Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

Arts & Culture History
1

The Sufi brotherhoods that arrived in South Asia from the Middle East and central Asia had already been influenced by the pantheistic traditions of South Asia, and in some cases the result was theist fusions or unitarian views of God. It is, however, important to point out that some Sufi orders were quite conservative such as the Suhrawardia and Naqshbandia. They had a strong presence in the Punjab. The Naqshbandi Sufi, Ahmed Sirhindi or Mujadid Alf-Sani, who lived during the 16th century and is buried at Sirhind in the Indian East Punjab, played an important role in the revival of strict Islam in the Mughal Empire and indeed in the Punjab.

  On the other hand, non-conformist   philosophical and theosophical  ideas and movements emanating from Islamic and   Hindu roots gave birth  to interesting syntheses and syncretism. **Some individual   Sufis  evolved radical non-conformist positions that decried the dogmatic forms    of religion, whether Islam or Hinduism. The basic idea that gained  acceptance in   such circles was that ultimately there is one Great  Spirit or God holding   together the cosmic and earthly systems. ** Therefore, they conceived humanity as   one great family with its  different manifestations in terms of religions and   cultures.
  
  **

Madhoo Laal Hussain**

In practical and symbolic terms this is illustrated rather well from the 16th century by the close friendship between the Sufi poet, Hussain of Lahore (b. 1538), and the Hindu Brahmin youth, Madho Lal, from the nearby village of Shahdara. To this day an annual festival, the Madho-Lal Hussain Mela, is held on the outskirts of Lahore to commemorate their union. They are buried in the same tomb, to which thousands of people flock on this ceremonial occasion.

  Hussain broke away from orthodoxy. He danced and drank wine   and  lived a life of defiance. The Mughal Emperor Akbar was in power at Agra  at   that time and he too weakened the hold of dogmatism. Therefore this  was a period   of Hindu-Muslim symbiosis both at the level of the  Mughal state -- of which the   Punjab was one possession -- and among  the common people.
  **
  Sultan Bahoo**

Sultan Bahu (born 1639) was another Sufi who continued to question the compatibility of orthodox and the non–conformist worldview of radical Sufism. He was a prolific writer, whose message displayed the inevitable tension between a rigid worldview dichotomising social reality into Islamic and non-Islamic categories.

  **Bulleh Shah**

Such a train of thinking reached its apogee under Bulleh Shah (1680-1758). Bulleh Shah’s murshid or spiritual master, Shah Inayat, belonged to the Qadriyya Shattari School: known for its close affinity with yoga and other meditative practices.

  **One day some rich but God-fearing man had   deposited a great deal  of wealth with Shah Inayat with the supplication that he   should  distribute it among needy people. Shah Inayat told Bulleh Shah,    'Distribute this wealth among the poor and needy in accordance with the  law of   God'.
  
  A crowd of needy people had gathered at the spot in the hope of    getting something. Bulleh Shah told one of them to take everything and  to the   rest he gave nothing. Such a decision caused a stir and people  began to complain   and agitate. Shah Inayat too was perplexed by this  decision. 
  
  He asked   Bulleh Shah admonishingly to explain what he had done.  Bulleh Shah said, 'You   told me to distribute the wealth according to  the law of God. I did exactly   that. Just look around. There are a few  rich people and the vast majority are   poor and dispossessed. So, I  followed the divine law which works in this   world'.
  
  Shah Inayat Qadri could not deny the force of the argument put    forward by his disciple. Thus began a long association between the two  but the   disciple developed even more radical non-conformist views.**  Some of Bulleh Shah's   verses are worth quoting:
  
  
  
  **Masjid dha de, mandir dha de, dha de jo   kucch dainda 
  
  Par kisi da dil na dhain, Rab dilan vich rehnda**
  
  (Tear   down the Mosque, tear down the temple
  
  Tear down every thing in   sight
  
  But don't (tear down) break anyone's heart
  
  Because God lives   there)
  
  
  Then he writes:
  
  **Gal samajh laee te raolaa   keeh
  
  eyh Raam, Raheem te Maulaa keeh?
  **
  Why all this commotion if   you claim understanding?
  
  Why this fuss about calling Him Ram, Rahim or   Moula?
  
  (Ram is a Hindu god; Rahim and Moula are Allah's   designations)
  
  
  
  **About priests in general Bulleh Shah   writes:
  **
  **Mulla tay mashaalchi dohaan ikko chit 
  
  Loukan karday   chananan, aap anhairae vich
  **
  Mullah and the torch-bearer, both from the   same flock 
  
  Guiding others; themselves in the dark
  
  
  
  **The   rebel Sufis were cosmopolitans. They lived simple lives and  shunned the company   of the rich and powerful. The ruling elite  therefore always looked upon them   with suspicion and perhaps even  fear. However, such Sufis remained rebels in   intellectual terms. They  were not social revolutionaries. 
  **
  The   enlightened and composite tradition of the Punjab remained  firm and steadfast   well into the 19th and 20th centuries, when power  had passed into the hands of   the British. **Mian Muhammad (1830-1904)  and Khawaja Ghulam Farid (1841-1901)   continued to preach universal  peace and brotherhood. Many Hindus and Sikhs were   disciples of Muslim  Sufis. **
  
  In January 2005 I met a Hindu gentleman at   Patiala, Amrik Chand  Ahluwalia – 80 years of age -- who told me his family were   disciples  of a Muslim Sufi whose shrine was located on the border of Punjab and    Balochistan. As a child his family and he had travelled to that place to  perform   ziarat. He told me that his family ate meat (goat and  chicken) but only if it   was slaughtered according to Islamic ritual.  Some Muslims had continued to live   in Patiala despite the exodus of  1947, and more from the neighbouring states of   Haryana and UP had  settled in Patiala afterwards and now getting halal meat was   no  problem.
  
