By Vandana Soni Bakshi - The Times of India
Monday, 3 Apr, 2006
Celebrated sufi singer Rekha Bharadwaj shares her mysticism with us.
You would probably expect her to turn up her nose at the mention of Bollywood numbers, but Rekha Bharadwaj likes to spring surprises. The celebrated sufi singer loves to dance to Kajra re..., Dhoom macha le, Pathshala and "all those racy tracks."
"There are songs which you sit and listen to - like Chupke se.. from Saathiya and others which get you dancing and I enjoy both immensely," says the classical singer who is in the city to perform at Daaman-e-Lucknow along with Sufi Kathak exponent Manjari Chaturvedi.
Incidentally, the event which is Manjari's brainchild is slated to become an annual event wherein artists of Lucknow, who've made it big nationally and internationally will be invited to perform.
Rekha rose out of the shadow of her husband Vishal Bharadwaj following the release of a Sufi music album, 'Ishqa Ishqa' whose lyrics were composed by none other than Gulzar. "It was an 11-year-long wait during which the venture witnessed many flips-flops and it was only in 2003 that the album finally saw the light of day," she says. With singing being a childhood passion, Rekha started striking the high notes "soon as I started speaking. Initially my sister tutored me and then I trained under Pt Amarnathji."
With Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hasan being all time favourites, "Ghazals were a passion with me. However, after marriage I did dabble in Bollywood singing. There was Abhay in which I rendered a Lohri, Woh din bhi tha... in Chachi 420, Meri jaan... in Bhaggmati. In fact, I sang with Usha Uthup and Kavita Krishnamurthy for Godmother too but playback singing is a different ball game. The songs have to contribute to making the movie a commercial success and the stress is not on the purity of gayaki." The realisation made Rekha return to the classical fold as she felt she was "Not ready for the Hindi film industry. Now I am singing for Piyush Kanojia and Sameer Tandon."
One wonders why she never thought of singing for Maachis which had music by Vishal? "Lataji can give anybody a complex. I never thought (and still don't think) I could match up to her. Who would listen to me once she started to sing?" she questions with good-hearted laughter. "Besides I never thought of taking advantage of being Vishal's wife," she adds as an after thought.
Ready to cross borders now, Rekha will soon be singing for a Pakistani serial Tere Ishq Mein. "The compositions will be sufiana. This is the form of gayaki which has helped me evolve as a person and connect with God and my loved ones better. Now, it is an integral part of my personality," says the gifted singer who is currently compiling verses of Sultan Bahu and Baba Bulle Shah for her next album.
As far her association with Manjari goes, Rekha says, "When I saw her whirling (a form of meditation) for a particular number, I was awe-struck by the ease with which she glided over the sand. The love for sufi compositions connects us and the bonding has helped us grow as artistes."
Some associations are indeed God made!
Sunday, October 15, 2006
'Chhaiyan Chhaiyan' in a Spike Lee film
By Nikhil Kumar - Apun Ka Choice - Berkeley, Ca, USA
03rd Apr 2006 17.30 IST
We have already seen Nicole Kidman jiving to Indian song Chhamma Chhamma in ‘Moulin Rouge’. Now, American independent filmmaker Spike Lee’s first Hollywood project features Chhaiyan Chhaiyan.
Composed by A R Rahman and written by Gulzar for Mani Ratnam’s movie Dil Se, Chhaiyan Chhaiyan had Shah Rukh Khan dancing atop a moving train with Malaika Arora .
The song is basically inspired from a traditional Sufi qawwali called Tere Ishq Ne Nachaya, Thaiyya Thaiyya by the Sufi mystic, Baba Bulleh Shah. Rahman himself is a big fan of Sufi music.
Reports have it that Chhaiyan Chhaiyan appears in Spike Lee’s latest movie ‘Inside Man’. The song appears in the background at the movie’s beginning and its end.
‘Inside Man’ is a heist thriller starring Jodie Foster, Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. According to reports, after seeing the movie at a recent preview, American audience seemed to have taken a fancy to the song.
03rd Apr 2006 17.30 IST
We have already seen Nicole Kidman jiving to Indian song Chhamma Chhamma in ‘Moulin Rouge’. Now, American independent filmmaker Spike Lee’s first Hollywood project features Chhaiyan Chhaiyan.
Composed by A R Rahman and written by Gulzar for Mani Ratnam’s movie Dil Se, Chhaiyan Chhaiyan had Shah Rukh Khan dancing atop a moving train with Malaika Arora .
The song is basically inspired from a traditional Sufi qawwali called Tere Ishq Ne Nachaya, Thaiyya Thaiyya by the Sufi mystic, Baba Bulleh Shah. Rahman himself is a big fan of Sufi music.
Reports have it that Chhaiyan Chhaiyan appears in Spike Lee’s latest movie ‘Inside Man’. The song appears in the background at the movie’s beginning and its end.
‘Inside Man’ is a heist thriller starring Jodie Foster, Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. According to reports, after seeing the movie at a recent preview, American audience seemed to have taken a fancy to the song.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Festival of Punjab offers delights
By John Reid Blackwell - Richmond Times-Dispatch
Sunday, April 2, 2006
On weekdays, Dr. Gurpal S. Bhuller is an orthopedic surgeon. Yesterday, he was a reciter of mystic Sufi poetry and a server of samosas and chicken biryani.
The dishes were among a cornucopia of Indian foods - some spicy and some not - served during the Festival of Punjab at the Cultural Center of India in Chesterfield County. The poetry, written by the 18th-century Islamic poet Bulleh Shah, who was also from Punjab, was part of the festival's entertainment and reflected its cultural diversity.
About 2,000 people were expected to attend the fourth annual Festival of Punjab, or Punjabi Mela, which celebrates the food, music, dance, and art of the state in northwest India whose name means "Land of the Five Rivers."
As the festival's opening prayer showed, the Indian community includes people of many faiths. During the prayer, children stood on the cultural center's stage holding placards with the symbols of Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and other world religions. "In this country, we have got to learn that we are part of a global culture," said Bhuller, who has lived in the United States for 26 years. "It will make this country a much richer place, not monetarily, but in the wealth of resources we have."
Sunday, April 2, 2006
On weekdays, Dr. Gurpal S. Bhuller is an orthopedic surgeon. Yesterday, he was a reciter of mystic Sufi poetry and a server of samosas and chicken biryani.
The dishes were among a cornucopia of Indian foods - some spicy and some not - served during the Festival of Punjab at the Cultural Center of India in Chesterfield County. The poetry, written by the 18th-century Islamic poet Bulleh Shah, who was also from Punjab, was part of the festival's entertainment and reflected its cultural diversity.
About 2,000 people were expected to attend the fourth annual Festival of Punjab, or Punjabi Mela, which celebrates the food, music, dance, and art of the state in northwest India whose name means "Land of the Five Rivers."
As the festival's opening prayer showed, the Indian community includes people of many faiths. During the prayer, children stood on the cultural center's stage holding placards with the symbols of Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and other world religions. "In this country, we have got to learn that we are part of a global culture," said Bhuller, who has lived in the United States for 26 years. "It will make this country a much richer place, not monetarily, but in the wealth of resources we have."
A Chicago Poet Takes on the Bush Administration
Staff - PRWeb Newswire
Sunday, April 2, 2006
Poet Gugo Veles pays tribute to the great Sufi poet, Rumi, and indicts the Bush administration in Rumiyat, a stellar collection of poems about politics, life and romance, set against metropolitan Chicago.
The parallels between Veles and Rumi are clear and to the point. As Rumi searched for harmony, enlightenment and moral certitude in a world threatened by intolerance and oppression, Veles is acutely aware of our own current challenges.
In poem after poem, Veles limns our longing for inner peace and understanding. He delves into the failure of international human rights. And he points out how our blind adherence to philosophy and religion has led us not into enlightenment, but on to a dark, dangerous and tragic path. Intolerance, bigotry, shifty double standards, force-fed organized religion and fundamentalism, Veles urges, are the road to ruin. Instead of blindly following, we should start to find our own pathways.
Written with the same unexpected imagery that Rumi was known for, Veles’ perfectly pared-down verses shimmer with the capacity to uplift our consciousness. Reading these poems, Veles hopes, will awaken readers to their deeper, more spiritual selves. “To see myself, I open wide my eyes,” he writes, advising readers to think harder, look deeper, and be more aware. What the world needs now is Rumi…and Rumiyat.
Sunday, April 2, 2006
Poet Gugo Veles pays tribute to the great Sufi poet, Rumi, and indicts the Bush administration in Rumiyat, a stellar collection of poems about politics, life and romance, set against metropolitan Chicago.
The parallels between Veles and Rumi are clear and to the point. As Rumi searched for harmony, enlightenment and moral certitude in a world threatened by intolerance and oppression, Veles is acutely aware of our own current challenges.
In poem after poem, Veles limns our longing for inner peace and understanding. He delves into the failure of international human rights. And he points out how our blind adherence to philosophy and religion has led us not into enlightenment, but on to a dark, dangerous and tragic path. Intolerance, bigotry, shifty double standards, force-fed organized religion and fundamentalism, Veles urges, are the road to ruin. Instead of blindly following, we should start to find our own pathways.
Written with the same unexpected imagery that Rumi was known for, Veles’ perfectly pared-down verses shimmer with the capacity to uplift our consciousness. Reading these poems, Veles hopes, will awaken readers to their deeper, more spiritual selves. “To see myself, I open wide my eyes,” he writes, advising readers to think harder, look deeper, and be more aware. What the world needs now is Rumi…and Rumiyat.
Islam is Islam here, there and everywhere
By Ajaz-Ul-Haque - Greater Kashmir
Sunday, 2 April, 2006
'Sufi Islam’ or what they conveniently call as ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is a sweet but deceptive combination of words which blends mysticism with politics such a way that we can’t decipher what is what? As if Islam alone draws a void, so paring it with Sufism widens the canvass of acceptability. Typical to Kashmir only, it has enjoyed a good reception amongst a particular class of scholars who put a history behind their argument to make it sound more philosophical than it actually is. Borrowing ingredients from what they call a Sufi past, their theory is not too beside the point. With components like communal harmony, religious tolerance and universal brotherhood, there is no scope for even a god defying atheists to deny the message. Unity in diversity has been the human quest since ages. That is an urge which transcends all belief and dogma. So once the message is bruited about, we take it unmistakably as the message of humanity which everyone is in dire need of. But in all this we miss a point that Islam comfortably houses the philosophy of Sufism as an indispensable part of it. The mere use of the term Sufi Islam takes Sufism as a separate slice which it’s not.
Islam, surpassing all dogmatic bindings, sees mysticism as a share of spirit. Those who practiced were the real beatified souls who sought bliss and blessings from one God with whom they were in communion with. Their fight against evil was from within and without both. Those mystics, whichever part of the earth they belonged to, had realized the truth of life. Leaving a lesson of self realization for us, the nobility of their mission, is above board. Holding their bodily desires subservient to the quest of their soul, they embarked on the path of salvation. So the life of Sufis itself was a practical example of what Islam exhorts us to be. May their souls rest in eternal peace.
The West worked hard to divorce politics from Islam and succeeded in coining ‘political Islam’ as the brand of religion which aspires for power and authority. Whether this can be put as a blissful ignorance on their part or a malicious intent to mislead the rest of the world about the universal message of Islam, can be debated.
A sustained intellectual and ideological attempt to denounce Islam erupted in many forms which fall a little beyond the ambit of our discussion right now.
Back home, the problem with us is of a peculiar nature. There have been attempts on intellectual plane to justify pure militarisation of a people by drumming about spirituality and other-word-liness. Well that worked sometimes as an effective sedative to lull a battered lot back to sleep. Kashmiriyat, acted an instant therapy for all abnormal behavior of a nation to have it normalised. Islam in Kashmir was presented ‘mystically different’ from Islam elsewhere. A history of pluralism and tolerance which Kashmir has been known for, was hijacked for a pure political interest. Peace has been our love, no doubt. But we weren’t allowed to be at peace. Who denies the philosophy of co-existence, but for that you need to exist first. Lessons of brotherhood are nothing new, but for that you need not take the trouble of axing it out from a bigger whole which it makes a part of. Islam is Sufism included, Kashmir or outside. Subjecting it to an enforced obedience to a geography is inimical to the very spirit which it stands for.
Iqbal’s Iblees suggests a double strength capsule of melody and mysticism which successfully takes away the joy of a real life from the one it’s practiced on.
Hai vohi shair-o-tassawuf is kay haq main khoob tar
Jo chupa dhey is ki aankhoon say tamashay-e-hayaat
The ‘noble endeavor’ of presenting ‘Sufi Islam’ or ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is directed towards the same end. We are slowly but surely losing the wealth of consciousness without which a nation is more dead than alive. Let’s believe in universal lessons of love, peace and amity, but let not those assets be allowed to count against us. Kashmir may be known for its different crop, different weather and different landscape, but Islam as a universal message of peace remains same here as it’s elsewhere in the world.
Sunday, 2 April, 2006
'Sufi Islam’ or what they conveniently call as ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is a sweet but deceptive combination of words which blends mysticism with politics such a way that we can’t decipher what is what? As if Islam alone draws a void, so paring it with Sufism widens the canvass of acceptability. Typical to Kashmir only, it has enjoyed a good reception amongst a particular class of scholars who put a history behind their argument to make it sound more philosophical than it actually is. Borrowing ingredients from what they call a Sufi past, their theory is not too beside the point. With components like communal harmony, religious tolerance and universal brotherhood, there is no scope for even a god defying atheists to deny the message. Unity in diversity has been the human quest since ages. That is an urge which transcends all belief and dogma. So once the message is bruited about, we take it unmistakably as the message of humanity which everyone is in dire need of. But in all this we miss a point that Islam comfortably houses the philosophy of Sufism as an indispensable part of it. The mere use of the term Sufi Islam takes Sufism as a separate slice which it’s not.
Islam, surpassing all dogmatic bindings, sees mysticism as a share of spirit. Those who practiced were the real beatified souls who sought bliss and blessings from one God with whom they were in communion with. Their fight against evil was from within and without both. Those mystics, whichever part of the earth they belonged to, had realized the truth of life. Leaving a lesson of self realization for us, the nobility of their mission, is above board. Holding their bodily desires subservient to the quest of their soul, they embarked on the path of salvation. So the life of Sufis itself was a practical example of what Islam exhorts us to be. May their souls rest in eternal peace.
The West worked hard to divorce politics from Islam and succeeded in coining ‘political Islam’ as the brand of religion which aspires for power and authority. Whether this can be put as a blissful ignorance on their part or a malicious intent to mislead the rest of the world about the universal message of Islam, can be debated.
A sustained intellectual and ideological attempt to denounce Islam erupted in many forms which fall a little beyond the ambit of our discussion right now.
Back home, the problem with us is of a peculiar nature. There have been attempts on intellectual plane to justify pure militarisation of a people by drumming about spirituality and other-word-liness. Well that worked sometimes as an effective sedative to lull a battered lot back to sleep. Kashmiriyat, acted an instant therapy for all abnormal behavior of a nation to have it normalised. Islam in Kashmir was presented ‘mystically different’ from Islam elsewhere. A history of pluralism and tolerance which Kashmir has been known for, was hijacked for a pure political interest. Peace has been our love, no doubt. But we weren’t allowed to be at peace. Who denies the philosophy of co-existence, but for that you need to exist first. Lessons of brotherhood are nothing new, but for that you need not take the trouble of axing it out from a bigger whole which it makes a part of. Islam is Sufism included, Kashmir or outside. Subjecting it to an enforced obedience to a geography is inimical to the very spirit which it stands for.
Iqbal’s Iblees suggests a double strength capsule of melody and mysticism which successfully takes away the joy of a real life from the one it’s practiced on.
Hai vohi shair-o-tassawuf is kay haq main khoob tar
Jo chupa dhey is ki aankhoon say tamashay-e-hayaat
The ‘noble endeavor’ of presenting ‘Sufi Islam’ or ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is directed towards the same end. We are slowly but surely losing the wealth of consciousness without which a nation is more dead than alive. Let’s believe in universal lessons of love, peace and amity, but let not those assets be allowed to count against us. Kashmir may be known for its different crop, different weather and different landscape, but Islam as a universal message of peace remains same here as it’s elsewhere in the world.
