84 The Journal of Indo-Judaic Stdies The Identity of a Mysti The Case of Sa’id Sarmad, a Jewish-Yogi-Sufi Courtier of the Mughals* By Nathan Kate Said tobe the second largest mosque in the world, Dethi's Jams Masjid is the bas- tion of Islam in North India. There prayers are offered, fanwas issued, pilgrimages made, vows fulfilled, and mystics venerated. Between 1638 and 1650, Mughal Emperor Shab Jchan built both the masjid and his royal complex, known today as the Red For, separated by a mile-long, broad avenue that was the Empire's prime marketplace. ‘As one enters the masjid through the shahi darwaza (royal entrance), at the honored right portal is a dargah, a Muslim saint’s tomb, dedicated to § ‘Sarmad (1590-16607), one of the mystical luminaries of the Mughal Court. All of the appurtenances associated with a Muslim saint’s cult are to be found there ~ pilgrimage manuals, caskaras or hagiographies, collections of his mystical quatrains, as well as a festival (urs) beld annually on his death anniversary (the 18tb day of Rabi). Sarmad as Mustim, Jew, Atheist, and Mystic Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, but Sarmad’s religious identity is no! quite so easily established. According to his first biography, written by the Iranian Tahir Nasrabedi sometime between 1672 and 1678, Sarmad was “a Jew ‘who later converted to Islam.” According to Mu’bid Shah's (or Mohsan Fan's), Dabistan-i- Mazahib #Sarmed “.. vas originally from a family of leaned Yahuds [Jews], of a class they call Rabbanisn..; after an investigation into the faith of the Rabbins and the perusal of the Mosaic books, he became a Muselman.”° Shah ‘was Sarmad’s friend in Hyderabad. Sarmad and A bhai Chand were his informants bout Judaism iahis excursus into comparative religions, the Dabisian. The chapter on““The Yahuds” contains Sarmad’s eccentric presentation of Judaic beliefs and ‘Abhai Chand’s Persian translation of Gen., 1-6:8, bearing the ttle, “The Bock of Adam.” Most scholars, such as B. A. Hashimi,* unquestioningly cite this verse as evidence of Sarmad’s Muslim identity. Lakhpat Raj goes further to assert that, “Itis obvious that his conversion to Islam was out of eamest convictions...” but offers no evidence for his knowledge of Sarmad’s motives? But is that only one version ofthe religious identity of Sarmad, the “offal” versions of the saint's cult?The Identity of a Mystic 85 According to Maulvani‘ Abdu'l Wali, Walter 5, Fishel, end others. Sarmad ‘remained a Jew despite his spiritual peregrinations arourd India. Wali reconstructs Sartnad’s beliefs as contained in the Judaism chapters ofthe Dabistan. His beliefs include a rejection of the messiahship of Jesus, a Kabbalistic theology besed on emanations of tight, the transmigration of souls and a complex theory of divine rewards and punishments. Wali conciudes that, “He bad neither any faith in Chris- tianity or in Islam. Once a Jew he remained ever a Jew” FFischel, apioneering scholar of Jews in Asia, approvingly cites Wali’s conclu- sion, explaining: “A merchantby profession and, it scems,a very prosperous one, his search for knowledge and wisdom brought him into contact with the leading ‘Motiammedan scholars of his time, under whose guidance he studied Islamic philosophy, metaphysics, and science, and under whose influence he was appar- ently induced to become @ Muslim. His conversion was probably only nominal ‘and superficial, since he himself later warned the Jews not to convert themselves to Mohammed's religion. Others, including some of Sarmad’s contemporaries, insisted that he was neither Mustim nor Jew, bat a conniving atheist, mach as they alleged about his student, the Mughal crown prince Dara Shikoh, One such skeptic was Dr. Nic- cola Manucci of Venice, court physician to Dara’s rival, Aurangzeb. Manncei ‘wrote that, “Dara had no religion, When with Mohamedans he praised the tenets of Muhammad; when with Jews, the Jewish religion; in the same way, when with Hinulus, he praised Hinduism, This is why Aurangzeb styled him Kafir [infidel ‘At the same time, he had great delight in talking to the Jesuit fathers on ‘and making them dispute with his learned Mohamedans, or with a Hebrew called ‘Cer1aad {Sarmad], an atheist much like the prince.”