  **This revelation was quite interesting. I pondered if a    comparable Muslim adherence to Hindu values can be discerned in our  Muslim   Punjabi environment. It occurred to me that in our West Punjab  homes eating beef   was never popular and even now nobody relishes  eating beef or serving it to   guests. **
  
  So a fusion of Hindu and Islamic beliefs and practices has    survived into the current period despite nearly 60 years of the  partition of the   Punjab. For this we must thank the syncretism of the  rebel Sufis of the   Punjab.

http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/ishtiaq7/

2

Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

wah wah Nice read !! :k:

3

Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

Peace

I think there is some clarity needed here ... in the past when the identity of being Muslim was not compromised or threatened by sectarianism within Islam then the Muslims could afford to push boundaries by focussing on the common elements between world religions.

However, today a new worry is present and that is that the Muslim (literalist) or non-worldview Muslims are separating themselves from the Muslims as a body and hence causing a breaking away from the other side ... It is the task of Sufis to ensure unity with non-Muslims but not at the price of disunity amongst Muslims ...

I think the article is written in a way that promotes the "radical Sufis" as people who wanted to create their own religion other than the orthodox. This in my view is wrong ... I believe the Sufis are the orthodox and numbers and global spread only demonstrates this point. What the orthodox were doing in that region however was appealing to universal "VALUES" ... but they very much remained "Muslim" they did not create their own religion and further proof of this is that the Hindu's were eating halal meat. No Muslim called Allah (SWT) - Ram .... despite the poetry of Bule Shah. Furthermore it would be impossible to knock down a masjid or a mandir without break the hearts of people ... so the poem is rhetoric ... it is appealing to people on a level of humanity that we may wish to say that Islam with it's mosques has a higher right to be here on this world, but God gave the right to the Hindus to be here and live so who are we to battle with God? They are people like us and have hearts like us if we harm them when Allah (SWT) has protected them then who are we really battling with? Yet all this said ... the speakers of these poems were very much Muslim and never did anything against Islam ...

This sends only one message to me ... Legislate peace and compassion and brotherhood with all, but maintain your Muslim identity in order to practice the best form of "dawah" invitation to the Deen - but at the same time not even making invitation by word ... they never said "leave your religion and join us" - they just earned for themselves fellowship and people followed them - hence the Hindu disciples eating halal meat.

The Sufis probably recognised the subtle method - that the people of the subcontinent were people of life and experience and this was the modus operan-di of the dawah of that region - to a certain degree it worked, but in other cases people built on the esoteric teachings through misunderstandings creating new religions - i.e. Sikhism. Where the intent was to gain fellowship so people start to emulate the sages, instead they started to justify their own predispositions. And since the Muslims were also devotees of the same sages they were unable to detect or effectively refute the reaction.

If anything the great lesson to be learnt by Sufis is that - total silence of the prefered way - i.e. Islam is relying on the people to make good judgement that Islam is the best way ... (which is doomed to fail - as not everyone has the same level of esoteric appreciation)

The lay folk didn't see Islam as being the orchestrator of that compassion but the individuals themselves.

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Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

The sectarianism history of Muslims is as old as the religion (Islam) is. It was also prevailing at the time of above Sufis of Punjab and they tried to create tolerance not only between different religions, but also in between the different sects of Muslims,which is also evident from their kalam:

** main sunni na main shia dohan toon dil saria hu
Muk gae sab khushki pende daria rehmat waria hu
Kai mann tare tar tar hare kai kinare charhia hu
Sahih salamat charh gae bahu murshad da lar pharia hu
(Sultan Bahoo)**

**HiNdu na naheeN musalmaan,
Baheeye tiranjan taj abhimaan.
Sunni na naheeN ham sheeya
**Sulha kuhl ka maarag leeya.
Bhookhe na naheeN ham rahje,
NaNge na naheeN ham kahje.
RoNde na naheeN ham hasde
UjaRe na naheeN ham vasde.
Paapi na sudharmi na,
Paap pun ki raah na jaanaaN.
Bulhe Shah jo hari chit laage,
Hindu turak doojan tiyaage

*
Neither Hindu nor Muslim,
Sacrificing pride, let us sit together.
Neither Sunni nor Shia,
Let us walk the road of peace.
We are neither hungry nor replete,
Neither naked nor covered up.
Neither weeping nor laughing,
Neither ruined nor settled,
We are not sinners or pure and virtuous,
What is sin and what is virtue, this I do not know.
Says Bulhe Shah, one who attaches his self with the lord.
Gives up both hindu and muslim.*

(Bulleh Shah)

