1

A DEEP ROOTED JOURNEY FROM PERSIA

PERSIA TO BENGAL----
BENGAL----

IN SEARCH OF RESEMBLANCE,INFLUENCE
RESEMBLANCE,INFLUENCE AND LINK

BETWEEN

GAZAL
GAZALSUFI
SUFIQAWALI

AND

BAUL SONGS

BY

PRABIR DATTA,B.Sc,F.I.E(INDIA)

LIFE FELLOW,INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS(INDIA)

LIFE MEMBER,CONSULTING ENGINEERS

ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION OF INDIA

VISITING FACULTY,INDIAN MARITIME UNIVERSITY,KOLKATA CAMPUS

CONSULTANT CHARTERED MECHANICAL ENGINEER

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THE ARTICLE IS DEDICATED

TO

MY LATEST ADDITION OF LITTLE FRIENDS

Alongwith my family members

AND

ALL THE MUSIC LOVERS OF INDIA AND THE WORLD

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PREFACE

Atlast!!

The article could be completed.

indeed,it was a gruelling timeless journey in the world of the nomads

in real life as well as in religion and the music thereof.

in my feeling and perception,music is an amazing subject.someone hindu

sings in praise of nizamuddin auliya and someone muslim sings in raag
durga and worships devi kali or saraswati in their daily rituals.

peculiar mix!!

no hatred and no violence.

no killings and no rape!!

It is itself a completely separate religion ,compared to the others.its

gods and goddesses are formed out of seven elements---
sa,re,ga,ma,pa,dha and ni.

thats all.

I am trying my best to complete this one since 2010,when my son was

married but due to extensive travel in my professional commitments as
well as in pleasant trips to the places of historical and tourist
interests and travel to other cities due to family commitments,I was
not able.

of course this travel gave me a deep rooted chance and interest to be

more aquainted with the particular type of music and the
understanding of those.even a singer in the train compartment gave me
some serious thoughts regarding this class of musical journeys.

I wrote a few articles earlier which are as follows:-

1.understanding northindian classical music

2.understanding karnatic music

3.music therapy

4.7000 or more karnatic ragas(collection of ragas and their forms)

5.rabindranath tagore and Indian classical music

Apart from these articles in music,a no. of articles on technical

aspects of my professional field had also been published and available
in the web.
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All these articles had been published in the web and are freely
available in slideshare.net,academia.edu,scribd.com,google,facebook
etc. and many other similar websites which I even do not know.

So long,I was happy with all these.

Suddenly,during one occasion,I had the opportunity to hear the live

rendition of the great singer nusrat fateh ali khan about 15 years
back,and then onwards I started showing deep interest & collecting
and hearing to all kinds of sufi songs,gazals,qawalis and boul songs
to enjoy and learn deep into them.

i can boast of today of having one of the best and latest collecton
of such songs at one place.i had to spend lot of money and time in it to
find out and collect.

then comes the material of this article.i observed that people abroad
have more collections and write-ups than we are having of our own
things.i got full cooperation and help from many a person & leading
libraries of the world online as well as from our own here.i was ready
with the ingredients for more than 10 to 12 years ago but,one after
another,interruptions due to my own attachments to different
assignments,professional and family matters,did not allow me to
complete.

Of course,it is not their fault.it is completely mine.they all have

allalong supported me with continuous adjustments to the highs and
lows of my temperament.

And with timely teas,breakfasts,lunchs,dinners and what not!!!

I am thankfully indebted to everyone who have given support to me in

completing this work,especially my family members,who were all along
vigilant and critics of my behaviour,food,health,size of the waist and
body weight and reasonably controlled my health by
arguing,quarrelling,reducing my diet quantity and so on so forth!!!!!

If the work is liked by the readers and gives them an understading of

the music as a whole,I shall think that my effort has been successful.

i leave it to the readers.

Any suggestion for improvement will be highly appreciated.

Thanks to everyone.

Bangalore/Hyderabad/tuticorin/goa/ prabir data/05/07/2014

gandhidham/tuna/newdelhi/odisha/ e mail:DATTA.PK2003@GMA

dumdum,Kolkata/rajasthan/Malaysia/ IL.COM
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Mumbai/egypt
MOBILE:+919903886778//9831162023
 7

The ghazal is mainly a poetic form than a musical form, but it is more song-like than the thumri.
The ghazal is described as the "pride of Urdu poetry". The ghazal originated in Iran in the 10th
Century AD. It grew out of the Persian qasida, a poem written in praise of a king, a benefactor or
a nobleman which in verse form had come to Iran from Arabia. The qasida was a panegyric
written in praise of the emperor or his noblemen. The part of the qasida called tashbib got
detached and developed in due course of time into the ghazal. Whereas the qasida sometimes ran
into as many as 100 couplets or more in monorhyme, the ghazal seldom exceeded twelve, and
settled down to an average of seven. Because of its comparative brevity and concentration, its
thematic variety and rich suggestiveness, the ghazal soon eclipsed the qasida and became the most
popular form of poetry in Iran. The form originally was used for expressions of unrequited love
towards women, the Persian language does not distinguish between genders in pronouns, and
many of the early courtly ghazals are believed to have been written to young boys.

The ghazal never exceeds 12 shers (couplets) and on an average, ghazals usually have about 7
shers. The ghazal found an opportunity to grow and develop in India around 12th Century AD
when the Mughal influences came to India, and Persian gave way to Urdu as the language of
poetry and literature. Even though ghazal began with Amir Khusro in northern India, Deccan in
the south was its home in the early stages. It developed and evolved in the courts of Golconda and
Bijapur under the patronage of Muslim rulers. The 18th and 19th centuries are regarded as the
golden period of the ghazal with Delhi and Lucknow being its main centres.

The ghazal came to India with the advent and extension of the Muslim influence from the 12th
century onwards. The Moghuls brought along with them Iranian culture and civilization, including
Iranian poetry and literature. When Persian gave way to Urdu as the language of poetry and
culture in India, the ghazal, the fruit of Indo-Iranian culture, found its opportunity to grow and
develop. Although the ghazal is said to have begun with Amir Khusro (1253-1325) in Northern
India, Deccan in the South was its real home in the early stages. It was nursed and trained in the
courts of Golconda and Bijapur under the patronage of Muslim rulers. Mohd. Quli Qutab Shah,
Wajhi, Hashmi, Nusrati and Wali may be counted among its pioneers. Of these, Wali Deccany
(1667-1707) may be called the Chaucer of Urdu poetry. Wali's visit to Delhi made in 1700
acquires a historic significance. This visit was instrumental in synthesizing the poetic streams of
the South and the North. Wali's poetry awakened the minds of the Persian-loving North to the
beauty and richness of Urdu language, and introduced them to the true flavor of ghazal, thus
encouraging its rapid growth and popularity.

In its form, the ghazal is a short poem rarely of more than a dozen couplets in the same metre. It
always opens with a rhyming couplet called matla. The rhyme of the opening couplet is repeated
at the end of second line in each succeeding verse, so that the rhyming pattern may be represented
as AA, BA, CA, DA, and so on. In addition to the restriction of rhyme, the ghazal also observes
the convention of radif. Radif demands that a portion of the first line -- comprising not more than
two or three words -- immediately preceding the rhyme-word at the end, should rhyme with its
counterpart in the second line of the opening couplet, and afterwards alternately throughout the
poem. The opening couplet of the ghazal is always a representative couplet: it sets the mood and
tone of the poem and prepares us for its proper appreciation. The last couplet of the ghazal called
makta often includes the pen-name of the poet, and is more personal than general in its tone and
intent. Here the poet may express his own state of mind, or describe his religious faith, or pray for
his beloved, or indulge in poetic self-praise. The different couplets of the ghazal are not bound by
the unity and consistency of thought. Each couplet is a self-sufficient unit, detachable and
quotable, generally containing the complete expression of an idea.

Some poets including Hasrat, Iqbal and Josh have written ghazals in the style of a nazm, based on
a single theme, properly developed and concluded. But such ghazals are an exception rather than a
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rule, and the traditional ghazal still holds sway. However, we do come across, off and on, even in
the works of classical poets, ghazals exhibiting continuity of theme or, more often, a set of verses
connected in theme and thought. Such a thematic group is called a qita, and is presumably resorted
to when a poet is confronted with an elaborate thought difficult to be condensed in a single verse.
Although the ghazal deals with the whole spectrum of human experience, its central concern is
love. Ghazal is an Arabic word which literally means talking to women.

The seven quasidas of the Mu'allaqat are still considered as one of the finest artistic endeavors of
Arabic poetry. The qasida was at times considerably long, often 100 couplets or
more. The ghazal's introduction to India, from the 12th century, was part of an ongoing revolution
in North Indian society.

India was considered to be culturally inferior to Persia, which was a great influence and
inspiration in the development of India's culture. Theghazal, along with many other cultural
desiderata, were imported into India from the 12th to the 18th centuries. Shortly after its
introduction to India, a portion of the qasida, known as the tashib was detached and became
known as the ghazal. The ghazal soon became a popular form of poetry in Iran. These poetic
forms were recognized and given local colour by poets such as Amir Khusru, and gained
widespread popularity among Indian Muslims.

Although the ghazal was introduced in the north, the south could be said to be responsible for its
Urdu character. The North Indian principalities were oriented toward Persian but it was in the
south that Urdu was starting to be used for literary purposes. It was in the courts of Golkonda,
and Bijapur that this revolution occurred. Such leaders as, Nusrati, Wajhi, Hashmi, Mohammad
Quli Qutab Shah, and Wali are notable in their patronage and contributions to the evolution of this
poetic form. Around the 19th century, Northern India began to embrace Urdu as a poetic
language.

The process of converting the ghazal to its musical form was a slow one. In the 18th and 19th
centuries the ghazal became associated the courtesan. The courtesans, known as tawaif, were
considered vanguards of art, literature, dance, music and etiquette, of the elite culture. They were
widely acclaimed for their musical talents and exhibited their abilities with the perfomance of
the ghazal.

The decline in the feudal society near the end of the 19th and early 20th century brought the
decline in the tawaif tradition and a change in the performance of ghazal. The musical
component continued to build and the ghazal began to be heard in concert halls.

The ghazal was converted to its musical form in the 20th century. The development of recording
and film industries was suited to the musicalghazal. The media soon created an environment
where it was convenient to treat the ghazal as though it were mere entertainment. This had
economic advantages for performers, yet created a situation that seemed to lower the standards for
lyrical content.

The musical form of the ghazal is variable. The older, traditional ghazals were similar to other
classical forms such as the dadra or, thumriand often appear similar to qawwali. They are
typically associated with light classical rags. The ghazal has a style similar to many film songs
which is decried by many purists because this form of presentation seems to display less concern
for or a bastardisation of the lyrics and a disregard of the form.

The rhythmic forms (tal) of the modern ghazal are lighter forms. One typically finds rupak (7
beats), dadra (6 beats) and kaherava 8 beats being used with nearly the exclusion of every other
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tempo.

The poetic structure of the ghazal is based upon a series of couplets, woven together with a
meticulous rhyme structure. The overall form uses an introductory couplet, a body of couplets,
and the concluding couplet.

The first couplet is known as the matla. The matla establishes an overall form and the mood of
the ghazal. Occasionally there are two matlas, in which case, the second one is known as
the matla-e-sani.

Each couplet is linked to the matla in a deliberate fashion. The second verse of each couplet must
rhyme with this. If the rhyming structure of the matla is AA, then the subsequent couplets have
the form BA, CA, DA, etc.

There is an element of the ghazal known as, radif. This is the way a portion of the first line
(sometimes two or three words) is maintained in the ghazal. However it is not always consistant.
If there is no radif, the form is considered ghair-muraddaf, which is rare in contemporary
composition. If the exact same words are used in the radif (repetition) it is considered a ham-
radif.

The last couplet of the ghazal is called the maqta. It contains the pen name (takhallus) of the
poet. The maqta is a personal statement which may be different in tone from the rest of
the ghazal. Today it is a common practice to leave off the maqta.

There are a few common themes in the ghazal. Typically the subjects are; unrequited love,
madness, mystical ruminations and social commentaries. The most prevalent topic is unrequited
love. However each couplet acts as a vignette that does not have to relate to adjacent couplets.

Although the themes of each couplet in a ghazal are distinct, there are some occasions where
consistency prevails. The Nazm is an example of style that exhibits this, in a subtle approach. A
more common connective element is known as qita. Still, the norm is for each couplet to stand
alone.
1. Ghazal is just a form. It is independent of any language.
eg. in Marathi also, there can be (and there are) good Ghazals.

2. Some Ghazal's do NOT have any 'Radif'. Rarely. Such Ghazal's

are called "gair-muraddaf" Ghazal.

3. Although, every Sher, should be an independent poem in itself,

it is possible, that all the Sher's are on the same theme. What
famous example can be other than "chupke chupke raat din aasun
bahaanaa yaad hai".

4. In modern Urdu poetry, there are lots of Ghazal's which do

NOT follow the restriction of same 'Beher' on both the lines
of Sher. [ My example in 'Maqta', the Sher by Shakil, is one. ]
But even in these Ghazal's, 'Kaafiyaa' and 'Radif' are present.

5. The restriction of 'Maqta' is really very loose. Many many

Ghazal's do NOT have any 'Maqta'. [ I think 'Maqta' was used in
the earlier times, as a way to keep the credit. But since this is
traditional, many Ghazal's do have a 'Maqta' just for the sake of it.
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Sometimes the name of the Shayar comes unnaturally in the last

Sher of the Ghazal. ]

In pre-Islamic Arabia, the ghazal was not recognized as a major genre of poetry. This was the era
of the golden odes the great Arabic qasdahs. There were various genres for the qasdah,
including the panegyric (madh), the moralizing poem (hikam), the lampoon (hij), and the boast
(fakhr). However, the ghazal the love poem was not one of these.

Instead, what was later to become the ghazal was an integral part of nearly every pre-Islamic
grand qasdah. These qasdahs were divided into three broad sections: the nasb, the rahl, and then
whichever of the recognized poetic genres the poet intended. It is the nasb, that opened the
qasdah, which would later develop into the ghazal.
When the poet is satisfied that he has his audience listening attentively, he follows this advantage
and asserts his rights upon the listener, and thereby brings the rahl where he laments the fatigue
of travel, the passing of sleepless nights, the oppressiveness of the midday heat, and the
emaciation of his camel.

