Sufi, Radha & the Divine

[1]

Muzaffar Ali [1]

Sakal ban phool rahi sarson
Angana more tesu phoole
Koel bole dar dar
Aur gori karat singaar
Milania gardva le ayi gar sun
Sakal ban phool rahi sarson
Tarha tarha ke phool lagaye
Le gadva haathan mein aye
Nijamuddin ke darwaje par
aawan keh gaye ashiq rang
aur beet gye barson
Sakal ban phool rahi sarson
— Hazrat Amir Khusrau

(The woods are yellow with mustard flowers,
in my courtyard bloom fragrant flowers,
she adorns herself for union with the Beloved,
the woods are yellow with mustard flowers,
I planted numerous flowers and made a garland for my beloved
and came to the threshold of Nizamuddin,
who promised to return soon but now it is years
The woods are yellow with mustard flowers)

The Sufi saw the world from where he was. He was unconditionally immersed in the beauty of the moment. He belonged to the place where he stood. He belonged to everyone who wanted to possess him. This was Khusrau, the master blender, the 14th century poet dedicated to Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.
The essential part of a Sufi’s quest for Allah is the need and urge to seek ways to connect with his creations. He sees in them the hidden secrets of the Divine. On the Indian soil he saw metaphors and similes in the culture and ethos and ways of devotion. That Devotion was the secret. The passion of that devotion was the essence of the search and the visible answer to that invisible, unifying force. This was not comprehensible without unconditional surrender required to be one with it. The beauty of the Sufis was that they knew when Vahdat (unity of the creator) was appearing and when it was getting diffused.

Man Mohan jab chab dikhlai, sarson phooli ankhon mein
Prem ki zardi mukh par chhai, sarson phooli ankhon mein
(When Man Mohan revealed himself, the yellow mustard blossomed
The palour of love flushed the face, the yellow mustard blossomed...)

Niyaz kahani suno re bhai, hosh gaye behoshi ayi
Khudi gayi tab mili khudai, sarson phooli ankhon mein
(Listen to what befell Niyaz, gone was his mind and senses
he lost himself and found the One, the yellow mustard blossomed)

Shaym sundar ki jab sudh ayi, sarson phooli ankhon mein
Kuchh ka kuchh hai deth dikhai, sarson phooli ankhon mein
(Then appeared the dark and the beautiful Shyam Sunder, the yellow mustard blossomed...
Everything had a new meaning, the yellow mustard blossomed...)

Har har boondh samand pehchano, har zarra khurshid
Wah guruji khub sajai, sarson phooli ankhon mein
(In every drop the ocean was revealed, in every particle, the sun
Such were the Master’s marvel, the yellow mustard blossomed...)

Bande ko maula dhikhano, qaidi ko beqaid
Un kehni munh sun kehlai, sarson phooli ankhon mein
(In a human form the Master appeared, the prisoners saw their freedom
The unheard was heard from the lips, the yellow mustard blossomed...)

Unch neech mei farq na jano, dui hui napaid
Vahdat man par aisi chahi, sarson phooli ankhon mein
(No trace was left of big and small. All duality was banished.
Unity thus engulfed the being, the yellow mustard blossomed...)

Niyaz aapko aap na janu, kuja umro kath zaid
Nighal gayi parbat ko rayee, sarson phooli ankhon mein
(O Niyaz, forget yourself, break all time and space,
A mere grain has swallowed a mountain, the yellow mustard blossomed...)
— Hazrat Shah Niyaz

Like Radha, he sees the metaphors of devotion to his Pir Murshid. He has the same surrender, the same submission as he saw in the imagery of the Indian soil. His Beloved had the same charm as Krishna.
Mohse bol na bol meri sun ya na sun
Main to tohe na chadungi ai sanware
Mori saas nanandiya phiri to phiri
Mohse phir kyon na jaye sabhi gaon re
Ek tu na phire mohse ai mere pyare
Main bhi to aiyi tori chhaon re
— Maulana Mauj

The Sufis wandered in the realm of Vrindavan as if in it was his universe of love, their Pir/Murshid had the ways of the dark elusive Krishna, amorous in his encounters; cruel in separation.
Through this they told the story of the mystic quest to the country folk.

— Muzaffar Ali is a filmmaker and painter.
He is the executive director and secretary of
the Rumi Foundation. He can be contacted at www.rumifoundation.in [2]