By SHIRAZ PRADHAN
As the world struggles to cope with the novel coronavirus pandemic, it is natural to become anxious. We live in extraordinary times. The closure of Jamatkhanas in almost all countries accentuates our anxiety. I do not intend this article to be doom and gloom. To the contrary, I want to portray hope from our faith.
The emergence of this new virus and its global impact has demonstrated the intricate ways in which humanity is interconnected and how it has brought entire humanity to its knees and shown us the vulnerability of the ‘House of Cards’ that is our civilization. There is no ‘foreign virus’ as some have chosen to describe it. This virus is brutally merciless and does not recognize race, colour, gender, religion or national boundaries.
There is already a disruption of social care and communal services as the pandemic progresses in Europe, North America and elsewhere. This will transfer the burden of care of the aged, less able and vulnerable to younger, and healthier family members who may ride through the illness with minor discomfort. The projected time periods are likely to be several months.
Bearing in mind all these factors, how should we react to the pandemic? Ours is an intellectual tradition. Allah possesses the power of miracles, but we do not relay on Allah’s miracle alone.
At this very moment, there are laboratories around the world racing against time to come up with a vaccine against the virus. Indeed, one was tested on a few patients a few days ago. May be the virus is temperature sensitive and as we, in temperate zones transition to spring and rising temperatures, it may abate the virus. May be the ‘herd immunization’ strategy that is talked about will work and lessen the impact of the new virus. As ordinary citizens, we sometimes feel helpless. Under such circumstances, after following all the advice we are given to protect ourselves and our beloved ones, the next tendency in people in troubled times is prayers.
Psychologists have long known this fact. It gives people tremendous hope and alleviates stress in face of adversity. Prayers work, and in this I am reminded of a Farman Mawlana Hazar Imam had made in the 1960’s when he said that those who prayed in difficult times knew how prayers had helped them during their difficulties. At the same time, he reminded us that we should not only pray when times are bad but also when times are good.
Our Ginans can also give us help during these difficult times. Several Ginans have powerful verses of supplication and pleading for Allah’s mercy and compassion and help. These verses are not parochial but are pleadings for Allah’s compassion and mercy for the entire humanity. In the context of the pandemic, this fact comes out clear. It is our hope that this ‘One Humanity’ idea endures beyond the pandemic.
Some of the verses I present are well-known, but I include them for completeness. First is a verse that extols the virtue of congregational prayers. It is from Pir Hasan Kabir’s Anant Akhado, verse 115.
Aashaaji til dharam ne hasti paap
sohi gat utaare ji
Gat naa vachan te Nar ji maane
te maahaadan maanhe nahi puchhaaye.
Translation:
O Lord, our good deeds are minuscule, our sins monumental. These are forgiven in congregational prayers
The Lord listens to congregational prayers and spares the questioning on the Day of Judgement.
The physical separateness due to the closure of our Jamatkhanas does not preclude us from offering prayers for humanity in our hearts and/or with our families.
In Pir Hasan Kabir’s Ananta Akhado, verse 32, Pir says that in Lord’s Assembly, He grants you whatever you wish.
Aashaji jiya jem mango, tiya tem verse,
Satgur gher anand ji
Translation:
Whatever you ask for in His assembly, He grants.
There is joy and no one returns disappointed from His assembly.
In verse 127, the scope of the pleading and supplication expands and encompass the entire humanity.
Aashaji, Sansar serve Shrusti tamari, ane serve mankha jiv ji
Daya kari teme amne taaro, Sami serve jiv tamara ji
Translation:
O Lord, the entire creation is Yours, as are the souls,
With compassion, save us, O Lord, we all are Your souls.
In Pir Hasan Kabir’s Venti Eji Aash Tamari Shree Ho, which is full of supplications and pleadings, the opening verse portrays the congregation, standing with hands folded, asking for Lord’s compassion:
Eji, Aash tamari Shree Ho Kayam Sami,
Saheb Chinta kee je, Ya Shah
Sab Gatie Shah ke khde re umayo Shah
Raj Rikhisar Ghar Dejo
Translation:
O Lord, we are hopeful of and dependent on your compassion; O Lord, we beseech you, spare your thought for us; the entire congregation is standing in submission; O Lord, bestow prosperity and happiness upon us…
Next is a beautiful venti of sincere submission and heart rendering plea for help by Pir Hasan Kabir in Hum Dil Khalak ya Ali tu(n)hij:
Hum dil Khalak ya Ali tu(n)hij vase,
Ya Mawla tu(n)hij vase,
avar na dhuja koi,
jive pi(n)dhe jo tun(n)hij dhani;
Ya Mawla tu(n)hij dhani.
