Khwaja Monuddin Chishti

Khwaja Monuddin Chishti

Chilkis are offered to all other Sufi saint tombs found at Dargahs scattered across the country. The Chadar was designed keeping in mind the cultural context and spiritual aura of Ajmer Sharif with its mysticism and indelible contribution towards India's freedom movement.

About Sufism:

Sufism is a world religion that brings people together and emphasizes love, compassion, and tolerance. It is one of the most peaceful ways to live in this world. It also provides comfort to people who are going through difficult times.

Sufism is based on reverence for and obedience to God, under all circumstances. It usually takes the form of an inner spiritual journey that develops into a reverence for divine love and an intuitive understanding of reality.

It is a form of Islamic mysticism which stresses on asceticism. There is a lot of emphasis on devotion towards God. In Sufism, self-discipline is considered an essential condition to gain knowledge of God by sense of perception.

Unlike orthodox Muslims which emphasise on external conduct, the Sufis lay stress on inner purity. Sufis believe service to humanity is tantamount to service to God.

Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti:

Born in Iran, Moinudin Hasan Chishti moved to India at an early age and settled in Ajmer where he practiced Sufism under a spiritual master. He is also known as "Muzdalifah," the one who spread his teaching through song and poetry. He was given the name Chishtia by his disciples because of his sweet singing voice.

After Muizuddin Muhammad bin Sam of Ghor had already defeated Prithviraj Chauhan in the Second Battle of Tarain (1192) and established his rule in Delhi, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti started living and preaching in Ajmer.

His instructive discourses, full of spiritual insights, soon drew the local populace as well as kings and nobles and peasants and the poor from far and wide.

His shrine in Ajmer has been visited by rulers like Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Sher Shah Suri, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Dara Shukoh and Aurangzeb.

Chishti Order (Chishtiya):

The Chishti Order is a Sufi order that traces its origins to the teachings of Khwaja Moin-ud-Din Chishti. It emphasizes the doctrine of the unity of being with God. Members are also known for their pacifism.

Recitation of the names of God, both aloud and silently (dhikr jahrī, dhikr khafī), formed the cornerstone of Chishtī practice.

The Chishty teachings were carried forward and popularized by disciples of Khwaja Moin-Uddin Chishti like Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, Fareeduddin Ganj-e-Shakar, Nizam uddin Auliya and Naseeruddin Charagh.

The founder of the Chisti order was saint Moinuddin Chisti and Suhrawardi order was founded by shaik Abu al Najib al Suhrawardi.

The basic difference between the two was that of ideology, where the Suhrawardi order accepts gifts from rich class, the Chisti order laid great emphasis on a simple life with limited means.