[QUOTE]
I think the article is written in a way that promotes the "radical Sufis" as people who wanted to create their own religion other than the orthodox. This in my view is wrong ... I believe the Sufis are the orthodox and numbers and global spread only demonstrates this point. What the orthodox were doing in that region however was appealing to universal "VALUES" ... but they very much remained "Muslim" they did not create their own religion and further proof of this is that the Hindu's were eating halal meat. No Muslim called Allah (SWT) - Ram .... despite the poetry of Bule Shah. Furthermore it would be impossible to knock down a masjid or a mandir without break the hearts of people ... so the poem is rhetoric ... it is appealing to people on a level of humanity that we may wish to say that Islam with it's mosques has a higher right to be here on this world, but God gave the right to the Hindus to be here and live so who are we to battle with God? They are people like us and have hearts like us if we harm them when Allah (SWT) has protected them then who are we really battling with? Yet all this said ... the speakers of these poems were very much Muslim and never did anything against Islam ...

This sends only one message to me ... Legislate peace and compassion and brotherhood with all, but maintain your Muslim identity in order to practice the best form of "dawah" invitation to the Deen - but at the same time not even making invitation by word ... they never said "leave your religion and join us" - they just earned for themselves fellowship and people followed them - hence the Hindu disciples eating halal meat.

[/QUOTE]

I do agree that the sufi poetry should not be taken on its face value, because it has a message in between the line. Sufis never deviated people from the main stream Islam... Bulleh Shah did write against the Mullahs, but he didn't preach for not offering prayers.. The Sufis message emphasises the importance of human rights above everything.

Here are some examples from Bulleh Shah's poetry, which apparently seems to be against religion, but they are actually in line with the teachings of religions.

(1)

*Makkay gayaan, gal mukdee naheen
Pawain sow sow jummay parrh aaeey
*

Going to Makkah is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of prayers are offered

*Ganga gayaan, gal mukdee naheen
Pawain sow sow gotay khaeeay
*

Going to River Ganges is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of cleansing (Baptisms) are done

*Gaya gayaan gal mukdee naheen
Pawain sow sow pand parrhaeeay
*

Going to Gaya is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of worships are done

*Bulleh Shah gal taeeyon mukdee
Jadon May nu dillon gawaeeay
*

Bulleh Shah the ultimate is
When the “I” is removed from the heart!

(2)

RaateeN jaageyN kareyN ibaadat
You wake up at night to pray
RaateeN jaagan kuttey teython uttey
dogs are awake at night too, more than you

bhonkanon band mool naa hundey
they never stop barking
jaa ruree tey suttey, teythoN uttey
and sleep on heap of dump, are better than you

khasam apney da dar na chhaddey
they never leave the door of their provider
bhaaweyNso so wajjan jutey
even if beaten by shoes

Bulleh shah kooee rakht weyhaaj ley
Bulleh Shah get into love someone
baazee ley gaey kuttey tethoN uttey
Or the dogs are better than you

[QUOTE]
The Sufis probably recognised the subtle method - that the people of the subcontinent were people of life and experience and this was the modus operan-di of the dawah of that region - to a certain degree it worked, but in other cases people built on the esoteric teachings through misunderstandings creating new religions - i.e. Sikhism. Where the intent was to gain fellowship so people start to emulate the sages, instead they started to justify their own predispositions. And since the Muslims were also devotees of the same sages they were unable to detect or effectively refute the reaction.

If anything the great lesson to be learnt by Sufis is that - total silence of the prefered way - i.e. Islam is relying on the people to make good judgement that Islam is the best way ... (which is doomed to fail - as not everyone has the same level of esoteric appreciation)

The lay folk didn't see Islam as being the orchestrator of that compassion but the individuals themselves.
[/QUOTE]

In some cases, message of Sufis was interpreted quite wrongly which resulted many bidaat against the teaching of Islam. In bringing harmony between the culture of the region and religion, people did brought new things which were common to other religions but were against the basic rules of Sharia, although the Sufis always preached 'There is no tareeqa against Sharia'h'

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Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

Peace muqawwee123

I like that poem but I think it should be translated slightly differently please oblige me:

**Makkay gayaan, gal mukdee naheen
Pawain sow sow jummay parrh aaeey

*Visited Makkah, the talk is not over
Despite returning with hundreds of Fridays prayed *

**Ganga gayaan, gal mukdee naheen
Pawain sow sow gotay khaeeay

Visited River Ganges, the talk is not over
Despite the hundreds of plunges made (in it)

**Gaya gayaan gal mukdee naheen
Pawain sow sow pand parrhaeeay

Visited Gaya, the talk is not over
Despite the hundreds of mantras read

**Bulleh Shah gal taeeyon mukdee
Jadon May nu dillon gawaeeay

Bulleh Shah, the talk is only over
When the heart is purged from "me"

"The talk is not over" is a euphemism for "The job is not done"

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Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

:k: psyah Bhai thats a more better and easy to understand translation.

It supports the view that the sufis taught everything within the ambit of Shariah. Only the wrong interpretations made people think otherwise.

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Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

Yes but you have to understand that specifically punjabi Sufis were mostly against the orthodox clergy such as mullahs because of their hatred for other religions and Sufis like Bulleh Shah and haq bahu saw religion differently and in the guise of Love for Allah.

