The myth of sufi religiosity: Shattered.
Raati jaagien, karein ibadat...
Raat nu jaagan kutte, taithon utte...
Dar* maalik da mool na chhad de...
Bhaanve sau sau pavaunde jutte, taithon utte...
Rukhi sukhi roti khaande...
Atte ja rodi te sutte, taithon utte...
Chal ve miyaan Bulleya chal yaar mana le...
Nahi te baazi lae gaye kutte, taithon utte...
You keep your self awake at night, to pray...
It's dogs who are supposed to be awake all night, they are better than you...
They never leave the doorstep of their master...
Even if they have to face a hundred beatings...
They eat whatever left overs they get...
And sleep on the stone floor, they are better than you...
Come, oh Bulleya, let me make peace with my beloved...
Otherwise, even dogs will be better than me...
The current popular opinion about sufism seems to hover around religious devotion. Perhaps this is why it is widely revered. It is misunderstood for the love for the society's interpretation of "god". In sufism, at least in the poems written by Bulleh Shah and Sultan Baahu, the ideas of mainstream religion and god are outright rejected. An example is the verse above, written by Bulleh Shah, it completely discredits the idea of religious devotion. In my mind, it points to the pick and choose attitude of the masses with regard to religion. If you pick up any average individual, at least most people I know, tend to pick and choose the religious aspects that suit their lives and practice them. And ignore the ones that are inconvenient. In the religion I was born into (sikhism) I see people in my immediate vicinity justifying their moral superiority and character by going to the temple on Sunday and talking about how knowledgeable they are about the sikh scriptures. And on the other hand, most of them have their hair cut (something forbidden in the sikh religion) for the sole reason that it is inconvenient to have a turban when you are living in the west. Okay, then why are most modern sikhs back in India without the turban? Because it is just inconvenient. Mind you, I am not in the favor sikhs wearing turbans because it makes it possible to identify a persons religion by looking at them. Which is completely opposite of what Nanak intended sikhism to be. But I digress, that's a separate issue, I think I wrote a post about it some time ago too.
So, most people will just pick and choose their favorite traits of their religion and practice them. Bulleh Shah says, that even dogs are more truthful and faithful than that. A dog will never leave the side of his master. He will bear a hundred beatings, eat whatever leftovers you give it and sleep on the stone floor, day and night, but will never leave his master for convenience.
Now, another misconception in sufi poetry is that when in the poems 'god' is mentioned, it refers to the more narrow, constricted definition of the god in vogue. The one everyone prays to in temples, mosques and churches. The old guy sitting in the sky looking over everybody's shoulder for good and bad deeds. No. It is a metaphor for the universe. The universe is the all powerful entity that is present in all of us. It is not just present in us, IT IS US. The Carbon in our skin, the calcium in our teeth, the Iron in our hemoglobin, has all come from the explosions that took place in stars billions and billions of years ago. We are in the universe, and the universe is in us. The universe, has the capability to give birth or reduce to utter non existence, entire galaxies, solar systems and everything therein. When they say that god resides in you and me, it is because the universe DOES dwell in us. We are the universe. When they say it is omnipresent, it is because there is nothing else BUT the universe. Everything around us, in us, away from us, near us, every thing you can think of, is the universe. All of us, every single one of us is connected, biologically, chemically and astronomically. All humanity is one unit. From this stems the idea of love. The love of the universe, the awareness of the universe. There is nothing that is not the universe. The word god is a metaphor for the universe, and so is the word lover, beloved etc etc. The sufi poems that seem be romantic or devotional in nature are in fact describing the love for the universe.
Romantic love too has a place in Punjabi sufi poetry. Heer, Ranjha, Sassi, Punnu, all of them and more, have been mentioned time and again in Punjabi sufi poetry. To me, it means that the universe has taken the shape of your beloved to be a part of your life. At this point I remember a line from Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans songs, "Sassi da dil luttan kaaran, hoat Punnu ban aaya ve...". Quite literally, to me it means that the universe took the shape of Punnu to win over Sassi's heart. Also, because love is love, whether it is for a human, a dog, the universe. Because they are all, in fact, the universe.
