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One Truth, many expressions

Sudhamahi Reghunathan talks to Mumtaz Ali, better known as just "M", for whom, all religions say the same thing - love one another

FAITH MATTERS Mumtaz Ali aims to unite all

`I am wearing a white kurta and have white hair,' he told this writer on her mobile as she stood waiting for him at the airport. Now how distinctive was that description! Even as one harboured the fear of greeting the wrong person, the moment of recognition came without warning and quite easily. It would have helped if he had added that he had long hair tied into a small ponytail. He was Mumtaz Ali, better known as Sir "M". One understood why he was called M. He himself said the letter referred to his Master (a yogi he met when he was but nine years old), but one thinks the initial defies categorisation by religion, and since M wishes to spread the message of human oneness above all other beliefs and customs, it fits him well.

Divinity

When asked "how does your God look?" the man born into a Deccani Muslim family, who speaks with conviction of the teachings of saints from different religions, said, "Wherever I turn my eye and whatever or whosoever I look at, I see the Supreme Being manifested in that form. To me everything is a manifestation of divinity or all manifestations with their forms are waves, small or big, rising from the Great Ocean, or the Dalai, to use a Mongol word." As he made one understand that by looking for a form one was trying to bind the infinite in finite expression, one's mind went back to the many lectures that one had heard.

Profound teachings

His discourse on the Ramayana can bring tears to the eyes. Equally his teachings of the Sufi way can leave your mind awash with piety. M had met his master in the playground near his house when he had just finished playing with his friends. A tall magnificent looking ascetic had just touched him saying "Sab theek ho jayega". The child could not forget the experience and so 10 years later left home to search for `him' who he felt was his guru. A form in his memory was all he had as address. Finally he met the apparition at Vyas gufa in Badrinath.

Worldly life

After three years of tutelage, the guru, Pujapura Swami, sent M back to his home telling him that he had to live a normal life with all worldly concerns. M did so, much to his parents' relief.

Married with two children, M and his wife, Sunanda, run a school for poor children at Madanapalli (Andhra Pradesh). He paints, he says, "to earn my living." And for the rest, a great believer in the thought that all religions say the same thing — love one another — he gives lectures on the Upanishads, the Gita, and Sufi philosophy.

He believes that "Truth is infinite. Plurality is the only way by which we can conceive of it or manifest it in our lives, as the Vedic proclamation, Ekan sat, viprah bahuda vadanti. This is not to destroy anybody's identity. If truth destroys illusions, so be it."

M is quick to add, "I do not take the role of a prophet or campaigner for religious unity. It is something that I found deep in my heart and I live with in peace and spiritual well being. My actions, I hope, manifest that spiritual experience as concern for the well being of other living beings. I talk to those who listen, irrespective of caste creed or religion, and hope that the seeds broadcast will fall on some fertile soil and sprout. Even if one plant produces sweet smelling flowers, it will ensure the survival of my ideas."

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