BJP Future - 7

[Bodhi]

<b>FUTURE of BJP </b> is clear from Advani Ji's blog on his love for Sufis:

The Sufi Path

http://blog.lkadvani.in/wisdom-soup-for-th...l/the-sufi-path

Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as “a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.” Sufism refers to a group of mystical Muslim movements. It uses music, dancing and other means to reach a state of communion with God.

It is analogous in some senses to the Bhakti movement in Hinduism and to the various Christian monastic movements such as that of St Francis of Assisi. The Sufi path consists in cleansing the heart from whatever is other than Allah.

A Persian poem tells us what The Sufi Path (Tasawwuf ) is:

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India is known for its long and widely revered tradition of Sufi saints. Amongst them is Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer (popularly known as Khwaja Gharib Nawaz). <b>Some excerpts from Shri L.K. Advani’s autobiography, My Country My Life:</b> <What can be a more clear confirmation that he did not write his own blog entries!!!>

Let me reiterate that I cherish the fact that India is a multi-religious country in which both our Constitution and our age-old culture brook no discrimination on the grounds of faith. <b>Muslims and Christians have the same rights, responsibilities and opportunities as others. I greatly admire the weighty contribution that they have made to enrich many facets of our national life. I hold all faiths to be worthy of respect.</b>

Let me cite an example here. When I reached Ajmer in Rajasthan during the course of my Bharat Suraksha Yatra in 2006, my party colleagues suggested that I should visit Pushkar, a sacred Hindu shrine by the side of a lake which is believed to have been created by Lord Brahma himself. I readily agreed. But I said I would also like to offer prayers at the Dargah Sharif of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a revered Sufi saint, in Ajmer.* Although a few eyebrows were raised, I nonetheless visited both the holy places.

The concept of ‘Cultural Nationalism’ enjoins upon the adherents of different faiths in India to respect, and take pride in, the common unifying culture of our ancient land while celebrating its many diversities; not to have extra-territorial loyalty; not to denigrate other faiths as false or inferior, but rather to learn from the best that each faith has to offer. It means nothing more, nothing less.

* Footnote: Here is a report about my earlier visit to the Ajmer Dargah in 2000. ‘Home Minister L.K. Advani on Sunday prayed at Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s dargah here. The local Muslims were ecstatic and thronged the dargah in huge numbers to watch the spectacle. There was a popular request from the crowd: Give a little speech. Advani readily obliged. He said: “India is a multi-religious country and people belonging to all faiths strive to be good people. That is why every community comes to this dargah. Let us be good human beings first. It does not matter if one believes in Ishwar or Allah.” He said although the twentieth century was identified with the Western world, “if all communities here worked hard unitedly, then the twenty-first century will certainly belong to Bharat.” To this the crowds responded with “Aameen”. (So be it).’ (‘A surprise: Advani prays at Ajmer dargah’; The Times of India; 4 December 2000) Later, when a journalist asked me whether my visit to the dargah was part of a larger image changing exercise, I replied, ‘My perceptions have always been clear. I am saying the same things now what I said twenty-five years ago.’

http://blog.lkadvani.in/wisdom-soup-for-th...l/the-sufi-path

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britsin Says:

April 27th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Who, after reading LKA’s article on his Ajmer Dargah visit and on St. Francis of Assisi, coupled with the magnanimity of appreciating other religions and the frankness to admit a right in the wrong (view on Jinnah while in Pakistan), will still hold the view that LKA is communal, biased and excluding?

The more I read about the man and his life, the more I’m convinced about the secular credentials of Hindutva.

And, when the only ’seemingly’ valid point (that he and his Hindutva is communal) against LKA by other political parties turns out a propaganda, then why shouldn’t I or anyone else vote for him? Me and my father is voting for BJP these elections.

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nacram Says:

April 28th, 2009 at 11:54 pm

That was a heart warming story. Kabir das was a great ram bhakt as well. So was Raas khan. In the Vishnu Temple of srirangam in tamil nadu, a special festival is organised for thuluka nachiyar, a muslim princess, who was a devotee of vishnu. The princess happened to be the daughter of a muslim sultan. We also have the example of Vavar Swami a muslim devotee of lord ayappa. The golden plating of the palani murugan temple was infact laid by a muslim family.

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Ram Vajpeyi Says:

May 5th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Dear Advaniji,

The teachings of Sufism and Vedanta are one.

Aum Namah Shivay,

Ram Vajpeyi.