Lesson for us to learn

Lessons for Us to Learn The Emperor Akbar (1543-1605) had his capital at Fatehpur Sikri, 45 kilometres from Agra. One of the many buildings in this city was the Ibadat Khana (House of Worship), which has since been buried underground and covered in trees and shrubs. As the Times of India reported on June 8, 1984, the Archaeological Institute of India, in collaboration with Aligarh Muslim University, have made excavations in the area, and the remains of the Ibadat Khana have now been uncovered. In this Ibadat Khana, Akbar used to sit in the company of religious scholars and hold theological discussions. It was here that he conceived of his famous Din-i-Ilahi, or divine religion—a blend of all the different religions of India. Akbar wanted to found a national religion, one that would be acceptable to all his subjects. Religious diversity was, he believed, the cause of political instability in India: the people of the sub-continent would never unite under one ruler until their religion was one. Changing people’s religion through missionary work seemed an arduous task to him, so instead he “devoted himself,” as one historian has put it, “to the evolution of a new religion, which would, he hoped, prove to be a synthesis of all the warring creeds and capable of uniting the discordant elements of his vast empire in one harmonious whole.” Quoted in “An Advanced History of India” (Macmillan, India) p. 451. While preparing his Din-i-Ilahi. Akbar felt a need to know more about Christianity, so he wrote to the King of Portugal asking to be sent a Persian translation of the Bible. The Christian monarch did this, but Akbar found it insufficient for his needs. He required someone to explain Christian teachings to him as well. So he wrote to the Pope in Rome, asking for qualified teachers of Christianity to be sent to him. Without delay, the Vatican dispatched two trained theologians to the court of Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri. The two Jesuit priests, Fr Aquaviva and Fr Monserrate, arrived in Fatehpur Sikri on February 28, 1590, and were accommodated in the Khushbu Khana (Fragrant room), next to the Ibadat Khana. A painting in the Akbar-Nama shows the Emperor enrapt in deep discussion with them. They were not just ordinary priests; they were highly trained missionaries, clever enough to convert the Khushbu Khana into a chapel—the first in northern India. □