled frst in Yemen and before migrating to India after the
weakening of the Fatimid Dynasty (Tan 2012: 125). Due to the inadequacy of historical data and the tightly sealed structure of this sect, it is not easy
to uncover who was the frst dāʿī settling on the Indian subcontinent, however, it is clear that Yūsuf b. Sulaymān’s departure from Yemen
to Gujarat in 1539 played a signifcant Those who accepted Mustʿali Ismāʿīliyyah in India were generally known as ‘Bohras’, a vernacular term
derived from vehru or vohorvu referring to individuals who are engaged in trade (Najam al-Ghani 1924: 311).
The advent of Nizārī Ismaili dawa (invitation, issuing a summons) into the Indian subcontinent, on the other hand, was associated with
various pīrs (spiritual leaders, Suf teachers) and sayyids (an honorifc title for a descendant of the family of Prophet Muhammad, Islamic title
of respect) who were sent to this area by Ismaili Imams (religious leaders) residing in Iran to teach of Ismaili doctrines.
Sayyid Nūr al-Dīn who arrived from Alamut in the twelfth century has mostly been regarded by Nizārī Ismailis as their frst missionary in
India. He was later renamed as Satgur, which means ‘true guide’ in Hindi, and became famous as Satgur Nūr among Nizārīs. The Nizārī Ismaili
dawa, therefore, was introduced into the Indian subcontinent during the frst half of the thirteenth century. After Satgur Nūr, Pīr Shams ad-Dīn
followed as the second dāʿī to spread this dawa in India. He, according to the traditional lyric, was assigned to this sacred duty at the beginning
of the thirteenth century by Ḳasim Shah, the twenty-ninth Imam of Nizārīs (Faridi 1899: 40) . After him, his grandson Pīr Sadr al-Dīn took
the helm of the sect. The Shiite community dealt with in our study is Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah, which is known as Khojas and has gained a certain
structural characteristic in India with the advent of Pīr Sadr al-Dīn .
Ismaili Khojas / Satpanthis
The activities of Pīr Sadr al-Dīn , as well as the religious and cultural structure of the region in which Nizārī Ismailis were located, played an
important role in the development of the Khoja community, who were south Asian descendants of converts to the Nizārī Ismaili dawa. The term
Khoja comes from the Persian title of respect, khwaja, meaning ‘lord’ or ‘master’ and is believed to have been bestowed by Ismaili teachers upon
their converts in South Asia. Pīr Sadr al-Dīn converted large numbers of Hindus from the Lohana trading caste and gave them the title of ‘Khoja’,
corresponding to the Hindi term thakur by which the Hindu Lohanas were addressed (Boivin 2010: 27; Jairazbhoy 2004: 252).
The Khojas, hence, are said to be disciples of Sadr al-Dīn , one of the most prominent pīrs of the Khoja tradition who lived in ffteenth
century. Their community and many scholars believe that the Khojas were a specialized subgroup, while Pīr Sadr al-Dīn appears to have played a
key role in organizing and consolidating the Satpanth tradition in India. He is in fact, accepted as the founder of the Nizārī Khoja community in
the Indian subcontinent. The greatest number of the Ginans (hymn-like poems) are attributed to him. Moreover, it is believed that Khoji script,
which is a secretive alphabet for recording religious texts and keeping commercial accounts, was founded by him (Asani, 1991: 104).
According to tradition, it is also acknowledged that the frst jamaat khana (community house) for the religious and societal activities of the
Khojas has been built by him in Sind. In the course of time, Sadr al- Dīn preached and conveyed his messages in Panjab and Kashmir by
constructing various jamaat khanas. He took great care to ensure that the jamaat khanas, apart from being places of worship, also served as
centers of social, administrative, cultural, legal and family affairs for the community. He, therefore, laid the foundations of the Nizārī communal
organization in India, where the Nizārī Ismailis became generally designated as Khojas, in order to gain all practical goals (Daftary 1998:
178-180).
Pīr Sadr al-Dīn ensured that the members of the congregation were tightly interlocked and encouraged them to remain attached to the Imam-e
Zamaan (spiritual leader of the age). He imposed that this commitment should be shown not only verbally but practically. The hymns attributed
to him such as ‘All gave the exact offering of tithe and became purifed and pious’ (Pīr Sadr al-Dīn , 105:7) , reveal that he initiated the customary
tithe, an offering to the Imam called as dasond among members of the community. He, on the other hand, considered the customs, beliefs, and
cultures of his subjects when he communicated his message and in this regard, he adopted the local name, Sahadev, which means ‘with God’
(Williams 2008: 1743), to refer to himself. In our opinion, through such a method he wished to convey to his counterparts the idea that he was
appointed for a divine mission.
After the death of Pīr Sadr al-Dīn in Uch, a region in Punjab state, his eldest sons Sayyid Ḥasan Kabīr ad-Dīn (d. 1449), Taj ad-Dīn (d.
1476) and ʿAbdu-r-Rahīm b. al-Ḥasan (d.1512) were regarded as the most eminent dāʿīs of the dawa. They strove to convey the messages of the
dawa to different parts of India until the end of their life, however after them; in particular during the period of Nūr Muhammad, a number
of debates arose over whether the taxes collected from members of the congregation should be sent to the Imam. A small group, who did not
accept to send the tithes to the Imam, left from Khojas and became known as Imamshahis (Ivanow 1936: 43-44).
