Kashmir Sufism-History and Background

Kashmir-The Valley of Divinity

In the heart of the great Himalayas is a beautiful valley, which has been described by poets and emperors as paradise. Over the centuries, the verdant vale of Kashmir has seen the blossoming of many exquisite flowers of the philosophy of humankind. With the bountiful beauty of nature constantly around them, the people of Kashmir have always been filled by thoughts of the divinity of creation.

With the first rays of the sun, the melodious Azaan - call for the morning prayers, resonates through the mountains, a new day of life ushers into hope and joy with fresh fragrance of the Himalayan blooms and lotuses, of fir and pine trees. The purity of the mesmerizing beauty of Kashmir transforms any seeking soul into a humble being. The enchanting natural beauty of the valley with lakes and waterfalls, mountains and dales, rivers and springs, birds and butterflies and the peace loving folks all together in harmony magnify the Oneness of Allah in totality. The mystic atmosphere of Kashmir made this a suitable place for Rishis, Saints and Sages for time immemorial.

The philosophers of the valley have had a joyous belief in the manifestation of the beauty of God, in the world that we see around us. It is a deep belief that every aspect of creation is a part of the supreme consciousness. This philosophy of love and the recognition of divine beauty were the essence of the Buddhist and Hindu philosophies of the early period in Kashmir. Islam in the valley inherited these traditions and Kashmiris developed a rich Sufi culture, which continued the tradition of a deep personal love of God.

In Kashmir, visions of the lord's glory are constantly in front of us. Kashmir Valley is an ideal refuge for a contemplative mind that gives you space to cultivate virtues towards leading a meaningful and content life. Long walks into the forests and boat cruising in the backwaters of Dal Lake during the day and quite evenings observing the stars awakens ones senses to understand the mystery of the universe .


Arrival of Spiritual leaders in Kashmir

Numerous Spiritual leaders and Religious heads of different faiths and sects have been enthralled by the blissful radiance of this land and have visited Kashmir at least once in their lifetime. There have been references to the visits of Guru Nanak Dev, Lord Rama, Laxman and Sita, Jesus Christ, Prophet Suleiman, Rumi, Shankaracharya and others.

It is the only place in the world which has been visited by revered and spiritual personalities since times immemorial.

Arrival of Hazrat Christ to Kashmir:

Prophet Christ has reportedly visited Kashmir. One school of thoughts believes that he is buried in Roza Bal, Khanyar in Srinagar, Kashmir, where grave inscribed with Yusuf Sahib exists, but the other school of thought believes that he had just visited that place. His burial was not possible as he was crucified. However, the remains in this place and its vicinity indicate his arrival to Kashmir.

There is a place near Chrar-e-Sharief Yusumarg, which is pronounced as Yusmarg. It is believed to be named after the other name of Christ i.e. Prophet Yusu-Al-Ehi Salam who is also known as Hazrat Eisah-al-Ehi Salam. He is a revered Prophet in Kashmir.

Arrival of Hazrat Suleiman to Kashmir:

There are clear proofs that Hazrat Suleiman had visited Kashmir. In the heart of Srinagar on the shores of famous Dal Lake, Suleiman Mountain exists in full glory.

As per the historical records the mountain was known as Takht-e-Suleiman and Amir-i- Kabir described Srinagar as Bagh-i-Suleiman. There are no records whether Prophet Suleiman was buried on the top of the mountain or not, but since times immemorial the summit of the hill has remained a seat of spiritual activities and during Buddhist era Stupas were built on the mountain. King Rinchen built a mosque on this mountain. A beautiful temple known as Shankaracharya presently exists on the mountain.

Arrival of Hazrat Haroon to Kashmir:

Great spiritual personality Hazrat Haroon during the period of Hazrat Moses, had visited Kashmir. He stayed in the area adjacent to Nishat and Shalimar, which came to be known as abode of Hazrat Haroon. The place is still known as Harwan and there is one mysterious grave on the summit of the hill which gives an indication that Hazrat Haroon was buried at this place. It is near Harichandan village which was visited several times by Buddhist king Kanishka.