Jia(n) kari(n) tiya hoi
Maher karo mora saai ya
Ali hum tere aadhar
Tere aadhar ya Mawla tu(n)hij daatar
Maher karo mora saai ya
Ali hum tere aadhan
Translation:
Only you reside in my heart O Ali,
O Mawla only you,
Non-other I think of
You, who are master of my soul and body
O Mawla, truly you are the Master
Your wish and command prevail
Show mercy O Lord
Ali you are my support,
I am dependent in You;
O Mawla you are the provider (of all my needs)
Show mercy O Lord,
Ali you are my only support
The next powerful verse that we often recite to seek divine help is from Seyyad Imam Shah’s Ame Saaheb Saathe, Verse 6
Eji Tuj vinaa koi avar na dise,
Saami amne chhe tamaaro aadhaar-ji;
Tuj vinaa ame eklaa Saami,
Saami tame thaajo rakhvaarr-ji
Translation:
O Lord, You alone we see,
O Lord, we rely upon You
Without You we are all alone
Please be our protector (In these troubled times)
In addition to the Ginans, our daily Arabic Du’a has powerful pleas for help. In part two we recite:
“O Allah, O our Lord from You is my help, upon You is my reliance. You alone we worship and You alone we seek for help. O Aly help me with your kindness.”
In part three of our Du’a, we recite:
“Seek at times of difficulty, the help of your Lord, the present living Imam, Shah Karim al Hussaini.”
In part 4 of our Du’a, we recite:
“O Allah: Forgive us our sins, give us our daily bread and have mercy upon us….”
In part five of our Du’a, we recite:
“Ya Shah Karim, O Mawla, from you is my strength…”
As we go through this difficult time we should take comfort from these Ginanic verses and our Holy Du’a as well the Farmans of Mawlana Hazar Imam that have been published recently. Repeatedly, he assures his murids of his constant presence with them. For example, in his Diamond Jubilee Farman made in Booni, Chitral, Pakistan, he lovingly tells us that he is always with his Jamat, every day, every minute, every second (Diamond Jubilee Farman book, page 57, also pages 51, 62). As such, we should seek to keep his enduring blessings for mushkil-asan (protection from difficulties) alive in our hearts all the time.
I pray that these trying times pass and that Allah in His compassion listens to our plea for help for humanity. His compassion and mercy know no bound.
Date posted: March 18, 2020.
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Shiraz Pradhan, in parallel with his work as an international engineering consultant, has contributed for several years to furthering religious education among the Ismaili community in the UK, Canada, USA and Japan. He is the author of several articles published on this website and was a regular contributor to UK’s flagship Ismaili magazine, Ilm. Currently he is concluding the script of a full-length play of the 10th Century trial of the Sufi Saint Mansur al-Hallaj in Baghdad based on historical facts.
The author wishes to thank Platinum Rahemtulla for references to Ginanic verses and their translations that are quoted in the article.
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Thank you Mr Editor, and Mr. Pardhan for this timely article on the inspiration we can gain from our Ginans and scriptures. This is very useful all the time, but especially during the calamities where the enemy is not only border, but sees no class or creed. Such a pandemic is perhaps witnessed for the first time for most of us in our life but there were so many in the past, i.e. plague which has been witnessed by many older generations. I have an aunt who is 90 and when talking to her on the phone she very calmly explained how she had seen this pandemic in Uganda and how she as a little girl with help of parents and sibling, and together with several families living in a small village, where there was no means of communication and on a meagre diet of potatoes and rice, coped. This she told me was only possible by the strength they mustered through our Ginans. Though we have the technology in our hands and all the social media and entertainments to cope, our Timeless Scripture in the form of Ginans is a very powerful tool to reduce stress, that will give us “HOPE.” This example of my aunt also reminds me of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Farman made during the inauguration of the Diamond Jubilee year when he said that he was convinced that it was only the faith of our forefathers that would enable us to face life’s challenges especially in timeS of crisis and rapid change. Articles such as these remind us to carry our faith with us all the time.
