A Farewell Tribute to Rajat's jalal...combined with visions of Akbar! - Page 107

anymore thoughts on his spiritualism? i guess we will be soon moving to his next quality😊

sorry ladies could not help posting this latest pic pf rajat..he looks so adorable..my screen gets lit up with his noor when he shows on screen!

ladies, anjali needs some time for her next post lets write few more words on his other qualities enacted by rajat...i would say a fearless warrior and animal trainer the glimpse of which was shown in initial e[episodes!

Folks,

I am sorry to be late with this,and I hope it will not have been timed out. Fearless warrior and animal trainer are all very well, but Akbar was Akbar because of his spiritualism and its most vital manifestation, respect for all other religions, and a readiness to learn about them.

This was not just a rare and remarkable quality. It was a vital part of his grand scheme to unite all of Hindustan under his aegis, As to this, I cannot do better than to reproduce an extract from my Gordian Knot post about Jalal paying obeisance at the feet of Kali Ma, one of Rajat's very best performances in this serial. Here goes. The link to the whole post is

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/94145591

1562 AD: Amer, Rajputana: Shahenshah Jalaluddin Mohammed faces the statue of the Devi Maa in the Mahakali mandir near Amer, listening to his wife, Jodha. He turns to her, his eyes wide in incredulous shock?- or is it dismay? - and repeats what she has just said was her only sankalp before the goddess: To aap hamara sar inke kadmon mein rakhna chahti hain?

It is more of a statement than a question, for he knows his Begum Jodha, and when he sees her eyes, normally serene after her pooja, now clouded with tears of frustration, he realises that this is, for her, a matter of her salvation.

He turns away from Jodha and moves towards the huge statue of the Devi Maa, in her ugra kapalakundala roop, festooned only with floral garlands. He looks up at the Devi for a long moment, his eyes dark with both sadness and a troubled appeal.

The courage of his convictions: There is a perceptible hesitation, for no one should underestimate what this gesture costs him. What he is about to do would be taken as butparasti (idol worship), specifically forbidden in Islam. If anyone had spread the word across the Mughal sultanate that their Shahenshah had paid obeisance to a Hindu but, there would have been an uproar, and not only among the maulvis. Even decades later , when he had long been the all powerful Emperor Akbar, his initiative to found a syncretist religion merging Islam and Hinduism, the Din-e-Ilahi, had attracted widespread criticism. Now he is, as yet, nowhere near that level of unquestioned domination, so the risks are that much more.

Still, he does not hesitate, for in Jodha's troubled and angry gaze, he sees not just the woman whose acceptance he craves, even if only subconsciously as yet, whose barely veiled hostility hurts him like nothing ever before.

He sees the whole of the Hindustan that he wishes to unite under his rule, not by brute force,but thru willing acceptance. Na ki shamsheer ki dhar se, par rishton ke reshmi dhagon me piroke.To win the heart of this Hindustan, he knows now what he has to do. For them to accept him, he has first to accept them.

Jalal already has the breadth of spiritual vision, the inner clarity, that lets him see his Allah in the Devi. Not many even today, anywhere in the world, are able to do that, for all the current politically correct patter about accepting all religions. And in the 16^th century, when Protestants and Catholics were massacring each other and burning each other at the stake all over Europe and in England, for the Emperor Jalaluddin Mohammed to demonstrate such purity of thought, such innate humanisn, was nothing short of a miracle.

And this is not just because of Jodha, for even if she might have been the catalyst for this specific act of his, she is not the sole motivation for it. It is all about something infinitely bigger and grander, Jalal's vision for this vast land that he hopes to rule one day in peace and prosperity.

Epiphany: the Gordian knot untied:

Slowly, he goes down on his knees, his face once more upturned to the Devi's. There is the same questioning look, the mute appeal to Her. Is he asking Her whether She will accept him?

He bends down to the floor and pays obeisance to the Devi, his forehead at Her feet, and kisses the ground in the gesture of submission that is traditional for him. As he rises, his forehead is stained red with the kumkum.The Devi Maa has blessed him. His prayers have been answered. His sins, both those committed knowingly and those committed in his name, but unknown to him, have been forgiven.

In that one gesture of self-surrender to the Universal Divine, which he is able to perceive in the alien Devi Mahakali, in that act of submission to this Divine heedless of his ego, Jalaluddin Mohammed becomes Akbar.

All that followed in the years and decades to come was but the embellishment of the basic structure that was established in that single moment of epiphany.

The Gordian knot of incomprehension, of a sense of acute oppression, of discrimination, and of the resulting hostility and hatred, that divided Jalal, and the Mughal rule he embodied, from the Hindustan of his dreams was sliced thru as surely as the original one had been by Alexander's sword.

