Mian Mir’s 384th Urs
Mian Mir’s death anniversary celebrations are commencing today.
Mian Mir is regarded as one of the greatest Sufi saints of the Subcontinent. He belonged to the Qadiria order of the Sufis. He was famous for being a spiritual instructor to Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who also held Mian Mir in great esteem.
Dara Shikoh was a devoted disciple of the saint. His father, Shah Jahan, often requested the saint to pray for his empire.
Mian Mir was the earliest Sufi saint who promoted the Qadiria order in Lahore.
He shunned worldly selfish men and proud high-ups of his time. He used to post his mureeds (disciples) at the gate of his house to stop rich people from entering.
Once Emperor Shah Jahan, with his attendants, came to pay homage to the great dervish. Mian Mir’s disciples stopped the emperor at the gate and requested him to wait, until permission was given. Shah Jahan felt insulted, but controlled his temper and composed himself.
After a while, he was ushered into Mian Mir’s presence. When the emperor came across the saint, he said, “Ba dar-e-darvish darbane naa-bayd (On the doorstep of a dervish, there should be no sentry).â€
The saint replied, “Babayd keh sag-e-dunia na ayad (They are there so that the materialistic, selfish men of the world may not enter).†The emperor was ashamed and requested forgiveness.
Mian Mir holds a legendary place in Sikhism and in Sikh history. Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, often visited Lahore, the birthplace of his father – the fourth Guru, Guru Ram Das – to meet his relatives. Once Guru Arjan called on Mian Mir. The two remained close life long friends, after the first meeting. Mian Mir was thirteen years older than Guru Arjan. He invited Mian Mir to lay the foundation stone of the Harmandir Sahib, one of the most sacred places for Sikhs.
After a long life of piety, Mian Mir passed away on August 11, 1635 (seven Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1045 according to the Islamic Calendar), at the age of 88. Mughal Prince Dara Shikoh led his funeral. He was buried near Alamganj, a place in the south of the city. His spiritual successor was Mullah Shah Badakhshi.
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I may add few facts to very informative above article.
Baba Mian Mir , whose real name was Mir Mohammad, was popularly called Mian Mir. He was born at Siwistan Sindh in 1531-32 AD. He spent most of his life in Lahore. He settled in the quarters where the gardeners lived, known as the muhall Baghbanban and later the Khafipura.
As stated above that Guru Ram Das got the foundation of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar laid by Mian Mir. The story is also current that at the time of the Mughul emperor Jahangir’s persecution of the fifth Guru, Shri Arjun Dev, Mian Mir sought the approval of Guru Arjun Dev to raze the town of Delhi to the ground if he so permitted. It is obvious from this that there was great love between Mian Mir and the Gurus.
Mian Mir never accepted any gift sent by Emperor Jehangir, Emperor Shah Jehan, their Ministers and nobles. When returning gifts, Mian Mir would always say that the giver had mistaken hin for a beggar while he in fact was rich with God. Throughout his life Mian Mir strictly adhered to the Sharia, urging his disciple to do likewise.
Comment by shahidain — March 17, 2008 @ 7:02 pm
I had heard of the foundation stone of the Harmandir Sahib being laid by Mian Mir, but did not know so much about him. Thank you Raza and Shahidain!
Comment by Sidhusaaheb — March 18, 2008 @ 9:29 pm
This is a wonderful story. I had of course known about the foundation stone of Harmandir Saheb. I want to share a beautiful interpretation my friend, Savyasaachi, once gave for the architecture of Harmandir Saheb.
As you might know, the originary text in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that from Purush, the Universal (Man) was born all humanity– the Brahmins from his head, Kshatriyas from his arms, Vaishyas from his belly and Shudras from his feet. Now, while there are some other very beautiful passages in the Brihadarnayaka– truly!– this one causes a lot of discomfort to many (including me) because it sets up and justifies a deeply divisive, hierarchical cosmology. Saachi took the example of Harmandir Saheb to posit quite another creation theory:
Conceptualised (head) by a Sikh, the foundation (its supporting feet, its bones and structure) was laid by a Sufi saint, a man born Muslim; the arms that built it were (largely) Hindu wokers; while it was inhabited( its heart through faith, its belly through the langar) by all. He also pointed out to me an interesting fact that the foundation of Harmandir Saheb is actually within the Pool of Nectar, and the foundational structure is in the form of arches– it isnt solid. Thus, water flows in and through the foundational structure all the time– fish, and water animals swim back and forth from one part of the foundation to another. Saachi saw this as a metapor for the life of the soul embodied here in the Sikh shrine– a flowing quality, a quality of constant movement, and of inclusiveness, of space for all. I know this is a bit tangential to the main story of Mian Mir– but when Saachi told me this –several years ago— I was so touched and delighted and inspired. There is more that he had spoken about, but that will have to stay for another time. Today I just wanted to share this thought, in the hope that we may learn to be so– fluid, yet strong, inclusive , yet rooted.
Comment by vidya rao — March 19, 2008 @ 2:11 am