Once he is sure he has justified to his listener his hope (of recompense), he starts with the praises
(madh), encouraging his listeners generosity and patronage, asserting the superiority of his grace
over that of his peers, and how incomparable it still is to his lofty stature.

A praiseworthy poet is one who employs this style, giving equal weight to each of the sections,
not allowing any section of the poem to dominate over the others. He does not prolong anything
too much so as to bore the audience, nor does he abbreviate anything so much as to leave the
people wanting to hear more.
Though Ibn Qutaybah gives the panegyric poem as his example for the qasdahs final section, it
does not have to be in that genre. The qasdah could be in any of the other recognized poetic
genres, like boasting (fakhr) a lampoon (hij) or a didactic composition (hikam).

Ibn Qutaybah is credited with being the first literary thinker to attempt to explain the purpose
behind beginning the qasdah with the nasb. His opinion was that the nasb was essentially a
means for the poet to win over the attention of his audience. This would remain the predominant
view on the matter throughout the Middle Ages.
The modern scholar, Hayt Jsim, regards the nasb as having fulfilled an important psychological
need both for the poet and the audience within the context of Bedouin life. She writes
Love, being as it is an emotion of beauty, is intrinsically tied to the hopes of all people. They pine
for it in youth, take pleasure in it during maturity, and lament its loss in old age. Love is a
glimmer of light at times of despair, a wave of strength in times of weakness, and a trusty weapon
against severity and hardship. Why would the pre-Islamic poets not exploit this emotion as a foil
against the harsh and austere realities of their way of life, where the threat of death was always
present? Love served to represent what was good in life. Love culminating in union represented
happiness and prosperity. Separation and tears represented bittersweet pain and sweet sorrow.
Essentially, for a people whose lifestyle was one of violence, hardship, and material want, the
various manifestations of love were the most precious and valued possibilities of worldly delight.

Recent scholarship attempts to trace the nasb further back in time, back to its origins in
prehistory. Scholars like Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych and Jaroslav Stetkevych do not accept the
idea that the pre-Islamic nasb was merely a rhetorical prelude or a concrete representation of
Bedouin life. Jaroslav Stetkevych, by analysing the recurrent motifs in the nasb, identifies its
origin in Ancient Near Eastern ritual, myth, and poetry.
three parts of the classical Arabic qasdah owe their origins to the poetics of ritual of the Ancient
Near East, formulated on a seasonal pattern. She writes on the panegyric qasdah.
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(W)e are dealing with a Bedouin variant of the Ancient Middle Eastern agrarian pattern in which
the harvest is not the seasonally determined one of grain, but the metaphorical harvest of
human lives on the battle field.
In this, she follows the model presented by Theodor Gaster, who describes the structure of
Ancient Near Eastern seasonal ritual as having been comprised of two rites of Emptying followed
by two rites of Filling. These four rites in order were: mortification purgation invigoration
and jubilation.

The rite of mortification, in agrarian societies, symbolized the state of suspended animation at
the end of the year when the annual lease on life had drawn to a close and the new one had not yet
begun. The rite of purgation symbolized the agrarian communitys attempt to rid itself of all the
physical and moral evil that might threaten the renewal of its vitality in the coming year. The rite
of invigoration was the communitys attempt to procure a new lease on life. Finally, the rite of
jubilation represented the sense of relief at the commencement of the new year and the
continuation of the natural cycle.

Ibn Qutaybahs formulation is tripartite. It is quite possible, however, to see in the nasb, which
comprises a description of the abandoned encampment, the lost mistress, the complaint against old
age, etc., an expression of mortification, suspended animation; in the rahl which comprises the
recounting of the hardships of the desert crossing and the description of the poets mount, the she-
camel, purgation; the third and final section, in this case madh (panegyric), must then be
understood as encompassing both aspects of Filling, invigoration and jubilation, as such common
elements as the battle or hunt followed by the feast would certainly allow.
This current research into the origins of the nasb and by extension the ghazal is certainly
intriguing. There can be no doubt that the fully-formed pre-Islamic qasdah that we see at the
dawn of Arabic written literature did not suddenly appear out of nowhere. It had behind it a long,
unrecorded history that can only be deduced through indirect means.

The Flowering of the Arabian Ghazal

During the early Islamic era (622-661), there were no substantial changes in poetic practice. The
pre-Islamic tradition continued more or less as it was, except that the writing of shorter poems
became more popular, often for political and religious purposes. However, the ghazal was not
given any particularly special attention among these shorter works.

The ghazal came into its own as a poetic genre during the Ummayyad Era (661-750) and
continued to flower and develop in the early Abbasid Era.

Though three-part qasdahs continued to be written, it was during Ummayyad times that the pre-
Islamic qasdah was broken up into its constituent parts. Lampoons, boasts, panegyric poems, and
moralizing poems were now written on their own. Even the term qasdah started to become more
or less synonymous with the more general notion of a formal poem.

The ghazal was also separated out during this time, becoming a stand-alone poetic genre in its
own right, and as such it enjoyed exceptional popularity and considerable patronage.

The ghazal, along with the other Arabic poetic genres, inherited from its pre-Islamic origins the
formal verse structure of the qasdah. A poem in this form is always constructed from lines of a
single meter, where each line (called a bayt in Arabic and a sher in Persian) is constructed from
two metrical hemistiches and ends on the same rhyme (qfiyah). The Persians would later add
certain other features to the ghazal, as we shall see, but the underlying form would remain the
same.
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Though the ghazal during the Ummayad period was understood to be a poetic genre dealing with
the theme of longing for the beloved, it also had to adhere strictly to the formal verse structure it
inherited from the qasdah. The marriage between this particular verse form and the theme of
longing would continue to be the defining character of the ghazal wherever it was adopted in the
world. Even when formal innovations and variations were introduced into the ghazal by
practitioners of the art in the contexts of different languages and cultures, the theme of longing
whether it be romantic, erotic, mystical, or divine and this underlying form would always be
there.

As the ghazal came into its own during the Ummayad period, it grew into the most popular poetic
genre of the time, and would remain so for centuries to come. The middle and upper classes of the
new and growing urban centres of the Arab world demanded entertainment, and at the forefront of
this new entertainment industry were music and song. The popularity of the ghazal reached
dizzying heights due to its suitability for musical diversions.

The nature of the ghazal changed drastically to meet the demands of light musical entertainment.
It generally became a briefer composition. Its choice of meter changed. Instead of the long,
ponderous meters that had been favoured for the qasdahs meters like kmil, bast, and rajaz
lighter meters like khaff, ramal, and muqtarab were preferred, along with abridged variants of the
longer meters. Topically, instead of focusing on nostalgic reminisces of the homeland and the
loved-ones left behind, the focus of ghazals became romantic or erotic, or otherwise highly
stylised and affected.

As the popularity of the ghazal grew, different schools of ghazal writing developed, which
introduced into Arabic literature a rich variety of poetic sub-genres. The most important of these
sub-genres were as follows:

1. Courtly Love (`udhar). This genre of poetry focuses on devotion towards a woman who was
beyond approach and with whom love could never be consummated.[12]Poems written in this
genre focus on the pain of longing and the passions of the heart and are nearly free of eroticism
and references to physical desire.

Poets writing in this genre usually devote all of their output, or at the very least a long sequence of
poems, to a single love interest. Jaml b. Ma`mar (d. 701) has his Buthaynah. Kuthayyir b. `Abd
al-Rahmn (660?-723?) has his `Azzah. `Urwah b.Hizm has his `Afrah. Tawbah b. al-Humayr
has his Layl.

Describing this genre of ghazal as the genre of courtly love is accurate insofar as the themes of
these ghazals are nearly identical to those of the courtly love tradition of the European High
Middle Ages. However, this genre was not exceptionally popular at the urban courts. It was rather
a favourite of the desert regions of the Hijaz and Najd.

2. Erotic (hiss). Representing the genre most popular with the Umayyad urban elite, the erotic
ghazal is typified by graphic physical descriptions of the object of desire, often limb by limb.
`Umar b.Ab Rab`ah (644- 712/719) is the most notable poet of erotic ghazals.

3. Introductory (tamhd). This genre of ghazal, also referred to as traditional (taqld) is

specifically employed to act as a prologue or introduction to poems of other genres. This practice
is a holdover from the pre-Islamic three-part qasdah. There are two differences between this form
and the nasb of the three-part qasdah. First, the introductory ghazal is highly stylised, and
second, it enters straight into the main genre of the poem without being followed by a rahl.
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This genre was perfected by Jarr (650-728), Farazdaq (641-728/730), and al-Akhtal (640-710).

The practice of beginning poems of other genres with a ghazal went in and out of vogue more than
once, and at various times had its ardent supporters and equally ardent detractors. This was
particularly the case during the early Abbasid period.

It was within this genre that a certain literary art was perfected that is the art of husn al-takhallus
(literally: beautiful extrication), the art of modulating smoothly from one genre to another within a
poem. During the pre-Islamic period, the nasb could end rather abruptly into the rahl, a practice
which was frowned upon for the introductory ghazal of the Ummayad period.

The introductory ghazal developed a further sub-genre of its own: the conceit (qayd). This is
where the ghazal itself is an elaborate ruse for the main genre of the poem, which would quite
often be a lampoon. Ibn Qays al-Ruqayyt (d. 704) is known for this sub-genre. Taha Hussein
credits him as its originator.

4. Homoerotic (mudhakkar). This genre of the ghazal became important in the early Abbasid
period. One of its most renowned practitioners was Ab al-Nuws (750-810).
The Spread of the Arabian Ghazal
The Arabic ghazal spread from Arabia into Africa and Spain, as well as into Persia.
In medieval Spain, ghazals were written in Hebrew as well as Arabic. An important writer of
Hebrew ghazals, and one of its chief defenders, was Moses ibn Ezra (1058-1155). There is a
remote possibility that ghazals were also written in Mozarabic (an early form of Spanish written in
Arabic script) since jarchas, poems related to the muwashshah a particularly Andalusian Arabic
poetic form have been found in this language.

Poems in the Arabic form have been written in a number of major West African literary languages
like Hausa and Fulfulde. African practitioners of this type of poetry were as concerned with
adapting the Arabic meters as they were with adopting the themes and formal structure of Arabic
poetry. Hausa poets, for instance, adopted the Arabic forms and meters into their written poetry in
the nineteenth century.[16] In doing so, they had to translate the Arab quantitative metrical
sequences into roughly corresponding sequences based on the heavy and light syllables of the
Hausa language.

The ghazal was also adopted very early on by the Persians, who developed it into something
uniquely their own. These developments will be discussed at length in the following section.

Wherever the Arabian ghazal was introduced into the literature of another language whether we
are talking about Africa, Spain, or Persia it was preceded by the cultural dominance of the
Arabic language in that region. Arabic was, at the very least, a major language of education in
those cultures at the time when the ghazal was first adopted as a local poetic form. The poets who
pioneered the introduction of ghazals in their native languages had all written ghazals in Arabic as
well.

The Evolution of the Persian Ghazal

The Persians during the Abbasid period were keen on adopting Arabic verse structures and meters
into the Persian language. The beginnings of the ghazal in Persian was a time of imitating and
adapting the Arabic form.

In truth, the earliest ghazals written in Persian are essentially Arabian ghazals. Only two real
differences can be discerned in these poems that we might call Arabo-Persian. The first is a
 14

change in sensibilities regarding the poetic line. The early Persian ghazal poets did not exhibit
radical enjambment between the hemistiches, nor did they generally employ any kind of
enjambment between the lines, which were showing themselves to be more and more like
couplets. There was, like in the Arabic ghazals, a strong overall continuity and flow of meaning
between the lines of the poem. The poems were still an organic whole. This would gradually
change over time, with the couplets growing more and more autonomous.

The second difference between the early ghazals written in Persian and their Arabic counterparts
is that the use of tasr` (in Persian ghazals: matla) which is to have the first line/couplet of the
poem employ the rhyme in both of its hemistiches became a formal norm instead of an optional
embellishment.

It should come as no surprise to us that the ghazal was not to be the only type of Arabic poem that
the Persians emulated. They also wrote panegyric poems, lampoons, boasts, and didactic
compositions after the Arabic poetic models.

Browne classifies Persian poetry into two broad categories: many-rhymed where the two
hemistiches of a single line rhyme with each other, but with the poem exhibiting a variety of
rhymes throughout, and one-rhymed where a single rhyme is kept and the only place where the
first hemistich rhymes as well is in the opening couplet. The former is represented by the uniquely
Persian mathnawi, while the latter include the borrowed Arabic forms the qasdah, the qit`ah,
and the ghazal as well as some hybrid inventions like the ruba`iyyat.

What distinguishes the ghazal during this early period is the ghazals focus and textual style. Ms
explains: The style of the ghazal required a sweetness of word choice and a smoothness of
meaning. The meters chosen for the ghazal were to be the most musical ones, like hazaj, ramal,
mudri`, and khaff, though there was no formal prohibition against the use of other meters.

It is interesting to note that many of these are the same light meters that the Arab poets had
already begun favouring for their ghazals during the Ummayad period.

Also, Persian ghazals usually tended to be brief, usually between seven to fifteen couplets
though there are a number of important exceptions to this while Arabic ghazals, as well as
Persian qasdahs, could be much longer.

Since the above description of the ghazals written in Persian at this time can apply to quite a
number of Arabic ghazals and none of the differences constitute an actual formal deviation from
the Arabic norm, we can say that these early Persian examples still fit into the broad formal
pattern of the Arabian ghazal.

An important Persian writer of ghazals at this time was Abdullah Jafar Rudaki (859-941). Dr.
Reza Zadeh Shafegh counts him as the first of the great poets of Iran.

Rudaki was certainly the most praised of the ghazal writers of his time. Al-Unsuri praised his
ghazals. Abu al-Fadl al-Bal`ami said: There is no one among the Arabs or the non-Arabs like
Rudaki. This statement is telling. It shows the close proximity that existed at the time between
Persian and Arabic literature, in that critics would readily compare between the two.

Development of the Early Persian Form

As time went on, the Persian ghazal grew into a unique poetic form. While the topics that could be
addressed by the ghazal widened though still remaining within the general theme of longing its
 15

form grew more and more distinctive.

