Ashok Ogra
“Shiv chhuy thali thali rozan,
Mo zan hind te musalman,
Truk ay chhuk pan panun parzanav,
Soyi chhuy sahibas sati zaniy zaan.”
“God is everywhere-whether in the mosque or temple.
Do not differentiate between Hindu and Muslim.
If you are wise, recognize yourself as one with God,
For He resides within you as your true essence.”
In this verse, the renowned Kashmiri poetess Lal Ded (Lalleshwari) expresses her profound spiritual realization of God’s omnipresence, unconfined by religious labels-thereby transcending sectarian divisions. Although she lived within a predominantly Shaivite Hindu culture, Lal Ded was also influenced by Sufism. Her poetry represents a unique blend of Kashmiri Shaivism and Sufi mysticism.
If Rumi’s poetry centers on ishq (divine love), filled with metaphors of the soul’s journey toward enlightenment, and Kabir’s couplets (dohas) reject religious orthodoxy in favor of personal devotion, Baba Farid’s work emphasizes love, humility, and the quest for the divine.
In contrast, Lal Ded’s poetry is more introspective and deeply rooted in her Kashmiri Shaiva-Sufi context. She advocates for self-awareness as the path to divine union, urging introspection as the key to liberation:
“I, Lalla, set out searching for the ‘Self,’
But I found the ‘Self’ was nowhere outside,
Where shall I go to seek it,
And what shall I do in my quest?”
During the 14th century, in the valleys of Kashmir, Lal Ded defied societal norms, walking barefoot in rejection of the world. She renounced her family, her identity, and broke free from the chains of convention. Armed only with her words, she challenged everyone-from kings and priests to the common man entrapped in ignorance. Lal Ded was a woman whose flame of rebellion and spiritual wisdom burned too brightly to be extinguished by time.
Originally expressed in Kashmiri, her verses (known as Vaaks in Kashmiri) were transliterated into Hindi by the distinguished poet, author, and scholar, Dr. Agni Shekhar, in the book Main Lal-Ded. The challenging task of translating these from Hindi to English in the publication Thus Spake Lal-Ded was taken up by the esteemed writer, Chandra Kanta. This anthology captures the life, struggles, and poetic contributions of Lal Ded, a revered saint-poet of Kashmiri literature.
Dr. Agni Shekhar’s work spans literary, spiritual, and philosophical dimensions. He aptly notes that “few people know that Lal Ded was not only a forerunner of India’s linguistic renaissance but also a rebel voice and a foundational figure of the Bhakti movement.”
Believed to have been born around 1320 CE, Lal Ded predated Kabir by nearly a century. Her Vaaks are timeless expressions of deep spirituality and sharp social criticism, addressing injustice, cruelty, and suffering. Lal Ded transcends time, caste, gender, and creed, giving voice to supreme consciousness. Her verses remain relevant today, offering profound layers of interpretation.
In the poem Sharika-Parvat Chakreshwari, she evokes the mysticism of place and the contemplative passage of time in the sacred city of Srinagar. The description of Amavasya (a moonless night) descending over the city reflects the merging of earthly and divine realms:
“The setting sun,
The darkest evening of Amavasya,
Descending on the city of Srinagar…
The dense surroundings of
Shri-Chakra-Shila in vermilion,
The tired travelers, seemingly awake,
Will take to slumber in their homes!
The temple of Sureshwari in Dal Lake’s waters,
The Mount of Shankaracharya,
The murmuring valleys,
All will merge into Shoonya…”
In An Early Morning Dream, the speaker encounters a Guru, evoking a sense of tranquility through the serene imagery of the Guru as an “ascetic in white” seated beneath a Chinar tree, symbolizing wisdom and peace:
“In a wish-fulfilling dream,
My Guru, Siddha Shree-Kanth,
My holy Siddhamol…
‘Tell me, Master,
Why do sufferings have no wings?’
Eyes aslant, I asked,
‘Why did my inner call
Take so long to beseech you?’”
