Lehal Library

Birth of Sikhism 25 merged with that of God. The Sufis, like the Hindu Bhaktas, came to believe that singing and dancing were also a means of inducing a state of divine exaltation where thoughts of self were destroyed (/ana), the restless wandering of the mind was stilled, and one surrendered oneself in absolute entirety lo God. The most significant aspect of Sufism, and one which had the greatest impact on the people, was the way of life adopted by the Sufi leaders and their immediate disciples. Whereas the Muslim conquerors had tried to destroy non-believers and their places of worship, the Sufis welcomed them into their homes and embraced them as brothers. One of the cardinal principles of their belief was lali.fi-kulilb-the stringing together of hearts. Hindus, who had been terrorized by the Mussalman soldiery, now found a body of Muslims wanting to befriend them. The Sufis did not need to do very much more to win over large numbers of converts. Most of the proselytes were from the lower classes who had been denied equal rights by the upper-caste Hindus. In the treatment of the lower orders the Sufis scored over the Bhaktas because they gave what they promised. Hindu untouchables accepting Islam no lon$er remained pariahs. They were given titles of honour like SaiM, Malik, Khalifa, or Mu 'min, and, at least in the earlier stages, enjoyed equal social privileges and intermarried with the most aristocratic of Muslim families. By the beginning of the 15th century there were over a dozen orders of Sufis in northern India. Of these, four, the Chishti, Qadiri, Suhrawardi, and presently the Naqshbandi, were the most important. The influx of large numbers of Hindus to the Muslim fold radically changed Islam, as it came to be practised in India. The converts adapted their new faith to suit the way of thinking and life to which they had been accustomed. Not many could afford to travel to Mecca and yet they wanted to go on pilgrimage. They made the tombs of Sufi saints their lesser Meccas, the Sufis their gurus, the nat-i-rasiil and qavali (songs in praise of the Prophet) their kirtan. Since immigrants were considerably outnumbered by the Hindu converts, they too accepted the religious practices of Muslims and the way of