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Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

**
An Interesting Article on Bulleh Shah’s life**

**
Background**

Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, in present day Pakistan where his father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a Paish Imam (prayer leading person) and teacher. Due to unknown reasons Shah Darwaish had to move to Malakwal, a village in Sahiwal. Later, when Bulleh Shah was six years old, his family moved to Pandoke, which is 50 miles southeast of Kasur.

**Education
**
Bulleh Shah was schooled by his father, along with the other children of the village. Most episodes confirm that Bulleh Shah had to work as a child and adolescent herder in the village. Details of his education at Maulana Mohiyuddin’s reputed madrassa are less known but it is confirmed that he received his higher education in Kasur. Some historians claim that Bulleh Shah received his education at a highly reputed madrassa run by Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza where he taught for sometime after his graduation. He probably got into higher education the way many talented individuals have done from antiquity to this day.

**
Difficulties / Sufferings**

There is agreement between most historians that Bulleh Shah was the son of a Paish Imam who was struggling to make ends meet and was bumping from one village to the next. Village Paish Imams were considered in the category of other artisans (in local language Kammi Kameen) like carpenters and potters, and they were paid in kind at the crop harvest.

They were also paid for performing nikah (marriage prayers) and wielded a little more respect than other artisans, because they may have taught all the adults of the community.

Bulleh Shah’s herding at a very young age shows that the family was struggling to survive and had to put its young to work. There are many miracles attached to Bulleh Shah’s herding period and the way he put back a crop plundered by animals. But such childhood stories are common for all sages, and sometimes they are identical. Often, devotees and superficial commentators create such stories to belittle the human efforts that these sages undertook to accomplish distinction. (Apart from the stories related to herdship, its a strange thing to note that almost all the prophets and some saints did herdship. I remember Ashfaq Ahmed’s line in ‘Man Chale ka Sauda’ herding teaches how to deal with / guide the difficult/ stubborn human beings)
**
However, Bulleh Shah’s herding is undeniable from all written accounts. Besides feeling the pain of poverty, Bulleh Shah must have experienced class/caste stratification at a very young age. It is interesting that two of the great Punjabi classical poets, Baba Farid and Bulleh Shah, were born to poor village Paish Imam families, went through difficult economic circumstances but educated themselves at the highest level.
**
Real knowledge for Bulleh Shah

After having accomplished his scholastic learning Bulleh Shah, like his predecessors, faced the question of epistemology (theory of knowledge) of learning. The question was and is: how and why is knowledge gained? Sultan Bahu had categorized the knowledge through religious madrassas as a marketable commodity used to charm the rulers and mislead the people. For him the real knowledge expands your inner-self and helps you to relate to humanity, nature and the whole universe. Bulleh Shah was sharper in negating the knowledge gained for religious and other establishment-friendly purposes:

  • Ikko alaf tere darkar/ Ilmoon bas kareen o yar
  • (Only Alaf is required/ Stop acquiring worldly knowledge)

Bulleh Shah goes into details of how knowledge is used by various levels of the religious establishment and how it makes them degenerates and compares them with Satan who was the most learned angel of God but went against God’s will. For Bulleh Shah real knowledge came from history and real-life experiences. In another Kafi, he points out that he has acquired the understanding of the world from the course of history where anarchy shows the naked realities hidden under the ongoing status quo. For example in the following Kafi he predicates his understanding of the reality of socio-economic relations within society and how they can be put upside down with the change of time:

Times have gone upside down/ That is how I discovered the secret of love/ The crows are killing eagles/ The sparrows have put hunting birds down/ The blanket [wearing] people have become kings/ The kings are made to beg/ Bullah, this is the dictation from the Supreme/ Who can stop it?***

in another Kafi, depicting the triumph of economic greed even over sacred relationships, he says: " Dhee maan noon lut ke le gai" (The daughter got away robbing her mother).** Bulleh Shah comes very close to basing human consciousness on material conditions. In a Kafi, he states " Mati qudam kraindi o yar" (O my friend, it is soil that takes every human and non-human shapes). And he finished the Kafi by saying that, in the end, the soil goes back to soil and he thus dismisses the metaphysical concepts of life hereafter. (I think there is some intrepretational problem by the writer here)**

Within the confines of “dictations from the Supreme” or history, real knowledge leads one to relate to humanity, nature and the universe. This goal can be achieved only through first surrendering your ego in front of your Murshid and fall in deep love with this relationship: " Jad main sabq ishq da paRhia/Daryia waikh wahdat de waRiya/Ghuman Gharian de vich aRia/ Shah Inayat laiya par." (When I learned the lesson of love/I entered the river of unity/I was trapped in whirlwinds/ Shah Inayat helped me to get across.)**

**Bulleh Shah’s Teacher (Murshid)
**
As the last line of the Kafi indicates, Bulleh Shah became a follower of Sufi Shah Inayat Qadiri, who was a member of the Arain tribe of Lahore. Bulleh Shah’s choice of an Arain preceptor-Arains are considered much lower in the caste trajectory of the subcontinent- must have been taken as degrading for the family. There is a verse in which his family women shame him for taking an Arain as his Guru:

‘Sisters and sister-in-laws came to Bullha to make him understand/You have put a dirty spot on the family name.’ In response Bulleh Shah is said to have written: ‘The person who calls me Syed will go to hell/If someone calls me Arain, he/she will have a place in paradise.’ (Bulleh nu samjhanwan aaiyan Bhena te bharjaiyan)

