Militant Islam tones down in India

This is also partly true of the Muslims who came as conquerors and finally settled in the land of India. In spit of occasional outbursts of fanaticism, the militant faith of Islam too has become somewhat toned down India.
Hindu universalism has been working on Islam. Under its influence, the Moghul emperor Akbar attempted to lay the foundation and eclectic religion. he declared...

"Each person according to his condition gives the Supreme Being a name, but in reality to name the unknowable is vain."(Quoted by H.G.Rawlinson in India-A short cultural History.)

Tansen was a great musician in the court of Emperor Akbar in Delhi. He was blessed by the Divine mother and his Guru.

One day Tansen sang in the court of Akbar. Akbar was charmed by his music and he said, "there is none who can equal you in music".

Tansen replied, "No my lord, there is one person"

Akbar got curious. Tansen explained, "He is no ordinary person. His name is Haridas and he is a saint. He lives in Vrindaban and he is my guru."

Akbar wanted to invite Saint Haridas to the court to listen to his singing. Tansen replied, "he will not stir out of Vrindaban. Many have tried to persuade him but failed".

Akbar asked, "Can I hear his music? Can you take me there?"

Tansen replied, "If you are willing to come disguised as my disciple, I can take you there and I will try to make him sing when we are there" Akbar immediately agreed.

So, a disguised Akbar and Tansen left for Vrindaban. On reaching the place of the Saint Tansen and Akbar paid their respects to the Saint. The saint did not sing at all.

In the evening, Tansen started singing. While singing, he deliberately made a mistake. Immediately the Saint corrected him and to explain the correction started singing. Akbar and Tansen sat spellbound listening to his singing. It was the most divine music that Akbar had ever heard.

After sometime, the saint absorbed in meditation fell unconscious.

Akbar said "You should be blessed to have such a teacher. How does he sing so well?"

Tansen replied, "He does not sing for mere mortals like me. He sings for God. That is why his music is so good"

Akbar was happy that he had a chance to listen to such divine music later returned to Delhi.

Saint Haridas's compositions are sung even today at Vrindavan.

His son Jehangir held that the science of Indian Vedanta is the science of Sufism or the mysticism of Islam. Dara Shuko, a grandson of jahangir, acknowledged the universal spirit of Islam and Hinduism and was instrumental in having in Indian Upanoshads translated into Persion. This was later translated into a jargon of Latin, Greek and Persian, and drew the admiration of the German philosopher Schopenhauer, who declared :

" That incompable book stirs the spirit to the very depths of the soul. It has been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death."(Max Muller)

Muslim fanatics destroyed many Hindu and Buddhist temples and converted many persons by force, but still the Hindus, on the whole, continued others perfect freedom of worship. In this connection, what Abdul Razak, the Persian Muslim ambassador to the Hindu court at Calicut,south India,wrote about the middle of the 15th century, is very revealing :

" The people  are infieldes:cosequently I consider myself in an enemy's country, as the Mohammedans consider everyone who has not received the Qur'an. Yet I admit that I meer with perfect toleration and even favour; we have two mosques and are allowed to pray in public."

The Muslim could not understand that the Hindu attitude is something more than that of toleration. It is the acceptance of all religions as true, of the fact that God can be realized through many paths.