Periodically, many spiritual leaders came after Ṣadr al-Dīn and gradually, some debates occurred among the members of this sect, in
particular after the arrival of the Aga Khan Ḥasan ʿAlī Shah from Iran to India in the mid-nineteenth century. One of the most important
demonstrations of Khoja protest against their Imam was the giving of tithes. His arrival to India caused a revitalization of the earlier problem
about the rights of the Imam within the Khoja community. Those who refused to pay dasond, were excluded from the congregation by the Aga Khan himself as well as by judges of the court who made some decisions in favor of the Aga Khan. Due to these kinds of events, the Khoja community was divided into three groups. They eventually took the form of three different jamaats: the Sunni Khojas, who are very few, the Ithna Ashari (Twelver) Khojas and the majority Nizārī Ismaili Khojas, followers of the Aga Khan. Those Khojas who proclaimed to no longer work within the main Khoja community, declared themselves to be Sunni and became known as Sunni Khojas or to be Ithnā ʿAshari and were called as Twelver Khojas. The latter, by establishing their own group in Bombay, spread throughout the Khoja world as new jamaats
were formed (Hickling 1998: 52-53; Akhtar 2015: 35-41).
The dāʿīs, pīrs, and sayyids have deeply learned the vernaculars, beliefs, and cultures of their counterparts in order to reach the masses. By
utilizing religious terms and symbols that were familiar to Indian society, they aimed to draw more attention to their teachings. These eclectic
attitudes have also allowed them to acquire supporters and become invincible. They preferred the Sanskrit term Satpanth, which means ‘the
true path, the right doctrine’ while referring to their teachings. Their followers, thus, identifed themselves as Satpanthis rather than Ismailis
(Daftary 1998: 348). They emphasized the importance of joining the Nizārī Ismaili tradition by expressing that those who do not accept the
Satpanth teachings will be exposed to various troubles and cannot reach salvation (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 105:13-14). They have explained such ideas
through the Ginans, which are sacred songs or religious texts of Khojas.
Scholars such as ʿAlī Asani, Noorally Muir, W. Ivanow and Tazim Kassam have conducted important research on these texts, particularly concerning historical, linguistic, and contextual materials. The primary aim of this article, however, is to explore the impact of Hindu belief and culture on Khojas by revealing Indic doctrines, terminologies, metaphors and motifs used or transported in the Ginans especially in Dasa Avatara, attributed to the three important pīrs of the Khojas. Thereby, we hope to forge a broader understanding of the mutual interaction between both traditions. Hence, along with the Khojas’ main doctrines, its evaluation in the process of history and position in the contemporary world is not
handled in this study.
The Ginans: A brief analysis
The term Ginan is derived from the Sanskrit word cnana/gyana for ‘knowledge’, in the sense of esoteric truth or wisdom; hence, the Ginans
may be best understood as hymns of esoteric wisdom. The term Ginan itself also refers to any song or recitation (Nanji 1978: 106). This word
phonetically is similar to Hindi word gana which means ‘song, tune or to sing’ and the Arabic word, gina, meaning ‘singing or exhilarant word’ (Ibn Manzur, 140). The core concepts of Khoja tradition in the Ginans were translated by pīrs or sayyids according to religious discourses or idioms prevalent in western India. The selection of the terms employed varied, depending on various factors such as the period of composition, doctrinal and thematic content, and the historical context of the audience. Therefore, it is known that the formulation of Khoja doctrines in the Ginans wasstratifed in character (Asani 1996: 270).
Various historical and regional elements shaped the character of different Ginans. Therefore, the religious and social characteristics of the Indian subcontinent, where this religious sect fourished, played an important role in the process of the development of these texts. It is known that the Nizārī dawa in India was addressed mainly to the rural, largely uneducated, lower castes. Hence, the pīrs frstly focused on Indian vernaculars, rather than Arabic and Persian used by the educated classes, in order to enhance the effectiveness and spread of their message (Ivanow 1948: 32). For this reason, they used Hindu doctrines, vocabularies, idioms, and mythology, interfacing their Islamic and Ismaili tenets with myths, images, and symbols already familiar to the Hindus. In other words, the pīrs adopted a strategy of accommodating indigenous religious doctrines and concepts in order to reach the Hindu community whose social life was restricted by the caste system. As a result of this strategy, many Hindus, who mostly belong to the lower castes, were won over.
In time, Nizārī Khojas developed their own set of themes and theological concepts emanating from an interfacing of Hinduism, in particular, the Vaishnava tradition, and Ismaili Islam. As a matter of course, a number of other Indic elements, as well as traditions and mystical movements,emerged from Hinduism such as tantra, which is a tradition of beliefs and ritual practices that aims to channel the divine energy of the Godhead into the human being, and bhakti, a movement based on devotion to God, especially prevalent in North India. These two groups affected the evaluation of the Ginan literature (Daftary 1998: 183-84). Besides this, the teachings of sants, a group of lower caste poet saints, who were part of a powerful anti-ritual and anti-caste movement that swept across India contemporaneously with the Satpanthi tradition, did also impact the composition of the Ginans (Syed1936: 47; Esmail 2002: 13).