Dr. Chandra Kanta masterfully acknowledges Lal Ded’s unique voice, which-despite being rooted in a particular historical and cultural setting-transcends time, speaking universally about themes such as exile, spiritual yearning, and social injustice. Lal Ded once reflected on her fierce individuality:
“I did not mix with others, nor did I follow the crowd;
I chose the lonely path of truth.”
Her rejection of societal norms in favor of a solitary spiritual quest resonates deeply with readers today.
Interestingly, Lal Ded composed in her native Kashmiri instead of Sanskrit, making her a revolutionary precursor to later poets like Kabir. Sufi poetry, like Lal Ded’s, uses spiritual and mystical verse to express themes of divine love, unity with God, and the pursuit of inner truth. These works often employ earthly love as a metaphor for the soul’s longing to reunite with the divine.
The transition from worldly noise to spiritual silence is captured beautifully in her poem Silence to Deeper Silence:
“Beyond the web of words
Lies my home,
Wordless,
Soundless!
In times immemorial,
God Prajapati invoked
Goddess Vagishwari
To fill the realms of silence
With the melody of the Veena…”
Hundreds of Lal Ded’s Vaaks are regarded as mystic musings and form a cornerstone of Kashmiri literature, passed down through folk traditions. In Thus Spake Lal-Ded, Dr. Agni Shekhar categorizes the Vaaks into chapters like Sufferance, Wayfaring, Passage, Resurrection, Empathy, Threads, Merger, and Inscription, revealing Lal Ded’s affinity with Shaivism, Vedanta, and the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita.
Motherhood holds a prominent place in her verses, as seen in the poem Unstoppable, where Lal Ded captures the grief of losing a mother:
“This barrage of tears,
The cracks are bound to come for everything.
I miss you, Mother…
In a woman’s muteness
Lie the remains of ruins
Trampled underfoot.
In her fortitude
Our dreams are nestled-
Nurtured in them,
We and our universe.
You told me, Mother,
‘A mother is a mother,
Pervasive in every mother.’
But why can’t I see you here?”
In This Sunset Beyond Recital, Lal Ded meditates on cosmic and spiritual transformation:
“As if watching for one last time,
The lustre of the sky,
Pervading all around…
From orange skies, I saw
As if an earthy-golden saucer
Descended upon my head
Like a head-cover…
The Mother Earth too
Transformed into
An earthen-silvery saucer…
In between these,
I, Lalla,
Like a snow lingam of Amareshwar,
Waning,
Slowly,
Steadily,
Silently…”
This poem gracefully blends imagery of cosmic and spiritual cycles, as Lalla’s dissolution into the universe mirrors nature’s rhythms, capturing both serenity and inevitability.
The transcendental nature of “Oum” is powerfully illustrated in another poem:
“This eternal sound… Oum…
Is where you came from;
It has no caste,
No clan,
No form.
Oum… only a replica
Of Naad-Bindu-
The primordial sound!”
In Dr. Agni Shekhar’s hands, Thus Spake Lal-Ded becomes a timeless masterpiece, engaging readers in philosophical and spiritual dimensions of life. The anthology not only preserves Lal Ded’s legacy but also elevates one’s awareness of knowing and being. Her teachings continue to inspire, as reflected in the verse:
“Neither Lal Ded,
Nor her saga,
Nor her Vaaks,
Ever turned old or forgotten…
Sniggering at us,
We pray for her pity!
No way to meet her in her gaze…
She, a mother,
Keeps us blessed
Under her blessed hand…”
Dr. Agni Shekhar’s book resonates profoundly with contemporary readers, as Lal Ded’s message of spiritual insight, rebellion against orthodoxy, and transcendence of worldly division’s remains as relevant today as it was centuries ago.
“Do not think of me as dead, though my body’s laid to rest;
I live on through my songs…”
This reflects the immortality of creative expression, as it suggests that true life continues in the spirit, beyond physical death.
Do buy this book to engage with Kashmiri Shaivism and mysticism associated with Sufism, and experience love, self-purification and spiritual union?
(The author works for reputed Apeejay Education, New Delhi)
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