AN INTERVIEW WITH DR RAJAT MALHOTRA

Dr Rajat Malhotra, a CPS International member and a proponent of interfaith dialogue and peacebuilding, has received his doctorate in “A Study of the Arabian Society after the Advent of Islam with Specific reference to the Life of Prophet Muhammad”. He has been associated with CPS International, New Delhi since its very inception. Besides being the CPS International Education Programme Global Coordinator, he is a regular contributor of articles on Islam and modernity like peace, democracy, jihad, and more to various journals. He is a regular participant and organizer of interfaith and Islamic programmes.

His academic interest in Islam in relation to modernity, peace, and interfaith dialogue is applied through his efforts at the Centre for Peace and Spirituality’s national and international initiatives toward dialogue and peace-building efforts with different faiths. His objective understanding of Islam is reflected in his words at a programme at IIC, New Delhi covered by Life Positive magazine: “Do not judge Islam based on the actions of Muslims. Evaluate the actions of Muslims using Islamic tenets”.

How were you introduced to Maulana Wahiduddin Khan? Kindly describe your first meeting.

It was in the year 2001, probably the month of February when I first visited Maulana Wahiduddin Khan at his residence. The meeting was organized by Mr Khalid Ansari whom I had met through Ms Priya Malik during a business interaction. Since we three had a spiritual interest, Khalid suggested that we meet Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Saheb. He introduced Maulana as someone who addressed the modern mind on spiritual matters. I was reluctant to meet Maulana as I had never liked Muslims. Khalid was the first Muslim I got comfortable with due to his friendly behaviour. So, I agreed to meet Maulana upon his insistence. My decision to meet him was also influenced by my long-burning desire for getting answers to my troubling existential questions.

I remember my first interaction with Maulana Saheb. It was quite the opposite of what I had expected. Maulana turned out to be so warm and rational in his approach that I felt the strong urge to meet him again. That day I felt much at ease as if my soul was urging me on to interact with him again. I believe that it was God’s intervention to make me listen to my inner voice of meeting him again. I had a happy and peaceful sleep that night.

What did you think of Islam before you met Maulana?

Islam, for me, was a religion of violence. I grew up thinking that it is a very complex and difficult religion to understand. I consciously never made any Muslim friends during my school, graduation, or postgraduation days because I didn’t like Muslims and particularly Islam. It was also due to childhood conditioning. I always felt that the world would be a better place without Muslims and Islam.

My opinion about Islam had developed looking at Muslim’s actions around the world and seeing them at the forefront of all negative news. Additionally, my grandparents and parents had to leave their place of birth Pakistan during Partition. I had heard stories of horror, terror, loss and pain from them since childhood. My parents still have their passports with ‘Undivided India’ as their place of birth. Naturally, my hatred and negative impression of Islam were a result of all these factors.

Kindly provide some information about your family and education.

I come from an educated family. My mother was a lecturer in college before her marriage and her brother was a principal of an engineering college in Madhya Pradesh. My father’s family had a flourishing export business which he left to work in a PSU. I did my Economics Hons. from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University and then my MBA and a few other finance certifications. Inspired by Maulana Saheb, I did MA and PhD in Islamic Studies. My elder brother works in the Middle East heading a company and my wife Stuti Malhotra had worked earlier with American Express and has just finished her PhD. She is my strength and partner in God’s work.

What inspires you to devote yourself wholly to the mission?

After meeting Maulana and discovering God through him, my mindset changed from narrow thinking to universal thinking. The fact that there are innumerable people like me waiting to discover the creation plan of God and that our task of conveying God’s message will give us the unfathomable reward of living closest to our Creator. This is enough reason to dedicate myself to this mission.

All this thinking is due to Maulana’s personal attention and training. He unfolded the real world (the Hereafter) to the CPS members. For me, God, His angels and Hereafter are more real than this world. Once you discover this reality, there is no reason for focusing on anything else. When I read the life of the Prophet and his Companions and look at how Maulana lived and sacrificed his life, it inspires me to the core that I should follow in the same footsteps and not create new ones. I also realize my helplessness and lacking in all aspects, but then the Greatness and Mercifulness of God Almighty make me very hopeful.

What tasks are you shouldering after Maulana Saheb’s demise?

When Maulana was alive, my primary task was to manage all his programmes globally. It was also my responsibility to look after CPSrelated coordination and correspondence on his behalf with individuals and institutions. Post his demise, I am involved in daily correspondence of CPS with all those involved in the mission. I am part of decision making, networking, continuing weekly Sunday sessions and playing the role of CPS Trustee.

Maulana’s central teaching was about being connected to God. Kindly share the most inspiring teaching of Maulana in this regard. His entire focus was on conveying the glory of God to humankind. Once he said that in the Hereafter, there would be seats reserved for pious people from human history. Most of these seats have been filled in except one. This seat, he explained, is the seat for those who dedicate themselves to the Love of God. Maulana said that this was his aim to instil the love of God in a sincere seeker. To my mind, this is the most beautiful thing to aspire for in one’s life. The love of God is everything. It is this love of God which not only fills a person with God-realization, but it would also become the reason to qualify for God’s neighbourhood. Earning this ‘Seat of Love of God’ not only is great hope for all of us, but at the same time, it gives us lifelong purpose to aspire for that seat.

How did the CPS spiritual sessions start and develop? What is their significance?

It started in 2001 when three of us, i.e., Priya Malik, Khalid Ansari and I met Maulana Saheb. The first interaction was so warm and nice that we asked Maulana if we could come again and then there was no looking back. The group kept getting bigger and bigger, and regular Saturday and Sunday classes began. Soon the word spread and we began to have the classes at CPS Hall.

