Generally, in every religion there were individuals as well as groups of people who believed that this world was sinful, ugly and corrupt. Therefore, to shun all worldly affairs and adopt an ascetic life was propagated by all religions to a certain extent. Among the Hindus, there were individuals who after leaving their family and property, retired to forests or mountains and spent their time in meditation to gain spiritual ecstasy. The same practice was followed by Buddhism and Jainism who created a class of priests who were engaged in prayer and meditation all year round. Rulers, nobles and traders built vihars for them in isolated places such as thick forests or caves where they could worship peacefully without any outside interference. Ajanta and Elora are such caves. These communities of worshippers depended on society and were supported in exchange of their spiritual blessing.
In early Christianity, individuals adopted the life of asceticism by retiring to deserts and worshipping in isolation for the salvation of their soul. The first monastery was founded in the 3rd century in the desert of Egypt. As the number of monks increased, rulers started to build monasteries for them where they lived a communal life and spent their life dedicated to religion. This class was known as monks. In the beginning, each monastery had its own management to administer it. Consequently, there were cases of mismanagement and corruption. Realising these defects, St Benedict (d. 542 AD) introduced rules and regulations for its administration which were adopted by all monasteries. These rules were based on two principles: prayer and work. These two features disciplined the life of the monks and they divided their time between prayers and manual labour.
It was the custom in the Medieval Europe that rulers used to build monasteries and allotted land for its expenses. These were far from the cities; either in deserts or forests or on the top of mountains. According to St. Benedicts rules, monks had to supervise agriculture and within the premise of the monastery, they looked after cattle, worked for dairy products, ground wheat, baked bread, cooked food, and ate their meal in simplicity along with their colleagues. It was their responsibility to keep the monastery clean, do all the menial chores and also spend some time in copying manuscripts. There was a special room for this purpose. As there was no paper in the medieval period, they prepared parchment for writing. They preserved these manuscripts in the library.
There was a hospital for the sick in the monastery. They were treated by herbal medicines. A special room was for visitors who could stay for a limited time. There are documents which were found in these monasteries which were written by monks mentioning important events such as natural calamities and political crises. They are now the best source for historians writing about the religious and social life of the period.
A monastery was administered by an abbot .All inmates obeyed him. People were not allowed to visit and interfere in the life of monks. Its gates remained closed. It was regarded as a sacred sanctuary and in case if anybody took refuge inside it, secular authorities could not arrest him or hurt him.
The important thing was that the monastery was economically self-sufficient .Monks were a productive class who earned their livelihood and did not depend on outside support. The combination of spiritual and manual labour changed the character of monks. It developed a culture which was known by its austerity and piety.
The institution of the khanqah emerged in the 10th century and soon spread throughout the Islamic world. These khanqahs were built by rulers and nobles in order to earn spiritual blessing. They were usually outside the city but accessible to people. The sheikh or murshid resided in it along with his family and some disciples. The khanqahs received regular donation known as futuh from rulers, nobles or wealthy citizens. There was also a public kitchen which served food to those who visited the Sufi saint. Thus, it was not a productive institution but depended on the financial support from outside. Unlike the monks, the khanqahs inmates did not earn their livelihoods.
However, the gates of the khanqah were open for people who thronged it for spiritual blessings of the sheikh. It became a practice that after the death of the sheikh, he was buried in the premises of the khanqah and this led to the new institution of the shrine coming into being in the 13th century. It became a centre for pilgrims.
The Buddhist Bhakshus and the Muslim Sufis were economically a burden on society. They depended on the generosity of the rich and wealthy perople.The institution of khanqah was supported by rulers because it restrained the discontent of the general public by advising them to bear and endure all hardships to get the reward in the next world.
Like Christian monasteries, there were no set rules for khanqahs. Each had its own rules and regulations to administer it. Sufis, unlike monks, mingled with people and prayed for the fulfillment of their wishes.
Both institutions continue to exist since medieval times to the present. However, in Muslim society, the shrine has superseded the khanqah in social importance and became the more popular institution.
The writer is one of the pioneers of alternate history in the country.
