Sindhi Sufi Poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai

Biographies, Role Models etc...
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

By: Qamar Hayat Soomro

Soomra Kings Of Sindh And Sufism.

The conception of Sufism took place in the 8th, 9th century A.D., in Muslim mystics of Persia. It was during the reign of Soomra rulers of Sindh of 12th, 13th century A.D, that Sufi mystics came to Sindh from Persia. In beginning Soomras were Ismaili Shias following guidance of Fatmid Caliphs but at the end of their rule had become Sunny Muslims. The Magic of Sufism attracted them a lot and it pacified their behavior towards mystic Sufi saints. The Soomra rulers patronized the Sufi movement by giving out lands, Jagirs to Sufis to maintain Khankahs and Dargahs(shrines).
Even though the impact of Sufism was gradual, the people of Sindh, Muslims , Hindus and other casts of and religions, found it convenient to adapt it as they found an spiritual solace in its principles.
In Arabic “Suf” means wool. During the 8th century A.D., some Muslims mystics were seen wearing white woolen robe but in the 9th century A.D, this white woolen robe became common among the Muslim mystics, hence they were called Sufis.
Sufism is based on an unconditional love of God. Being open to love, spiritual yearning, delight and ecstasy, it is neither fear nor hope, but love that lifts us to God.
Thus, the Sufis introduced masses to the loving nature of God. For Sufis it is not enough to know or will for God, but it is the final union with the beloved. It is the merging of self into the Divine Being.
The mild nature people of Sindh, readily came under the sway of these principles of Sufism. Then the arrival of the renowned Sufi saint Mohammad Usman Marvandi Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sindh from Iran in 1273 A.D during the reign of Soomra King Tai bin Dodo (1272-73 to 1295-96), finally made Sindh a stronghold of Sufism.
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, after his arrival in Sindh, first visited all the cities and people of Sindh and then finally he settled down in the city of Sehwan and from there, he illuminated the soil and souls of Sindhi people with the light of Sufism. As a result of which, Sindh was blessed with such renowned Sufi saints as Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Sachal Sarmast, Bedil, Sami and many others.
Sindh became the place of peace, tranquility, tolerance and religious security, bringing Hindus and Muslims closer to each other by the doctrines of Sufism.
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

TATEE THADHI KAH KANHEE VEL VEHAN(N) JI
MATTA(N) THIYEE UNDHA PEER NA LAHI(N) PREI(N) JO

Push on forward whether it is cold or hot
no time is left to relax
Else it may become dark, you may not locate
the foot-prints of the Beloved

MURAKH MAAM NA BHUJN(N)A HEDHA(N) HODHA)N) KUN
SE KIYA(N) PREI(N) PASAN KATTAR JIN AKHIYAN MEI(N)

The stupid can't understand the divine secrets
They rather talk frivolously
How can they perceive the Beloved
who have bias in their eyes

MULHE MAHANGO QATRO SIKAN(N) SHAHADAT
ASAA(N) IBADAT NAZAR NAAZ PREI(N) JO

A drop of love is precious, yearning is martyrdom
We are to worship, He is to bless us

IN PER NA IMAN JEI(N) KALMU GU KOTHAEI(N)
DAGHA TU(N)HJE DIL MEY SHIRK AEI(N) SHAITAN
MU(N)H MEY MUSLMAN ANDER MEY AAZAR AAHEI(N)

You pose yourself as the reciter of Kalima
the faith is not like that
Your heart bears deceit, disbelief and Satan (evil)
By face you appear to be a believer
inside you are an idol worshiper.

MU(N)H TA MUSA JAHRO AADAT MEY IBLEES
AHRO KHAAM KHABEES KADHI KOH NA CHHADHIYEI(N)

Your face is as pure as that of Moses
but the habits are as those of Satan
Why don't you throw out
such a crude rogue from your soul.

MU(N)H TA MUSA JAHRO SEERAT SHAITANI
BAAZI BERANI KADHI KOH NA CHHADHIYEI(N)

Your face is as pure as that of Moses
but the character is that of Satan
Why don't you throw
such worthless deceit from your inner self

SUTTA UTHI JAAG NINDH NA KAJEY EETRI
SULTANI SUHAG NINDHIN KUNDEY NA THIYEE

O’ sleeping one! Awake, sleep not that much,
One can not obtain Sovereign Beloved just by sleeping.

KI SUMH KI JAAG NINDH NA KAJEY EETRI
EI MAANJHANDI JO MAAGH JO TOU SAAN(N)YE BHA(N)YO

You may sleep or wake up for some time
but sleep not too much
This world, which you consider
as a permanent abode
is just an afternoon dwelling.
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

Ginan:
EJI NINDDHIRA NEY VAARO PRAN(N)I
TAMEY JAAGO KAIE(N) SUTTA
JAAGI JUNMPO TOU HARI NIT JAI PONCHO

O soul searcher avoid long sleep
Wake up and don't sleep long hours
Wake up and do zikr that's how you will be near to Lord

Shah Latif:
SUTTA UTHI JAAG NINDH NA KAJEY EETRI
SULTANI SUHAG NINDHIN KUNDEY NA THIYEE

O’ sleeping one! Awake, sleep not that much,
One can not obtain Sovereign Beloved just by sleeping

Ginan:
EJI UTHH BAITH BUNDAA TUU(N) KAEI(N) SUTTO
SOVAN BHALA NAV HOYA
JAAGANTA SAHEB NEY SUB KOI PAAVEY BUNDA
SUTTA NA PAMMEY KOI

O' slave get up why keep sleeping
Too much sleeping won't help you (to get salvation)
By remembering Lord attentively one can get spiritual vision
But those who keep sleeping shall not get His vision

Shah Latif:
SUTTEY NA SARANDIYAI KAR PACHAR PREI(N) JI
VIHAAMI VEINDAI GHAN(N)A HAN(N)ANDEY HATHARA

Sleep will not benefit you, remember the Beloved
The life will pass away, and you will repent a lot

Ginan:
UTHI ALLAH NA GHUREY BUNDA TU(N) SUTEE(N) SAJHI RAAT
NAKA JORI JIV JI BAANA NAKO SAMAR SAATH
SHAH JO MUNJHIARO TINI KHEY JEY KEY SUBHAREY JAAGAN
SUBHAREY NA JAAGIYA TINN KHEY HURU(N) NA EINDHIYU(N) HATH
SEY HAI HAI KUNDHA HATH HUN(N)ANDA JEI(N) HAARI VINJHAI WATT

You did not wake up early morning and remembered Allah, but slept all night.
Neither you cared for the soul nor prepared any prvision to take along.
Only those earn reward from Lord who wake up early in the morning.
Those who do not wake up early morning will not get Huurs (rehmat, n'amat).
They will repent and wring their hands like those farmers who lost the
season of sowing feild (agricultural).

Shah Latif:
PARAH FUTTI RAAT WAEI JHEN(N)A THIYA NIKHATT
HAARI WAI WATT GHAN(N)A HAN(N)ANDEY HATHARA

The dawn has appeared, the night has passed
and the stars are dimmed
O’ imbecile! You have lost valuable occasion
Like a farmer waste his timing of sowing field (and you will repent a lot).

Ginan:
EJI MON MERA MUSALAH ALLAH MERA QAZI
KAAYA HAMARI MASEETA EE BHI ALLAH

EJI ANDAR BAITH MEI(N) NAMAAZ GUZAARU(N)
MURAKH KIYA JANEY TA'AT HAMAARI EE BHI ALLAH

My mon (qalb, heart, mind) is my namaz carpet and Allah is my judge
My being is like masjid, this is also Allah (means Allah is within me)

Inside (within my heart) I perform namaz (pray to Allah)
A foolish person will not understand my this (type of contemplation) salat, this is also Allah (within me)

Shah Latif:

TAN KHADHI MON HUJRO KAYAM CHAALIHA RUKH
KOH NA PUJHIYO PUJHIYEIN ATHHAI PAHAR ALAKH
TAA(N) TU(N) PAAN PARAKH SUBB DHAH(N) SAMHUU

Making the body a mosque
the heart a chamber for contemplation
observe not only the forty days conventional meditation
Remember the Invisible (Lord) all the times
then you will know by yourself
that He is every where

Ginan:
KOI KENI MA KARJO NINDA
SATGUR MALYA NA EE CHHEY BHED
RIKHISER KENO MA KARSHO KHED

Do not backbite any one
Follow (teachings of) true guide to attain secrets of salvation
O follower do not backbiting any one

Shah Latif:

HU CHAWANAI TU(N) MA CHAU WATAA(N) WARAI WEEN(N)
SUBNI SEE(N) SYED CHAWEY MON MAAREY KAR MEEN(N)
KHANDH WADHYAI KHEN(N) KEENEY MUNJHA(N) KEEN THIYEY

If they criticize you, counter back not
“Make your soul humble” says Syed
“and be soft like wax with everyone”
Self-restraint is a good reward

Ginan:
MEETHEY WACHANEY BOLAWO VEERA
TOU TAMARA MONDHA MAHEI(N) JHALKEY HIRA

My dear, talk any one sweet and in humble manner
So that the listener feel the words are like diamonds coming out of your mouth

Shah Latif:
HU CHAWANAI TU(N) MA CHAU WATAA(N) WARAI
AGH AGHRAI JO KAREY KHATA SO KHAAI
PAANDH MEY PAAI WIYO KEENEY WARO KEEN KI

If they criticize you, do not counter back
He, who starts aggression, will have to regret
The malicious, would gain nothing, at the end
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

LIKHIYO JO NIRARR SO A(N)G KIYAARI NA THIYEI
PARIYO WETHI PAAR JEKI LAALAN LIKHIYO LOH MEI(N)

Whatever is written on the forehead
shall not be set aside
You have to endure
what Allah has written in the destiny

HOUSILO HAIRAT MEI(N) KAREY KEEN DERK
JO HUSUN SUNDO HAQQ SO KORR PARWAREY KEEN KI

The human sense is bewildered
to comprehend the divinity
A blind person can not perceive
the beauty of Truth

TANDU(N) JE TALAB JU(N) WAHDAT SIR WAJJAN
WAHDAHU LA SHARIKA LAHU IHO RAAG RAGHAN
SEY SUTTAI JAAGAN NI(N)DH IBAADAT TINN JI

The divine seeking chords always vibrate
for the oneness of Allah
They do sing: “Allah is one and without a partner”
They are conscious even while sleeping
their sleep being like a prayer

MU(N) KHEY PIREI(N) BHADHI WIDHO TAAR MEI(N)
UBHAA EI(N)A CHAWAN MATTA(N) PAANDH PUSAI(N)YE

My Beloved tied me up and put me
in the deep sea
Standing on the shore He warned me
not to get the clothes wet

