Village Journals
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Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Today 262 yearly Urs of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai...
Sufi is made one with all, Like breath in veins, What he achieves he discloses not, To dislose is a sin, by this he abides.?
??.Bhitai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai was born sometime around 1689 A.D. (1102 A.H.) at a small village called Bhainpur near Khatian. More properly, his birthplace was Hala Haveli (a cluster of houses to the Southeast of Bhainpur, not very far from it), of Taluka Hala in Hyderabad district of Sindh. He died, at the age of sixty three, on 14th Safar 1165 Hijra, that is, 1752 A.D. To commemorate his memory, every year, on 14th Safar of the Hijri Calendar, an Urs - a fete, a fair - is held at Bhitshah, where he lived the last years of his life and where his elaborate and elegant mausoleum stands. The vary nature of that creative insight of sufism within Bhitai resulted in intense feelings and deep contemplation that provided him with momentary glimpses to fathom the Divine essence and the reality of things.
"Foremost, Omniscent and Supreme, is world's Lord,
Of His own might in existence since aeons old,
Mighty Creator, Merciful, Sustainer, one and only,
His praises sing, He planned and perfected the universe."
...........Shah Bhitai
Who is man? What is his origin? Where did he come from? Where is he bound? Who has Created him? What is the relationship between the Creator and the created? These are some of the burning questions that perpetually, systemetically and methodically troubled, haunted and fascinated Bhitai. He wanted answers to these questions. The more he probed the more he unravelled the mysteries of man's existence and his relationship with his Creator. In the relentless search of truth, Bhitai was seized by an intense longing for a direct approach to his Creator. His soul was constantly thirsting for the Divine and all things Divine. This lead him to the path traversed by mystics. His quest for eternal truth became his primary concern. He found God in everything - believing that "All that is, is God," rest is all illusion and deception. Bhitai was a saint and a mystic - a sufi. Guided by deep feeling and contemplation, through a process which has been termed as the "flight of the alone to the Alone", sufis have been able to arrive at certain truths of the spiritual life. We shall make an attempt here...click to discuss the vary nature of that creative insight of sufism within Bhitai, which resulted in intense feelings and deep contemplation that provided him with momentary glimpses to fathom the Divine essence and the reality of things.
"Sufi is not limited by religious bounds,
He discloses not the war he wages in his mind,
Helps and assists those who with him fight."
..........Bhitai
Towards the end of his life, the poet yearned for a pilgrimage to Karbala (the site of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammed who refused to submit to the tyranny and injustice of the Arab ruler). He proceeded to Wang Willaser a port in Kutch to board a boat for the journey. A little ways from the port, a pious man greeted him and submitted: "O, Revered One! You have always been telling people that the Bhit will be your burial place!" Latif immediately understood the import of the query and returned to Bhit.
There he donned black garments and went into seclusion for 20 days. During this time he occassionaly ate a few morsels or sips of water. He began to sing what would be his final composition (Sur Kedaro) - a sombre ballad commemorating the martydom which serves as a reminder that tyranny must be resisted and that the life of the spirit is beyond the life of the flesh (it was traditional for others to record Latif's compositions). On the twenty-first day, he came out and took a bath. It is said that the vaii "kahirre manjhi hisaaba.." ("On what count am I here..) from Sur Suhinii was on his lips.
Latif asked the fakirs at Bhit to play music and sing songs, and he threw a sheet over himself as he sat in contemplation. "For three consecutive days, his Faqirs engaged themselves in song and music. When they stopped they discovered that Shah's soul had, without anyone's knowledge, flown to the Abode of Eternal Bliss. He left the earthly planet on " - Kalyan Advani.
A splendid tomb, with a huge dome, was built by the most famous architect and artist of the time Idan and completed within 3 years. It is intricately decorated with Sindhi craftsmanship. Since the time, millions of people of all walks of life, creeds and castes, have made a pilgrimage to pay homage each year to the poet-saint who represents the soul of Sindh. A small museum nearby contains all the worldly material possessions Latif left behind: a patched, tattered tunic, a quilt, a begging bowl.
"Sun sets, Sasui weeps tears of blood,
No messenger, no traveller from whom to ask of that place,
Confused she remains, but does not think of going back."
