The Visionary Baba Bulleh Shah

Guest · #1

Bulleh Shah's was a major voice against injustice of the Mughal Aurangzeb. He called Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Ninth Sikh Guru, who was beheaded by Aurangzeb, a Ghazi. He hailed Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, as a protector of Hinduism:"I talk about neither yesterday nor tomorrow; I talk about today. Had Gobind Singh not been there, They would all be under Islamic sway."He (Baba Sahib) gave no quarter to hypocrisy. He was particularly hard on Mulla~ Quazi amd Mufti in the Muslim social hierarchy. f1e accepted no discipline. Says he:"I am emancipated, emancipated I am, I am no prisoner of being born a Syed, All the fourteen heavens are my territory, I am slave to none. Only they shout loud while calling others to prayer Whose hearts are not pure . Those who go to Mecca on pilgrimage Have little else to occupy them here."Considering the time he lived and where he lived (Punjab), it was highly bold of Bulleh Shah to have challenged the mindset of the bigoted Muslims of his time:"The Mullas and Qazis show me the light Leading to the maze of superstition. Wicked are the ways of the world Like laying nets for innocent birds With religious and social taboos They have tied my feet tight."Be that as it may, Bulleh Shan maintained:"Shariat is my midwife, Tariqat - is my mother, This is how I have arrived at the truth of Haqiqat."Despite this, when he was denounced as a heretic, Bulleh Shah shouted back:"A lover of God? They'll make much fuss; They'll call you a Kafir You should say -yes, yes."

Guest · #2

He does not differentiate between the Hindu and the Muslim. He sees God in both of them. When he decides to ridicule them, he does not spare either:"Lumpens live in the Hindu temples And sharks in the Sikh shrines. Musclemen live in the Muslim mosques And lovers live in their clime."Sick of the sophistications of the academicians, he would rather be happy in the company of the uneducated. He preferred simple folk with faith to the so called enlightened of his day:"Enough of learning, my friend For it there is no end. An alphabet would do for me, No one knows when one's life would end."The Sufis of the Punjab were close to the saints of the Bhakti Movement. Both denounced fundamentalism. While the Sufis laid emphasis on love, the saints emphasized devotion. Some of the spiritual stages of the Sufis have parallels in the saints of the Bhakti Movement :There are three main Sufi Orders of Sufism prevalent in India: Qadri, Suhrawardi and Chishti. Bulleh Shah belonged to the Qadri denomination. The main features of the Qadri order are:(a)Developing the spiritual potential by exercising discipline and self-denial. (b) Discarding rituals and ceremonials of any faith, of any type. (c) Disregard for Shariat as such. (d) Man can gain realization of the Divine Reality through the intervention of his Murshid or Guru.Bulleh Shah has delineated his spiritual journey of a Sufi through various stages as known to his times in his poetry, these being: Shariat, Tariqat, Haqiqat and Marifat. He started his spiritual journey as a conformist. Most of the seekers do so.

Guest · #3

Shariat is the preliminary stage when the Salik conforms to the Sharia or the code of conduct as dictated by Islam. It is saying prayers five times a day, observing fasts during the month of Ramzan. besides faith in the supremacy of God and Prophet Mohammad as His Messenger. It is said that Bulleh' Shah knew the text of the HOLY QURAN by heart. The way he quotes the Islamic scriptures in his verse speaks volumes for it. Says Bulleh Shah:"Understand the One and forget the rest, Shake off your ways of a non-believer Leading to the grave and to hell, in quest."Tariqat: If Bulleh Shah's verse is any guide, he did not take long to leave Shariat as a spiritual path behind, At best, he employed it as a stepping-stone. He moved on to Tariqat which is an important landmark in a Salik's career. The cardinal feature of this stage (Tariqat) is the assistance provided by the Murshid or Guru. In fact, what Sharia does in the life of a common devotee, Tarriqat does in the case of a Sufi. The literal meaning of Tariqat is the Path. Tariqat according to Bulleh Shah is the Purslat of Baba Farid, the bridge which helps the seeker pass the arduous path of hard spiritual exercises with the help of the Murshid. The Guru or Murshid is like the philosopher's stone which converts metal into gold. Good deeds are the dowry that the bride collects at this stage and then qualifies for union with the lord. In the first instance, Bulleh Shah discards the rituals and the ceremonials prescribed by the Shariat:"Burn the prayer mat, break the water pot, Quit the rosary and care not for the staff."

