The soil of Punjab has produced intellectual giants over the centuries.
One of the great iconoclastic figures was Bulleh Shah (1618-1758). He had a remarkable view of the world in that he attacked cant, hypocrisy and superstition. For him the substance of faith was far more significant than religious ritual.
People advise Bulleh,
‘Go and sit in the mosque.’
He asks, ‘What happens by going to the mosque,
If the prayer does not come from the heart?
What use are external washings of the person,
If the filth in the heart is not removed?’
He attacked pomp, display and did not spare the clergy. Even today his poetry continues to resonate and inspire millions in the Punjab and elsewhere in the world. He was a classic example of simple living and high thinking.
Warris Shah was another major personality who died in 1798. He is buried in Jandiala Sher Khan in district Sheikhupura, which is 90 minutes away from Lahore. Warris Shah composed the legendary romantic epic ‘Heer’ at Pakpattan. Even today minstrels sing his poetry with poignancy as an ode to the sufferings of separated lovers. The sense of loss, loneliness plus pain and suffering caused by the pang of separation and waiting rarely has been captured so deeply as in the poetry of Warris Shah.
An hour’s drive away from Lahore is Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the founder of Sikhism. Baba Nanak was a saintly person who was deeply influenced by Sufism. His entire life was a selfless journey toward learning, growth and spiritual fulfillment. His quest for knowledge took him to Baghdad and even to the holy city of Mecca. It is said that in Mecca he was admonished for having his feet pointed in the direction of qibla. Baba Nanak’s response: then point my feet in the direction where Rab does not exist. Baba Nanak’s message, teachings on love compassion and humanism continue to live on. The Sikh holy book ‘Granth Sahib’ contains many saloks of the mighty Sufi saint Baba Farid of Pakpattan, which was originally known as Ayodhan.
Most importantly, all of these great men believed in Ilm and Teqva (knowledge and piety). Their austere life style was a living testament to the rejection of the ‘gods of power’: ‘paisa’, ‘privilege’, ‘metleb’ and ‘daulet’. No one today remembers the affluent persons who lived during the era of these giants. But the legacy of these holy men continues to live on and inspire many.
It proves that those who dare are the dervish.