The texts containing the thoughts of dāʿīs such as Satgur Nūr, Pīr Shams al-Dīn , Pīr Sadr al-Dīn and Imam Shah, whose period is
called as ‘great pīrs’, constitute the backbone of the Ginan collections. In the course of time, the signifcance and status of the Ginans have gradually increased among the Nizārī Khoja community. As a result of this popularity, many Ginans were composed in a number of Indic languages and dialects of Sind, Panjab, and Gujarat (Nanji 1978: 9; Allana 1984: 44). These hymns, which vary in length from four to over a thousand verses, were transmitted orally for several centuries before being recorded primarily in the Khojki script developed in Sind by the Khoja community. Each hymn typically comes to an end with an attribution to a specifc dāʿī or pīr, who was appointed by the Imam (Jairazbhoy 2004: 254). As a result of an oral tradition, it is true that some Ginans also narrate anachronistic and legendary accounts of the activities of pīrs and their converts. In this respect, not all of the Ginans
are generally reliable as historical sources of information. Yet, these texts have continued to occupy a central role in the religious life and rituals
of the Nizārī Khojas, since they are held to contain the teachings of their pīrs (Stans 2016: 19). Even though the authorship of the Ginan is
not certain, these religious texts are in general ascribed to a few early pīrs or dāʿīs in the Indian subcontinent. The composers of the Ginans
are depicted as gurus who guide the disciples to the path of darshan or didar (spiritual enlightenment) and liberation. If a disciple successfully
follows his/her guide’s messages, hence, he or she would be blessed with the vision of the Divine Light (Daftary 1998: 177-78).
Since the late nineteenth century, Ginan manuscripts, which were found in different regions such as Kathiawad, Kutch, Sind, and Punjab,
have begun to be collected and classifed. In this context, Mukhi Lalji Devraj and his colleagues were offcially appointed in the time of Aga Khan III, Sultan Muhammed Shah (d. 1957) to compile different copies and create a standard Ginan literature. This team brought hundreds of manuscripts that were acquired from different regions to the city of Bombay, where they prepared them for printing. Concluding a work of more than ten years, Khoja Sindhi Printing Press frstly published these texts in the Khocki alphabet. Such an attempt has been made so that the Ginan texts can be distributed and read among all members of the congregation. These texts were later published in other alphabets commonly used in the Indian subcontinent (Asani 2002: 44). Khojas argue that only a fraction of the texts of Ginan reached today so that the actual number of these texts cannot be exactly known. An important part of the Ginans, which seems to have disappeared due to various reasons, remains to be discovered.
It is clear that because of several reasons the different groups of Ismailis residing in India have developed various perspectives towards the Ginans. Though the Ginan literature is mostly shared by the Imamshahis in Gujarat, who are believed to have split off from the Khojas at some time during the 16th century, these texts have particularly made an important contribution to the arrangement of the religious life of Satpanth traditions. In the context of Khoja practices, Ginans come to life when they are sung. The religious meaning of these hymns is centered in their ritualized performance. Reading the Ginans with a loud voice is regarded as an important worship since it is believed that via such a method the inner meanings of Ginans reveal. It is also believed that, in this way, the deep meanings hidden in Ginan come to light and that this secret treasure provides various benefts to the person who reads it. These texts are seen as a means by which the person draws closer to God. Therefore, it is emphasized that they should be memorized and read sincerely (Asani 1991: 104). While all of the Ginan texts are important among Khojas, it is more appropriate to read some of them at certain times as well as in rituals. In this sense, some specifc Ginan texts have been identifed to be read in particular situations such as birth, marriage or funeral rites (Kassam 1995: 5).
The establishment of an unshakable connection between the Ginans and the devotee’s heart depends on the recitation of these Ginans as a song
at the time of religious practice. This direct link could be obtained not only by a stressing on memorization but also on the correct receptivity or audition of the Ginans. In this context, the following verse, which is attributed to Pīr Sadr al-Dīn , quoted from a Ginan demonstrates the power of singing Ginans by which the heart of prayer attains a deep pleasure. ‘Recite Ginans and the self-flls with Light! Thus will your hearts be made blissful’ (Pīr Sadr ad- Dīn 61: 54-55).
As a result, the Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah has reached until today through the Ginan texts that were compiled and recorded by the religious leaders of the Khoja community. The Ginans contributed to the formation of a social identity and the development of a sense of unity among the members of the congregation. Once they gathered in a meeting, they read these texts in a collective manner. Through the Ginans, they have retained and strengthened their past ties and carried it to future generations. This functional aspect of the Ginans played a crucial role in both the transmission of the Satpanth tradition and teachings to the new generations as well as the protection of Nizārī Ismaili thoughts up until today. In-depth analyzes on the Ginan texts, therefore, will contribute to both the discovery of the development process of the Nizārī Ismaili tradition in the Indian subcontinent and the understanding of the social structure of the contemporary Ismaili community.
