Real Naanak/Can prove dangerous to us

My friend Jasdeep Singh has shared his translation of a Punjabi poem Naanak by Jaswant Singh Zafar. I like the way poet brings out…

A poem of love and longing by Parveen Shakir

I rediscovered this exquisite poem by Parveen Shakir after years. This is an intense love poem of rare beauty. It is composite, taut and…

Unveiling the mysteries – Bulleh Shah

Bulleh Shah discloses that the Lord pervades in everyone. He is not only to be found in Mansur, but also his executioner, as also…

Ready To Drink Every Flame

Rocking and rolling what have you been drinking please let me know you must be drunk going house to house wandering from street to…

I will inflame the fiery Sun…..Bulleh Shah

In Punjabi followed by a not-so-great translation…. Tooney kaaman kar ke ni maeN peyaara yaar manaavaaN gee Es tooney nu parh phookaaN gee, suraj…

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai

My prince will protect me- therefore I trust in God The beloved will prostrate, will lament and cry- Therefore I trust in God. Mohammed…

Bulleh Shah – 3 poems of love and abandon

Bulleh Shah of Kasur in Central Punjab is another towering voice that provided a mystical message beyond caste, institutionalized religion and ideologies of power.…

A stove is better than Bulleh

Main NeevaaN Mera Murshid Uccha Main UcchiyaaN naal sang laayee I am lowly my spiritual guide is lofty! I have tied my fate to…

Bulleh Shah and Nukta – In a dot the whole mystery is solved

Nukta is difficult to decipher -My personal interpretation has to do with the nukta of Being – like the letter Alif that is Single…

Bulleh’s virtuous thoughts-

Shahidain has sent these couplets Main NeevaaN Mera Murshid Uccha Main UcchiyaaN naal sang laayee I am lowly my spiritual guide is lofty! I…

My Beloved Ranjha is Mecca

For Bulleh Shah every symbol of living – spiritual and temporal -is Ranjha, the beloved! The text and translation have been contributed by Shahidain…

Bulleh Shah on worldly knowledge

PaRh paRh ilm hazaar kitaabaN qaddi apnay aap nou paRhiya naee jaaN jaaN waRhday mandir maseedi qaddi mann apnay wich waRhiya naee aa-vaiN laRda…

Two poems from Spain

A Spanish friend with Sufi leanings, Ignacio de Miguel D’az, has sent two of his poems that are true from his heart and I…

Poetry

A Strange Problem? by Kunwar Narain Adieu Naguib Mahfouz Blake Golden Sufi Hafiz-e Shirazi Omar Khayyam Poet Seers Poet Seers Rumi Poet of the…

Sufism and Sufi Poetry

Abdal Qadir Jillani Al Ghazali Amir Khusrau Website Annemarie Schimmel Golden Sufi Hafiz-e Shirazi Huzoor Khawaja Gharibnawaz Intl Association of Sufism Islahijamaat Islam Understood…

Water by Sepehri

I am posting this serene poem by Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980), a famous contemporary Iranian poet and painter. Water We shouldn’t muddy the water. A…

main Khayaal huuN kisii aur kaa,

  main Khayaal huuN kisii aur kaa, mujhe sochataa koii aur hai sareaaiinaa meraa aks hai, paseaaiinaa koii aur hai main kisii ke dastetalab…

Ghalib’s grave – treasury of meanings is under the ground

The inscription on Ghalib’s tomb-stone in Arabic and Persian followed by translation: a hai’yii ya qaiyuum rashk-e-‘Urfi va faKhr-e-Talib murd Asadullah Khan Ghalib murd…

جنگ کسی مسئلے کا حل نہیں، فیض کی نظم ’سپاہی کا مرثیہ‘ سنیے

جنگ کسی مسئلے کا حل نہیں۔ جنگ کا اختتام کسی کی فتح اور کسی کی شکست پر نہیں ہوتا۔ جس وقت ایک حکمران فتح…

Two poems on justice – from Sri Lanka

Herat Hami A poem by Wimalaratne Kumaragame (a translation) Herat Hami who lived in Aliya Watunu Wawe*1 Even someone like me was more important…