The first significant development that occurred in the form of the Persian ghazal was the adoption
of the takhallus. This is the practice of mentioning the poets pen name in the final couplet.

This takhallus should not be confused with the disengagement of the Arabian introductory ghazal.
It is unlikely that the term even derives from the husn al-takhallus of the Arabian introductory
ghazal. It is more likely that this use of the term is derived from an Arabic notational mark called
the takhallus, which used to be written above a word in a document to identify it as the authors
name. The takhallus of the Persian ghazal is a Persian innovation, and it is a clear formal addition
to the essential Arabic form.

Like any other stylistic trend in literature, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the takhallus
came into vogue. It was not at all in evidence during the era of Rudaki.However, by the twelth
century, Musa asserts that poets were consistent in mentioning the takhallus and they rarely
neglected it thereafter.

By contrast, Browne does not regard the takhallus as being a standard fixture of the Persian ghazal
before the Mongol invasion which took place in the year 1218.

Yahya Dawud `Abbas identifies this innovation with the poet Sinai (d. 1141), a third of whose
poems end with his takhallus. He also points out that Jalal al-Din al-Asfahani (d. 1192) never used
the takhallus.

Al-Khaqani and al-Anwari were consistent in their use of the takhallus.

The adoption of the takhallus was most likely a gradual development, becoming more and more
ubiquitous throughout the 12th century. By Saadis time, it had become the formal norm.

This development was coupled with another growing trend towards a far greater degree of
autonomy to the meaning of each couplet. This is another marked departure from the ghazals
Arabic forebears.

These two qualities, therefore, typify the ghazals written in Persian through the remainder of
Ghaznavid era (which lasted until 1187) up to some time after the Mongol invasion.

We can call this form, typical of the 12th and early 13th centuries, the early Persian ghazal. It is
a form typified by brevity, takhallus, and a substantial autonomy of the couplet. It is already quite
distinct formally from its Arabic counterpart, as well as from the Persian qasdah and qit`ah, the
other Arabic-derived forms.

One of the most important writers of this form of ghazal is Muslih-ul-Din Saadi (1184-
1283/1291?). He lived at the very end of the period in question, and indeed, had to flee from the
Mongols when they invaded his home city of Shiraz in the year 1264.

He is regarded by many to be one of the greatest Persian ghazal writers of all time, comparable to
no less than Hafiz.
 16

Development of the Late Persian Form

Persian ghazals evolved substantially after the Mongol invasion, a period in Persian history known
as the Early Mongol Period. The radif, which had formerly been a relatively rare device first
introduced as a decorative embellishment, became a standard formal feature during this time. The
radif is the Persian refrain, a repeating word or phrase that comes immediately after the rhyme in
every rhyming line of the poem. We can appreciate how important a formal feature the radif is in
that, since it is still part of the meter, its use necessitates placing the rhyme (qfiyah) earlier in the
metrical sequence.

In this era, the couplets remained extremely autonomous in meaning, even growing in autonomy
until each couplet often behaved like a miniature poem in its own right. This is the poetic ideal
where the couplet is compared to a precious pearl in a necklace.

We can call this form the late Persian ghazal, the final form that Persian ghazals were to take.
Like the takhallus, it is hard to chart the development of the radif as a feature of Persian ghazals
with exact precision.

The radif existed as a very uncommon ornament in Persian poetry from quite early on. Instances
of radif are found in a few poems dating from before the tenth century. Rudaki exhibits radif in
two of his poems that are not ghazals. Other early isolated examples exist in various poetic genres
for poets like Mahmud-i Varraq, Shahid-i Balkhi, Abu Shukur, Ma`rufi, and Daqiqi. These are the
very first known examples of the radif in post-Islamic Persian verse. At this time, however, the
radif is a rare ornament that could hardly be said to have any particular affiliation with the ghazal.

By the twelfth century, the radif had become a common poetic ornament in Persian poetry in
general, though still not a strict formal convention of the ghazal. Franklin D. Lewis cites the
following description of the radif from Rashid al-Din Vatvats twelfth century treatise on poetics:
The radif is a word, or more than a word, in Persian poetry which recurs [in each line] after the
rhyming word. Such poetry is called by practitioners of the craft muraddaf poetry with a refrain.
The Arabs do not use refrains, except in the case of recent innovators attempting to display their
virtuosity. Most Persian poems have a refrain, for the expertise and versatility of the poet is made
obvious in composing poems with a refrain.
Lewis then comments that by the time of the poet Farid al-Din `Attar (d. 1221?) the radif had
become as commonplace as Rashid al-Din describes it to be, with over half of the poems in
Attars Divan having a radif after its rhyme.

A few of Saadis ghazals are written with radif. By contrast, the radif is the norm for the ghazals
of his younger contemporary, Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273), who is only a little more than
twenty years his junior. This can be seen in Rumis exquisite Divan-e Shams.

The radif becomes the overwhelming norm for the ghazals of the later Persian masters, like the
fourteenth-century Hafiz, though most of the later poets occasionally wrote ghazals in the older
style without radif.

It is important to keep in mind that even though the takhallus and radif had become important
formal elements of the Persian ghazal, they were not taken as necessary elements for a poem to be
recognized as a ghazal. Either or both of these features could be and sometimes were
dispensed with. The essential characteristics defining a ghazal remained what they had always
been: formally, a specific type of metrical construction (bayt/sher) with monorhyme (qfiyah), and
thematically, the topic of longing for some object of desire. Therefore, what really separates the
Persian ghazal from its Arabian and Arabo-Persian antecedents is the Persian ghazals distinctive
 17

linear autonomy.

During the thirteenth century, the ghazal took a pre-eminent place in Persian poetry, due to the
growth of Sufism. The ghazals theme of longing proved particularly well suited to Persian
mysticism, and from this time onward, the ghazal becomes less a vehicle for romantic or erotic
love as it would remain for many Arabic ghazals and more a form devoted to the expression of
the spiritual longing to be connected with the Divine.

The development of the Persian ghazal from its Arabo-Persian beginnings through the early
Persian form to the late Persian form cannot be dated with any precision, due to the fluidity of the
process and the overlapping of the various developmental trends. At the same time, the prevalence
of different formal conventions in different eras provides us with a clear developmental
progression over the course of centuries culminating in the Persian ghazal settling down into its
distinctive form, possessing both takhallus and radif, by the end of the thirteenth century.
The Spread of the Persian Ghazal
This late Persian form is the form of the ghazal that spread out from Persian-speaking areas, first
into the Indian subcontinent and the Turkish regions of Asia, and then into Europe.
In the case of the Turkish and Indian ghazals, poets who were conversant in Persian were the ones
to adopt the ghazal into their native tongues. The Persian language was at this time the dominant
literary language in Central Asia and India, and most of the ghazal writers who wrote in other
languages also had Persian ghazals to their credit. This is the same pattern that we have already
seen when the ghazal first spread from Arabia into Persia, Africa, and Spain.

An important Ottoman Turkish ghazal writer was Fuzuli (1483-1556), who wrote in Azerbaijani
Turkish. Another Turkish master was the Afghani poet Ali-Shir Navai (1441-1501), who wrote in
the now extinct Chagatai language, and as such is regarded as the founder of Uzbek literature. He
is also referred to as the Chaucer of the Turks, due to the important role he played in
establishing the literary prestige of the Turkic languages.

In India, ghazals of the late Persian form were written in Persian as well as a number of Indian
languages. Amir Khusru (1253-1325) was one of the earlier Indian poets writing in this form, and
he wrote ghazals in both Persian and Hindi. Ghalib (1796-1869) was a one of the most renowned
practitioners of this form in Urdu.

Today, ghazals in the late Persian form are written in Hindi, Gugurati, Punjabi, Bengali and every
other major language of the Indian subcontinent.

The ghazal was introduced into Europe in the 19th century through translations of Persian works.
Goethes translations of ghazals as well as his famous collection of oriental-influenced poems
entitled the West-Eastern Divan inspired other German poets, including Friedrich Rckert
(1788-1866) and August Graf von Platen (1796-1835) to go farther and write in the ghazal form
itself, which, since the nineteenth century, has developed into a substantial body of German
poetry.

An important convention seen here, and one that has persisted in ghazal writing for
languages using the Roman alphabet, is to break the bayt/sher into two lines at the
hemistich. We should also note that these are not separated by von Platen into distinct
couplets. The stanzaic form would develop later on and become a convention for ghazals
written in English.
 18

Agha Sahid Ali (1942-2001) is widely regarded as the leading proponent of the late Persian
form in English. He promotes this form in his own ghazal writing and through the landmark
anthology he edited in 2000 entitled Ravishing DisUnities.

Recent developments in the ghazal writing of the Indian subcontinent include a relaxation of
certain formal restrictions. According to Abhay Avachat, a number of contemporary Urdu ghazals
use alternating meters for each hemistich of the sher and many poems dispense with the takhallus
while retaining the radif.

A number of innovations have taken place as a consequence of the ghazal being adopted by poets
writing in European languages. Western cultures, the English-speaking ones no less than the
others, have a tendency to adopt, adapt, and modify various artistic forms from other cultures to
their own needs at a rapid pace, and this is certainly true for the ghazal. From the onset of ghazal
writing in German in the nineteenth century, European writers have used the conventional meters
of their own languages, rather than trying to emulate the meters of the people from whom they
borrowed the ghazal form. Few attempts have been made to adapt the Arabic meters and rhythms
into European languages, which is in stark contrast to what had been the case when the Persian
and African poets first adopted the Arabian form into their own languages.

Many contemporary ghazals, moreover, are written in free verse. However, keeping in harmony
with the overall ghazal form, there is a tendency in free-verse ghazals to exhibit a degree of
internal consistency regarding line length.

Another important twentieth century trend in ghazal writing is to focus on the ghazal as a form to
the exclusion of its being a genre. Ghazals are frequently being defined purely by some or all of
their conspicuous formal elements monorhyme, bayt/sher/couplet arrangement, autonomy of the
bayt, takhallus, and radif and not by their being topically about the theme of longing. The formal
aspects of the ghazal are being applied to poems of every conceivable topic even to Language
poems.

In the Persian, Turkish, and South Asian literary cultures of the past, a poem written with radif,
linear autonomy, and takhallus, brought with it an expectation of a literary treatment of longing
whether sensual or spiritual a poem that would focus on the beloved in one way or another.
This is still primarily the case in Asia. However, it is no longer difficult to find the formal norms
of the ghazal being used to treat a wide range of other quite disparate topics and themes.

This divorce between form and theme dissolving a marriage that had persisted worldwide in
ghazal writing for over 1400 years has also taken place in the Arab world, but in a drastically
different way. This has come about as a result of the introduction of free verse into Arabic poetry
in the mid-twentieth century, which has precipitated a revolution in how literary terms are defined.
The term qasdah which has always before indicated a poem with strict meter and monorhyme
is now being used for free verse poems as well. In modern Arabic usage, the word qasdah is
merely a generic term for poem, so much so that in order to specify that a modern poem is
written in a classical meter, it has to be qualified as shir amd or a formal poem.

This has had many far-reaching consequences for Arabic poetic discourse. For one thing, it has
resulted in a change in how the word ghazal is defined. In modern Arabic literature, ghazal has
become purely a genre term, and not a term defining both form and genre. In the past, a poem
about love or longing, if it was written in any other verse form besides that of the qasdah, would
not be referred to as a ghazal. If its form were that of a nazam or a maqm, it would not be
regarded as a proper poem. If a love poem were written as a muwashshah, it might deserve respect
 19

as a poem but as a muwashshah on the theme of love and not as a ghazal.

This is no longer the case. The term ghazal is purely thematic. A poem written in free verse that
deals with the themes of love or longing is called a ghazal, regardless of its form. This explains
why a free verse poet like Nizar Qabbani (1923-1998) can be lauded in the Arab world as one of
the twentieth centurys foremost ghazal writers, and why recent anthologies of ghazals in Arabic
will have free verse and prose poems presented alongside those written in the classical form.

This development in the Arabic usage of the word ghazal is not likely to have an effect on how the
term is understood by speakers of other languages. As a purely genre term simply meaning love
poem, it is something that speakers of other languages can dispense with. The opposite trend, to
use the term ghazal as a purely formal term, seems now to be well-established in English poetic
discourse though exactly how that form is to be defined has remained a point of contention.
In Urdu, the ghazal was originally a form of written, or spoken, poetry. However in the
subcontinent, the ghazal is also popular as a musical form. Both in India and Pakistan, there have
been great artists who have sung the ghazals. Ghazal when sung in the proper 'mizaaj' (mood) is
said to inspire even the most hard hearted person to get moved with it. Ghazal as a song, is mostly
sung in a soothing and melancholic style. One thing to note is that ghazal is no way related to the
traditional Hindustani classical music. The singers who sang it initially used the format of
traditional 'raag's and 'khayal' components of the classical music. There is no "rule" that states that
ghazals need to be sung in one style or another.

History of ghazal singing can be traced into the times of the late 1930s, and the earliest available
recorded versions of ghazal as musical form is that of the famous Kundan LaL Sehgal ( K. L.
Sehgal). K. L. Sehgal was a very famous artist of the Hindi movies of those times. The movies of
the subcontinent have always had this peculiar tradition of containing songs in them, based on
situations, and getting them picturised too. As was the concept in those days, actors had to be
good singers too, since dubbing was still not in use then, K. L. Sehgal was a fine singer as well.
Apart from acting in movies, he also sang a number of ghazals. One of his famous ghazal is:

Laayi Haayaat aaye qaza le chali chale,Apni khushi na aaye na apni khushi chale. Zauq

[Life brought me here and death will take me away,Neither did I come on my own wish nor would
I leave on my own]

There was another popular ghazal singer during this period. Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, had migrated
to Pakistan after partition. He was a master in classical music and was initially trained by his
father Ali Baksh Khan and his elder brother Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. He experimented with the
lighter form of classical music and therefore chose ghazals as a way to express those. He was
admired all over Pakistan and India. One of his famous renditions is:

Hasti apni hubaab ki si hai,Ye numaaish saraab ki si hai. Meer

[My existence is like a bubble,This exhibit is like a mirage]

Other names of this time include, Master Madan, C. H. Atma and Habeeb Wali Mohd.