* "Two recent Indian books about Sarmad offer a fourth possibility, that he was Mystic or Sufi and that Mystics and Sufis are often misunderstood as belonging {o oe of another religion, or as being atheists. One contemporary author who holds this view is Isaac A. Ezekiel, an Indian Jew and a Radhasoami Satsanzi (a ssatsangi is a member of the Radha Soami Satsang). In his foreword to Ezekiel’s book, fellow Satsangi Joseph Leeming comments: “Sarmad was a unique member of the spiritual galaxy composed ‘of the scores of great saints of India of the past and of the pres- ent day. This is because he was born of Jewish parents and was brought up as an adherent of the Jewish religion. During his visits to India, however, he found that a greater spiritual truth ‘as known to the illumined souls of that country, and from one ‘oc more of them he discovered and absorbed the real and basic ‘maths of the purpose of human life, of genuine spirituality, and ‘of the Path to God-realization.”86 ‘The Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies If Samad was no Jew, according to Leeming, he was no Muslim either. “Sarmad is known to most present-day Indians as a Muslim Saint, or Master of the highest order. This seems to be partly due to the fact that in giving out his spiritual teachings he quoted the sayings of many Muslim Saints. tis possible that hhe nominally accepted Islam; but he did not teach its orthodox beliefs. Ins'cad, hhe taught the practice given out by all Perfect Masters, of listening to the Divine Melody of the Word and Power of God, the Holy Spirit" Ezekiel succinctly tmade the same point: “In mysticism, the religious affiliations of saints are of no importance." While our Satsang writers sser to want io make all nysties their own, M.G. Gupta is content to declare Sermad a Mystic or Sufi and leave it at that. When be does $0, he employs the term “Safi” in much the way that contemporary westem Sufis do, as utterly separable from Islam in particular and froma religion in general. Gupta wrote, “Sarmad was a mystic saint of the highest order and bad rejected the traditional feiths — Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism and had no use for idol-worship, rituals, canonical laws, scriptures, mosc ues, and temples.” Such diverse attributions of faith — Muslim, Jewish, atheist, mystical — reflect more than jealous claims upon the mystic. Anunderstanding of Sarmad's life (as found in his Muslim hagiography and in his poems) and of the religious environment of his day — both the fecund bhakii-crucible of medieval North India and the religious policies of Mughal emperors — shed light on the thorny {question ofthe relation of the mystic to a religious tradition, and in a larger sense ‘on the relationship between mysticism and religion, or between the esoteric and the exoteri, ‘The Problem of a Mystie’s Identity Just who & mystic is depends on whai one understards mysticism to be. Thus, the complex issues surrounding Sarmad’s religious identity rest upon a prior understanding of mysticism itself. The essential question is whether there is one mysticism or many, whether there is one mystical experience that is subsequently interpreted through the categories of thought and language of specific religious traditions, or whether these categories prevede and, therefore, condition all experi- cence, mystical and otherwise. During an earlier period inthe history of Religionswissenschafi, these psi- tions were cogently articulated by Aldous Huxley" and R. C. Zaehner." Huxley held that that there is ene metaphysical/experiential esseace that is subseque nly interpreted according to the doctrines of the world’s various religions. His point ‘was put most forcefully by Agehananda Bharati, who wrote that all religions are reducible to a“numerical oneness” and that while the non-dualist strands of Hi xdu- ism best reflect this metaphysical fact, itis nonetheless the besis forall mysticism,The Identity ofa Mystic 87 ‘monistic, theistic, or otberwise.!*Zachner contended against Huxley's perennial philssophy,holding mysticismto be ofa! least two types: the higher theism andthe ower monism, More recently, this debate was reenacted in the academic repartee between Steven T. Katz,'and Huston Smith." Katz argues that there are as many ‘ysticisms as there are religious traditions (or pertaps he would hold there are as nuuny mysticisms as there are mystics) because each tradition conditions the experiences ofits adterents, Since there is no unmediated experience, he argues, then: could be no one, extra-linguistic (“ineffable”) experience thet becomes intel- ligit e subsequently through the language ofthe mysti’s tradition. Smith counters thatthe mystics ofall traditions, at east the “introspective” son of mystics, concur about the ineffable core of their experience, an agreement that he takes at face value as evidence for an ineffable reality underlying such experiences. ‘And somewhere in the midst of this debate we encounter Sarmad, who wandered from synagogue to masjid to ashram, claimed by each group as one of their own, and claimed by modem followers of certain mystical traditions to have transcended all such categorization. His Life ‘Sartuad is best knownin India for going about naked and forhaving been beheaded by Aurangzeb. Of course, there is much more to his life than this, and one may simply recapitulate the highlights of his razkara to begin to appreciate his many ‘acec mplishments. 