**
Bulleh Shah’s Dance & Social issues**

For Bulleh Shah taking an Arain as his Murshid was an act of declassing, or surrendering his ego and negating the ingrained caste system. He was probably the only classical Punjabi who openly expressed ishq (love) for his Guru. Inayat Qadri’s alienation with Bulleh Shah is a much-talked-about myth in which it is claimed that he had to learn dancing and went back to his Murshid dancing in female attire. The cue of this myth is taken from Bulleh’s famous Kafi: " Tere ishq nachaiya kar ke thayya thayya" (Your love made me dance beat by beat). This is a nice and beautiful story about performing arts professionals but most probably Bulleh Shah wrote this Kafi in a trance of several Persian Ghazals that were favorites among Chishti-Qadria circles. Ghazals written by Usman Harooni, guru of Moeen-ud-Din Chishti Ajmairi (founder of the Chishtia order in India) which was written about six centuries before Bulleh Shah was born, is almost identical. Bulleh Shah gave a unique indigenous color and flavor to Harooni’s Persian ghazal, which opens with the verses:

I don’t know why I start dancing the moment I see you/ But I am proud of myself that I dance in front of my friend/ I am Usman Harooni, friend of Mansoor [Hallaj]/ People taunt and degrade me but I keep dancing for you on the altar.

There is a corollary to the fiction mentioned above. In it Bulleh Shah, like his Murshid, is forced to leave Kasur for Lahore, banished by the extremely conservative Sunni Afghan rulers of Kasur. A dancing woman, Muradi Begum, gave him refuge and taught him dancing, as the story goes. It is more likely that Kasur’s rulers threw him out of the city because of his defiant lifestyle, but the refuge provided by Muradi Begum is not doubtful. It is more likely that Muradi Begum, wife of Punjab Governor, Amir Munno Muin-ul-Mulk who ruled Punjab from 1748-1753 may have helped Bulleh Shah because Lahore was a much more tolerant city.

(Probably, Muradi Begum is the first woman during the Mughal period who first started ruling Punjab under the name of her infant son after Munno’s death in 1753 and then directly under her own name. She may have helped Bulleh Shah during her own or her husband’s reign).

The rift between Bulleh Shah and Inayat Qadri has been a topic of discussion in their admirers’ circles. Scrutinizing several sources, it looks more probable that Inayat Qadri’s son-in-law visited Bulleh Shah in Kasur and later could not give him proper attention because he was busy making arrangements for the wedding of his teacher’s daughter. Inayat Qadri’s son-in-law complained that Bulleh Shah did not do properly host the guests because he considered himself better than the Arains visiting him. It is likely that upon hearing his, Inayat Qadri got upset and started keeping Bulleh Shah at a distance. Feeling the pain of this Bulleh Shah referred to it in his Kafi: ‘O my love I made a mistake by not going along with you.’ (I remember Ek Todan Chanba gawan gi main ruthra yaar maawan gi & Mera Ruthra Yaar ni mann da ni main kenu aakhan sung by Abida Parveen)
**
Political Situation During Bulleh Shah’s Time**

Besides personal difficulties, Bulleh Shah’s period was extremely unsettling. He spent his early life in Aurangzeb’s era. He also witnessed the war of succession between Aurangzeb’s three sons, Muazzam (known in history as either Bahadur Shah I or Shah Alam), Azam and Kambakhsh. Muazzam did the same to his two brothers and their families that Aurangzeb had done to his own siblings. Muazzam’s mother was a Hindu Rajput: despite being extremely conservative, Aurangzeb’s traditional queen Nawab Bai Begum Saheba was the daughter of the Raja of Rajauri (Jarral Rajput). It is also interesting that Bahadur Shah I was diametrically opposed to his father’s Sunni faith: he was a Shia. One can see the weirdness of the ruling Mughal family’s genealogy and religious variations under which people had to survive.

Bahadur Shah made peace with the rising Sikh movement but his reign lasted only four years (1707-1711) and the latter resumed guerilla war during Bulleh Shah’s life. Apparently, Punjab was in turmoil due to Sikh incursions and frequent invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali which made this verse popular: " Khahda peeta lahe da te baqi Ahmad Shahe da" (Consume as much as you can because the rest is going to be taken away by Ahmad Shah anyway). Bulleh Shah lamented the destruction of Punjab by saying that “* Bura haal hoia Punjab da…*” (Punjab’s conditions have worsened).**

**
Contemprory Poets of Bulleh Shah

**The 18th century was one of the most troubled times in Punjab: the Mughal empire was declining and there were uprisings all around. However, this was the period in which the greatest literature of Punjabi, Sindhi, and Urdu was created. Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (1689-1752) was Bulleh Shah’s contemporary while his lifespan also overlapped with Waris Shah (1722-1798), Abdul Wahab (1739-1829), better known by his pen-name, Sachal Sarmast, and Urdu poets such as Mir Taqi Mir (1723-1810), Khwaja Mir Dard (1721-1785) and Nazeer Akbarabadi Nazeer (1740-1830). However, instead of reflecting the gloom of the declining Persian aristocracy that was visible in Urdu poetry of the time, Bulleh Shah is upbeat as we see in his Kafi: " Ishq di navion navin bahar" (Love is blooming on every turn).