Indic elements in the Ginans
The pīrs, compilers of the Ginans, had transformed Hindu mythology, motifs, and concepts into narratives propounding their religious teachings. Though the pīrs condemned and banned idol worship, a variety of symbolic correspondences and equivalences were established in some Ginans between Hindu and Islamic concepts, notions, religious terminologies and fgures. One of the prominent reason for such an attitude probably is expediting the orientation periods of new individuals who have recently approved Nizārī Khoja doctrines by giving up their ancient tradition that is Hinduism.
In this sense, after an in-depth analysis one will be able to disclose religious vocabularies, practices and beliefs such as svarga (heaven), dasond
(paying the tithe), performing the ghatpat ceremony (installation of holy water), seva (service), sakhavat (charity), smarana or dhyana (meditation),
vrata (keeping vows), dharma (moral conduct), satgur (true guide), kaliyuga (the last age of cosmic world), mahadin (the day of judgment), samsara or dvagamana (cycle of rebirth), moksha or avagamana (release from the cycle of rebirth), yama (divine being responsible for death), dasa
avatara (the ten incarnations of god) and kalki or nakalanki (savior) in the Ginans.
It should be declared clearly that Hinduism is a religious system that has emerged as a result of the unifcation of different beliefs and customs in the process of a long period. Therefore, it is impossible to reveal all aspects of the infuence of Indic elements in Ginan literature in a short paper. When we analyze the texts it is revealed that they mostly benefted and were infuenced from beliefs and motifs of the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism because they initially appeared to address a largely Vaishnava audience. In this study, some of these elements such as the concept of bhakti and Kalki avatar have been selected and examined how and why such kinds of doctrines were transformed into Nizārī thoughts by the composers of Ginans.
The founding of religious and philosophical terms of Hinduism indicates that the prominent Hindu religious movement bhakti, which fourished in the medieval period, has more or less infuenced the evolution of the Ginan literature. To comprehend such a mutual interaction between bhakti and Ginan literature, the appearance and evaluation of the bhakti tradition should be mentioned. In brief, the term bhakti was used in Hinduism in the context of a movement emphasizing the mutual intense emotional attachment and love of a devotee towards a personal god and of the god for the devotee. In general, it is accepted that the bhakti movement frstly appeared in Tamil Nadu in Southern India with the Shaiva Nayanars and the Vaishnava Alvars. The bhakti movement swept over east and north India from the ffteenth century, reaching its peak between the ffteenth and seventeenth century through some prominent bhakti leaders such as Caitanya, Nanak, Kabir and Tulsidas and their religious writings. Their religious innovation has affected not only Vaishnava Hinduism and all the rest of the Hindu society but even the worldviews of some outstanding theologians belonging to other
religious traditions (Pandeya 1991: 20-24).
Though the bhakti originally emerged from Hinduism itself, its vocabularies and terms were used by pīrs to express the relationship of devotion between disciples and the Imam (Busch 2006:33; Iraqi 2009: 15- 17). For instance in the Ginans the concept of virahini, one of the most
powerful representative of devotion in bhakti poetry, best exemplifed by Radha (a Hindu goddess mostly depicted alongside Krishna and accepted as the most important gopi) and the gopis (a group of cow herding girls) in their longing for Krishna, becomes symbolic of the human soul who
experiences viraha (painful longing) for the beloved, almost always identifed as the Imam. Many Ginans, hence, portray the believer as a virahini (Asani 2002: 64-70). In this sense, the reality that a member of the community should devote himself/herself sincerely is often portrayed in the Ginan texts in the form of an Imam. Therefore, such concepts borrowed from bhakti thought are remodifed to emphasize the obedience between the individual and the Imam. In this way, the Imam is presented not only as a guide that leads the individual to the divine truth but also as a spiritual being that one must be devoted to with love even if he is physically and geographically distant.
Another important term used in Ginan literature is vaikuntha, which has a signifcant value in the Vaishnava tradition. They believe that those who reach the celestial abode of Vishnu, vaikuntha, have a perfect mood and are deprived of all kinds of bad feelings and thoughts such as desire, will, and ambition. The following verses demonstrate that the Ginans sometimes prefer the term of vaikuntha while talking about the hereafter. ‘Without pīr, there is no heaven (vaikuntha). Know this well, my brother.’ ‘Those who recognize the Satpnath and follow the words of the pīr, can only get rid of the rebirth circle and attain the paradise (vaikuntha)’ (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 43:7; 71:1). The use of these kinds of concepts in the Ginan texts reveals that the composers were infuenced by local elements and that the majority of those who accepted the Satpanth tradition were Hindu by origin (Kassam 1995: 71).
Nizārī Khojas, while explaining their views on the Qur’an, have benefted from Hindu terms related to the concept of a holy book. In the Ginans, the Qur’an is interpreted as a divine book and is compared with Vedas, the basic sacred text of Hindus. The Vedas have been separated into four basic texts, namely Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda according to their content and evolution. In Hindu religious tradition, it is accepted that each Veda contains the basic beliefs of the previous text (Kutluturk 2014: 44-45). From this point of view, they have pointed out that the Qur’an contains the basic teachings of the three previous Scriptures; namely Torah, Psalm and Bible, and thus have they compared the Qur’an with Atharvaveda, the last book of Vedas. Dāʿīs have stated that when Hindus examine their religious text carefully, they will be able to perceive the connection between the Vedas and the Qur’an (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 202:1). It is also understood that the Khojas have tried to establish a connection between the Qur’an and the Vedic texts by the infuence of their social environment and cultural features whose roots
are very ancient.
