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November 7, 2004
REVIEWS: The magic of Sufism
Sufi poets have played a very important role in the cultural and religious life of the common man in South Asia. Coming from Arabia, Persia, Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics, they settled in various parts of the region. Through their music, poetry and luminous prose, these saintly personalities spread their message of love, tolerance and fellow feeling across the subcontinent. Their doors were open to people from any caste or creed they belonged to. This way they tried to bridge differences between the various communities. That is why, there are many shrines in India and Pakistan that command the veneration of the followers of all faiths.
The numerous shrines dotting what is now Pakistan are still active in community service, providing free food and shelter to many in need. Sultan Bahu’s shrine on the banks of the Chenab river near Shorekote is prominent among such places as it has a separa te rest house and public kitchen, or langarkhana, where pilgrims stay for three or more days for the realization of their wishes. Whether their supplications are answered or not, they do get board and lodging without any hassle.
Belonging to the Qadri order of the Sufis, Sultan Bahu was born in a Shorekote village in 1631 during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan. Although he did not receive any formal education, he established himself as a great scholar and poet. His works, both prose and poetry, in Arabic, Persian and Punjabi are spread over as many as 140 books. More than a dozen books have survived the centuries since their first publication. But the collections of his Punjabi abyat, or quatrains, are the most popular amongst them.
The writers of the book under review, J.R. Puri and Kirpal Singh Khak, have selected 200 abyat for translation. The Punjabi text and its English transliteration should enable the reader to relish the ecstatic poetry with its correct Punjabi pronunciation.
Each quatrain illustrates the poet’s mystical wisdom and insight into the mysteries of the self. He says:
“The heart is deeper than the ocean —
who can fathom its mysteries?
Storms come and go on its surface,
while fleets sail through it,
their crews wielding their oars.
Inside the heart are the 14 realms ...”
The resonant ‘Hoo’ at the end of each line is used as a refrain and lyrical seasoning to the poems. The word is also an invocation to God.
Bahu attacks ritualistic worship that lacks sincerity. The following lines satirize the hollowness of the rituals:
“If God could be found by bathing in holy waters, frogs and fish would find Him.
If God were realized by cutting off your hair, sheep and goats, which are shorn for their wool, would realize Him too.
If God were found through nightly vigils, bats and owls would find Him.
If God could be found through celibacy, castrated bulls should also discover Him.
God is realized by those, O Bahu, who are pure of heart, noble of intent.”
As with other Sufi poets, ‘love’ (that of the Lord and the spiritual guide’s) is the driving force for everything. The word has many manifestations in Bahu’s poetry:
“This fire of love burns inside me with no smoke,fuelled by my intense longing for the Beloved.”
But the 11th quatrain in the book seems to be as rapturous as Bulleh Shah’s ‘Thayya, thayya...’ It reads in translation as follows:
“Were my whole body festooned with eyes,I would gaze at my Master with untiring zeal.
O, how I wish that every pore of my bodywould turn into a million eyes —then, as some closed to blink, others would open to see!
But even then my thirst to see him might remain unquenched...
To me, O Bahu, a glimpse of my Master is worth millions of pilgrimages to the holy Kaaba!”
Although at places it seems to be overshooting the text, the translation is reasonably good. Since both writers are non-Muslims, they may be forgiven for their faux pas. In the biographical note, they have described Bahu as a Syed belonging to the Awan tribe. The Awans do trace their roots to Hazrat Ali, but they do not qualify as Syeds as the latter are the descendants of the Holy Prophet. But what has Maqsood Saqib been doing as ‘editor’ of the book?
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