..............Bhitai
??.Bhitai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai was born sometime around 1689 A.D. (1102 A.H.) at a small village called Bhainpur near Khatian. More properly, his birthplace was Hala Haveli (a cluster of houses to the Southeast of Bhainpur, not very far from it), of Taluka Hala in Hyderabad district of Sindh. He died, at the age of sixty three, on 14th Safar 1165 Hijra, that is, 1752 A.D. To commemorate his memory, every year, on 14th Safar of the Hijri Calendar, an Urs - a fete, a fair - is held at Bhitshah, where he lived the last years of his life and where his elaborate and elegant mausoleum stands. The vary nature of that creative insight of sufism within Bhitai resulted in intense feelings and deep contemplation that provided him with momentary glimpses to fathom the Divine essence and the reality of things.
"Foremost, Omniscent and Supreme, is world's Lord,
Of His own might in existence since aeons old,
Mighty Creator, Merciful, Sustainer, one and only,
His praises sing, He planned and perfected the universe."
...........Shah Bhitai
Who is man? What is his origin? Where did he come from? Where is he bound? Who has Created him? What is the relationship between the Creator and the created? These are some of the burning questions that perpetually, systemetically and methodically troubled, haunted and fascinated Bhitai. He wanted answers to these questions. The more he probed the more he unravelled the mysteries of man's existence and his relationship with his Creator. In the relentless search of truth, Bhitai was seized by an intense longing for a direct approach to his Creator. His soul was constantly thirsting for the Divine and all things Divine. This lead him to the path traversed by mystics. His quest for eternal truth became his primary concern. He found God in everything - believing that "All that is, is God," rest is all illusion and deception. Bhitai was a saint and a mystic - a sufi. Guided by deep feeling and contemplation, through a process which has been termed as the "flight of the alone to the Alone", sufis have been able to arrive at certain truths of the spiritual life. We shall make an attempt here...click to discuss the vary nature of that creative insight of sufism within Bhitai, which resulted in intense feelings and deep contemplation that provided him with momentary glimpses to fathom the Divine essence and the reality of things.
"Sufi is not limited by religious bounds,
He discloses not the war he wages in his mind,
Helps and assists those who with him fight."
..........Bhitai
Towards the end of his life, the poet yearned for a pilgrimage to Karbala (the site of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammed who refused to submit to the tyranny and injustice of the Arab ruler). He proceeded to Wang Willaser a port in Kutch to board a boat for the journey. A little ways from the port, a pious man greeted him and submitted: "O, Revered One! You have always been telling people that the Bhit will be your burial place!" Latif immediately understood the import of the query and returned to Bhit.
There he donned black garments and went into seclusion for 20 days. During this time he occassionaly ate a few morsels or sips of water. He began to sing what would be his final composition (Sur Kedaro) - a sombre ballad commemorating the martydom which serves as a reminder that tyranny must be resisted and that the life of the spirit is beyond the life of the flesh (it was traditional for others to record Latif's compositions). On the twenty-first day, he came out and took a bath. It is said that the vaii "kahirre manjhi hisaaba.." ("On what count am I here..) from Sur Suhinii was on his lips.
Latif asked the fakirs at Bhit to play music and sing songs, and he threw a sheet over himself as he sat in contemplation. "For three consecutive days, his Faqirs engaged themselves in song and music. When they stopped they discovered that Shah's soul had, without anyone's knowledge, flown to the Abode of Eternal Bliss. He left the earthly planet on " - Kalyan Advani.
A splendid tomb, with a huge dome, was built by the most famous architect and artist of the time Idan and completed within 3 years. It is intricately decorated with Sindhi craftsmanship. Since the time, millions of people of all walks of life, creeds and castes, have made a pilgrimage to pay homage each year to the poet-saint who represents the soul of Sindh. A small museum nearby contains all the worldly material possessions Latif left behind: a patched, tattered tunic, a quilt, a begging bowl.
"Sun sets, Sasui weeps tears of blood,
No messenger, no traveller from whom to ask of that place,
Confused she remains, but does not think of going back."
..............Bhitai