Ghazal till this time was considered to be a piece of singing usually confined to the niche
audiences of the society, who understood the technicalities of classical singing and the finer forms
 20

of Urdu poetry. However, it was Akhtaribai Faizabadi, or Begum Akhtar (1914-1974) as she was
popularly known, who broke the ghazal from the classical clutches and truly brought it to a more
semi-classical 'Thumri' format. She was probably the first singer, who realised that ghazal was
more a form of Urdu poetry, than it was a part of the classical component. It was not that she did
not face criticism for such a 'daring' act initially. However, she understood the poetry very well.
Her renditions reflect the true mood of the poet and her selection of poetry goes par excellence.
She sang other forms of music, such as 'Daadra', equally well. Almost all her compositions were
based on some 'Raag'. She is truly the "Mallika-e-Ghazal' (Queen of ghazals). It is difficult to
chose one of her best, but one such ghazal is:

Kuch to duniya ki inaayat ne dil torD diya,Aur kuch talkhiye haalaat ne dil torD diya.
Sudarshan 'Faakir'

[Some was the world's favour which broke my heart,And then some was the bitter conditions
which broke my heart]

Begum Akhtar's presence in the music scene, inspired many young female singers of that time to
adopt a style similar to her. Some famous ghazal singers of that genre include: Malika Pukhraj,
Iqbaal Bano and Farida Khanum.

During the 1950s, a diesel tractor mechanic was given a chance to sing 'Thumri's for Radio
Pakistan. He soon became famous and also started rendering ghazals in his own inimitable style.
This young man, was none other than the now famous Mehdi Hassan aka 'Khan Sahib'. Mehdi
Hassan (born 1927), was trained in 'Dhrupad' style of classical music. He was well trained in the
other forms of classical singing too. He has a deep bass voice, which suits the ghazal singing
perfectly. His compositions and renditions are purely driven by the mood in the ghazal as
portrayed by the poet. It can be said that he further simplified the ghazal singing and brought it
nearer to the masses.

It is interesting to note the differences and similarity between Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hassan.
Both had a great sense of Urdu poetry. Their ghazal selections were fantastic. Begum Akhtar had
a more full throated style of rendition, often raising her pitch of voice. However Mehdi Hassan
had a bass and deep sound in his renditions. The two singers were equally popular in both India
and Pakistan, in contemporary times.

It is again difficult to chose one of the finest ghazal of Mehdi Hassan, but one such would be:

Aaye kuch abr kuch sharaab aaye,Uske baad aaye jo azaab aaye. 'Faiz'

[Let clouds gather and some wine flow,After that, let there be agony and anguish]

Around this time (1960-1970), ghazal also started to feature in the movies produced in India and
Pakistan. Many playback singers sang and notable amongst them would be Mukesh, Lata
Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. Mehdi Hassan too was a very successful playback singer of his
time.
 21

SUFI MUSIC IN RITUAL AND DEVOTION

PERSIA AND THE BEGINNING OF SUFISM

As Persia was at the geographic crossroads of the worlds ancient civilizations,so was its culture
formed under the varied processes of the ancient worlds philosophies and religions.Although as
an empire that assimilated many smaller cultures,Persia encompassed its subjectsregional
practices and beliefs,a strong undercurrent of distinctly Persian ideals and beliefs was formed over
the thousands of years of its existence.Persian culture survives today in Iran,the only region that
has maintained its Persian heritage.They are a separate ethnic group from Arabs,Indians and
Central Asians,with their own unique cultural identity that still branches out to the areas in their
former empire.This specially Persian core of beliefs and perceptions is best embodied in the
practices of the Sufi mystics.The Sufis are sometimes referred to as an order with Islam,but it is
more accurate to say that they are a derivative of Islams earliest stages.They have been a part of
Islam since the religion was founded in the 7th Century,although some orders claim to be older.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ISLAM----
In order to understand the process of creolization betweeeen Persian and Arab Muslim cultures
that produced the Sufis,We must first take a look at both individually and compare them to the
result.To be more accurate,the Sufis were also influenced by the Christian,Jewish and Hindu
religions,but We will isolate Islam and Zoroastrianism as the two major influences in the process
of Sufi formation.
After the death of Muhammad,the founder of Islam,the Islamic world was left to its own devices
to choose a new leader.as there was no system in place for the resolution of such a situation.The
Caliphate was subsequently formed and the first four Caliphs are known as the Rightly Guided
Caliphs.It was during this time,between 632661 A.D.that the Persian empire was conquered by
the Muslims.After the last Caliph had died,the Islamic world verged on civil war over claims to
the Caliphate by all regions in the empire that now spread from Central Asia to Spain.The third
Caliph,Uthman,was murdered by his troops over the issue of pay and previleges.This left the
position open once again,and it was filled by Muhammads cousin and son-in-law,Ali.Uthmans
followers,in turn murdered Ali.The basic conflict between Sunnis and Shias lies with Ali,the
fourth and the last Rightly Guided Caliph.The Shias believe that only Alis descendants have the
right to authority in the Muslim world,while the Sunnis believe that Allah always provides an
Imam,or high priest,rather than relying on a hereditary system.
The sufis do not have a strict set of guidelines for this issue that applies to all Sufi groups(called
tariqas)but some may be easily classified as falling within one of the two main Islamic
factions.Many tariqas do not hold an obvious bias towards one sect or the other.After knowing
that main stream Muslims have taken to heart the preceding historical information,it is helpful to
know that many Sufis are relatively oblivious to it,dwelling more on the inner goals of Islam
rather than outer conflicts.
There is much more to be said about the relationship of Sufism to Islam.Depending on regional
and individual perceptions,Sufism may be favourable or unfavourable to the main stream Muslim
population.Whereas some tariqas are in fact attached to either Sunni or Shia beliefs,some tariqas
operate with only very tenuous links to Islam.
As some tariqas claim that Sufism pre-dates Islam,the best we can say is that Sufism and Islam
developed alongside each other and cohabited within the same religious spectrum and region.
There are many things on which main stream Muslims and Sufis do not agree,and some Islamic
scholars have spoken against Sufi practices.Imam Ash-Shaafee said that nobody accompanied the
Sufis forty days and had his brain return ever.And sometimes the argument may even be on the
subject of attire.There are people(Sufis) who have chosen and preferred the wearing of woolen
clothes,claiming that they want to resemble Al-Maseeh ibn Maryam.but the way of our Prophet is
more beloved to us, and the Prophet used to wear cotton and other garments,says Sheikh Abu
Bakr Al-Jazairi.A more serious and fundamental difference arises with Ibn Taymiyahs point
that(Sufis)do not fight Jihad in Allahs Cause.Even though these conflicts do arise,Sufism is still
 22

regarded as Islamic mysticism,and most Sufi tariqas still consider the five pillars of Islam to be
essential and practice them piously.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ZOROASTRIANISM
The other major influence on Sufism during its process of formation was Zoroastrianism.
Zoroastrianism is a religion that predates Islam by a thousand years and today there are around
140,000 practioners.To Zoroastrians,fire is a symbol of God and this is a theme that is often seen
in Sufi literature and teachings. Zoroastrianism certainly set the stage for the development of
Sufism as an artistic precursor and traditional influence.While the exact origins of Sufism are
hotly debated,it is generally perceived that it developed within Islam as the descendant of
Zoroastrianism and borrowed heavily from Hindu religious concepts.Sufism is religious
creolization in its most active state.
SUFI BELIEFS
Muslims know they will see God in the afterlife.The Sufis devote their lives to see God now,in
this life and becoming closer to the divine by following Islamic law.As was seen before,Muslims
do not always agree with this aspect but Sufism certainly does provide a spiritual,transcendent
root for the popularly pragmatic practice of Islam as it is with most other religions.
It may be helpful to compare the Sufis to the Tibetan Buddhist monks,although this comparison is
not entirely accurate.They both strive to detach from the self through complete devotion and
focus,and although they use music in different ways ,they both recognize the harmony of the
universe as related through music and they recreate it through their chants and ritual
songs.Sufis,as could be said of the Buddhist monks,strive to break the conditioned patterns of
behavior which inhibit the desired spiritual awakening.They isolate themselves from the material
desires of society,and desire nothing but to know themselves and the God.
The Sufis try to see God through and beyond the haze of religious bureaucracy and
pragmatism.They try to feel God and become one with the divine.This metaphor,by an unknown
Sufi ,describes it better:There are three ways of knowing a thing.Take for instance a flame.One
can be told of the flame,one can see the flame with his own eyes,and finally one can reach out and
be burned by it.In this way,we Sufis seek to be burned by God.again,the theme of fire is
presented.It is perhaps an archetype that symbolizes the power of God through man,his creation;or
it could also symbolize an awakening through the knowledge,as knowing a simple fact or idea is
not as striking or illuminating as being touched by its fire ,which is intangible,without
substance,and yet painfully present at the same time.To a Sufi,seeing the flame from a distance or
being told of it without seeing it is not sufficient to know its true nature.They must experience its
reality,and condition themselves to accept it.This is the basic mode of Sufi thought.
AN OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM AND SUFI MUSIC---
Five times everyday,the Muslim world answers to the Adhan,the call to prayer.At the top of a
minaret,now aided by electronic amplification,a muezzin sings prayers in praise of Allah.This is
one of the two main forms of Muslim music.The other is Quuranic chanting,performed by a
soloist and based on the rules of the tajwid,the Islamic guidelines of recitation.In Islam,music is
mostly associated with the human voice.The word for Sufi music is Qawali,and a Qawala literally
means any one who says a saire.Although the rules are strict and deviation from the tajwid is
considered offensive,this music is based on improvisation and ornamentation.A mosque chooses
its muezzin by his character and his talent for formulating traditional prayers into musical
phrases.Muezzins,as well as singers of Quuranic chanting use common phrases like ion There
is no God but Allah using the rules of tajwid.Improvisation and original interpretatation is
essential,yet the rules of pronunciation and variation are very strict.Vocal dhikr,the repetition and
chanting of the names of God or short phrase like-There is no God but Allahis practiced by
Muslims in general as well as Sufis and by this repetition Sufis hope to realize the real meaning of
the name of the phrase rather than simply comprehending the words.Dhikr is considered the most
holy act before Allah and its practice is advised as much as possible.In fact,while there are no
limits on the extent of dhikr performed,it is an obligation for all Muslims and under no
 23

circumstances is one allowed to be negligent of it.Muhammad saidRemember/Mention Allah as

much as you want until people say that you are crazy and foolish.
THE ISLAMIC MUSICAL CONFLICT---
While music is used as a profound statement of Gods power and devotion to Him,Islam prohibits
any form of music that is not entirely devotional to Allah.There is a general perception in the West
that Islam bans all music but that is not true.It only prohibits non-devotional music,and associates
it with other sins such as drinking alcohol,which is entirely prohibited.Music and dancing for
secular or entertainment purposes is forbidden.The event that inspired many Westerners to believe
that all music is banned in Islam,is the situation of Cat Stevens,a popular singer and guitarist in
the 1970s,who converted to Islam,took the name Yusuf Islam and abandoned his music until a
recent& very brief return.At the very least,music must reflect Allah.
A SUFI RITUAL:THE WHIRLING DERVESHES
A dervesh is a Sufi who has removed himself from the society at large and lives in blissful
isolation ,often with other derveshes.They have completely dedicated themselves to loving God
and seeing God in human nature and nature in general.Music, to them,is existence itself and they
play and hear it with a different perception than even other Sufis.When they listen to music in an
activity called sama,they enter an assembly of initiates that is closed to non-initiates.they address
each other O KING OF KINGS,O SOVEREIGN OF SOVEREIGNSand wear no elaborate
clothing,only robes and rags.They concentrate fully on the music.
The most famous and profound dervesh ritual is a whirling dance that causes the practitioners to
enter an ecstatic state,in which they believe to see God at the climax.This ritual is primarily
centered in Turkey and when hearing about Turkish Sufis or whirling derveshes,the terms are
usually presented synonymously,although the whirling dervesh ritual is also performed in Egypt
and other countries in the region.The ritual is mostly practiced by the Mevlevi order of Sufis from
Turkey,which belongs to the Sunni order of Islam.
The Semazens or whirlers wear a camels-felt cylindrical headdress that symbolizes the tombstone
of their ego.The choreography and general order of the ceremony is called Sema and it consists of
seven parts.The Semazens remove a black cloak to show a white one which symbolizes the
shroud of their ego.By uncovering the white cloak,they are revealing themselves to the truth of
the God.They then cross their arms and stands erect,reflecting the number one that symbolizes
Gods unity.
The Semazens then begin to turn,passing the sheik,who stands on a red sheepskin and acts as a
channel for the divine.At the onset and stopping of each part of the ceremony,the practitioners
turn to each other and bow,acknowledging the soul within.They then open their arms and the right
arm extends towards the sky,showing that they are ready to receive Gods love.To the Sufis,love
is the supreme act of God.The Semazens focus on the left arm,which is pointed towards the
earth,symbolizing the act of bestowing Gods love and truth.The feet of the Semazens,touching
the earth,provide a point of contact through which the blessing travels.The Semazen acts as a
circuit.
The whirling represents two things.Revolution is observed by the Sufis to be a major element in
the universe,as are vibration,rhythm and harmony.Revolution is present in man from the very
foundation of the atoms in his body and man revolves through life the same way the earth
revolves around the Sun.Man revolvesaround God as do all things,but since man is conscious,he is
able to re-enact this relationship through the whirling ritual.
Whirling also represents mans spiritual ascent towards perfection,deserting the ego.After
returning from this state,he is able to serve all of creation regardless of species,race,gender and
religion.Although women are generally oppressed in Islam,they are equal to men in the eyes of
Sufis.Women also participate in the whirling ritual.
The first part of the Sema is a eulogy for the Prophet,who represents love as well as other
prophets.By showing devotion for the Prophet,they show devotion for all prophets,as they were
all Gods creations.
 24