Among mystics
By Khushwant Singh - Hindustan Times
Friday, March 31, 2006
Professor Coleman Barks who teaches poetry in the University of Georgia (US) is today regarded as the authority on the poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi (1201-1273). When starting on his translations Barks thought it wise to seek the guidance of the best-known Sufi teacher of the time, Bawa Muhaijudeen of Sri Lanka. As he introduced himself, his mentor asked him what his name meant. Barks told him. Whereupon Bawa started howling like a dog and then laughed.
The professor was not in the least offended because he knew that childlike behaviour is part of Sufi character. Howling is both an expression of pain and a cry for help. Rumi had written “the grief you cry out from draws you towards union; your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup. Listen to the moan of a dog for its master, the whining, is the connection. There are love dogs no one knows the name of. Give your life to be one of them.”
I confess I am as out of my depth with this kind of dogma as I am with the writings of our own mystics, the Bhaktas. However, I persisted in my reading of Rumi for two reasons. The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks and John Moyne, was gifted to me by a close friend, Samia Moosa, an attractive Afghan lady who spends her time equally between Kabul and California. And I wanted to know what was so great about Jelaluddin Rumi after whom a cult of dancing dervishes has been established.
I was fully rewarded: there are gems of wisdom strewn in a lot of tales.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Professor Coleman Barks who teaches poetry in the University of Georgia (US) is today regarded as the authority on the poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi (1201-1273). When starting on his translations Barks thought it wise to seek the guidance of the best-known Sufi teacher of the time, Bawa Muhaijudeen of Sri Lanka. As he introduced himself, his mentor asked him what his name meant. Barks told him. Whereupon Bawa started howling like a dog and then laughed.
The professor was not in the least offended because he knew that childlike behaviour is part of Sufi character. Howling is both an expression of pain and a cry for help. Rumi had written “the grief you cry out from draws you towards union; your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup. Listen to the moan of a dog for its master, the whining, is the connection. There are love dogs no one knows the name of. Give your life to be one of them.”
I confess I am as out of my depth with this kind of dogma as I am with the writings of our own mystics, the Bhaktas. However, I persisted in my reading of Rumi for two reasons. The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks and John Moyne, was gifted to me by a close friend, Samia Moosa, an attractive Afghan lady who spends her time equally between Kabul and California. And I wanted to know what was so great about Jelaluddin Rumi after whom a cult of dancing dervishes has been established.
I was fully rewarded: there are gems of wisdom strewn in a lot of tales.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Sufism: Fountainhead of India's composite culture
By Pranav Khullar - The New Nation - Bangladesh
Fri, 31 Mar 2006
In India, Sufism has been typically Indian and more typically - Sindhi, both in content and quality. A thoroughly indigenous movement, it absorbed the finest in Islam and Hinduism, thereby laying the foundations of what is today called the composite culture of India to which we, as a nation, are culturally and Constitutionally committed. Sindhi Sufism stood for raising the quality of life through realisation of God, as influenced it was by Vedanta.
Sindhi Sufi poetry is traceable to the seven baits (slokas) of Mamoi saints of the 14th century. There are some baits of Qazi Qadan (died 1551) which talk of Tauhid (Unity of Being). The 16th century produced a great Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Karim 0536-1622), known for his learning and piety. His 92 baits proclaiming the brotherhood of man and the unity of god are recited by the devout even till this day. His son Shah Habib was a perfect man of God who served the sick and the poor. Towards the middle of the 17th century Sind produced another great Sufi saint Shah Inayat 0656-1718). Popularly known as Shah Inayat of Jhok, his baits and boys (verses) enthralled the desert. Through his Sufi hymns he inspired the people to revolt against the unjust Zamindari (land holding) system and asked his fellow beings not to pay taxes. A God-intoxicated man, he was executed by the corrupt Governor of Thatta. Saintmartyr, he is hero of many a Sindhi legend and folklore.
By the end of the 17th century there appeared the greatest Sindhi Sufi poet who infused a new life and gave a new hope to his people. His name was Shah Abdul Latif, meaning the Gracious of the Gracious 0689-1752). Well versed in Quranic traditions and Vedantic thought, the Shah knew seven languages and was called 'Sufi-e-Haft Zaban '. Shah Abdul Latif's greatest contribution to the Sufi thought are his spiritual sermons which have been compiled by his disciples and are called 'Shah Jo Risalo' (The Message of Shah). Risalo is neither a philosophical treatise nor a literary masterpiece, but it transports the readers to new spiritual heights.
Shah Abdul Latif was a Sufi poet in the ancient Vedic traditions where the saints and sages possessed nothing and whom nothing possessed except the name of God, the service of the poor and welfare of humanity. Shah believed that while intellect is bondage, faith is the liberator; while the mystics learn from God, the Ulema learn from books. Shah liked the company of Hindu saints and visted Hindu centres of pilgrimage. At Dwaraka, he danced reciting the name of Lord Krishna. In spite of his vast erudition he found comfort in mysticism than in theology.
In a larger analysis Shah Abdul Latif was a part of Bhakti movement which swept the country from 13th to the 19th century in one form or the other. He adopted the Hindu ritual of 'shaving the head' for every new entrant in the 'Khanqah' (Hospice), offering Sherbet (sweetened water) to every visitor in the monastery. Even the 40-day ritual of suspending the body in a well, known as 'Chillae-Makus' was a Hindu institution known to the 'Ardh-mukhi'sect. Accordingly, Shah Abdul Latif made no distinction between a 'Gurukul' and a 'Khanqah', between a Mandir and a Masjid. His Surs (musical notes) are musical compositions which fit into the Indian classical mould. According to Captain Alexander Hamilton, the Surs of Shah are a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Hamilton was the only European who visited Sind during the Shah's lifetime. As a poet of nature, he was even greater. He wrote of the rainy seasons, the cranes of Sind, of the crows...
And lastly, we have Sachal Sarmast. Kalyan B. Advani, author of a beautiful monograph on Sarmast, said: "He remained throughout his life under the wonderous spell of that great mystic martyr, Mansoor, although he himself did not adorn the gibbet, much as he coveted it. He proclaimed his Master's message to the world, like a Muezzin from a Tower, crying Anal Haq (I am the God/I am the Truth)". He wrote nearly one lakh vesses.
Sachal's tradition was carried on by a number of Hindu Sufi poets, particularly Bhai Chainrai 07431850), popularly known as Sami. He is the first Sindhi Vedantic poet who wrote 15,000 Sufi hymns in the form of Slokas. Bhai Dalpatram 0769-1841) is another Vedantic who remained unsurpassed in devotional poetry.
Rohal was yet another who carried on the tradition of Shah Inayat. He wrote Bhakti verses in Hindi besides in Sindhi and Saraiki. Qadir Baksh 'Bedil' and Mohammad Mohsin 'Bekas' in the late 19th century were also Sufi poets of high order and elegance. Both of them were prolific writers who wrote in Sindhi, Hindi and Persian.
The Sindhi Sufi ghazal compares favourably with the Kashmiri Sufiana Kalam, known for its dulcet music and spiritual notes. In prose, Sindhis translated 'Quran Sharif'in 1746 and the Bible in 1825 into Sindhi - much before the British conqurered Sind in 1843. Sindhi is written both in Devanagari as well as in Arabic script.
Recently even the love legend of Sassi-Punnu was given a Sufi touch when Sassi sings Sachal in gay abandon in the desert before her union with Punnu...
Fri, 31 Mar 2006
In India, Sufism has been typically Indian and more typically - Sindhi, both in content and quality. A thoroughly indigenous movement, it absorbed the finest in Islam and Hinduism, thereby laying the foundations of what is today called the composite culture of India to which we, as a nation, are culturally and Constitutionally committed. Sindhi Sufism stood for raising the quality of life through realisation of God, as influenced it was by Vedanta.
Sindhi Sufi poetry is traceable to the seven baits (slokas) of Mamoi saints of the 14th century. There are some baits of Qazi Qadan (died 1551) which talk of Tauhid (Unity of Being). The 16th century produced a great Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Karim 0536-1622), known for his learning and piety. His 92 baits proclaiming the brotherhood of man and the unity of god are recited by the devout even till this day. His son Shah Habib was a perfect man of God who served the sick and the poor. Towards the middle of the 17th century Sind produced another great Sufi saint Shah Inayat 0656-1718). Popularly known as Shah Inayat of Jhok, his baits and boys (verses) enthralled the desert. Through his Sufi hymns he inspired the people to revolt against the unjust Zamindari (land holding) system and asked his fellow beings not to pay taxes. A God-intoxicated man, he was executed by the corrupt Governor of Thatta. Saintmartyr, he is hero of many a Sindhi legend and folklore.
By the end of the 17th century there appeared the greatest Sindhi Sufi poet who infused a new life and gave a new hope to his people. His name was Shah Abdul Latif, meaning the Gracious of the Gracious 0689-1752). Well versed in Quranic traditions and Vedantic thought, the Shah knew seven languages and was called 'Sufi-e-Haft Zaban '. Shah Abdul Latif's greatest contribution to the Sufi thought are his spiritual sermons which have been compiled by his disciples and are called 'Shah Jo Risalo' (The Message of Shah). Risalo is neither a philosophical treatise nor a literary masterpiece, but it transports the readers to new spiritual heights.
Shah Abdul Latif was a Sufi poet in the ancient Vedic traditions where the saints and sages possessed nothing and whom nothing possessed except the name of God, the service of the poor and welfare of humanity. Shah believed that while intellect is bondage, faith is the liberator; while the mystics learn from God, the Ulema learn from books. Shah liked the company of Hindu saints and visted Hindu centres of pilgrimage. At Dwaraka, he danced reciting the name of Lord Krishna. In spite of his vast erudition he found comfort in mysticism than in theology.
In a larger analysis Shah Abdul Latif was a part of Bhakti movement which swept the country from 13th to the 19th century in one form or the other. He adopted the Hindu ritual of 'shaving the head' for every new entrant in the 'Khanqah' (Hospice), offering Sherbet (sweetened water) to every visitor in the monastery. Even the 40-day ritual of suspending the body in a well, known as 'Chillae-Makus' was a Hindu institution known to the 'Ardh-mukhi'sect. Accordingly, Shah Abdul Latif made no distinction between a 'Gurukul' and a 'Khanqah', between a Mandir and a Masjid. His Surs (musical notes) are musical compositions which fit into the Indian classical mould. According to Captain Alexander Hamilton, the Surs of Shah are a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Hamilton was the only European who visited Sind during the Shah's lifetime. As a poet of nature, he was even greater. He wrote of the rainy seasons, the cranes of Sind, of the crows...
And lastly, we have Sachal Sarmast. Kalyan B. Advani, author of a beautiful monograph on Sarmast, said: "He remained throughout his life under the wonderous spell of that great mystic martyr, Mansoor, although he himself did not adorn the gibbet, much as he coveted it. He proclaimed his Master's message to the world, like a Muezzin from a Tower, crying Anal Haq (I am the God/I am the Truth)". He wrote nearly one lakh vesses.
Sachal's tradition was carried on by a number of Hindu Sufi poets, particularly Bhai Chainrai 07431850), popularly known as Sami. He is the first Sindhi Vedantic poet who wrote 15,000 Sufi hymns in the form of Slokas. Bhai Dalpatram 0769-1841) is another Vedantic who remained unsurpassed in devotional poetry.
Rohal was yet another who carried on the tradition of Shah Inayat. He wrote Bhakti verses in Hindi besides in Sindhi and Saraiki. Qadir Baksh 'Bedil' and Mohammad Mohsin 'Bekas' in the late 19th century were also Sufi poets of high order and elegance. Both of them were prolific writers who wrote in Sindhi, Hindi and Persian.
The Sindhi Sufi ghazal compares favourably with the Kashmiri Sufiana Kalam, known for its dulcet music and spiritual notes. In prose, Sindhis translated 'Quran Sharif'in 1746 and the Bible in 1825 into Sindhi - much before the British conqurered Sind in 1843. Sindhi is written both in Devanagari as well as in Arabic script.
Recently even the love legend of Sassi-Punnu was given a Sufi touch when Sassi sings Sachal in gay abandon in the desert before her union with Punnu...
Konya to be seminar topic in US
Elif Özmenek - New York- Turkish Daily News/Referans
Thursday, March 30, 2006
The University of Utah is hosting a seminar on Konya to study its model of local governance. The mayor of Konya will explain his city to American audiences, adding a taste of whirling dervishes and Sufism to his speech
The Central Anatolian city of Konya, after being listed among the 14 cities in the world that the Financial Times ranked as qualified for direct investment, is now being studied as a role model by an American university. The University of Utah is organizing a seminar titled “Understanding Globalization in Turkish Periphery: The Spirit of Konya” March 29-30.
From the effects of Sufism on urbanization to the role of whirling dervishes in globalization, diverse themes from Konya are to be discussed at the seminar. Konya Mayor Tahir Akyürek is among 25 speakers invited for the event.
The seminar is aimed at discussing the question of how the Islamic world will adapt to the globalization process in general from a “conservative” model such as Konya. The main reason Konya was selected as a role model is the city's financing of its development model through its own resources. In other words, Konya is being studied because it has succeeded in developing without loans; it has almost no bank debt; 70 percent of its budget is secured for investment; and it has been listed as the top city in intercity performance ratings for producing its own non-Treasury resources.
In 2005 Konya's whirling dervish ceremony was selected for the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) cultural heritage list. 2007 has also been declared the “Year of Mevlana.”
Thursday, March 30, 2006
The University of Utah is hosting a seminar on Konya to study its model of local governance. The mayor of Konya will explain his city to American audiences, adding a taste of whirling dervishes and Sufism to his speech
The Central Anatolian city of Konya, after being listed among the 14 cities in the world that the Financial Times ranked as qualified for direct investment, is now being studied as a role model by an American university. The University of Utah is organizing a seminar titled “Understanding Globalization in Turkish Periphery: The Spirit of Konya” March 29-30.
From the effects of Sufism on urbanization to the role of whirling dervishes in globalization, diverse themes from Konya are to be discussed at the seminar. Konya Mayor Tahir Akyürek is among 25 speakers invited for the event.
The seminar is aimed at discussing the question of how the Islamic world will adapt to the globalization process in general from a “conservative” model such as Konya. The main reason Konya was selected as a role model is the city's financing of its development model through its own resources. In other words, Konya is being studied because it has succeeded in developing without loans; it has almost no bank debt; 70 percent of its budget is secured for investment; and it has been listed as the top city in intercity performance ratings for producing its own non-Treasury resources.
In 2005 Konya's whirling dervish ceremony was selected for the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) cultural heritage list. 2007 has also been declared the “Year of Mevlana.”
WPC demands jobs for 10,000 MA Punjabi students
Staff Report - Daily Times - Pakistan
Thursday, March 30, 2006
LAHORE: The government should create job vacancies for 10,000 Punjabi Master’s degree holders, said World Punjabi Congress (WPC) Chairman Fakhar Zaman addressing the inaugural session of the International conference on Sufi poet Shah Hussain on Wednesday.
Fakhar Zaman said the Punjab Institute of Art was a result of the WPC’s effort and the organisation now aimed to set up a Punjabi University in which students, lecturers and researchers would work for promotion of Punjabi and other languages.
Punjab Education Minister Mian Imran Masood said the Punjab government would take measures to create vacancies for Punjabi students and said new Punjabi newspapers, magazines and TV channels were the result of the government’s policies.
He said the Indian Punjab government’s proposal of setting up a Guru Nanak Punjabi University in Lahore was being considered.
WPC India President Satya Pal said Pakistani students must learn the Gurmukhi script along with the Shahmukhi script, to be able to read Sufi poetry and Punjabi literature of both countries. He said Punjabi was taught in schools from class 1 in the Indian Punjab.
A large number of delegates from India, England, the US, France, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Canada participated in the conference.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
LAHORE: The government should create job vacancies for 10,000 Punjabi Master’s degree holders, said World Punjabi Congress (WPC) Chairman Fakhar Zaman addressing the inaugural session of the International conference on Sufi poet Shah Hussain on Wednesday.