Jalal now turns to face Jodha, whose unblinking eyes are incredulous with. what? Amazement? Disbelief? His own are now serene and untroubled, reflecting the peace that now pervades his zehen, yet bright and lit with an inner conviction. Then he speaks:

Kisike kadmon par sar rakhne ke liye, sar katane ki zaroorat nahin hoti, Jodha Begum. Sar jhukana hi kaafi hota hai.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Need I add any more?

And if I may suggest another topic, what about his superb shruthi faculty, and how he used it as a tool in his insatiable pursuit of learning?

Shyamala/Aunty/Akka/Di

Shyamala, the recounting of that Devi Ma scene gave me goosebumps, because your vivid description brought it to life. For me it was one of the highlights of the show.

Great Analogy Donjas, leave the comfort of known things especially when younare very powerful was kind of not done then, even rare now.

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Folks,

I am sorry to be late with this,and I hope it will not have been timed out. Fearless warrior and animal trainer are all very well, but Akbar was Akbar because of his spiritualism and its most vital manifestation, respect for all other religions, and a readiness to learn about them.

This was not just a rare and remarkable quality. It was a vital part of his grand scheme to unite all of Hindustan under his aegis, As to this,I cannot do better than to reproduce an extract from my Gordian Knot post about Jalal paying obeisance at the feet of Kali Ma, one of Rajat's very best performances in this serial. Here goes. The link to the whole post is

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/94145591

1562 AD: Amer, Rajputana: Shahenshah Jalaluddin Mohammed faces the statue of the Devi Maa in the Mahakali mandir near Amer, listening to his wife, Jodha. He turns to her, his eyes wide in incredulous shock?- or is it dismay? - and repeats what she has just said was her only sankalp before the goddess: To aap hamara sar inke kadmon mein rakhna chahti hain?

It is more of a statement than a question, for he knows his Begum Jodha, and when he sees her eyes, normally serene after her pooja, now clouded with tears of frustration, he realises that this is, for her, a matter of her salvation.

He turns away from Jodha and moves towards the huge statue of the Devi Maa, in her ugra kapalakundala roop, festooned only with floral garlands. He looks up at the Devi for a long moment, his eyes dark with both sadness and a troubled appeal.

The courage of his convictions: There is a perceptible hesitation, for no one should underestimate what this gesture costs him. What he is about to do would be taken as butparasti (idol worship), specifically forbidden in Islam. If anyone had spread the word across the Mughal sultanate that their Shahenshah had paid obeisance to a Hindu but, there would have been an uproar, and not only among the maulvis. Even decades later , when he had long been the all powerful Emperor Akbar, his initiative to found a syncretist religion merging Islam and Hinduism, the Din-e-Ilahi, had attracted widespread criticism. Now he is, as yet, nowhere near that level of unquestioned domination, so the risks are that much more.

Still, he does not hesitate, for in Jodha's troubled and angry gaze, he sees not just the woman whose acceptance he craves, even if only subconsciously as yet, whose barely veiled hostility hurts him like nothing ever before.

He sees the whole of the Hindustan that he wishes to unite under his rule, not by brute force,but thru willing acceptance. Na ki shamsheer ki dhar se, par rishton ke reshmi dhagon me piroke.To win the heart of this Hindustan, he knows now what he has to do. For them to accept him, he has first to accept them.

Jalal already has the breadth of spiritual vision, the inner clarity, that lets him see his Allah in the Devi. Not many even today, anywhere in the world, are able to do that, for all the current politically correct patter about accepting all religions. And in the 16^th century, when Protestants and Catholics were massacring each other and burning each other at the stake all over Europe and in England, for the Emperor Jalaluddin Mohammed to demonstrate such purity of thought, such innate humanisn, was nothing short of a miracle.

And this is not just because of Jodha, for even if she might have been the catalyst for this specific act of his, she is not the sole motivation for it. It is all about something infinitely bigger and grander, Jalal's vision for this vast land that he hopes to rule one day in peace and prosperity.

Epiphany: the Gordian knot untied:

Slowly, he goes down on his knees, his face once more upturned to the Devi's. There is the same questioning look, the mute appeal to Her. Is he asking Her whether She will accept him?

He bends down to the floor and pays obeisance to the Devi, his forehead at Her feet, and kisses the ground in the gesture of submission that is traditional for him. As he rises, his forehead is stained red with the kumkum.The Devi Maa has blessed him. His prayers have been answered. His sins, both those committed knowingly and those committed in his name, but unknown to him, have been forgiven.

In that one gesture of self-surrender to the Universal Divine, which he is able to perceive in the alien Devi Mahakali, in that act of submission to this Divine heedless of his ego, Jalaluddin Mohammed becomes Akbar.