KAARI RAAT ACHHO DHEI(N) EI SIFATA(N) NOOR
JITEY PREI(N) HUZUR TITEY RUNG NA RUUP KO

Dark night, bright day, light is his attribute
Where the Beloved Lord is, there is no color or form

DHAAT NA AAHEY ZAAT TEY JO WAHEY SO LAHEY
AARIYU(N) ABHOJAN JU(N) SUPPAR JAAM SAHEY
JO ROY WATT RAAT RAHEY TA(N)HE KHEY JAKHI KEEN TA LAHEY

Pedigree does not influence spiritual elevation
it is achieved only by hard work
The Lord often favors the innocents' behavior
He who passes the night in remembrance of Lord
shall come across no sorrow
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

CHUPP KAR, CHAP MA CHORR, PURR AKHIYU(N), DHAK KUN
PAANI PI PER PETT MA BHAR RIHAEI ADHURO UNN
TA HUWA MURAT MUNJHARA(N) MON TAH(N)JO MUSHAHIDO MAN(N)I

Keep quiet, move not the lips
close the eyes and cover up ears
drink water, fill not your stomach full
leave the hunger half satisfied
-If you do all this, you shall witness
the manifestation in your mind


LAAL KE LAAL THIYA LAAL LUNGHIYO JINN
ADUM JEY OURAH TEY KAYA AASAN(N) AADHOTEEN
GARDANIYO GU(N)GAN GARDAAB KHEY GIYAN SEI(N)

Those who met the Beloved
became more radiant than the gem
These ascetics put up their abode
on profound sea of non-existence
The dumb cleared the whirlpool
with the divine intuition

UUNHU(N) JITT OURAAH HUNJJ ITHEI(N) HOI
EI KANERO KOI JO CHHACHHAR MEY CHHERU(N) KAREY

The beautiful swan would be
where the water is deep
Only the ugly birds muddle in the swamp

WIYA MORR MARI HUNJJ NA RAHYO HEKRO
WATAN THIYO WARI KUURAN KAANERAN JO

All peacocks are dead, not a single swan survives
Now the malicious Kanero birds
inhabit the mother-land only

WAGHAR KAYO WATEN PREET NA CHHINEN PAAN(N) MEY
PASSO PAKHIARAN MAARHUN(N)A MEETHH GHAN(N)U

They move about in flocks
they never break away their connections
The birds have better affection
than the human beings have ever

JEEKI MUNJH JAHAN SO TAARI TAGHI TU(N)HJI
LUTF JEY LATIF CHAWEY TOU WATT KOMI KAAN
ADAL CHHUTA(N) NA AAU(N) KO FERO KAJ FAZAL JO
The whole universe seeks your patronage
your grace has no limits
I can not be spared if justice done
until you grace me with compassion
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

Ginan:
DOSH DAYAL JI KO KIYU(N) KAR DEEJIYEE
KARAMEY LIKHIYA HOYA SOHI THAAYA

Why to blame merciful and kind
What ever is written in destiny will occur

Shah Latif:
LIKHIYO JO NIRARR SO A(N)G KIYAARI NA THIYEI
PARIYO WETHI PAAR JEKI LAALAN LIKHIYO LOH ME(N)

Whatever is written on the forehead
shall not be set aside
You have to endure
what Allah has written in the destiny.

Ginan:
EJI ESO GINAN PIR BHAN(N)AWEY SADARDIN
YA SHAH FAZAL KARO TOU JIV CHHUTAN(N)A

O Brother, this Gunan is said by Pir Sadardin
O Lord, only with your grace and kindness
The soul will get salvation

Shah Latif:
JEEKI MUNJH JAHAN SO TAARI TAGHI TU(N)HJI
LUTF JEY LATIF CHAWEY TOU WATT KOMI KAAN
ADAL CHHUTA(N) NA AAU(N) KO FERO KAJ FAZAL JO

The whole universe seeks your patronage
your grace has no limits
I can not be spared if justice done
until you grace me with compassion

Ginan:
YA ALLAH REY GHORE KHODIYO
GHORE KHODIYO MEREY BHAI
AAYA BUNDA DOSAARI
YA ALLAH REY LATTIYA(N) GHUTTIYA(N)
LATTIYA(N)A GHUTTIYA(N) DEY KAR
AJAB KI SURAT EE BANAAI

O Lord (sign of exclamation), brother dig the grave
dig the grave (look) the body of sinner has come (to be buried)
O Lord, brothers with feet pressed hard the gravel and dust
over body making it admonitory

Shah Latif:
FAANI REY FAANI DUNYA DUM NA HEEKRO
LATTEY LORRAH LATAN SEI(N) LATEINDAI JANI
KODHAR AIE(N) KAANI AAHEY SIR SUBB KAI(N)

Perishable, yes perishable it is,
the world is not even for a single moment
O’ dear! They will prepare your grave
by pressing earth with their feet
A spoke and a reed, are everybody's fate

Ginan:
LAGHARI RE PREET HUM NEHA NA CHHORU(N)
DHAR SIR KARAWATT ANGA NA MORU(N)
JO JIV JAAVEY SHAH KA NAAM NA CHHORU(N)

I am in deep love with beloved, can't leave my love
If some one behead me, separating my head from my body
Doesn't matter if my soul departs
Still I shall remember my beloved (and merge with him)


AASHIQ ZAHER PIYAAK WIHA DHISSI WAHSON GHAN(N)U
KARREY A(N)EI QAATIL JA HAMESHA HERAAK
LAGHIYAN LAU(N) LATIF CHAVEY FANA KAYA FIRAAQ
TON(N)EY CHUKAN CHAAK TA BI AAH NA SALAN AAM KHEY

The lovers are habitual to poison taking
When they see the poison, they get thrilled
They are accustomed to the bitter and deadly wine
Their falling in love
has completely annihilated them, says Latif
Though they suffer from the wounds
even then they expose no secret to the public

Ginan:
SATGUR KAHEREY
BAGH HUNSS BHEY PATTU(N)TARAA
ANEY DEESEY EKAJ VARAN(N)
PUNN BAGH CHAREY MON MAANIYU(N)
ANEY HUNSS MOTI CHARAN RE

The True Guide says: The heron and the swan are similar, and appear to have the same form
But the heron feeds on what it pleases, whereas the swan feeds on pearls

Shah Latif:
UUNHU(N) JITT OURAAH HUNJJ ITHEI(N) HOI
EI KANERO KOI JO CHHACHHAR MEY CHHERU(N) KAREY

The beautiful swan would be
where the water is deep
Only the ugly birds muddle in the swamp
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

Dr. Mubarak Ali Lashari
University of Sindh. Institute of English Language and Literature

There are several similarities regarding the concept of love and philosophy of love in poetry of Rumi and Shah Latif. First of all, it is clear that Moulana Rumi was predecessor to Shah Latif who was his successor. Though, there is a difference of centuries yet there is almost the same philosophy and realization of love. Despite these similarities, there are some differences in their narrations too. First of all, Rumi in his treatment of the subjects, takes complete or comprehensive stories of the narrations, whereas, Shah Latif takes some important and most significant events from a story and does not narrate the whole story. Secondly, Rumi’s narration is direct and to the point/straightforward dealing with the concepts and stories, whereas, in Shah’s poetry, there is an indirect and artistic narration. Rumi describes all the things by himself like a story teller, whereas, Latif takes his characters to describe his feelings and to convey his message. While considering the sources of both the great poets, one can observe that Rumi uses metaphysical sources more that Shah Latif, who takes every example from his native land and folk stories with indigenous symbols. In this context, there is overwhelming religious and scholarly manifestation in Rumi’s poetry wherer as, Shah Latif has simple and common things for expression. Latif uses two sources very often, firstly Holy Quran and secondly the teachings of Rumi. Rumi too usues Holy Quran as a main source of his philosophy but he also takes advantage of Shariah, like using schools of Hanfi and Shaafi, something rare with Shah Latif. Last but not the least, Shah Latif depicts the love of his land that is absent with Rumi and such belongingness with the native land is not quoted. Rumi did not pay attention on the conditions of fall of Baghdad and the attacks of Mangol on Persia. On the other hand, Shah Latif condemned foreign invasions on Sindh and suggested the locales to fight against them.

mubaraklashari78@gmail.com
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

MOHABBAT JEY MAIDAN MEY SIR JO SAANGHO MA KAR
LAAHEY SIR LATIF CHAVEY DOSTAN AGHIYA(N) DHAR
ISHQ NAANG APAR KHABAR KHADHAN KHEY PAWEY

While in the arena of love
care not for your life
“Cut off your head”, says Latif
“place it before the Beloved”
Love is a dreadful snake
only those who are bitten would know it.


NAKO SUNDHO SUUR JO NAKO SUNDHO SIKK
'ADAD NAHEY ISHQ PUJHAN(N)I PAAN(N) LAHEY

There is neither a limit to the anguish
nor a limit to the yearning
The love can not be measured
it alone knows its limits.


MUHABBAT JINN JEY MON MEY UUNJ TINHEI(N) TAAR
PEE PIYALO UUNJ JO, UUNJ SEI(N) UUNJ UTHAAR
PUNHU(N) PAAN(N) PIYAAR TA UUNJ SEI(N) UUNJ UJHAEIYA(N)

Those who have love in their soul
have excessive thirst
Take a cup of thirst
to increase the thirst with that very thirst
O’ Beloved! Serve me the drink yourself
so that I may quench my thirst by thirst.


NAKI THI JIYAA(N) NAKI MUI AAHIY(N)
SAAJAN SAAH DHIYA(N) TOU KHEY SARIYO SUPREI(N)

Neither I do live nor am I dead
O’ Beloved! I wish to tender my soul
while remembering you.


JEKEY TALIB TAAT JA TAAT BI TINEEN WATT
HADHEI(N) KAANEY HUTT GHIR TA GHARAEI LAHEI(N)

The talk of love is only with those
who are the seekers of true love
Love is never available on a shop
so as to find it when you wish.


