In my last two posts on Islamabad (here and here) I talked about the woods and the forest trails that I love so much and take to them whenever I can.
In those woods, at the foot of the Margallas, until a few years ago, there was a very large and very old tree, believed to be several hundred years old. Its gnarled branches sprawled like an umbrella over a very large area around the tree.
It was a pipal tree (ficus religiosa). Pakistani residents of Islamabad were generally unaware of the significance of this tree. But the tree attracted many expatriate residents, mostly from South East or East Asian diplomatic missions in Islamabad. They would come and simply contemplate the tree and its surroundings. Someone had even a built a concrete kiosk and a concrete bench next to the tree for visitors to sit. The tree was believed to be a Bodhi tree.
What is a bodhi tree and how it came to be in Islamabad?
As many of us would remember from our history books, that is, if one graduated before the 1970s, for afterwards they stopped teaching history of pre-Muslim era of the subcontinent in schools, prince Siddhartha Gautuma meditated under an old pipal tree in Gaya, a village near Patna, Bihar, some 2,500 years ago. Ultimately he achieved nirvana, or was “awakenedâ€.
Consequently, the tree under which he sat was named Bodhi, meaning “awakening.†Sidhartha Gautuma became Buddha (the awakened) and the village came to be known as Bodh Gaya, the name it still carries today. The Bhodi tree that grows in Bodh Gaya today is believed to be a direct offspring of the original Bhodi tree.
In the centuries after Buddha, the Bodhi tree became a symbol of Buddha’s presence and an object of devotion for Buddhists.
A little more history before I get to the pipal tree in the woods of Islamabad.
King Ashoka (died 232 BC), the third Maurian king, converted to Buddhism and became a great advocate of the religion and actively propagated Buddhism throughout his empire. The Mauran Empire included, other than the present Northern India, the Gandhara region, which included the area around present day Islamabad, the Peshawar valley and parts of Afghanistan and Iran. Taxila (then Taxshashila), Peshawar (then Parshpura) and Charsaddah (then Pushklavati) were important cities of Gandhara. It was at this time that Taxila reached the peak of its development and became the center of Buddhism. Chandra Gupta Mauria and Asoka spent time at Taxila and so did their famous political adviser, Chanakya, who taught at Taxila.
King Asoka’s daughter, Sanghamitra, who became a Buddhist nun, is said to have taken a cutting of the Bohdi tree from Bhod Gaya to Sri Lanka and planted it at Anaradapura, the ancient capital of the island, where it still grows. Many temples throughout the Buddhist world have bodhi trees growing in them, which are or are believed to be offspring of the one from Anaradapura.
Now, back to Islamabad.
The old pipal tree that grew in the woods of Islamabad was also believed to be “descendent” of the Bodhi tree in Gaya, possibly planted, centuries ago, by a devotee, alongside a temple that might have existed there. Taxila, as the crow flies, is only a few miles from Islamabad, and is full of Buddhist monuments – stupas, statues and remains of monasteries.
In the 1980s, Ziaul Haq ruled Pakistan. In his zeal to “Islamize†the country, he encouraged and helped build madrassas all over the country, many with Saudi money. One such madrassa was built in the woods of Islamabad, not far from where the Bodhi tree stood. Over the years, the madrassa expanded, as most madrassas do, violating the building codes and encroaching upon state land, to become one of the largest madrassas in Islamabad. Today, it occupies 5-7 acres of prime real estate in Islamabad and has a sprawling building complex, and a very large playing field – probably larger than any school or college in Islamabad might have.
The madrassa houses a couple of thousand students ranging in age from 6 to 26, or even older. One sees them during breaks in their classes when they swarm into the playground and overrun the nearby children’s park, driving the children and women out. It is a bizarre sight to see young bearded men swinging and sliding on the swings and slides meant for children. Other contributions of these madrassa students to the community are: street signs defaced with posters soliciting sacrificial animal skins, and vandalized letterboxes.
Fortunately, because of its very large girth, the Bodhi tree did not burn down completely even though it was badly damaged. It survived with half of its branches still intact. The city administration tried to preserve what was left of the tree. They even posted guards at the site for sometime after the incident to protect the tree from any further attacks. When I saw it last, a few years ago, it was still green and seemed as if it was struggling to recover from the wounds inflicted upon it.