Arrival of Hazrat Noah to Kashmir:

Prophet Noah was one of the great Prophets who visited several parts of the world with the help of his divine boat. He was pronounced by Kashmiri Brahmins as Manu or Manooh, as Ma word is added as a mark of great respect. Manooh or Prophet Noah faced similar situation and circumstances during disastrous flood and had acted in the similar fashion. Kashmir as per history was a part of Tethys Sea and later on was known as Satisar. It was as a result of over flowing of Sita spring presently existing as Sita Haran near Tosa Maidan that Kashmir came to be known as Sitasar or Satisar. Prophet Noah’s arrival to Kashmir coincides to the same era when Kashayap Reshi helped drainage of water from Satisar turning Kashmir into a beautiful valley

Arrival of Lord Ram and Sita to Kashmir:

Sheikh Noor-U-Din Reshi in explicit words has mentioned in his shruks (shalokas) which is his spiritual poetry that during the period of Banwas Lord Ram along with Sita and Laxman visited Dandakwan forest, the chain of forests near Tosa Maidan, Khag and Rafiabad. Holy spring of Sita still exists at the bottom of Tosa Maidan .One school of thought believes that Sita was taken away by Rawan from this spot.

There is mention of Dandakwan forests in Kashmir by great Sufi Saint like Sheikh- Ul- Alam which is a clear proof of relationship between Lord Ram and Kashmir and his arrival to Kashmir. The forest near Sita Haran is also known as Rajmang. The name of Raj is for Lord Ram.

Arrival of Pandavas to Kashmir:

The Five Pandavas are believed to have spent lot of time in Kashmir. There are places and archeological sites where Pandavas had stayed in Kashmir.

Arrival of Great Buddhist King Kanishka to Kashmir.

Third Buddhist conference was held at Harichandan Mountain near Harwan. Buddhist scholars from all over the world attended this Buddhist conference. Kanishka had also attended this conference. Thousand years old Stupas still exist at this place.

Rishiwari-Garden of Sages

When we look at the satellite pictures of Kashmir valley it undoubtedly looks heavenly and the geographical shape of Kashmir resembles the shape of the holy stone of Paradise ‘Hijra Aswad’. It is mentioned in the ancient scriptures that all the holy places of the world have their reflection in Kashmir. No wonder it has been aptly christened as ‘Paradise on Earth’.

Kashmir is the land of Saints and is bestowed with religious wealth in the form of numerous shrines and places of worship of different faiths.

According to the oldest Hindu book- Nilmat Puran, the valley of Kashmir is known as Bagh-i-Reshian or Rishiwari which literally means ‘Garden of Sages’. Kashmiris often refer to their land as ‘Pir vaer’ or ‘Rishi vaer’ which means the valley of Sufi Pirs or Rishis. Shrines dedicated to these men of God are to be found in almost every village in the Kashmir. Most of these saints were Sufi masters belonging to various mystical orders.

The Valley of Kashmir was suffering from political, social and economical travails when highly exalted groups of people, called Rishis (saints), emerged and by their golden words and kind actions gave comfort to the people and mitigated their miseries. These saints lived among the common people and shared their suffering. They spread the message of love, humanity and brotherhood which highly influenced the thoughts and attitude of Kashmiris for generations to come. Till today, the people of Kashmir irrespective of caste and creed visit the shrines of these Rishis and strongly believe in their teachings.

