The Baha'i Studies Listserv Thank you so much, that was very informative. On Sun, Jan 2, 2011 at 6:51 AM, Susan Maneck <sman...@gmail.com> wrote: > The Baha'i Studies Listserv > Nowhere in the canonical Zoroastrian scriptures is there any reference > to the prophets of Mahabad. Instead these prophets are associated with > two texts written in India during the Mughal, period namely the > Dabistan-i Mazahib1 and the Desatir2. To understand the background of > these two book some knowledge of Mughal history is necessary. > The Mughal Dynasty was established by the by the Timurid prince Babur > in 1504 who came to power by defeating various Turkish and Afghan > factions who had previously ruled northern India. After Babur’s death > these factions were able to reassert themselves do to the incompetence > of Babur’s son Humayun who was forced to seek refuge in Safavid Iran. > While residing in Iran Humayun fained conversion to Shi’ism. When he > was able to regain his kingdom in 1555 he returned to India with a > number of Shi’ite courtiers. For this reason, unlike the Safavid and > Ottoman Empires which become strictly divided along religious lines, > the Mughals maintained a policy of religious pluralism, both in > regards to inter-islamic disputes and in regards to non-islamic > religious communities. When Akbar later became emperor he utilized the > Hindu rajput militias to offset the power of the Turkish and Afghan > factions who had proven themselves dangerous to the throne. As the > Safavid Dynasty in Iran became increasingly more intolerant, India > witnessed a steady stream of Persian immigrants, both of Muslim and > Zoroastrian background. Many of them were heavily influenced by > Ishraqi philosophy which eventually provided the basis for Akbar’s own > spirituality. The Ishraqi school was founded by Shihab al-Din Suhardi > Maqtul (d. 1191) and flourished in both Isfahan and Shiraz. The > Isfahan developed a specifically Shi’ite form of Ishraqi philosophy > during the seventeenth century but a century previous to this > immigrants from Shiraz, bearing both Muslim and Zoroastrian names, > produced an Ishraqi school which became influential in the ruling > circles of India and was suited to its requirements. Among those > bearing Zoroastrian names was Azar Kaivan, a Shirazi mystic who > appeared during Akbar’s reign. The cult he promoted presumed esoteric > doctrines virtually identical to those held by Muslim Ishraqi > philosophers. Accompanying Azar Kaivan were a number of Shirazi > disciples, both Zoroastrian and Muslim. At that time, however, he did > not appear to have attracted many Parsi followers. > Ishraqi philosophy sought, in the words of Hossein Nasr, to integrate > “Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy with Zoroastrian angelology and > Hermetic” ideas within the contedt of Sufism.” Suhwardi himself > identified his beliefs with those of ancient Persian sages. The school > shared with Neo-platonism a cosmology based on emnations, but > Suhrawardi personalized those emnations by identifying them > Zoroastrian angels or dieties, or even with historical personages. > Suhrawardi considered Hermes, whom he identified as the Prophet Enoch > (Idris) as the father of true philosophy. Hermes was followed by a > chain of sages both in pre-Socratic Greece and Ancient Persia and > finally in Islam.7 Those personages whom Suhwardi identified are > remembered in Zoroastrian history as kings rather than as religious > leaders. However, kings in the Zoroastrian texts were regarded as the > manifestations of God's glory; Divine light rested upon them. > The Ishraqi school denied neither the prophethood of Muhammad nor the > revelational character of the Qur'an. Yet to a large extent, the > legitimacy of Ishraqi doctrines rested upon their claim to antiquity. > This implied that older revelations took precedence over newer ones, > hence destroying the ultimacy of the Qur'anic revelation. Furthermore, > since the Ishraqiyan equated revelation with the illuminative wisdom > of the sages, the finality of prophethood became meaningless. This is > in part the assumption that lays behind Manakji’s question. Both > Manakji and Baha’u’llah are at some level willing to accept the > oneness of religion. But for Manakji religion is perennial and > therefore the oldest is the best whereas for Baha’u’llah religion is > progressive and it is therefore necessary to respond to God’s latest > Messenger, not uncover the esoteric secrets of the oldest one as > Ishraqi philosophy sought to do. > In Iran Ishraqi philosophy attracted Muslim intellectuals > dissatisfied with the confines of Islamic orthodoxy as defined by the > legalistically minded `ulama. Less is known about non-Muslim Iranians > who embraced Ishraqi beliefs, but apparently it allowed them to come > to terms with their status as followers of a tradition regarded as > superseded by the dominant religion.9 Those participating in the > Persian culture of India found Ishraqi doctrines all the more > attractive since they presented a means by which elements of the Hindu > religion could be appreciated and integrated. 