Last week, having returned to Islamabad after two years, I decided to look up the tree, as if you would look up an old friend, and see how it was doing. I was shocked. There was no tree there! Only a few logs of the decapitated tree were lying around like dead bodies. The concrete kiosk next to it was partially demolished, its remaining walls covered with graffiti, and the bench was gone. Through the woods, I could also see the madrassa, some construction work going on it. Still expanding, I guess.
(All pictures, except the first, by the author)
hz omar…second caliph after prophet muhammad not mullah omar…try google ‘who is omar’ and may be it will help u better this time
Adnan, I agree that Prophet(saw) removed statues from Ka’aba was a right thing to do. Ka’aba was made by Abraham(AS) on Allah’s instructions, a symbol of monotheism. It belonged to the followers of Deen-e-Abrahimi. So in a sense it was liberated and returned to its original state.
Second if Christians and Jews (and here i mean Old Testament Jews not Talmudic) are not following their own religion, then are we supposed to correct their mistakes? It is up to them to correct their transgressions. If they are living in an Islamic society as law abiding (emphasis added) citizens, then in my opinion they are free to follow their religion as they interpret it.
I see Islam as a tolerant, inclusive religion which respects the worshiping creeds of the minorities.
Prophecy, you are really an intresting character. I didn’t know that mullah omar/talibans invaded other countries like bush and killed thousands of people including kids by using arms and emos. umm.. do you work for GEO? just curious.
Adnan, here I will have to disagree with you
where?
I think you missed the entire point which I tried to explain in my message. Did I say that Islam doesn’t give freedom to minorities? if Yes then where did I say that? Ms.Uzma was trying her best to put her words in my mouth that I agree with her words that whatever is not liked by Islam,it’s destructed which is utterly wrong. You gave example of 2nd caliph, i gave you example of great Prophet[saw] when He[saw] removed all idols who were present inside Ka’aba and said historic statment, ‘Haq aagya batil mit gaya, beshak baatil mitnay k liye hay’. Now what would you call it? act of terrorism? or Muhammad[saw] sounds like a person who doesn’t take care of minority? Didn’t Muhammad[saw] know that those idols were very dearer to his family member? then what did he do that?
What was done by Abraham[AS] is cleared,what was done by Muhammad[saw] is also cleared and what Omar[ra] and others caliphs did also cleared. If one tries to use his mind in wrong sense then all of them appear opposite to each other while in reality all of them are true at their end.
We very well know that chuches are full of symbols and statues
But do you all know that this is not even allowed in their[jews,christians] own religions as well? I am least intrested why do they do this, all I know it’s violation of their own religion which is common in our religion as well. From 10 commandments.
you shall have no other gods before me.
(Exodus 20-3)
But see now Christians believe in trinity?1st violation.
You shall not make for yourself an image,
whether in the form of anything that is
in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.(Exodus 20-4)
See they do make images, even sketches of Marry[as] and Jesus[AS] which is yet another violation of Old Testament. Same messge given by Allah[SWT] and His messengers[saw].
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandment.((Exodus 20-5 & 6)
But they do worship them, they do bow infront of them.
These are verses from old testament which are applicable for both jews and christians but they are not followed.
It’s not a sensible habit to judge a religion by the practise of followers while source books exist. Followers can misinterpetate things and could be misguided but source books are always considered to find out the real thing which is claimed to be followed by followers.
problem with Mullah is that he is a blind follower under an illusion that his beliefs can be supported by rational arguments. He even put words in others mouth and take assumptions and simply believes in them, for example all other than his clan are ignorant about Islam and only and only he is blessed with Right Faith – in simple English their belief is that they are right and every one else is wrong unless he approves their correctness.
use of belief in place of argument is all they do and not sure how this strategy can work outside a Mullah Controlled environment where only unbiased arguments are accepted – may be that is why they want to conquer world and force Islam(thier version) on every one else …that is what they have been doing…when Hz Omar’s army invades neighboring countries…its OK, when Bush kicks their ass in Afghanistan or elsewhere its against Human rights…very funny arguments if you are not a Mullah and use your brain, but a perfect rationalization for Mullah
but problem seems even more complex here, at one side they are going to extreme and asking for proof ‘who burned the tree’ …and this same group accept this argument ‘ Ibrahim did x, so mullah omer was right’…well at one side people like this clan are good source of amusement but if they becoming dominating majority in a nation that tells us how fast they will perish from the surface of earth…when social Justis is governed by Faith destruction is inevitable…and unfortunately most of us call same place as our homeland so watching its destruction on name of God is painful as well…(yeh i know for them this is exactly what pakistan is built for)