Pakistan’s Sufis Preach Faith and Ecstasy
Read this great blog and was tempted to cross-post a few bits here:
Every year, a few hundred thousand Sufis converge in Seh- wan, a town in Pakistan's southeastern Sindh province, for a three-day festival marking the death of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, in 1274. Qalandar, as he is almost universally called, belonged to a cast of mystics who consolidated Islam's hold on this region; today, Pakistan's two most populous provinces, Sindh and Punjab, comprise a dense archipelago of shrines devoted to these men. Sufis travel from one shrine to another for festivals known as urs, an Arabic word for "marriage," symbolizing the union between Sufis and the divine.
Sufi Art Festival in Ajmer
My friend Syed Salman Chishty,from Dargah Ajmer Sharif sent me this message. I would have loved to be there but such are the divides and challenges that I simply cannot pack up and go without dealing with the layers of officialdom.
Chishty Foundation is based on the blessed vision ,principle and message of "Love towards all, Malice towards none" which is the blessed message of Hz.Khawaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishty (r.a) popularly known as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (r.a).
Doors in Metal
"Doors in Metal" by Rumi
Tell me, O Love,
Who is more elegant,
You or this vast garden of yours?
Shine, O moon,
You are an inspiration
to all who look upon the night sky.
Sour will turn to sweet,
Blasphemy will turn to truth,
Thorn bushes will turn to jonquil,
A hundred bodies will spring to life
with one breath of yours.
You place doors in the sky.
You place wings on the human heart.
You enchant every mind
and bewilder both worlds.
Love Stories of the Risalo of Shah Latif – Noori Jam-Tamachee
Contribution by Naveed Siraj
The Risalo of Shah Latif is divided into chapters called Surs which are composed on the lines of musical notes. Each sur is based on symbols taken from stories which are part of Sindhi folklore. Sur Kamod in the Risalo of Shah Latif is based on the love story of Noori Jam-Tamachee:
Noori Jam-Tamachee
King Jam Tamachi was a Samo ruler of lower Sind at the end of the 14th century A.D. While on a shooting expedition, he chanced to see a fisher girl named Noori, falling madly in love with her and offered to married her, his love for her blind to the social disparity between them.
When they returned back to his capital, he was made aware of the general disapproval of this match. He merely observed that the detractors did not know her as much as he did. In order to display her character and appease the cynics, one day, he announced to his queens, that he would take one of them for a ride on an outing.
the world I do not need..Amir Khusrau
Amir Khusrau
I am a pagan (worshiper) of love: the creed (of Muslims) I do not need;
Every vein of mine has become (taut like a) wire; the (pagan) girdle I do not need.
Leave from my bedside, you ignorant physician!
The only cure for the patient of love is the sight of his beloved –
other than this no medicine does he need.
If there be no pilot on our ship, let there be none:
We have God in our midst: the pilot we do not need.
The people of the world say that Khusrau worships idols.
So I do, so I do; the people I do not need,
the world I do not need.
Only you, know my pains – Rabba Meray Haal Da Mehrem Tu
"O God, you are my state of being" is what this Kafi of Shah Hussain loosely means. It is about the internal and external knowledge of Reality. I have been singing this Kafi for the last few days. Here is a translation (courtesy Shahidain) followed by an audio version and the Punjabi lyrics-
"O God, only You know all my pains.
You are within me and You are outside me( You are everywhere)
In every pore of mine (from top to toe) only you dwell.
You are the warp, You are the woof.
You are every thing for me.
Says Hussain, the Humble Faqir, I am nothing, You are everything".