Bulleh Shah’s Poetry

**Available collections of Bulleh Shah’s poetry are tainted by Kafis and verses which do not seem to be his own. There were probably many other poets, devotees, and singers who put their own creations under his name. Several Kafis are totally based on Shah Hussain’s verses with little alteration or addition. And, it is obvious that a poet of Bulleh Shah’s calibre would never plagiarize another poet. Some Kafis are so repetitive and carry religious themes which are more likely written by a lower-level poet. In addition, many singers use Bulleh Shah’s name for Sultan Bahu’s anti-Mullah baits. Bulleh Shah is taken to be a major representative of anti-Sharia themes and his predecessors’ work is also credited to him. **Therefore, it is extremely difficult to sort out Bulleh Shah’s authentic Kafis, requiring the reader to be very diligent.

Bulleh Shah’s poetry takes the reader to a slippery slope where, sometimes, lyricism, simple vocabulary and use of popular folk symbols are so enchanting that they do not press the reader into exploring their deeper meaning. Due to its lyricism and apparent simplicity, explaining Bulleh Shah’s poetry is the hardest for a literary critic and hence it has prompted some to say that Bulleh Shah is an overrated poet. It looks like Bulleh Shah’s simplicity may have encouraged many to add their own poetry to his name. (This reminds me Hashr of Ghalib/ Ahmed Faraz’s poetry nowadays) The fact of the matter is that Bulleh Shah is very subtle and philosophically very articulate if one starts scratching beneath the surface.Bulleh Shah further honed the philosophical contours of Punjabi intellectual discourse. His predecessors had been alluding to determinants of history in symbols like Shah Hussain’s ’ Rab da bhana’ (God’s wish). Bulleh Shah clearly established that human relations and consciousness are determined by historical conditions. In the verse ‘* hukam hazoroon’ (orders from the Supreme) he affirmed the concept of a pre-determined historical process but also unearthed the dynamics of change where the weakest can conquer the most powerful. Bulleh Shah was witnessing the declining Mughal empire, its ruling elites’ downfall while the Sikh movement was rising. ’ Bhurian wale raje keete*’ (the blanket-wearing people are becoming rulers) is understood to be a reference to Sikh guerillas which comprised the artisans and poorest section of the Sikh Jatts of Punjab. Some Sikh literary critics have interpreted Bulleh Shah’s symbol of “Bhurian wale” as a slight but they fail to understand that Sufis preferred “Bhura” over the Mullah’s white sheet. **Though Sikhs had not captured state power by then, Bulleh Shah’s sharp eyes could see where history was heading.
**
Bulleh Shah aptly discovered the basic contradictions of the society that were reflecting in religious differentiations. The following verse highlights his understanding of the essence of conflicts among people:

'Somewhere he is called Ramdas and elsewhere Fateh Muhammad/This dispute is from eternity/Once the quarrel between them was settled/ Something else came out of it.'Bulleh Shah took symbols and metaphors like Heer-Ranjha, charkha, weaving, etc. and expanded them. He gave them new dimensions and deepened the philosophical discourse. Through Heer-Ranjha’s metaphors Bulleh Shah broadened the concept of unity that was much closer to Advaita Vedanta:

‘When I learned the lesson of love, I got scared of the mosque/I ran into the Hindu seminary where several horns are blown/ There Heer and Ranjha became one/ Heer was mistakenly searching for Ranjha in the jungle while he was right in her lap/ I lost all [worldly] awareness.’

  • Ranjha Ranjha kardi ni mein aape Ranjha hoi *(Uttering ‘Ranjha’ over and over, I have become Ranjha myself)

**Bulleh Shah & Mullahs (Orthodox clergy)

**Bulleh Shah was very hard on Mullahs and Pundits and took an unprecedented defiant posture: ‘You [Mullah] wasted your life in the mosque/ Your inner side is filled with filth/You never stood for prayer of unity/ Now why are you making loud noises? You stay awake but dogs are also awake at night!’

After negating the Mullah, Bulleh Shah defiantly declares: ‘Burn the prayer mat and lota [earthen pot]/ Don’t take the prayer rosary and holy stick/Lovers are announcing over and over/Leave the kosher and eat non-kosher.’

‘Oh Bullah drink wine and eat kebabs, burn the fire of your bones under [them].’

‘Loot God’s abode/, Rob the robber of all robbers.’

**Some historians claim that when Bulleh Shah died in 1757, Mullahs refused to lead his funeral prayer. Bulleh Shah would not have cared about it at all!

(He was buried outside the city but today his grave is the centre of the city of Kasur. The city has moved to where Bulleh Shah Was Buried. That is the verdict of history and the living proof of the power of the mystics who preached love and sided with the people.)**

http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta2/tft/article.php?issue=20110930&page=16

9

Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

Shah Hussain & Madhoo Laal (Twin Souls)

Lahore has a long history of Sufi mystics who have made the city the center of their activities. Some of the most renowned Islamic holy men, of the sub continent, have been associated with this city. Ali Hajvery, popularly known as Data Ganj Baksh, and Mian Mir are two such luminaries.