An Abode of Love

Kashmir, since times immemorial is an abode of love. It attained the status of prestigious civilization during Hindu era, Buddhist era, as well as Muslim era. The history is witness to the fact that fundamentalism in Kashmir has always failed, no doubt it has passed through worst kind of turmoil as a result of clash of ideologies. The origin of our civilization is recorded in Nilmat Puran when the nagas were actual residents of Kashmir, threatened by all other foreign elements who were trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere prevailing at that time as per Nilmat Puran. Since then Kashmir has become battleground between ideology of love and hate. When Buddhist era was at its peak in northern India, Kashmir also came under its influence and it spread from Kashmir to China and other Central Asian countries. However history has also witnessed the clash between the Hindu and Buddhist fundamentalists in the valley. Finally, the concept of mutual coexistence prevailed. During this conflict of thoughts both Hindus and Buddhists mutually shifted to Shaivism which believed in spiritual communication between man and God. Shaivism believes that God is everywhere in each and every part inside and outside the person. The conflict whether idol of Lord Buddha is to be worshipped or the idol of Lord Rama came to an end when Shaivism movement started in Kashmir. During this era, Reshism also emerged and great saints began their meditation inside caves and isolated places. The Reshiyat became new order of the day which believed in the ideology of love.

With the spread of Islam, the Sufi Saints who believed in communicating the message of God through language of love reached many places and succeeded in winning the hearts of the people. One of the great Sufi Saints who was the first Muslim religious personality reaching Kashmir was Hazrat Bulbul shah.

Arrival of Hazrat Bulbul Shah to Kashmir.

Hazrat Sharif-ud-din Bulbul Shah visited Kashmir for the first time in 1311 A.D. Later on he visited again in 1318 A.D. On the shores of Jhelum, at wee hours, he offered Fajar Azan. The Palace of King Rinchen Shah was on the other side of the river (where at present a Women’s college stands). When King heard the 1^st Azan Call, which was absolutely new to Kashmir and its people, King thought it was a call of revolution by some rebellion. King along with his Commander in-Chief Rawan Chandra and a large number of soldiers crossed the river and reached the spot where Hazrat Bulbul Shah was offering morning prayers. In spite of the arrival of such powerful King (who had defeated Dulcha Tatari and whose sway extended from Kashmir to Kashgar), Hazrat Bulbul Shah continued to offer his prayers and remained undisturbed. The King was extremely surprised to observe fearlessness of Shah, who was a great Saint and divine glory which was emanating from him during his prayers. He was very impressed and directed Raman Chandra and his soldiers not to disturb the Saint. After completion of his prayers, Hazrat Bulbul Shah received King with esteem and showered blessing on him. He complemented the King for protecting the people of Kashmir from the Savageness of Dulcha Tatari. King invited Hazrat Bulbul Shah to his Durbar and requested him to enlighten him about the prayers which he was offering. Both the King and his Hindu Queen Kota Rani were highly impressed with Hazrat Bulbul Shah and his religion. King adopted Islam and Kota Rani too became the 1^st Muslim queen of Kashmir.

With adoption of Islam by the great and the most popular King of the time, thousands of his subjects also adopted Islam. The stone is still exists near the Holy Shrine of Bulbul Shah where thousands of Dharma threads of those who converted to Islam were burnt. The foundation of Islam in Kashmir was laid both by Hazrat Bulbul Shah and King Rinchen Shah on the basis of mutual brotherhood, respectability and love. It was the first spark of Sufism which flourished in Kashmir along with Kashmiriyat.

At one place, Buddhist prayers, Hindu prayers and Muslim prayers were heard without disturbing each other, without harming each other and without killing each other in the name of religion. It was one great Saint and his sincere teachings which revolutionized whole Kashmir and this message of love spread from Kashmir to Kashgar. It is after several decades that communal elements crept in the society to create hatred between bother and brother in the name of religion. During Hazrat Bulbul Shah’s era and the era of King Rinchen Shah, there was no violence or war in the name of religion between different communities living in Kashmir. Buddhism was powerful, Hindus were in majority, Islam was spreading through intellectual interaction, and therefore it is called as the Golden period of history of Kashmir.

King Rinchen Shah constructed first Jamia (Grand) Mosque at Auli Kadal, and Hazrat Bulbul Shah was the first Imam of the same. He died in 1320 A.D. and was buried at the same place where he raised first Azan and offered prayers. It was the place where Hazrat Bulbul Shah and King Rinchen Shah first met; therefore he was buried at the same place.