Fakhar Zaman said the Punjab Institute of Art was a result of the WPC’s effort and the organisation now aimed to set up a Punjabi University in which students, lecturers and researchers would work for promotion of Punjabi and other languages.
Punjab Education Minister Mian Imran Masood said the Punjab government would take measures to create vacancies for Punjabi students and said new Punjabi newspapers, magazines and TV channels were the result of the government’s policies.
He said the Indian Punjab government’s proposal of setting up a Guru Nanak Punjabi University in Lahore was being considered.
WPC India President Satya Pal said Pakistani students must learn the Gurmukhi script along with the Shahmukhi script, to be able to read Sufi poetry and Punjabi literature of both countries. He said Punjabi was taught in schools from class 1 in the Indian Punjab.
A large number of delegates from India, England, the US, France, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Canada participated in the conference.
From Brazil To Mongolia, Sun Dances With Moon
By Joanne Omang - Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, March 30, 2006
KONYA, Turkey, March 29-- As the sun went dark here Wednesday, a dervish mystic whirled in a garden, one hand pointing to the earth, the other to the sky. "The solar system turns like the dervish, a cosmic dance," said Bekir Sahin, director of rare books and manuscripts in this provincial center of Islamic study. "Konya today is the center of the universe."
A total eclipse of the sun drew thousands of astronomers, eclipse groupies and tourists to this town for a glimpse of the cosmic dance that began at sunrise in Brazil and ended at sunset in northern Mongolia.
For many people, the journey here was spiritual. This ancient center of scholarship and the Sufi branch of Islam welcomed more than 3,000 foreign visitors to a day of contemplation mixed with science and a picnic holiday.
"We have busloads of people from Egypt, from Germany, from Japan," said Mevlut Bektas, director of tourism and culture. Every hotel room in the city was taken, he said. The Turkish government was expecting more than the 3.5 million visitors who came to the country for another total eclipse in 1999, and special festivals and tours were set up nationwide.
At the tomb of the 13th-century philosopher and mystic Celaleddin Rumi, who is known as Mevlana, villagers peered at the vanishing sun through special glasses distributed free by the local government. A chattering crowd in the garden outside the tomb fell quiet as the warm, clear day slowly turned wintry in thinning sunlight. They gasped as one at the moment of totality: Twilight surged around the horizon, Venus appeared in a midnight sky, and a ring of fire circled the black hole where the sun had been.
Sahin, the manuscript scholar, directed visitors to the nearby museum's display of astronomical equipment and documents dating from the Seljuk empire of the 11th to 13th centuries. "We believe the eclipse has an effect on the human heart, whether we feel it or not," he said.
From Turkey, the total eclipse moved across the Black Sea, then Georgia and southern Russia. In Baghdad, outside the path of totality, residents were briefly diverted from the continuing trauma of war as they looked aloft to see a partial obscuring of the sun, a crescent. In Bangladesh, the moon took a mere bite off the edge of the solar disk. Finally, at dusk over Asia, the sun and the moon parted ways.
Women dance and sing for Madhu Lal Hussain
Staff Report - Daily Times - Pakistan
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
LAHORE: About 6,000 women devotees of Madhu Lal Hussain wore colourful shawls, sang Sufi poetry and did the traditional dhamal to pay homage to the Muslim saint on the final day of his 418th Urs (anniversary).
The day, which was reserved for women, began with a ‘mehfil-e-milad’ from 9am to 1pm during which drums and dhamal were stopped and men were not allowed to enter the shrine. Mrs Abid from Lahore said it was a good idea to reserve the last day for women because it allowed women to show their affection for the saint uninhibited. She said she went to the shrine regularly and she loved to recite poetry.
Heleema Naz, a Rawalpindi resident, said she attended the Urs every year and would continue visiting the shrine for as long as she lived.
A woman from Multan said she had arrived in Lahore the previous night to attend the Urs. She said she had been visiting the shrine on the last day of the Urs for long, as her mother and father were devotees of the saint.
A number of women said shopping was one of the attractions of the anniversary. The ceremony concluded after Asr prayers. Allama Maqsood Ahmed and thousands of devotees prayed for Pakistan’s solidarity. The cleric urged people to follow the saint’s teachings.
Shah Hussain was born in 1538 and is a prominent Muslim saint in the subcontinent.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
LAHORE: About 6,000 women devotees of Madhu Lal Hussain wore colourful shawls, sang Sufi poetry and did the traditional dhamal to pay homage to the Muslim saint on the final day of his 418th Urs (anniversary).
The day, which was reserved for women, began with a ‘mehfil-e-milad’ from 9am to 1pm during which drums and dhamal were stopped and men were not allowed to enter the shrine. Mrs Abid from Lahore said it was a good idea to reserve the last day for women because it allowed women to show their affection for the saint uninhibited. She said she went to the shrine regularly and she loved to recite poetry.
Heleema Naz, a Rawalpindi resident, said she attended the Urs every year and would continue visiting the shrine for as long as she lived.
A woman from Multan said she had arrived in Lahore the previous night to attend the Urs. She said she had been visiting the shrine on the last day of the Urs for long, as her mother and father were devotees of the saint.
A number of women said shopping was one of the attractions of the anniversary. The ceremony concluded after Asr prayers. Allama Maqsood Ahmed and thousands of devotees prayed for Pakistan’s solidarity. The cleric urged people to follow the saint’s teachings.
Shah Hussain was born in 1538 and is a prominent Muslim saint in the subcontinent.
An Unearthly Sufi Novel: Irving Karchmar's "Master of the Jinn"
By Ali Eteraz - alt.muslim
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Irving Karchmar's debut Sufi novel, "Master of the Jinn", heralds the arrival of a fresh literary voice to Islam and America. It also signals the revival of Sufism.
Although initially a bit off-putting due to a narratorial voice that's more Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe), than anything post-modern, this Sufi novel is a subtle creation twelve years in the making. Not a novel; it is layered cake.
For the mystics and the metaphysicians, this story is, through and through, a meditation on Love, the mercy of God, and spiritual discipline. The Sufi Master speaks on matters of the soul with the authority that Zorba the Greek reserved for matters of lust. The journey can be read allegorically, and many secrets meanings may be unearthed in later reads. Occassionally Karchmar gives a hint of the matter being touched upon by dropping quotes from the poetry of innumerable Sufi poets. He also brings in quotations from Plato and the Psalms of David. These quotes were a favorite part of the experience.
The story can also be read as nothing more than an adventure. As such, it can make for interesting bed time reading for children and adults alike. The innocence of Karchmar's writing (his characters sure do weep with joy a lot), suggests that perhaps that there is something important in the adventure worth analyzing.
However, in my opinion, this novel contains far more. I should like to posit that in an age where the primary association of Islam is with rage, Karchmar's novel is a conscious counterbalance to the Zarqawis and al-Sadrs of the world. It seems no accident that the novel is set in Jerusalem, or that the chosen is a former agent of the Mossad (that bugaboo that haunts radical Islam), or that the archaeologist is a holocaust survivor, or that the star of David is a part of the mystery. Karchmar seems to be using theology to open doors.
You can order the book on http://www.masterofthejinn.com or on amazon.com
Malhotra's clothes spell Freedom
By: Sandipan Dalal - Mid-Day Mumbai - India
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
After experimenting with gold coins and coral, designer Manish Malhotra has brought out an all-white collection, titled Freedom, to showcase at the Lakme Fashion Week 2006.
As far as the theme is concerned, the designer says he’s inspired by the soul-liberating philosophy of Sufism.
Says Malhotra, “My clothes celebrate the spirit of the modern woman who does not carry the baggage of accepted norms to look beautiful".
It’s all about tapping the natural world and getting tuned to world music — that’s Malhotra’s mantra this year. “I’m very fond of Sufi music. And I have used a few Abida Parveen tracks for the ramp shows,” he adds.
Conference on Shah Hussain starts tomorrow
Staff Report - Daily Times - Pakistan
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
LAHORE: The World Punjabi Congress (WPC) has announced the schedule of a three-day international conference on renowned Sufi poet Shah Hussain starting tomorrow (Wednesday).
Addressing a press conference on Monday, WPC Chairman Fakhar Zaman said that Sufism was now getting considerable attention from the world, as this was “the only way to identify the roots of every human”. He said that more than 250 delegates from nine countries, including Sweden, the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria and India, would participate in the conference. Over 80 scholars, journalists, writers, intellectuals, educationists and artists from India would participate in the conference, he said.
Outlining the schedule, Zaman said that the conference would be inaugurated tomorrow with welcome speeches from heads of visiting delegations followed by a reception and a musical show at the Fountain House. On the second day of the conference, research papers would be read out on ‘Sufi tradition in the subcontinent’, ‘Relevance of the Sufi message in the present global context’, ‘Humanism in Shah Hussain’s poetry’, ‘The life and poetry of Shah Hussain’, ‘Poetry pre and post-Shah Hussain period — patterns and trends’, and ‘Shah Hussain’s poetry and Raagas’. Later, the delegates would visit a farmhouse on Raiwind Road.
Papers on ‘Sufism and peace’, ‘Sufism — a source of enlightenment in South Asia’, ‘Wahdatul Insaan in Sufi poetry’, ‘Woman referent in Sufi poetry’, ‘Shah Hussain’s lyricism’, ‘Recurring themes in Sufi poetry’ and ‘Symbolism in Shah Hussain’s poetry’ would be read out on the third day of the conference.
Zaman would then announce the ‘Lahore Declaration’, followed by a visit by the delegation to the shrine of Shah Hussain.
Zaman said that the speakers from India would include Dr SS Noor, Kashmiri Lal Zakir, Dr Fatima Hussain, Dr Deepak Manmohan, Dr Satish Verma, Dr Vanita, Dr Jagbir Singh, Dr Davinder Singh, Kamlesh Mohan and Dr Ravel Singh. The WPC chairman said that three books written on past conferences would also be launched on the final day. An exhibition on the ecology and architecture of Lahore during Shah Hussain’s time would also be held, he said.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
LAHORE: The World Punjabi Congress (WPC) has announced the schedule of a three-day international conference on renowned Sufi poet Shah Hussain starting tomorrow (Wednesday).
Addressing a press conference on Monday, WPC Chairman Fakhar Zaman said that Sufism was now getting considerable attention from the world, as this was “the only way to identify the roots of every human”. He said that more than 250 delegates from nine countries, including Sweden, the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria and India, would participate in the conference. Over 80 scholars, journalists, writers, intellectuals, educationists and artists from India would participate in the conference, he said.
Outlining the schedule, Zaman said that the conference would be inaugurated tomorrow with welcome speeches from heads of visiting delegations followed by a reception and a musical show at the Fountain House. On the second day of the conference, research papers would be read out on ‘Sufi tradition in the subcontinent’, ‘Relevance of the Sufi message in the present global context’, ‘Humanism in Shah Hussain’s poetry’, ‘The life and poetry of Shah Hussain’, ‘Poetry pre and post-Shah Hussain period — patterns and trends’, and ‘Shah Hussain’s poetry and Raagas’. Later, the delegates would visit a farmhouse on Raiwind Road.
Papers on ‘Sufism and peace’, ‘Sufism — a source of enlightenment in South Asia’, ‘Wahdatul Insaan in Sufi poetry’, ‘Woman referent in Sufi poetry’, ‘Shah Hussain’s lyricism’, ‘Recurring themes in Sufi poetry’ and ‘Symbolism in Shah Hussain’s poetry’ would be read out on the third day of the conference.
Zaman would then announce the ‘Lahore Declaration’, followed by a visit by the delegation to the shrine of Shah Hussain.
Zaman said that the speakers from India would include Dr SS Noor, Kashmiri Lal Zakir, Dr Fatima Hussain, Dr Deepak Manmohan, Dr Satish Verma, Dr Vanita, Dr Jagbir Singh, Dr Davinder Singh, Kamlesh Mohan and Dr Ravel Singh. The WPC chairman said that three books written on past conferences would also be launched on the final day. An exhibition on the ecology and architecture of Lahore during Shah Hussain’s time would also be held, he said.
Sufi, so good!
By Rituparna Som - Daily News and Analysis -Mumbai, India
Monday, March 27, 2006
MTV head honcho William H. Roedy grooves to the mystical music form
He’s a self-confessed chronic zapper jumping from channel to channel before you can say MTV, and currently hopelessly addicted to singer Kailash Kher. We would expect nothing less from the chairman, MTV Networks and President, MTV Networks International, William H Roedy. “My biggest priority in India is to get Kailash Kher’s CDs,” he states. “Sufi and Indian fusion - that’s the sort of thing I love. I bring it home, play it until my wife gets tired of it. I get so addicted that it’s hard to get off it.”
Monday, March 27, 2006
MTV head honcho William H. Roedy grooves to the mystical music form
He’s a self-confessed chronic zapper jumping from channel to channel before you can say MTV, and currently hopelessly addicted to singer Kailash Kher. We would expect nothing less from the chairman, MTV Networks and President, MTV Networks International, William H Roedy. “My biggest priority in India is to get Kailash Kher’s CDs,” he states. “Sufi and Indian fusion - that’s the sort of thing I love. I bring it home, play it until my wife gets tired of it. I get so addicted that it’s hard to get off it.”
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Afghanistan: Film revisits destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas
By Andrew Tully - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Five years ago this month, the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan blew up the two Bamiyan Buddhas -- one of them more than 50 meters tall and believed to be the world's largest representation of Buddha. The Taliban deemed the effigies offensive to Islam and carried out the destruction despite pleas from leaders around the world -- including UNESCO, the government of neighboring Pakistan and the grand mufti of Egypt. Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei has produced "The Giant Buddhas," a documentary about this great cultural loss and what it says about tolerance and cultural diversity.
"The Giant Buddhas" is 95 minutes long, and the destruction of the statues doesn't come until about 35 minutes into the film. Frei says his work isn't about the destruction, but rather it documents the importance of these Buddhist icons and how they figure in the clash of the Western and Islamic cultures.
Frei says it is right for those outside Afghanistan to be angry about the destruction of the statues. But he argues that, in many cases, the Western reaction was to view all Muslims as being as intolerant as the Taliban.
Not Black And White
In fact, Frei says, Islam has many faces. He points to the tolerance of the residents of the Bamiyan Valley, and that of a Sufi, or Islamic mystic, who was interviewed in his film.
"The motivation for me to make a film is always to show that the world is multifaceted and not that simple, not that black and white," Frei said. "Of course, it was an act of ignorance to destroy the Buddhas, but for example in the film I have a Sufi sequence -- you know Sufism? The tolerant Islam. So you get away from the film I think with this information: OK, but it's not all about fundamentalism, in this film there's a lot of beauty."
Information Is The Key
Frei says he hopes his documentary will show audiences around the world -- especially Western audiences -- ways to break out of their cultural shells and realize that they live in a world that is less polarized than they may believe.
"It's always about information," he says. "I think the lack of information leads to preconceptions and stereotypes and ignorance, finally. And the best way to counter it is information and emotion and maybe documentary film, I don't know. I hope so."
"The Giant Buddhas" was presented on March 26 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The showing is part of the Environmental Film Festival, which features 100 productions over two weeks in various settings around the American capital.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Five years ago this month, the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan blew up the two Bamiyan Buddhas -- one of them more than 50 meters tall and believed to be the world's largest representation of Buddha. The Taliban deemed the effigies offensive to Islam and carried out the destruction despite pleas from leaders around the world -- including UNESCO, the government of neighboring Pakistan and the grand mufti of Egypt. Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei has produced "The Giant Buddhas," a documentary about this great cultural loss and what it says about tolerance and cultural diversity.
"The Giant Buddhas" is 95 minutes long, and the destruction of the statues doesn't come until about 35 minutes into the film. Frei says his work isn't about the destruction, but rather it documents the importance of these Buddhist icons and how they figure in the clash of the Western and Islamic cultures.
Frei says it is right for those outside Afghanistan to be angry about the destruction of the statues. But he argues that, in many cases, the Western reaction was to view all Muslims as being as intolerant as the Taliban.