1) Sarmed was born in Armenia around 1590. A Jew, he read both the Taurat (Torah) and the Injl (Gospel before studying Islam, to which he converted, [He wes an outsanding Persian poet and a successful merchant” 2) In 1031 A.HL he arzived at Thatta (near modem Karachi) an important port ducing Mughal times. He was 30 impressed with religious discus India that he decided to stay: 3) Ata poetry conference, he heard « young Hindu boy, Abhoi Chand, rect- wg shacals. Sarmad immediately fell in oye with the youth. The two began cohabiting, but Abbai Chand's family objected and ceparated the lovers. Sarmad became despondent and eveatuslly was rourited with Abhai Chand, With the boy's family's Blessings" Abhai Chand became Sarmat’s student, studying Jewish religion and the Hebrew and Persian langvages well enough tw translate sections of the Hebrew Bible into Persian, which were included in Mu’bid Shah's Dabistan.? 4) At some point and for reasons not entirely clear, Sarmad re- nounced all clothing He let his hair and nails grow, according 1 & description by Mu'tamad Khan: “I found him naked, covered with thick © sped hair all over the body and long nails on his fingers."*88 The Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies 4) Sarmad and Abhai Chand moved to Lahore, where they remained until 1044 AH. when they moved to Hyderabad. In the Deccan, Sarmad flourished. He attracted many followers in high positions and he and Abhai Chand col laborated with Mu’bid Shah on the Dabistan. Sarmad's fame as a poet and a mystic grew. 6 He then moved from Hyderabad to Delhi, stopping briefly at Agra, His fame preceded him, and in proximity of the Mughal court, Sarmad was befrierded by Sufi shaikh Khwaja Syed Abdul Qasim Shabzwari. 7) Mughal crown prince Dara Shikoh, long interested in mysticism, asked bis father, Emperor Shah Jehan, o investigate Sarmad’s spiritual eminence. The Emperor appointed gazi Inayat Ulleh Khan to lead the inquiry, but Sarmd somehow Was inaccessible to the judge. and accosted the Emperor at his court. The Emperor praised Sarmad’s sanctity but questioned him about his nudity. Sarmad is said o bave replied with a quatrain: “Why do you object to my nudity atthe same time as you acknowledge my miracles? The tru is not what is visible, but the ruth is what is concealed in my hear, and that is love.” Sarmad remained naked and so impressed the crown prince that he became his disciple 8) With the encouragement of his gura, Dare transformed the Mughal court into an arena for interreligious debate, much as had been done by his grand- father, Emperor Akbar (1542-1605). The taskara describes the unlikely scene: “There used fo be Muslim scholars as well as Hindu yogis presen! inhis [Dara’s] court and he used to rank them all alike. In fact, he adopted religious practices that were a mixture of Muslim and Hindu beliefs... These practices were such that Aurangzeb, a staunch Muslim, hated him. As Au- rangzeb was against Dara Shikod, automatically Hazrat Sarmad came under suspicion.”=* 9) As Shah Jehan became infirm, his empire became divided among his four sons: Shuja and Murad Baksh ruled in Bengal, Aurangzeb the Deccan, ‘while Dara remained in Delhi with his ailing father, preparing to occupy the Peacock Throne. As battles raged, Dara and his allies, in alliances forged by ‘Sarmad with the Shivaliks in Maharashtra.” the Sikhs in Punjab and an crray of Shi'a and Sufi Muslims, waged war against Aurangzeb and his Sunni al- lies. Aurangzeb prevailed, and then imprisoned and finally executed his «Ider brother in 1659." 10) Dara’s defeat led to a purge of his supporters, and Aurangzeb’s chief justice, Mullah Abdal Qazi was appointed to investigate Sarmad.**Charges ‘against Sarmad were filed, although itis not clear just what the charges Vere and for which ones he was convicted.The identity of a Mystic 9 ‘Some of the charges had to do with morality. His nakedness was a scandal of sort, He was said to use bhang (marijuana), which had been outlawed by Aurans- eb just after his coronation.