However of all the saints associated with Lahore, Shah Hussain is certainly the most unique in terms of his vibrant life and subsequent populist legacy. Also an established poet he is widely recognized as the inventor of the kafi form of poems.

Though his poetry is not very extensive in size but its quality is exquisite, Some of the most beautiful and touching poems in Sufi tradition are attributed to him. Over the years almost all of the top notch singers have lent their voices to singing his composition thereby further spreading his message of selfless love.

( Many of us have listened to his Kalams like:
**
Maye ni main kinnu aakhan dard vichoray da haal ni by Hamid Bela,
Ni asyyon assin naina de akhay lagay by Pathanay Khan,
Ghoom Charkra ghoom teri kattan wali jeeway & Main vi jhok raanjhan de jana by Abida Parveen)**

What makes his poetry particularly poignant is the constantly underlying theme of the above selfless love bordering on self negation assuming almost exclusively a female identity for this purpose, and equating the yearning for a lover with the desire to seek the ultimate truth. It is full of references of surrender of self to unremitting unconditional love.

This switch of identity from male to female is a trait common to all Sufi poetry, as females are held by them to be more faithful and selfless in love, and also as an acknowledgement that they bear the majority of the travails associated with true love.

An integral part of Lahore’s rich cultural legacy is the Mela Charaghan , or “festival of the lights”. This festival is held at the shrine of Shah Hussain in Baghbanpura area adjacent to Shalimar gardens. During the three days of the festival a lot of music and dancing takes place there. Many visitors also take the opportunity to pray at the mystic’s grave.
However those doing so are rarely aware that there are two persons buried in the shrine instead of one … and therein lies one of the more enchanting aspects of the city’s history.

This lack of general awareness is also an unfortunate testimony to the callous apathy with which we seem to treat our past – a real tragedy that such a beautiful part of our history is barely mentioned in the text books in place.

Shah Hussain was born in Lahore into a family of weavers (the reason behind depth of his kalam ghoom charakra). Therefore in the social hierarchy **they were rather lowly placed, derogatorily called “kamee’s”, a common name for people who worked with their hands. **

**He lived during the reigns of two of the greatest and most liberal of the mogul rulers, Akbar and Jahangir. This period is renowned for the cultural development which took place, and the encouragement of arts of all kind.

**
**It was also a period when there was a deep struggle between orthodox versions of religions, for both Islam and Hinduism, and new liberal interpretations – strict conformism to traditional beliefs being challenged and countered by the concepts of “unity of being” (wahdat ul wajood) and “bhagti” (way of love).

**

According to oral history his forefathers had converted to Islam during the Tuglaq dynasty. Exhibiting an unusual interest in religion from early childhood, Shah Hussain got the traditional religious education then in vogue. Sometime later, at a comparatively young age, he was initiated into the Qadri order thereafter gradually developing his perception of the spiritual world and becoming engrossed in it.

For a number of years he practiced a strictly austere way of life, however all this came to an end due to an extraordinary event.
**
The Turning Point**

**The legend goes that while learning the tafseer of the Holy Quran from a scholar, he asked for an explanation for the verse 32 of the sixth Surah Al Anam “what is the life of this world but play and amusement ”
**
**
Refusing to accept the traditional interpretation of the verses, he vowed to lead his life in line with the literal meanings. He adopted, from then onwards, the existence of a libertine. He also shaved off his beard and moustaches!
**

The concept of oneness of the creator and creation seemed to be of a particular fascination to him. Already fond of music and dancing, he created an aura of festivity around himself, frequently wearing very colorful attire. In addition to this he had no compulsion in being seen in abodes of ill repute.

All this was reported to his murshid who had originally initiated him into the Qadri order. Deeply perturbed by this news he came to witness the behavior of his mureed – he realized that Shah Hussain had chosen to be despised by the orthodox clergy in order to be nearer to the ordinary people. He then blessed his pupil and left him to travel on his own chosen esoteric path towards reaching the ultimate truth.

His life was going on in this atypical but mostly predictable manner when an event changed it forever. Being used to intermingling freely with ordinary people of all creed and social standing, his mehfils attracted a variety of participants.** A handsome young Brahmin boy, Madhu Lal, who lived in what is present day Shahdara, used to cross the river Ravi specially to attend these gatherings.**

Being extraordinarily intelligent, Madhu would engage Shah Hussain in varied discussions. What happened next is well known, but why it happened is as much a matter of conjecture now, as it was then. First to the events that we do know happened …

Shah Hussain became obsessed with Madhu, and constantly craved his company – to an extent that he would go and stand outside his house at all times of the day. In time Madho also began reciprocating in the same manner, and most of the times the two were seen in each other’s company, blithely reveling.

For the citizenry this relationship, in their eyes, between a Hindu boy and a Muslim savant, became the favorite topic of gossip. Deeply embarrassed, Madhu’s family tried to dissuade him from meeting Shah Hussain, but without success.

**Once holi was being celebrated, and Madhu came and threw red color ochre on Shah Hussain who went into raptures, and went dancing all over the city. From then on he always wore red colored clothes …
**

Soon after he changed his name to Madhu Lal Hussain. Though he most probably did it to declare that he and Madho were inseparable, but this action also has deeper symbolic meaning. The name Lal (red) is in reality a beautiful cohesion of part of Madhu’s name and the symbol of mature love, and recognition of eternal truth, in Sufism ….