King Rinchen constructed Grand Khanakah at this place, which was rendered dilapidated subsequently because of biased approach of various sovereign systems which ruled Kashmir since then.

King Rinchen Shah had also made a will that he should be buried alongside of his Peer-i-Murshid. The grave of the great king is too exists at this place. This is the place which has the height of spiritual and historical position in the world. It is the place where Sufism emerged as the epitome of Love and spread throughout the world. At present when Sufism has become the way of life, this place should be given full attention.

The miracle of mystery of this place is still evident from the fact that laborers who conducted repairs at the graves of these two great personalities, while digging early in the morning heard “Darood Khawani” from inside the ground.

Sufi/Rishi Cult of Kashmir

Sufi saint Bulbul Shah was able to persuade the king of the time Rinchen Shah, through his intellectual power to adopt Islamic way of life and the foundation of Sufiyana composite culture was laid when Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists co-existed in the atmosphere of love and brotherhood. Devotion in human life, simplicity, discipline, sanctity etc., was the guiding spirit behind the Sufi cult. "

According to the Sufi cult, God is formless. Man succeeds in establishing relation with Him through his sanctity and concentration. The doctrine of the Sufi cult is clear and practical. People of Kashmir placed these Sufi saints in the galaxy of their great men and made their sermons part of Kashmiriyat. As more and more Muslim Dervishes came to Kashmir from Persia and Central Asia, Kashmir became a centre of Sufism like Delhi and Ajmer.

Rishi Cult

It is symptomatic and symbolic that all the great Sufi saints of Kashmir, be they Hindu or Muslim, were subsequently called Rishis.

The "Rishi" tradition or system was born in Kashmir towards the middle of the 14th century. This spiritual association was the result of efforts and teachings of Lal Ded and Sheikh Nooruddin, two known saint poets of Kashmir. The numbers of these Rishis was about 2,000 and were spread in villages. Abu Fazal, a Muslim saint and who later became part of the Rishi cult, has said that the most respected group in Kashmir is of Rishis. Though they had given up the traditional mode of worship, still they were true devotees. They have no desire for worldly matters and pleasures. They plant fruit trees for the benefit of the people. They are vegetarians and are celibates. In reality these Rishis have converted the land of Kashmir into a paradise. There was no place for self-interest in their teaching, no pride in their behavior, no meanness in their teachings.

The first Kashmiri-born Muslim divine to assume the title of a Rishi was Sheikh Nooruddin. The Hindus called him Sahaja Nand, his original name. The Muslims called him `Wali' or Sheikh-Ul-Alam. His shrine at Chrar called Chrar-e-Sharief, where the Nurnama was compiled and preserved, is a place of pilgrimage, a centre of Sufism like the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi and that of Garib-Nawaz in Ajmer. He was to Kashmir what Baba Farid was to Punjab and Shah Abdul Latief to Sindh. According to Sheikh-Ul-Alam, if a man controls his ego and pride and surrenders in front of God, he can experience the real aim of life. One day he went out for a walk. Many fish preparations were being prepared in a shop. Sheikh Nooruddin went there with an urge to eat fish. But the moment he moved ahead, he was jolted by his spiritualism; he stopped. Instead of eating fish he took up a live charcoal from the hearth and put it in his mouth. His mind was afflicted with pain and in a fit of emotion he said "It is the punishment for self-interest, lust, ego and meat eating".

In the galaxy of Sufi saints of Kashmir, the name of Lal Ded, the saint-poetess, shines like a star. Deeply influenced by the Sufi philosophy of Shah Hamadan, she wrote her Vakhyas (the words of mouth) in Kashmiri. Translated by Sir Aurel Stein and rendered into poetry by Barnett, these Vakhyas have inspired generation after generation not only in Kashmir but also in other parts of the country.