LAGHEE JO LATIF CHAI NAKO QAAL NA QEEL
LAKHAI LAAMU KHORIYU(N) NAIN(N)AN WAHEY NEER
HUNEIRA THI SUDHIR KALEH QARIBAN LADHIYO

“Love can neither be described nor expressed”, Says Latif
The fate asserts itself
and the eyes shed violent flow of tears
O’ Heart! Have patience
the Beloved departed yesterday.
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

YAAR SADHAEY SUBB KO, JANI ZUBAANI
AAHEY AASANI KUM PAWEY TA KAL PAWEY

Everybody pretends and proclaims
to be a true friend indeed
You can only know the worth
when you are in need

PAHREI(N) KAATI PAAI PUCHHEJ POI PREETAN(N)U
DUKH PREIYA(N) JO DHEEL MEY WAJHATT JEI(N) WAJHAAI
SEEKHAN MAA(N) PACHAAI JE NAALO GHEERO NEE(N)H JO

First sever your head with the knife
then imagine of love
Make your body to vibrate
like a musical organ for love’s sake
Let your flesh roast on burning iron bars
if you claim to be a true lover

KAATI JA QREEB JEY SAA HUDH CHEEREY NA(N)G
AASHIQAN PAH(N)JO AN(N)G ALLAH KAARAN WADHIYO

The Beloved’s knife can only sever the skin and bones
whereas the lovers sever their heads as sacrifice for Him

ASAL AASHIQAN JO SIR NA SAANDHAN(N) KUM
SAO SISIYAA(N) AGHARO SUNDHO DOSAN DUM
HEE HUDH AI(N) CHUM PIKK PREIYA(N) JI NA PAREY

It is not the trait of true lovers
to preserve their heads
A single moment with the Beloved
is far superior to hundred lives
This body of flesh and skin
is not worth a sip of the Beloved’s love

TOU JINEEN JI TAAT TINN PIN)N) AAHEY TUNHJI
FAZKURUNI AZKURKUM EI PARVARAJ BHAAT
HATH KAATI GHIRR WAAT PUCHHAN(N) PREI(N) JEY

Those whom you remember
they too remember you
Apprehend the reality that
“If you remember me, I will remember you”
It is the Beloved’s trait
to carry a knife in his hand
and talks to you sweetly

ISHQ NA AAHEY RAAND TA KAY KUNS GHABHARO
JIV JASEY AEI(N) JAAN JEY BHANJHEE(N) HEKAAND
SASUI NEEZEY PAANDH UCHHAL TA ADH THIYEE

Love is not a sport
wherein the immature may pander to
It will devastate and breakup the body
soul and your life
Throw your body on the spear point
so that you may be cut into pieces
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

Ginan:
SATGUR KAHEY RE:
SIR SAATTA TOU KEEJIEE
JO PIYU VEECHAATA HOYA HAATT
TOU EEK KISHAN VILUM(N)BH NA KEEJIEI
BHAI HAATHEY DIJEY KAATT RE

The True Guide says: Sacrifice your head (trade your head) when the beloved is traded at the shop (for instant). Do not procrastinate even for a moment. Brother cut your head with your hands and give it away to have beloved

Shah Latif:
MOHABBAT JEY MAIDAN MEY SIR JO SAANGHO MA KAR
LAAHEY SIR LATIF CHAVEY DOSTAN AGHIYA(N) DHAR
ISHQ NAANG APAR KHABAR KHADHAN KHEY PAWEY

While in the arena of love
care not for your life
“Cut off your head”, says Latif
“place it before the Beloved”
Love is a dreadful snake
only those who are bitten would know it


Ginan:
SATGUR KAHEY RE:
PREET PIYA KI DOYEILI
ANEY PREM PEEDAA HAI SUL
EE KANAK KASOTTI AAP KU
TOU CHAUDAA PAAVEY MUL RE

The True Guide says: The (path of)love of the Beloved is difficult and the pains(trials and tribulations) of love are the thorns. The gold (devotee) is tested by the Lord, and attains a very high value.

Shah Latif:
NAKO SUNDHO SUUR JO NAKO SUNDHO SIKK
'ADAD NAHEY ISHQ PUJHAN(N)I PAAN(N) LAHEY

There is neither a limit to the anguish
nor a limit to the yearning
The love can not be measured
it alone knows its limits.

Ginan:
SATGUR KAHEY RE:
PREM PIYASEY MON VASEY
ANEY MON MA(N)HEY KIYAA NEEH
EE DUNIYA DURIJAN DAKHAVEY
TE JALBAL HOVEY KHEH RE

The True Guide says: The thirsty of love resides in the mind(heart) and in the mind he thinks of love. One perceives the world as wicked which eventually turns to clay by burning and drowning.


Shah Latif:
MUHABBAT JINN JEY MON MEY UUNJ TINHEI(N) TAAR
PEE PIYALO UUNJ JO, UUNJ SEI(N) UUNJ UTHAAR
PUNHU(N) PAAN(N) PIYAAR TA UUNJ SEI(N) UUNJ UJHAEIYA(N)

Those who have love in their soul
have excessive thirst
Take a cup of thirst
to increase the thirst with that very thirst
O’ Beloved! Serve me the drink yourself
so that I may quench my thirst by thirst.

Ginan:
SATGUR KAHEY RE:
ISHQ TOU WARI MA NA NIPJEY
ANEY ISHQ TOU HAATTEY NA VECHAAI
ISHQ TOU HAIRA MAA(N) NIPJEY
TE HAIRU(N) KORI KHAYA RE

The True Guide says: The love for the Beloved cannot be cultivated in a garden and it cannot be sold at a shop. The Divine Love can only be cultivated in the heart. It consumes the edge of the heart(as it grows).

Shah Latif:
JEKEY TALIB TAAT JA TAAT BI TINEEN WATT
HADHEI(N) KAANEY HUTT GHIR TA GHARAEI LAHEI(N)

The talk of love is only with those
who are the seekers of true love
Love is never available on a shop
so as to find it when you wish.

Ginan:
AISA JO MAI(N) JAANTI TOU CHALAN(N) NA DETTI PIYA
MAI(N) BHI CHALTI TUMHAREY SAATH RE MAHRBAAN MEREY

If I knew your are departing, I shall not have let you go
I shall have followed you my dear love

Shah Latif:
LAGHEE JO LATIF CHAI NAKO QAAL NA QEEL
LAKHAI LAAMU KHORIYU(N) NAIN(N)AN WAHEY NEER
HUNEIRA THI SUDHIR KALEH QARIBAN LADHIYO

“Love can neither be described nor expressed”, Says Latif
The fate asserts itself
and the eyes shed violent flow of tears
O’ Heart! Have patience
the Beloved departed yesterday.
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

EE NA MAARUN REET JE SEEN(N) MATTAIN SONN TEY
AAU(N) TA AMAR KOT MEY KUNDEES KA NA KUREET
PAKHAN JI PREET MAARREN SEE(N) NA MATTIYA(N)

We poor people do not barter our kinsmen for gold. I
will not do any thing unconventional in Umar Kot. I
love my sheds. I will not exchange them with
luxurious palaces

GHORAN AIE(N) GHOTTAN JIAN(N) THORA DHEIAN(N)A
KADHEI(N) MUNJH KOTTAN KADHEI(N) WAAHI RUN(N) JA

Horses and bridegrooms (warriors) have very short
lives. They spend a part of their lives in prisons or
forts, and the remaining part of it in the battlefield

PATANGAN PAH KAYO MARRIYA MATHEY MUCH
PASSI LAHAN NA LUCHHIYA SARIYA MATHEY SUCH
SUNDA GHICHIYAN GHUCH VECHAARAN WINJHAYA

Moths have a strong will to sacrifice their lives, so
they jump into the blaze. They get burnt, but never
weep or wail. They sacrifice their life for truth


SURI AAHEY SINGHAR ASAL AASHIQAN JO
MURAN(N) MOTTAN(N) ME(N)HN(N)U NIZARI NARWAR
KUSAN(N) JO QARAR ASAL AASHIQAN JO

Gallows are life embellishment for true lovers. They
always prefer death instead of turning their faces on
gallows. From the very first day they are determined
to sacrifice their lives

AJH NA OUTAQAN MEY SUNDI JOGIYAN ZAAT
SAAREY SUNYASEEN KHEY RUNAM SUJHI RAAT
MU(N) TINEEN JI TAAT SEY LAAHUTI LADHEY WIYA

None of the ascetics is available in house today.
I kept weeping whole night in their memory: The
Lahutis whom my heart remembers have departed

TATTI THADHI KAAH KANHEY VAIL VEHAN(N) JI
MATA(N) THIYE UNDHAAH PEER NA LAHEI(N) PREI(N) JO

Do not care about hot or cold weather. Do not think
about rest. If you become late, darkness will
spread all around and you will not be able to see the
footprints of your beloved
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

HAN(N) HABIB HATH KHAN(N)I DIL MEI(N) THI DAHEIYA(N)
KUCHHA(N) TA KUK THIYEY SABAR AAU(N) NA SAHAA(N)
KAHEI(N) KHE EIY(N)A CHAWAA(N) MUKHEY MARIYO SAJAN(N)Y

O’ Beloved! Strike by raising the hand
it is my heart’s silent prayer
If I cry people would know
I can’t bear patience as well
How would I express to others
that the beloved has himself struck me


TU(N) HABIB TU(N) TABIB TU(N) HI DHATHAN DHUBB
TU(N) DHIY(N)E TU(N) LAHIY(N)E TU(N) HADI TU(N) RUBB
AAHEEM EI AJAB JEI(N) WAARIYO WEJH WIHAREI(N)YE

You are the Beloved
You are the physician
You are the medicine for the fallen
You cause ailments and you cure them
You indeed are the guide O' God
It is really surprising as to why you bring
other physicians for my treatment


TU(N) HABIB TU(N) TABIB TU(N) DAARUN KHEY DARDAN
TU(N) DHIY(N)E TU(N) LAHIY(N)E DAATAR KHEY DHUKHDAN
TADHE(N) FAKIYU(N) FARQ KUN JADHE(N) AMAR KAREE(N) UNN TE

You are the Beloved
You are the physician
you give the medicine for all sufferings
O’ Lord! You cause ailments
and you cure the patients
Medicines can heal only when you order


PAAEE KAAN KAMAAN MEI(N) MIYAA(N) MAAR MA MU(N)
MU(N) MEY AAHEI(N) TU(N) MATTA(N) TUHINJO TOU KHEY LAGEY

O’ Beloved! Aim not the arrow
of your bow at me so as to kill me
you are within me
your arrow might strike yourself


MITHAYA(N) MITHO GHAN(N)U KARRO NAHEY KALAAM
SIKUUT THI SALAAM PIRYAA(N) SUNDI PAAR JO

The Beloved's talk is sweeter
than the sweets, nothing is bitter
Even silence is like a salutation
from the Beloved's side
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

A SAINT OF OUR TIMES: SHAH ABDUL LATIF BHITTAI
By Ayesha Gilani
10th June 2018

“Shah Latif was the finest flower in a garden of poetry. His poetry is not that of a pioneer, it is the poetry of fulfilment; it is not the poetry of experiment or innovation, it is the poetry of gracious benediction. Shah Latif did for the Sindhi language and literature and the Sindhi people what other world-poets have done for their own languages and countries in their own particular ways; Hafiz for the Persian lyric, Dante for the “illustrious vernacular” of Italy, and Tulsidas for the Hindi language and literature.”
History of Sindhi Literature by L.A. Ajwani

Shah Abdul Latif of Bhit was born in 1689 in a Syed family (meaning that they were descendants of the Prophet of Islam), his father Shah Habibullah being one of the best-known holy men of the time. According to Tuhfat-al-kiram, Shah Habib was often plunged in meditation so that he sometimes did not know what was happening around him. He would not recognise his own son at times, so abstracted was he by his devotions. Nevertheless he seems to have been a tender and loving parent and if anyone could claim to be Shah Latif’s guide in the spiritual arena it was his father.