**
Social response as to relationship between Madhoo Laal - Shah Hussain**

An interesting fact is that during all of these events the hindus of the city, like the majority of ordinary Muslims, continued to venerate him as he was famous for his karamaats, and ultimately it was one such demonstration of his spiritual powers which led to Madhu and his family adopting Islam ….

What possibly could have driven the mystic to act in the way that he did towards Madhu? We need to remember that one of the most important tenant of Sufism is to seek and reach the ultimate truth by means of love. For them its therefore far more important that this emotion is present in an individual, in its purest form, rather than the means by which its ignited.

The reasoning being that an individual, who develops pure love, towards any object of affection, on the lines of the philosophy of twin souls, is then ready to travel on the spiritual path or Tareekat.

Thus it did not matter to Shah Hussain that the catalyst of developing this feeling in him was a Hindu Brahmin boy. For him this infatuation, chaste and pure, was but a means of getting ready for his own individual identity to disappear, and fuse with the only true entity.

At the same time his personal lifestyle, keeping in form with his rebellious nature, was a mockery of the strict puritan lifestyle advocated by the orthodox theologians who preached, but one way, for the everlasting salvation of the soul.

While there were inevitably questions as to the propriety of his relationship with Madhu, the general consensus was always that of this being a purely spiritual in nature. Otherwise it’s inconceivable that Shah Hussain would have remained unpunished by authorities, or more importantly, held in such high esteem by general public – society being as unforgiving then, as now, to such seemingly flagrant violations of established norms. In addition to this Madhu and most probably, his family converted to Islam, which demonstrated the profound impact Shah Hussain had on them.

When Shah Hussain died, he was buried at Shahdara. He had predicted that he would be buried twice. After a few years, during one of the river Ravi’s floods, his grave was washed away. Madhu then exhumed his corpse and had him buried in the present location.

Madhu lived for decades after the death of Shah Hussain. There is no reliable record of him ever getting married. With his death he received the ultimate affirmation of the sanctity of his relation with the mystic, by the people of Lahore…

It is Madhu Lal who lies buried besides Shah Hussain.

http://www.borderlinegreen.com/2010/09/24/madhu-lal-hussain-the-twin-souls/

10

Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

Sultan Bahoo is considered to be most rebellious of all the Sufis who raised his voice first against the orthodox clergy (Mullahs). Here are some of his sayings:

  • God enabled you and you memorized [Quran] but the veil [of ignorance] was not lifted to see the secretes [of the universe)/ You studied very hard to become an accomplished scholar and yet you were allured by money/ You can read hundreds of thousands of books and yet it cannot conquer your ego (self interest)

  • The religious scholars study just to demonstrate arrogance while Mullahs boast/ These wretched people wander the streets [like vendors] carrying their books [scriptures]/ Wherever they see rich food [as offering] they recite with more zeal/ Those people who are selling their labor [religious knowledge] are robbed in both worlds.

  • After studious readings they have claimed to be religious authorities (Mushaikh) and they worship double the time [of others]/Their inner hut (heart) is being robbed but neither their body nor their heart knows it because they are misled (by satan).

  • They [mullahs, etc.] study very hard to please the rulers. What is the gain of such scholarship?/ If the milk has been soured then it can be boiled many times but it can never produce butter.

**- The more they [mullahs] studied the more arrogant they became. Even their wisdom took a nosedive.
**

  • The scholars have become heavyweights through studying thousands of books and gaining knowledge / They are unable to read an alphabet of love and are wandering misguided/The journey from [religious] scholasticism to higher level is tedious and the distance is too large/The ones who did not buy love are condemned in both worlds.

**

  • If the moving [counting beads] of tasbih [rosary] does not move [transform] the heart then why hold a tasbih?/ If gaining of knowledge does not evoke humility [obedience] then what is the gain of [such a] knowledge? /If sitting through chillas [isolation] does not bring any fruits then what is the purpose of adopting [the ritual] of chillas? /Without mixing [of yogurt] the milk does not transform into yogurt even if it has been boiled many times over and turned reddish.**

  • You [Mullah] have become a professional tasbih-mover and you utter incoherent words.

  • The jewel of your heart does not move while you are wearing garlands made of hundreds [five-twenties] of pieces /When you have to give something your throat is squeezed but when you have to get something you become a lion/ Bahu, for the stone-hearted people the rain [of love] gets wasted.

  • If faith [religion] was in studying then the heads [of Husain and his family] would not have been put on spikes [in Karbla]/ Eighteen thousand religious scholars would have sacrificed their lives for Hussain /If they had professed to the Prophet’s elegance why would they ban the water [on Hussain]/Bahu, the faith of only those is true who give their head [sacrifice their life]
    **

  • If God could be found by washing and bathing then frogs and fish would have found it [first]/If God could be found by celibacy then emasculated bulls would get him readily.**

http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta2/tft/article.php?issue=20110923&page=16

11

Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

Itni lambi lambi post :eek:

12

Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

religious forums ka asar hai :hehe:

Personalities bhi to dekho.

13

Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

:hmmm: will read it free-time. :slight_smile:

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Re: Rebellious Sufis of Punjab

:emmy: don’t tease please :naak: