Born in April 1143 A.D. at village Sanjar in the Sistan province of Iran to a rich father Ghayasuddin Hassan, Khawaja Sahib disposed of all his properties, distributed the proceeds to the poor and indigent, renounced the world, went out to Bukhara and Samarkand in Central Asia and from there to Mecca and Madina in search of enlightenment. It was at Madina that Hazrat
Moinuddin Chishty got the utmost spiritual attainment and envisioned through his uncanny intuition that he had to come down to east at Ajmer and finally make it a one of the holiest seats of enlightenment, peace and unity of mankind. The Khawaja lived a deeply enriched, and spiritually heightened blissful life of 97 years.

    People of all walks of life belonging to different religions, castes and creeds both from India and abroad come here to pay their homage and in the process get the solace of fulfilment of their cherished desires and prayers. Barriers of castes, communities, races, religions and sexes melt away and vanish under the enlightened spiritual spell of the Khawaja. Despite myriad strides made by science and technology especially the information technology in breaking the barriers between peoples of the world and the world having been shrunk to a global village, divide between the rich and the poor, racial and communal barriers are persisting. But at the holy shrine of Ajmer, there is no distinction between a king and commoner. All are one and the same. For here, there in a meaningful feel of oneness of mankind (People) and oneness of God. It is in this context that Dargah Sharif has come to symbolise India's time tested secular ethos of unity amidst cultural diversity and religious plurality of our people postulating the message of harmony and peaceful co-existence.

    Legend has it that the Mughal emperor Akbar came here to pray for a son. When he was blessed by a son, named Salim to be known as Emperor Jahangir, Akbar came all the way from Agra on bare foot to pay his obeisance.The Ajmer Shrine has been patronised by all kings, nawabs, princely states, rais and zamindars. Several monuments for prayers and conveniences of
pilgrims including langars (free food) have been built and provide by such philanthropic patrons from time to time. It was in 1955 that the Government of India took over the management of the Holy shrine by an Act of Parliament called the Dargah Khawaja Sahib Act, 1955. An administrator appointed under the Act, looks after the upkeep of the shrine and various other monuments surrounding it. Besides, the administrator looks after the welfare of the pilgrims, provides education to the poor children in the vicinity, medicare of the indigent patients and other welfare measures. Yet, there are hundreds of Khadims (priests), privately mushrooming at the Dargah, who eke out their livelihood from the offerings made by the pilgrims.

    The Khawaja is worldwide known as the messiah of the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden. The Sufi saint postulated that "the true worship was grant of relief to the humble, the meek and the oppressed," " a true devotee was one gifted with attributes of river like charity, sunlight like affection extending indiscriminately to all and earth like hospitality, open to all and embracing everything." It is in this context, that the Khawaja's love and blessings for all are ever spanning the all types of barriers including that of time and space. The sufi saint continues to inspire confidence among all men and women of goodwill. That is why people of all sects and strata throng the holy shrine for fulfilment of their desires. How good people could be, are noticeable at the altar of the Khawaja. Their nobility, the large heartedness, the care for the poor, innocence, generosity and, above all, their sweetness and delight in terms of human excellence can be seen and felt here, thus making the pilgrims endeavour to emulate such virtues to enable them to inspire confidence among the people at large that life is worth living. All is not lost. And life can be lived with hope and inspiration in the innate good of the people, the nation and the world. That is the ever-inspiring message of the Khwaja of Ajmer.