The common heritage of India is an active concept expressing itself in the myriad forms of integration of diverse cultures and traditions. Change and Continuity in Indian Sufism explores this common heritage through a study of the esoteric relationship between India's two major religious traditions, Hinduism and Islam as expressed in the sufi tradition.

Dr. Thomas Dahnhardt focuses on the evolution of the Indian lineage of the Naqshbandiyya, generally known as the Mujaddidiyya, in Indian sufism as an example of the intense spiritual symbiosis between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Based on a field study among the Hindu and Muslim representatives of the Naqshbandiyya lineage, he presents a social and historical study of the Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya, surveying the various masters of the tradition and taking up specifically the establishment of a new khanaqah of the Mazhariyya branch of the Mujaddidiyyal in Old Delhi, one of the most important Naqshbandi centres of the tradition in the Indian subcontinent. The work goes in detail into the emergence, doctrines and methodology of the Hindu offshoot of the Mujaddidiyya Mazhariyya along with creation of regional sub-Hindu branches.

The book would be useful to scholars of inter-religious studies, Sufism and Indian religious traditions as well as general readers interested in the process of integration of traditions and communities.

Foreword
Preface 
Acknowledgements 
Abbreviations 
Introduction 

1. The Masters of the Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya Mazhariyya Na'imiyya

Shaikh Mirza Jan-i Janan (1111/1701-1195/1781)
Mirza 'Mazhar' Jan-i Janan : Life and Thought
Shah Na'im Allah Bahraichi (1153/1740-1218/1803) 
Shah Murad Allah Thanesari Faruqi Mujaddidi (1166/1752-1248/1833) 
Sayyid Maulana Shah Abul Hasan Nasirabadi (1198/1784-1272/1856)     
Maulana Khalafat al-Rahman Ahmad 'Ali Khan Mau Rashidabadi (d. 1307/1889) 
Maulana Shah Fadl Ahmad Khan Ra'ipuri (ad 1838-1907) 
Mahatma Ramcandraji Fatehgarhi (ad 1873-1931) 
Mahatma Paramsant Brija Mohan Lal Kanpuri (ad 1898-1955)

2. The Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiyya Mazhariyya at Delhi: Continuity in the Tradition 

Man and his Role in the Universe 
The Constitution of the Human Being in the Light of the Science of the Subtle Centres
The Stages of the Path in the Light of the Science of the Subtle Centres
Methods and Techniques for Spiritual Realisation in the Light of the Science of the Subtle Centres
The Master-disciple Relationship 

3. The Doctrine and Methodology of the Hindu Sufis at Fatehgarh and Kanpur: Continuity and Gradual Assimilation

Socio-political Circumstances and the Religious Environment
The Perception of Metaphysical Reality
The Coming into Being of the Universe 
The Realms of the Universe  
The Constitution of Man and the Science of the Subtle Centres
The Higher Stages of Spiritual Realisation
The Techniques of Spiritual Realisation 

4. The Emergence of Regional Hindu Sub-branches: A Kayasth Path to Liberation?

Mathura: Personal Cult or Pathway Towards Liberation?
Shahjahanpur: A Universal Movement 
Sikandarabad: Santmat or Tasawwuf? 
Delhi: Continuity in Diversity

Conclusion 
Glossary of Technical Terms 
Appendix I
Appendix II   
Bibliography  
Place Index
Index of Names of Individuals
Technical Terminology Index (Islamic)
Technical Terminology Index (Hindu)