Na khuda maseete* labhda, na khuda vich kaabe*...
Na khuda qur'an kitabaan, na khuda namaaze...
Na rabb arsh* mualla utte, na rabb khaane kaabe hoo...
Na rabb ilm* kitabi labha, na rabb vich mehraabe* hoo...
Ganga teerath mool* na mileya, painde* behisaabe hoo...
Jadd da murshid* mileya Baahu, chhutte sab azaabe* hoo...
Saanu ishq laga hai pyaare da...
Neither was god found in mosques, nor in mecca...
Neither was god found in the Qur'an, nor in its reading...
Neither was god found in the sky, nor in mecca...
Neither was god found in knowledge of religious books, nor in the mehrab*...
A pilgrimage to the Ganges did not yield anything either, even after countless trips...
Since the time Baahu found his teacher, he was freed of all ordeals...
Now, I only feel the love for my beloved...
Another verse, that debunks the popular religious beliefs and practices is given above. It is most probably written by Sultan Baahu, I speculate that because of the 'hoo' at the end of each line. A writing style popularized by Baahu's poems. He says that people have searched far and wide for god. They did not find it in mosques, or temples, or even after countless trips to the Ganges. It was not found in religious books, or up in the sky. How can god/universe expected to be found only in a building or a book, when it is everywhere? It means that one does not realize that what they are looking for, is all present. Something that is everywhere, how can you expect it to be constrained in a river? Expecting to find the omnipresent universe just in one place and thinking that it will not be found anywhere else is naivety at its best and stupidity at its worst. Once a teacher or a guide has made you understand that, you are free from all the ordeals of the attempts to realize god/universe. Free from all the pointless, monotonous, religious rituals that are conducted day in and day out in the attempt to please and realize the god that does not exist. You do not need to realize the universe. YOU ARE THE UNIVERSE. Physically, chemically, scientifically, mystically and Sufically. So elegant.
Bullah Shah tetho vakh nahi...
Bin shah te dooja kakh nahi...
Par vekhan wali akh nahi...
Bulleh Shah is a part of you...
There is nothing, in fact, that isn't Shah...
But some lack the vision to realize this...
At this point I remembered the above verse. Here Bulleh Shah uses himself as a metaphor for god/universe. He illustrates that he is in the universe and the universe is in him.. In fact, there is none other than the universe. But the people who look for god/universe inside a building/river/book, do not possess the eye to recognize this. Sort of like "beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder". So appropriate. Looking for something all your life, that which has has always been around you, in you. But failing to realize that. How unfortunate.
Padh padh ilm te faazil* hoya...
Ve kade apne aap nu padheya naa...
Bhajj bhajj vadna ae mandar maseeti...
Ve kade mann apne vich vadeya naa...
Ladna roz shaitan de naal...
Ve kade nafs* apne naal ladeya naa...
Bulleh Shah, asmaani urdiyaan phado nahi...
Ve jehra ghar baitha ohnu phadeya naa...
Bus karin oh yaar, ilmu*...
You have read countless books and become an wise religious scholar...
Yet you never read yourself...
You run to enter into temples and mosques...
Yet you never entered your own heart...
You fight evil everyday...
Yet you never fought with your own mind...
Bulleh Shah suggests not to attempt to catch that, which is in the sky...
But to realize that, which resides inside our own home...
Stop now, oh knowledgeable scholar...
Again, these lines illustrate the failure of people to see and realize what is right in front of us, in us. And instead search far and wide for the god that does not exist.
Bulleh Shah oh kaun hai, uttam* tera yaar...
Ose hath qur'an hai, ose gal zunaar*...