* Sermad’s homosexual affair with Abbai Chand also Dotheredsome.” — altoughthese tree behaviors would have been unexceptional atthe time, He was even accused of drinking Dr, Manuci’s wi “Two of the charges in particular had to do with religious heresy, He is said to have denied the ascension of the Propkiet (ai-Miraj). And there is the famous incient when he was called into court by Mullah Abdul Qazi who demanded that he d=monstrate his Muslim bona fides by reciting the Katima, the Muslim affirma- tion of fat: “There is no God but God.” Sarmad is said to have recited, “There {is ma God" and then fell silent. In response to the quzi’s demand that he complete the credo’s recitation, Sarmad reportedly said that he was still immersed in the negative and had yet to achieve the positive, reflecting the Sufi teaching of fana and baaga, te annihilation ofthe individual and subsistencein the Eternal." Then again, there was the heresy that Sacmad proclaimed faith in Hinda gods (see his quatrain 320 below), and as Lakhpat Rai reasoned, “Aurangzeb, a religious bigot, ‘could have tolerated a naked Jew or even a naked Muslim who was supposed to be acting in contravention of Islamic law, but he could never tolerate a Muslim having faith in a Hindu God.™ For one or another ofthese heresies, Sarmad may hhave: been sentenced to death. Other charges were purely political. One, of course, was his championing the vause of the defeated Dara against his usurper-brother, He was not popular among the mullahs of the day, Mullah Abdul Quzi in particular, Rei argues that it ‘vas the mullahs, not Aurangzeb, who were Sarmad’s antagonists Jealous of his popularity, they connived to turn Aurangzeb against Sarmad.”” Sarmad also had failed to pay proper respect to Aurangzeb on several occa sions. There is the famous encounter between Aurangzeb and Sarmad on the roadway between the palace and the Jama Masjid. Aurangzeb reportedly asked the seated Sarmad to cover himself with a blanket, and Sarmad told the Emperor that he should put the blanket over his lap. As Aurangzeb lifted the blanket, he saw “freshly chopped heads, including the heads of his three innocent nephews snd their companions.” Terrified by this vision, Aurangzeb dropped the blanket, ‘and Sarmad asked, ‘Tell me, shall I hide your crimes or my body?™ “The incident is the subject of one of Sarmad's quatrains: He who gave thee an earthly throne, Gave poverty to me: “The costume covers ugliness: “The faultless are granted the gift of nakedness.90 The Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies Sarmad was behealed for blasphemy in 1070 A.H. Legends recount how his head rolled from the palace tothe masjid, reciting mystical quatrains all the route. His popular taskara appends a legend which aims to affirm Sarmad’s saintliness while at the same time exonerating Aurangzeb: “When his head was chorped, he became so angry that he jumped. picked up his head and climbed the stairs of the masjid “Suddenly the loud voice of his shaith, Syed Hare Bhare Shah, was heard *Sarmad, where are you going?” “Lam taking my case to the court ofthe Prophet Muhammad,” he repled.” “The voice again spoke: ‘Calm down, You have reached your destination For the whole of your life, you never complained. Why this anger now? This was ‘your fate; otherwise, Aurangzeb was fully aware of your power and greatness.” ‘After that Sarmad became silent and collapsed.”** ‘The taskara concludes: “It was the decision of God to raise Sarmad’s sta- tus, It was decided to crown him with the jewel of martyrdom, and he proved deserving at every step. As a maiterof fact, he knew about his fate from the very begimning."? His Mystical Poetry ‘We find intimations about Sarmad’s confessional identity in his mystical poetry, ‘many conflicting, Sarmad’s chief work, the Rubiavat-i-Sarmad, contains between 320 (according to Ezekiel) and 340 (according to Gupta) quatrains, at least 20 of ich illustrate Sarmad’s relationship to religions — Islam mostly, but also Juda- ism, Christianity, Hinduism and atheism, We also have one quatrain composed by ‘Abhai Chand, and included in the Dabiston, which is pertinent to our question. In his Rubaiyar, we hear a humorous, antinomian voice, one that abjures religions for the sake of God. Surveying his 320 quatrains (10 follow Ezebiel’s text and numbering), we discover the following motifs: 1) Four quatrains express disdain for orgenized religion in general. 