All that followed in the years and decades to come was but the embellishment of the basic structure that was established in that single moment of epiphany.

The Gordian knot of incomprehension, of a sense of acute oppression, of discrimination, and of the resulting hostility and hatred, that divided Jalal, and the Mughal rule he embodied, from the Hindustan of his dreams was sliced thru as surely as the original one had been by Alexander's sword.

Jalal now turns to face Jodha, whose unblinking eyes are incredulous with. what? Amazement? Disbelief? His own are now serene and untroubled, reflecting the peace that now pervades his zehen, yet bright and lit with an inner conviction. Then he speaks:

Kisike kadmon par sar rakhne ke liye, sar katane ki zaroorat nahin hoti, Jodha Begum. Sar jhukana hi kaafi hota hai.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Need I add any more?

And if I may suggest another topic, what about his superb shruthi faculty, and how he used it as a tool in his insatiable pursuit of learning?

Shyamala/Aunty/Akka/Di

shyamala, my dearest i am at loss of words in praise of your brilliance in writings👏..even if i have to bow my head in respect i will without any hesitation do it! I absolutely agree that qualities of being a great warrior do not make him stand out but of him treating all religions equally is what makes him greater that the others! and in bold made me emotional! i bow my head even after 450 years to the greatness of this man! and do i have to add anything more how rajat enacted that kalli maa mandir scene you have said it all so beautifully my dear!

Originally posted by: Donjas

Shyamala, the recounting of that Devi Ma scene gave me goosebumps, because your vivid description brought it to life. For me it was one of the highlights of the show.

The makers of the show did that right and for that they deserve credit, because in that symbolic moment they showed what Akbar might have gone through.

Tolerance is a difficult concept for us humans, Akbar went one step further with his Sulh I Kul, which means embracing all.

I like to think of Akbar's situation in this way, suppose we go to a party, how many of us would leave the company of the close circle of friends and seek out new ones. Suppose these new folks looked different , dressed different, spoke a different language and even have different mannerisms than what you are used to. Now, how many of us would be willing to welcome them with open arms.

Some say, part of the reason for Akbar's tolerance was political. But this is a double edged sword. Dara Shikhon tried to do the same as Akbar and look at what an unfortunate fate it brought him. In most of history, it is the bigots who have won, because their supporters are so fanatic. Even today it is the sound of bigots which sounds so shrill that it sometimes drowns away the usually numerically many more voices of moderation.

We are so fortunate that we got to see a part of Akbar's tolerance in this serial enacted in all it's shades by one of the best actors of the visual medium. Rajat's acting will leave a lot of memories.

Donjas cannot agree more👍🏼..but too sad that the show was not able to show much of Akbar's great qualities, instead all his good deeds were snatched from him and given to someone else! very sad indeed!

Beautiful pics dear ...
Love it
Gonna miss Rajat n paridhi as JJ soon much 😭

Thanks for pm anjali

Originally posted by: Donjas

Thanks Mandy, the article you posted was interesting to read. It recounted the many achievements of Akbar.

There are two points I wish to make-
1 No Muslim or Christian or Hindu king came closest to other religions in history than did Akbar. It is interesting to note that even when his mausoleum was ravaged by the jats in the 17th century, he was disinterred and cremated in Hindu rites. Maybe so because the Hindu population at large always considered Akbar one of them. Had Aurangzeb not destroyed much of what he worked for, India would have been a superpower, with close Hindu Muslim relations and one single country instead of three separate ones.

2 For me the lasting image of Akbar's embracing of other religions is his dealing with the Sikhs. Who can forget his gift of the Golden Temple or the langar he relished with the poor people of Punjab or the Gold Coins he offered as homage to the Guru Granth Sahib and Bhai Jatha.

By the way Mandy did you read the article in the "TIME" Magazine which says that Akbar was one of the richest monarchs in history and ruled a kingdom which contributed 25% of World GDP.

Originally posted by: myviewprem

Small update on Akbar's tomb desecrations

Akbar's tomb was desecrated as revenge attack on Mughals

In Manucci's words, "already angered by the demands of the governors for revenue, a great number of the Jats assembled and marched to the mausoleum of Akbar. They began their pillage by breaking in the great gates of bronze which it had, robbing the valuable precious stones and plates of gold and silver, and destroying what they were not able to carry away. Dragging out the bones of Akbar, they threw them angrily into the fire and burnt them",

Many attempts were made to attack Akbar's tomb by the Jat leader a zamindar named Raja Ram but they were foiled. Atlast they succeeded to desecrate it. He even plundered Sikandara.

tfs! hmmm!