Shah Latif’s father was, according to tradition, a holy man but his great grandfather, Shah Karim of Bulri, was a much more renowned and revered personage. Shah Karim’s holiness was such that it has overtaken his very genuine claim to being a poet and permitted some devotees to think of him solely as a holy man. In truth Shah Karim was the greatest poet in Sindhi before his great-grandson arrived on the scene. Shah Karim knew neither princes nor their courts, but Shah Latif enjoyed the high regard of the Kalhora rulers and the powerful people of the time.

It is said that, as a boy, Shah Latif was sent to learn the alphabet from Akhund Nur Mohammad Bhatti but refused to continue after the first letter alif to the next letter bai, saying that there was nothing beyond alif, the One or Unity. He was then withdrawn from school. Long afterwards, Shah Latif said in a verse that has become well known:

Read one letter, alif, the only One
The rest you can all forget
Let thy spirit have a cleansing
No other study for you next

Shah Latif lived the life of a Dervish and wondered over the hills and dales, rivers and lakes, deserts and wildernesses of his native land to settle at last in Bhitt, the sand dune in the region of Lake Kirar.

He is not only the greatest of Sindhi writers but has a dear place in the hearts of the people of Pakistan and beyond. Shah Latif represents the greatest of a magnitude of poets who formed a “nest singing birds” in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Shah Latif preached against feudalism and religious exploitation and revolutionized Sindhi society through the message of love, tolerance and peaceful co-existence.

Anyone who reads his “Shah-Jo-Risalo” (Shah’s poetical works) will find it teaches them gentleness of manners, universality of sympathy and breadth of vision. He was a poet who had a darshan or vision of God Almighty and tried to pass on that vision in ecstatic words to his hearers.

Shah Latif remained a patriot and was proud of Sindhi tradition, which is why he has an appeal even today for the Hindus of the region who still turn to “Shah-Jo-Risalo” with nostalgic sentiment as to a holy scripture. The Bhitt region of Sindh where this revered saint is buried is famous in the Sindhi annals, for every Sindhi has heard of Shah Abdul Latif of Bhitt and Bhitt was the most famous cultural center in Sindh.

In spite of his popularity among Hindus, he was by birth, upbringing and ancestry a Muslim. He had particular reverence for the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family) and a deep admiration and affection for the Prophet’s son-in-law, Ali, and Ali’s son, Hussain, who was martyred at Karbala in Iraq. He longed to travel there on a pilgrimage but this was one wish that was left unfulfilled. The scene of the tragedy of Imam Hussain and his devoted companions was a place to which Shah Latif was deeply attached.

Although he conformed to the tenets of his faith he was not a doctrinaire Muslim, bound by dogma or ritual. Here are some of his most famous lines:

It were well to practice Namaz and fast
But love’s vision needs a separate art

There is a legend that when Shah Latif was asked whether he was a Sunni Muslim or Shia, he said he was neither, he was in-between. And when someone said: “There is nothing in-between” he replied, “Then I am nothing.”

One thing is true of Shah Latif, that he was a Dervish, a man who could put on the clothing of Hindu Yogis, wander with them for years and make pilgrimages to Hinglaj, Dawarka and other sacred places of the Hindus. It is worth noting that one of the closest and dearest of his friends, Madan, a Hindu, and the two musicians who comforted his soul, Atal and Chanchal, were also Hindus. It is therefore evident of that Shah Latif had a huge respect and affinity with Hindus and their religion.

The two most important aspects of his poetry were his mysticism and, of course, his proud Sindhi-ness being, as he was, the widely-accepted voice of Sindh.

Shah Latif had a huge veneration for the Sufi mystic, Jalal Ad’Din Rumi, and for Rumi’s “Masnavi”, a bible of the Persian mystics, a copy of which was presented to him by the Kalhora ruler of the time. While Rumi’s method is to relate an entire story in sequence to bring out its Sufistic moral and meaning, Shah Latif’s method is to throw out darts of meaning and suggest spiritual points in tales well-known to all his readers.

Throughout Shah Latif’s verses he observes a remarkable consciousness of nature and of Man. He minutely observes the women working at their spinning wheel, as well as the common crow, a bird that defiles the place where it sits and flies from place to place, making it an ideal messenger. Shah notices the luminaries in the sky, the thunder and the rain in the bazaar. He observes the blacksmith at his anvil, the goldsmith and the pearl merchant with their precious wares and the potter at his wheel. All of his poetry has a deep meaning attached to it and the life of the desert-dwellers , like that of the river-farers and the sea-farers, furnishes him with valuable lessons.

Shah Latif’s greatness is not in long-drawn-out passages but rather in the minute coruscations his pen throws out in all directions. He did not compose poems in his study for his verses were sparks or little bits of revelation.

As he said of himself:

These be not verses as you think
But revelations that abide
They turn your mind inward
And take you to His side.

In the course of his travels he encountered many people. A famous encounter Shah Latif had was with a solitary hermit who was chanting one line frantically to himself in a dense forest between Hinglaj and Thatta:

Alone alone, wending towards Punhoon

As soon as the desolate lover got the complete verse, he fell down and died. Shah Latif had to dig his grave and bury the poor man but he could never forget the yearning and all-consuming love of the deceased for the object of his devotion.

The top grandee of Kotri Mogul was Mirza Mogul Beg, a member of the house of Arghuns who ruled over Sindh a century before Shah Latif was born. Once it happened that the adolescent daughter of the Arghun fell seriously ill. Worried, the father went to Shah Habib, whom he knew, and regularly asked for amulets and prayers for times of difficulty and danger. Shah Habib was himself unwell, so he asked his son Shah Latif to go instead with the Mirza. When Shah Latif reached the house of the Arghun he was taken to the bed where the invalid lay. He was 20 at the time and blessed the young woman who was wearing a veil. After that meeting Shah Latif was in love and for four years he suffered the pain of unsatisfied emotion before she was offered to him. He attained earthly paradise when she entered the gateway of his house. With this marriage Shah’s life became full and sweet although not fruitful. His spiritual journey had turned his mind inward and taken him from ishq majazi (physical or carnal love) to the path of ishq haqiqi (spiritual love). Shah Latif soared all the way from carnal love to the sublime height of spiritual or divine love.

In spite of his humility Shah Latif had an exceedingly commanding personality. His tall, handsome exterior impressed everyone. He was never known to have been boisterous or convivial but was sociable to an extraordinary degree. He is remembered as having had a high regard and affection for his fakirs or devotees. On one occasion when his wife was pregnant, she felt a craving to eat pala fish. A follower of Shah Latif took a distant journey to bring a pala for his master’s wife. While the man was still returning with the present, Shah found him panting and foot-weary. On being told that he had been away to satisfy a demand of his wife’s Shah Latif exclaimed, “What use is it to have a child if it brings agony to my fakirs even before it is born?”

Finally, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitt is remembered as being a great patriot and a voice for the common man. You only have to read “Sur Marui” to know what love Shah bore to the land of his birth. He loved the toiling masses of Sindh, the potters, the blacksmiths, the poor peasants, the weavers and fishermen, all are celebrated in his verses.

Shah immortalized simple Sindhi heroes and heroines in his verse and gave shining permanence to Sindhi folklore and legends. His work became classic in his own lifetime and ever afterwards his pre-eminence as the greatest of Sindhi poets has remained unchallenged, even in India. That is Shah Abdul Latif, a man who rules the hearts of all those who know what love is.

The author is a writer based in Lahore, Pakistan
http://www.lafzmagazine.com/1508-2/
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

Book Reviews Metaphysical Love
by Devi Nangrani

Metaphysical Love : In the framework of Shah jo Risalo
By: Dr. Kazi Abdul Shakoor

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller

Such a graceful silky feeling is Love, which is felt by the heart, well expressed by Pluto who says “when the soul starts to sing, the flowers of your life bloom on their own.” And when one puts the heart, mind and soul in the sincere aim of attaining something, it becomes a unique success. It applies to all spheres pertaining to all passions, aspirations, and so to love-as is referred in Shah jo Risalo. The metaphysical love that Dr. Kazi Abdul Shakoor has focused in, is to draw the attention to the heights where the lover forgets his very being and remembers only the Lover.

Love is universal, and is undefined when it comes to spiritual Love. And Life has given everyone a chance to find oneself, and in fact to establish a relation with the creator as does a lover with the beloved. It is an inbuilt truth that grows to create a bond as we read in the preface- “Human beings, in the eyes of the poet, are blessed with a capacity to delve beyond the physical and to experience the metaphysical as a living force”.

Pertaining to Love, Karen Armstrong, has quoted famous prayer of Rabia Basri who was love personified : “O’ God! If I worship Thee in fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; and if I worship Thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise; but if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, withhold not Thine Everlasting Beauty!” In other words, the quest to perceive God (through Metaphysical Love and Oneness) is the hallmark of Mysticism.

The underlying Love in the verses of Metaphysical Love are the ones of Nirakaar Love and all descriptions and definations in words fail to express or verbalize that spiritual love. In other words insufficiency of vocabulary to replicate the experience of love In words itself shows the uniqueness of the passion of love that is to be felt by pulse with a touch of ecstasy.

Love and spirituality cannot be segregated, for there can be no love without a selfish spirit. When spirituality grows, the capability of Love grows too. For he who is filled with Love is filled with God, and it is here that the Path of Love becomes a spiritual destiny.

