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| Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah - New Delhi |
"Auliya mere rastaa dikha...Girte ko uthna sikhaa" which (roughly) translates to "'Auliya' show me the way... teach someone who has fallen to get back up"
I had never heard
the word Auliya before so decided to look it up. According to Google it is a
term given to Sufi saints meaning "Friends of God" or a more generic
meaning is "Friend/Supporter". One of the first links that was
available was to one of Delhi's popular tourist attractions - Hazrat Nizamuddin
Dargah (Sufi shrine).
Hazrat Nizamuddin
Auliya was a humble man who was said to have preached and lived by strict
principles which include the following:
- Unity and equal treatment of all people irrespective of financial, social or religious background - at a time when the caste system and religious divide was at its peak
- Helping the oppressed and feeding the hungry
- If everyone acts out of love for god and others, there would be no war or poverty
- The equality of women
- Spiritual control and sobriety is better than spiritual intoxication
When I visited his
dargah in South Central Delhi. I was quite surprised to see the large number of
people who were there to pray for the soul of this man. What was even more
(pleasantly) surprising was that right next to the 100s of Muslims praying in
the masjid (hardly 5m from the dargah) there were many non-Muslims who were
praying for him.
I asked an elderly
man if these people were worshiping him. He said no, they just seek his
"blessings and guidance".
Travelling through
India has shown me so many different cultures, religions, languages, traditions
and ways of life. Yet today, our leaders and people in the position to unite us
and change this country are choosing to employ the tactic that we cursed the
British for using in order to achieve their own agendas - "Divide &
Conquer".
I might be wrong but
maybe India could do with more people like Nizamuddin Auliya - who can show us
the way and teach India how to rise up to what it is capable of being.
