Religious conditions during Mughal
Period
Most of the Mughal emperors did not
resort to the narrow religious policy of the Delhi Sultanate. They rather
adopted a lieral and tolerant policy. Actually the Mughal rulers were immensely
influenced by the liberal current of the 14th and 15th
centuries; hence they treated all the inhabitants and followers of different
religions equally. During the Mughal period, all the famous religious such as Hinsuism, Islam,
Sikh, Bauddha, Jain, and Christrianity wee prevalent. The number of followers
of Hinduism was the largest in the country. Although the traditional form of
Hindu religions continued but most of the Hindus adopted Bhakti cult. Islam was
also divided into two parts : liberal and orthodox. Rise of Sikhism and
expansion of Christianity were also the significant events of this age.
However, formally, Islam continued to be the religion of the state.
During Mughal period, Hinduism was
divided into several sects. Shaivism and Vaishnavism were the most popular
forms in vague but they too were further divided into many other sub-sects and
they worshipped different gods and goddesses.
Vedic religion had lost its significance by now. Devi or Shakti worship,
a new form of worship of goddess Durga, Kali or Bhairavi, also began to gain
prominence during this period. A Muslim chronicler Muhsin Fani has also referred
to magic (Tantra) and totem which cropped into various branches of Shaiv cult. Besides
Shaivism, Vaishnavism was also divided into two main branches known as Rama
cult and Krishna cult. Chaitanya, Vallabhacharya, Swami Hari Dass and Mira Bai
were prominent saints of Krishna cult. Community Kirtan and Krishna Lila
(Rasliila) were prominent features of this cult. This cult was very famous in
Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh and worshipped Chaitanya as Gaurang
Mahaprabhu, a joint incarnation of Krishan and Radha. Meera Bai and Surdas also
added to its popularity by their Bhakti songs.
Tulsidas was the most prominent saint
of Rama cult. R.C. Majumdar and Ray Chaudhary have pointed out about Tulsidas, “Among
the writers of the Rama cult, the most illustrious was Tulsidas. He was not
merely a poet of a high order, but a spiritual teacher of the people of
Hindustan, whereas his name has become a household word and his memory is
worshipped by millions.” His best creation Ram Charitmanas is appreciated alike
even today by every class of Hindu community, whether high or low, rich or
poor, young or old.
Islam continued to be the religion of
the state during the Mughal period. The Shiah, the Sunnis, the Khojas and the
Sufis were its significant branches. In comparison to Snnis and Shias the Sufis
were liberal in their religious outlook and they emphasized Bhakti and love of
god. The Chishti cult of Sufism was greatly influenced by the philosophy of
Vedanta. The followers of Islam consider the relation of man and God as that
between a slave and his maser but the followers of Sufi sect take it as that of
a lover and beloved. Like the followers of Jainism they preferred non-violence,
meditation and physical penance. The other famous sects of Sufism were Suhravardi,
Kadiri and Nakshbandi. The liberal attitude of these saints brought the rival
cultures quite close to each other. Dr. J. N. Sarkar has remarked, “Sufi
philosophy tended to bring the ruling sect and the dominated people closer
together.”
Sheikh Salim Chishti, Sheikh Abdul
Kadir, Sheikh Ahmad Sarhindi, Sheikh Wali Ullah ect. Were prominent saint of
Sufism. They were the true examples of simple living and high thinking. Though the
Sufi saints believed in matrimony and led a family life, yet they did not
demand anything from anybody and preferred poverty than begging. They opened
the door of salvation for all without any distinction of caste and creed and
hence attained a lot of popularity during the Mughal period.
Guru Nanak was the founder of the
Sikh cult. He opposed casteism, religious ritualism, fasts and pilgrimages. He believed
that salvation could be achieved by worshipping the Guru and by obtaining his blessings.
Nanak did not claim to have established a new sect nor he gave any name to it.
Guru Nanak breathed his last in A.D. 1539 and nine Gurus, viz, Guru Angad
(1538-1552), Guru Ammar Das (1572-1574), Guru Ram (1574-1581), Guru Arjun Dev
(1581-1606), Guru Hargovind (1606-1645), Guru Tegh Bahadur (1645-1675), and
Guru Govind Singh (1675-1708) sat on the gaddi one after the other.
Some of the Gurus raised their voice
against the atrocities of the Muslim rulers as well as their officials and
sacrificed their lives. Emperor Akbar, being a liberal ruler, granted some land
to guru Ram and Arjun Dev and permitted the construction of Har Manidr at
Amritsar but Jahangir got Guru Arjun assassinated in A.D. 1606 on the charge of
providing help to the rebel prince Khusrau. His successor Guru Har Govind also
remained in prison in the fort of Gwalior but was released after some time. After
the murder of Guru Arjun, the Sikhs began to keep weapons with them and many
battles were fought between the Sikhs and the Mughals during the regime of
Shahjahan. Aurangzed got Guru Tegh Bahadur murdered on the charge of treason,
hence his successor Guru govind Singh propounded ‘Khalsa Panth’ and started
opposing the Mughals. Though the Guru was killed in A.D. 1708 just one year after the death of
Aurangzeb but his followers continued to undermine the Mughal empire in the succeeding
years.
Before the establishment of Mughal Empire
in India, the followers of Christianism had entered India. They had their
colonies and churches on the Malaba coast. In the sixteenth century several
religious preachers and followers of Je suit cult came to India with the
Portuguese sailors, traders and invaders. They established Catholic Church in
India and began to preach Catholicism. In A. D. 1510, the Portuguese
established their control on Goa and it became the centre of Catholic religion
in due course of time. The Portuguese converted both Hindus and Muslims into the
fold of Christianity by force. Their behavior towards non-Christians was very
cruel. They raised their churches in places of mosques and temples in Goa,
Daman and Diu. In A.D. 1540, a religious court was established in Goa. Mughal
emperors Akbar and Jahangir permitted the Catholics to construct their churches
in Agra and Lahore. Jahangir also permitted them to preach and expand their
religion. The sons of prince Daniyal were converted to Christianity along with
a large number of Indians. It is said that Father Xavier converted at least 7,
00,000 people. It annoyed Shahjahan and he forced the Christians of Bengal to
select between death and Islam. As Aurangzeb was a fanatic ruler, he did not
permit the Christians to preach their religion any more.
Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
0 टिप्पणियाँ:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें
THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS
टिप्पणी: केवल इस ब्लॉग का सदस्य टिप्पणी भेज सकता है.