Interpretation by Naveed Siraj: Divine Love is ingrained in every fibre of ones’ self & this Love is overwhelming and ever-present. Like Pathanay Khan wailing “charkha bolay sain sainâ€; i.e., even the common household chores remind one of the Lord, so one loses the distinction between the begining of this love and its manifestation and its end. [this is why “andarâ€, “baharâ€, “room room vich toonh†captivates ones imagination]
And once again Abida Parveen sings it so beautifully:
On Buddha, Silence and Impermanence
The celebrated artiste Vidya Rao from Delhi has sent this tender and profound letter after reading my post on destruction of Buddhas in Swat (and the painting that was inspired by the vandalism). I am reproducing this letter with her permission as it adds to the debate and brings in a multi-religious and multicultural perspective that is close to my heart. Her words can be so moving:
But who can silence Silence? Who can erase Emptiness? The Buddha is, and yet is not, in the stone or metal representations of him. Nor is the truth of Islam contained within the structures of a mosque. It is not the Buddha or Islam or anything such that is destroyed. What is destroyed is the connection to the inner Buddha, the inner light. We are all the poorer for this, because form, the beauty of form, gives joy and love to our lives. The task is to both mourn, work in whatever way to prevent such destruction-- but also to see this as yet another teaching on impermanence.
Here is the full text of the letter:
Ayeda Naqvi on Sufism
 Ayeda Naqvi makes some insightful remarks on Sufism in this article:
Ecstasy and Order – Salman Chishty on Rumi
My young friend, Salman Chishty, from Ajmer (India) wrote this piece for the HTÂ on the eve of Rumi's birth anniversary.
Coffee and Sufism – the ancient links
Thanks to Zainub, I came across this article on the Superluminal blog that traces the links between coffee and Sufis rather well. Coffee or Qehva was used by the Sufis to stay up for dhikr (Divine remembrance) sessions. The picture on the right also courtesy Superluminal depicts an Ottoman coffee house. Here is an excerpt:Â
Most modern coffee-drinkers are probably unaware of coffee's heritage in the Sufi orders of Southern Arabia. Members of the Shadhiliyya order are said to have spread coffee-drinking throughout the Islamic world sometime between the 13th and 15th centuries CE. A Shadhiliyya shaikh was introduced to coffee-drinking in Ethiopia, where the native highland bush, its fruit and the beverage made from it were known as bun.It is possible, though uncertain, that this Sufi was Abu'l Hasan 'Ali ibn Umar, who resided for a time at the court of Sadaddin II, a sultan of Southern Ethiopia.'Ali ibn Umar subsequently returned to the Yemen with the knowledge that the berries were not only edible, but promoted wakefulness. To this day the shaikh is regarded as the patron saint of coffee-growers, coffee-house proprietors and coffee-drinkers, and in Algeria coffee is sometimes called shadhiliyye in his honor.
The piece also narrates the story of coffee's secularization over the centuries; however, it tells us how qehva continued to be a favourite among the Sufis.
Despite coffee's eventual secularization, the fondness for it in Sufi circles and the motives for its use were not lost. Helveti dervishes were among those who enthusiastically drank coffee to promote the stamina needed for extended dhikr ceremonies and retreats.
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai
If you are seeking Allah
If you are seeking Allah,
Then keep clear of religious formalities.
Those who have seen Allah
Are away from all religions!
Those who do not see Allah here,
How will they see Him beyond?
Let us go the land of Kak
Where love flows in abundance,
There are no entrances, no exits,
Every one can see the Lord!
There is no light nor day
Every one can see the Lord!
Those who love the Lord
The world cannot hold them.
Palaces do not attract them,
Nor women nor servants
Nothing binds them:
The renouncers leave everything behind.
A message came from the Lord:
A full moon shone
Darkness disappeared
A new message came from the Lord:
It does not matter what caste you are
Whoever come, are accepted.
Where shall I take my camel,
All is Light...
Inside there is Kak, mountain and valley,
The Lord and the Lord: there is nothing but the Lord.
