Bulleh Shah (1680-1757) was a Punjabi Sufi mystic poet, humanist and philosopher who lived during the Mughal Empire and era. He is best known for his devotional sufi poems dedicated to the Beloved.
Seek the spirit, forget the form.
Bulleh Shah
Enough is enough, talk to me with smile.
Bulleh Shah
Seek your master, say your prayers and surrender to God.
Bulleh Shah
Hide not behind the veil, my love, I long to have a glimpse of you.
Bulleh Shah
It’s all in the One contained, understand that one and forget the rest.
Bulleh Shah
I have learnt a secret
A secret I’ve learnt
Bulleh Shah
It’s not me, it’s he himself
He amuses his own self
Bulleh Shah
How long can the truth be veiled?
The spirit is all there is to know.
Bulleh Shah
You who have read thousands of books of knowledge, have you ever tried to read your own self?
Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah Sufi Quote: The sun has set, its flush only is left….
The sun has set, its flush only is left.
I’ll give my life for a glimpse of you.
My fault: I came not when when you bade
Your love has made me dance like mad.
Bulleh Shah (Tere Ishq Nachaya)
If I search for you for you inside, then I think you are confined. If I search for you outside, then who is contained within me? You are everything, you are in everything, you are known to be free from everything. You are me and I am you, so who is poor Bullha?
Bulleh Shah
I have got lost in the city of love,
I am being cleansed, withdrawing myself from my head, hands and feet.
I have got rid of my ego, and have attained my goal.
Thus it has all ended well.
O Bullah, the Lord pervades both the worlds;
None now appears a stranger to me.
Bulleh Shah
Some retire to the jungles in vain
Others restrict their meals to a grain
Misled they waste away unfed
And come back home half-alive, half-dead
Emaciated in the ascetic postures feigned
It’s all in One contained.
Bulleh Shah
Going to Makkah is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of prayers are offered
Going to River Ganges is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of cleansing (Baptisms) are done
Going to Gaya is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of worships are done
Bulleh Shah the ultimate is
When the “I” is removed from the heart
Bulleh Shah (Makkeh Gaya)
You alone exist; I do not, O Beloved!
You alone exist, I do not!
Like the shadow of a house in ruins,
I revolve in my own mind
If I speak, you speak with me:
If I am silent, you are in my mind
If I sleep, you sleep with me:
If I walk, you are along my path
Oh Bulleh, the spouse has come to my house:
My life is a sacrifice unto Him
You alone exist; I do not, O Beloved!.
Bulleh Shah (You Alone Exist, 17-18th century)
You have learnt so much
And read a thousand books.
Have you ever read your Self?
You have gone to mosque and temple.
Have you ever visited your soul?
You are busy fighting Satan.
Have you ever fought your
Ill intentions?
You have reached into the skies,
But you have failed to reach
What’s in your heart!
Bulleh Shah
Poems
Stricken by Love
He who is stricken by Love
Sings and dances out of tune.
He who wears the garb of Love
Gets blessings from above.
Soon as he drinks from this cup
No questions and no answers remain.
He who is stricken by Love
Sings and dances out of tune.
He who has the Beloved in his heart,
He is fulfilled with his Love.
No need he has for formality,
He just enjoys his ecstasy.
He who is stricken by Love
Sings and dances out of tune.
Do Come to Me
You may not take notice of me
But do come to me
I am a sacrifice unto you
Do come to me
I’ve looked around in fields and forest
There is none like you
Do come to me
Cowherd you are to others
You are my faith, my beau
Do come to me
Leaving my parents, I am tied to you,
Oh Shah Inayat, my beloved teacher
Do come to me
Bulleh enterd the great palace
And had a spledid treat
What have we gained in the world
A black face and blue feet?
Come My Love
Come my love take care of me,
I am in great agony.
Ever separated, my dreams are dreary,
Looking for you, my eyes are weary.
All alone I am robbed in a desert,
Waylaid by a bunch of way words.
Their maze of Dharma that is in sway.
They are the confirmed thieves of time,
they spread their net saintly crime.
Their time-worn norms are seldom right,
With these they chain my feet so toght.
My love cares not for caste or creed,
To the rituals faith I pay no heed.
My Master lives on yonder bank,
While I am caught in the gale of greed.
With boat of anchor, He stands in wait,
I must hasten, I can’t be late.
Bulleh Shah must find his love,
He needn’t have the last fright.
His love is around, yet he looks for Him,
Misled in the broad daylight.
Come my love take care of me,
I am in great agony.
(Translation by Kartar Singh Duggal)
I Know Not Who I Am
Not a believer in the mosque am I,
Nor a disbeliever with his rites am I.
I am not the pure amongst the impure,
I am neither Moses nor Pharaoh.
Bulleh, I know not who I am.
Not in the holy books am I,
Nor do I dwell in bhang or wine,
Nor do I live in a drunken haze,
Nor in sleep or waking known.
Bulleh, I know not who I am.
Not in happiness or in sorrow am I found.
I am neither pure nor mired in filthy ground.
Not of water nor of land,
Nor am I in air or fire to be found.
Bulleh, I know not who I am.
Not an Arab nor Lahori,
Not a Hindi or Nagouri,
Nor a Muslim or Peshawari,
Not a Buddhist or a Christian.
Bulleh, I know not who I am.
Secrets of religion have I not unravelled,
I am not of Eve and Adam.
Neither still nor moving on,
I have not chosen my own name!
Bulleh, I know not who I am.
From first to last, I searched myself.
None other did I succeed in knowing.
Not some great thinker am I.
Who is standing in my shoes, alone?
Bulleh, I know not who I am.
Very word of Baba Bulleh Shah has deep meaning. My parent are burried in his courtyard.