2) Eight quatrains convey contempy for Islam in general and even Sufism ir particular. Another five quatrains praise wine-drinking, which of course is proscribed in Istam but which is a central metaphor for mystical ecstasy °n Sufi literature, He also commits two Islamic blasphemies: in three quatreins he proclaims himself an idot-worshipper, and in one be equates himself with the Prophet Muhammad; 3) Seven quatrains poke fun at Hinduism, especially the sachus, although ir ‘one he proclaims himself a devotee of Rama and Lakshman, and as men tioned, in three he proclaims himself an idolater, which may be an affirma- 4) In one quatrain he expressed disdain for Judaism.The Identity of « Mystic a Othe first type of quatrain, those which express disdain for religion in general, nur ber 5 (in Ezekiel’s numbering) is typical: All search for happiness in worldly wealth ‘or in temples, mosques and churches. ‘O my Lord, save me from these, I pray these most earnestly. And in quatrain 313, we read his enigmatic words: © Sarmad! Thou hast worked havoc in attacking organized religion. Thou has sacrificed “Thy religion for a Man whose eyes are red with intoxication. Al thy wealth hast thoa thrown at the feet of the Master, ‘who is an idol-worshipper* Islan, however, is his favorite target for derision. He lampoons the Sufi's woolen cloak (Su), the Ka’aba, and piety in general. For example, quatrain 17 reads I cate not for the rosary or the sacred thread. Am I pious? I care not. Nordo I wear the Jong woolen robe, itis so heavy. ‘My concem is with my Friend (Master) alone. ‘What do I care for the world’s opinion."* In quatrain 54, both the Ka'sba and the temple are objects of scorn: ‘The Lover and the Loved, the idol and the idol-worshipper, ‘Who is the cheat among them? Darkness prevails in the Ka’aba and the temple, ‘Come into the Happy Valley of Oneness, ‘Where only one color prevails. ‘Think deeply. Who is the Lover and the Beloved, the flower and the thon? ‘And in quatrain 238: [Repeat not stories akout the Ka’aba and the temples, © Sarmad, For they are not the Way: In quatcain 218 Sarmad affirms Islamic practice but denies Muslim identity:92 The Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies ‘True, I am an idol-worshipper: Tam not of the faithful flock. T go to the mosque, But Tam not a Muslim Muslim piety and learning, as well asthe emblematic cloak of the Sufi, are objects ‘of scorn in quatrain 275: (Omen of piety! What sweet deliciousness Hast thou tasted in this hypocrisy? Ttis so insipc. ‘Thou hast many flowing woolen mantles to show off thy piety, But don’t forget that irom the thread of thy rosary, ‘Thou hast made a strong rope with which to bind thyself. As for myself, O Master I can only pray for thy protection.” Islam, of course, prohibits the consumption of wine (which is required in both Judaism and Christianity), and a number of Sufis have elevated drunkenness into a metaphor for mystical union, In accord with this antinomian trend, Sarmad ‘wrote at least five quatrains that not only praise wine but also demean prohibitions wine, as quatrain 197: O men of piety, thou sayeth that wine is forbidden by religion; tell thee that it is most sacred, and not unlawful. ® And quatrain 124 ‘Who cannot tell the difference between true piety and hypocrisy? Not by hypocrisy, teaching and deceit is God realized. You (religious mea) say, "Don't drink wine, but become rious like me.” “Go and tell this to those who don’t know you,” I reply.** In quatrain 46, Sarmad commits the blasphemy of comparing himself tc the Prophet. This blasphemy was one of the charges brought against him before: Sarmad has attained Love Etemal; and selflessness from the wine,‘The Identity of a Mystic 93 Even the executioner's sword cannot make him sober. ‘He hath attained the status of Muhammad and remaincth there.” ‘Sarrvad was nearly as critical of Hinduistn as he was of Islam, and the sadhus fared ‘no tetter in his eyes than the Sufis, In several quatrains, he dismisses “Ka’aba and temple,” and in others itis “the rosary and the sacred thread,” meaning in both cases Islam and Hinduism. His criticisms are launched against both exoteric and esoteric varieties of Islam and Hinduism. For example, the sacred thread of the hrabmia, albeit covered by the robe of the sadhu, is Sarmad's object of scorn in quatrain 26, (© sadhu, this robe of thine covers the sacred thread; °Tis a deception involving struggle unending. (Carry not this burden of shamefulness on thy shoulders, ‘Then wilt thou avoid a thousand sufferings.” 207: ‘The sad is derided in quatra (© mendicant with patched and ragged mantle, ‘Why preach to me so much? ‘Thou knowest nothing of real Love. My mind is engaged in more important werk than learning piety: My hear is torn to pieces by Love of the Beloved. ‘What does it care forthe covering of a patched mantle’ ‘So fur as shedding light on Sarmad’s religious identity, one of the most puzzling ‘quatrains is number 320, In it, Sarmad apparently declares his absndonment of Jodsismand Islam, and a conversion to Hinduism. Despite this quatrain, however, ‘of a the options available, no scholar or traditional biographer has ascribed a ‘Hind identity to him. The quatrain reads: © Sanaa! Thou hast ezened much worldly renown, ‘Come toIslam and got sway from Judaism, ‘What shortcoming didst thou find