Biography of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan Part I. Biography (1st part) Part I. Biography (2nd part) Part II. Autobiography Part III. Journal Anecdotes & Epilogue Biographical Sketches of Principal Workers Notes and Glossary (Notes are indicated by asterisk: *) Please note: This ebook does not include any of the reference materials or illustrations of the original paper edition. Biography of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan Part I. Biography India in 1882 Towards the middle of the latter half of the 19th century, a desire for religious and social reform was awakening in India among Hindus and Moslims alike. Centuries earlier, Shankaracharya * had turned the tide of religious feeling towards a greater spirituality. Both Nanak *, the great Guru * of the Sikhs *, and Kabir *, the poet, had created and left in the land a living spirit of tolerance in religion and of spiritual purity. A fresh fire was given to religious life by the great sages Dadu * and Sundar *. More recently the religious association Arya Samaj * had been founded by Dayananda Saraswati *, the religious reform of Swami Narayan * had been made, Devendranath Tagore * had lighted a new flame of religion in Brahmo Samj *. Then Mirza Ghulam Hussein Qadiani [The full name is Mirza Ghulam Hussein Ahmad Qadiani] had set on foot the Ahmadia Movement *, the Christian missionaries were endeavouring to propagate Christianity and the Theosophical Society * had established itself as The Hindu College at Benares. The dark clouds that had hung over the land in the years following the Mutiny *, were breaking. on the one hand Sir Sayyed Ahmad * was working to induce the Moslims to make the best of existing conditions, in particular by the foundation of Aligarh College * and to arouse in the Moslim youth a spirit of enterprise, energy and self-dependence and on the other hand the British Government was setting to work at reform in law, education and administration. Such was the condition of India in 1882. Baroda Nowhere was social reform carried on with more energy than in the State of Baroda. The Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwar * and before his accession the Prime Minister Sir T. Madhari Rao, recognized clearly the necessity of overstepping the barriers that stood in the way of progress, and saw that means must be taken to bring to the country a measure of prosperity, for lack of which it was sinking to a depressed and dependent state. On the initiative of the latter, schools were opened and education encouraged. The aims of Maharaja Sayaji Rao can best be given in his own words: "India must cease to be an agricultural country and must make her place among the commercial and manufacturing nations. I can conceive of no loftier mission than this, to teach philosophy to the West and learn its science, to impart purity of life to Europe and attain to her loftier political ideal, to inculcate spirituality to the American mind and acquire the business ways of her merchants." [Conclusion of the inaugural address, delivered in Calcutta in 1906 at the Industrial conference] Schools were opened and attendance was encouraged, so that by 1904 education could be made compulsory. Encouragement was given to agriculture and to the mechanical arts, the greater part of the revenue being spent on this. The Baroda College was opened in 1882, the Kala Bhawan *, the Temple of Art, had been founded earlier. The hopes of renascence and projects of reform that were coming to men´s minds in India in those years found welcome in Baroda, where also men of talent and worth were sure of recognition. Maula Bakhsh (1833-1896) Maula Bakhsh the grandfather of Inayat Khan came from a family of Zamindars *. Left an orphan he was brought up by his uncle little is known of his boyhood, except that he was a well built athletic boy good at wrestling and fond of riding and sociable and friendly towards all. It was when he was about fifteen years of age that he befriended a holy pilgrim, a wandering ascetic, who was passing through the town an act that marked a turning point in his life. This darwish * belonged to the sect of the Chishtis *, that is to say he expressed his devotion to and meditation upon the divine by means of music; and after he had experienced the hospitable help and friendship of the boy, he said to him: "My soul longs for music, would you sing tome?" The boy answered: "I have no skill in singing, but I will sing what I can to you And after he had sung his song, the darwish thanked him saying I am a poor man and a pilgrim upon the face of the earth, nevertheless it is in my power to give you a treasure. I will baptize you with a new name - Maula Bakhsh *- God-gifted, shall be your name and this name shall be known throughout this land of India and your music shall make it famous The boy listened attentively and received the blessing of the holy pilgrim with reverence and locked this saying in is heart. From that day he changed his name to Maula Bakhsh. He appears, however, to have shown no marked alteration in his behaviour, although his interest in music was heightened, until some three years later, when he came to a decision to study seriously. His grandfather Anvar Khan had been a successful singer and the family generally had an inclination towards music, so, with his uncle´s consent Maula Bakhsh set out to travel from place to place in order to hear different musicians and to instruct himself in their art. Ghasit Khan was at that time one of the most accomplished singers of India and the most considered and talented in Gujerat *. It must be remembered that in India where science and art are considered sacred and hereditary possessions it is not usual for an artist to part with his knowledge to any chance pupil. An artist will consider his art in the same light as his family honour and will pass it on to his heir or failing an heir, will allow it to die with him. Moreover in India the great artist will not display his talent before large and mixed audiences; he reserves his art for a discriminating few. Ghasit Khan was a wealthy man and though acclaimed in Gujerat as a master, he had never had a pupil. The young Maula Bakhsh, unknown though he was, without money, a beginner, leading a hand to mouth existence and on the very threshold of his career, felt an overwhelming desire to hear the music of this famous man and cast about in his mind how he should approach him. he hung about his house and as always, friendly and sociable, soon made friends with the porter; then he found, as he sat in the porter´s little shelter, that from there he was able to hear every note, every variation of the Master´s voice as he practised and composed and improvised. And so, day after day Maula Bakhsh came to the porter´s lodge and talked to him and amused him with stories and jokes until the opium-sodden servant would doze off, trusting to the boy to wake him should occasion arise, and then Maula Bakhsh would give himself up to listening to the voice that issued from the house. In this way, for many months Maula Bakhsh studied and each day after listening and noting all he heard, he would practise, modelling his own singing upon that of Ghasit Khan. One day it happened as he was practising industriously that Ghasit Khan passed his house and stopped to listen. It seemed to him that it was one of his own compositions that he heard and moreover, one that he had not as yet sung to anybody. He listened and his curiosity was so aroused that he entered the house where Maula Bakhsh lodged and spoke to the young singer. "Continue your singing," he said to him, but Maula Bakhsh was dumbfounded. "May I ask who your teacher is, young man?" "My teacher is great, truly," said Maula Bakhsh "but if I reveal his name to you, then indeed my hope of progressing further under him must be given up." "Whoever heard of such a teacher!" said Ghasit Khan impatiently, "what teacher forbids his pupil to speak of him?" "Since you urge it, I will tell you; it is yourself, you are my teacher." "I ? Why, I have never seen you before." Then Maula Bakhsh explained what he had done and as Ghasit Khan listened and stood there wondering at such perseverance and patience [An older version has it that Maula Bakhsh studied in this way for two years] the young musician continued: "But now what chiefly grieves me is the thought that when I leave - for now I cannot go on listening to you as I did before - I must say that it is from you that I have learned; for indeed I have most yet studied long enough nor gained enough of your knowledge to be worthy of being called the pupil of such a master as yourself." It was this point of view that interested and pleased Ghasit Khan and he invited Maula Bakhsh to learn from him. This anecdote illustrates many sides of the character of Maula Bakhsh, but suggests perhaps more than anything else that there was in him an irresistible personality, which in deed his life seems to prove, that neither misfortune nor difficulty ever was able to diminish. That the proud and reserved man should accept the tuition of this unknown lad was in itself a matter of surprise; and what a teacher did he prove himself! There was nothing of his art which the master withheld from Maula Bakhsh, the only pupil he had ever accepted.