Bulleh! to me, I am not known
6 September 2009
My dear friend Nabila has sent this poem that was posted on the Poetry Chaikhana website –It is well known but I loved this translation. At the end there are some comments that elucidate Bulleh’s life and message. Please also see this piece of mine based on a longer paper that I authored last year.
Bulleh! to me, I am not known - By Bulleh Shah (1680 – 1758)
Not a believer inside the mosque, am I
Nor a pagan disciple of false rites
Not the pure amongst the impure
Neither Moses, nor the Pharaoh
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
Not in the holy Vedas, am I
Nor in opium, neither in wine
Not in the drunkard`s intoxicated craze
Niether awake, nor in a sleeping daze
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
In happiness nor in sorrow, am I
Neither clean, nor a filthy mire
Not from water, nor from earth
Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
Not an Arab, nor Lahori
Neither Hindi, nor Nagauri
Hindu, Turk, nor Peshawari
Nor do I live in Nadaun
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
Secrets of religion, I have not known
From Adam and Eve, I am not born
I am not the name I assume
Not in stillness, nor on the move
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
I am the first, I am the last
None other, have I ever known
I am the wisest of them all
Bulleh! do I stand alone?
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
Some comments here also give a background on Bulleh Shah
Hi Rashid -
Mir Bulleh Shah Qadiri Shatari, often referred to simply as Bulleh Shah (a shortened form of Abdullah Shah) lived in what is today Pakistan. His family was very religious and had a long tradition of association with Sufis. Bulleh Shah’s father was especially known for his learning and devotion to God, raising both Bulleh Shah and his sister in a life of prayer and meditation.
Bulleh Shah himself became a respected scholar, but he longed for true inner realization. Against the objections of his peers, he became a disciple of Inayat Shah, a famous master of the Qadiri Sufi lineage, who ultimately guided his student to deep mystical awakening.
The nature of Bulleh Shah’s realization led to such a profound egolessness and non-concern for social convention that it has been the source of many popular comical stories — calling to mind stories of St. Francis or Ramakrishna. For example, one day Bulleh Shah saw a young woman eagerly waiting for her husband to return home. Seeing how, in her anticipation, she braided her hair, Bulleh Shah deeply identified with the devoted way she prepared herself for her beloved. So Bulleh Shah dressed himself as a woman and braided his own hair, before rushing to see his teacher, Inayat Shah.
Bulleh Shah is considered to be one of the greatest mystic poets of the Punjab region.
===
Bulleh Shah has given us a riddle to unravel today.
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
Ask yourself, What or who is not known when he keeps saying that he is “not known”? How can he say to himself that he is not known?
The little self, the ego, the self of attributes with a place in the world, the self that answers to the name Bulleh (“I am not the name I assume”) — that self can’t know the deeper Self. Why? Because the True Self is far too immense. The True Self is “not a believer… nor a pagan.” The True Self is not involved “in happiness nor in sorrow.” The True Self is too big to be contained by those definitions; it permeates them and encompasses them, without being caught by them.
Not from water, nor from earth
Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth
The True Self is not hemmed in by beginnings and ending.
From Adam and Eve, I am not born
One’s True Self is eternal.
I am the first, I am the last
And utterly whole and all-encompasing, with nothing external.
None other, have I ever known
No surprise then that the little self that clings to definitions and boundaries cannot know the Self Bulleh speaks of. The great, flowing vastness one IS, well, it is perceived, but it is not ‘known.’
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
If you want to encounter the deepest mystery, look in the mirror.
Ivan
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- Bulleh Shah
I am not caged
Not caged am I
Neither the sick nor the healer
Neither believer nor non-believer
I wander in the seven skies and lands
but none can grasp me in their hands
I am an intoxicated wanderer
beyond vice and virtue
Do not ask Bulle’s identity,
for he was never born, nor ever existed.
- Translation by Rupa Abdi
I tried the hindi font for Bulleh Shah’s poetry in the above comment, apparently your website does not support it. Hence here it is in the Roman font:
Main beqaid main beqaid
Na rogi na waid
Na main momin na main kafir
Na saidi na said
Chothin tabqeen sair asada
Kitte na hopnda qaid
Kharabat hai jaat asadi
Na soma na aib
Bullah shah di zaat keh puchna ain
Na paida na paid