Bulleh Shah — a poet of people

KASUR: Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri, popularly known as Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah, was born at Pandoke village, Lahore district, in 1680 AD and died in 1758 AD, but in some books his date and place of birth is different. According to the books, great Sufi poet Bulleh Shah was born at Uch Gillanian village, 80km from Bahawalpur, in 1658 AD and died in 1707 AD.

According to them, Bulleh Shah’s family migrated to Pandoke when he was 10-year-old. His father name was Sakhi Mohammad Dervesh, who was an Imam Masjid at Pandoke. Bulleh Shah got his basic religious education from his father, but he looked for something else. Seeing his curiosity, his father took him to Kasur to religious scholar Hafiz Gulam Murtaza Kasuri for further education.

Love, fraternity, respect for all creeds, colours and religions is the hall mark of his poetry. The age of Bulleh Shah with all its trends, tendencies, its inhibitions and boldness is enshrined in his poetry. He presents before us a picture gallery of the ecclesiastical hypocrisy of his time. Bulleh Shah lived like a cosmopolitan individual, living in Kasur, but journeying through ethereal skies.

Bulleh Shah is the poet of all religions. Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and almost all the religions enjoy Bulleh Shah’s poetry and pay tributes to him through the slow ecstatic movements of their bodies while listening to his poetry. The march of Bulleh Shah’s poetic lines enthralls the reader and one cannot help being lost in the ecstatic world of this universal soul called - Bulleh Shah. Baba Bulleh Shah helps us peep into what is behind the veil that separated us and our maker. He can lift the veil because he has a personal experience of the divine. It is his love for the Almighty Allah, which gives him the strength to say:

Ghoonghat chuk O sajna hun sharman

Kahnoon rakhian vey

(Why this abashment dear, lift the veil!)

Baba Bulleh Shah established a direct relationship with God. He recognised no role of mediators in this respect, except the guidance of his spiritual master Baba Anayat Shah Qadri. He says:

Bullehya mullan tey mashalchi dohan iko chit

Lokan kardey chananan app hanerey nit

(Bulleh the Mulla and the torch-bearer are in a way alike themselves in the dark, but showing others light)

Baba Bulleh Shah had little faith in the priestly class which promises people salvation. Their personal lives were often far from religious. They exploited simple people for personal gains. Baba Bulleh Shah clearly saw through their tricks:

Mullah, kazi rah batavan, deen bharam de phere

Eh tan thug jagat dey, jeha lavan jall chaufere

Karam shara dey dharm batavan, sangal pavan paire

(The Mullas and the Kazi mislead into a maze of superstition - these thugs of the world spread their net wide, claiming to preach share they shackle one)

The Hindu priests are no different:

Bahman ann jajman dareay

Pittar peerh dos bharam doraey

Apey das key jatan karaey

Pooja shuroo karai eiy

(The Brahmins frighten their patrons into false belief that their ancestors are in pain - the remedy too they prescribe and thus the puja began)

There is no doubt in saying that the version of Baba Bulleh Shah is not only for the time it was written, but for the present and future too. More than 200 years have been passed but Bulleh Shah is still alive by his poetry and spiritualism.

Bulleh Shah's electric spirit which chafed at the restriction of caste and sect exposed him, during his life time, to the reproach of being unorthodox, but the holiness of his life effectively silenced his critics.

Cowardice is common; courage rare, few show physical courage; fewer still moral courage, Bulleh Shah was the rarest among rare to show immense moral courage to speak out the truth as he perceived it without considering consequences. He spared none; neither the political power, nor the religious authority and therein lies the appeal of his poetry, especially for those, who have been his devotees since childhood.

Bulleh Shah personifies courage of conviction. He is a man of God, but a poet of the people. The poetry of Baba Bulleh Shah has immense love and fraternity. Along with poetry, Bulleh Shah also continued his hard work in mysticism and spirituality, which is the symbol of saints. The name of Bulleh Shah will remain forever as he said in his Kafi also:

Bulleh Shah assan marna naheen mar gia koi hor

Meanwhile, a three-day Urs of Sufi poet Bulleh Shah, which began on Saturday, will conclude on Monday midnight.