Miffed's Scribblings

  Introduction “Not a believer inside the mosque, am I nor a pagan disciple of false rites not the pure amongst the impure Neither Moses, nor the pharaoh” ~ Bulleh Shah A man who was refused by the mullahs to be buried after his death in the community graveyard because of his unorthodox views, today enjoys worldwide reverence and recognition.   The tomb of Baba Bulleh Shah in Kasur (Pakistan) and the area around it is today the only place free of collective refuse, and the privileged of the city pay handsomely to be buried in the proximity of the man they had once rejected. This radical change has been possible because people have been impressed in the course of time by the holy way of Bulleh’s life and the efficacy of his teachings. Baba Bulleh Shah is one poet who wrote in complete surrender of love. At times singing, at times dancing and at times dressed as a woman, he also became the voice of woman in Punjab. A Sufi saint, whose philosophy of life was beyond the boun...

‘He whom you call Allah and my people call Krishna, are but one and the same!’... ‘ Jhulelal’ Lal Shahbaz Qalandar Lal Shahbaz Qalandar Shrine in Pakistan,  Photo Courtesy (https://www.wikiwand.com/) We are all aware of the famous song, “Lal Meri Pat.” In the song’s refrain, the line goes, “Jhule lal, Jhule lal, Mast Qalandar, Jhule lal.” The word “Jhule lal” means “swinging red,” popularly referring to the associations between Lal Shahbaz and his red cloak. However, the term equally refers to the deity Jhulelal. Jhulelal was a water deity who was said to have emerged from the Indus River in the form of a ‘palla’ fish.   When Lal Shahbaz Qalandar travelled to Sindh in the 1200s, he did not define himself as Muslim (just as Jhulelal did not call himself Hindu). Lal Shahbaz’s stories became entangled with those of Jhulelal’s. Hindus look upon him as their saint - their incarnation of the god, and Muslims look upon him as a Sufi saint. While Muslims revered Lal Shahbaz as a sa...