Has Kalki already manifested as ʿAlī? A syncretic approach
The most explicit and effective impact of the Indic element on the Ginan literature is the doctrine of avatara (incarnation of God) peculiarly developed in the Vaishnava tradition in medieval India, which directly relates with the concept of Messiah or awaited savior in Hinduism as well as Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah. A brief description of the doctrines of Imamah in Nizārī Ismaliyyah and avatara in Hinduism is required to make a clear
comparison between each religious tradition.
One of the most important principles of faith in Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah is believing in the existence of a masum (innocent) Imam, who is the descendent of ʿAlī. Since the essence of this sect is the submission to such an Imam, all adherents have to respect and follow his orders. They believe that Imams are real guides and exemplary personalities; therefore, can the truth only be obtained by obeying them (Öz 1993: 615).
In Hinduism, the doctrine of avatara (incarnation of God) indicates Vishnu’s descending on earth for the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil, and for the re-establishment of cosmic order. In the Bhagavadgita, God explains the basic reason for his incarnations as ‘Whenever dharma (righteousness) wanes and adharma (falsehood) increases I send myself forth’ (Bhagavadgita 4.7). In spite of the fact that the number and names of avatars vary from one Hindu writing to another, ten avataras of Vishnu are the most popular in the Hindu tradition. This standard list of ten avataras includes the Fish, the Tortoise, the Boar, the Man-Lion, the Dwarf, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, the Buddha and Kalki (Garuda Purana, 1.86.10-11). At the end of the world, in which righteousness will wane and corruption will increase, according to avatara doctrine, Vishnu will come again as a Kalki avatara for saving pious individuals and reviving Hindu beliefs. The missions of avatara are what enabled the Hindu religion to survive for centuries by providing the avatara doctrine as a signifcant belief in the eyes of Hindus (Kutluturk 2017: 73).
Both chronicles and vernacular sources demonstrate that the belief in the incarnation of any deity or idea of the forthcoming of a messiah has affected many religious movements and sects that separated in the Indian subcontinent. This kind of an interaction, for instance, may be clearly seen in the Khoja tradition. Such that the concept of dasa avatara, which had a standard list in the historical process and was mentioned in various ancient Hindu religious texts such as Mahabharata, Ramayana, Harivamsa and Bhagavad Purana, was largely transported to the Khoja tradition in terms of utilizing the same denotation, Dasa Avatara. Hence, Dasa Avatara became one of the most signifcant parts of Ginan literature which was regularly recited in Khojas’ prayer assemblies throughout the region. The doctrine of the incarnation of God as a savior of the true religion and all of its devoted members can explicitly be found in an important Ginan entitled Dasa Avatara that has been recorded in three separate versions attributed to Pīr Shams al-Dīn , Pīr Sadr al-Dīn and Imam Shah (Khakee 1972: 11-12). This Ginan with strong Hindu infuences presents the Imam as the long-awaited savior within
a Vaishnava framework concerning the dasa avatara of the Hindu deity Vishnu through the yugas (ages). Dasa Avatara, often hailed as a Khoja classic, created an ostensible equivalence between the Hindu concept of avatara and the Ismaili concept of Imam (Khakee 1972: 305).
The narration of Krishna avatara in the Dasa Avatara literature is another important indication in the sense of the infuence of Indic elements on the Ginan literature. The early Sanskrit writings such as Harivamsa (55-56), Vishnu Purana (2.7) and Bhagavad Purana (10.16) all speak about the myth of Krishna avatara within the framework of his biography. Though there are some small differences between them, they all describe how Krishna jumps from a tree into the basin of Yamuna and how after fooling the spectators with the apparent weakness, he starts fghting the Nag and overpowering him and so on. Pīr Sadr al-Dīn ’s Dasa Avatara also includes the same tale (Devraj 1921: 9-10; Mallison 2010: 120). The last lines of the Dasa Avatara are followed by a few prose sentences detailing the names of Krishna’s parents. The next verses handle almost exclusively Krishna’s numerous heroic exploits to rescue the Baj country from its evils or demons, which is known as the nagadamana story. ‘After listening to these words, the wrestler fulflled since the Lord (Krishna) strangled his body, with his hands. Krishna put an end to king Kams’s lineage by destroying the aforementioned ruler’ (Dasa Avatara Nano 17- 19). Hence in the Dasa Avatara, as in Sanskrit and vernacular stories, the nagadamana episode is mentioned as part of the exploits of Krishna, the eighth avatara of god Vishnu.
