BY MUGEES UL KAISAR
This is an attempt to present a very brief and short introduction to some of the most important recurring themes in Kashmiri mystic poetry. But before mentioning some of the themes, I want to make two disclaimers beforehand. Firstly, although these terms that we are about to discuss here belong to Kashmiri language but the mystical concepts that they represent are cross cultural and perennial in nature. Second of all, we need to bear in mind that although the poetic experience is of primary importance here, these words/concepts are the best attempts to convey that knowledge to larger audience. Hence understanding these main terms/themes is of vital importance. Mystic experiences are not to be laughed away in ridicule as something trivial. We need to realize that the great traditions conveyed by great Prophets & sages which transformed the world around them were also initiated by some kind of (fantastic) experiences.
Let’s start by one of the most often repeated themes of Kashmiri mystic poets and it has to do with the very force of life. It is as Shamas Faqir would say “sar kar pan’nuy paan” or as Souch Kraal would say “gath kar pani’ney aastaanay”. What is understood from these phrases is that if we look around we see the miracle and magic of life. The beauty and magnificence of creation. We see this life in a bird chirping beautiful songs and flying seamlessly. An awesome tree is beautified by the same life. This whole universe infact is run by this very life/force, whatever name we may assign. Then there is an important realization when we look at ourselves. We see that we too inherit the same life/force. Therefore if we want to understand the reality itself we just have to look within because in there resides this life/force which is the soul of existence. The gift of self-consciousness enables us to do this. It is pertinent to mention here that mystics quote an often repeated Quranic phrase here “wa fee anfusikum afalaa tubsirron” which means “and in your own selves why do you not see/reflect”.
Let’s come to our second often repeated theme and that is as Shamas Faqir would say “marnay bronthey mar darwesho” or Laal Saab Aargami says “merith zinday be dar maqbar”. This refers to the famous phrase ‘die before you die’. What does dying before dying mean? What is understood from this terminology is that once a person realizes that the underlying reality of existence is one and persistent as we have discussed above then one can escape the finitude of his body. The life/force that the physical self embodies is not subject to death at all. Because you may die but birds continue to sing songs, trees continue to blossom and thus life/spirit continues to shine its magic through various other life forms/manifestations! Dying before death thus means to realize that the physical self is just one manifestation/potentiality of life, the underlying reality. It is worthwhile to mention here that many mystics quote a Prophetic tradition which says “mutoo qabla anta mutoo” which literally means “die before you die”. This Arabic phrase is also repeated as it is by many Kashmiri mystic poets at many occasions.
This concept is also related to another similar theme of “rising above physicality” as Shah Kabir says “laa ilaa ilallaa sar gasii karnuy, haa mati ad’e naa marnuy zahn”. The sacred word “laa” is very important here. As Ahad Zargar says “laa goam kan’ney sapdum faan”. This is to make people realize that ‘the physical is not final’ as it might seem. Although we have differences and infinite variation in the physical but the underlying reality is common. There has to be this common underlying substratum. Because a tree cannot be/create a bird neither can an animal create/be a flower. These are different manifestations of one underlying reality which is neither bird/animal nor a flower/tree but holds potentials of all of these in the implicate order. In essence being/absolute has to be only one. There cannot be two infinites. Rest are all manifestations realized/actualized. “Souch Kral wanaan gous, kehn nay ous gaeri Allah, be wane’nishan wesith pious paanay ous be bahaanay”!
Let’s come to our third and last theme for today and that is “nothingness” as Souch Kral would say “KEHNAS maan’ey wan’nuy gous paanay ous be bahaanay”. This ‘Kehnay’ surfaces in many other poets like Ahad Zargar says “chu kehnai karith kehnas Ral, wuchum kehnai mey deedan tal”. The term Kehnay/shooniy/nothingness/infinite is found in all mystic traditions across continents with different names. The underlying reality which is the source of creation is undefined and infinite. It is the abode of infinite creation/possibilities/potentialities. It is limitless and unconfined. It cannot be labeled by any one thing and therefore is referred to as “nothingness”. It is no-thing that you know of (laysa ka mislihee shay). Quran beautifully sums by “subhanAllahi ammaa yushrikoon”!
Although there are many other recurring themes that are no less important but I feel these three are enough for a good start. It is hoped that after reading this piece, readers should somewhat begin to appreciate the metaphysics within our mystic poetry. As said in the beginning, understanding these basic themes is critically important to access this treasure.
Mugees-Ul-Kaisar is a student of Philosophy & Religious Studies, can be reached at mugees.kaisar@gmail.co
