Seeking Truth within

By Manzoor Chandio

Sept 17, 2008

WHILE reading biographies of Sufi saints, we find a majority of them kept moving from one place to another, from one region to another in quest of spiritual fulfilment.

Maulana Rumi was born in Balakh, now in Afghanistan and then part of Persia, but he moved from his ancestral place to Konya, Turkey. He is buried there.

Shah Latif kept moving his entire life from Hinglaj, in Balochistan, to Girnar, in Gujarat, and Jaisalmir, in Rajasthan.

Unlike these two great Sufi saints, Sachal Sarmast, spiritually in communion with both of them, almost remained confined to his native village Daraza in Khairpur district. He was born and raised there. He lived for 88 years in the village. Finally, he was buried in the same village.

Shah Latif, in search of truth, explored the entire Sindh on foot and met people from all strata of society, particularly yogis, jogis and samis. His focus was on ordinary men and women.But Sachal was a kind of Sufi who found truth within himself.

Like other Sufis, Sachal recognised no outside authority. He said: “Through virtue and vice, none knows God.”

Sachal Sarmast was a descendent of Caliph Umer Farooq, but he never took pride in his ancestry. Sachal believed that God is everywhere and He witnesses his own manifestation everywhere.

“The kalima did not make me a Muslim, nor did the faith come from Arabia.”

For that reason he expected other people to come to Daraza to have a meeting with God.

The Mullahs and Sufis have remained in perpetual conflict in Sindh, popularly known as the land of “Swa lakh buzrag and darveesh”.

From time to time Sufis challenged the Mullah order and condemned the religious schism. Among all these saints, according to Professor J. P. Gulrajani, Sachal was the most forcible in his language in condemning formal religion.

He said:

So long as these mosques,

These so-called holy places,

These raised towers, do not crumble into dust,

So long the path of spirit cannot be seen clear.

The Mullahs sentenced Sachal Sarmast to death and declared him an apostate because he had challenged their authority over the faith. For that reason his disciples included Hindus and Muslims of all sects.

Sufi poetry should be seen as communication between souls, not the bodies. Sachal says: “I am born of none, I am brought up by none.” Then he questions himself. “How did you then come to be here?” His answer: “I left the heavens and came to earth”. “But why?” he questions again. “Ah, I could not be contained in heaven’s chair.”

God says I’m nearer to you than your jugular vein. Then where is He?

Sachal Sarmast believes that God lives within ourselves and there is no need to search Him here and there.

He says:

He for Whom I sought the readers of the stars,

Behold! He was with me.

He for Whom I sought the Oracles,

He was with me

He for Whom I ran on many paths

He was with me

He is not a guest, but the Dear One is always with me:

None is so near as He.

He for Whom I passed sleepless nights,

He was with me

I looked for Him here, I looked for Him there,

But looked not for Him in my own being

He for Whom I shed tears of separation,

He was with me.

Oh Sachal! Seek not far, know thyself

He for Whom I was gathering presents

He was with me.

—Verses translated by Prof Gulrajani.

manzoor.chandio@dawn.com

Sachal is the whole truth

By Manzoor Chandio
Written on Oct 10, 2006

When the Arabs were conquering the best lands in the East and the West, Mohammed Bin Qasim brought Islam to South Asia in 711.
Today Islam is the faith of millions of people in the region.
Spain had been conquered at about the same time, but Muslims were exterminated from there.
But Islam has not only survived in South Asia but spread far and wide. Respect for all faiths preached by the sufi saints has been perhaps the most important factor behind the flourishing of Islam in South Asia.
The sufi dimension of Islam, which developed into a structured Islamic school of thought, promoted peaceful coexistence and mutual tolerance among different religions. Sufi saints worked for harmony aimed at bridging differences between people and avoided a clash of religions.
The Arab rule over Sindh subsequently collapsed and the Arabs integrated themselves into the indigenous Sindhi society. They adopted local language and culture. Among the Arab families who had come to Sindh was that of Shaikh Shahabuddin Farooqui, the great grandson of Caliph Umer Farooq (RA).
He was the first Muslim ruler in South Asia. Shaikh Shahabuddin was appointed governor of Sehwan after the conquest of Sindh.
In 1739, Abdul Wahab, a child born in the Farooqui family, took up the task of promoting the real image of Islam as the religion of peace. Abdul Wahab Farooqi, who was given the title of Sachal, stands tall among the galaxy of saints who worked for religious amity and coexistence.
Throughout the 88 years that Sachal lived, Sindh witnessed 15 attacks from the Sikh and Rajput rulers.
During the Sachal era, some outrageous attacks were launched on Sindh also by the Muslim rulers of Afghanistan and Iran.
Besides, different families of Sindh fought among themselves to end the Kalhoro rule and set up their family’s rule in the region. Then the British arrived in South Asia and started their conquest of the subcontinent.
Sachal Sarmast was aware that the Muslim rule was declining and realised that the British would eventually occupy Sindh. At that time Punjab and the NWFP of the present day Pakistan were under the Sikh rule.
The people of Sindh were in need of guidance to escape the vagaries of tough times ahead. Sachal’s forefathers had brought Islam to Sindh and he overcame forces of orthodoxy and promoted religious harmony.
He espoused the principles of brotherhood, peace and love. The greatness of individuals was central to his thoughts.
Because of his philosophy, a number of Hindus who were his disciples willed to be buried along with him, instead of being cremated. Sachal took on pretensions clerics whose conduct engendered schism in Islam. And the clerics labelled him an apostate.
He believed that such clerics had harmed the spirit of Islam and that Muslims should not be misled by their divisive preaching.