Dasa Avatara is composed of ten parts, the last section of the work, particularly, was greatly esteemed by the Khojas and recited during pre- burial rites for the deceased. While the frst nine incarnations mostly remained unchanged in the earlier section of this Ginan, the last one changed in its fnal part and here the frst Shi‘a Imam, ʿAlī, was identifed as the awaited tenth avatar as such:
‘God in his tenth manifestation, assumed a form and became visible. The Supreme frst manifested in the form of a fsh (Matsya); He was the support for the seer Mugdala. In his form as a tortoise (Kurma), he churned the ocean; the fourteen jewels were thus recovered. He became visible to the aid of King Ambarisa; Thus the King reached the other shore. In the form of the boar (Varaha), he seized the universe; He clenched the whole of it with his great teeth. God (Narayana) then descended as the lion (Narasimha); Prahlad fell prostrate and begged at his feet. When he came the form of the dwarf (Vamana), he spoke; He delivered Kamala, the fortunate. He grabbed Kamala’s husband in his hand. Then he manifested in the form of Rama, he killed Ravana; He took a hold of Hariscandra’s hand. He saved Hariscandra’s son as well as his wife. Then, he became visible as Krishna! He preserved Draupadi with reams of cloth. In this fourth age (kaliyuga), he has become manifest; He is ʿAlī, mighty comrade of Muhammad. Whoever worships and respects him determinedly, that man or woman will be rescued.’ (Pīr Shams ad-
Dīn , 28:52-64; 32:10).
In other words, the messianic tenth incarnation of Vishnu that is Kalki was renamed in the Khoja tradition as Nakalanki, ‘the stainless one’, and identifed with the frst Shiite Imam, ʿAlī. The following verses quoted from various Ginans set forth such an identifcation. ‘The avatar of this fourth age is Nakalanki; know that he is a Muslim; He who was wrathful with the infdels, indeed, he has come. He has taken form (avatar) as the man Islam Shah; know that he is the Satgur! Pīr Shams says: O pious ones listen to this wisdom (ginan).’ (Pīr Shams ad- Dīn , 17.5). ‘The tenth is the Shah! He has kindled the Light (jyota) and made the Invisible (alakha) manifest.’ (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 27.5). On the other hand the expression of ʿAlī’s emergence on a vehicle of which title is given as ‘Duldul’ (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 4:1-3), recalls some expressions about the Kalki avatara, an expected savior in Hindu scriptures (Agni Purana, 16.10).
According to Fyzee (1965: 504), Dasa Avatara is precisely a book composed or adapted by dāʿīs of the Nizārī Ismailis to convert Hindus, who were not very learned in their religious faith. Such a book presumed the nine incarnations of Vishnu to be true as far as they go, but not the whole truth, and then supplied the imperfect Vaishnava system by adding the basic doctrine of the Nizārī Ismailis, the incarnation and coming manifestation of the ‘Most Holly’ ʿAlī. As a result, it is understood that the doctrine of the messiah in Hindu tradition was redesigned in the Ginans in accordance with the idea of Imamah. In this context, it is seen that the name of Kalki was changed to Nakalanki meaning ‘innocent, pure, spotless and without sin’ and is associated with ʿAlī, the frst Imam of the Shi‘a.
In Hindu sacred texts, the concept of avatara is often used to mean that God himself descends on the earth and embodies different forms of existence. The question of whether the doctrine of avatara in the texts of Ginan is identical to the meaning expressed in the Hindu religious tradition has been the subject of debate since such a doctrine does not accord with Islamic thought. In general, the avatara doctrine found in the Ginans has been interpreted as a manifestation of the divine being rather than an incarnation of God (Esmail: 2002:27). Most Khoja adherents interpreted this concept in the sense that God’s divine light spread to ʿAlī and other Imams as well as pīrs. In the Nizārī Khoja community, Imams have been considered spiritual leaders bearing the light of ʿAlī. It is believed that the dāʿīs who are in charge of spreading the dawa are procurator of Imams. In accordance with this idea, Imams, as well as dāʿīs, have been sometimes presented as avataras in the Ginan texts (Pīr Shams ad-Dīn , 17:6). In this way they are presented as holy men possessing divine attributes. It is clear that the composers of Ginan literature have benefted from local Hindu motifs, terminologies and concepts, which are largely famous among Indian people. They have customized such kinds of elements according to their Shiite background. In other words, they re-apply an older method known as mesel-memsul (sample-sampled) in Ismaili tradition in order to expand their sectarian ideas. Thereby they have obtained a good opportunity to clarify Ismaili thoughts, which were not common among local people, by using some specifc samples that were familiar to them.
The attitude of purging of Indic elements
From the beginning of the nineteenth century, Indic elements found in the Ginan texts lead to increasing disputes about the religious and social identity of Khojas who were faced with diverse Hindu, Sunni and Shi‘a rites and customs. The historical sources point out that a series of measures such as the eliminating of Hindu customs and removing of Indic elements from Ginans have been taken by leaders of Nizārī Khojas to end such kinds of tensions, which were raised within the Khoja community itself. The attempts to eradicate both Indic terminologies as well as Hindu religious thoughts from the Ginan literature, which have especially occurred in the last two centuries, will be briefy cited here in order to touch upon the impact of Vaishnava terms and doctrines on the texts that have been continued until the last centuries.
The religious and social developments that have occurred among Khojas should be considered to enable a true analysis of the procedure of erasing Indic elements from the Ginan literature. According to historical data, the debates in the Khoja community fared up further after the arriving of the Agha Khan I (1808-1881), Imam Ḥasan ʿAlī Shah, to India in 1848. He took some precautions to solve the existing problems such as the payment of tithes, the management of the community, and the use of common property. First and foremost, he emphasized on the Shiite identity of the Khojas by the purging of certain Hindu and Sunni infuences such as observance of the law of inheritance, and burial and marriage customs from their life (Shodhan 2010: 173-174).