An ardent pilgrim of this path of Love, Shah Latif, the soul of Sindh, had a unique message for his disciples and ascetics, singers and artists, who gathered around to sing passages from his Risalo, a poetic compendium of famous Sindhi Qalams sung in the praise of one and only one Allah! The most profound fact that forms the foundation for faith is that:

“What you consider as mere poems, are in fact verses
They link the soul with your beloved (Lord)”

The Risalo is a Unique compilation of Ten suras-sur kalyan, yaman kalyaan, khambhat, samondhi, suhani, sasai aabri, mayzoori, desi, kohyaari…! All sing the glory of Amighty, that has been addressed differently as God, Allah, Satnaam, Wahaguru, Karim, Khuda, Jesus and Lord! Singing the glory of the almighty saying:

“Read the ‘A’ of Allah, forget all pages.
Kindle self within, how much would you read?”

The infinite ocean of Love, that shah has expressed in verses with his exceptional spiritual insight, creativity and powerful expression, goes unparalleled. I have used some quotes here to give essence to the well chosen Topic ‘Metaphysical Love’:

Those who have a cupful of love in the souls
They are burning in such a fire
That they endure endless grief
The destitutes move in wilderness
Here there is no limit to it
They are always in the mid-stream of love
Yet they die of thirst.
--
My heart is not at rest
It can't rest without the Beloved?
He has knotted my heart
With a strong thread of love
My heart, body and the property
Now belong to the Beloved.-216
--
Beloved! Learn to love from the kiln
It burns for the entire day
Yet no vapour comes out of it.-238

"Poetry is a rhythm of words and music.” Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s Shah Jo Risalo is a poetic content. His poetry in Arabic and Persian carries depth of his personal experiences about truth the manifests Love. Altering one word is to alter the entire theme of the melody.

The Risalo is a treasure to be availed, and it has been translated by Scholars to discard the multilingual barriers giving the message- That the path to be trodden is the same for all and that is to know oneself and through the same realize the supremacy of The Lord. Yet Rumi has beautifully put forth the fact pertaining to lingual translation: “Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation.”

The Main purpose of Creation is to achieve personal perfection and getting closer to god through worship. Rumi Highlights to identify the spiritual man in the state of silence wherein he experiences God through the unwritten and unspoken language, which is the language of LOVE. In the depths of our heart there is a room for self or for God. When we pray we ask God for something, and during meditation God speaks to us. And when God speaks, the wise listen to HIM, in the state of nothingness. Here the subconscious state of mind takes the lover in meditation, a state of thoughtlessness, and soundlessness. It is then that God speaks to the disciple or a true seeker.
The literature of Shah Latif shows that he was well versed in Arabic and Persian. He drenched himself in the underlying truth of Quran, read The Masnavi of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi and his deepest knowledge and attainment was acknowledged by his contemporaries.

In Dr. Shakoor’s opinion, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s poetry is essentially metaphysical; he believes in love that is transcendental in his character; and he sees reality through the mystical lens of Sufi tradition. This book presents the great poet of Sind in a metaphysical framework. Love is the Prime Pivoting Point in Metaphysical Love.

According to the Lovers of The Lord the beloved is like a candle, and the seeker is a moth, who respite all the agony that hurts, like a true lover revolves restlessly and ceaselessly around the light of God. The translated verses of Shah’s Risalo in English by Elsa Kazi have related topics that magnetize the attention of Lovers of poetry. Here are some verses from the same book:

“If you have learnt to long, by pain, be not distressed
Secret of love's sorrow must never be confessed
Suffering is by the heart caressed, and there it is preserved.”-14

“If you call yourself a moth,
then come,
put out the fires sway,
Passion, has so many baked but you roast passion's 'Self' today
Passion's flame with knowledge slay
of this to base folk give no hint.” 15

The Lovers don’t live to die but die to live in self-realization and ultimately God-Realization. The fire that is more profoundly talked of is undergone by the lover in the course of attaining the goal.

Shah Latif always used to say: ‘The true Faqeers are my true sons, whose hearts are wounded by love ..!’

Yet there is more to explore about this unique masterpiece work of Bhitai on www.bhurgri.com/bhurgri/sd_editor.php.

Majid Bhurgri, a versatile literary lighthouse of sindhi literature has dedicated contribution to Sindhi writing in MB Lateefi - as on a slate, and his site has Shah jo Risala and much more to drench oneself deep, where the physical sense is lost and diffused in the Love of Lord. A drop in the ocean dare not call itself the ocean, yet the essence of the entire ocean is in every drop. The Drop becomes the ocean. In reference to such Love Iqbal says:

“When the lover fails to possess any love-fire
He is like a bird without wings and desire.”

And finally with a beautiful quote of Rumi on Love:

“This is love: to fly
Towards a secret sky
To cause a hundred veils to fall each moment,
First to let go to life,
Finally to take a step without feet.”
And my heart too throbs to feel and express:
“If Life is a Journey,
Let us take the first step today,
Yet another tomorrow,
Then one more and then the next…
If life is music in rhythm, Let us dance to it’s tune !”

Share This:
04-Feb-2018
More by : Devi Nangrani
www.boloji.com/articles/50117/metaphysical-love
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

JEY TOU BAET BHAAEI(N) SEY AAYATU(N) AAHEEN
NAYO MON LAAEEN PIRYAA(N) SUNDI PAAR DHEY

What you consider as mere poems
are in fact Verses (Quranic)
They link your soul with the Beloved (Lord)

AWWAL AAKHIR AAHEY HALAN(N) MUHINJHO HOUT DHEY
PORIHIYO SUNDO PORHIYATAN WAALI KIMA WINJHAEE
SO MU(N) THORO LAAE JIA(N) JIAREY MILLA(N) JATT KHEY

Sooner or later
I got to go to the beloved
O God! Waste not the labor of the laborers
Be gracious to me so that
I may meet the beloved in my lifetime

GHIRYAA SEY CHARIYAA EEIA(N) ATHAEE
MUI MATTI MAHRAN(N) MEY PAO TIPPO DHEHI
TA MEHAAR MILAEE SU(N)BHURO SEN(N)A SEE(N)

Those who dare to enter, make it
Plunge fearlessly into the raging river
you will meet the Beloved ready with a float

AKHIYU(N) MUU(N)H MEHAAR DHEY RAKHIYU(N) JIN JORRI
RAI SUNDD SYED CHAVEY TAAR GHIRAN TORRI
TINEEN KHEY BHOREY SAAHER SUGHEY KEENA KI

Those who kept their eyes focused
on the face of the Beloved
even without a float, they enter the raging river
The current would never drown them

PAANI MATHEY JHUPARA MURAKH UUNJH MARAN
SAAH ODHO SUPREE(N) LOCHEY TAA(N) NA LAHAN
DUM KHEY NA SUJHAN(N)AN DAAHU(N) KUN MUTHAN JEI(N)

Close to water are their huts
yet the fools die of thirst!
The Beloved is their breath
yet they cannot find him
They know not their aim
but cry like afflicted ones
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

WETHHEY NAAHEY WARAKO SUTEE(N) KONHEY SUNG
HOTT HALANDEE(N) KHATTIYO JIN ANGAN CHARRHIYO ANG
SEY BHAASI BHAI BHUNG RIRRHI JAAM RASIYU(N)

By sitting you get no relation
by sleeping you find no association
Those will win over their love
who sacrifice their bodies
Even knowing about the hurdles
they still move to reach the Beloved

WETHHEY VAR NA PAWAN SUTEY MILAN NA SUPREE(N)
JEY MATHEY RINDAN RUWAN SAAJAN MILEY TIN KHEY

By sitting you get no relation
by sleeping you can't have the Beloved
Those seekers who weep on the tracks
can get to the destination

NAAHEY JAMIAT JAAN KHEY HOTT PUJHAN(N)A HAAN(N)
ALLAH SEHI AAN(N) JIN SAAU CHAKHAYAM SIKK JO

My mind has no peace after the Beloved’s departure
O’ Allah! Bring them back who gave me a taste of love.

NAAHEY JAMIAT JAAN KHEY HOTT PUJHAN(N)A HIT
PUNHU JI PREET SAAU CHAKHAYAM SIKK JO

My mind has no peace after the Beloved’s departure
His longing acquainted me with the taste of love

KUNDDA MUU(N) PEERAN MEY TON(N)EY LAKH LAGHAN
AANGHAR A(N)GHUTHU NA MUREY CHHAPU(N) PEER CHHINAN
WEENDEY DHAA(N) P REI(N) JEY JUTI JAAT NA PAEIY(N)A

Even if thousands of thorns prick in my feet
even if toes become unbending (stiff)
and rocks tear the feet
I shall never wear any shoes
while on way to my Beloved
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

ALLAH ACHAN UUEI JIN AAEI MON SURHO THIYEE
PASAA(N) MAA(N) PAR KAHEI(N) JATAN SUNDI JUEI
LUNGHEY LAK LATIF CHAEI SAN(N)YAA HOTAN HOEI
GOLI THIYA(N) GULBU JEY SUJHATAM SAATH DHAN(N)I

O’ Allah! May they come
whose visit brings happiness to heart
Somehow, if I may succeed to behold
the dwelling of the Beloved
I may crossing the passes may I hear their voice
If I encounter the Beloved
I would like to be his slave

DHUKH SUKHAN JI SUNH(N) GHORIYA SUKH DHUKHAN RE
JINEEN JI VURUH(N) SAJJAN(N) AAYO MAA(N) GHARI

Sorrows are the beauty of joys
let joys be scarified over sorrows
Thanks to the pains
which brought the Beloved to me

JEY LEELAEE NA LAHEE(N) TA PIN(N) LEELAEEJ
AASRO MA LAHEEJ SAJAN(N) SABHAJINDAR GHAN(N)U

(For His spiritual vision) If you entreat but get not
then entreat again and again
Do not be dejected for his indifference
as the Beloved is extremely merciful

JAHRA GUL GULLAB JA TAHRA MATHAN VEESS
CHOTTA TEL CHUMBELIYA HA HA HU HAMEESH
PASIYO SUU(N)H SYED CHAE NEEHAN ACHAN NESH
LALLAN JEY LABEES AATAN(N) AKHAR NA AJHEY

As are the rose flowers, likewise are their dresses
Their hair have fragrant oil from jasmine flowers
While seeing their beauty, love gets intoxicated
No words could praise, the beauty of the Beloved

SAAH SEE(N) SUJHAN(N)A PASAAH SEE(N) PASAa(N) PREI(N)
IHEEY BHA TTAAN(N)A ACHI RAHIYA RUH MEY

With every breath I identify
and with respiration perceive Him
At these two occasions, my soul is joyous
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

JARR JEIARY JIN SEE(N) MUEY PIN(N) TIN SEE(N)
JEY HIT NA HOTT PASAN SEY KEIA(N) KECH PASANDIYU(N)

Those will be together even after death
with whom is the attachment during life
Those who can not see the Beloved here
how will they behold him there?