Not Black And White
In fact, Frei says, Islam has many faces. He points to the tolerance of the residents of the Bamiyan Valley, and that of a Sufi, or Islamic mystic, who was interviewed in his film.
"The motivation for me to make a film is always to show that the world is multifaceted and not that simple, not that black and white," Frei said. "Of course, it was an act of ignorance to destroy the Buddhas, but for example in the film I have a Sufi sequence -- you know Sufism? The tolerant Islam. So you get away from the film I think with this information: OK, but it's not all about fundamentalism, in this film there's a lot of beauty."
Information Is The Key
Frei says he hopes his documentary will show audiences around the world -- especially Western audiences -- ways to break out of their cultural shells and realize that they live in a world that is less polarized than they may believe.
"It's always about information," he says. "I think the lack of information leads to preconceptions and stereotypes and ignorance, finally. And the best way to counter it is information and emotion and maybe documentary film, I don't know. I hope so."
"The Giant Buddhas" was presented on March 26 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The showing is part of the Environmental Film Festival, which features 100 productions over two weeks in various settings around the American capital.
Emotionally charged postcard from afar
Review by Alan Cheuse - San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Camilla Gibb is a Toronto fiction writer who originally trained in social anthropology. If her latest novel, "Sweetness in the Belly," is any evidence, her fieldwork in Ethiopia seems to have paid off in surprising ways. This engrossing book -- the story of Lilly, an English-born nurse who, after the death of her hippie parents in North Africa, is raised by a Moroccan Sufi scholar and then emigrates to Harar, Ethiopia -- seems utterly convincing and authentic.
"Each morning ... we sat in the doorway of the dark room ... and recited quietly for an hour against the rhythmic sounds of Nouria on her knees scrubbing clothes in a big metal basin. ... It was here that we began in earnest. Listen and repeat. Listen and repeat. Line by line, verse by verse, just the way the Great Abdal had taught me."
The glimpse "Sweetness in the Belly" offers into the intimate lives of Muslim women and Ethiopian life and clan and national politics is sharp and moving, an unexpected book-length postcard from a part of the world most of us have never visited.
Camilla Gibb
Sweetness in the Belly
THE PENGUIN PRESS; 352 PAGES; $23.95
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Camilla Gibb is a Toronto fiction writer who originally trained in social anthropology. If her latest novel, "Sweetness in the Belly," is any evidence, her fieldwork in Ethiopia seems to have paid off in surprising ways. This engrossing book -- the story of Lilly, an English-born nurse who, after the death of her hippie parents in North Africa, is raised by a Moroccan Sufi scholar and then emigrates to Harar, Ethiopia -- seems utterly convincing and authentic.
"Each morning ... we sat in the doorway of the dark room ... and recited quietly for an hour against the rhythmic sounds of Nouria on her knees scrubbing clothes in a big metal basin. ... It was here that we began in earnest. Listen and repeat. Listen and repeat. Line by line, verse by verse, just the way the Great Abdal had taught me."
The glimpse "Sweetness in the Belly" offers into the intimate lives of Muslim women and Ethiopian life and clan and national politics is sharp and moving, an unexpected book-length postcard from a part of the world most of us have never visited.
Camilla Gibb
Sweetness in the Belly
THE PENGUIN PRESS; 352 PAGES; $23.95
Dancing to the tune of the poet of love
By Rana Kashif - Daily Times - Pakistan
Sunday, March 26, 2006
LAHORE: The first day of Saint Mahdu Lal Hussain’s Urs, also called Mela Charaghan, was celebrated by people dancing (dhamal) to drumbeats around lit oil lamps. Around 450,000 people are expected to attend the three-day urs, the last day of which is reserved for women.
The Auqaf Department has organised a Mehfil-e-Sama and meetings to highlight various aspects of the saint’s life. Punjab Religious Affairs Minister Sahibzada Saeedul Hassan Shah inaugurated the urs on Friday, saying he was pleased with the arrangements and the government was providing maximum facilities to devotees. He said Sufis had helped promote Islam in the sub-continent and they were a source of guidance for people. Devotees honour Madhu Lal Hussain by lighting oil lamps at his shrine near Shalimar Gardens in Baghbanpura.
Several devotees could be seen dancing around a fire lit in the courtyard of the Sufi’s shrine on the first day. Some people were also singing the saint’s kafees and trying to get as close to the fire because of their belief that prayers were answered more quickly this way. Roads leading to the saint’s shrine were packed with pilgrims and food stalls.
Madhu Lal Hussain, the poet of love, was born in 1538 and his family lived outside Taxali Gate along River Ravi, which flowed near Lahore Fort at that time but some researchers differ with this view and say that the saint was born in ‘Dhadhi Village’ in Pind Dadan Khan (Jhelum). Kalsrai Rajputs, forefathers of Madhu Lal, embraced Islam in Feroze Shah Tughlaq’s reign. He started his formal education at the age of 10 when he was sent to Hafiz Abu Bakar at a mosque and some people say that Madhu Lal had memorised the Quran by heart.
Madhu Lal’s life changed when Sufi Behlol Daryai visited Lahore and met him while searching for water for ablution. Madhu Lal rushed to River Ravi and fetched water for Behlol Daryai, at which he accepted Madhu Lal as his disciple. It is also said that Madhu Lal was a Malamati, a school of Sufi thought that acts against societies’ ethical standards to make societies hate them in their effort to develop self-control.
He believed in love for humanity and his disciples included a Hindu boy Madhu, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s brother and several princes. The Hindu boy had left his family for the Sufi, who loved him so much that he put the boy’s name before his own. He was the first Punjabi Sufi whose Punjabi poetry contained words from other languages like Pothohari, Hindi, Persian and Arabic, but his poetry is extremely easy to understand. The Sufi also called himself Hussain Julaha, Hussain Namana, Hussain Faqeer and Shah Hussain in his verses. The theme of his poetry is Knowing God by Knowing Ourselves. He wrote almost 163 kafees and according to researchers, Madhu Lal was a true scholar and intellectual. Madhu Lal died in 1599 at the age of 63 and was buried in Shahdara, but his body was exhumed and buried at Baghbanpura where the Hindu boy Madhu is also buried. Madhu Lal’s famous kafees include Rabba Meray Hal Da Mehram Toon, Mein Vi Jhok Ranjhan Di Jana Nal Meray Koi Challay, Mahi Mahi Kookdi and Mandi Han Kay Changi Han Sahab Teri Bandi Han.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
LAHORE: The first day of Saint Mahdu Lal Hussain’s Urs, also called Mela Charaghan, was celebrated by people dancing (dhamal) to drumbeats around lit oil lamps. Around 450,000 people are expected to attend the three-day urs, the last day of which is reserved for women.
The Auqaf Department has organised a Mehfil-e-Sama and meetings to highlight various aspects of the saint’s life. Punjab Religious Affairs Minister Sahibzada Saeedul Hassan Shah inaugurated the urs on Friday, saying he was pleased with the arrangements and the government was providing maximum facilities to devotees. He said Sufis had helped promote Islam in the sub-continent and they were a source of guidance for people. Devotees honour Madhu Lal Hussain by lighting oil lamps at his shrine near Shalimar Gardens in Baghbanpura.
Several devotees could be seen dancing around a fire lit in the courtyard of the Sufi’s shrine on the first day. Some people were also singing the saint’s kafees and trying to get as close to the fire because of their belief that prayers were answered more quickly this way. Roads leading to the saint’s shrine were packed with pilgrims and food stalls.
Madhu Lal Hussain, the poet of love, was born in 1538 and his family lived outside Taxali Gate along River Ravi, which flowed near Lahore Fort at that time but some researchers differ with this view and say that the saint was born in ‘Dhadhi Village’ in Pind Dadan Khan (Jhelum). Kalsrai Rajputs, forefathers of Madhu Lal, embraced Islam in Feroze Shah Tughlaq’s reign. He started his formal education at the age of 10 when he was sent to Hafiz Abu Bakar at a mosque and some people say that Madhu Lal had memorised the Quran by heart.
Madhu Lal’s life changed when Sufi Behlol Daryai visited Lahore and met him while searching for water for ablution. Madhu Lal rushed to River Ravi and fetched water for Behlol Daryai, at which he accepted Madhu Lal as his disciple. It is also said that Madhu Lal was a Malamati, a school of Sufi thought that acts against societies’ ethical standards to make societies hate them in their effort to develop self-control.
He believed in love for humanity and his disciples included a Hindu boy Madhu, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s brother and several princes. The Hindu boy had left his family for the Sufi, who loved him so much that he put the boy’s name before his own. He was the first Punjabi Sufi whose Punjabi poetry contained words from other languages like Pothohari, Hindi, Persian and Arabic, but his poetry is extremely easy to understand. The Sufi also called himself Hussain Julaha, Hussain Namana, Hussain Faqeer and Shah Hussain in his verses. The theme of his poetry is Knowing God by Knowing Ourselves. He wrote almost 163 kafees and according to researchers, Madhu Lal was a true scholar and intellectual. Madhu Lal died in 1599 at the age of 63 and was buried in Shahdara, but his body was exhumed and buried at Baghbanpura where the Hindu boy Madhu is also buried. Madhu Lal’s famous kafees include Rabba Meray Hal Da Mehram Toon, Mein Vi Jhok Ranjhan Di Jana Nal Meray Koi Challay, Mahi Mahi Kookdi and Mandi Han Kay Changi Han Sahab Teri Bandi Han.
Energy and aromatherapy
By Dr. Amir Farid Isahak - The Star - Malaysia
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Aromatherapy is a holistic healing method that combines the science of essential oils with the art of listening to the body, and applying the appropriate essences to re-harmonise the imbalances. The oils can be sniffed directly, sprayed, taken as inhalation, or more usually, diffused into the air using a burner or diffuser. They can also be used as direct applications to the body, as massage oil, or incorporated into soaps, body care items and even in household sprays and insect repellents.
Because the resources (mostly flowers, herbs, seeds and spices) are readily available, aromatherapy has been practised for thousands of years. However, very little scientific study has been done until recently.
Being a medical doctor, I was very sceptical of aromatherapy. My attitude changed after learning through Sufi Healing that aromatherapy was first used by Prophet Sulaiman (King Solomon) and that some Sufi healers still use rose essential oil as the mainstay of their treatments.
The rose is a very special flower. Thousands of flowers are used to extract its essence and it remains the mainstay of Sufi essential oils.
Energy healers know that the essential oils have a very strong life-force (qi) that can influence the various energy systems in the body. Since certain plants have high levels of qi, they are more suitable to be used for healing.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Aromatherapy is a holistic healing method that combines the science of essential oils with the art of listening to the body, and applying the appropriate essences to re-harmonise the imbalances. The oils can be sniffed directly, sprayed, taken as inhalation, or more usually, diffused into the air using a burner or diffuser. They can also be used as direct applications to the body, as massage oil, or incorporated into soaps, body care items and even in household sprays and insect repellents.
Because the resources (mostly flowers, herbs, seeds and spices) are readily available, aromatherapy has been practised for thousands of years. However, very little scientific study has been done until recently.
Being a medical doctor, I was very sceptical of aromatherapy. My attitude changed after learning through Sufi Healing that aromatherapy was first used by Prophet Sulaiman (King Solomon) and that some Sufi healers still use rose essential oil as the mainstay of their treatments.
The rose is a very special flower. Thousands of flowers are used to extract its essence and it remains the mainstay of Sufi essential oils.
Energy healers know that the essential oils have a very strong life-force (qi) that can influence the various energy systems in the body. Since certain plants have high levels of qi, they are more suitable to be used for healing.
Sufi Songs at the Bardavon
By Sandy Tomcho - Times Herald-Record
Sunday, March 26, 2006
"Songs of the Sufi Brotherhood," featuring Hassan Hakmoun and Hamza el Din, will be performed at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Bardavon.
Hamza el Din plays the oud (string instrument) and tar (ancient drum), and his music has appeared in such movies as the "Black Stallion" and "Passion in the Desert."
Hassan Hakmoun plays the sintir, an African bass drum.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
"Songs of the Sufi Brotherhood," featuring Hassan Hakmoun and Hamza el Din, will be performed at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Bardavon.
Hamza el Din plays the oud (string instrument) and tar (ancient drum), and his music has appeared in such movies as the "Black Stallion" and "Passion in the Desert."
Hassan Hakmoun plays the sintir, an African bass drum.
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Sunday, October 15, 2006
'Lataji can give anybody a complex'
By Vandana Soni Bakshi - The Times of India
Monday, 3 Apr, 2006
Celebrated sufi singer Rekha Bharadwaj shares her mysticism with us.
You would probably expect her to turn up her nose at the mention of Bollywood numbers, but Rekha Bharadwaj likes to spring surprises. The celebrated sufi singer loves to dance to Kajra re..., Dhoom macha le, Pathshala and "all those racy tracks."
"There are songs which you sit and listen to - like Chupke se.. from Saathiya and others which get you dancing and I enjoy both immensely," says the classical singer who is in the city to perform at Daaman-e-Lucknow along with Sufi Kathak exponent Manjari Chaturvedi.
Incidentally, the event which is Manjari's brainchild is slated to become an annual event wherein artists of Lucknow, who've made it big nationally and internationally will be invited to perform.
Rekha rose out of the shadow of her husband Vishal Bharadwaj following the release of a Sufi music album, 'Ishqa Ishqa' whose lyrics were composed by none other than Gulzar. "It was an 11-year-long wait during which the venture witnessed many flips-flops and it was only in 2003 that the album finally saw the light of day," she says. With singing being a childhood passion, Rekha started striking the high notes "soon as I started speaking. Initially my sister tutored me and then I trained under Pt Amarnathji."
With Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hasan being all time favourites, "Ghazals were a passion with me. However, after marriage I did dabble in Bollywood singing. There was Abhay in which I rendered a Lohri, Woh din bhi tha... in Chachi 420, Meri jaan... in Bhaggmati. In fact, I sang with Usha Uthup and Kavita Krishnamurthy for Godmother too but playback singing is a different ball game. The songs have to contribute to making the movie a commercial success and the stress is not on the purity of gayaki." The realisation made Rekha return to the classical fold as she felt she was "Not ready for the Hindi film industry. Now I am singing for Piyush Kanojia and Sameer Tandon."
One wonders why she never thought of singing for Maachis which had music by Vishal? "Lataji can give anybody a complex. I never thought (and still don't think) I could match up to her. Who would listen to me once she started to sing?" she questions with good-hearted laughter. "Besides I never thought of taking advantage of being Vishal's wife," she adds as an after thought.
Ready to cross borders now, Rekha will soon be singing for a Pakistani serial Tere Ishq Mein. "The compositions will be sufiana. This is the form of gayaki which has helped me evolve as a person and connect with God and my loved ones better. Now, it is an integral part of my personality," says the gifted singer who is currently compiling verses of Sultan Bahu and Baba Bulle Shah for her next album.
As far her association with Manjari goes, Rekha says, "When I saw her whirling (a form of meditation) for a particular number, I was awe-struck by the ease with which she glided over the sand. The love for sufi compositions connects us and the bonding has helped us grow as artistes."
Some associations are indeed God made!
Read More
Monday, 3 Apr, 2006
Celebrated sufi singer Rekha Bharadwaj shares her mysticism with us.
You would probably expect her to turn up her nose at the mention of Bollywood numbers, but Rekha Bharadwaj likes to spring surprises. The celebrated sufi singer loves to dance to Kajra re..., Dhoom macha le, Pathshala and "all those racy tracks."
"There are songs which you sit and listen to - like Chupke se.. from Saathiya and others which get you dancing and I enjoy both immensely," says the classical singer who is in the city to perform at Daaman-e-Lucknow along with Sufi Kathak exponent Manjari Chaturvedi.
Incidentally, the event which is Manjari's brainchild is slated to become an annual event wherein artists of Lucknow, who've made it big nationally and internationally will be invited to perform.
