Contents: Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgement. Abbreviations. Introduction. I. The masters of the Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya Mazhariyya Naomiyya: 1. Mirza Mazhar Jan-i-Janan (1111/1701-1195/1781). 2. Shah Naim Allah Bahraichi (1153/1740-1218/1803). 3. Shah Murad Allah Thanesari (1166/1752-1248/1833). 4. Sayyid Maulana Shah Abul Hasan Nasirabadi (1198/1784-1272/1856). 5. Maulana Khalifat al-Rahman Ahmad Ali Khan (d. 1307/1889). 6. Maulana Shah Fadl Ahmad Khan Raipuri (AD 1838-1907). 7. Mahatma Ramacandraji Fatehgarhi (AD 1873-1931). 8. Mahatma Brij Mohan Lal Kanpuri (AD 1898-1955). II. The Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya Mazhariyya at Delhi: continuity in the tradition: 1. The position and role of man in the universe. 2. The constitution of the human being in the light of the science of the subtle centres. 3. The stages of the path in the light of the science of the subtle centres. 4. Methods and techniques for spiritual realisation. 5. The Pir-Muridi relationship. III. The doctrine and methodology of the Hindu Sufis at Fatehgarh and Kanpur: continuity and gradual assimilation: 1. Socio-political circumstances and the religious environment. 2. The perception of metaphysical unity. 3. The coming into living of the universe. 4. The realms of the universe. 5. The constitution of man and the science of the subtle centres. 6. The higher stages of spiritual realisation. 7. The techniques of spiritual realisation. IV. The emergence of regional Hindu sub-branches: of Kayasth path to liberation?: 1. Mathura: personal cult guideness to Moksa? 2. Shahjahanpur: a universal movement. 3. Sikandarabad: Santmat or tasawwuf? 4. Delhi: continuity in diversity. Conclusion. Glossary of technical terms. Appendices. Bibliography. Index.
"The common heritage of India is an active concept expressing itself in the myriad forms of integration of diverse cultures and traditions. Change and Continuity in Indian Sufism explores this common heritage through as study of the esoteric relationship between India's two major religious traditions, Hinduism and Islam as expressed in the Sufi Tradition.
Dr. Thomas Dahnhardt focuses on the evolution of the Indian lineage of the Naqshbandiyya, generally known as the Mujaddidiyya, in Indian Sufism as an example of the intense spiritual symbiosis between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Based on a field study among the Hindu and Muslim representatives of the Naqshbandiyya lineage, he presents a social and historical study of Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya, surveying the various masters of the tradition and taking up specifically the establishment of a new Khanaqah of the Mazhariyya branch of the Mujaddidiyyal in Old Delhi, one of the most important Naqshbandi centres of the tradition in the Indian subcontinent. The work goes in detail into the emergence, doctrines and methodology of the Hindu offshoot of the Mujaddidiyya Mazhariyya along with creation of regional sub-Hindu branches.
The book would be useful to scholars of inter-religious studies, Sufism and Indian religious traditions as well as general readers interested in the process of integration of traditions and communities." (jacket)
