Shahidain has sent this lovely translation of Bulleh Shah’s verse.
moonh aaee baat na rehndee ey
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.
If I tell a lie, something is left out;
If I speak out the truth, there is a blaze.
My mind fears both the alternatives;
But haltingly my tongue speaks out.
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.
Whosoever found the secret from the mystic,
He searched for the path within himself.
He is a blissful dweller of that temple,
Which knows neither rise nor fall.
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.
Respect and regard to all is essential,
But I know the inner reality of all.
In everyone there dwells the form of the Lord.
In some it is manifest, in some it is latent.
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.
Here, in this world, darkness prevails.
This world is a slippery courtyard.
Enter within and see who is there.
In vain do the foolish seek Him without.
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.
Here the world has been made manifest.
It has a strange secret of its own.
From a single Form a flash bursts forth,
Even as a spark ignites gunpowder.
Word that come on my tongue cannot be held back.
O Bulleh the Lord is not apart from us
Other than the lord none does exist
Alas! we do not have the seeing eye
That’s why life is a tale of suffering
Words that come on my tongue cannot be held back.
(Translation by J R Puri)