Rekha rose out of the shadow of her husband Vishal Bharadwaj following the release of a Sufi music album, 'Ishqa Ishqa' whose lyrics were composed by none other than Gulzar. "It was an 11-year-long wait during which the venture witnessed many flips-flops and it was only in 2003 that the album finally saw the light of day," she says. With singing being a childhood passion, Rekha started striking the high notes "soon as I started speaking. Initially my sister tutored me and then I trained under Pt Amarnathji."
With Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hasan being all time favourites, "Ghazals were a passion with me. However, after marriage I did dabble in Bollywood singing. There was Abhay in which I rendered a Lohri, Woh din bhi tha... in Chachi 420, Meri jaan... in Bhaggmati. In fact, I sang with Usha Uthup and Kavita Krishnamurthy for Godmother too but playback singing is a different ball game. The songs have to contribute to making the movie a commercial success and the stress is not on the purity of gayaki." The realisation made Rekha return to the classical fold as she felt she was "Not ready for the Hindi film industry. Now I am singing for Piyush Kanojia and Sameer Tandon."
One wonders why she never thought of singing for Maachis which had music by Vishal? "Lataji can give anybody a complex. I never thought (and still don't think) I could match up to her. Who would listen to me once she started to sing?" she questions with good-hearted laughter. "Besides I never thought of taking advantage of being Vishal's wife," she adds as an after thought.
Ready to cross borders now, Rekha will soon be singing for a Pakistani serial Tere Ishq Mein. "The compositions will be sufiana. This is the form of gayaki which has helped me evolve as a person and connect with God and my loved ones better. Now, it is an integral part of my personality," says the gifted singer who is currently compiling verses of Sultan Bahu and Baba Bulle Shah for her next album.
As far her association with Manjari goes, Rekha says, "When I saw her whirling (a form of meditation) for a particular number, I was awe-struck by the ease with which she glided over the sand. The love for sufi compositions connects us and the bonding has helped us grow as artistes."
Some associations are indeed God made!
'Chhaiyan Chhaiyan' in a Spike Lee film
By Nikhil Kumar - Apun Ka Choice - Berkeley, Ca, USA
03rd Apr 2006 17.30 IST
We have already seen Nicole Kidman jiving to Indian song Chhamma Chhamma in ‘Moulin Rouge’. Now, American independent filmmaker Spike Lee’s first Hollywood project features Chhaiyan Chhaiyan.
Composed by A R Rahman and written by Gulzar for Mani Ratnam’s movie Dil Se, Chhaiyan Chhaiyan had Shah Rukh Khan dancing atop a moving train with Malaika Arora .
The song is basically inspired from a traditional Sufi qawwali called Tere Ishq Ne Nachaya, Thaiyya Thaiyya by the Sufi mystic, Baba Bulleh Shah. Rahman himself is a big fan of Sufi music.
Reports have it that Chhaiyan Chhaiyan appears in Spike Lee’s latest movie ‘Inside Man’. The song appears in the background at the movie’s beginning and its end.
‘Inside Man’ is a heist thriller starring Jodie Foster, Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. According to reports, after seeing the movie at a recent preview, American audience seemed to have taken a fancy to the song.
Read More
03rd Apr 2006 17.30 IST
We have already seen Nicole Kidman jiving to Indian song Chhamma Chhamma in ‘Moulin Rouge’. Now, American independent filmmaker Spike Lee’s first Hollywood project features Chhaiyan Chhaiyan.
Composed by A R Rahman and written by Gulzar for Mani Ratnam’s movie Dil Se, Chhaiyan Chhaiyan had Shah Rukh Khan dancing atop a moving train with Malaika Arora .
The song is basically inspired from a traditional Sufi qawwali called Tere Ishq Ne Nachaya, Thaiyya Thaiyya by the Sufi mystic, Baba Bulleh Shah. Rahman himself is a big fan of Sufi music.
Reports have it that Chhaiyan Chhaiyan appears in Spike Lee’s latest movie ‘Inside Man’. The song appears in the background at the movie’s beginning and its end.
‘Inside Man’ is a heist thriller starring Jodie Foster, Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. According to reports, after seeing the movie at a recent preview, American audience seemed to have taken a fancy to the song.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Festival of Punjab offers delights
By John Reid Blackwell - Richmond Times-Dispatch
Sunday, April 2, 2006
On weekdays, Dr. Gurpal S. Bhuller is an orthopedic surgeon. Yesterday, he was a reciter of mystic Sufi poetry and a server of samosas and chicken biryani.
The dishes were among a cornucopia of Indian foods - some spicy and some not - served during the Festival of Punjab at the Cultural Center of India in Chesterfield County. The poetry, written by the 18th-century Islamic poet Bulleh Shah, who was also from Punjab, was part of the festival's entertainment and reflected its cultural diversity.
About 2,000 people were expected to attend the fourth annual Festival of Punjab, or Punjabi Mela, which celebrates the food, music, dance, and art of the state in northwest India whose name means "Land of the Five Rivers."
As the festival's opening prayer showed, the Indian community includes people of many faiths. During the prayer, children stood on the cultural center's stage holding placards with the symbols of Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and other world religions. "In this country, we have got to learn that we are part of a global culture," said Bhuller, who has lived in the United States for 26 years. "It will make this country a much richer place, not monetarily, but in the wealth of resources we have."
Read More
Sunday, April 2, 2006
On weekdays, Dr. Gurpal S. Bhuller is an orthopedic surgeon. Yesterday, he was a reciter of mystic Sufi poetry and a server of samosas and chicken biryani.
The dishes were among a cornucopia of Indian foods - some spicy and some not - served during the Festival of Punjab at the Cultural Center of India in Chesterfield County. The poetry, written by the 18th-century Islamic poet Bulleh Shah, who was also from Punjab, was part of the festival's entertainment and reflected its cultural diversity.
About 2,000 people were expected to attend the fourth annual Festival of Punjab, or Punjabi Mela, which celebrates the food, music, dance, and art of the state in northwest India whose name means "Land of the Five Rivers."
As the festival's opening prayer showed, the Indian community includes people of many faiths. During the prayer, children stood on the cultural center's stage holding placards with the symbols of Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and other world religions. "In this country, we have got to learn that we are part of a global culture," said Bhuller, who has lived in the United States for 26 years. "It will make this country a much richer place, not monetarily, but in the wealth of resources we have."
A Chicago Poet Takes on the Bush Administration
Staff - PRWeb Newswire
Sunday, April 2, 2006
Poet Gugo Veles pays tribute to the great Sufi poet, Rumi, and indicts the Bush administration in Rumiyat, a stellar collection of poems about politics, life and romance, set against metropolitan Chicago.
The parallels between Veles and Rumi are clear and to the point. As Rumi searched for harmony, enlightenment and moral certitude in a world threatened by intolerance and oppression, Veles is acutely aware of our own current challenges.
In poem after poem, Veles limns our longing for inner peace and understanding. He delves into the failure of international human rights. And he points out how our blind adherence to philosophy and religion has led us not into enlightenment, but on to a dark, dangerous and tragic path. Intolerance, bigotry, shifty double standards, force-fed organized religion and fundamentalism, Veles urges, are the road to ruin. Instead of blindly following, we should start to find our own pathways.
Written with the same unexpected imagery that Rumi was known for, Veles’ perfectly pared-down verses shimmer with the capacity to uplift our consciousness. Reading these poems, Veles hopes, will awaken readers to their deeper, more spiritual selves. “To see myself, I open wide my eyes,” he writes, advising readers to think harder, look deeper, and be more aware. What the world needs now is Rumi…and Rumiyat.
Read More
Sunday, April 2, 2006
Poet Gugo Veles pays tribute to the great Sufi poet, Rumi, and indicts the Bush administration in Rumiyat, a stellar collection of poems about politics, life and romance, set against metropolitan Chicago.
The parallels between Veles and Rumi are clear and to the point. As Rumi searched for harmony, enlightenment and moral certitude in a world threatened by intolerance and oppression, Veles is acutely aware of our own current challenges.
In poem after poem, Veles limns our longing for inner peace and understanding. He delves into the failure of international human rights. And he points out how our blind adherence to philosophy and religion has led us not into enlightenment, but on to a dark, dangerous and tragic path. Intolerance, bigotry, shifty double standards, force-fed organized religion and fundamentalism, Veles urges, are the road to ruin. Instead of blindly following, we should start to find our own pathways.
Written with the same unexpected imagery that Rumi was known for, Veles’ perfectly pared-down verses shimmer with the capacity to uplift our consciousness. Reading these poems, Veles hopes, will awaken readers to their deeper, more spiritual selves. “To see myself, I open wide my eyes,” he writes, advising readers to think harder, look deeper, and be more aware. What the world needs now is Rumi…and Rumiyat.
Islam is Islam here, there and everywhere
By Ajaz-Ul-Haque - Greater Kashmir
Sunday, 2 April, 2006
'Sufi Islam’ or what they conveniently call as ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is a sweet but deceptive combination of words which blends mysticism with politics such a way that we can’t decipher what is what? As if Islam alone draws a void, so paring it with Sufism widens the canvass of acceptability. Typical to Kashmir only, it has enjoyed a good reception amongst a particular class of scholars who put a history behind their argument to make it sound more philosophical than it actually is. Borrowing ingredients from what they call a Sufi past, their theory is not too beside the point. With components like communal harmony, religious tolerance and universal brotherhood, there is no scope for even a god defying atheists to deny the message. Unity in diversity has been the human quest since ages. That is an urge which transcends all belief and dogma. So once the message is bruited about, we take it unmistakably as the message of humanity which everyone is in dire need of. But in all this we miss a point that Islam comfortably houses the philosophy of Sufism as an indispensable part of it. The mere use of the term Sufi Islam takes Sufism as a separate slice which it’s not.
Islam, surpassing all dogmatic bindings, sees mysticism as a share of spirit. Those who practiced were the real beatified souls who sought bliss and blessings from one God with whom they were in communion with. Their fight against evil was from within and without both. Those mystics, whichever part of the earth they belonged to, had realized the truth of life. Leaving a lesson of self realization for us, the nobility of their mission, is above board. Holding their bodily desires subservient to the quest of their soul, they embarked on the path of salvation. So the life of Sufis itself was a practical example of what Islam exhorts us to be. May their souls rest in eternal peace.
The West worked hard to divorce politics from Islam and succeeded in coining ‘political Islam’ as the brand of religion which aspires for power and authority. Whether this can be put as a blissful ignorance on their part or a malicious intent to mislead the rest of the world about the universal message of Islam, can be debated.
A sustained intellectual and ideological attempt to denounce Islam erupted in many forms which fall a little beyond the ambit of our discussion right now.
Back home, the problem with us is of a peculiar nature. There have been attempts on intellectual plane to justify pure militarisation of a people by drumming about spirituality and other-word-liness. Well that worked sometimes as an effective sedative to lull a battered lot back to sleep. Kashmiriyat, acted an instant therapy for all abnormal behavior of a nation to have it normalised. Islam in Kashmir was presented ‘mystically different’ from Islam elsewhere. A history of pluralism and tolerance which Kashmir has been known for, was hijacked for a pure political interest. Peace has been our love, no doubt. But we weren’t allowed to be at peace. Who denies the philosophy of co-existence, but for that you need to exist first. Lessons of brotherhood are nothing new, but for that you need not take the trouble of axing it out from a bigger whole which it makes a part of. Islam is Sufism included, Kashmir or outside. Subjecting it to an enforced obedience to a geography is inimical to the very spirit which it stands for.
Iqbal’s Iblees suggests a double strength capsule of melody and mysticism which successfully takes away the joy of a real life from the one it’s practiced on.
Hai vohi shair-o-tassawuf is kay haq main khoob tar
Jo chupa dhey is ki aankhoon say tamashay-e-hayaat
The ‘noble endeavor’ of presenting ‘Sufi Islam’ or ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is directed towards the same end. We are slowly but surely losing the wealth of consciousness without which a nation is more dead than alive. Let’s believe in universal lessons of love, peace and amity, but let not those assets be allowed to count against us. Kashmir may be known for its different crop, different weather and different landscape, but Islam as a universal message of peace remains same here as it’s elsewhere in the world.
Read More
Sunday, 2 April, 2006
'Sufi Islam’ or what they conveniently call as ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is a sweet but deceptive combination of words which blends mysticism with politics such a way that we can’t decipher what is what? As if Islam alone draws a void, so paring it with Sufism widens the canvass of acceptability. Typical to Kashmir only, it has enjoyed a good reception amongst a particular class of scholars who put a history behind their argument to make it sound more philosophical than it actually is. Borrowing ingredients from what they call a Sufi past, their theory is not too beside the point. With components like communal harmony, religious tolerance and universal brotherhood, there is no scope for even a god defying atheists to deny the message. Unity in diversity has been the human quest since ages. That is an urge which transcends all belief and dogma. So once the message is bruited about, we take it unmistakably as the message of humanity which everyone is in dire need of. But in all this we miss a point that Islam comfortably houses the philosophy of Sufism as an indispensable part of it. The mere use of the term Sufi Islam takes Sufism as a separate slice which it’s not.
Islam, surpassing all dogmatic bindings, sees mysticism as a share of spirit. Those who practiced were the real beatified souls who sought bliss and blessings from one God with whom they were in communion with. Their fight against evil was from within and without both. Those mystics, whichever part of the earth they belonged to, had realized the truth of life. Leaving a lesson of self realization for us, the nobility of their mission, is above board. Holding their bodily desires subservient to the quest of their soul, they embarked on the path of salvation. So the life of Sufis itself was a practical example of what Islam exhorts us to be. May their souls rest in eternal peace.
The West worked hard to divorce politics from Islam and succeeded in coining ‘political Islam’ as the brand of religion which aspires for power and authority. Whether this can be put as a blissful ignorance on their part or a malicious intent to mislead the rest of the world about the universal message of Islam, can be debated.
A sustained intellectual and ideological attempt to denounce Islam erupted in many forms which fall a little beyond the ambit of our discussion right now.
Back home, the problem with us is of a peculiar nature. There have been attempts on intellectual plane to justify pure militarisation of a people by drumming about spirituality and other-word-liness. Well that worked sometimes as an effective sedative to lull a battered lot back to sleep. Kashmiriyat, acted an instant therapy for all abnormal behavior of a nation to have it normalised. Islam in Kashmir was presented ‘mystically different’ from Islam elsewhere. A history of pluralism and tolerance which Kashmir has been known for, was hijacked for a pure political interest. Peace has been our love, no doubt. But we weren’t allowed to be at peace. Who denies the philosophy of co-existence, but for that you need to exist first. Lessons of brotherhood are nothing new, but for that you need not take the trouble of axing it out from a bigger whole which it makes a part of. Islam is Sufism included, Kashmir or outside. Subjecting it to an enforced obedience to a geography is inimical to the very spirit which it stands for.
Iqbal’s Iblees suggests a double strength capsule of melody and mysticism which successfully takes away the joy of a real life from the one it’s practiced on.
Hai vohi shair-o-tassawuf is kay haq main khoob tar
Jo chupa dhey is ki aankhoon say tamashay-e-hayaat
The ‘noble endeavor’ of presenting ‘Sufi Islam’ or ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is directed towards the same end. We are slowly but surely losing the wealth of consciousness without which a nation is more dead than alive. Let’s believe in universal lessons of love, peace and amity, but let not those assets be allowed to count against us. Kashmir may be known for its different crop, different weather and different landscape, but Islam as a universal message of peace remains same here as it’s elsewhere in the world.
Among mystics
By Khushwant Singh - Hindustan Times
Friday, March 31, 2006
Professor Coleman Barks who teaches poetry in the University of Georgia (US) is today regarded as the authority on the poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi (1201-1273). When starting on his translations Barks thought it wise to seek the guidance of the best-known Sufi teacher of the time, Bawa Muhaijudeen of Sri Lanka. As he introduced himself, his mentor asked him what his name meant. Barks told him. Whereupon Bawa started howling like a dog and then laughed.
The professor was not in the least offended because he knew that childlike behaviour is part of Sufi character. Howling is both an expression of pain and a cry for help. Rumi had written “the grief you cry out from draws you towards union; your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup. Listen to the moan of a dog for its master, the whining, is the connection. There are love dogs no one knows the name of. Give your life to be one of them.”
