DARA SHIKOH | IAS GYAN

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Context:

The Vice President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar said that India had a glorious heritage of not only ‘tolerance’ for others’ views, but a unique culture of ‘engagement’ with all views – a culture of pluralism and syncretism.
He further said that this spirit of mutual respect was exemplified by Indian kings too - from the time of the great Asoka to the crown prince Dara Shikoh.
Addressing a gathering after releasing the Arabic Version of “Majma Ul-Bahrain” of Dara Shikoh, the Vice President said that Majma-ul-Bahrain (which means ‘Confluence of Two Oceans’) throws invaluable light on the similarities between religions and helped bring stronger unity among the people of India.
Calling Dara Shikoh a genius, a skilled poet, and a Sanskrit scholar, the Vice President said that he was a torchbearer of social harmony and religious unity. In this book ‘Majma-ul-Bahrain’, Dara Shikoh listed one by one, all the commonalities between Hinduism (Vedanta) and Islam (Sufism) and came to the conclusion that the difference between Islam and Hinduism is only verbal.
Mentioning that Dara Shikoh strove for improving dialogue between different religions, Shri Dhankhar called for reviving his legacy and applying his spiritual thought to strengthen social cohesion in the present times.

About:

He (1615-59) was the eldest son of Shah Jahan.
He is described as a “liberal Muslim” who tried to find commonalities between Hindu and Islamic traditions.
He is known as a pioneer of the academic movement for interfaith understanding in India. He had a deep understanding and knowledge of major religions, particularly Islam and Hinduism.
He was inclined towards philosophy and mysticism over military pursuits in comparison to Aurangzeb.
In 1655, his father declared him the Crown Prince, but was defeated by Aurangzeb, his younger brother, in 1657 after Shah Jahan fell ill.
He was assassinated by Aurangzeb, in a bitter struggle for the throne on 30th August, 1659.
His most important works, Majma-ul-Bahrain (Mingling of Two Oceans) and Sirr-i-Akbar (Great Mystery), are devoted to the cause of establishing connections between Hinduism and Islam.
He translated the Upanishads and other important sources of Hindu religion and spirituality from Sanskrit to Persian.