The second part is a drum introduction,symbolizing Gods command at the beginning of time.A
major tenet of Sufi beliefs,which is also reflected in many other religions,is Gods act of speaking
the world into existence.This part of the ritual is symbolic of that act.
The third part is an instrumental improvisation on the ney,which is a reed instrument common
throughout the Middle East and sacred to the Sufis.This improvisational piece is in free rhythm
and symbolizes the breath of life,given by God after His command to control.The musicians who
perform during the ritual are often affiliates of the order,and are trained professionals.They do not
enter the same state as the Semazens, but rather provide the means for them to do so.
The fourth part begins with the greeting mentioned above,and they acknowledge the other
Semazens souls,which are concealed by their bodies.They then repeat the circular walk around
the sheik three times.
The fifth part signals the start of the actual whirling,which becomes progressively faster as the
ritual continues.It consists of four salutes,which are positions the Semazens assumes while
whirling.The first salute testifies to his birth to the truth that he knows the existence of God and
that he is Gods creation.The second salute expresses his amazement at Gods creation and
magnificence.The third is the transfer of this amazement into love and complete submission to
God.It is the state of ecstasy that the Semazens have been working to achieve.Sufis claim this state
to be similar to the Buddhists state ofNIRVANA and it is the highest stage in Buddhism.In
Islam,however,the highest grade is that of the Prophet.It is not the goal of the whirling ritual to
remain in this state.The Semazen stays conscious and then crosses his arms in approval of
God.The fourth salute is the recognition of the Semazens place in creation and his understanding
of his destiny.The sheik enters into the centre of the derveshes where they revolve around him as
the Earth revolves around the Sun.
In the Sixth part of the ritual,the whirling ends with a reading from the Quuran,Sura
Bakara2,verse 115,Unto God belong the East and then West and whither over ye turn,you are
faced with HIM.He is All Embracing,All Knowing.The ritual ends with the seventh part in which
the Semazens compose themselves after having fallen to the floor after whirling.The Semazens
exchange greetings of peace with the sheik and leave with joyous music in the background.They
continue their life of devotion and prayer and recitation of Dhikr.The Sufis ,while being an
offshoot of Islam,in some ways have very different perception of the world,God and the
teachings of Prophet Muhammad.They view the whole universe as harmonious and resonating and
view all things without prejudice.It is for that reason that they do not fight Jihad,and for that
reason that they do not have material wants.Their small societies are egalitarian and outwardly
simple,but their ideas and symbols echo thousands of years of refinement and thought.The Sufis
,with all their influences,seem to have distilled the religions of the Middle East and Asia down to
their essence,and as a result there are many new practitioners of Sufism from all parts of the world
and all major religions.They teach peace and humble devotion in a region plagued by violence
and extremism,while being devoid of the preaching and selfrighteousness of other sects.It is this
that might cause one to say that through diversity and acceptance ,comes the way to peace and
equality,rather than through segmentation and nationalist isolationism.
Sufi music is the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets,
like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.

Qawwali is the most well known form of Sufi music, common in India and Pakistan. However,
music is also central to the Sema ceremony of thewhirling derveshes, which is set to a form of
music called Ayin, a vocal and instrumental piece featuring Turkish classical instruments such as
theney (a reed flute). The West African gnawa is another form, and Sufis
from Indonesia to Afghanistan to Morocco have made music central to their practises. Some of the
 25

Sufi orders have taken an approach more akin to puritan forms of Islam, declaring music to be
unhelpful to the Sufi way.

Sufi love songs are often performed as ghazals and Kafi, a solo genre accompanied by percussion
and harmonium, using a repertoire of songs by Sufi poets.
Qawwali
Qawwali is a traditional form of Islamic song found in India and Pakistan. The wordQawwali is
derived from the Arabic word Qaol which means 'axiom' or 'dictum'. A Qawwal is one who sings
qawwali, or the dictums of the prophets and praises of God. The qawwali is closely linked to the
spiritual and artistic life of northern India and Pakistan.

Spiritual Aspect of Qawwali

The Qawwali is inextricably linked to the sufi tradition; Sufism is a mystical school of Islamic
thought which strives to attain truth and divine love by direct personal experience. In Arabic, this
mysticism is known as tasawwuf. The difference between Sufism and mainstream islam is simple.
All Muslims believe that man is on a path to God (tariqah). However where the mainstream
Muslim believes that it is only possible to reach God during ones life. To this end there are a
number of different techniques and methods.

The Koran instructs man to remember God. This remembrance, known as dhikr, may be either
silent of vocal. The qawwali may be viewed as an extension of the vocal form of this
remembrance. The use of music as a spiritual force was discussed in great length by al-
Gazali(1085-1111). By the end of the 11th century there arose the tradition of the sama. The sama
was often a spiritual concert, wich included a vocalist and instrumentalists. These samas took
place under the direction a spiritually respected man (sheikh).

There is a very specific psychological process which a qawwali follows. One starts with the
singing of the song. In this psychological state the song is received in a manner that is not unlike
standard forms of musical expression. The words are sung, quite repeatedly with variations
intended to bring out the different aspects and deeper means of the lyrics. After a while there is a
repetition to the extent that the words cease to have a meaning; in the ideal situation the
participant is moved to a state of spiritual enlightenment (fana)

History of the qawwali

The origins of qawwali probably predate the birth of Muhammad. The earliest Islamic scholars
discussed the spiritual effects of music, but it was only in the time of al-Gazali(1085-1111) that
these principles were refined and codified. These principles were then expanded by the chisti
school of Sufism. It is this order that has been responsible for the propagation of the qawwali in
India and Pakistan for then last few centuries. The Chisti school was established by Khwaja
Moinuddin Hasan Chisti (1143-1234). It is said that he was born in Sijistan. At a young age he
was influenced by several saintly men, including Ibrahim Qahandazi, and Sheikh Abdul Qadir
Jilli. He emigrated to Delhi and became a very respected saint. He later grew tired of the life in
Delhi and withdrew to the peace and quite of Ajmer (Rajasthan) where he lived the remainder of
his days.
 26

One of the followers of the Chisti school was a man by the name of Sheikh Nizanuddin Auliya
(1236-1325). He was born in Budaun, but at the age of 20 he moved to Ajodhan and became a
disciple of Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakkar. It is said that it was here that he received the key to inner
illumination. He was then sent to Delhi to instruct the populous. Here he acquired a reputation for
using music in his orthodox Islamicelements in Delhi.

Nizamuddin Auliya was, and still is, a source of inspiration for countless people. Even today there
is an annual gathering at his tomb. One man who was inspired by the Hazrat Nizamuddin was
Amir Khusru (1254-1324). He was born in Mominpur (Patiala). His father was originally from
Turkey and this gave the young boy a broader exposure to the rest of the Islamic world. His father
died when he was eight years old, whereupon the job of raising him fell to his maternal
grandfather. Amir Khusru was the advisor to 11th rulers of Delhi, particularly the rulers of the
Khilji dynasty (deva 1973:76). Amir khusru is so important to the development of Qawwali that
he is often (erroneously) said to be the inventor of it. It is said that he mixed the various musical
elements from Turkey, greater Persia and India together. Even today, we find the curious mixture
of Persian moqquams with Indian raags.

The development of the Qawwali up to the latter part of the Moghul Empire closely parallels the
development of the Hindu religious song known as Bhajan. We find parallels in musician form
and social settings. The degree of cross influence is so great that some musician / saints such as
Kabir (circa 1440-1518) are to this day revered by Hindus and Muslims alike. The tradition of
Qawwali has had numerous ups and downs. One particularly hard time was during the reign of
Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb is known for his Islamic fundamentalism. The liberal traditions of the
Sufis were not well received by this Emperor. He took the fundamentalist injunction against music
very seriously.

Aurangzebs dislike of music is well illustrated in a common story. It appears that during his
administration a group of musicians disheartened with their lack of patronage, took some musical
instruments and wrapped them in the manner of a corpse and held a funeral procession in protest.
Aurangzeb enquires about the procession and is told it is a burial to signify the death of music.
Whereupon it is said that the Emperor declares, Good! Bury it so deep that never a sound should
be heard again. The collapse of the Moghul Empire and political fragmentation under the British
was both good and bad for the Qawwals.

Biographic data of Raziuddin, Fareed Ayaz, qawwal al-Hussaini

Ghulam Fariduddin Ayaz al-Hussaini belongs to the best known gharana of Qawwali, namely:
'Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana' of Delhi. This , approzimately 705 years old, was started by Saamat
bin lbrahim, the principal student of Hazrat Amir Khusrau. This eminent Gahanna has produced
famous Ustads like the late Ustad Tarns Khan, court musician and tutor in classical music
Itabrader Shah . In the present generation of this Garahana are Fareed Ayaz al-Hussein and party,
nationally and internationally acclaimed as one of the best Qawalls of the sub-continent.

Fareed Ayaz started his training in classical music at a tender age under the rigorous and critical
tutelage of his late father Ustad Raziuddin, who himself was an outstanding classical musician and
a recipient of the Pakistan President's Pride of Performance medal and was received many other
honors from the Government of Pakistan. Fareed Ayaz is an accomplished musician in the genre
 27

of classical music and also in the traditional classical naag. He has been performing professionally
for the last 30 years, and not only has performed extensively at the national and international level
but has been a cultural representative for Pakistan at numerous Pakistani missions abroad. Fareed
Ayaz and party have performed in the United Kingdom, U.S.A., France, Germany, Italy, Holland,
Portugal, Austria, India, Kenya, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Bangledesh, Croatia, Turkey, Morocco,
Greece, Egypt, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Belgium, Iran, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Jordan and many others.

Fareed Ayaz has total mastery over various genres of classical music such as dhrupad, khayal,
tarana, thumria and dadra which he blends beautifully during his performances of Qawwali. His
mastery over classical music was acclaimed at the all Pakistan music conference annual festival
(Feb 2005 ), where he was invited to perform as a classical singer and not a Qawwal.

Fareed Ayaz is well versed in several languages and can ably perform in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi,
Pushto, Hindi, Poorbi, Bangle Marathi, Persian Arabic and Turkish, in addition to Japanese. He
and his party have performed in the presence of many luminaries including the president of
Pakistan and Prince Hasan bin Talal of Jordan.

History of Sufism

The history of Sufism can be divided into the following principal periods:

Origins

Sufism originates in the teachings of the Prophet Ali ibn Abi Talib or caliph Annemarie
Schimmel proposes that Sufism in its early stages of development meant nothing but the
interiorization of Islam. And murid) placing himself under the spiritual direction of a Master.

The Bastami Complex in Bastam, Iran, contains the shrine ofMohammad ibn Bayazid,
hisIwan of Mahmd Ghazan, the Congregation Mosque, the tower of Kashaneh, and the
Shahrukhiya seminary, bath, and Seljuki era, at the earliest.

Schools were developed, concerning themselves with the topics of mystical experience, education
of the heart to rid itself of baser instincts, the love of God, and approaching God through
progressive stages (haal). The schools were formed by reformers who felt their core values and
manners had disappeared in a society marked by material prosperity that they saw as eroding the
spiritual life.

Hasan Ul-Basri and Sayid Ibn Ul Mussib are regarded as the first mystics among the "Taabi'een"
in Islam. Junayd was among the first theorist of Sufism; he concerned himself with baqaa, the
state of annihilating the self in the presence of the divine, accompanied by clarity concerning
wordly phenomena.

Formalization of Philosophies of Sufism

The early Sufi literature, in the form of manuals, treatises, discourses and poetry, became the
source of Sufi thinking and meditations.

Propagation of Sufism
 28

Sufism, during 1200-1500 CE, experienced an era of increased activity in various parts of the
Islamic world. This period is considered as the "Classical Period" or the "Golden Age" of Sufism.
Lodges and Persia,North Africa and Ahmed Yesevi in modern Kubrawiya order, originating in
Central Asia, was named after Abdul Qadir Jilani, the founder of the Rumi, founder of
the Sahabuddin Suharwardi in Asia.

Modern Sufism

This period includes the effects of modern thoughts, science, and philosophy on Sufism and the
advent of Sufism to the Hazrat Salaheddin Ali Nader Shah Angha, Hazrat Mir Ghotbeddin
Mohammad Angha and Oveyssi-Shahmaghsoudi order.

Influences

A number of scholars perceive influences on Sufism from pre-Islamic and non-Islamic schools
of Gnosticism and ancient Egyptianroots of Sufism which are not widely accepted. Others oppose
the idea of extensive non-Islamic influences on Sufism and believe that these theories are based
on misunderstanding Islam as a harsh and sterile religion, incapable of developing mysticism.

Basic beliefs

God to the Tawhid: all phenomena are manifestations of a single reality, or Wujud (being), or 'al-
Haq (Truth, God). The essence of being/Truth/God is devoid of every form and quality, and hence
unmanifested, yet it is inseparable from every form and phenomenon either material or spiritual. It
is often understood to imply that every phenomenon is an aspect of Truth and at the same time
attribution of existence to it is false. The chief aim of all Sufis then is to let go of all notions
of self also), and realize the divine parable, metaphor, and it is held by Sufis that meaning can
only be reached through a process of seeking the truth, and knowledge of oneself. Although
philosophies vary between different Sufi orders, Sufism as a whole is primarily concerned with
direct personal experience, and as such may be compared to various forms of Zen
Buddhism andPersian literature comes from the Sufis, who created great books ofRubaiyat of
Omar Khayyam, the Masnavi), all of which contain teachings of the Sufis.

Sufi concepts
Lataif-e-Sitta (The Six Subtleties), Nafs, Qalb, Ruh, Sirr, Khafi & Akhfa. These lataif
(singular : latifa) designate various psychospiritual "organs" or, faculties of sensory
perception.

Sufic development involves the awakening of these spiritual centers of perception that lie
dormant in an individual. Each center is associated with a particular colour and general
area of the body, oft times with a particular prophet, and varies from Order to Order. The
help of a guide is considered necessary to help activate these centers. After undergoing this
process, the dervish is said to reach a certain type of "completion."

These six "organs" or faculties: Nafs, Qalb, Ruh, Sirr, Khafi & Akhfa, and the purificative
activities applied to them, contain the basic orthodox Sufi philosophy. The purification of
the elementary passionate nature (Tazkiya-I-Nafs), followed by cleansing of the spiritual
 29

heart so that it may acquire a mirror-like purity of reflection (Tazkiya-I-Qalb) and become
the receptacle of God's love (Ishq), illumination of the spirit (Tajjali-I-Ruh) fortified by
emptying of egoic drives (Taqliyya-I-Sirr) and remembrance of God's attributes (Dhikr),
and completion of journey with purification of the last two faculties, Khafi & Akhfa.
Through these "organs" or faculties and the transformative results from their activation, the
basic Sufi psychology is outlined and bears some resemblance to the schemata
oftantric Kundalini.