in the Prophet and in God, ‘That thou tuned awsy feom God and the Prophet And become a disciple of Ram and Lakshman. Another wrinkle in this tapestry of confessional identification and non-identifica- tion is found in the only extant quatrain by Sarmad’s lover and disciple, Abbai94 The Journal of Indo-Judaic Stadies Chand, found in the Dabisian: | submit to Moses’ law; | am of thy religion, and a guardian of thy way; Tam a Rabbi of the Yahuds, a Kafir, a Muselman’* If we are to take all of Sarmad’s quatrains at face value, and if we are to assume that Abhai Chand speaks for him, then we are left with a set of paradoxical as- sertions: 1) That he simultaneously was a rabbi and that be abandoned Judaism; 2) that be was not a Muslim and that he was; 3) that he was an idol-worshipper and a devotee of Hindu gods but opposed both the Brahmins and the sadhus; and 4) that he opposed Mullah and Sufi alike, but that he frequented mosques and ‘wrote mystical poctry that was very much in the Sufi tration, ‘Totry tomake sense of these contradictory assertions, we must view them against the background of the popular religious life of medieval North India and th: re- ligious life and policies of the Court of the Mughals Religious Life during the Mughal Era Religious life in North India during the medieval period (roughly 1000-1756) was dominated by cycles of conflict and accommodation between Islam and m. Even before the arrival of the Mughals, on the popular level this great cultural accommodation expressed itself in a variety of syneretistic movements: Sufism; Ramananda’s (ca. 1400-ca. 1470) non-caste-based devotion to Rama as supteme 0d; monotheistic, bhaki-criented Vaisnava movements such as Vallabhacarya’s (1479-1); the Kabir Panth founded by Benarsi Muslim weaver and poet-saint Kabir (1398? 14402-1518); and Sikhism founded by Gur Nanak (1469-1538) "As the period has been summarized, "Widespread religious movements, having: their roots partly in the vivifying contacts of Hinduism with Islam, had produced a reli ‘gious enthusiasm among the masses that was transforming the older Brabrnanical religion.”* Indeed, in the religious cmucible that was medieval North Indi, caste lines were often blatantly disregarded and confessional barriers hardly existed. In such an eclectic religions environment, Sarmad’s spiritual peregrinations ar: not so remarkable as they might have been during other historical periods, ‘On the level of courtly culture and the government's policies toward reli- gious pluralism, there were oscillations from emperor to emperor. Akbar’s court highlighted interreligious discussions and mystical conclaves, traditions echoedThe Identity of a Mystic 9s by Dara Shiko. In the capital he built at Fatehpur Sikri, near Agra, Akbar built himself a throne ona platform inthe middle ofa pool of water, the four walkways, to the throne would be occupied by Sunni, Shi'a, Jesuit, Hindu, Zoroastrian, or Jaina sages who would debate issues and doctrines. This resulted in a policy he called suhl--kudlh, oF equal respect toward all religions, a policy simultaneously praived by minority religious leaders and scorned as a heresy by Sunni Keaders.” Akbat’s openness to other religions led to claims that he was & Christian, aJain, and a Parsee (Zoroastrian), as well asa Sufi? — much like Sarmad. ‘Mughal polity renged from official hostility towards Hinduism (and Su- fism and Shi'a Islam) to tolerance for religious diversity reminiscent of the thied century BCE Buddhist emperor, Ashoka Maurya, and back to stern repression, Him temple-razing, and inequitable taxation, policies which were later modified ‘again. Even before the demise ofthe Delhi Sultanate in the fourteenth ceatury, the social fact of religious syncretism was reflected in government policies that alloved Hindus to govern themselves according to Hindu law, 9 long as they psid thei jizya (nom- believer's tax) to Muslim rulers. This toleration was anathemato the stern-minded Babur (1483-1530), the founder of the Mughal dynasty whose poli:y was to suppress Hinduism by destroying Hindu temples, often constrvcting 4 musjid om the site, Within 50 years, his grandson Akbar (1556-1605) reversed the jicya in 1565, Akbar's suht-i-kuhl policy was to be in foree until Aurangzeb seized powerand reinstated the hated jizya in 1679. Perhaps to Aurangzeb’ mind, the flamboyant syneretism of Sarmad was too much to bear. Pethaps he was moxi- ‘ated by the need to increase the government's revenues.