Pluralistic efforts of Sufis and rishis in Kashmir resulted in a harmonious society in Kashmir. The region is at a crossroads again, but it would not be in its interest to give up its deep-rooted, though presently muffled, ethos and Kashmiriyat, writes Jl KOUl JAlAlI
So deep had been the pluralistic ethos in Kashmir that it had prompted eminent author and scholar John Hubert Marshall to remark, “Never in the history of mankind a spectacle has been seen where two civilisations so vast and strongly developed yet so radically dissimilar as Hindus and Muslims meet and mingle together as in Kashmir.”
This ethos had evolved from the unique Sufi-rishi traditions of Kashmir. But during militancy, an attempt was made to destroy the very symbol of this tradition in May 1995 when the 600-year-old famous shrine of Sufi saint of Kashmir, Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani, was razed to the ground. He has been a symbol of secularism in Kashmir that gave rise to Kashmiriyat, which entails humanism.
The desecration of his shrine caused grief to millions of people in Jammu & Kashmir. The incident followed a two-month long stand-off between the militants and the security forces at the site of the shrine at Charar-e-Sharief, 20 miles to southwest of Srinagar. The shrine was burnt, but the spirit continued to live. It was re-built and the new complex was thrown open to public by the then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah in October 2001. A brief reference to the evolution of this unique feature of Kashmir will be appropriate here.
During ancient times, it is said, Kashmir had been a big lake. Kashyapa rishi was instrumental in draining the waters of the lake and it was after his name that the valley came to be known as Kashyap Mar, the present-day Kashmir. Mostly owing to its salubrious climate and beautiful nature, it was frequented by saints and savants of high standing from the plains. And with the passage of time, they started settling down in the valley, despite its climatic rigorous during winters.
Because of this, the place got its second name as rishi bhumi, and the Fourth Buddhist Council, so important in the annals of Buddhism, was convened in Kashmir. located at a central place, Kashmir became a melting pot of various cultures and civilisations, leading to a more tolerant and pluralistic ethos.
It was this ethos, developed so early in Kashmir, that Islam had to contend with when it came to the valley during the 14th century AD. Kashmiris welcomed the Muslim savants with open arms, the most prominent of them being Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani from Persia, popularly known as Shah Hamadhan in Kashmir. Subsequently, many scholars and exponents from all the main six Sufi orders, visited Kashmir at one time or the other, leading to a free inter-action with local thinking.
These inter-exchanges led to a synthesis in Kashmir during the 15th century AD, not only at the cultural and other levels, but it penetrated deeper into the psyche of the people. It involved inter-exchanges at religious philosophical level too. This gave rise to a new order in Kashmir in which Sufi got replaced by the ancient Indian word of rishi, meaning a sage.
The new order was known as rishi order, a peculiarity of Kashmir common to all residents of the valley.
The first exponents of this local order were Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani, a Sufi from the soil, popularly known as Nund Rishi and lal Ded, a Kashmiri Hindu Shaivite devotee. With an ascetic bent of mind, Nund Rishi was given to deep contemplation in caves, woods and unfrequented places. The saint expresses his communion with god attained with divine love and extreme devotion in this shlokh:
Sari travit rotuk me chayi
Me chayi chaandan lusum doh
Janas manz yali rotuk me chayi
Me che ta paanas ditum chho
Meaning: leaving every one I held you. Searching you I passed the whole day. When I caught you in my own soul, I gave up the difference between I and you.
The same experience reverberates in this ecstatic wakha of Yogeshwari lal Ded:
Pot zuni vochith mot bolanoum
Dag lalanovum dayisanzi prahe
lali lali karaan laala vuzanovum
Milith tas manz shrochyom dahe
Meaning: At the early dawn, I sang to my mad one (mind). And soothed him with the love of god. Trying to realise I am my own self which I realised was the same as the supreme self I awakened my love and became one with him.
This is not to suggest that these rishis of Kashmir were far removed from the realities of actual life. The saying by Nund Reush that ‘an poshi teli yeli van poshi’ (food stuffs will last so long as the forests last), sums up the environmental dilemma faced by mankind over five centuries later now.
They rebelled against religious excesses and exploitation of their times and tried to uplift the whole society, particularly its down trodden sections. The mystic songs of these two great local exponents of rishi order continue to form a part of the total consciousness in Kashmir and stir the souls to the deepest depths.
The efforts of these exponents resulted in a harmonious society and led the people to share their joys and sorrows, enjoy the nature alike, love the same type of music and have almost the same type of life style. This harmonious co-existance is also reflected in places of worship and reverence. In Srinagar, Ziarat-e-Makhdoom Sahib, Hari Parbat and and Madin Sahib portray this eloquently. This closeness is a feature of such places throughout the State. Mostly in the Kashmir valley, even annual fairs at many of these places were also held on the same day by the two main communities.
The originators of the local Sufi rishi order were followed by a long line of Sufi saints apart from their main disciples. Despite increase in materialistic tendencies and other diversionary factors, the process continues to this day. Sufism in Kashmir continues to bear deep influence of local ethos and spirit which connotes Kashmiriyat.
This is evident from the fact that the followers of Sufi saints Batamaloo Sahib in Srinagar and Reshi Moul Sahib in Anantnag in south Kashmir do not cook or eat meat during their week long Urs celebrations.
Kashmiriyat has received many jolts, but it has always proved to be too strong to be subdued. About five centuries back, it received a big boost when the great king of Kashmir, Zain-ul-Abidin, popularly known as ‘Budshah’, re-called the Kashmiri Pandits who had fled the valley because of oppression.
But the eruption of Pakistan-sponsored and abetted terrorism in Kashmir in early 1990s, has been a big set back to it when almost entire Kashmiri Pandit community and other minority members had to migrate from Kashmir, leaving behind their hearths and homes. latest deterioration of situation in Kashmir after progressive return of peace has given yet another big jolt to Kashmiriyat.
Kashmir has come at a crossroads again, but it would not be in its interest to give up its deep-rooted, though presently muffled, pluralistic ethos and Kashmiriyat, which basically entails humanism. Hopefully, good sense will prevail this time too and Kashmir will retrieve its muffled ethos and strive to become the model of pluralistic ethos it was known and acclaimed for throughout the world.
Kashmir without Kashmiri Pandits and other minorities is incomplete. To restore their shattered confidence, the Pandits should be re-settled in secure settlements to begin with, till the enhanced inherent dynamism of Kashmiriyat restores Kashmir to its pre-1990 residential character.