Man gets acquainted with the lataif one by one by Dhikr(Remembrance of God) and
purification of one's psyche from negative thoughts, emotions, and actions. Loving God
and one's fellow, irrespective of his race, religion or nationality, and without consideration
for any possible reward, is the key to ascension according to Sufis.

Sufi cosmology
One can disentangle various threads that led to the crystallization of more or less coherent
cosmological doctrines. Reading various authoritative texts, one can see that practitioners
of Sufism were not much bothered with inconsistencies and contradictions that have arisen
due to juxtaposition and superposition of at least three different cosmographies: Ishraqi
visionary universe as expounded by Neoplatonic view of cosmos cherished by Islamic
philosophers like Ibn al-Arabi, and Hermetic-Ptolemaic spherical geocentric world. All
these doctrines (each one of them claiming to be impeccably orthodox) were freely mixed
and juxtaposed, frequently with confusing results a situation one encounters in other
esoteric doctrines, from HebrewGnosticism to Buddhism and Trika Plane
(cosmology) Muraqaba

Muraqaba is the word used by many Sufis when referring to the practice of Arabic word
literally means observe, guard or control one's thoughts and desires. In some Sufi orders,
muraqaba may involve concentrating one's mind on the Arabic letters that have special
significance. Muraqaba in other orders may involve the Sufi aspIrant focusing on his or
her Azeemia order) imagine certain colors to achieve different spiritual states.

Dhikr

To engage in dhikr is to have awareness of God according to Islam. Dhikr as a devotional

act includes the repetition of divine names, supplications and aphorisms from Sufi orders
engage in ritualized dhikr ceremonies. Each order or lineage within an order has one or
more forms for group dhikr, the recitation,instrumental
music, costumes, meditation, trance. (Touma 1996, p.162). Dhikr in a group is most often
done on Thursday and/or Sunday nights as part of the institutional practice of the orders.

Hadhra

Hadhra is a dance associated with Arab world.

 30

Qawwali

Pakistan and North Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Sama or Sema' (Arabic "listening")
refers to Sufi whirling). In Qawwali origins and Origin and History of the Qawwali,Adam
Nayyar, Lok Virsa Research Centre, Khalwa refers to a form of Tariqa

Traditional orders

The traditional Sufi orders emphasize the role of Sufism within Islam. Therefore
theSunnah (customs of the Prophet) are seen as crucial for any Sufi aspIrant. Among the
oldest and most well known of the Sufi orders are
the Shadhili, Qadiri, Nimatullahi, Chishti and the Ashrafi. One proof traditional orders
assert is that almost all the famous Sufi masters of the Islamic Caliphate times were also
experts in Sharia and were renowned as people with great Iman (faith) and excellent
practice. Many were also Qadis (Sharia law judges) in courts. They held that Sufism was
never distinct from Islam and to fully comprehend and live correct with Sufism one must
be a practicing Muslim obeying the Sharia.

For a longer list of Sufi orders see: Universal Sufism movement, the Mevlevi Order of
America, the Golden Sufi Center, the Sufi Foundation of America, and Sufism Reoriented.

Universal Sufism
Universal philosophy, that is independent of the and the teachings of Prophet Western
world, and the terms yogi and sufi are used interchangeably. Universal Sufism tends to be
opposed by traditional Sufis, who argue that Sufism has always been practiced from within
an Islamic framework and can never be separated from it.Universal Sufism,
and Sunnis and the Shia">Shia. Sunni Islam consists of a number of schools of legal
jurisprudence (called Fiqh and one of the two orthodox schools of Ihsan in their lives.

Imam Ibn Hambal used to visit the Sufi master heresy as well as those like Al-Hallaj came
to be accepted by some scholars.

Today, many Islamic scholars (though not all) hold Tasawwuf, in the sense of Sufi
doctrines and philosophies, to be the science of the heart or gnosis (as distinct from other
branches of Islamic knowledge which are Fiqh dealt with the body and Al-Ghazali's ihya
ulum-aldeen , Imam Al-Azhar) like Ibn Ata'illah were Sharia and discussed Sufism as a
method of bypassing the rules of Islam in order to attain salvation directly. This was
disapproved of by traditional scholars. An example of such a deviant sufi was Abu
Hilman. One of the most vocal critics of such deviations from the Islamic creed
was Salafischool form the majority of Muslims opposed to Tasawwuf. They hold that
Sufism was always held to be an innovation even by the earliest scholars. Some of their
main criticisms are listed below.

Sufi masters have introduced many special prayers and devotional acts into their schools. These
are criticised as being

Mainstream Sufism is seen by its scholars and supporters as a part of traditional Islam. However,
there is a major line of non-Islamic or offshoot-Islamic Sufi thought that sees Sufism as predating
 31

Islam and being a Muhammad. This view of Sufism has been popular in the Inayat
Khan founded Idries Shah advocated similar concepts.

There is also an attempt to reconsider Sufism in contemporary Muslim thought from within.
According to this view, Sufism represents the core sense of Islam that gives insight to God and
His creation.

Traditional Islamic schools of thought and Sufism

Islam traditionally consists of a number of groups. The two main divisions are the Fiqh and one of
the two orthodox schools of Ihsan in their lives.

Imam Ibn Hambal used to visit the Sufi master heresy as well as those like Al-Hallaj came to be
accepted by some scholars.

today, many Islamic scholars (though not all) hold Tasawwuf, in the sense of Sufi doctrines and
philosophies, to be the science of the heart or gnosis (as distinct from other branches of Islamic
knowledge which are Fiqh dealt with the body and Al-Ghazali's ihya ulum-aldeen, Imam Al-
Azhar) like Ibn Ata'illah were Sharia and discussed Sufism as a method of bypassing the rules of
Islam in order to attain salvation directly. This was disapproved of by traditional scholars. An
example of such a deviant sufi was Abu Hilman. One of the most vocal critics of such deviations
from the Islamic creed was Salafischool form the majority of Muslims opposed to Tasawwuf.
They hold that Sufism was always held to be an innovation even by the earliest scholars. Some of
their main criticisms are listed below.

Sufi masters have introduced many special prayers and devotional acts into their schools. These
are criticised as being

Traditional Islamic schools of thought and Sufism

Islam traditionally consists of a number of groups. The two main divisions are the Fiqh and one of
the two orthodox schools of Ihsan in their lives.

Imam Ibn Hambal used to visit the Sufi master heresy as well as those like Al-Hallaj came to be
accepted by some scholars.

Today, many Islamic scholars (though not all) holdTasawwuf, in the sense of
Sufi doctrines and philosophies, to be the science of the heart or gnosis (as
distinct from other branches of Islamic knowledge which are Fiqh dealt with
the body and Al-Ghazali's ihya ulum-aldeen , Imam Al-Azhar) like Ibn
Ata'illah were Sharia and discussed Sufism as a method of bypassing the rules
of Islam in order to attain salvation directly. This was disapproved of by
traditional scholars. An example of such a deviant sufi was Abu Hilman. One
of the most vocal critics of such deviations from the Islamic creed

was Salafischool form the majority of Muslims opposed to Tasawwuf. They

hold that Sufism was always held to be an innovation even by the earliest
scholars.
 32

INFLUENCE OF SUFISM ON THE BAULS OF BENGAL

We the Bengalees, though are a nation with intellectual curiosity and artistic inclination,
have very little contribution in the field of philosophy. Lalon Fakir (? - 1890) was a rare
exception. Without much, or any institutionalised education whatsoever, Lalon asked some basic
questions in any philosophic quest who is God? Or is there any? How was the universe
created? What is Man? Who am I? These cosmogonic and existentialist questions, and the way
Lalon had tried to answer those, were not unique in our cultural history. It was rooted in the Baul-
Fakir meditational tradition of pre-modern Bengal, steeped with Buddhist Tantric cosmology of
human body, Nath-Vaisnab-Sahajiya practices and incorporealism of Islamic Sufism. Thousands
of enigmatic songs by different Gurus have been composed in this musical tradition. But Lalon
Fakir, with his profound depth and artistic excellence, has remained the most gifted one and
towers above all.
It is interesting to note that Sufism, though emerged in the Middle-East yet thrived more
on the fringes of the Muslim world, i.e., in West Africa, in Central Asia, or in India. Before
reaching Bengal, already in North India, the Sufis came into interactions with the Yogis and other
Tantric practitioners;
"Different Indian Sufi groups, particularly the Chishti and Shattari orders, incorporated
certain yogic practices into their repertory of techniques, but this addition did not fundamentally
alter the character of existing Sufi practices. Hindu mantras, for instance, were infrequent in Sufi
texts and clearly subordinate to Arabic formulas of Qur'anic origin. "THE POOL OF NECTAR" was
probably the most important single literary source for the diffusion of knowledge about yoga
through Islamicate languages. Sufis and Yogis alike both felt the need periodically to take
account of the other group."
So it makes sense to guess that in Bengal, at this far frontier of the Islamic epicentre, no
pristine form of Sufism did appear nor only one school of Sufism existed either!
th
"From the 17 century downward Sufism in Bengal adopted a new channel and within a
century and a half it absorbed so many indigenous elements in both beliefs and practices that it
not only lost its pristine purity and individuality but also its spiritual significance, inherent
strength and expansive character. With the loss of all these, Sufism in Bengal became in many
respects identical with Tantricism, Yogism, Nathism and other similar system of indigenous
thoughts and aesceticism."
To grasp the influence of Sufism in Bengal, it is therefore imperative to place Sufism on
the backdrop, and in the context of the syncretic advancement of Islamization here. Sufism, for
proliferation, had to infiltrate in different indigenous non-Islamic cult practices. Similarly, to
obtain and maintain popularity during those early days, the Sufi Aulias also had to incorporate
quite a few meditational practices of pre-modern Bengal into their own rituals, even in their
th
belief-system. 17-18 centuries witnessed the prime period for this kind of religious syncretism.
And the Baul-Fakirs of Bengal, Lalon Fakir perhaps being the most outstanding one among them,
were the most conspicuous examples of that syncretic assimilation.
Sufism in Bengal manifested itself in two spheres, one in the esoteric discourses, another
in the tradition of the mendicant singers. Lalon Fakir uniquely combined the both. Like the
mendicant singers, his songs were popular. But at the same time they were esoteric with
metaphoric riddles and enigmas. Sufis, from their earlier days, had the tendency to form
communities with a residential centre. Lalon Fakir, once a mendicant, also established his own
hermitage (ashram) on the bank of the river Kaliganga in Kushtia's Cheuria.
As the Sufis were marginalized by the Shariat religious establishment, so also Lalon and
his followers had to remain perennially outcaste. For the Sunni religious establishment, the Baul-
Fakirs were outsiders, a dangerously subversive community, ever active to sabotage the belief-
system of the dominating religions by posing serious questions with their enigmatic songs.
 33

It seems there was a deliberate endeavour from Lalon Fakir's side not to divulge his life-
story in details. What is known about his life is more shrouded in myths than based on facts. So it
is through his songs, and songs alone, that we have to perceive the man and his persona. Song,
music and systematic breathing exercise were part of the Tantric-Sahajiya practices. And the
ethnomusicology of Lalon's songs was already an age-old tradition among the Bengal mystics.
This kind of enigmatic songs were composed to teach esoteric lessons to the disciples by the
Gurus. So the songs had dual planes. On the surface, they can be love-songs or devotional songs.
But underneath remained similes and metaphors of an encoded language (Sandhya-bhasa) of
heuristic teaching through which the Guru disseminated the ways and rituals of the sexo-yogic
practices to his disciples. The hidden meanings of these metaphors remained unknown to the
uninitiated ones. Only the Guru or Murshid could unravel the meaning of these riddles and
enigmats. The Sufi Darbeshes, as we know, also use encoded language to preach their ways of
meditation.
Though in some areas of Bengal the terms 'Baul' and 'Fakir' are often used
interchangeably, substantial differences of creed exist between them. Actually, the term Baul has
no single definition. 'Baul' has become a generic term in the Bengali gentry vocabulary for all
th th
kinds of mystics, including the Sufi Darbeshes. During the 18 -19 centuries, being tormented by
the caste-ridden Hinduism and the Islamic Wahabi zealots, the low caste people of Bengal tried to
form their own equalitarian religious sectsKartabhoja, Sahebdhoni, Balarambhaja etc. The two
sects, Bauls and Fakirs, though had emerged much earlier, also became prominent during those
syncretic period of Bengal history and the borderline in the belief-systems of these two sects
often overlapped. For the common people these two diverse terms, Bauls and the Fakirs, often
remained synonymous. In some places of Bangladesh, the Nara's Fakirs, a kind of mystics with
Sufi tenets, were also known as Bauls.
Among the four stages of Sufi meditation of Shariat-Tarikat-Hakikat-Marfat, it was the
Marfat way of meditation, the one to achieve oneness to God, seemed to have the most
pronounced influence on the Bengal mystics.
According to Lalon;
"Alif is Allah, Mim letter is Rasul
Lam has dual meanings
One is in Shariat
Another meaning in Marfat."
Actually the Fakirs of Bengal were never keen followers of the Shariat laws. Rather the
anti-establishment and subversive tenets of the Marfati ideas, disguised in Sufism, appealed to
them more. For generations, their total belief-system has remained an anathema to the Shariat
codes and Shariat rituals.
Bauls generally are a sect of heterodox mystics, ever searching for the 'Sohoj Manus' or
'the Unknown Bird' who hides within our human body. This quest of the Bauls to find the God
within, to some extent resembles to the eternal yearning of the Sufis for the divine love between
Ashek and Mashuk the creator and the creation. But Sufi love for God is often a romantic love.
But Lalon's idea of reunion with the creator (to catch the Achin Manus) is essentially a physical
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35
act an Yogic-Tantrik practice. Bauls are air-meditators. According to Fakir Mohin Shah, a
direct disciple of Lalon-lineage and a respected Guru, the person who, by controlling the breath
and the air-movements inside the human body, has crossed the five different stages of "bayam",
"opal", "nash", "kumbho" and "mokhkho", is a Baul. This much is Nath-Tantric cosmology. But
then Mohin Shah adds that the person who has attained the four cups of "fana" (char piala), is a
Baul. The use of the word "fana" here, and also the frequent use of the Sufi terminologies like
"Rabbana", "Muqam", "Latifa", "Panjaton" etc. in Lalon's songs, indicates that Lalon and his disciples
were well versed in the Sufi discourses and this frequent use of the Sufi terms can also be cited as
an example of assimilation of Sufi and Nath Sahajiya meditational techniques among the Lalon
followers.
Though Lalon's songs are the main staple for the Bauls of Bengal today, Lalon himself
did not identify him as a Baul. He rather called himself 'Lalon Fakir'. A Guru of Lalon-lineage and
a highly esteemed Guru of Cheuria, Fakir Abdul Goni Bader Shah, told that
they were Fakirs, not Bauls. According to Lalon, Fakirs are those whose path is;
"The Vedas on the right
The Quran on the left
Fakir's path is in the middle"
Lalon never seemed to believe in the scriptural orthodoxy, or in this core Islamic belief
that the holy books were Godsend;
"What message did our Lord send
Were different messages sent to
Different lands by different Gods