* Whether Aurangzeb's ‘unpopular policies led to the downfall of the Mughal Empire is debatable, but ‘hat is clear is that the remarkable courtly culture of amicable debate among re- ligicns and an imperial policy of tolerance toward religious minorities, instituted bby Akbar and recalled by Dara Shikoh, ended with Aurangzeb's reign, and with them also ended the possibility of a Sarmad in the Mughal Court. Conelusions Of course, we cannot know what Sarmad himself felt bout his religious identity, whether in his own mind he remained a Jew, or became something else, whether Sufi and/or Muslim, Hindu, atheist or “Idolster.” But we can view him against the cultural background in India, his adopted ome. This places him in a most remarkable milieu. On one hand, on the popular level, there was the intereligious, mystical erucible of Kabir, Raminanda and Nanak influential figures with religious identities nearly as complex as Sarmad's. On the public level, wecan view the oscillations of Mughal policy about religions. from the triumphalism of Babur, to the syncretistc, mystical din-i-illahi of Akbar, to the combative sternness of Aurangzeb, While his passion and poetry speak for96 The Journal of Indo-Judaic Stadies themselves, Sarmad is less singular or idiosyncratic when viewed in the context We may also observe the processes by which his religious identity was com- mandeered ex post facto by the official Islam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, and how it was imposed upon by « modern Hindu sect, the Radha Soami Satsang, and by scholars such as Fiscbel, Wali, and Gapta FOOTNOTES “This anicle first appeared in Numen: Intemational Review for the History of Religions 47 (2000), pages 142-160, and isrepublished with permission. The editors believe that most readers of this journal may not have seen this article before, as there is likely but litle overlap in readership of the two journals. 1. Taskaraci-Tuhir Nasrabadi, text discussed by Maulavi ‘Abdu’l Wali, “A ‘Sketch of the Life of Sarmad,” Jownal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 20 (1924), p. 121, n.3, Nasrabadi's work isthe basis for the taskaras that are sold Fora few rupees at Sarmad's dareah, (See the Urdu raskara, p. 18) Theconternperary taskara published by Pic Syed Muhasnmad Sarmadi is available in Urdu (Hacrat Sar mad ‘Shaheed, Delhi, Kutub-Khanna-e-Sarmadi, no date) and Hindi (Hazrat Sarmad ‘Shaheed Rooh, translated into Hindi by Ahmed Jalees, Delhi, Kutub-Khaana-e- Samadi, no date). The quote in the text is from page 17 of the Hindi taskara. 2. Tuskara-i-Tahir Nasrabadi, “A Sketch of the Life of Sarmad” 3, David Shea aud Anthony Troyer, The Debistan, or School of Manners (Washington: M. Walter Dunne Publisher, 1901), p. 299. 4. B. A. Hashimi, “Sarmad, His Life and Quatrains,” Islamic Culture (1933):663-672, p. 666. 5, Lakhpat Rei, Sarmad, His Life and Rubias (Gorakhpur: Hanumanprasad Poddar Smarak Samita, 1978), p. 20. 6. For example, M. J. Seth, Armenians in India (Calcutta: Sri Ganga Press, 1937), p. 171, who held that Sarmad was an Armenian Jew whose family had settled in Pes 7. Wali,“A Sketch of the Life of Sarmad,” pp. 120-121. 8, Walter J.Fischel, “Jews and Judaism at the Courtof the Moghul Emperors in Medieval India,” Islamic Culture 25 (1951), p. 120. 9, Niseolo Manueci, Storia Do Megor, William Irvine trans, (1907, page 223), {quoted by Wali, “A Sketch of the Life of Sarmad,” p. 120. According to Sheikh Mehamed Tram, many Europeans, especially Jesuits, were partisan toward the strict Sunni rulers in India, and had litte patience with the more tolerant Sufis oor Shias. “The Jesuits were critical of this [i.e., Akbar’s] policy of tolerance, declaring the destruction of Hindu temples by Muslims ‘a praiseworthy action,The Identity of a Mystic 7 ‘butnoting their ‘carelessness’ in allowing public performance of Hindu sacrifices ‘and religious practices,” Sheikh Mohamed Ikram, Muslim Civilization in india, Aimie T. Embree, ed. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1964), p. 235. 10, Joseph Leeming, “Foreword” to. A. Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), (Beas, Punjab: Radha Soami Satsang, 1966), p- 11, Leeming, “Foreword to Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India, p. vi 12, Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), pV. 13. M. G. Gupia, Sarmad the Saint (Life and Works) (Agra: M. G. Publish- ers, 1991), p.¥. 14, Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy (Cleveland and New York: ‘Meridian Books/World Publishing Co., 1968 [19444]. 15. R. C. Zachner, Hindu and Muslim Mysticism (London: University of Lon Jon/Athtone Press, 1960). 16, Agchananda Bharati, The Light at the Center: Context and Pretext of Modern Mysticism (Santa Barbara, CA: Ross-Erikyon, 1972). 17, Steven T. Katz, “Language, Epistemology and Mysticism,” in Katz, ed., ‘Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978). pp. 22-74; and his rejoinder to Huston Smith's critique, “On Mysticism,” Journal of te American Academy of Religion 56, no. 4, (1988):751-757. 