Bulleh Shah! Who is that (who are you)? Your great friend?
In his hand he has the qur'an, and in his neck - the thread of brahmins...
The above line means to me a teaching of how a person should be. Bulleh Shah calls a person exceptional or exemplary if he does not have a regard for the banal religious rituals, because they, in fact, mean nothing. So what if a person does not follow a religion? What matters is the awareness of the universe, that we are all the same. The thread of the brahmins and the book of the muslims - it's all the same.
Masjid dha de, mandir dha de...
Dha de jo kuj dehenda...
Par kise da dil na dhaanvi...
Rabb dilaan vich rehenda...
Demolish the mosque, demolish the temple...
Demolish what ever you can...
But do not someones heart...
For God dwells in the heart...
This last verse by Bulleh Shah, hits the nail on the head. It cannot get more direct that this. It completely does away with the idea of religious devotion. For it divides people. Makes enemies out of humans, and sufism is about the message of love. For the universe, for each other and for ourselves.
*Here I list a few words in the poems that might not be understood by a person understanding present day Indian Punjabi.
- Dar - Door
- Maseet :- Mosque
- Kaaba :- A quick search on google/wikipedia reveals that Kaaba is "a black stone building in Mecca that is shaped like a cube and that is the most sacred Muslim pilgrim shrine"
- Arsh :- Sky
- Ilm :- Knowledge
- Mehrab :- A quick search on google/wikipedia reveals that "Mehrab is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying"
- Painde :- trips
- Mool :- The awareness or realization of god or universe
- Murshid :- Guide/teacher
- Azaabe :- Ordeal, torment
- Fazil :- Intellegent, wise, expert, talented
- Nafs :- Self, mind, consciousness
- Ilmu :- Knowledgeable (root word Ilm)
- Uttam :- Exceptional, exemplary
- Zunaar :- The thread that brahmins wear around their necks.
Raat nu jaagan kutte, taithon utte...
Dar* maalik da mool na chhad de...
Bhaanve sau sau pavaunde jutte, taithon utte...
Rukhi sukhi roti khaande...
Atte ja rodi te sutte, taithon utte...
Chal ve miyaan Bulleya chal yaar mana le...
Nahi te baazi lae gaye kutte, taithon utte...
You keep your self awake at night, to pray...
It's dogs who are supposed to be awake all night, they are better than you...
They never leave the doorstep of their master...
Even if they have to face a hundred beatings...
They eat whatever left overs they get...
And sleep on the stone floor, they are better than you...
Come, oh Bulleya, let me make peace with my beloved...
Otherwise, even dogs will be better than me...
The current popular opinion about sufism seems to hover around religious devotion. Perhaps this is why it is widely revered. It is misunderstood for the love for the society's interpretation of "god". In sufism, at least in the poems written by Bulleh Shah and Sultan Baahu, the ideas of mainstream religion and god are outright rejected. An example is the verse above, written by Bulleh Shah, it completely discredits the idea of religious devotion. In my mind, it points to the pick and choose attitude of the masses with regard to religion. If you pick up any average individual, at least most people I know, tend to pick and choose the religious aspects that suit their lives and practice them. And ignore the ones that are inconvenient. In the religion I was born into (sikhism) I see people in my immediate vicinity justifying their moral superiority and character by going to the temple on Sunday and talking about how knowledgeable they are about the sikh scriptures. And on the other hand, most of them have their hair cut (something forbidden in the sikh religion) for the sole reason that it is inconvenient to have a turban when you are living in the west. Okay, then why are most modern sikhs back in India without the turban? Because it is just inconvenient. Mind you, I am not in the favor sikhs wearing turbans because it makes it possible to identify a persons religion by looking at them. Which is completely opposite of what Nanak intended sikhism to be. But I digress, that's a separate issue, I think I wrote a post about it some time ago too.