If the holy books are written

By the same God
Then they should not be different
Since they are written by men
They remain so different."
Lalon and his followers were never the etherealised bauls as the Bengalee middle class
intelligentsia have constructed them and like to see them as. Lalon and his followers were
"bartamanpanthis" (for the present material life) in opposition to the "anumanpanthi" (the world of
belief).
Lalon sings;
"You will find the priceless gem
At the present
Worship the simple Man as divine
Worship the human feet
You will get the
Quintessence of eternity
With death everything vanishes
Know that as soon as you can
There is heaven after death
Does not convince me For an
unknown future
Who discards the present world?"
Lalon, and the Baul-Fakirs in general, were men of free spirit. For them freedom of body
and soul were all important. Lalon says;
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36
"How can you be an ascetic
Hindus and Muslims are divided
Muslims want the paradise
Hindus are eager to be in
Hindu heaven
Islamic or Hindu
Any heaven seems a jail
Who wants to be there"
Due to their sensitive minds and fascination for non-scriptural meditations the Baul-Fakirs
of Bengal seem instinctively felt drawn to the Sufi ideas of meditation through love. And Sufism
also satiated their penchant for songs to seek and reunite with the invisible creator, who in
Lalon's vocabulary was 'Achin Manus' or 'Sohoj Manus'. To Lalon's cosmogony, God did not have a
place to reside. Hence God created human beings with love. God chose human body as his abode
and resides within it in an incorporeal form as "Achin Manus", "Moner Manus" or "Sohoj
Manus". So if one worships human beings one worships God too;
"He who worships human beings in this world
All his meditations become fulfilled
In rivers, fens or in canals
The water is same
The same Lord
Moves alone
Mingled with humans He
expresses himself
Without a form He is
luminous
The incorporeal takes an appearance
You have to be
Divinely wise to know
In this infernal age
Man is the incarnation of God."
To seek and find that elusive and invisible creator, the Achin Manus, who hides within
human body, remained the eternal quest for Lalon;
"Who speaks inside me
But does not show up
He moves nearby
But cannot find him searching whole life

I search him
On land and in sky
I do not know myself
I suffer from an illusion
Who am I
Who is He?"
Then Lalon gradually realizes;
"Oh crazy mind
Without knowing yourself
Where do you roam
If I am not true
 37

37
Guru is never true
He looks alike me
The merciful Lord Himself."
This simile of viewing the human body as the microcosm of the cosmology of the
universe, a belief in this kind of non-dualism of "Whatever is in universe/ Is in the human body
too", was well entrenched among the Bengal mystics even before the Sufis came. It was a core
belief omnipresent in the generations of meditators, inherited from the subdued undercurrent of
the Buddhist Tantricism, in the Nath-Yogic practices and also in the Vaisnav Sahajya meditations
in the post-Chaitanya era.
Knowing about one's own self, the quintessence of all wisdom according to the ancient
Indic scriptures, was also for Lalon the best of knowledge;
"If you know yourself you know all

In Arabic He is named Allah

In Persian He is called Khoda'tala The
disciples of Jesus call him God
Different names in different lands

But if you know yourself

The Lord will show Himself to you."
Among all the different frolics of the invisible Lord, the human incarnation is regarded as
the best. The elusive and invisible God hides within human body. Now to catch that incorporeal
"unknown man" (Achin Manus) from inside the human body was Lalon's meditation. And to
achieve that goal human body becomes the playfield;
"Except the pure lover
None can get him
He is 'the Unknown Man'
Remains invisible The
initiated ones
Knows the occult meaning From
juice and copulation
The pearl drop from the juice
Makes the root."
This non-dualism of human body-God cosmology remains all pervasive;
"Who can fathom your frolic Allah
Himself being Allah you call for Allah."
The human body, the abode of Allah, is not only the playfield, but also becomes the
ultimate. For Lalon, the human body becomes the original Mecca. This kind of belief in an
absolute non-dualism was common among the post-Chaitanya Vaisnabs i.e., Krishna hides within
Krishna by seeing Krishna". But one can ascribe this monism to the Sufi idea of Ashek-Mashuk as
well.
According to Lalon;
"Creation was made by chance
Now so much writings about it
You cannot find Him so easy
He is the formless creator
 38

38
He moves in unknown lands
He has no companion
And moves all alone."
For Lalon, the cosmology ends up being;

"In the confluence of three rivers

In shape of a fish the Lord moves"
Now this simile of "fish" for the creator, as Matsyendra ("Lord of the fish") was common
among the Indian jogis but may also remind one the Islamic myth brought in by the Sufis of
Hazrat Yunus who lived within a fish. To catch that uncatchable "fish" in the proper auspicious
moment, it is necessary to build a dam. According to Lalon's medititional technique, after
breaking the seven locks one can enter the air-room. In that all-important air-chamber one may
finally find and catch "The Uncatchable Man". The "Achin Manus" dwells in the bi-petal of
human body. Ira, Pingola, Susumna veins are around him. The dormant Kulokundolini force has
to be aroused through air-meditation to catch him.
But is not an easy task. So to catch that discrete invisible Lord, or "the Unknown Bird",
Lalon suggests;
"As the pied crested cuckoo
Doesn't drink any water
Except the rain water
And waits for the cloud
Day and night" so a true meditator also waits for an auspicious moment.
And the auspicious moment is a particular time in the menstrual cycle of his female
companion (Sadhan Sangini);
"That moon is far away
Covered with millions of
Diamonds and gems
Millions of Gods
Covet it
Praise to Brahman-Vishnu-Shiva
The moon appears in Hades
Also in the upper world
The moon appears in
An auspicious time."
So the timing is all important. Lalon warns his disciples not to miss the rare and short-
lived auspicious moment;
"If time passes away
You cannot do meditation
During daytime
Why did you not finish
The day's meditation
Do not you know
In fens and in marshes
Fishes disappear if
Water recedes What is
the use
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39
To build a dam
In a dried up estuary By
ploughing the field
In wrong season
What is the use of useless labour
The tree may grow due to seed
But it bears no fruit
In the night of new moon
The full-moon appears
The auspicious time
Appears then
Lalon says its time
Lasts momentary."
During a particular time of his female partner's menstrual period, by sucking it through
his penis, the meditator hopes to catch the 'Sonar Manush' and to attain a virile human body, even
immortality! So sexual penetration is not for just carnal desire but to catch the "Achin Manus".
To achieve that, control on body during sexual union is an imperative, especially control on
ejaculation. That is why the meditator practices retention of semen (Urdhoroti). A good
meditator sucks, makes the partner suck, but does not ejaculate. Ejaculation has to be delayed as
late as possible. In this esoteric sexual practice (Sadhana), the ability to control male orgasm, or
retention of semen, remains the utmost desired goal. One has to avoid the slippery slide of the
three-river vaginal confluence. Only a Guru or Murshid knows the ways and means of this
practice (Karan) and advises his disciples accordingly. Lalon advises his disciples not to have sex
without following the abstinence rules. So the central core of meditation, as expressed in Lalon's
songs, was nothing ethereal but retention of semen virile 'bastu' (matter). Lalon Fakir and his
fellow Baul-Fakirs are materialists in the true sense of the term!
One may question the scientificity of this belief or practice but this body-focused practices
of meditation, the 'four moon' or "pancham rasa" cosmology, had a deep root in the age-old Nath-
Tantric rituals in rural Bengal.
One of the main tenets of Sufism is "Drunk with love", that is, a kind of platonic but
ecstatic love between Allah and His creation. But the Baul sexual practices between Man
(Purush) and Woman (Prakiti) is not at all a platonic love but a sexual act of speical nature.
Semen ('bastu') and menstrual blood are the main concerns for the Lalonites. So it is imperative for
the meditators to understand the essence of sperm. The meditation is aimed for steadiness. Only
God is steady and humans are unsteady. To achieve that Godly steadiness regarding
ejaculation, breath meditation remains seminal.
For Lalon, lust is the mere creeper of love. But the ultimate aim is not carnal lust but to
reach a superior plane, that islove. He rows his boat against severe storms. His river of lust
dries up but his river of love becomes full. To Lalon, to become lustless from lustfulness, to reach
the state of a blissful love, seems to be the ultimate aim of meditation. Otherwise one has to
remain a mere slave of Eros throughout his life.
Lalon says;
"First shut the door of lust
Man will shine in bright form

Catch the air

Steady the fire
Die before your death
 40

40
And let your death-warrant return
I forbid you again and again
Do not live in illusion
Keep your strength well-protected
By retaining semen
It is a complex and heuristic learning process, and only after initiation (Vek-Khilafat), a
disciple fully learns the secrets of these practices (Mantras) from his Guru or Murshid.
One distinct difference with the Sufism of the West Asia and Lalon's weltanschauung is
the role of women in meditation. In Lalon's gender perception, women are agents of nature and
more complete than men. Hence women (Prakiti) are superior to men (Purush) and are extolled
("Chetanguru"). Without a female companion man's meditation ('Sadhana') to catch the Sohoj Manus
is an impossibility. So dual meditation (Jugal Sadhana) is a must.
Lalon sings;
"The original Mecca is human body
Try to understand
Why are you tiring yourself roaming around the word
God has created the human Mecca
With the celestial light
.... .....
Lalon says in that secret Mecca
The high priest is a woman."
Lalon also sings;
"The covert truth
Comes to light
By adulating mother
One learns the identity of father
Who was inside the egg
Whom did he see after coming out?"
The primordial mother-image of an agrarian society's fertility-cult seems to creep in here,
which has nothing to do with Sufism, or to with Islam per se.
But Lalon's ideas, of course, were not free from contradictions. At one stage he preaches
not to procreate children as it divides soul, a seminal belief of the Fakiri tradition, but again
extols motherhood to the extent that Lalon even certifies a mother's place next only to God and
even above the prophet;
"In this world
There is an unknown person

One has to recognise her She is

lower only to God
But higher than the prophet
Lalon says move to understand
Without her
You will not reach the shore."
And according to Fakir Mohin Shah, one of the most prominent among the Lalon-lineage
Fakirs, this "unknown person" is mother. Motherhood seems to be pre-eminent and even
something sublime for the Fakirs.
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41
It is difficult to attribute the core essence of Lalon's ideas, the union of man and woman in
some sexo-yogic practices to the Ashek-Mashuk divine love of the Sufis or to the Radha-Krishna
myth of the Vaisnavs as well. This sexo-yogic practice have a more indigenous root and seems
more a continuance of the ageold Nath-Sahajiya-Tantric ritual than anything else.
Lalon believes, human beings are not only 'Man' (Manus), they are potential 'Human-
Gems' (Manabroton). Sufi doctrine preaches a kind of dialectics. That is, when the estranged
opposites, the creator and the creation are reconciled, the individual not just becomes a complete
self but also transcends the human physical limitations. Similarly, in Lalon's belief-system too,
when 'Achin Manus' is reconciled with the meditator, he transform into a 'Human Gem'
(Manabroton).
Each person, through the help of the right Murshid and meditational practices, can become
a Gem of a Man. So the meditator's aim is not only to reach for God but to become a
Manabratan, a Human-Gem himself;
"In the pi-petal Lotus
The golden Man shines
With compassion of human Guru
You will come to know
If you meditate man
You will become a golden man."
As "The Invisible Man" lives inside human body so the "Gem of Man" (Mabonraton) is
also omnipresent inside each human being. A reason why, for Lalon and his followers, nothing of
human body is impure and the belief extends even to the extreme of drinking or consumption of
the four body excretasemen, menstrual blood, urine and faeces. These are ancient Yogic-
Tantric beliefs which had nothing to do with Persian Sufism.
This body-centric humanism of Lalon Fakir, placing man at the epicentre of all
meditations, did not arrive from the Renaissance Europe, but was an indigenous breed of
humanism created, held and propagated by the mystics of Bengal with Lalon Fakir as their doyen.
But for Lalon the humanist, these Sahajiya-Tantric practices of 'four moon' or 'five
juices' not seemed the main goal. For him, as told earlier, the main aim of meditation remained
love, that is, by conquering physical lust to reach the stage of love. So retention of semen
(Urdhoroti), instead of discharging it, remained so important in his meditational practice.
As it is never easy to catch "The Uncatchable Man" or to become a "Human Gem", to
become a true meditator, one is required to give up all worldly desires, have to become a living-
dead (Jante-Mora). One needs the ultimate initiation Vek-Khilfat. That is, to put on a
deadman's attire on a living body. Hence the color for the dress of the Lalon-follower Fakirs is
white shroud.
This Fakiri tradition of obtaining 'Khilafat', i.e, the denounciation of the material life and
to don a white dress until death, seems a tradition inherited from the Sufi denounciation of the
worldly life;
"Who has donned you this dress
A deadman's dress on a living person
Khilqa-Taj and loincloth