SHAM'A BHARENDEY SHUB PRAH BHAKHU(N) KADHIYU(N)
MOTT MARAA(N) THI MENDHARA RAN(N)A KAARAN RUBB
TU(N)HJI TAAT TALAB KAANG UDHAAYAM KAAK JA

I kept the candle burning
till the first glimmer of dawn appeared
O’ beloved!
Return in the name of Allah as I am dying
Longing for you, I have sent ravens to you

DIYA TEL PHULEEL JA BHARIYAM TAAEI(N) BHAANG
DDHOLO DDHATT RAHAAEIYO KAHEI(N) SATTAN(N)E SAANG
CHAANGHI CHARHEY AAU TU(N) LAAL WARAEI LAANG
KORIYAN BHITYAN KAANG UDHAYAM ACHEEJ TU(N)

I kept burning lamps with fragrant oil
till the Muezzin’s morning call
Perhaps the Beloved has been detained
in the desert due to some emergency
O’ beloved! Get onto the saddle and do come to me
I have sent out numerous ravens (with messages)
in different directions to make you come

MU(N) GHAR ACHI JEY THIYEE MENDHARO MAHMAAN
AAN(N)EY JHOKIYA(N) AAG MEY JHERI WIJHA(N) JHAN(N)
TAAN(N)EY TUNDURAN MEY BHEREY HAN(N)AA BHAAN(N)
PEKAN SUDHO PAAN(N) GHAR TARR GHORIYA(N) PREI(N) TAA(N)

If the beloved were to come
to my house as a guest
I would put my ego and arrogance in flames
I would also throw my pride into the oven
and would sacrifice my self
all relations and belongings for love

CHERAN CHAN(N)KAN CHIT MEY WISARIYA(N) KEEN WARI
KINA(N) 'AHAD ALAST JEY KEE TAHAEI(N) PAREY
LUM YALID WA LUM YULAD MARVI KOH KAREY
AJH KE KALAH MAREY SAAREY SAA(N)MBHIRAN KHEY

How can I forget the Beloved
who is present in my mind since the Day
when the first Covenant was ratified
or even earlier than that!
“He neither begets nor is begotten”
The poor girl (Marvi) is helpless
she may die today or tomorrow
while remembering the Beloved
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SINDH
Dr Irfan Ahmed Shaikh, August 19, 2018

Discovering Sindh’s Past: Selections from the Journals of The Sind [sic] Historical Society, 1934-1948 is a compilation of articles that provide a comprehensive insight into Sindh during the precolonial and colonial eras.

The editors of the book — Michel Boivin, Matthew A. Cook and Julien Levesque — are renowned scholars of South Asian and Sindhi history. Boivin is a French historian specialising in the Muslim world and teaches at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, France. Cook is a professor at North Carolina Central University, US, and his research is focused on Sindh and colonialism in South Asia. Levesque, meanwhile, is the head of politics and the society division at the Center of Social Science and History, India.

Granted, the 13 pieces that comprise the book are not new; they are reprints of articles that originally appeared in a periodical published by the Sindh [sic] Historical Society. However, as the magazine ceased publication in 1948 and as “so few libraries in Pakistan … [have] copies of the Journal”, it would have been difficult for scholars, students or anyone with an interest in Sindhi history to access the writings. This difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that, as the editors point out, there “are no reprints of these articles in any other book, nor has anyone reprinted them in their entirety since the 1930's and 1940's.” As such, the book may serve as a valuable source of some of the early writings on the region.

A selection of articles on Sindh printed in the last days of British colonial rule provide a useful tool for students, academics and general readers

The contributing writers include names such as A.B. Advani (‘Crime and Punishment in the Days of the Talpur Rulers of Sind’ [sic] and biographical sketches of Diwan Gidumal and Naomal Hotchand), H.T. Lambrick (discourses on battles fought in the region between locals and the colonials as well as observations on Baloch poetry), General John Jacob (notes on the Napier administration), Patrick Cadell (letters written between General John Jacob and Sir Bartle Frere), A.J. Narsain (‘Historical and Racial Background of the Amils of Hyderabad, Sind [sic]’), Ramjee Gunnoojee (an account of five days in February 1843 when he was deputed to “quell the disturbance among the Beloochees [sic]”) and N.M. Billimoria (folk legends in one piece and in the second, a comparison of the census reports of 1931 and 1941).

While anyone can do a quick internet search to discover exactly who these writers are, it would have made sense for Boivin, Cook and Levesque to perhaps give short introductions that would have allowed readers not entrenched in Sindhi history to become familiar with these names.

The original articles, as can be seen from the citations provided towards the end of the book, appeared variously throughout the years that the Journal was functional. Boivin, Cook and Levesque have arranged them in historical chronological order to allow for a better understanding of history as it unfolded.

Thus, readers begin at the beginning, with the advent of the Kalhoras who initiated their rule under the leadership of Mian Yar Muhammad Kalhora, who went by the title Khuda Yar Khan. On the royal decree of the Mughals, he received grants from Emperor Aurangzeb and became the governor first of Sindh, then of Sui, and built a new city which was named Khudabad. Through sagacious and astute leadership, he extended his rule to far-flung areas such as Sehwan and Bukhar, excluding Thatta which was directly controlled by the Mughals. Besides MianYar Muhammad, there were three most important valiant rulers of this dynasty who rendered great services. They were Mian Nasir Muhammad, Mian Noor Muhammad and Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhora.

The Talpurs, descendants of Mir Tala Khan, enjoyed cordial relations with the Kalhoras initially, but differences developed and the Talpurs waged war. The Battle of Halani in 1783 AD proved fatal for the Kalhora dynasty and the reins of power were taken up by the Talpurs. In his second piece, Advani provides some very graphic and detailed information about the manner in which the Talpurs dealt with criminals, from public shaming to physical torture to mental torture.

The book then segues into a detailed account of the British invasion of Sindh. As the colonials reached farther and farther across the subcontinent, the occupation of Sindh became one of the last confrontations between the colonials and the locals. Two articles by Lambrick analyse the state of battle affairs in 1839 and 1843. The invasion successful, we then move to bureaucracy as controlled by the British, and then to administration by the locals, or Amils.

The last part of the book deals with the legends of Sindh. The history of Sindh is inextricably bound with its folktales and, as such, the editors have included a piece by Billimoria that briefly recaps some of the (now) more well-known ones detailed by Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. However, Billimoria’s article comparing the census reports of two different decades is much more informative. He notes figures on the percentage division of men and women, Muslims and Hindus, and follows up with a breakdown of tribal communities — Bheels, Kohlis, Baloch, Makranis, Brahuis and Jats — that resided in the districts of Dadu, Hyderabad, Karachi, Larkana, Nawabshah, Sukkur, Tharparkar and Upper Sindh Frontier. There is even a chart on the percentage of people afflicted with ‘infirmities’ — leprosy, blindness, insanity, deafness/mutism — during the decades from 1911 to 1931.

Sir William Napier says, “This memorable battle, fought 35 days after Meeanee, and within a few miles from that field, bears three names, Dubba, Naraja and Hyderabad: the first from the village, the second from the plain, the third from the city near which it was fought. The last is the one by which it must be known.” ... Sir Charles wrote, “We don’t like to call our battle Dubba because the skins of grease in this country are called dubbas. All the boys were horrified at the name and McMurdo rode about, bleeding like a pig from his wound, after the battle, to find another village to call after: Lord Ellenborough has settled it for us — Hyderabad.” — Excerpt from the book

As such, given that this book brings together some very early articles written about the region and puts them in a coherent timeline, it would serve well as a tool for students, academics, researchers as well as the general reader. The editors have aimed to give a comprehensive overview of Sindhi history; the articles cover a large time period and connect numerous historical missing links, but the book misses out in that there is no personal input from the editors. Had they incorporated their own interpretations on history or even on the articles themselves, it would have made for much more useful reading.

The reviewer is assistant professor and Incharge Chairman, Department of General History, University of Sindh, Jamshoro

Discovering Sindh’s Past: Selections from
the Journals of The Sind Historical Society,
1934-1948
Edited by Michel Boivin, Matthew A. Cook
and Julien Levesque
Oxford University Press, Karachi
ISBN: 978-0199407804
320pp.

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, August 19th, 2018
www.dawn.com/news/1427910
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

HITAA(N) KHAN(N)I HUTEY JIN RAKHIYO SEY RASIYU(N)
SAAJAN SUU(N)HA SIRT WAKHA(N)EI VEJHO GHAN(N)U

Those who transferred their
minds from here to there
they reached the Beloved
embodiment of beauty and wisdom
is less than a step away

OJHARA SU(N)HA DHEHA GHAN(N)UEI DHORIYO
SAGHAR REI SU(N)HA PAHTI KANA PUNDH KAREY

In the wilderness, the seekers wandered a lot
without a guidance
None has ever got on the track
to reach the goal without the guide

SUBB NANGHIYU(N) THI NIKRO LALACH CHHADHEY LOBB
SUPRIYA(N)A SEE(N) SOBB NINDHU(N)U KANDEY NA THIYE

Move out without possessions
forsaking all desires and greed
You can have no success in your love
just by remaining asleep and static

TON(N)EY WALLARU(N) KARE(N) TON(N)EY HALE(N) VIKH
LAKHAE MUNJHAA(N) LAKH ZARO ZAAYA NA THIYEE

Whether you go fast or at the normal pace
not a bit short of destined shall be obliterated

LIKHIYO JO NIRAAR SO A(N)G KIYAARI NA THIYEE
PAARIYO VETHI PAAR JEKI LAALAN LIKHIYO LOH MEI(N)

Whatever is written on the forehead
shall not be set aside
You have to endure
what Allah has written in the destiny
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

Shah Jo Risalo
PublisherL: Sindhi Adabi Board
Publication date 1961
Shah Jo Risalo is a poetic compendium of famous Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. In fact, it is many compendia, for Shah Abdul Latif's poetry in various forms of bayt and wai was compiled by many of his devotees during his lifetime and after his death. The devotees compiled his poetry and designated it as Shah Jo Risalo or Poetry of Shah.

Ernest Trumpp called it Diwan when he edited the Risalo and published it from Leipzig, Germany in 1866 A.D. Afterwards, many scholars and linguists have published the Shah Jo Risalo with their own compilations, hence many editions are available.

Shah Jo Risalo, written in very pure and concise Sindhi verses, is great storehouse for Muslims but also for the Hindus. Shah Abdul Latif has hidden his mystical ideas under layers of symbols taken from all spheres of life as well as from the classical Sufi tradition, and particularly from Maulana Rumi's Mathnawi.