I confess I am as out of my depth with this kind of dogma as I am with the writings of our own mystics, the Bhaktas. However, I persisted in my reading of Rumi for two reasons. The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks and John Moyne, was gifted to me by a close friend, Samia Moosa, an attractive Afghan lady who spends her time equally between Kabul and California. And I wanted to know what was so great about Jelaluddin Rumi after whom a cult of dancing dervishes has been established.
I was fully rewarded: there are gems of wisdom strewn in a lot of tales.
Read More
Friday, March 31, 2006
Professor Coleman Barks who teaches poetry in the University of Georgia (US) is today regarded as the authority on the poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi (1201-1273). When starting on his translations Barks thought it wise to seek the guidance of the best-known Sufi teacher of the time, Bawa Muhaijudeen of Sri Lanka. As he introduced himself, his mentor asked him what his name meant. Barks told him. Whereupon Bawa started howling like a dog and then laughed.
The professor was not in the least offended because he knew that childlike behaviour is part of Sufi character. Howling is both an expression of pain and a cry for help. Rumi had written “the grief you cry out from draws you towards union; your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup. Listen to the moan of a dog for its master, the whining, is the connection. There are love dogs no one knows the name of. Give your life to be one of them.”
I confess I am as out of my depth with this kind of dogma as I am with the writings of our own mystics, the Bhaktas. However, I persisted in my reading of Rumi for two reasons. The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks and John Moyne, was gifted to me by a close friend, Samia Moosa, an attractive Afghan lady who spends her time equally between Kabul and California. And I wanted to know what was so great about Jelaluddin Rumi after whom a cult of dancing dervishes has been established.
I was fully rewarded: there are gems of wisdom strewn in a lot of tales.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Sufism: Fountainhead of India's composite culture
By Pranav Khullar - The New Nation - Bangladesh
Fri, 31 Mar 2006
In India, Sufism has been typically Indian and more typically - Sindhi, both in content and quality. A thoroughly indigenous movement, it absorbed the finest in Islam and Hinduism, thereby laying the foundations of what is today called the composite culture of India to which we, as a nation, are culturally and Constitutionally committed. Sindhi Sufism stood for raising the quality of life through realisation of God, as influenced it was by Vedanta.
Sindhi Sufi poetry is traceable to the seven baits (slokas) of Mamoi saints of the 14th century. There are some baits of Qazi Qadan (died 1551) which talk of Tauhid (Unity of Being). The 16th century produced a great Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Karim 0536-1622), known for his learning and piety. His 92 baits proclaiming the brotherhood of man and the unity of god are recited by the devout even till this day. His son Shah Habib was a perfect man of God who served the sick and the poor. Towards the middle of the 17th century Sind produced another great Sufi saint Shah Inayat 0656-1718). Popularly known as Shah Inayat of Jhok, his baits and boys (verses) enthralled the desert. Through his Sufi hymns he inspired the people to revolt against the unjust Zamindari (land holding) system and asked his fellow beings not to pay taxes. A God-intoxicated man, he was executed by the corrupt Governor of Thatta. Saintmartyr, he is hero of many a Sindhi legend and folklore.
By the end of the 17th century there appeared the greatest Sindhi Sufi poet who infused a new life and gave a new hope to his people. His name was Shah Abdul Latif, meaning the Gracious of the Gracious 0689-1752). Well versed in Quranic traditions and Vedantic thought, the Shah knew seven languages and was called 'Sufi-e-Haft Zaban '. Shah Abdul Latif's greatest contribution to the Sufi thought are his spiritual sermons which have been compiled by his disciples and are called 'Shah Jo Risalo' (The Message of Shah). Risalo is neither a philosophical treatise nor a literary masterpiece, but it transports the readers to new spiritual heights.
Shah Abdul Latif was a Sufi poet in the ancient Vedic traditions where the saints and sages possessed nothing and whom nothing possessed except the name of God, the service of the poor and welfare of humanity. Shah believed that while intellect is bondage, faith is the liberator; while the mystics learn from God, the Ulema learn from books. Shah liked the company of Hindu saints and visted Hindu centres of pilgrimage. At Dwaraka, he danced reciting the name of Lord Krishna. In spite of his vast erudition he found comfort in mysticism than in theology.
In a larger analysis Shah Abdul Latif was a part of Bhakti movement which swept the country from 13th to the 19th century in one form or the other. He adopted the Hindu ritual of 'shaving the head' for every new entrant in the 'Khanqah' (Hospice), offering Sherbet (sweetened water) to every visitor in the monastery. Even the 40-day ritual of suspending the body in a well, known as 'Chillae-Makus' was a Hindu institution known to the 'Ardh-mukhi'sect. Accordingly, Shah Abdul Latif made no distinction between a 'Gurukul' and a 'Khanqah', between a Mandir and a Masjid. His Surs (musical notes) are musical compositions which fit into the Indian classical mould. According to Captain Alexander Hamilton, the Surs of Shah are a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Hamilton was the only European who visited Sind during the Shah's lifetime. As a poet of nature, he was even greater. He wrote of the rainy seasons, the cranes of Sind, of the crows...
And lastly, we have Sachal Sarmast. Kalyan B. Advani, author of a beautiful monograph on Sarmast, said: "He remained throughout his life under the wonderous spell of that great mystic martyr, Mansoor, although he himself did not adorn the gibbet, much as he coveted it. He proclaimed his Master's message to the world, like a Muezzin from a Tower, crying Anal Haq (I am the God/I am the Truth)". He wrote nearly one lakh vesses.
Sachal's tradition was carried on by a number of Hindu Sufi poets, particularly Bhai Chainrai 07431850), popularly known as Sami. He is the first Sindhi Vedantic poet who wrote 15,000 Sufi hymns in the form of Slokas. Bhai Dalpatram 0769-1841) is another Vedantic who remained unsurpassed in devotional poetry.
Rohal was yet another who carried on the tradition of Shah Inayat. He wrote Bhakti verses in Hindi besides in Sindhi and Saraiki. Qadir Baksh 'Bedil' and Mohammad Mohsin 'Bekas' in the late 19th century were also Sufi poets of high order and elegance. Both of them were prolific writers who wrote in Sindhi, Hindi and Persian.
The Sindhi Sufi ghazal compares favourably with the Kashmiri Sufiana Kalam, known for its dulcet music and spiritual notes. In prose, Sindhis translated 'Quran Sharif'in 1746 and the Bible in 1825 into Sindhi - much before the British conqurered Sind in 1843. Sindhi is written both in Devanagari as well as in Arabic script.
Recently even the love legend of Sassi-Punnu was given a Sufi touch when Sassi sings Sachal in gay abandon in the desert before her union with Punnu...
Read More
Fri, 31 Mar 2006
In India, Sufism has been typically Indian and more typically - Sindhi, both in content and quality. A thoroughly indigenous movement, it absorbed the finest in Islam and Hinduism, thereby laying the foundations of what is today called the composite culture of India to which we, as a nation, are culturally and Constitutionally committed. Sindhi Sufism stood for raising the quality of life through realisation of God, as influenced it was by Vedanta.
Sindhi Sufi poetry is traceable to the seven baits (slokas) of Mamoi saints of the 14th century. There are some baits of Qazi Qadan (died 1551) which talk of Tauhid (Unity of Being). The 16th century produced a great Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Karim 0536-1622), known for his learning and piety. His 92 baits proclaiming the brotherhood of man and the unity of god are recited by the devout even till this day. His son Shah Habib was a perfect man of God who served the sick and the poor. Towards the middle of the 17th century Sind produced another great Sufi saint Shah Inayat 0656-1718). Popularly known as Shah Inayat of Jhok, his baits and boys (verses) enthralled the desert. Through his Sufi hymns he inspired the people to revolt against the unjust Zamindari (land holding) system and asked his fellow beings not to pay taxes. A God-intoxicated man, he was executed by the corrupt Governor of Thatta. Saintmartyr, he is hero of many a Sindhi legend and folklore.
By the end of the 17th century there appeared the greatest Sindhi Sufi poet who infused a new life and gave a new hope to his people. His name was Shah Abdul Latif, meaning the Gracious of the Gracious 0689-1752). Well versed in Quranic traditions and Vedantic thought, the Shah knew seven languages and was called 'Sufi-e-Haft Zaban '. Shah Abdul Latif's greatest contribution to the Sufi thought are his spiritual sermons which have been compiled by his disciples and are called 'Shah Jo Risalo' (The Message of Shah). Risalo is neither a philosophical treatise nor a literary masterpiece, but it transports the readers to new spiritual heights.
Shah Abdul Latif was a Sufi poet in the ancient Vedic traditions where the saints and sages possessed nothing and whom nothing possessed except the name of God, the service of the poor and welfare of humanity. Shah believed that while intellect is bondage, faith is the liberator; while the mystics learn from God, the Ulema learn from books. Shah liked the company of Hindu saints and visted Hindu centres of pilgrimage. At Dwaraka, he danced reciting the name of Lord Krishna. In spite of his vast erudition he found comfort in mysticism than in theology.
In a larger analysis Shah Abdul Latif was a part of Bhakti movement which swept the country from 13th to the 19th century in one form or the other. He adopted the Hindu ritual of 'shaving the head' for every new entrant in the 'Khanqah' (Hospice), offering Sherbet (sweetened water) to every visitor in the monastery. Even the 40-day ritual of suspending the body in a well, known as 'Chillae-Makus' was a Hindu institution known to the 'Ardh-mukhi'sect. Accordingly, Shah Abdul Latif made no distinction between a 'Gurukul' and a 'Khanqah', between a Mandir and a Masjid. His Surs (musical notes) are musical compositions which fit into the Indian classical mould. According to Captain Alexander Hamilton, the Surs of Shah are a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Hamilton was the only European who visited Sind during the Shah's lifetime. As a poet of nature, he was even greater. He wrote of the rainy seasons, the cranes of Sind, of the crows...
And lastly, we have Sachal Sarmast. Kalyan B. Advani, author of a beautiful monograph on Sarmast, said: "He remained throughout his life under the wonderous spell of that great mystic martyr, Mansoor, although he himself did not adorn the gibbet, much as he coveted it. He proclaimed his Master's message to the world, like a Muezzin from a Tower, crying Anal Haq (I am the God/I am the Truth)". He wrote nearly one lakh vesses.
Sachal's tradition was carried on by a number of Hindu Sufi poets, particularly Bhai Chainrai 07431850), popularly known as Sami. He is the first Sindhi Vedantic poet who wrote 15,000 Sufi hymns in the form of Slokas. Bhai Dalpatram 0769-1841) is another Vedantic who remained unsurpassed in devotional poetry.
Rohal was yet another who carried on the tradition of Shah Inayat. He wrote Bhakti verses in Hindi besides in Sindhi and Saraiki. Qadir Baksh 'Bedil' and Mohammad Mohsin 'Bekas' in the late 19th century were also Sufi poets of high order and elegance. Both of them were prolific writers who wrote in Sindhi, Hindi and Persian.
The Sindhi Sufi ghazal compares favourably with the Kashmiri Sufiana Kalam, known for its dulcet music and spiritual notes. In prose, Sindhis translated 'Quran Sharif'in 1746 and the Bible in 1825 into Sindhi - much before the British conqurered Sind in 1843. Sindhi is written both in Devanagari as well as in Arabic script.
Recently even the love legend of Sassi-Punnu was given a Sufi touch when Sassi sings Sachal in gay abandon in the desert before her union with Punnu...
Konya to be seminar topic in US
Elif Özmenek - New York- Turkish Daily News/Referans
Thursday, March 30, 2006
The University of Utah is hosting a seminar on Konya to study its model of local governance. The mayor of Konya will explain his city to American audiences, adding a taste of whirling dervishes and Sufism to his speech
The Central Anatolian city of Konya, after being listed among the 14 cities in the world that the Financial Times ranked as qualified for direct investment, is now being studied as a role model by an American university. The University of Utah is organizing a seminar titled “Understanding Globalization in Turkish Periphery: The Spirit of Konya” March 29-30.
From the effects of Sufism on urbanization to the role of whirling dervishes in globalization, diverse themes from Konya are to be discussed at the seminar. Konya Mayor Tahir Akyürek is among 25 speakers invited for the event.
The seminar is aimed at discussing the question of how the Islamic world will adapt to the globalization process in general from a “conservative” model such as Konya. The main reason Konya was selected as a role model is the city's financing of its development model through its own resources. In other words, Konya is being studied because it has succeeded in developing without loans; it has almost no bank debt; 70 percent of its budget is secured for investment; and it has been listed as the top city in intercity performance ratings for producing its own non-Treasury resources.
In 2005 Konya's whirling dervish ceremony was selected for the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) cultural heritage list. 2007 has also been declared the “Year of Mevlana.”
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Thursday, March 30, 2006
The University of Utah is hosting a seminar on Konya to study its model of local governance. The mayor of Konya will explain his city to American audiences, adding a taste of whirling dervishes and Sufism to his speech
The Central Anatolian city of Konya, after being listed among the 14 cities in the world that the Financial Times ranked as qualified for direct investment, is now being studied as a role model by an American university. The University of Utah is organizing a seminar titled “Understanding Globalization in Turkish Periphery: The Spirit of Konya” March 29-30.
From the effects of Sufism on urbanization to the role of whirling dervishes in globalization, diverse themes from Konya are to be discussed at the seminar. Konya Mayor Tahir Akyürek is among 25 speakers invited for the event.
The seminar is aimed at discussing the question of how the Islamic world will adapt to the globalization process in general from a “conservative” model such as Konya. The main reason Konya was selected as a role model is the city's financing of its development model through its own resources. In other words, Konya is being studied because it has succeeded in developing without loans; it has almost no bank debt; 70 percent of its budget is secured for investment; and it has been listed as the top city in intercity performance ratings for producing its own non-Treasury resources.
In 2005 Konya's whirling dervish ceremony was selected for the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) cultural heritage list. 2007 has also been declared the “Year of Mevlana.”
WPC demands jobs for 10,000 MA Punjabi students
Staff Report - Daily Times - Pakistan
Thursday, March 30, 2006
LAHORE: The government should create job vacancies for 10,000 Punjabi Master’s degree holders, said World Punjabi Congress (WPC) Chairman Fakhar Zaman addressing the inaugural session of the International conference on Sufi poet Shah Hussain on Wednesday.
Fakhar Zaman said the Punjab Institute of Art was a result of the WPC’s effort and the organisation now aimed to set up a Punjabi University in which students, lecturers and researchers would work for promotion of Punjabi and other languages.
Punjab Education Minister Mian Imran Masood said the Punjab government would take measures to create vacancies for Punjabi students and said new Punjabi newspapers, magazines and TV channels were the result of the government’s policies.
He said the Indian Punjab government’s proposal of setting up a Guru Nanak Punjabi University in Lahore was being considered.
WPC India President Satya Pal said Pakistani students must learn the Gurmukhi script along with the Shahmukhi script, to be able to read Sufi poetry and Punjabi literature of both countries. He said Punjabi was taught in schools from class 1 in the Indian Punjab.
A large number of delegates from India, England, the US, France, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Canada participated in the conference.
Read More
Thursday, March 30, 2006
LAHORE: The government should create job vacancies for 10,000 Punjabi Master’s degree holders, said World Punjabi Congress (WPC) Chairman Fakhar Zaman addressing the inaugural session of the International conference on Sufi poet Shah Hussain on Wednesday.
Fakhar Zaman said the Punjab Institute of Art was a result of the WPC’s effort and the organisation now aimed to set up a Punjabi University in which students, lecturers and researchers would work for promotion of Punjabi and other languages.
Punjab Education Minister Mian Imran Masood said the Punjab government would take measures to create vacancies for Punjabi students and said new Punjabi newspapers, magazines and TV channels were the result of the government’s policies.
He said the Indian Punjab government’s proposal of setting up a Guru Nanak Punjabi University in Lahore was being considered.
WPC India President Satya Pal said Pakistani students must learn the Gurmukhi script along with the Shahmukhi script, to be able to read Sufi poetry and Punjabi literature of both countries. He said Punjabi was taught in schools from class 1 in the Indian Punjab.