So, most people will just pick and choose their favorite traits of their religion and practice them. Bulleh Shah says, that even dogs are more truthful and faithful than that. A dog will never leave the side of his master. He will bear a hundred beatings, eat whatever leftovers you give it and sleep on the stone floor, day and night, but will never leave his master for convenience.
Now, another misconception in sufi poetry is that when in the poems 'god' is mentioned, it refers to the more narrow, constricted definition of the god in vogue. The one everyone prays to in temples, mosques and churches. The old guy sitting in the sky looking over everybody's shoulder for good and bad deeds. No. It is a metaphor for the universe. The universe is the all powerful entity that is present in all of us. It is not just present in us, IT IS US. The Carbon in our skin, the calcium in our teeth, the Iron in our hemoglobin, has all come from the explosions that took place in stars billions and billions of years ago. We are in the universe, and the universe is in us. The universe, has the capability to give birth or reduce to utter non existence, entire galaxies, solar systems and everything therein. When they say that god resides in you and me, it is because the universe DOES dwell in us. We are the universe. When they say it is omnipresent, it is because there is nothing else BUT the universe. Everything around us, in us, away from us, near us, every thing you can think of, is the universe. All of us, every single one of us is connected, biologically, chemically and astronomically. All humanity is one unit. From this stems the idea of love. The love of the universe, the awareness of the universe. There is nothing that is not the universe. The word god is a metaphor for the universe, and so is the word lover, beloved etc etc. The sufi poems that seem be romantic or devotional in nature are in fact describing the love for the universe.
Romantic love too has a place in Punjabi sufi poetry. Heer, Ranjha, Sassi, Punnu, all of them and more, have been mentioned time and again in Punjabi sufi poetry. To me, it means that the universe has taken the shape of your beloved to be a part of your life. At this point I remember a line from Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans songs, "Sassi da dil luttan kaaran, hoat Punnu ban aaya ve...". Quite literally, to me it means that the universe took the shape of Punnu to win over Sassi's heart. Also, because love is love, whether it is for a human, a dog, the universe. Because they are all, in fact, the universe.
Na khuda maseete* labhda, na khuda vich kaabe*...
Na khuda qur'an kitabaan, na khuda namaaze...
Na rabb arsh* mualla utte, na rabb khaane kaabe hoo...
Na rabb ilm* kitabi labha, na rabb vich mehraabe* hoo...
Ganga teerath mool* na mileya, painde* behisaabe hoo...
Jadd da murshid* mileya Baahu, chhutte sab azaabe* hoo...
Saanu ishq laga hai pyaare da...
Neither was god found in mosques, nor in mecca...
Neither was god found in the Qur'an, nor in its reading...
Neither was god found in the sky, nor in mecca...
Neither was god found in knowledge of religious books, nor in the mehrab*...
A pilgrimage to the Ganges did not yield anything either, even after countless trips...
Since the time Baahu found his teacher, he was freed of all ordeals...
Now, I only feel the love for my beloved...
Another verse, that debunks the popular religious beliefs and practices is given above. It is most probably written by Sultan Baahu, I speculate that because of the 'hoo' at the end of each line. A writing style popularized by Baahu's poems. He says that people have searched far and wide for god. They did not find it in mosques, or temples, or even after countless trips to the Ganges. It was not found in religious books, or up in the sky. How can god/universe expected to be found only in a building or a book, when it is everywhere? It means that one does not realize that what they are looking for, is all present. Something that is everywhere, how can you expect it to be constrained in a river? Expecting to find the omnipresent universe just in one place and thinking that it will not be found anywhere else is naivety at its best and stupidity at its worst. Once a teacher or a guide has made you understand that, you are free from all the ordeals of the attempts to realize god/universe. Free from all the pointless, monotonous, religious rituals that are conducted day in and day out in the attempt to please and realize the god that does not exist. You do not need to realize the universe. YOU ARE THE UNIVERSE. Physically, chemically, scientifically, mystically and Sufically. So elegant.