Surs (ragas):
The traditional compilations of Shah Jo Risalo include 30 Surs which were compiled by renowned researchers. The oldest publications of Shah Jo Risalo contained some 36 Surs (ragas), but later most of the linguists discarded 6 Surs, as their language and content did not match the Shah's style. Recently, Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Baloch, a renowned linguist of the Sindhi language, has compiled and printed a new edition after 32 years of research into folk culture, language and the history of Sindhi language. Another poet Dr Aurangzeb Siyal has recently launched a book named "Louk Zangeer" in which he has attempted to define three Surs i-e Momal Rano, Sasui Punho and Umar Marvi in an easy manner and in different poetic style.

The word "Sur", from Sanskrit word SVARA, means a mode of singing. The Surs are sung as Ragas In Indian classical music, its "Ragas" and "Raginis" are sung at different times of day and night. In Risalo the Surs are named according to their subject matter. The underlying theme is how the individual is to cultivate the godly attributes, negate his ego so as to evolve to a better human being.

The traditional Surs included in Shah Jo Risalo are:

Kalyaan
Yaman Kalyaan
Khanbhaat
Suri Raag
Samundi
Sohni
Sassui Aburi
Maazuri
Desi
Kohyari
Husaini
Lilan Chanesar
Momal Rano
Marui
Kaamod
Ghattu
Sorath
Kedaro
Sarang
Asaa
Rippa
Khahori
Barwo sindhi
Ramkali
Kapati
Purab
Karayal
Pirbhati
Dahar
Bilawal
Sur Kamod

These Surs contain Bayts which Shah latif sang in state of ecstasy. These Bayts in the Surs concerning the life-stories of his heroines, viz. Suhni, Sassui, Lila, Mumal, Marui, Nuri and Sorath, are not in chronological sequences, for the Sufi Poet in his state of "Wajd" or ecstasy, was concerned with the moments of denouncements in life-stories, which he used as allegories to express his mystical experiences.

Translations:
Shah Jo Risalo was first translated into German in 1866 by Ernest Trump, a German scholar and missionary when in 1860s he became fascinated by Sindhi language and culture and the jogis and singers who sang Shah Latif’s verses. With the help of Sindhi scholars he compiled a selection of the original verses and called it "Shah Jo Risalo" (the message of Shah). It was first translated in English by Elsa Kazi, a German lady married to Allama I. I. Kazi, who translated selections of Shah Jo Risalo in English prose. Later in 1940, Dr H.T Sorley, an English scholar learnt Sindhi, and published selections from the Risalo by the Oxford University Press entitled "Shah Abdul latif of Bhit - His Poetry, Life and Times".

The most recent work (1994) of translation of Risalo into English is that of Amena Khamisani, a professor in English Literature at the Sindh University. Shaikh Ayaz, the famous Sindhi poet, translated Risalo into Urdu. Risalo is also translated in Punjabi and more recently French translation was also undertaken by Cultural department of Sindh. Part of Risalo is also translated in Arabic. There is one more translation of Shah Abdul Latif by name "Seeking The Beloved" translated by Hari Daryani 'Dilgir' a noted Sindhi poet and Anju Makhija. This book was honored with Sahitya Akademi Award for translation in the year 2012.

Note:
It is interested to note that the oldest publications of Shah Jo Risalo contained 36 surs, here I am quoting Pir Tajudddin;

VARAN(N) CHHATREES SUR BETALEES BHAKHIYA
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

THORA MA THORA MUU(N) TEY MARUARAN JA
BHALLAEI BHEERA GHAN(N)I GHAN(N)YA KETRA

The favours of my Beloved are not few
How can one measure his graceousness

GHALAH PIRYAA(N) JI GHUJAH JEY GHALAH MIRYOEI GHUJAH
HAEI(N)RA AJHAM MUNJH TA PIRYAA(N) PAREY NA THEI(N)

The secret of the Beloved is unknown
O’ heart! Neither argue nor get confused
Lest you may drift away from the Beloved

SURAT SOJHAM TAH(N)E JI TU(N) PIN(N) PUCHHEI(N) JO
SUKHAN NAAHEY SO JO MUH(N) MUQABIL NA THIYEE

Discuss not about the Beloved
whom you can only visualize
Call it not a dialogue
when He is not face-to-face with you

KA JA PER PRIE(N) NA SA SUEI NA BHUDHI
MATIYU(N) SUBB MUNJHAN AHREY DHITHEY QAZYEE

The way of the Beloved is not comprehensible
It is unheard, unseen
It really causes perplexity to the senses


LAAEI JO VIYA MUNJHEN THO MUCH BHAREY
SO UJHAMEY KITHA(N) JAHE(N)E SURENDER SUPREE(N)

What had been kindled inside me is burning as a blaze
How can it be put off
which is being fanned by the Beloved?

UNDDER INDERIYU(N) JEI(N) SEY WAANJHEI LATHH MEY
MUU(N) TIN TETRIU(N) TA KEI(N) MILBO SAJAN(N)EE

Just as an oar creates many swirls in water
similar number of times, I think in mind
as to, how to meet him

NIHAAEIN KHA(N) NEEHAN SIKH MUU(N)JHA SUPREEN
SARREY SAARO DHEI(N) PER BAHER BHAFF NA NIKEREY

Learn to love from the kiln
It burns for the entire day
yet no vapour comes out of it
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

MAARHU(N) GHURAN MAAL AAU(N) SUB DHE(N)H GHURA(N) SUPREE(N)
DUNYA TAIH(N) DOST TAA(N) FIDA KARIYA(N) FILHAAL
KEES NAAM NIHAAL PASAN(N) TAA(N) PAREY THIYO

The people demand wealth
I always desire for the Beloved
I would sacrify entire wealth for him
Mere mention of his name delights me
what to talk about his manifestation

DIL JO DILBAR HEKRO GHAN(N)A TAA(N) NA KAJAN
DIL DHIJEY HIKREY KHEY TORREY SAWA SIKAN
SEY CHILVILLA CHAIJAN JEY DAR DAR LAAEEN DOSTI

One should have only one Beloved
Never have many of them
though hundreds may aspire
Those are the whimsical persons
who try to find love at every door

RUUA(N) TAA(N) RAAND KHILA(N) KHAMI HA(N)EIYU(N)
AKHIRIYU(N) VEESAAND PREE(N) GHADHJI KUNDIYU(N)

Weeping is a pleasure, laughter is heart burning
The eyes will rest after meeting the Beloved

AKHIYAN MEY THI VEEH TA AAUU(N) WAREY DHAKIYAA(N)
TOKHEY DHISEY NA DHEH AAUU(N) NA PASAA(N) KI BHIYO

Come to dwell in my eyes
so that I may lovingly close them
The world may not see you
and I may perceive none else.

AKHIYAN KHEY AAHIN AJAB JEHU(N) AADATU(N)
SUUR PARAEY SAATH JA WANJHIYO WIHAEEN
UTTEY LAW(N) LAAEEN JITT HAAJAT NAHEY HATHIYAAR JI

The eyes have indeed strange habits
They procure pains for the sake of strangers
They entangle in love there
where no other tool is effective
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

AKHIRIYAN AARAAM KADHEI(N) TAA(N) NA KAYO
HUYU(N) MUNJH HAMAAM KHAN(N)IYU(N) KHOREY WICH MEY

The eyes never ever had any rest
All the time the roasted ones
were in the midst of fire in the furnace

AKHIYAN MUU(N) KHEY OCHITO UTTEY ARAAYO
LAUU(N) TITT LARAAYO JITT KUCHHAN(N)THIEY KO NA KO

My eyes suddenly got me entangled
They made me entangle there
where no argument is possible

AKHIYU(N) ALA SABAAH DOST DEKHAN(N) AAEIYU(N)
UBHANDIYU(N) ARDAAS MEY BHI NA KUNDIYU(N) KAH
RACHANDIYU(N) REY PAAH PARCHANDIYU(N) PREI(N) SEE(N)

Early morning the eyes come
to see the Beloved
They were lost in worship
and did not express anything else
They would become red without any dye
and then would be reconciled with the Beloved

UBHRANDEY EI SIJJ PREI(N) JEY NA PASANDIYU(N)
KADDHI BHAI DHEJ AKHIRIYU(N) KAANGAN KHEY

At sunrise if your eyes behold not the
Beloved
You should pluck both eyes out
and serve them to the ravens

AKHIRIYU(N) PREI(N) REY JEY KI BHIYO PASAN
TA KADDHI KAANGAN NAWALA NEEN(N) DHIYAA(N)

If my eyes were to look
at something other than the Beloved
I would pluck them out
and serve them as food to ravens.

NEERANA EI NEEN(N) NEEI AACHH PREI(N) KHEY
SATTAR KHADHA KHEN(N) JEY DHITHO MU(N)H MEHBUB JO

Offer your fasting eyes
the treat of the Beloved's sight
The manifestation of the Beloved’s face
is better than taking seventy courses of meals
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

SURI SUDH KAYO KA HULANDI JHEDHIYU(N)
WAJHN(N) TIN PIYO NAALO NE(N)HAN GHINAN JEY

The gallows is beckoning
would any of my contemporaries accompany?
Only those are to go who claim true love

SURI SUDH KAREY UBBHI AASHIQAN KHEY
JEY ATHAI SUDH SIKAN(N) MEY TA KAR MA PEER PAREY
SISI DHAAR DHAREY PUCHHIJ POI PREETAN(N)U

The gallows is openly calling the lovers
If you have the desire of love
keep away not your feet from it.
Sacrifice before you think of love

SURI AAH SEENGHAR AGHIYAN AASHIQAN JO
MURAN(N) MOTAN(N) MENHAN(N)U THIYA NIZARI NARVAAR
KUSAN(N) JO QARAAR ASAL AASHIQAN KHEY

The gallows has always been an adornment
for lovers
It is a dishonor for them to turn away
rather they significantly offer themselves
It is the pledge of the true lovers to be cut to pieces

NOORI AEI(N) NAARI JOGHIRA JAHAAN MEY
BHARI JIN BHAARI AAU(N) NA JEINDI UN REY

In the world, the asectics may have
come from Light or Fire
They burn themselves to light
I can live not without them

JOGHIRA JAHAAN MEY HUA MUNJH HAMAAM
AARA MAA(N) ARAGH THIYA ODHAA NA AARAAM
KAYAAU(N) QAYAAM AAU(N) NA JEINDI UN REY

These yogis, while in this world
were in the fire of the divine love
They dissociated from sleep
and never went close to rest
They did extreme actions
I can live not without them
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

NA KI KHAN(N)AN PAAN(N) SEE(N) NA KO SAAN(N)AN PAAN(N)
AHRO JIN AHJHAAN(N) AAU(N) NA JEINDI UN REY

They neither take any thing with
“self” their
nor does “self” (ego) go with them
Those having such marks
I can live not without them

AAU(N) NA GHADHI PREI(N) KHEY THORA DEIN(N)H THIYA
RAATIYAN ROZ VIYA ABBUS AARI JAAM REY

I have not met the Beloved since quite a few days
The nights and the days have been wasted without him

AAU(N) NA GHADHI PREI(N) KHEY SAHSEE(N) SIJ VIYA
HALAN(N) VER HUA DHEKHEY SHAAL DUM DHIYA(N)

I have not met the Beloved since many suns have set
I wish to see him before I breathe my last.