A large number of delegates from India, England, the US, France, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Canada participated in the conference.
From Brazil To Mongolia, Sun Dances With Moon
By Joanne Omang - Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, March 30, 2006
KONYA, Turkey, March 29-- As the sun went dark here Wednesday, a dervish mystic whirled in a garden, one hand pointing to the earth, the other to the sky. "The solar system turns like the dervish, a cosmic dance," said Bekir Sahin, director of rare books and manuscripts in this provincial center of Islamic study. "Konya today is the center of the universe."
A total eclipse of the sun drew thousands of astronomers, eclipse groupies and tourists to this town for a glimpse of the cosmic dance that began at sunrise in Brazil and ended at sunset in northern Mongolia.
For many people, the journey here was spiritual. This ancient center of scholarship and the Sufi branch of Islam welcomed more than 3,000 foreign visitors to a day of contemplation mixed with science and a picnic holiday.
"We have busloads of people from Egypt, from Germany, from Japan," said Mevlut Bektas, director of tourism and culture. Every hotel room in the city was taken, he said. The Turkish government was expecting more than the 3.5 million visitors who came to the country for another total eclipse in 1999, and special festivals and tours were set up nationwide.
At the tomb of the 13th-century philosopher and mystic Celaleddin Rumi, who is known as Mevlana, villagers peered at the vanishing sun through special glasses distributed free by the local government. A chattering crowd in the garden outside the tomb fell quiet as the warm, clear day slowly turned wintry in thinning sunlight. They gasped as one at the moment of totality: Twilight surged around the horizon, Venus appeared in a midnight sky, and a ring of fire circled the black hole where the sun had been.
Sahin, the manuscript scholar, directed visitors to the nearby museum's display of astronomical equipment and documents dating from the Seljuk empire of the 11th to 13th centuries. "We believe the eclipse has an effect on the human heart, whether we feel it or not," he said.
From Turkey, the total eclipse moved across the Black Sea, then Georgia and southern Russia. In Baghdad, outside the path of totality, residents were briefly diverted from the continuing trauma of war as they looked aloft to see a partial obscuring of the sun, a crescent. In Bangladesh, the moon took a mere bite off the edge of the solar disk. Finally, at dusk over Asia, the sun and the moon parted ways.
Read More
By Joanne Omang - Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, March 30, 2006
KONYA, Turkey, March 29-- As the sun went dark here Wednesday, a dervish mystic whirled in a garden, one hand pointing to the earth, the other to the sky. "The solar system turns like the dervish, a cosmic dance," said Bekir Sahin, director of rare books and manuscripts in this provincial center of Islamic study. "Konya today is the center of the universe."
A total eclipse of the sun drew thousands of astronomers, eclipse groupies and tourists to this town for a glimpse of the cosmic dance that began at sunrise in Brazil and ended at sunset in northern Mongolia.
For many people, the journey here was spiritual. This ancient center of scholarship and the Sufi branch of Islam welcomed more than 3,000 foreign visitors to a day of contemplation mixed with science and a picnic holiday.
"We have busloads of people from Egypt, from Germany, from Japan," said Mevlut Bektas, director of tourism and culture. Every hotel room in the city was taken, he said. The Turkish government was expecting more than the 3.5 million visitors who came to the country for another total eclipse in 1999, and special festivals and tours were set up nationwide.
At the tomb of the 13th-century philosopher and mystic Celaleddin Rumi, who is known as Mevlana, villagers peered at the vanishing sun through special glasses distributed free by the local government. A chattering crowd in the garden outside the tomb fell quiet as the warm, clear day slowly turned wintry in thinning sunlight. They gasped as one at the moment of totality: Twilight surged around the horizon, Venus appeared in a midnight sky, and a ring of fire circled the black hole where the sun had been.
Sahin, the manuscript scholar, directed visitors to the nearby museum's display of astronomical equipment and documents dating from the Seljuk empire of the 11th to 13th centuries. "We believe the eclipse has an effect on the human heart, whether we feel it or not," he said.
From Turkey, the total eclipse moved across the Black Sea, then Georgia and southern Russia. In Baghdad, outside the path of totality, residents were briefly diverted from the continuing trauma of war as they looked aloft to see a partial obscuring of the sun, a crescent. In Bangladesh, the moon took a mere bite off the edge of the solar disk. Finally, at dusk over Asia, the sun and the moon parted ways.
Women dance and sing for Madhu Lal Hussain
Staff Report - Daily Times - Pakistan
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
LAHORE: About 6,000 women devotees of Madhu Lal Hussain wore colourful shawls, sang Sufi poetry and did the traditional dhamal to pay homage to the Muslim saint on the final day of his 418th Urs (anniversary).
The day, which was reserved for women, began with a ‘mehfil-e-milad’ from 9am to 1pm during which drums and dhamal were stopped and men were not allowed to enter the shrine. Mrs Abid from Lahore said it was a good idea to reserve the last day for women because it allowed women to show their affection for the saint uninhibited. She said she went to the shrine regularly and she loved to recite poetry.
Heleema Naz, a Rawalpindi resident, said she attended the Urs every year and would continue visiting the shrine for as long as she lived.
A woman from Multan said she had arrived in Lahore the previous night to attend the Urs. She said she had been visiting the shrine on the last day of the Urs for long, as her mother and father were devotees of the saint.
A number of women said shopping was one of the attractions of the anniversary. The ceremony concluded after Asr prayers. Allama Maqsood Ahmed and thousands of devotees prayed for Pakistan’s solidarity. The cleric urged people to follow the saint’s teachings.
Shah Hussain was born in 1538 and is a prominent Muslim saint in the subcontinent.
Read More
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
LAHORE: About 6,000 women devotees of Madhu Lal Hussain wore colourful shawls, sang Sufi poetry and did the traditional dhamal to pay homage to the Muslim saint on the final day of his 418th Urs (anniversary).
The day, which was reserved for women, began with a ‘mehfil-e-milad’ from 9am to 1pm during which drums and dhamal were stopped and men were not allowed to enter the shrine. Mrs Abid from Lahore said it was a good idea to reserve the last day for women because it allowed women to show their affection for the saint uninhibited. She said she went to the shrine regularly and she loved to recite poetry.
Heleema Naz, a Rawalpindi resident, said she attended the Urs every year and would continue visiting the shrine for as long as she lived.
A woman from Multan said she had arrived in Lahore the previous night to attend the Urs. She said she had been visiting the shrine on the last day of the Urs for long, as her mother and father were devotees of the saint.
A number of women said shopping was one of the attractions of the anniversary. The ceremony concluded after Asr prayers. Allama Maqsood Ahmed and thousands of devotees prayed for Pakistan’s solidarity. The cleric urged people to follow the saint’s teachings.
Shah Hussain was born in 1538 and is a prominent Muslim saint in the subcontinent.
An Unearthly Sufi Novel: Irving Karchmar's "Master of the Jinn"
By Ali Eteraz - alt.muslim
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Irving Karchmar's debut Sufi novel, "Master of the Jinn", heralds the arrival of a fresh literary voice to Islam and America. It also signals the revival of Sufism.
Although initially a bit off-putting due to a narratorial voice that's more Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe), than anything post-modern, this Sufi novel is a subtle creation twelve years in the making. Not a novel; it is layered cake.
For the mystics and the metaphysicians, this story is, through and through, a meditation on Love, the mercy of God, and spiritual discipline. The Sufi Master speaks on matters of the soul with the authority that Zorba the Greek reserved for matters of lust. The journey can be read allegorically, and many secrets meanings may be unearthed in later reads. Occassionally Karchmar gives a hint of the matter being touched upon by dropping quotes from the poetry of innumerable Sufi poets. He also brings in quotations from Plato and the Psalms of David. These quotes were a favorite part of the experience.
The story can also be read as nothing more than an adventure. As such, it can make for interesting bed time reading for children and adults alike. The innocence of Karchmar's writing (his characters sure do weep with joy a lot), suggests that perhaps that there is something important in the adventure worth analyzing.
However, in my opinion, this novel contains far more. I should like to posit that in an age where the primary association of Islam is with rage, Karchmar's novel is a conscious counterbalance to the Zarqawis and al-Sadrs of the world. It seems no accident that the novel is set in Jerusalem, or that the chosen is a former agent of the Mossad (that bugaboo that haunts radical Islam), or that the archaeologist is a holocaust survivor, or that the star of David is a part of the mystery. Karchmar seems to be using theology to open doors.
You can order the book on http://www.masterofthejinn.com or on amazon.com
Read More
By Ali Eteraz - alt.muslim
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Irving Karchmar's debut Sufi novel, "Master of the Jinn", heralds the arrival of a fresh literary voice to Islam and America. It also signals the revival of Sufism.
Although initially a bit off-putting due to a narratorial voice that's more Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe), than anything post-modern, this Sufi novel is a subtle creation twelve years in the making. Not a novel; it is layered cake.
For the mystics and the metaphysicians, this story is, through and through, a meditation on Love, the mercy of God, and spiritual discipline. The Sufi Master speaks on matters of the soul with the authority that Zorba the Greek reserved for matters of lust. The journey can be read allegorically, and many secrets meanings may be unearthed in later reads. Occassionally Karchmar gives a hint of the matter being touched upon by dropping quotes from the poetry of innumerable Sufi poets. He also brings in quotations from Plato and the Psalms of David. These quotes were a favorite part of the experience.
The story can also be read as nothing more than an adventure. As such, it can make for interesting bed time reading for children and adults alike. The innocence of Karchmar's writing (his characters sure do weep with joy a lot), suggests that perhaps that there is something important in the adventure worth analyzing.
However, in my opinion, this novel contains far more. I should like to posit that in an age where the primary association of Islam is with rage, Karchmar's novel is a conscious counterbalance to the Zarqawis and al-Sadrs of the world. It seems no accident that the novel is set in Jerusalem, or that the chosen is a former agent of the Mossad (that bugaboo that haunts radical Islam), or that the archaeologist is a holocaust survivor, or that the star of David is a part of the mystery. Karchmar seems to be using theology to open doors.
You can order the book on http://www.masterofthejinn.com or on amazon.com
Malhotra's clothes spell Freedom
By: Sandipan Dalal - Mid-Day Mumbai - India
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
After experimenting with gold coins and coral, designer Manish Malhotra has brought out an all-white collection, titled Freedom, to showcase at the Lakme Fashion Week 2006.
As far as the theme is concerned, the designer says he’s inspired by the soul-liberating philosophy of Sufism.
Says Malhotra, “My clothes celebrate the spirit of the modern woman who does not carry the baggage of accepted norms to look beautiful".
It’s all about tapping the natural world and getting tuned to world music — that’s Malhotra’s mantra this year. “I’m very fond of Sufi music. And I have used a few Abida Parveen tracks for the ramp shows,” he adds.
Read More
By: Sandipan Dalal - Mid-Day Mumbai - India
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
After experimenting with gold coins and coral, designer Manish Malhotra has brought out an all-white collection, titled Freedom, to showcase at the Lakme Fashion Week 2006.
As far as the theme is concerned, the designer says he’s inspired by the soul-liberating philosophy of Sufism.
Says Malhotra, “My clothes celebrate the spirit of the modern woman who does not carry the baggage of accepted norms to look beautiful".
It’s all about tapping the natural world and getting tuned to world music — that’s Malhotra’s mantra this year. “I’m very fond of Sufi music. And I have used a few Abida Parveen tracks for the ramp shows,” he adds.
Conference on Shah Hussain starts tomorrow
Staff Report - Daily Times - Pakistan
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
LAHORE: The World Punjabi Congress (WPC) has announced the schedule of a three-day international conference on renowned Sufi poet Shah Hussain starting tomorrow (Wednesday).
Addressing a press conference on Monday, WPC Chairman Fakhar Zaman said that Sufism was now getting considerable attention from the world, as this was “the only way to identify the roots of every human”. He said that more than 250 delegates from nine countries, including Sweden, the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria and India, would participate in the conference. Over 80 scholars, journalists, writers, intellectuals, educationists and artists from India would participate in the conference, he said.
Outlining the schedule, Zaman said that the conference would be inaugurated tomorrow with welcome speeches from heads of visiting delegations followed by a reception and a musical show at the Fountain House. On the second day of the conference, research papers would be read out on ‘Sufi tradition in the subcontinent’, ‘Relevance of the Sufi message in the present global context’, ‘Humanism in Shah Hussain’s poetry’, ‘The life and poetry of Shah Hussain’, ‘Poetry pre and post-Shah Hussain period — patterns and trends’, and ‘Shah Hussain’s poetry and Raagas’. Later, the delegates would visit a farmhouse on Raiwind Road.
Papers on ‘Sufism and peace’, ‘Sufism — a source of enlightenment in South Asia’, ‘Wahdatul Insaan in Sufi poetry’, ‘Woman referent in Sufi poetry’, ‘Shah Hussain’s lyricism’, ‘Recurring themes in Sufi poetry’ and ‘Symbolism in Shah Hussain’s poetry’ would be read out on the third day of the conference.
Zaman would then announce the ‘Lahore Declaration’, followed by a visit by the delegation to the shrine of Shah Hussain.
Zaman said that the speakers from India would include Dr SS Noor, Kashmiri Lal Zakir, Dr Fatima Hussain, Dr Deepak Manmohan, Dr Satish Verma, Dr Vanita, Dr Jagbir Singh, Dr Davinder Singh, Kamlesh Mohan and Dr Ravel Singh. The WPC chairman said that three books written on past conferences would also be launched on the final day. An exhibition on the ecology and architecture of Lahore during Shah Hussain’s time would also be held, he said.
Read More
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
LAHORE: The World Punjabi Congress (WPC) has announced the schedule of a three-day international conference on renowned Sufi poet Shah Hussain starting tomorrow (Wednesday).
Addressing a press conference on Monday, WPC Chairman Fakhar Zaman said that Sufism was now getting considerable attention from the world, as this was “the only way to identify the roots of every human”. He said that more than 250 delegates from nine countries, including Sweden, the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria and India, would participate in the conference. Over 80 scholars, journalists, writers, intellectuals, educationists and artists from India would participate in the conference, he said.
Outlining the schedule, Zaman said that the conference would be inaugurated tomorrow with welcome speeches from heads of visiting delegations followed by a reception and a musical show at the Fountain House. On the second day of the conference, research papers would be read out on ‘Sufi tradition in the subcontinent’, ‘Relevance of the Sufi message in the present global context’, ‘Humanism in Shah Hussain’s poetry’, ‘The life and poetry of Shah Hussain’, ‘Poetry pre and post-Shah Hussain period — patterns and trends’, and ‘Shah Hussain’s poetry and Raagas’. Later, the delegates would visit a farmhouse on Raiwind Road.
Papers on ‘Sufism and peace’, ‘Sufism — a source of enlightenment in South Asia’, ‘Wahdatul Insaan in Sufi poetry’, ‘Woman referent in Sufi poetry’, ‘Shah Hussain’s lyricism’, ‘Recurring themes in Sufi poetry’ and ‘Symbolism in Shah Hussain’s poetry’ would be read out on the third day of the conference.
Zaman would then announce the ‘Lahore Declaration’, followed by a visit by the delegation to the shrine of Shah Hussain.
Zaman said that the speakers from India would include Dr SS Noor, Kashmiri Lal Zakir, Dr Fatima Hussain, Dr Deepak Manmohan, Dr Satish Verma, Dr Vanita, Dr Jagbir Singh, Dr Davinder Singh, Kamlesh Mohan and Dr Ravel Singh. The WPC chairman said that three books written on past conferences would also be launched on the final day. An exhibition on the ecology and architecture of Lahore during Shah Hussain’s time would also be held, he said.
Sufi, so good!
By Rituparna Som - Daily News and Analysis -Mumbai, India
Monday, March 27, 2006
MTV head honcho William H. Roedy grooves to the mystical music form
He’s a self-confessed chronic zapper jumping from channel to channel before you can say MTV, and currently hopelessly addicted to singer Kailash Kher. We would expect nothing less from the chairman, MTV Networks and President, MTV Networks International, William H Roedy. “My biggest priority in India is to get Kailash Kher’s CDs,” he states. “Sufi and Indian fusion - that’s the sort of thing I love. I bring it home, play it until my wife gets tired of it. I get so addicted that it’s hard to get off it.”
