Writing a few words about Akbar's mysticism and his views on religion, to the best of my knowledge and understanding.
I will try to sum up his thought process in as much short post as possible. One of the reasons, why i have NOT made a "conclusive post" TILL NOW about Akbar and his views on religion and mysticism is - The more i read, the more diverse views i get about his thinking. And, in turn i turn to find answers of the new questions, leaving the ones unexplored.!
I am struggling with myself and at times, i am left debating in my mind, about various actions and the reasons why Akbar took certain steps.
I will try to write from a frank & neutral perspective, in my opinion.
It may appear to be a slightly critical assessment of Akbar.
Ok, so here we go..
The subject of Akbar's opinions on religion has attracted much attention from many of the authors who have dealt with his life and history. It occupies a large space in the works of Badayuni, Abu'l Fazl, the Christian missionaries, and obtains great prominence in the books of the modern historians.
Akbar's attitude towards the issues of religion changed completely and
more than once during his lifetime.
I.
For many years he was a zealous & orthodox, Sunni Muslim, willing to execute Shias and other "heretics". Though, his pilgrimages to the shrines of Sufis continued in this time also. And also, he maintained the Hindu practices in harem and even participated in the hom worship - Courtesy : Hindu marriages , as Badayuni writes.
II.
He next passed through a stage (1574-82), in which he may be described as a sceptical, rationalizing Muslim. This is the time when he patronized temples as well, in Vrindavan. Temples were constructed by Raja Man Singh. The year was 1573.
III.
In the last stage, after 1582, he finally rejected " Taq'-lid " and adopted " Raa'h-e-Aq'l " , which means rejecting the "written principles" and going through the "methods of rationalism". <- This is what scholars term as a rejection of Islam by Akbar.
I and Donjas have discussed this many times that Akbar was NOT a by the book Muslim, as he evolved. He was a rationalist.
His religious speculations and vagaries rested primarily on the fact that he was born with the mystic temperament, that means inherent devotion to God.
There is a post on my blog written by Radhika, which talks about the reasons of " Eclecticism of Akbar " . For me it is one of the best posts written about the views on religion in shortest possible words.
Must read post. It is all about Sufism and religion.
Link :
Akbar's EclectismI will quote one incident which i liked a lot. It was all about how much Akbar hated bigotry later in his life. This is from Badayuni's testimony..
""
Akbar had called Aquaviva, a Portuguese into the court, and asked him the views on religions. One of his outspoken comments invited the wrath of the orthodox clergymen of the court. One among the latter, challenged the Portuguese to walk in the fire with Bible in hand. He said - he would do the same by holding Quran in the hand. Whoever, comes out unscathed would be the winner.
The Portuguese refused to do so, as he knew that there would be no "
Chamatkar" which would save him, hence he refused. But, acc to Badayuni, Akbar asked the Portuguese to accept the offer, and promised that he would make arrangements for the safety of the latter. Badayuni does not gives what happened after that, but says that Akbar wanted to eliminate that theologian, perish in fire, as he was a fanatic.
""
Even in the early years of his reign, when he was a zealous pilgrim to the shrines of the saints, a generous builder of mosques, and a willing persecutor of "unorthodox theologians", but even then his orthodoxy was modified by a strain of mysticism based chiefly on the writings of the Persian Sufi poets ; Hafiz and Rumi counting among the best of the lot.
I started to read about Sufism around the same time i started to read about Akbar, as i wanted to know, what Sufism really is, that was a key to understand Akbar. His attitude towards religion expressed the queer mixture in his mind of mysticism, rationalism, 'his own superstition', and a profound belief in his OWN God-given powers.
Later in life he came more under the influence of Hindu pantheistic doctrine {Jains, Zoarastrians also included}, which has close affinities with Sufi teaching. Throughout all phases he seems always to have cherished the mystic's ideal of close and direct communication with God, unobscured by priestly intervention or disputable dogmas.
The debate in my mind continues, and it can be clearly seen in the opinions put forth here. I will add more in future, if not here, then in the blog posts, about the mysticism & religious views. :)
Jhanak
Udne Ki Aasha
Anupamaa