(translated from Sindhi by D. H. Butani)
Legacy of Shah Latif is a recent book on Bhitai's life and works. In a recent book review, Anwar Abro writes:
"Two and a half centuries after his death, the celebrated Sindhi philosopher-poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689-1752 AD) continues to inspire and influence the lives and activities of the peace-loving mystic souls of Sindh. Intellectual activities, social, political or ideological discourses are considered meaningless without the recitation of his poetry. Shah Latif has become an essential part of the day-to-day life of the people of Sindh so much so that everyone wants to find out more about his life, his principles and beliefs and discover the true interpretation of his mesmerisingly meaningful poetry..."
read more here
Picture above right is courtesy Himal Magazine
Maybe They’re Shy
Now the nightbirds will be singing
of the way we love each other.
Why should they sing about flowers
when they've seen us in the garden?
Maybe they're shy. They can't look at the face,
so they describe feet.
If they keep dividing love into pieces,
they'll disappear altogether. We must be gentle
and explain it to them.
Think of a mountain so huge the Caucasus Range
is a tiny speck. Normal mountains
run toward her when she calls.
They listen in their cave-ears and echo back.
They turn upsidedown when they get close,
they're so excited.
No more words. In the name of this place we
drink in with our breathing, stay quiet like a flower.
So the nightbirds will start singing.
Rumi
Version by Coleman Barks
"Open Secret,"
Threshold Books, 1984
The Source of Joy – Rumi
Poem by Rumi click here >>Â
Version by Coleman Barks
"Say I am You"
Maypop, 1994
On infinite love – from Kashul Mahjub
Kashful Mahjub is one of the early treatises on Sufism and has shown light to many Sufis world-wide. Full entry here >>
“Other wakefulness”
The more awake one is to the material world,
the more one is asleep to spirit.
When our soul is asleep to God,
other wakefulness closes the door of Divine grace.
Rumi
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
The Cow – a parable
Amardeep has posted the following Sufi parable related by Idries Shah with a request to respond to his humorous interpretation. Full entry here >>
In every breath
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Cal-Earth Press, 1994
Law, like love and Stop all the clocks – W H Auden
Taking a cue from the recent events in Pakistan, Ammar Qureshi has contributed a beautiful poem by Auden in a newspaper. I love the last lines:
Law, say the gardeners, is the sun,
Law is the one
All gardeners obey
To-morrow, yesterday, to-day.
Law is the wisdom of the old,
The impotent grandfathers feebly scold;
The grandchildren put out a treble tongue,
Law is the senses of the young.
Faiz translated by Vikram Seth
Came across this beautiful translation of Faiz's touching verse by Vikram Seth.
It is a great translation as it ventures to capture the melody and the mood of the original.
Last night your faded memory came to me
As in the wilderness spring comes quietly,
As, slowly, in the desert, moves the breeze,
As, to a sick man, without cause, comes peace.
 image credit
Images from Data Saheb’s Shrine
Saw this newsitem today - "Data Sahib’s 963rd urs concludes: Around 500,000 attend final prayers". The news item reported that around 0.9 million visited the shrine on Saturday. The saint left this world nine centuries ago.
During my recent visit the Urs preparations were underway. I captured a few images. First the shrine at the night-
The Intellectual
The Intellectual
The intellectual is always showing off;
the lover is always getting lost.
The intellectual runs away, afraid of drowning;
the whole business of love is to drown in the sea.
Intellectuals plan their repose;
lovers are ashamed to rest.
The lover is always alone, even surrounded with people;
like water and oil, he remains apart.
The man who goes to the trouble
of giving advice to a lover
gets nothing. He's mocked by passion.
Love is like musk. It attracts attention.
Love is a tree, and lovers are its shade.
RumiÂ
-- Version by Kabir Helminski
“The sea is seeking you” (Rumi)
Silence is the sea, and speech is like the river.
The sea is seeking you: don't seek the river.
Don't turn your head away from the signs offered by the sea.
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
Petal to Petal..More of Parveen Shakir
Nirmal has been visiting this blog and requesting for more translations of Parveen Shakir. I have found some on the Internet and here they are. Translations cannot do justice to the original pieces. Nuances are lost and metaphors change their shape. However, some of these are quite creative!
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