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Translated by Tariq Mahmood for The Review of Religions translation team. The Review of Religions takes full responsibility for any errors in translation.
After reciting the Ta’awwuz and Bismillah, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra) stated:
My dear Hindu brothers! We all reside within the same country, we typically speak the same language, and the sun bestowed by God provides us all with the same light. His magnificent moon indiscriminately watches over us all with its loving gaze. When the darkness of the night casts itself over the entire world, when our own senses abandon us, and our bodies fall lifelessly upon our beds, tired from the day’s toils, at that time, the angels of God spread their loving wings to cover us all, without differentiating between Muslims and Hindus.
When atop the Himalayan peaks, the snow melts due to the rays of the sun and causes the water within rivers to rise to the river banks; when the beautiful Ganges River and captivating Jamuna River pour forth their raging water onto droughted fields, they never care for who is a Muslim and who is a Hindu. That fire which burns all refuse into ashes and proves useful in satiating the fire of a person’s hunger does not distinguish between a Hindu’s bhaji [vegetable fritter] and a Muslim’s salan [curry-based dish] as they are cooked.
Thus, when God’s bounties have not differentiated between us all, why then should our love for Him be any different? There may be a difference between a real father’s love and a stepfather’s love, but children never differ when it comes to the love they possess for their fathers. Siblings may fight amongst one another, but they strive to excel in their love for their mother and father.
But what has happened to us, that in the process of fighting each other, we have forgotten our God? Do we not consider that even though He sees our sins, He has not discriminated between us? Therefore, when we see His kindness, why should we differ regarding Him? When foolish children are fighting one another, they only need to hear their mother’s call once for them to abandon their conflict and run to her. Even the wild pigeon, whose innate nature is to be free, forgets all its freedom upon hearing one call from the person who feeds it, and forgoes its unfettered flight for a small, dark cage instead. This is because it cannot resist the call of one who feeds it.
So, my beloved Hindu brothers! Why then do you not pay attention to the voice that your Parmeshwar [God] has raised so that He may gather the entire world under His fold? Have you done so only because it was uttered by a Muslim? Have you forgotten that nothing belonging to God is confined to anyone? Hindu, Muslim, Christian – these are merely titles of His servants. When God chooses someone, that individual transcends the boundaries of a nation. He no longer belongs to one specific people; all nations belong to him, and he belongs to all.
O Hindu brothers! Likewise, the Avatar of this age is not restricted to any one nation.[1] He is also the Mahdi because he has brought the message of salvation for the Muslims. He is also the Messiah because he has brought forth the means to guide Christians. He is also the Nehkalank Avatar, for he has brought the mantle of God’s love for you as a gift – yes, for you, O Hindu brothers!
You are the descendants of ancient sages. You take pride in your heritage, and rightly so, for our forefathers were citizens of the most ancient civilisation. The philosophy you present is such that your history does not accept any other philosophy before it. Will you then keep these ancient bodies devoid of the most ancient and eternal essence, which descends from God Himself? Old things are indeed valuable, but only so long as they are alive.
You honour your parents more as they grow older, but when they pass away, you lay them atop the pyre and cremate them. Therefore, old things are worthy of reverence so long as they have life in them. Why, then, do you not strive to breathe life into your ancient and revered traditions? It is God Almighty’s law that He forever maintains His connection with those He has once honoured, and if they turn to Him with the spirit of piety, He grants them greater honour than others.
Thus, if you have inherited an ancient civilisation and philosophy, revive it with the spirit of God Almighty so that it may evolve to meet the needs of this age, in order to benefit the world. Dear brothers! This is the difference between the living and the dead: the living progress with the times, while the dead remain stagnant and eventually decay.
Have you ever reflected on how your neglect has allowed time to erode your civilisation and religion? Consider this: how many deities have emerged among you in place of God? Pick up your scriptures and examine: did Krishna or Ramchandra ever bow their heads before an idol? Did they ever place Sindhoor [2] on the forehead of an idol or clasp their hands before Shiva and Parbati[3]? Where then did this estrangement from Parmatma [God] and the habit of bowing before others originate?