Wearing a deadman's attire

You have lost your identity You
destroy the ills of life
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42
Which is otherwise impossible
If one dies before death
Death warrant cannot reach him
We have heard from the Gurus
Which have enriched us
You seem to have dressed well
Try if you can live by dying
Lalon says if you return
Your both shores will be insulted."
One mainstay of Lalon's kind of Fakiri meditational belief-system is not to procreate
children. Otherwise one's soul gets divided. One will fall prey to the eternal cycle of rebirth. To be
born again as a human, a soul has to traverse through eighty-four lacs of vaginas again! So being
born as a human itself is a great fortune. And one should not let one's soul slip into the eternal
cycle of rebirth again.
The Islamic cosmogony, inherited from the Semitic myths, believes that all the Angels
(Fereshtahs) had bowed down to Adam, made of clay, except Iblish. So Iblish became Satan,
proactive to destroy the humans. According to Lalon, God created Adam in his own image and if
Allah and Adam were not the same it would be a sin to pay obeisance;
"God created Adam in His own Image
Otherwise the angles would not be asked to pay obeissance
If Allah was not Adam
It would be a sin to pay obeisance
Which is Shereki sin
33
In this world."
He, who refuses to worship humans even now, is anti-God, a belief brought in by and
trickled down from the Sufi saints of West Asia to the Fakirs of Bengal.
Lalon also sings;
"One has to know
The origin of Adam
Azazil did not know
How Adam's form was made
From the earth of Jeddah
The outer shape was formed
It is not a lie but true
With which matter
He created the spirit
In that house of Adam
By making an eternal abode
In the middle placing a circle machine
The Lord sits there
Only a human can know Adam
Can get him inside his heart-Quran."
The Sufis, and the Baul-Fakirs as well, believe in a loving relationship between a
benevolent God and his creation, the human beings. This concept of a malleable and loving God-
human relationship is distinctly different from the Judaic-Islamic stern relationship of man with
an all powerful and punishing God. Instead of a ruling patriarch, the idea of a loving God, as
believed by Lalon and his fellow Baul-Fakirs, may well have been inspired by the Sufi ideas. The
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43
yearning to look within oneself, the oft-quoted maxim of Mansur Hallaj's "Ainal Haque" ('I am
the truth'), was not unknown to Lalon as well;
"Fakir Monsur Hallaj said
I am the truth
It was correct for Lord's law
Shariat does not understand."
The Quranic doctrine believes God remains invisible but sends his representatives
(paigambars) to punish the evil and defend the righteous ones. But the Indian philosophy upholds
the doctrine of incarnation (avatarism). To Lalon, Mohammad (R) was another incarnation of
God himself;
"We see the body
In the shadow
But He is shadowless
Without a partner Fakir
Lalon says
I am afraid to tell His might
Who came to Medina
In the name of Rasul?"
Lalon then himself answers;
"If you recognise Rasul
You recognise God"
This faith in avatarism was an integral part of Lalon's belief-system. To him, as Rasul
was the avatar of Allah, so also was Sree Chaitanya an avatar of Lord Krishna.
Like the Sufi Darbeshes Lalon also excelled in punning the words. His play with the two
words "AHAD" and "AHMAD" is loaded with a profound statement. According to Lalon;
"Whether the Lord is
Visible or invisible
Inference of AHAD and AHMAD shows
In human body
God Himself hides
If M is added to AHAD
It becomes AHMAD again
For AHMAD
Prophet uses the M letter
If M letter is dropped
AHMAD does not exist any more"
To Lalon's belief-system the trinity of God-Rasul-Adam are no separate entities;
"Allah in 'Alif'
Mohammad in 'Mim'
Adam is 'Dom'."
Mingling these three together the Lord plays inside a human body. To know which letter
of the alphabet means what one needs to be initiated into the 'Tariqah' (medititional sect) and
learn the lessons from the Murshid or Guru. Only then the agonies of rebirth can be avoided!
For the Sufis, imbued with their ideas of love, the Wahabi concept of Jihad is not a
struggle with the outside world but with the enemy within, with the perennial vices of human
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nature. But unlike the Islamic belief of one particular Iblish or Satan, in Lalon's vocabulary, it is
the six inherent vices (shororipus) of human nature greed, anger, envy, infatuation, vanity and
sexual passion that destroy the potentiality of human beings. Lalon's songs are full of references,
both in serious and in lighter moods, of the inner struggles of human beings against these six
pertinacious vices.
The practice among the Lalon-followers to call the Guru as "Sai" or "Saiji", which can
be a variation of both "Swami" and "Shah", also reminds the close proximity of the Lalonites with
the Sufi concept of Murshid. What is a Shayakh to the Sufis of the Middle East has become a
Murshid to the Lalon-followers in Bengal. For the Baul-Fakirs, the Gurus or Murshids who teach
those heuristic and sexo-yogic practices are all important;
"Guru, you are the saviour of the distressed
You are the overlord
All over the universe
You are spreaded out"
In his songs, Lalon often mentioned that his own Guru was 'Darbesh Siraj Sai'.
'Darbesh', a term itself is reminiscent of a living Sufi tradition. But Fakir Anwar Hossain Montu
Shah, another renowned Lalon follower from Cheuria who was the first to publish Lalon's songs in
three volumes, informed me that "Darbesh Siraj Sai" was a non-existent character. According to
Fakir Montu Shah, 'Siraj' happens to be one of the ninety-nine names of Allah. As Lalon had
preached a humanist religion, he too required a human Guru. Hence for his own imagined Guru,
Lalon chose the name 'Siraj', one of the names of Allah. Lalon's Guru 'Siraj Sai' was none but the
creator himself with a human name.
In Lalon's form of meditation the Murshid or Guru remains pre-eminent, almost
omnipotent;
"Except the Murshid
What treasure my world has
Utterance of his name
Colds the body
Removes the agonies of life
Day and night pray his name
Drinking the nectar of Murshid's feet
Satiates the hunger
Do not hesitate in mind
He is Murshid and He is God
He is Allah and He is Rasul
He is also Adam
He takes an eternal shape
Who understand his frolics?"
So at one plane Allah-Murshid-Guru all become synonymous. But Lalon Fakir, though a
Guru himself, but being a man of refined sensibilities and unusual humility, did not try to
institutionalise himself in those high altars. He was, above all, a creative artist, a song-composer
of consummate skill. Neither scripture, nor hermitage, his main weapon were his songs and he
expressed his life-philosophy through his enigmatic songs only. With all humility he remained an
artist till the very end of his life. During the entire period of his long-life, even just before his
death, Lalon had composed songs. Around five hundred thirty of his songs are known so far. But
more can still remain unlisted in the oral tradition among some non-alphabet Baul-Fakir
mendicant singers.
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Lalon, as evident from his enchanting songs, was a pure artist and an artist par excellence
with exquisite skill. His own meditation was pristine and his songs were sublime. But
unfortunately later, as Lalon Fakir earned fame in the elitist circles and became indispensable for
the culture-industry, lot of dilettantes or impostors pretending as 'Bauls' emerged, who hardly
knew the meaning of the term itself or had any stint of meditation in them.
Rabindranath Tagore (1860-1940), in whose estate of Shelidah, Lalon had lived, was
immensely impressed by the spiritual depth of Lalon's songs. Tagore published some of Lalon's
songs and introduced Lalon's works to the intelligentsia of Bengal. Tagore was so deeply
impressed by Lalon, and the Bauls in general, that he began to don dresses like them and called
himself "Tagore Baul". Now this Tagorean concept of Baul, an ephemeral figure of a lonely
bearded man with an one string lute (ektara) in hand searching for his 'Achin Manush' with no
concern for the worldly matters of life, was more a myth than a reality. But it succeeded to catch
the imagination of the urban elites. And unfortunately, Lalon Fakir became an icon and archetype
of that kind of ephemeral baul which is more a middle class construction than a real
representation of the man and his persona.
Decoding Lalon's songs rather makes one wonder how subversive and iconoclastic his
ideas were! No wonder, why Lalon had to compose his songs in such an enigmatic and encoded
language. For the caste-ridden Hindus and the Sunni religious establishment, Lalon's ideas were
too subversive to be spreaded, even tolerated. Lalon was not only worried about the "The Vedic
Cloud Casts a Fearful Darkness" but also had to remain concerned of the Wahabi fanatics to
whom his ideas of God-lives-within-human body or Allah-Muhammad-Adam to be synonymous,
were too iconoclastic to be palatable. No wonder fatwas were promulgated against the Bauls
(Baul Dhangsa Fatwa) in Kushtia in different times.
It is only later when Lalon's songs were spiritualised and decontextualised by the middle
class intelligentsia that Sunni religious establishment conceded, but of course not without
occasional grudges. Antagonism, even tension, still exists between the village Mullahs and the
Fakirs. The apparently simple imageries, symbols and metaphors of Lalon Fakir's songsthe
unknown bird, the fish, the moon, the pond, the river, all have sexo-yogic connotations. The real
meaning of Lalon's songs, and the body- centric practices of the Lalon-lineage Fakirs, are bound
to be abominable for the gentry sensibility. Uninitiated people become charmed by the poetic
beauty of these songs without at all being aware of their subversive subtexts. It would be an
irony of history that Lalon Fakir's songs have now become popular love songs, or have become a
source of spiritual escapism for the urban elites, which these subversive songs were never meant to
be!
The quest for a more personal relationship with a malleable God, a tradition close to the
Sufi doctrines and a total anathema to the Wahabi Islam, was well practiced by Lalon and other
mystics of Bengal. Lot of Lalon's songs are imbued with this yearning. We know that the Sufi
belief-system involves humility and concern for one's neighbours. Lalon's songs are also full of
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humility and his quest for an unknown neighbour is eternal.
"A mirror-city is next to my house
A neighbour lives there
I never saw him
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The village is surrounded by water fathomless
And no boat is available
I long to see him
But how can I reach that village If
the neighbour would touch me
Anguishes of death would disappear
He and Lalon live side by side
Still a million miles wide gap remains.
But unfortunately, due to too much secular middle class interest in Bauls these days, the
Baul elements in Lalon are more emphasized in Bengalee nationalist discourses and the Sufi
influences on Lalon Fakir are pushed aside or neglected.
But there is a risk to overestimate Sufi influence on Lalon as well.
'Sohoj Manus', 'Adhar Manus', 'Achin Manus', 'Moner Manus' or 'Sonar Manush' all
are manifestations of the same concept of an elusive creator who can be caught only in an
auspicious moment of sexual practice with the aim to obtain a golden body, or, immortality. As
told earlier, these ideas of Lalon were actually the indigenous Nath-Tantric ideas and had very
little to do with Persian Sufism. The Sufi concept of divine light or Nur-e-Mahammed has
occasionally showed in Lalon's songs, but the cosmogony of Lalon Fakir and his followers was
essentially an indigenous, human body-centric belief-system based on the already existing Nath-
Tantric Sahajiya mystic practices. This indigenous belief-system was quite far from the pristine
Sufi cosmology of the Arab World. On Lalon, the influence of Sufi beliefs and practices were
certainly there, but the core of Lalon's weltanschauung seems to be the age-old Yogic-Tantric
ideas mingled with the post-Chaitanya Nath-Sahajya cults of the Vaisnavs of Nadia, a region
Lalon belonged to.
How much Lalon Fakir was influenced by Sufi ideas, or Islam as a religion, is still an
unchartered zone in the world of academia. But there are reasons to imagine that as Muslims were
the majority population living around him, to neutralize the fanatic Islamic religious
establishment, or at least to keep them in good humour, Lalon Fakir composed some Nabitatta
songs about prophet Mohammad (R) or used Islamic imageries and terms. As we find, half a
century later, Kazi Nazrul Islam, another iconoclast and a secular rebel poet of Bengal, also
composed Islamic songs like Hamd or Nath.
Regarding the difference with the ethereal divine love of the Sufi Aulias with their God
and Lalon Fakir's idea of a pantheist "Achin Manus" God, one has to keep in mind that Lalon and his
followers belonged to the outcaste and downtrodden social classes and lived with the
impoverished farmers-weavers-boatmen and other subaltern toiling communities of poor Muslims
or low caste Hindus of rural Bengal. As the main profession of the Baul-Fakirs was dole
(madhukari) they were organically linked with a very resource-poor and vulnerable rural
economy. Themselves being poor and toiling people, they knew the importance and value of the
human body, the only property they possessed. So it is no surprise that they had to become, and
remain, more body-centred practical people than the ethereal Sufi mediatators who were mostly
th th
cosmopolitan or men from the upper echelon of the society. The 18 -19 centuries, by no means,
were any happy time for the poor populace of Bengal. And some of Lalon's songs are full of
allusions of those deprivations. This sense of loss and deprivation seeps into lot of Lalon's songs
and created a tone of profound melancholy;
"The hopes and longings of my heart
Remained unfulfilled ......
......
God is the Lord of the world
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I am a mere subject
He punishes if I fail to pay the taxes
He does not pay heed to any excuse."
He further sings;
"Being born in this country
I received these afflictions
I got a broken boat
My whole life spent bailing water."
Lalon has quite a few songs on caste theme which shows his deep rooted disliking for the
caste-system, or anything that divides human beings. So biting was his enmity for the inhuman
caste-system of Hinduism, administered by the authoritative Brahmins and other upper castes,
that he declared that if he could catch the caste-system in hand he would burn it with fire! One
has to remember that Lalon and his followers were socially outcaste people themselves.
In fact, much of the pangs, pathos and existentialist quests of Lalon Fakir as expressed in
his songs seem to be the pangs, pathos and existentialist voidness of that very impecunious class
and the dispossessed social milieu that he belonged to.
Lalon Fakir's story is a story of creativity and dissent on the face of persecution. Apart
from exoticisation of Lalon by the urban intelligentsia and the corporate interests, the fact remains
that the iconoclastic beliefs of the Baul-Fakirs of Bengal, with Lalon Fakir as their inspirational
Guru, is still a force to reckon with. Lalon's influece is still immense in the lower echelon of
Bangladesh. This is a very positive phenomenon so far secularism in the society and polity of
Bangladesh is concerned. And perhaps the undercurrent of these humanist ideas will save
Bangladesh in future from becoming an Afghanistan or a Pakistan, and hopefully keep the
misogynist Islamic fundamentalists at bay.
It is impossible for one to miss out the all pervasive humanism in Lalon's songs. But the
very joie de vivre of Lalon's worldview is something that humanity can also always draw from,
when Lalon the great humanist sings;
"A human life like this will never be repeated
My heart, do what you desire soon in this world
The Lord created infinite forms
But nothing is superior than human
Even Gods and Goddesses pray
To be born as humans
Due to immense good luck
You have got this human boat
Row it and take care
The boat does not sink
The Lord created human beings as
With the humans the ultimate beauty will be achieved."
And for this profound humanism of Lalon Fakir, the man and the artist, we are grateful to
all the major influences on himthe human body-centred Tantric Buddhism, the love and
humility of the Hindu Sahajiya Vaisnavism, and last but not the least, the humanist ideas of the
Sufi saints.