Bullah Shah tetho vakh nahi...
Bin shah te dooja kakh nahi...
Par vekhan wali akh nahi...
Bulleh Shah is a part of you...
There is nothing, in fact, that isn't Shah...
But some lack the vision to realize this...
At this point I remembered the above verse. Here Bulleh Shah uses himself as a metaphor for god/universe. He illustrates that he is in the universe and the universe is in him.. In fact, there is none other than the universe. But the people who look for god/universe inside a building/river/book, do not possess the eye to recognize this. Sort of like "beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder". So appropriate. Looking for something all your life, that which has has always been around you, in you. But failing to realize that. How unfortunate.
Padh padh ilm te faazil* hoya...
Ve kade apne aap nu padheya naa...
Bhajj bhajj vadna ae mandar maseeti...
Ve kade mann apne vich vadeya naa...
Ladna roz shaitan de naal...
Ve kade nafs* apne naal ladeya naa...
Bulleh Shah, asmaani urdiyaan phado nahi...
Ve jehra ghar baitha ohnu phadeya naa...
Bus karin oh yaar, ilmu*...
You have read countless books and become an wise religious scholar...
Yet you never read yourself...
You run to enter into temples and mosques...
Yet you never entered your own heart...
You fight evil everyday...
Yet you never fought with your own mind...
Bulleh Shah suggests not to attempt to catch that, which is in the sky...
But to realize that, which resides inside our own home...
Stop now, oh knowledgeable scholar...
Again, these lines illustrate the failure of people to see and realize what is right in front of us, in us. And instead search far and wide for the god that does not exist.
Bulleh Shah oh kaun hai, uttam* tera yaar...
Ose hath qur'an hai, ose gal zunaar*...
Bulleh Shah! Who is that (who are you)? Your great friend?
In his hand he has the qur'an, and in his neck - the thread of brahmins...
The above line means to me a teaching of how a person should be. Bulleh Shah calls a person exceptional or exemplary if he does not have a regard for the banal religious rituals, because they, in fact, mean nothing. So what if a person does not follow a religion? What matters is the awareness of the universe, that we are all the same. The thread of the brahmins and the book of the muslims - it's all the same.
Masjid dha de, mandir dha de...
Dha de jo kuj dehenda...
Par kise da dil na dhaanvi...
Rabb dilaan vich rehenda...
Demolish the mosque, demolish the temple...
Demolish what ever you can...
But do not someones heart...
For God dwells in the heart...
This last verse by Bulleh Shah, hits the nail on the head. It cannot get more direct that this. It completely does away with the idea of religious devotion. For it divides people. Makes enemies out of humans, and sufism is about the message of love. For the universe, for each other and for ourselves.
*Here I list a few words in the poems that might not be understood by a person understanding present day Indian Punjabi.
- Dar - Door
- Maseet :- Mosque
- Kaaba :- A quick search on google/wikipedia reveals that Kaaba is "a black stone building in Mecca that is shaped like a cube and that is the most sacred Muslim pilgrim shrine"
- Arsh :- Sky
- Ilm :- Knowledge
- Mehrab :- A quick search on google/wikipedia reveals that "Mehrab is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying"
- Painde :- trips
- Mool :- The awareness or realization of god or universe
- Murshid :- Guide/teacher
- Azaabe :- Ordeal, torment
- Fazil :- Intellegent, wise, expert, talented
- Nafs :- Self, mind, consciousness
- Ilmu :- Knowledgeable (root word Ilm)
- Uttam :- Exceptional, exemplary
- Zunaar :- The thread that brahmins wear around their necks.
Comments
Brother, another way to look at it is this
There is universe outside (galaxies of stars in harmony and balance),
and there is universe inside of you (cluster of cells and organs in you with harmony and blood running thru)
It is for you to see the signs, signs of creation, signs of omnipotent creator with knowledge and justice.
Max Awan