After him, to crystallize the ideality of the Ismaili Khojas one of the most important efforts has been exhibited by Aga Khan III (1877-1957), also known as Sultan Muhammad Shah, who primarily focused on the religious texts of the community. By using his authority over the society, he carried out a series of reforms regarding the Khoja community directly to reveal their true religious identity. In this regard, he offcially charged some eminent scholars to produce a printed canon of the Ginans in the early twentieth century (Bruce 2016: 15). As Shodhan clearly mentioned (2010: 175), approving of these kinds of Ginans were not as means of conversion but as a declaration of the Nizārī Khojas being different from Muslims and Hindus.
In this period of approving or rejecting of Ginan literature, some manuscripts were not only destroyed or buried but the words and terms that recall the Hindu doctrines were widely altered. As stated by Akhtar (2013: 50), ‘These changes can be seen in the Khoja Ismailis especially in the elimination of their Hindu philosophies, which were carried out by the respective religious leadership of the various Khoja religious communities. The vernacular dua expressions were replaced by Arabic, hierarchical forms of religious authority were created and institutionalized and orthodox belief replaced vernacular expressions of faith.’
In the following years, some parts of the Ginans, which included a large content of Hindu beliefs, were either dropped or changed. For instance, in Karachi, in 1956, the Ginanic verses that mention about ʿAlī as the avataras of matsya, kurma, Rama, etc., were replaced with the names of prophets; namely as Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Isa, etc (Rattansi 1987: 79). However, one of the most important decision to purge traces of Indic elements of Ginan literature has been implied by Karim Aga Khan IV in a conference that was held in Paris. Those who shared similar ideas asserted that to achieve a uniform and a standard religious education syllabus among community members some basic alterations or modifcations were needed to be performed (Rattansi 1987: 157).
From this point of view, it was determined that the Ginans should be classifed into three categories according to their wording and content. The frst one is; the Ginans which do not contain any Indic elements. The texts that were included in this category such as Bujh Nirijan, Sioko Mote were deemed authentic and continued to be read in religious ceremonies. The second one is; the Ginans including few Hindu words or terms. It was recognized that if this kind of notions were changed with new ones, such as the replacement of Hari with ʿAlī, such an intervention would not infuence their content as well as structure. Indeed, during the conference, it was decided to replace Hindu terms found in some specifc Ginans with their Islamic equivalents. Particularly, those Indic elements that recast to incorporate Shi‘a beliefs or to exalt the status of ʿAlī. In this way, Hari was replaced by ‘ʿAlī’, Swam by ‘Maula’, Gur Brahma by ‘Nabi Muhammad’, Gur by ‘Pīr’ and so on (Asani 1992: 108-109; Khan 2010:
106). The following verse attributed to Pīr Ḥasan Kabir al-Dīn , can be given here as an example, which includes the term of ʿAlī/Hari. ‘Full of
hope, I stand at your door, O ʿAlī! Joining my hands, This I ask of you: Let me have sight of you. O, great savior! At your feet, I lay myself…’ (Pīr
Ḥasan Kabir al- Dīn , 43:8; Esmail 2002: 185).
The Ginans comprising excessive Hindu ideas and doctrines were classifed as a third category. Using such texts, which were regarded as ‘including excessive Hindu elements’, were simply forbidden. For instance the recitation of the Dasa Avatara, one of the classic Ginans of Khoja literature that considers ʿAlī as the last, long-awaited manifestation of Vishnu, were to be banned from being recited in jamaat khanas, praying rooms. Such kinds of Ginans were perceived as a potential threat to their identity; therefore, they gradually disappeared from the general consciousness of the community. In the late 1970s, other compositions that clarifed Ismaili doctrine especially within an Indic framework had lost their value among the Khoja community (Rattansi1987: 157).
The prominent supporters of this modifcation attempt, particularly the offcials of the Ismailia Association, clarify their ideas by arguing
these arguments. ‘For basic religious education, it is necessary for young children to have (Ginans) in an Islamic Form ... It is indeed our great
fortune that as a result of minor modifcations, we are able to make the most use of the Ginans, which is our wonderful and unique heritage,
otherwise, as we know, the writings of many our past writers have had to be completely set aside and shelved.’ (Rattansi 1987: 160).
It needs to be stated that the changes in the Ginan literature were not widely supported or accepted by Nizārī Khojas. Some of them claim that
no attempts should be done to change the wording of Ginans. According to them, such alterations would not only diminish the authority of the
Imam and damage the spiritual aspect of Ginans but also cover the real meaning of the verses. Such an intervention, on the other hand, harm the
Ginans’ poetical and religious value. Since the Ginans are believed to be divinely inspired, they should not be reconciled by purging or banning
its local elements. On the other hand, the eminent leaders of the Khoja community generally try to convince their adherents about this issue and
explain why they need to clear their religious texts from Hindu elements. In this regard, they claim that the pīrs had been kind enough to make
things easy for their ancestors by permitting them to pursue their Hindu customs in the beginning. However, these customs or practices were
now no longer necessary, hence the Khojas could return to the original version of their credo (Papanek, 1962: 78).