Dr. Daulat Lutchmeah, thanks for your comment. Your point about pandemics and faith are right on the mark. Ginan and Qasidas have been with the Jamat for centuries.
Wonderful. Thank you. May Mawlana Hazar Imam bless you with the best in both worlds. This shows you care for your brothers and sisters that is your global jamat.
Very beautiful article. We have our Mowla with us all the time and we only have to beg him for mercy. We should never forget our Dua and always remember our Mowla all the time. These present day difficulties will disappear very soon Inshallah and will be regular in our Jamatkhanas everyday. Ameen.
Hazar Imam once told the missionaries in their conference “Tell my Jamat, with Prayers you can move mountains” Ameen Khudavind.
At this challenging time we all have to pray Mawla forgive us our sins, shower his blessings on the global Jamat, protect us, keep us safe and Mawla Mushkil assan kar, so we can again start going to Jamatkhanas. Ameen
Dear Shiraz, is there any Ginan or Farman which describes the relationship between the body, mind and the soul?
Ginans, a tradition developed 700 year back that started with Pir Satgur Nur, have used both symbology as well as literal terms of Quran to describe our physical body’s true nature, the stages of intellectual awareness and the treasures of human soul as well as the significance of ibadaat and Light of God in “Bhāīo bharme nā bhulīye”.
Numerous ginans, farmans since the time of Hazrat Ali (AS) and Mawlana Hazar Imam’s speeches have over and over reminded the essential nature of our composite existence.
Found one of the sites that may provide a translation of the ginan “Bhaio Bharmey naa bhooliye” :http://ginans.usask.ca/commons/501420
Fbaqir: Thanks for the comment. Your question is interesting and will required a bit of research. I will in next few days be able to send to an answer. Thank you
Shiraz Pradhan
Dear Fbaquir,
Yours is a complex question. I can only point you a way of Ginanic research. First we have to understand the terms jiva or pran which is the life force in the body and the Ginans use this to convey this idea. The Holy Quran uses the terms Nafs. The Jiva or Nafs is subject to improvement and progress towards perfection. In Quran three stage of Nafs are described, Nafs Ammara – this is the base condition when the Nafs or Jiva in egotistic mode is prone to error and sin. Next stage is Nafs Lawwama which is a Jiva that has awoken to its divine nature and has progressed to wards purification but is prone to fall in to error from time to time. The third stage is Nafs Mutammina which is Jiva that has realized its perfection and progressed to a stage where Allah says Oh you purified soul come to wards Allah who is well satisfied with you( Please check the relevant reference from the Quran.
The other term that Ginans use is Hansa, Ruh or Atman, which refer to soul, the divine creation of Allah. Ginan Eji Sarag Bhavan thi maati mangai describes how Allah makes a human body from the sacred clay from the heaven and breathes into it the Ruh or the soul. A web of delusion overcomes the awakened soul in the body. In Ginan Kesri Sinha Swarup Bhulayo, Pir describes how the a Lion (soul) thinks that it is a sheep. Right divine guidance is needed to dispel this delusion. In Ginan Prani Jyare to Girbha thane hato tyre hato Gun vanto the Pir describes that the soul was pure and knowledgeable when in the mother’s womb, but as it comes into the world it runs after the attractions of the world and forgets its trune divine nature.
In my article published in Ilm and also on Simerg Inner Odyssey (click https://simerg.com/literary-readings/literary-reading-the-inward-odyssey-in-two-key-ismaili-ginans-brahma-prakash-and-“sakhi-mahapada”/) I have given a very detailed account of the progress through the many centres of energy in the body and how when we perform Ibadat, we harness the energy of these various centres in the body and rise upward to attain truth and divine light.
Hope this helps. Mind is subject to vageries of external world (these are called vruties in Sanskerit and basically these take us away from truth. I also refer you to Swami Vivekananda’s book Raja Yoga which has more details on the body power centres or Chakras.
Thank you
Shiraz Pradhan