THE CHISHTI SCHOOL IN BENGAL

        The rise of the Chishti school in Bengal synchronized with the birth of the Bhakti movement. A comparative study of the two would show many points of similarity between them. It was under Chishti influence that Sultan Husain Shah of Bengal started his famous Satya-Pir movement, and the rulers of Bengal had many basic texts of the Hindu religion translated into Bengali. The way in which Shah Muhammad Saghir, Zainuddin, Shaikh Kabir, and others wove Iranian traditions into Indian legends is also a result of the impact.       

The Chishti Silsilah was introduced in the Deccan by Shaikh Burhanu’d-din Gharib (A.D. 1340), Shaikh Muntakhab and Khawaja Hasan, and received great impetus under Syed Muhammad Gesudaraz of Gulbarga (d. A.D. 1422), In Malwa it was organized by Shaikh Wajihuddin Yusuf (d. c. A.D. 1328), Shaikh Husamu’d-din Multani (d. c. A.D. 1354), Shaikh Barkatullah and Syed Hasan.

The arrival of these saints in the different parts of India synchronized with the rise of the provincial kingdoms and in return for their help they received big jagirs and endowments. The tradition of the Khanqahs receiving large assignments form the rulers begins in this period.

        The Chishti mystics were believers in pantheistic monism WAHDAT-UL-WAJUD, unity of being, which had its earliest exposition in the Upanishads of the Hindus. In adopting this, they established an ideological relationship with the main source of Hindu religious thought. As a working idea in social life, it meant equality of all men, the essential unity of all religions, and freedom from all religious prejudices.

        The other mystic order which had reached India almost at the same time as the Chishti Silsilah was the Suhrawardi order founded by Shaikh Shihab ud-din ‘Umar Suhrawardi (A.D. 1234).

The credit of organizing it on a sound basis goes to Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya (d. A.D. 1262), who setup a magnificent khanqah at Multan and attracted large number of disciples from Sind and other neighbouring, areas. Under his grandson, Shaikh Ruknuddin Abu’l-Fath (d. A.D. 1335), it reached Its Highest Watermark.

One of the eminent disciples of Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya settled at Uch and developed the Silsilah there.

The most outstanding saint of the Uch branch was Syed Jalalu’d-din Bukhari, popularly known as Makhdum-i-Jahaniyan (A.D. 1384). He had close personal contact with Firuz Shah Tughluq and had even influenced his revenue policy.

        The main centres of the Suhrawardi’s’ were Uch and Multan. The attitude, of the saints of this order towards various problems of religion and politics differed in certain important respects from that of the Chishtis. The devotion of the Hindus of Bengal to Shaikh Jalalu’d-din Tabrizi may be assessed from Sekha Subhodaya, A Sanskrit treatise which consolidated all the legends about the saint current amongst the Hindus.