Read More
Monday, March 27, 2006
MTV head honcho William H. Roedy grooves to the mystical music form
He’s a self-confessed chronic zapper jumping from channel to channel before you can say MTV, and currently hopelessly addicted to singer Kailash Kher. We would expect nothing less from the chairman, MTV Networks and President, MTV Networks International, William H Roedy. “My biggest priority in India is to get Kailash Kher’s CDs,” he states. “Sufi and Indian fusion - that’s the sort of thing I love. I bring it home, play it until my wife gets tired of it. I get so addicted that it’s hard to get off it.”
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Afghanistan: Film revisits destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas
By Andrew Tully - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Five years ago this month, the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan blew up the two Bamiyan Buddhas -- one of them more than 50 meters tall and believed to be the world's largest representation of Buddha. The Taliban deemed the effigies offensive to Islam and carried out the destruction despite pleas from leaders around the world -- including UNESCO, the government of neighboring Pakistan and the grand mufti of Egypt. Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei has produced "The Giant Buddhas," a documentary about this great cultural loss and what it says about tolerance and cultural diversity.
"The Giant Buddhas" is 95 minutes long, and the destruction of the statues doesn't come until about 35 minutes into the film. Frei says his work isn't about the destruction, but rather it documents the importance of these Buddhist icons and how they figure in the clash of the Western and Islamic cultures.
Frei says it is right for those outside Afghanistan to be angry about the destruction of the statues. But he argues that, in many cases, the Western reaction was to view all Muslims as being as intolerant as the Taliban.
Not Black And White
In fact, Frei says, Islam has many faces. He points to the tolerance of the residents of the Bamiyan Valley, and that of a Sufi, or Islamic mystic, who was interviewed in his film.
"The motivation for me to make a film is always to show that the world is multifaceted and not that simple, not that black and white," Frei said. "Of course, it was an act of ignorance to destroy the Buddhas, but for example in the film I have a Sufi sequence -- you know Sufism? The tolerant Islam. So you get away from the film I think with this information: OK, but it's not all about fundamentalism, in this film there's a lot of beauty."
Information Is The Key
Frei says he hopes his documentary will show audiences around the world -- especially Western audiences -- ways to break out of their cultural shells and realize that they live in a world that is less polarized than they may believe.
"It's always about information," he says. "I think the lack of information leads to preconceptions and stereotypes and ignorance, finally. And the best way to counter it is information and emotion and maybe documentary film, I don't know. I hope so."
"The Giant Buddhas" was presented on March 26 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The showing is part of the Environmental Film Festival, which features 100 productions over two weeks in various settings around the American capital.
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Sunday, March 26, 2006
Five years ago this month, the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan blew up the two Bamiyan Buddhas -- one of them more than 50 meters tall and believed to be the world's largest representation of Buddha. The Taliban deemed the effigies offensive to Islam and carried out the destruction despite pleas from leaders around the world -- including UNESCO, the government of neighboring Pakistan and the grand mufti of Egypt. Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei has produced "The Giant Buddhas," a documentary about this great cultural loss and what it says about tolerance and cultural diversity.
"The Giant Buddhas" is 95 minutes long, and the destruction of the statues doesn't come until about 35 minutes into the film. Frei says his work isn't about the destruction, but rather it documents the importance of these Buddhist icons and how they figure in the clash of the Western and Islamic cultures.
Frei says it is right for those outside Afghanistan to be angry about the destruction of the statues. But he argues that, in many cases, the Western reaction was to view all Muslims as being as intolerant as the Taliban.
Not Black And White
In fact, Frei says, Islam has many faces. He points to the tolerance of the residents of the Bamiyan Valley, and that of a Sufi, or Islamic mystic, who was interviewed in his film.
"The motivation for me to make a film is always to show that the world is multifaceted and not that simple, not that black and white," Frei said. "Of course, it was an act of ignorance to destroy the Buddhas, but for example in the film I have a Sufi sequence -- you know Sufism? The tolerant Islam. So you get away from the film I think with this information: OK, but it's not all about fundamentalism, in this film there's a lot of beauty."
Information Is The Key
Frei says he hopes his documentary will show audiences around the world -- especially Western audiences -- ways to break out of their cultural shells and realize that they live in a world that is less polarized than they may believe.
"It's always about information," he says. "I think the lack of information leads to preconceptions and stereotypes and ignorance, finally. And the best way to counter it is information and emotion and maybe documentary film, I don't know. I hope so."
"The Giant Buddhas" was presented on March 26 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The showing is part of the Environmental Film Festival, which features 100 productions over two weeks in various settings around the American capital.
Emotionally charged postcard from afar
Review by Alan Cheuse - San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Camilla Gibb is a Toronto fiction writer who originally trained in social anthropology. If her latest novel, "Sweetness in the Belly," is any evidence, her fieldwork in Ethiopia seems to have paid off in surprising ways. This engrossing book -- the story of Lilly, an English-born nurse who, after the death of her hippie parents in North Africa, is raised by a Moroccan Sufi scholar and then emigrates to Harar, Ethiopia -- seems utterly convincing and authentic.
"Each morning ... we sat in the doorway of the dark room ... and recited quietly for an hour against the rhythmic sounds of Nouria on her knees scrubbing clothes in a big metal basin. ... It was here that we began in earnest. Listen and repeat. Listen and repeat. Line by line, verse by verse, just the way the Great Abdal had taught me."
The glimpse "Sweetness in the Belly" offers into the intimate lives of Muslim women and Ethiopian life and clan and national politics is sharp and moving, an unexpected book-length postcard from a part of the world most of us have never visited.
Camilla Gibb
Sweetness in the Belly
THE PENGUIN PRESS; 352 PAGES; $23.95
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Sunday, March 26, 2006
Camilla Gibb is a Toronto fiction writer who originally trained in social anthropology. If her latest novel, "Sweetness in the Belly," is any evidence, her fieldwork in Ethiopia seems to have paid off in surprising ways. This engrossing book -- the story of Lilly, an English-born nurse who, after the death of her hippie parents in North Africa, is raised by a Moroccan Sufi scholar and then emigrates to Harar, Ethiopia -- seems utterly convincing and authentic.
"Each morning ... we sat in the doorway of the dark room ... and recited quietly for an hour against the rhythmic sounds of Nouria on her knees scrubbing clothes in a big metal basin. ... It was here that we began in earnest. Listen and repeat. Listen and repeat. Line by line, verse by verse, just the way the Great Abdal had taught me."
The glimpse "Sweetness in the Belly" offers into the intimate lives of Muslim women and Ethiopian life and clan and national politics is sharp and moving, an unexpected book-length postcard from a part of the world most of us have never visited.
Camilla Gibb
Sweetness in the Belly
THE PENGUIN PRESS; 352 PAGES; $23.95
Dancing to the tune of the poet of love
By Rana Kashif - Daily Times - Pakistan
Sunday, March 26, 2006
LAHORE: The first day of Saint Mahdu Lal Hussain’s Urs, also called Mela Charaghan, was celebrated by people dancing (dhamal) to drumbeats around lit oil lamps. Around 450,000 people are expected to attend the three-day urs, the last day of which is reserved for women.
The Auqaf Department has organised a Mehfil-e-Sama and meetings to highlight various aspects of the saint’s life. Punjab Religious Affairs Minister Sahibzada Saeedul Hassan Shah inaugurated the urs on Friday, saying he was pleased with the arrangements and the government was providing maximum facilities to devotees. He said Sufis had helped promote Islam in the sub-continent and they were a source of guidance for people. Devotees honour Madhu Lal Hussain by lighting oil lamps at his shrine near Shalimar Gardens in Baghbanpura.
Several devotees could be seen dancing around a fire lit in the courtyard of the Sufi’s shrine on the first day. Some people were also singing the saint’s kafees and trying to get as close to the fire because of their belief that prayers were answered more quickly this way. Roads leading to the saint’s shrine were packed with pilgrims and food stalls.
Madhu Lal Hussain, the poet of love, was born in 1538 and his family lived outside Taxali Gate along River Ravi, which flowed near Lahore Fort at that time but some researchers differ with this view and say that the saint was born in ‘Dhadhi Village’ in Pind Dadan Khan (Jhelum). Kalsrai Rajputs, forefathers of Madhu Lal, embraced Islam in Feroze Shah Tughlaq’s reign. He started his formal education at the age of 10 when he was sent to Hafiz Abu Bakar at a mosque and some people say that Madhu Lal had memorised the Quran by heart.
Madhu Lal’s life changed when Sufi Behlol Daryai visited Lahore and met him while searching for water for ablution. Madhu Lal rushed to River Ravi and fetched water for Behlol Daryai, at which he accepted Madhu Lal as his disciple. It is also said that Madhu Lal was a Malamati, a school of Sufi thought that acts against societies’ ethical standards to make societies hate them in their effort to develop self-control.
He believed in love for humanity and his disciples included a Hindu boy Madhu, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s brother and several princes. The Hindu boy had left his family for the Sufi, who loved him so much that he put the boy’s name before his own. He was the first Punjabi Sufi whose Punjabi poetry contained words from other languages like Pothohari, Hindi, Persian and Arabic, but his poetry is extremely easy to understand. The Sufi also called himself Hussain Julaha, Hussain Namana, Hussain Faqeer and Shah Hussain in his verses. The theme of his poetry is Knowing God by Knowing Ourselves. He wrote almost 163 kafees and according to researchers, Madhu Lal was a true scholar and intellectual. Madhu Lal died in 1599 at the age of 63 and was buried in Shahdara, but his body was exhumed and buried at Baghbanpura where the Hindu boy Madhu is also buried. Madhu Lal’s famous kafees include Rabba Meray Hal Da Mehram Toon, Mein Vi Jhok Ranjhan Di Jana Nal Meray Koi Challay, Mahi Mahi Kookdi and Mandi Han Kay Changi Han Sahab Teri Bandi Han.
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Sunday, March 26, 2006
LAHORE: The first day of Saint Mahdu Lal Hussain’s Urs, also called Mela Charaghan, was celebrated by people dancing (dhamal) to drumbeats around lit oil lamps. Around 450,000 people are expected to attend the three-day urs, the last day of which is reserved for women.
The Auqaf Department has organised a Mehfil-e-Sama and meetings to highlight various aspects of the saint’s life. Punjab Religious Affairs Minister Sahibzada Saeedul Hassan Shah inaugurated the urs on Friday, saying he was pleased with the arrangements and the government was providing maximum facilities to devotees. He said Sufis had helped promote Islam in the sub-continent and they were a source of guidance for people. Devotees honour Madhu Lal Hussain by lighting oil lamps at his shrine near Shalimar Gardens in Baghbanpura.
Several devotees could be seen dancing around a fire lit in the courtyard of the Sufi’s shrine on the first day. Some people were also singing the saint’s kafees and trying to get as close to the fire because of their belief that prayers were answered more quickly this way. Roads leading to the saint’s shrine were packed with pilgrims and food stalls.
Madhu Lal Hussain, the poet of love, was born in 1538 and his family lived outside Taxali Gate along River Ravi, which flowed near Lahore Fort at that time but some researchers differ with this view and say that the saint was born in ‘Dhadhi Village’ in Pind Dadan Khan (Jhelum). Kalsrai Rajputs, forefathers of Madhu Lal, embraced Islam in Feroze Shah Tughlaq’s reign. He started his formal education at the age of 10 when he was sent to Hafiz Abu Bakar at a mosque and some people say that Madhu Lal had memorised the Quran by heart.
Madhu Lal’s life changed when Sufi Behlol Daryai visited Lahore and met him while searching for water for ablution. Madhu Lal rushed to River Ravi and fetched water for Behlol Daryai, at which he accepted Madhu Lal as his disciple. It is also said that Madhu Lal was a Malamati, a school of Sufi thought that acts against societies’ ethical standards to make societies hate them in their effort to develop self-control.
He believed in love for humanity and his disciples included a Hindu boy Madhu, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s brother and several princes. The Hindu boy had left his family for the Sufi, who loved him so much that he put the boy’s name before his own. He was the first Punjabi Sufi whose Punjabi poetry contained words from other languages like Pothohari, Hindi, Persian and Arabic, but his poetry is extremely easy to understand. The Sufi also called himself Hussain Julaha, Hussain Namana, Hussain Faqeer and Shah Hussain in his verses. The theme of his poetry is Knowing God by Knowing Ourselves. He wrote almost 163 kafees and according to researchers, Madhu Lal was a true scholar and intellectual. Madhu Lal died in 1599 at the age of 63 and was buried in Shahdara, but his body was exhumed and buried at Baghbanpura where the Hindu boy Madhu is also buried. Madhu Lal’s famous kafees include Rabba Meray Hal Da Mehram Toon, Mein Vi Jhok Ranjhan Di Jana Nal Meray Koi Challay, Mahi Mahi Kookdi and Mandi Han Kay Changi Han Sahab Teri Bandi Han.
Energy and aromatherapy
By Dr. Amir Farid Isahak - The Star - Malaysia
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Aromatherapy is a holistic healing method that combines the science of essential oils with the art of listening to the body, and applying the appropriate essences to re-harmonise the imbalances. The oils can be sniffed directly, sprayed, taken as inhalation, or more usually, diffused into the air using a burner or diffuser. They can also be used as direct applications to the body, as massage oil, or incorporated into soaps, body care items and even in household sprays and insect repellents.
Because the resources (mostly flowers, herbs, seeds and spices) are readily available, aromatherapy has been practised for thousands of years. However, very little scientific study has been done until recently.
Being a medical doctor, I was very sceptical of aromatherapy. My attitude changed after learning through Sufi Healing that aromatherapy was first used by Prophet Sulaiman (King Solomon) and that some Sufi healers still use rose essential oil as the mainstay of their treatments.
The rose is a very special flower. Thousands of flowers are used to extract its essence and it remains the mainstay of Sufi essential oils.
Energy healers know that the essential oils have a very strong life-force (qi) that can influence the various energy systems in the body. Since certain plants have high levels of qi, they are more suitable to be used for healing.
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Sunday, March 26, 2006
Aromatherapy is a holistic healing method that combines the science of essential oils with the art of listening to the body, and applying the appropriate essences to re-harmonise the imbalances. The oils can be sniffed directly, sprayed, taken as inhalation, or more usually, diffused into the air using a burner or diffuser. They can also be used as direct applications to the body, as massage oil, or incorporated into soaps, body care items and even in household sprays and insect repellents.
Because the resources (mostly flowers, herbs, seeds and spices) are readily available, aromatherapy has been practised for thousands of years. However, very little scientific study has been done until recently.
Being a medical doctor, I was very sceptical of aromatherapy. My attitude changed after learning through Sufi Healing that aromatherapy was first used by Prophet Sulaiman (King Solomon) and that some Sufi healers still use rose essential oil as the mainstay of their treatments.
The rose is a very special flower. Thousands of flowers are used to extract its essence and it remains the mainstay of Sufi essential oils.
Energy healers know that the essential oils have a very strong life-force (qi) that can influence the various energy systems in the body. Since certain plants have high levels of qi, they are more suitable to be used for healing.
Sufi Songs at the Bardavon
By Sandy Tomcho - Times Herald-Record
Sunday, March 26, 2006
"Songs of the Sufi Brotherhood," featuring Hassan Hakmoun and Hamza el Din, will be performed at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Bardavon.
Hamza el Din plays the oud (string instrument) and tar (ancient drum), and his music has appeared in such movies as the "Black Stallion" and "Passion in the Desert."
Hassan Hakmoun plays the sintir, an African bass drum.
Read More
Sunday, March 26, 2006
"Songs of the Sufi Brotherhood," featuring Hassan Hakmoun and Hamza el Din, will be performed at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Bardavon.
Hamza el Din plays the oud (string instrument) and tar (ancient drum), and his music has appeared in such movies as the "Black Stallion" and "Passion in the Desert."
Hassan Hakmoun plays the sintir, an African bass drum.
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