He says:
Some say one thing,
Some say another,
I am, who I am.
Some say I am an infidel,
Some say I am a believer,
I am, who I am.

Sachal’s passion for man’s dignity can be gauged from his verses which say that a human being whether he belongs to the privileged section of society or the underprivileged deserves respect.

He says:
We are, what are we?
Sometimes we are blessed,
Sometimes we are accursed,
‘Sachoo’ we are that eternally,
What other contract can we make?

Sachal believes that God lives in people’s hearts and, therefore, hurting someone would mean hurting God.

He says:
I truly recognised the Lord,
My companion He sure became;
He is the Creator of all and intrinsic to all

In order to comprehend the spirit of Islam as a religion of peace we need to understand Sachal and his message of coexistence to promote harmony among sects and faiths.

manzoorchandio@hotmail.com

Shah Latif and Khawaja Farid

In search of Malir and Rohi

By Manzoor Chandio
Written on March 16, 2006

WHILE reading Shah Latif’s magnum opus — the Risalo — one repeatedly finds mention of a place called Malir.
It is not just a poetical or imaginary land but a geographical reality situated in the Thar desert.
The inimitable poet describes the place as a land of ineffable beauty, peace and freedom.
Why has Shah Latif given everlasting glory to this remote and unattractive place in his poetry?
And why did he accompany jogis to the desert several times?
In Shah Latif’s poetry this is a focal point of his philosophy.
Khawaja Farid, whose grandparents had migrated from Thatta and settled in the Seraiki belt, also spent 18 years of his life in the desert of Cholistan.
He too mentions Malir in one of his kafis:

Meda ishq be toon,
meda yaar be toon
Meda mulk Malir te Maro Khalra Rohi Cholistaan vi toon

Actually, Malir and Rohi are two names for one place where one attains communion with nature. In today’s world when society faces heavy materialistic challenges, development of a sense of other — worldliness is even more necessary.
Latif’s attachment to Malir is thus important.
According to him, life in the desert is supported by hope which remains high between drought and wet spells.
When the parched deserts turn green after rains, Thar becomes Malir and Cholistan becomes Rohi.
It was Farid’s empathy for Rohi that he developed a special love for overcast skies and rains.
Prof Christopher Shackle writes: “It is impossible to describe properly in speech or writing the extent of the love which the Khawaja had for clouds, rain, lightning, and the sound of thunder, or of his knowledge of the various types of clouds.”
Shah Latif loved cloud patterns and rains. He knew from where clouds came and where they visit, where it is overcast and where it rains.
He portrays Malir after the rains in the following verse:

My folks smile,
spring rain falls,
All their worries are over,
Strong grow calves,
Soft wool of sheep they shear,
Umar! Maru whom,
sitting beside their spouses,
wool weave,
In Thar even the lambs have given their back’s shawls,
While starching shawls women cry
“We need Marvi in Malir.”

Shah Latif and Khawaja Farid have promoted Malir as an ideal place to live in.
Both are very appreciative of the Maru people (desert-dwellers) who live in Malir or Rohi and their simple lifestyle.
Though they do not have sufficient means but they live by their traditions.
In the words of Shah Latif they “do not change their love for glittering gold.”
Marvi of Malir in the palace of Umer Soomro felt as she was a prisoner. Remembering her pasture land...she says

In deserts they dig wells to water their goats and sheep
At dawn women draw water from wells
Pouring water in buckets, they raise shouts of glee
Every day I feel anew my folks’ separation pangs

Those from Malir must strive for freedom and break the chains of servitude.
As incarcerated Marvi says: “I will preserve my virtue and will not remain in the fort.”
Shah Latif makes Marvi say:

Longing for my native land, if I die,
Make my grave beside my folks, oh Soomra!
Let me be placed near climbers fragrant,
Though dead, I will live if my body is sent to Malir.

-Verses translated by Prof Amena Khamisani

manzoorchandio@hotmail.com