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Akbar: The Quest for God
Jul 9 2007 | Views 39 |
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Following is a very illuminating Firman of Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar Badshah (to give him for once his full name). It is a message sent to the Jesuits at Goa, requesting that a few missionaries be sent to his court to teach him the fundamentals of Christianity (no doubt so as to contribute in his study of the one great interest in his life--the comparative study of religions and religious philosophies). It is extracted from pg 17 of the book 'Akbar and the Jesuits' by Father Pierre Du Jarric:
Reverend Fathers of the Order of Saint Paul: Be it known to you that, holding you in great esteem, I am sending you my ambassador Abdullah, and his interpreter Dominic Perez, to beg you to send me two Fathers, learned in the scriptures, who shall bring with them the principal books of the law, and of the Gospels; for I have a great desire to become acquainted with this law and its perfection. I earnestly enjoin you not to hinder their coming with these same ambassadors as soon as they shall reach you. Know, also, that the Fathers who shall come here will be received by me with all honour, and that it will be a peculiar pleasure to me to see them. If, after i have been instructed as I desire in their law and its perfection, they wish to return, they will be free to do so whenever it shall seem good to them, and I shall despatch them with great respect and honour. Let them not hesitate to come, for they will be under my care and protection.
Jesuit missionaries did subsequently travel to the court of Akbar--in fact there were three different missions to Akbar's court. These missionaries later wrote letters back home to Europe; some of these letters--shedding a lot of light on Akbar's kingdom and on Akbar himself--are a very valuable source of historical information for anyone attempting to fully understand Akbar and the India of his time. One of the Jesuite fathers (Monserrate) who had had personal interraction with Akbar, even wrote a complete book narrating his experiences at Akbar's court and his interraction and conversations with Akbar.
But let us return to the very first Jesuit mission at Akbar's court:
After the Jesuit missionaries had arrived at Akbar's court, they were were permitted to construct a small chapel in the vicinity of where they were staying. When Akbar went to visit them, the missionaries inform us that the Emperor prostrated himself inside the small chapel (the oratory) and proceeded to pray first in the Christian fashion, then in the Muslim fashion, then in the Hindu fashion.
From 'Akbar and the Jesuits' by Father Pierre Du Jarric pg 25-26:
The King entered the oratory unaccompanied by any of his guards or courtiers, and having removed his turban from his head, fell upon his knees and prayed, first of all in our fashion, then in his own, that is to say, after the manner of the Saracens of Persia, whose law he still outwardly observed, and lastly in the fashion of the Gentiles.
"God," he said, as he rose from his devotions, "ought to be adored with every kind of adoration."
-Rashmun
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