A breakthrough also came with Sunday classes being streamed live globally. This made people aware of the spiritual classes being conducted by Maulana. We started recording and organizing these lectures with the help of Dr Saniyasnain Khan, Naghma aapa and Mr Navdeep Kapur. Later, these classes got amplified by Facebook Live sessions. Maulana’s emphasis was to churn from this group sincere CPS workers who would carry the mission after him.

That is why he used to say that his task is to create programme-makers who would be able to manage their emotions and situations all by themselves and come up with ideas and implement them with “I will do it” spirit. So, there was a two-fold significance of these classes, firstly to create a team of programme-makers globally and secondly, a call was being given by Maulana to the whole world that Islam is the voice of human nature and a religion of peace. Islam is not a religion of violence, rather Islam gives man all the answers to his spiritual quest.

How would you describe your companionship with Maulana?

Maulana was the biggest blessing of God for me. Before I met him, though I was doing well professionally, on my spiritual front, I had so many troubling questions which remained unanswered. Due to this, I felt deep emptiness from inside. After meeting him, there was no looking back and with each subsequent interaction, he became the most important person in my life.

I got so attached to him that I could not think of a day without him in my life. I always dreaded the day of separation. Though this separation was a certainty. This certainty, I always pushed back in my mind and tried to forget. I thought maybe he would live as long and as many years as God has destined for me. I prayed and hoped my companionship with him will enter into the Hereafter from this world without any amount of time being spent alone.

I realized in his companionship that after discovering God, there is no work more important than conveying the Creation Plan of God to humanity. I miss him every single day and he is in my thoughts always. He asked me once, "How would you handle things and CPS once I am gone?" I replied with a heavy heart that I will try to think about what he would have done in such a situation. He smiled and said, “Good, then you won’t go wrong”.

But this meant a great sense of responsibility and to be forgiving, having a big heart, not getting offended and above all, not losing focus on the primary task of collectively taking CPS into its culminating role. I am looking forward to meeting him again and never being separated ever.

You have travelled extensively with Maulana. What are your experiences with Maulana during these travels?

I travelled with him to different parts of India and the world like the USA, Canada, Israel, Qatar, Poland, Cyprus, Dubai, Turkey, and Switzerland. Every experience was precious as I got to witness his simplicity, his wise handling of interactions and his burning desire of working towards God’s cause disregarding the limitations of his very old age.

Once at Khaja Kaleemuddin Saheb’s (CPS USA Chapter head) place in the US, a big container of translations of the Quran and Islamic books arrived while we were still around. We all were pushing the heavy load towards Kaleem Saheb’s storage room and to our disbelief, Maulana himself started pushing it as he didn’t want to be left behind even in that task. Such was his enthusiasm and love for God’s work.

I saw that he kept good care of his health. I would say that he justified every single organ of his body that God gifted him. While on travel, he never bothered about food, accommodation, or inconvenience as his focus was always on the travel objective, i.e., to talk about God’s glory and instil in people the accountability of our actions in the Hereafter. I saw him as a man of mission who did not want to waste a single second. His time management, disciplined approach, well-wishing attitude and sensitive heart showcased him as a ‘well-wisher of humanity’.

You have had the opportunity to be with Maulana in his later years. Would you like to share some pieces of advice that Maulana imparted to you?

In his last few days, Maulana shared a few things with me in confidentiality. One of the things that I would like to share which he repeated in his last days was that whenever you find yourself at the crossroads facing difficulties doing CPS work, then be steadfast and supplicate to God and in no time God’s angels will rush for the help. He also said that if there arises a group who questions CPS, then you and CPS members should not falter or give up, rather keep praying to God, stay positive and work till you meet your Lord.

One thing Maulana said clearly was that, he considers only those people his disciples who will manage their differences and do not leave the CPS group. He said, to go against the mission of communicating the message of the Quran to people, whatever the reason, will not be accepted by God. One should stay united inspite of the differences.

Maulana further said that in spite of being misunderstood, if a person continues to be in the mission and does not leave, and this he does for the sake of God, his action will be highly rewardable in the Hereafter. While we were having this conversation, Maulana began to cry and said, "If you follow this advice, then mark my words, you will witness that on the day of Judgement, angels will announce that here is the team which managed differences on their own." He then said that there will be a great welcome for such a group.

To my mind, this is the biggest reason for us staying together till we play our roles. He never focused on quantity but on individuals. This is the reason he was able to prepare a team so strong which has only firmed up its resolve to carry his legacy forward after his demise. Had he focused on quantity, the CPS mission would have been history by now.

What is the CPS Peace Mission?

The CPS Peace mission is a mission of hope for humanity. There is so much negativity, sadness, hate, feeling of hopelessness, jealousy, and temptations in the world. All these are due to the people not understanding why this world was created in the first place. What is the Creation Plan of God? How can we discover our Creator? This unawareness has led people to do whatever it takes to fulfil their unlimited desires. This becomes the trigger to misusing one’s freedom whether at an individual level or at the level of a nation.

The CPS mission has answered all the above questions in the contemporary idiom. The CPS mission is based on the ideology presented by Maulana who derived the principles of spirituality and peace from the Quran, the practical model of the Prophet Muhammad and sound principles of reason.

It is important to state here that the CPS mission is not the Delhi Team’s responsibility but the responsibility of all CPS members worldwide as it is a common platform to convey God’s message to our fellow beings.

To think of CPS as a brick-and-mortar office managed by a few core people will be a grave mistake. To keep its purpose in sight and alive is the responsibility of all those who identify themselves as members of CPS wherever they reside or work. The onus is on every sincere and serious CPS member whom Maulana trained for this mission. May we fulfil Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Saheb’s mission. I pray to God to unite us with Maulana in Paradise! Amen.

Kindly click on this link to watch Dr Rajat Malhotra introduce the universal message of the Quran:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DttzU2D_8Fg