How the Khushbu Khana Became a Chapel

How the Khushbu Khana Became a Chapel

1988 10 October 14-15 How the Khushbu Khana Became a Chapel (671) The Emperor Akbar (1543-1605) saw India’s political instability as the outcome of a diversity of religious beliefs. He felt that the people of the sub-continent would never unite under one ruler until they were all of the one religion. However, it seemed too arduous a task to change the religion of such a large population solely through missionary efforts, and so as one historian has put it, he “devoted himself 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.” An Advanced History of India, p. 451 Macmillan, India

Akbar used to sit in his *Ibadat Khana (House of worship) – one of the many buildings which made up his capital at Fatehpur Sikri (just 45 kilometres away from Agra) – and hold theological discussions with religious scholars which eventually led him to conceive of his famous Din-e-Ilahi, or divine religion – a blend of all the different religions of India. What Akbar really wanted to establish was a national religion, one that would be acceptable to all of his subjects.

While preparing his Din-e-Ilahi, Akbar realised that he needed to have a better knowledge of Christianity, so he had a Persian translation of the Bible sent to him by the King of Portugal. But, this proving inadequate for the task in hand, he wrote to the Pope in Rome, requesting that teachers well-versed in Christianity be sent to him. The Pope complied with this request forthwith, sending two Jesuit priests, Fr. Aquaviva and Fr. Monserate from the Vatican to the court of Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri. When these learned theologians arrived on February 28, 1590, they were lodged in the Khushbu Khana (Fragrant Room) adjoining the Ibadat Khana. A painting in the Akbar-nama shows the Emperor in deep discussion with them. Highly trained as missionaries, and not just ordinary priests, they became influential enough to have the Khushbu Khana converted into a chapel – the first in northern India. Although they did not succeed in converting Akbar to Christianity, at least one of the priests remained in Fatehpur Sikri, preaching Christianity amongst his subjects. The carvings of David’s fish – a famous Christian emblem – which are still to be seen in the ruins of Fatehpur Sikri, are visible reminders of the mark made by the Jesuit priests on the court of Akbar.

In a report which they sent to the Pope, they claimed that Akbar had been preparing himself for conversion to Christianity but that he had refrained from taking the final step, because he realised that the Christian religion could never provide him with a factor which was indispensable to a successful reign – a solid power base. It is one of the sadder facts of life that power is dearer to rulers than anything else in the world – dearer even than a religion which has proved to have an overwhelming appeal for both intellect and emotions. The failure of these Jesuit priests, because the religion they offered might have undermined rather than supported Akbar’s rule, has in it a lesson of great significance for Muslims who are in earnest about propagating Islam: they should never present their religion in a form which appears as a threat to temporal power.

Another lesson to be learned from this period in Mughal history is keenness and readiness to spread the word of God – at a moment’s notice, if necessary. When the Pope was asked to send teachers of Christianity to the court of Akbar, he was able to send two highly trained missionaries without delaying for so much as a day. The same demand has been made of Muslims in modern times, but they have not proved themselves equal to the task. Unlike the Christians, who have been able to send missionaries both eastwards and westwards, Muslims – bereft as they are nowadays of the true missionary spirit – have allowed their religion to sink into the doldrums of inertia and general apathy.