Al Haqeeqa
Hindustaniyat, the essence of Indian culture has tradition and heritage, blending mysticism both from Hinduism and Sufi Islam. Islam, reached in India since the time of Prophet Muhammad itself, subsequently transformed into an assimilative multi-faith entity which still pervades in the ‘inner being’ of the people of this country, besides restoring their faith in communal harmony and brotherhood. Kashmiriyat is a prototype for Hindustaniyat and represents Sufi-Rishi order, yet permeated among Kashmiris in spite of prolonged separatism and militancy.
Hindustanis including Kashmiris are proud of deep rooted Sufism with spiritual love and human bonding, the heart of ‘Wahadat-ul-Wujud/Advaita/Oneness of God’ exhorted by Lal Ded, Jain-ul-Abedeen, Sheikh-ul-Alam Nuruddin of Charar-e-Sharif, etc., who were in the lineage of great Sufi masters, Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki, Hazrat Nizamuddin and Moinuddin Chishti. Kashmiriyat/ Hindustaniyat is not only the admixture of Islam and Hinduism but also includes common messages from Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism too. Sheikh Nooruddin, highlighting interfaith bonhomie among Hindustanis, said:
‘There is one God, But with a hundred names. There is not a single blade of grass, Which does not worship Him’. And
‘We belong to the same parents. Then why this difference? Let Hindus and Muslims (together) Worship God alone. We came to this world like partners. We should have shared our joys and sorrows together.’
Thus, the Hindustaniyat/Kashmiriyat with essence of harmony, inter-dependence and belief in oneness of God, needs to be further strengthened and spread in order to defeat the divisive/proscribed elements in the country.