Guest · #4

Having done that, the -"I" surrenders to the Murshid who is going to hold his hand and cruise him to his destination. Bulleh's love for his Guru is like that of Heer for Ranjha or Sohni for Mahiwal. It is physical love sublimated into spiritual love:"Why must I go to Kaaba When I long for Takht Hazara? People pay their homage to Kaaba I bow before my Ranjha."

Guest · #5

HAQIQAT: The third stage of his spiritual journey to which Bulleh Shah refers time and again in his verse is Haqiqat or the realization of truth. The devotee understands and accepts the existence of God. God is truth. God exists in everything around us. This concept has been described in the Sufi idiom as Hamaost. When the Salik comes to realize it, he no longer discriminates between the Hindu and the Muslim, the temple and the mosque. He hears the call of the Muezzin in the flute-strains of an hindu worshipper:"Pour not on prayers, forget the fasts. Wipe off Kalma from the sight. Bulleh has found his lover within, Others grope in the pitch-dark night.What a spark of knowledge is kindled ~ I find that I am neither Hindu nor Turk. I am a lover by creed; A lover is victorious even when swindled."At this stage Bulleh Shah has little use for books and learning:"The rest is all but idle talk, What counts is the name of Allah, it looks. Some confusion is created by the learned, And the remaining g1ess is entailed in books."

Guest · #6

MARIFAT: This is the last stage of the spiritual evolution of a Sufi. It is the merging into Divine Reality called Fana and thus attaining the life eternal known in the Sufi idiom as Baqa. The Murshid helps the seeker arrive at this stage but it is the grace which makes possible the ultimate union. The moment this happens, caste and creed cease to have any meaning. The Atma (Soul) and Paramatma (God) become one. When Bulleh attained this stage, the entire world appeared to him as a reflection of the Divine Reality, Bulleh has merged in God:"Remembering Ranjha day and night, I've become Ranjha myself. Call me Dhido Ranjha, No more I be addressed as Heer. I abuse Ranjha but adore him in my heart. Ranjha and Heer are a single soul, No one could ever set them apart."The place Bulleh Shah gives to his Murshid in his spiritual evolution is reminded by this:"Leaving my parents I am tied to you, O Shah Inayat, my beloved Guru! Keep the promises made, Do come to me."Bulleh Shah is humble and finds faults in himself. He has faith in his Master's mercy. It is the grace of God which will eventually cruise him across :"I'm a poor scavenger of the court of the True Master. Bare-foot, unkempt hair, I have been summoned from beyond."In order to kill one's ego and cultivate control over all temptations, unlike his contemporaries, Bulleh Shah does not prescribe Zuhd and torturing the body to submission. On the other hand, like the Saints of the Bhakti Movement, he believes in love and devotion. At the most, he is seen suffering the pangs of separation and no more:"In my passion of union with him, I've lost all count of form; I laid my bed in the public park And went to sleep in my lover's arms. I am broken, I am bent, Tell him how I am pining for him; My disheveled hair, with the tying band in my hand, Feel not embarrassed, do go and tell him oh messenger!"Bulleh Shah goes a step further. He seems even to have been influenced by what is known as the Bhagwat tradition. He is enamored of Krishna's flute. The flute notes seem to have a peculiar pull for him :"Bulleh Shah was captivated The moment he heard the flute, Frenzied he ran towards the Master Whom and how should he salute?"Bulleh Shah was no less conscious of reforming his society. He was a severe critic of the clergy whether Islamic or Brahminic. He ridicules them for the way they exploit the people and mislead them with false promises. He calls them thugs :"The thugs with their mouths full of froth Talk about life and death Without making any sense."With the fundamentalist, he is more severe :"If you wish to be a ghazi, Take up your sword : Before killing the Kafir You must slaughter the swindler."

Guest · #7

Mashaallah

Guest · #8

"Pour not on prayers, forget the fasts. Wipe off Kalma from the sight. Bulleh has found his lover within, Others grope in the pitch-dark night.What a spark of knowledge is kindled ~ I find that I am neither Hindu nor Turk. I am a lover by creed; A lover is victorious even when swindled."For someone who believes that the Divine has many forms and names and they all combine for that "ONE-NESS" of the supreme being has really no need for the racist kalima of :"no God BUT Allah"!

anajmi · #9

Do you even know what a "Bulleh" is in gujarati. A plural of "Bullah". Do you know what a "Bullah" is in gujarati?

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The Visionary Baba Bulleh Shah

The Visionary Baba Bulleh Shah

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