Why has your love for the Most Beloved grown cold? Why have the servants been given the throne of the Master? Surely, there must be a reason for this. Why have you adopted actions that Krishna and Ramchandra themselves never performed? Why have you traversed the paths that the pious Avatars have not taken?
The reason is simply this: you have closed your ears to the fresh and life-giving messages of God Almighty. You have clung to ancient beings, but allowed their spirits to fade away. So long as a rose remains attached to its stem, how fragrant, fresh, and delicate it is! But once the people pluck it and adorn their chests and heads with it, it quickly dries, hardens, and loses its fragrance. Why does this happen? Because it is severed from the life-giving connection of the source that kept it fresh.
O beloved brothers! In much the same way, philosophies and religions are virtuous things, but they only retain their beauty so long as their roots remain connected to the life-giving tree called Parmatma [God]. When this flower is cut from its source, all its beauty turns to dust; then, this real flower is not even as beautiful as an artificial flower made of cloth or paper.
Thus, O brothers! Whatever has befallen you with regards to your spiritual life is solely due to this severed connection. If those who came after Krishna and Ramchandra had maintained their bond with God as these two did, it would never have resulted in the descendants of holy rishis leaving God’s lofty threshold, and bowing before idols and deities.
Alas! How unfortunate it is that the forehead God Almighty made to be kissed, now bows before objects even inferior to itself; that the eyes created to look upward now face down towards Patal.[4] But why? Is it because there is no other way?
No no, this cannot be. Can God abandon the progeny and servants of Krishna and Ramchandra forever? Never! That is why He has sent the Nehkalank Avatar for the progress and reformation of the Hindus. He has come in the very age that Krishna foretold he would. Through God Almighty’s fresh signs, he has proven the living and powerful nature of God Almighty – a proof so mighty that none can deny it.
Now, anyone who wishes to love God can discover Him through this man and attain the blessings that the ancient rishis and sages once enjoyed. This is because our God is not so miserly that He would give to one and deny another; nor are His treasures limited that He cannot perform what He has performed before.
The name of this Nehkalank Avatar is Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), who appeared in Qadian, District Gurdaspur. God has manifested thousands of signs through him, and once again seeks to fill the world with justice and fairness through him.
Those who believe in him are granted a radiant light by God Almighty. God listens to their prayers, and through his pleas, God removes their difficulties and grants them honour. It behoves you to read his teachings in order to gain this light. If you have any doubt, then pray to Parmatma [God]:
“O God! If this man – who claims to be from You and calls himself the Nehkalank Avatar – is truthful in his claim, then enable us to accept him, and open our hearts so that we may believe in him.”
Then you shall see that God will surely convince you of his truthfulness through divine signs. Once you promise to accept him after the truth is made known to you and you reconcile with your Creator and Master, then come to me with sincerity and seek prayers for your difficulties. Allah the Almighty will alleviate your troubles and fulfil your desires, but only in line with the same practice in the times of Krishna and Ramchandra.
The condition, however, is that you must abandon worldly love and establish a firm connection with Him. Share Allah the Almighty’s message with your friends and loved ones, and act upon the methods He has established so that you may nurture His love. In this way, become true lovers and devoted servants of God. May Allah the Almighty be with you all.
Humbly,
Mirza Mahmud Ahmad
Imam of the Ahmadiyya Community
Qadian, District Gurdaspur
(Al-Fazl, 2nd April 1936)’[5]
ENDNOTES
1. Hindus believe in the process of ‘Avatars’ who are reincarnated from the central Hindu deities. However, when used by the author, it refers to spiritual manifestations of God in the form of prophets. [Translator]
2. Sindhoor is the vermillion often marked upon the forehead of Hindus between the brows. It varies in significance depending on the reason it was adorned, and the region in which one resides. [Translator]
3. Parbati (Parvati) is one name for Shiva’s wife.
4. In Hindu tradition, ‘Patal’ is the lowest of the seven regions of the nether world, said to be inhabited by serpents, demons and other mythical creatures. [Translator]
5. This treatise was published as a tract by the Anjuman Ahmadiyya Khuddam al-Islam Qadian on 29th March 1936, bearing the title ‘Yaum al-Tabligh’. (Al-Fazl, 2nd April 1936, p. 4)
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