10 Ishraqi philosophy, > which underpinned the emperor's cult of the Din ilahi, eventually > provided the basis for the spirituality favored in Akbar's court. > Akbar himself became the ideal priest-king endowed with Divine Light, > the apocalyptic figure, at once the Perfect Man and the "Lord of the > Age" (Sahib-i Zaman). > Much of what we know about the cult of Azar Kaivan is based on > Dabistan, a description of various religious sects in India written by > what appears to be an Iranian follower of Azar Kaivan. The author of > the Dabistan insists that Ishraqi philosophy is virtually identical to > that of the ancient Persian sages. He further mentions that one of > Azar Kaivan’s disciples translated Suhrawardi’s works from Arabic into > Persian. > The Dabistan quotes extensively from the Dasatir, a text the author > identifies with the ancient religion of the Parsis. The Dasatir > professes to be a collection of writings of a series of fifteen > different Persian prophets, including Alexander the Great (!), not the > twenty-eight Manakji mentions, who were said to have flourished from > the time of Mahabad, supposed founder of the primal religion, through > the Sasanian dynasty. Although this text was quoted extensively in the > first half of the seventeenth century, particularly among followers of > Azar Kaivan, no mention of it can be found in pre-Mughal literature. > Copies of the Dasatir disappeared from India perhaps with the demise > of Azar Kaivan sect. The two copies that are now in existence were > discovered in Iran in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Mulla > Kaus who had traveled to Iran in search of a resolution to the > discrepancy between Parsi and Irani Zoroastrian calendars that were > found to be a month off from one another discovered the first copy. > This caused much confusion in the Parsi community that became > acquainted with this text just as Anquetil Du Perron published the > first translation of the Zend-Avesta or Zoroastrian scriptures into a > western language. Sir William Jones labeled the Zend-Avesta a forgery > but when shown a copy of the Dasatir he pronounced it the authentic > Zoroastrian scriptures. Parsis themselves did not seem inclined to > take sides in this debate, for the most part they instead cheerfully > accepted both texts as scripture and made few attempts to resolve the > discrepancies between the two. > A second, lesser-known copy was discovered by Manakji himself in 1871. > Unfortunately Manakji did not purchase the manuscript but had a copy > made which is now in the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute (H.P. ms 131) > where I examined it in 1985. Enough differences exist between the two > manuscripts to presume they came from separate sources. Strangely, > this manuscript contains a notation suggesting it was completed in 358 > A.H. Internal evidence, however, suggests a much later date. > The original manuscript of the Dasatir consisted of a text written in > what purports to be a celestial language, Mahabadian, along with a > Persian translation having no admixture of Arabic. The Mahabadian > language, found only in the Dasatir, consists of vocabulary found in > Indian and Iranian dialects imposed on a Persian grammar. The term > Mahabadian is taken from the title given to the first prophet, who in > Persian is referred to as Buzurg Abad or the Great Abad. Maha, though, > is taken from the Sanskrit term for great. Other Sanskritized words, > such as tapas bud for fortification, appear as well. The principles > contained in the Dasatir indicate a great deal of influence from the > Neo-Platonism associated with the Ishraqi School. The association of > God with light and illumination provides a constant theme throughout > the work. You will note that Baha’u’llah emphasizes this theme in His > first letter to Manakji. Certain Hindu beliefs have been integrated > into that system, including transmigration13 and the emphasis on > ascetical practices. Every chapter consists of a short revelation > ranging from 16 to 70 verses, given to each individual prophet. The > chapters begin by taking refuge in God from evil thoughts, then give > an invocation of the names of God in a manner reminiscent of the > Qur'an,15 and end by foretelling by name the coming of the next > prophet by name. The rituals associated with prayer conform to Muslim > practices: they are performed in congregation, preceded by abolutions > and accompanied by prostrations. The Dasatir describes God as the > only self-subsistent being and explicitly denies there can be two such > beings. All contingent beings emanate hierchically from the Supreme > Being.The final part of the Dasatir foretells the coming of the > Islamic invasions. The Arabs are described as greedy, lustful, > quarrelsome and violent men "who do not what their great one hath > spoken." No explicit criticism is aimed at Muhammad or His revelation; > rather, it is foretold that "When their religion shall have lasted a > thousand years, it shall be such, in consequence of divisions that, > were their Legislator to see it, he would not know it again." This > last statement appears to describe the religious situation in India > during Akbar's reign, which coincided with the end of the first Muslim > millennium and may provide the best evidence for dating the Dasatir's > composition to this period. The Dasatir represents a sixteenth century > protest against the forms of Islam that existed in India at the time. > The evidence of the Dabistan and the Dasatir indicates that Iranians > of both Zoroastrian and Muslim background joined in this protest, but > they did so by accepting many of the Islamic norms of what a religion > should be. Hence the "revelations" of the Dasatir mimic the style of > the Qur'an, as the form of sequential revelation mimics Islamic > models. Yet purity in religion derives from its closer association > with antiquity. It is this perennial conception of religion which > Baha’u’llah continually challenges with His repeated insistence that > Manakji consider the needs of the age in which he lives. > > __________________________________________________ > You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:mak8...@gmail.com > Unsubscribe: send a blank email to > mailto:leave-549558-2252138.e4e5d946abcacf25aa28f5ab2e5fb...@list.jccc.edu > Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to ly...@list.jccc.edu > Or subscribe: > http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st > Baha'i Studies is available through the following: > Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu > Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st > News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st > Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net > New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu > >
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