18 Huston Smith, “Is There a Pereanial Philosophy?” Journal ofthe American Acaleny of Religion 55, no. 3, (1987): 553-566, 19. Urdu taskara, p. 20. 20, Urdu taskara, p. 21. 21. Virtually every biographer has insisted that the love between Sarmad and Abhai Chand was “pure.” The earliest writen account of theirrelationshipis found in the 1660 work, the Dabistan: “When be arrived at the town of Tarta, he fell in love with « Hinda boy, called Abhi Chand, and abandoning all other things, like 2 Sanyasi [Hindu renunciate}, naked as he eame from his mother, be sat down before the door of his beloved. The father of the object of his love, after having found by investigation the purity of the attachment manifested for his son. admitted Sarmad into his house, and the young man too met him with an equal affection...” (Shea and Troyer, trans., The Dabistan, p. 299.) However, nowhere in Sarmad’s poetry is there any indication that is love for Abhai Chand was other than earl 22. Urdu taskara, pp. 21-23. 23. Urdn taskara, 9. 23. 24. Introduction to Rubaiyat-i Sarmad (Lahore: Marghoob Agency, 1920), pp. iv-v, quoted by Rai, Sarmad, His Life and Rubuis, p.25. 25. Urdu taskara, 23-25, 26, Urdu taskara, pp. 25-27. 27. See “Akbar the Great,” Encyclopedia Judaica Jerusalem: Koren, 1971),8 The Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies 28, Urdu saskara, p. 27. It is important to note that the faskara opposed Aurangzeb to his brother Dara, and not to Sarmad. It is one of the ideolo.zical ‘underpinnings of the faskara that both Aurangzeb and Sarmad were “right,” as ‘expressed in the Preface (pp. 7-8):"“Hazat Sarmad was a victim of injustice, but ‘on the other hand Aurangzeb was not a culprit. Aurangzeb was not an enenty of Hazrat Sarmad, but as Emperor he hod a moral obligation to defend the reli, Islam” 29. Very recent excavations in Thane, near Mumbai, have unearthed an old Jewish cemetery, some of the graves in which are of Jews (Bene Israel) who held high ranks in Shivaj’s army. See Pinhas David Bhalkar’s report in Kol India une 1998):25. 30, Urdu taskara, pp. 29-34 31. Und taskara, pp. 33-3 32, Ikram, Muslim Civilization in India, p. 189. 33. Gupta, Sarmad the Saint (Life and Works). p. 45. 34, Gupta, Sarmad the Saint (Life and Works), p. 44. 35. Urdu faskara, p. 42 36, Rai, Sarmad, His Life and Rubias. p. 53. 37. Rai, Sarmad His Life and Rubias. pp-49-50. 38. Gupta, Sarmad the Saint (Life and Works), p. 45. 39. Urdu taskara, pp. 39-40, 40, Rubiy'at 105, in Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), p. 321. 1. Urdu taskara, p. 44, 42, Urdu taskara, p. 47 43, Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India) p. 295. 44, Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of india), p. 378. 45, Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), p. 298. 46, Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of india), p. 308. 47, Ezekiel. Sarmad (Jewish Saint of india), p. 351. 48, Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of india), p. 351. 49, Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of india), p. 367. 50. Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), p. 345. SI. Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), pp. 325-326. 52. Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), p. 306. 53. Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), p. 301. 54, Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), pp. 350-351. 55. Ezekiel, Sarmad (Jewish Saint of India), pp. 379-380. 56, Shea and Troyer, tans., The Dabistan, p.299. 51. RE, Keay, Kabir and His Followers (Delhi: Sri Saiguru Publications , Sr Garib Das Oriental Series No. 171, 1996 [1931)), pp. 27-28. 58, Tkram, Muslin Civilization in India, p. 232.The Identity of a Mystic 2 ‘59, Akbar’s liberal religious policies were “resented as being in substance an attack on the Muhammadan religion,” according to Vincent A. Smith, Akbar, the Great Mogul (New Delhi: S. Chand & Co., 1966), p. 132. ©). Smith, Akbar, the Great Mogul, pp. 115-119. 61. Ikram, Muslim Civilization in India, p. 198. Under tremendous popular pressure, the izya was revoked by Aurangreb’s successor in 1720.8. M. Edwards and H. L. O, Garrett, Mughal Rule in India (Delhi S. Chand., 1930), p. 216. 62. kram, Muslim Civilizaion in India p. 199. As Edwards and Garrett wrote, arangzeb reimposed the jizya...and followed a policy of destroying as many Hinutu temples as possible... oods belonging to Hind merchants were subjected to. custom's duty twice as heavy as that demanded from Muhammadan traders.” ‘Mughal Rule in India, pp. 153-154.