Hazrat Sultan Bahu � Poetry Kalam, Abiat

PAGE NO. 21
 

Dal

Roman English of Kalam-e-Bahu

Dardmandaan de dhooen dhukhde, Dardaa koee na seke hoo

Ehnaan dhooiaan de taa tikhere, Maihram hoe taan seke hoo

Chhik shamsheer kharhaa hai sir te, Taras pavas taan theke hoo

Sauhre kurhee-e apne vanjanaa, Sadaa na raihanaa peke hoo

English translation of Kalam-e-Bahu

The hearts of lovers burn in the fire of longing- No one dare sit by its searing flames!

This fire is sorching- Only someone who knows the heart�s inner secrets Will warm himself by it.

Death stands over your head, with his sword drawn- May the Master take pity and sheathe death�s blade!*

Every bride must eventually go to her bridegroom�s home- She cannot stay forever in her parents� house.*

• Only a Master, through his grace, can sheathe the sword of death and bestow immortality.

• In India, the bride traditionally moves into the bridegroom�s home on the wedding day. In Bahu�s metaphor, the soul is the bride which must, on her wedding day, accompany death (the bridegroom) from this world, which she has wrongly come to consider as her own home.

Roman English of Kalam-e-Bahu

Dardmandaan daa khoon jo peendaa, Birhon baaz marelaa hoo

Chhaatee de wich keetos deraa, Sher baithaa mal belaa hoo

Haathee mast sandhooree caangoon, Kardaa pelaa pelaa hoo

Pele daa visvaas na keeje, Pele baajh na melaa hoo

English translation of Kalam-e-Bahu

The pain of separation is a deadly hawk: It preys on lovers, it drinks their blood.

Like a lion ruling the forest This hawk has made my heart its own domain.

Like an enraged rogue elephant, It raises its trunk, it trumpets and it charges.

But do not fear the thrusts of this pain, O Bahu! Without union with the Beloved is not possible.

Roman English of Kalam-e-Bahu

Deen te duneeaa sakkeeaan bhainaan, Aqal naheen samjhendaa hoo

Doven ikk nikaah wich aavan, Sharaa naheen farmendaa hoo

Jiven agg te paanee thaan ik, Vaasaa naheen karendaa hoo

Doheen jahaaneen mutthaa, jehrhaa Daavaa koorh karendaa hoo

English translation of Kalam-e-Bahu

Spiritual and worldy life are twin sisters, So alike that not even the best of minds Can tell them apart.

Not only are they mutually antagonistic, They are also wedded to the same individual.

But it is against the law of religion To be married to them both at the same time- Which is no less odd Than trying to hold fire and water together!

One who claims to espouse both God and mammon Will be condemned in this world and the next.

Roman English of Kalam-e-Bahu

Duneeaa ghar munaafiq de, Yaa ghar kaafir de sohndee hoo

Naqsh nigaar kare bahutere, Zan khoobaan sabh mohndee hoo

Bijlee vaang kare lishkaare, Sir de utton jhondee hoo

Hazrat Eesaa dee sil caangoon, Vaindiaan raah kuhendee hoo

English translation of Kalam-e-Bahu

This world-the great seductress- Best suits the home of an infidel or an athiest.

She adorns herself with cunning And uses her coquettish charm to entice one and all.

She swings her body with the speed of lightening; She wraps her lustful arms around people.

She kills those who woo her, Like the golden brick that destroyed its claimants-* But she belongs to no one.

• The golden brick refers to a story handed down from the times of Jesus: Three men travelling through the forest found a brick of gold. They were filled with joy and decided to distribute the brick among themselves in equal parts. After travelling some distance they stopped to rest for the night. One of them was sent to bring some food from a nearby market. He decided to kill the other two and put poison in their food so he would be the sole owner of the golden brick. Meanwhile, the other two conspired to kill the man who had gone to get food and to divide the brick in two equal parts. When the man with the food came, the other two killed him. And when the two ate the food, they died of the poison in it. Thus they killed one another for the gold that, in the end, belonged to no one.