Bulha, ki jaana maeN kaun-

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This is one of the most famous of Bulleh Shah’s kafis. In his quest for the nature of his self, it has a special place. Viziers are often asked, “As a man, where have I come from, and where am I going?” But, it has rarely been asked, “Who is this ‘i’ who comes and goes?”

In answer the question “who am I ?” Bullah says that he does not belong to any particular group or class. He is neither a pious worshipper and a believer, nor is he a member of the group of profligates. He is not committed to the Vedas nor to any other holy book. He is neither fully awake, nor fully asleep. He is neither affected by joy, nor by sorrow. He is neither among the wicked, nor among the virtuous. All these are contingent facts, dependent on something; but his essence is necessary, independent of everything.

He goes on to say that he is neither made of water nor of earth, neither of fire nor of air. He belongs neither to one country nor to another, neither to this religion nor to that. In fact, in regard to religion, he does not believe in its institutional and organized form. All the material elements of which man is made are perishable, but his essence is everlasting.

At the end, we get a clue as to what he really is, and from what source he comes. His reality is neither his body nor his mind, but his soul. The individual, shorn of all covering, is left with only the soul as its essence. The soul is immortal, and is not subject to the laws of time and space. It is free from the constraints of birth and death, of growth and decay. It is a spark of the absolute, and will ultimately marge back into him. It is in this sense that Bulleh Shah claims that he is the beginning as well as the end, and that he recognizes none except the one Lord.(J R Puri)

“moonh aaee baat na rehndee ey”

Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.

If I tell a lie, something is left out;
If I speak out the truth, there is a blaze.
My mind fears both the alternatives;
But haltingly my tongue speaks out.
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.

Whosoever found the secret from the mystic,
He searched for the path within himself.
He is a blissful dweller of that temple,
Which knows neither rise nor fall.
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.

Respect and regard to all is essential,
But I know the inner reality of all.
In everyone there dwells the form of the Lord.
In some it is manifest, in some it is latent.
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.

Here, in this world, darkness prevails.
This world is a slippery courtyard.
Enter within and see who is there.
In vain do the foolish seek Him without.
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.

Here the world has been made manifest.
It has a strange secret of its own.
From a single Form a flash bursts forth,
Even as a spark ignites gunpowder.
Word that come on my tongue cannot be held back.

O Bulleh the Lord is not apart from us
Other than the lord none does exist
Alas! we do not have the seeing eye
That’s why life is a tale of suffering
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.
(Translation by J R Puri)

i wish i spoke better punjabi.

Meanwhile, I had the good fortune of being able to pick up, from Hasan Abdal, the first eight titles featured at http://www.sufiwisdom.org/books.html and found these to be quite useful.

‘This transient world
is neither thine nor mine;
all is finite
why then this quarrel
this contest
for all is ephemeral there in.’

Sufi thought could rid our world of all its woes!
Thanks for sharing.