What makes Kashmiri Sufism distinct?

There are four schools of Sufism. These are the Chisti, Suhrawardi, Qadri and the Naqshbandi orders. All the Sufis of the world belong to one or another of these orders. Kashmir is perhaps the only exception to this rule in the entire world. Many of its Rishis owe allegiance to none of these orders.

Some visitors from Iran once organized the various Sufi schools of the world into two categories: the Indian/Pakistani way and the Middle Eastern/ Iranian way. When they came to Kashmir they remarked that Kashmir seemed to represent a third approach, a third way, quite different from the other two. The Iranian visitors noted that Kashmiri Sufism has an Iranian base but its practices are neither Iranian nor mainland Indian. For instance, in mainland India flowers are offered at tombs. This does not happen at the Muslim shrines of Kashmir and Iran. Most shrines in the Islamic world are built around an important saint. In Iran, Iraq and Kashmir a turban is placed on the head of the grave of the saint. It is not so in rest of South Asia.

In the rest of India including Jammu, the devotee enters through the main door and the grave of the saint is right in front. Thus the common man can go right up to the grave and touch it. In Iran and Kashmir the grave is normally surrounded by a rectangular enclosure. This enclosure is normally like a room within a larger room. Its walls are normally made of elegantly carved wood. Lattice or fret work is deliberately used in these walls to make them transparent so that the devotee can see inside through the holes in this fret work the grave of the Saint. The Ziarats of Jammu do not have such enclosures.

The shrines of saints are called mazaars and Dargahs in the rest of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Kashmir they are called Ziarat, a word that is used as the verb for pilgrimage in many other Islamic lands. The word Dargah is used in Kashmir for only one shrine, Hazratbal. The only shrine in Kashmir to be called Mazaar is Bat Mazaar.

Devotees who pay homage at Kashmiri and Iranian shrines are often found wailing. They call out loudly to God or to the patron saint and read out their prayers loud enough for others near them to hear. But in rest of India people pray silently.

The Muslims of rest of India and Pakistan are Chistis but in Kashmir this is the only order that is not represented by any shrine.

Most of the Rishis belonged to none of the four Silsilas of Sufism. This is true of Baba Reshi, Baba Nund Reshi, Baba Zainudin and many others. On the other hand some Kashmiri mystics belong to the traditional orders. Thus Makhdoom Sahib was a Suhrawardi. Of the Sufis from outside Dastgeer sahib was a Qadri, Naqashband Sahib was Naqshbandi and Shahi Hamadan a Kubrawi (a sub-sect of the Suhrawardi).

Urs-The Festival of Saints

Urs is an annual festival observed at the shrines of Muslim Saints on their death anniversaries in Kashmir.

There is a popular saying that “It snows when the Urs of Mishan Sahib is observed; it rains when the Urs of Baha-ud-din is observed and it is windy when the Urs of Batamaloo Sahib is observed.

The Urs are celebrated in various parts of Srinagar. Not only the Muslims, but also the Sikhs and Hindus take part in these celebrations.

Sufiyana Music

This form of music and Sufi poetry is drawn from the rituals and teachings of the Sufis or Muslim mystics and has a strong influence on the thinking and way of life of Kashmiris.

All music and dance in Kashmir has a spiritual base. The songs are mostly sung in chakri, a folk form of music, and most of the Sufi poetry is in praise of the Prophet and talks about unification with God.

Sufiyana Music is generally accompanied by instruments such as the Santoor, Sarangi, Thumbak Nari and Harmonium.

Unlike the Sufi traditions elsewhere, in Kashmir, Sufiyana Music is mostly performed at homes of elderly persons and heads of communities and not so much in Dargahs and Mazaars.

Miracle at a Sufi Shrine

Stop cutting Trees: Message of Sufi Saint.

Miracles at shrines of Sufi Saints are very common in Kashmir. But the miracle at a Sufi shrine also carried a message against cutting of trees. In Feb. 2007, when woodcutters began felling a tree inside the compound of the shrine of Sufi saint Syed Shah Farid-ud-Din (Achu Gudool village in Kokernag, 72 kms from Srinagar, Kashmir) they were surprised to find 'impressions of Quranic verses' on the wood. It was certainly a divine intervention against cutting of trees, as the Sufi Saints of Kashmir always advocated conservation of environment.

The managing committee of the Sufi shrine decided to fell some willow trees inside the shrine compound. But when woodcutters felled the first willow, they were stunned by what appeared inside. As the woodcutter chopped the wood into four pieces he was stunned. On one piece of wood were written verses of the holy Quran. On the second piece there was the impression of a prayer mat used by devout Muslims to offer the Namaz. The third piece bore the impressions of a skull cap worn at the time of the namaz and the fourth piece bore the impressions of an oil lamp which visitors light at the shrine.

Immediately after the discovery of the miracle impressions, the shrine committee members stopped the tree felling work. As penance for ordering the tree felling, they removed the pieces of the felled willow tree to a compound in the shrine. And visitors have been thronging to see the miracle impressions. It is clearly a message for all of us. The saint does not approve of any tree felling.

What is Sufism?

A Sufi’s spiritual experience can neither be explained in language, interpreted psychologically. The science of psychologically is concerned with the mental status and their relation with one another. Its range is limited to the subjective consequences alone and it fails to provide any account of the extra-mental facts the Sufi mystic experience is directly concerned with the divinity of god which is transmental reality and hence it lies beyond the reach of a psychologist even his mystical experiences in relation to the fear of god and the love of god are objective, i.e. unrelated to his empirical self and they cannot be interpreted in any form. Similarly, a Sufi’s awareness of his pious self is not an ordinary mental state like that of a feeling and emotion. The mystical symbols manifested in the spiritual state of a Sufi’s ecstasy cannot be discovered through the law of causation in other words, the transcendent side of a Sufi’s spiritual world remains completely out of reach for the psychologist. More over, the science of psychology does not offer any fixed and universally accepted standard for the assessment of mystical states.

The philosophical side of Sufism consists in the mystical doctrines expounded by the Sufis from the stand point of the relation between the mystic’s soul and god, the annihilation of self, the soul’s of realization of the Divine attributed and the soul’s unification with god. Like all mystics, the Sufi’s regard love of god as the sole means of reaching their goal. Sufis are folk who have preferred god to everything, so that god has preferred them to everything. Dhu’l Noon al-Missri, the father of Sufi mysticism, believes that a Sufi’s love to god goes with god’s love towards him.

Sufism-The Religion of Heart

Sufism is a term which can never be defined or described accurately in mere words. The concept of Sufism is without any distinct outline still it is bona fide. There is no strict ritual or ceremony associated with it, yet it is a religion-the Religion of Heart, as a Sufi is always immersed in love with God. Sufism is a commitment to God in absolute trust and obedience.

Sufism is an attitude of inner sympathy towards all beliefs. All religions are Sufi religions as long as they recognize the limits inherent in any speculative interpretation of Truth.

If one took six or seven different glasses, each one of a different color, and poured water in each glass, the water would appear red in one glass, blue in another, green in a third, and so on, although it were the same water in each. In the same way, all religions are in their origin of divine inspiration, but, like the image of water poured into different colored glasses, as soon as divine inspiration is crystallized in human thought, it acquires the colors of that thinking. We then call the one colors Hinduism, another colors Buddhism, another Islam and still other colors are called Judaism, Christianity, or by any other religious denomination.
Therefore, since the origin of all religions is of divine nature, these can only be understood in as much as one is prepared to recognize the unity of all religious ideals, at which level all religions are so many derivations of one and the same impulse, the cry of the heart, the longing of the soul for God.

The word Sufi means wisdom, but that does not mean that when pursuing the Sufi path one is necessarily wise. Sufism is a test with which one is constantly confronted, when expected to show an example of how well one understands what spirituality truly is. Spirituality does not mean drifting away upon the clouds of illusion; it means having the feet firmly on the ground of reality, proving thereby, without pretence to have acquired discipline over the physical and mental energies. It is only then that one can possibly inspire others on the path where honesty in spirituality is the watchword.

A Sufi is a religious soul whose nature is to refuse to submit to imposed beliefs, and who is conscious that life is not necessarily just what one might think it to be, nor what one is told it to be. Life is not only lived at the level of physical experience, nor only at the level of thought, nor only at the level of feeling, but also, and most importantly, at a still higher level of consciousness, where the self is no more the barrier separating reality from illusion.

The realized condition of union with God produces such a sense of the absolute truth of God, and of the bliss of union with him, that poetry and teaching begins to emerge in which the distinction between God and the self seems to be indistinct. When the heart becomes receptive, when nearness to God is experienced, when one accepts submission, attains spiritual insights and turns appreciative, then one feels truly happy, peaceful and enchanted. These are the signs of spiritual growth.
In the course of journey of Sufism, one arrives at several destinations such as penitence, yearning, endurance, faith, gratefulness, love and so on…The Sufi Message is a message of, ‘Spiritual Liberty,’ revealing in its essence, the true nature of spirituality as being the liberation from dogmas and preconceived ideas.

Sufism, which is without any religious obligations, regards spirituality as the religion of the heart. That religion is one wherein the unity of religious ideals is followed unconditionally in search of truth, without going astray in following the followers of the followers of the great religious reformers, whose messages have been altered beyond recognition through the centuries by those who confuse mysticism with fanaticism.

Mysticism and Science:

Sages and seers are scientists in the spiritual and mystic fields whereas; scientists are spiritualists in the scientific field. Their work is guided by certain individual principals, aims, and objectives. Both observe, firm hypothesis, experiment and come to natural conclusions by pragmatic experience, one, in the confinement of the laboratory and the other in the calm seclusion of nature, under the guidance of a Guru.

Whereas one, experiments with materials and energy, the other probes the transcendental and mysterious in a more subtle way, purely in the mental laboratory using its peculiar tools of energy and contemplation,

Mysticism is the art and practice of contemplation by man about the mysteries of nature. It is the consequence of profound devotion to God and absolute love for mankind. Mysticism, when combined with the artificial view of the world, has created spiritual philosophies of high order such as Sufism.

In the scientific thought and experience, the process of analysis and synthesis takes place with a view to reach the hidden law of nature. We are enlightened by the mysticism of the great visionary scientists, like Einstein, and others for our search of a new and peaceful world order.

"Science", said Einstein "attempts to make the chaotic diversity of our sense-experiences correspond to a logically uniform system of thought”. What science strives for is an utmost acuteness and clarity of concepts as regards their mutual relations and their correspondence to a sensory data". Thus, Einstein does not discard sense impressions that mystics dream about or the sensory data. He also emphasizes mutual relatedness of the laws of nature and of concepts. Einstein also quoted that pure thought can grasp reality as ancients had dreamt.

A great scientist H.L.R. Finch has said about Einstein:

"Einstein found that the human qualities of modesty, equanimity, universality, equality and kindness were actually promoted by a sense of the vast impersonality of truth and of a natural law and harmony far beyond human hopes, fears and wishes". Professor Gerald Holton, a thinker says Einstein used to think with images. He quotes Einstein: "The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."

Scientists like Kepler, Newton, Galileo, were great mystics too, who lived and shaped scientific thought in the Middle Ages. Thus Science does not aspire for the unity of knowledge alone, but for the unity of minds as well.

Therefore mystics and thinkers who promoted harmony and love were endowed with great vision, like the scientists.

Tagore has rightly said:

"This principle of unity is the mystery of all mysteries. The existence of a duality at once raises a question in our minds, and we seek its solution in One. When at last we find a relation between these two and thereby see them as one in essence, we feel that we have come to the truth."