Along with this eradicating of the literary works and as a result of the contact of Ismali Khojas with Ismaili communities in other parts of the world, the Ginans have won a new meaning and dimension in the sight of some Ismaili Khoja followers. In this context, some of the followers have re-interpreted the literature and suggest that Ginans are only one part of the global literary traditions of Ismaili devotional literature. Therefore, though the importance of the Ginans as sources of a normative understanding of Khoja faith and practice gradually diminished, in the last centuries depending on various developments, it is known that considerable numbers of Ismaili Khojas kept reciting these texts (Rattansi 1987: 157).
Consequently, it is impossible to know exactly when the Ginans were attributed to Ismaili pīrs nor to what extent the oral transmission modifed the content through the centuries. It is certain, however, that these religious texts, in particular, specifc parts including Indic elements, were revised in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Even though defenders of this new method put forward some reasons, like to create a standard corpus of the Ginans and to disclose their religious identity, on their recent regulation on the Ginan literature, such an attempt itself approves that in the process of historical interaction in medieval period in India composers of scriptures of Khoja community have been infuenced and benefted from their Indian environment. As a consequent of this inevitable mutual interaction, many Indic elements seeped into the Ginan literature depending upon various socio-cultural and religious-historical grounds.
Conclusion
A major branch of the Shi‘a, the Ismāʿīliyyah reached the Indian subcontinent via religious teachers, dāʿīs, who were actively propagating the Ismaili faith in areas like Sindh, Gujarat, and Punjab from the tenth to the ffteenth century. They were instructed to become masters of the local language and to learn as much as possible about the cultural and religious avenue in which they resided. As a part of the process of dawa, they composed a number of religious hymns, Ginans, as a method to disseminate their religious thought. The hymns composed by these fgures incorporated many Hindu themes and beliefs, in particular, the Vaishnava doctrine of avatara. These texts, furthermore, drew symbols directly from other religious systems such as using Hindu deities to describe the Imam and expressing their pīrs as yogis, gurus or sadhus.
For centuries, scholars examining the Khoja tradition have tried to construe the basic reasons for such an interaction or resemblance between each tradition and have tried to put forward some solutions. One of them is that the pīrs operating in South Asia used Hindu symbols as a means to express their religious ideas in a framework that would be familiar to potential converts and early initiates (Nanji 1978: 106). On the other hand, while some scholars, like ʿAlī Asani (2002: 5), refer to this process as one in which pīrs presented Ismaili ideas in an acculturated form that drew on symbolism from Indic culture, others argue that using of terms from other religious discourses by pīrs should be understood as metaphorically. According to them, Nizārī Khojas utilized metaphors as a means for acquiring esoteric knowledge and a method for explaining their religious practice. Against this view, it has been asserted that Khojas really believed that the Imam was the tenth incarnation of Vishnu and their aim was not to apply metaphors. According to proponents of this view, Khojas used Indic elements as well as beliefs in their literature torepresent their tradition in a syncretic mold. However, the question of whether the Khojas faith is a syncretic blend of Hindu and Nizārī Ismaili traditions has also been disputed among theologians (Bashkow 2004: 445; Strohl 2011: 122).
Both ideological and theological resemblance between the Khoja community and the Hindu tradition have at times been explained through the idea of taqiyya (dissimulation), one of the primary unique attributes and methods of almost all Shi‘a sects. Dissimulation meant something much more than the masking of the true identity and personality or superfcial embrace of an exterior shape. In this sense, Satpanth was regarded as a complex form of dissimulation adapted to the religious, social, cultural and political issues of their dispersed area. In this context, as Tazim argued (1997: 37), implementation of taqiyya is not easy since the fulfllment of such a method involves a complex process of adhesion and syncretism. That is why the Nizārī Khojas of the subcontinent differ signifcantly from the other Nizārī Ismaili groups that developed in Central Asia, Persia and Syria.
The most reasonable explanation about this process, which is also favored by us, is that the pīrs probably asked to gain support among the non-Muslims by constituting the impression that their beliefs were similar to local Hindu beliefs. On this subject, Zahid, one of the most outstanding scholars on Nizārī Ismailism, put forward signifcant details along with logical solutions and implications. According to him (1975: 49) the Nizārī dawa comprehended the diffculty of recovering the lost following of Fatimid Ismailis in the face of internal debates, hostile orthodox Turkish hukumdars (rulers) along with well-educated suf messengers. Therefore, they decided to obtain new supporters and followers among the non-Muslims, especially in India, by demonstrating that their beliefs were familiar to local Hindu beliefs. It is clear that Hindu doctrines and symbols are deliberately used in their compositions, Ginans, to convey a message of faith. It may be claimed that the motifs and doctrines drawn from the Hindu epic literature such as Ramayana and Mahabharata could have been used as a means to store and thereby preserve in memory, actual events, and incidents that occurred in the early dawa in the Indian Subcontinent.
The Ginan tradition as a whole possesses a remarkable internal consistency and wholeness, even though this tradition is penetrated with Indic concepts, myths, sentiments, and motifs found within the Indian background. Therefore this scene indicates that the composers of this literature were not precipitately adopting Indic practices and doctrines. On the contrary, it is frankly understood that the resulting syncretism of their work, is not an inattentive attempt, but a carefully and successively crafted alliance of ideas.