AAU(N) NA GHADHI PREI(N) KHEY POYU(N) THIYO PASSAH
SIKKAA(N) THI SAKRAAT MEY ROYO PUCHHA(N) RAAH
SHAAL MA WIJHEM SAAH DHAARA(N) PASSAN(N) PREI(N) JEY

I have not met the Beloved
and am about to breathe my last
While in coma I yearn for him
and tearfully inquire about his path
I wish to die not without seeing him

AAU(N) NA GHADHI PREI(N) KHEY AAYO IZRAEL
JO RAAN(N)I SEE(N) JHEDHIYU(N) NAKO QAAL NA QEEL
AAYO MOUT DALEEL MAREENDO MURAD KHAA(N)

I have not met the Beloved
and Izrael (Angel of Death) has arrived
O’ coevals! Neither pretension nor argument
would workout before this tyrant
The catching death has come
it will divest me of my wish

AAU(N) NA GHADHI PREI(N) KHEY MATHAA(N) AAYO MOUT
WAJHAEINDEY WARAH THIYA HITT NA GHADHYEM HOUT
JEEKUS THEENDIYUS FOUT FANA THI FARAQ MEY

I have not met the Beloved
and the death has taken over
I looked for years
but never had a union with him
I would perish and die due to separation
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

PUCHH PATA(N)GAN KHEY SUNDIYU(N) KHAAMAN(N) KHABARU(N)
AAN(N)YO VIJHAN AAG MEY JEE PA(N)HJHO JEY
JEAREY JINEEN KHEY LAGHA NEEZA NEE(N)H JA

Ask the moths of their desire to burn
They simply plunge themselves in the fire
as their hearts are pierced by the spears of love

PATA(N)G CHAAHEI(N) PAAN(N) KHEY TA ACHI AAG UJHAEI
PACHAN(N) GHAN(N)A PACHAEIYA TU(N) PACHAN(N) KHEY PACHAAEI
WAAQIF THI WASAAEI AAGH NA DHIJEY AAM KHEY

If you liken yourself to a moth
come and extinguish the fire
This fire has roasted many
you should try to burn the fire itself
Like an expert, put off the fire
never let out the fire of love

PATA(N)G CHAHEI(N) PAAN(N) KHEY PASSI MUCH MA MOTT
SUHAAEI SUPREE(N) JI GHIR TA THEI(N) GHOTT
A(N)JHA TU(N) ARUTT KHORI KHABAR NA LAHEE(N)

If you liken yourself to a moth
do not retreat at the sight of the blaze
Enter into the Beloved’s brilliance
so as to become like a groom
You are still immature and not aware
of the propensity of the oven

SADAAEI(N) SAFAR MEY RAMAN MATHEY RAAH
PERAN PURAB PUNDH DHEY MUNJH MAWALI MAAH
JEY ALAKH SEE(N) AAGHAH HALO TAKIYA PASU(N) TIN JA

They are always in journey
roaming on the trails
They go eastward
from place to place in ecstasy
Those who are familiar with Allah
let us go and see their abodes

KUNN KUTT KAAPATT KAAPARI KANUTTIYA KUNN CHEER
SADHA WAHAN SAAMEHAA(N) AASHIQ UTTAR HEER
TASSA DHEI TIN KHEY SAARIYAU(N) SAREER
JEY FANA THIYA FAQIR HALO TAKIYA PASU(N) TIN JA

The ascetics belong to that community
whose ears are pierced, slit and cut (wear big earrings)
The lovers always sit facing the northern wind
They starve themselves and weaken their bodies
Those mendicants have wiped out their “self’
Let us go and visit their abodes
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

AJJ NA AUTAQAN MEI(N) TAALIB TU(N)WAREEN
ADDESI UTHI VIYA MARHIY(N)U MU(N) MAREE(N)
JEY JEA KHEY JIYAREEN SEY LAAHUTI LADHEY VIYA

Today the seekers are not there
crooning in their abodes
The stranger ascetics have left
their deserted places are depressing
Those holy men are gone
who used to regenerate the soul

AJJ NA AUTAAQAN MEI(N) SUNDI JOGIYAN JORR
SAAREY SUNYASEEN KHEY KHAAMI THIYAS KHORR
MON JINEEN SI MORR SEY LAAHUTI LADHEY VIYA

Today there is no congregation
of the ascetics in their abodes
Remembering the ascetics
I have become wretched
Those holy man are great
whom the heart has been entangled with

AJJ NA AUTAAQAN MEI(N) SUNDI JOGIYAN ZAAT
SAAREY SUNYASEEN KHEY RUNAM SAJHI RAAT
MU(N) JINEEN JI TAAT SEY LAAHUTI LADHEY VIYA

Today there is none of the ascetic folks
in their abodes
Remembering the ascetics
I have wept for the entire night
Whom my heart remembers
they have migrated

JEY TU(N) DORIYEI(N) DUUR SO SADA AAHEY SAAN(N) TOU
LAALAN LAI LATIF CHAI MUNJHI THI MA'ZUUR
MUNJHAA(N) PAAN)N) PARUUR TOU MUNJH AAHEES TAKIYO

Whom you search at far, he is always with you
“Look for the Beloved inside yourself”, Says Latif
You will know from your heart
as his abode is within yourself

CHUNDD TUHINJI ZAAT PARIYAA(N) NA PREI(N) SEE(N)
TU(N) ACHHO MUNJH RAAT SAJJAN(N) NITT SOJHIRAA

O’ Moon! I would not match your self
to that of my Beloved
You are luminous only at night
whereas my Beloved shines all times
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

CHANDD CHAWAA(N) SUCH JEY TU(N) MITHHI NA BHAAEI(N)
KADHAHEE(N) UBHREE(N) SANHO KADHAHEE(N) UBHREE(N) GHUCH
MU(N)H MEY BHAREI MUCH TOU MEY NAHEY PESHAANI PREI(N) JI

O' Moon! Let me tell you the truth
if you would not mind
Sometimes you rise as slender
sometimes sizable you seem
Your face has a blazing brilliance
but not as bright as my Beloved’s forehead

SAHSEE(N) SIJJAN UBHREY CHOURAASI CHUNDDAN
BILLAH REY PREI(N) SUBB UNDHAEI BHAEIYA(N)

Hundreds of suns and eighty-four moons may rise
yet by Allah! Without the Beloved
I would find darkness all over

PESHAANI MEY PREI(N) JEY BHALLAEI JA BHER
A(N)GHAN(N) KUNDDEN JEY DHAEI PABHUHI PEER
QAMAR PAARREY KEER SHAMS SUPREI(N) SEE(N)

There is immense beneficence
in the Beloved’s forehead
He kindly graces the courtyard
of those solicitous, with his feet
No moon or sun is comparable with my Beloved

KHAN(N)I NEEN(N) KHUMAAR MAA(N) JAA(N) KAYAU(N) NAAZ NAZAR
SURAJ SHAAKHU(N) JHAKIYU(N) KOMAAN(N)U QAMAR
TARA KATIYU(N) TAAEB THIYA DEKHENDEY DILBAR
JHAKO THIYO JOHAR JAANIB JEY JAMAAL SEE(N)

My Beloved lifted his dozy eyes
and glanced elegantly
The sun’s rays dimmed and the moon faded
perceiving the Beloved
The stars and constellations showed obeisance,
Even the precious stones’ luster faded
at the beauty of the Beloved

KHAAMA(N) PACHAA(N) PAJHRAA(N) LUCHHAA(N) LOCHAA(N)
TANN MEY TONIS PREI(N) JI PIYAA(N) NA DHAPAA(N)
JEY SAMUNDD MU(N)H KARIYAA(N) TOI SERKIYAAEI NA THIEI

Torched, burnt, roasted and writhed, I yearn
In my heart I have lot of thirst of the Beloved
which quenches not
Even if I were to swallow the entire ocean
It would not saturate
swamidada_1
Posts: 239
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm

Post by swamidada_1 »

WASAN(N) AKHIREIN JEI(N) JE HUUND SIKHEI(N) MEI(N)H
TA HUUND RAARO DHEI(N)H BUSS BUNDEIU(N) NA KAREI(N)

O’ Rain! If you were to learn raining from my eyes
You would never cease pouring day and night

WASSEY SAARI RAAT SUBUH JO SAAH KHAN(N)EY
MUNJHEI MEI(N)H PREI(N) JO JEY TUN MEY H UJEY TAAT
TA WIHAAN(N)I PRABHAAT HUUND BAADAL BUSS EI NA KAREI(N)

It rains for the entire night
and then stops for a while in the morning,
O’ Cloud! If you had anxiety
and similar yearning for the Beloved
You would have never stopped raining
having no break at dawn

SIKEI(N) KAH SALAAM KHEY KAREI(N) KAH NA SALAAM
BHIYA DAR TINEEN HARAAM EI DAR JINEEN DEKHIYO

Why do you yearn for an obeisance from him?
Why don’t you go for an obeisance to him?
All other ways are forbidden
for those who have seen his door

AAYAL UNN NA WASSAA(N) HUNJU(N) JEY HAAREEN
AAN(N)YO AAB AKHIYEEN MEY DEH KHEY DEKHAREEN
SAJAN(N) JEY SAAREEN SEY NAKI RUUAN NA CHAWAN KI

I do not trust those persons
who shed pretentious tears
They bring tears in their eyes
just to show to the world
Those who remember the Beloved
neither weep nor speak thereof

JEEKA KUNDI NEI(N)H MUU(N) JEI(N) BAAROCHAN SEE(N)
SIKAN(N) SAARO DEI(N)H CHARHAN(N) CHAARHIKAN TEY

Whosoever would wish
to love the Beloved like me
She will have to long for him all the day
and will have to endure hardships as well
Post Reply