Hakim Sanai

Hakim Sanai Hakim Sanai is considered to be the earliest Afghan teacher to use the love-motif in Sufism.

 Hakim Sanai was one of the famous and great classical Sufi authors of the eleventh century. Very little is known so far about the life and works of this great philosopher and there is also confusion about the exact timeline of Hakim Sanai`s living. However, though not supported by all, many scholars say that Hakim Sanai lived between the years of 1044-1150. Hakim Sanai was born in the province of Ghazna in southern Afghanistan and hence, he was also popularly known as Sanai of Ghazna. One of the earlier Sufi philosophers, Sanai influenced a number of other Sufi philosophers in the following centuries. Jalaludin Rumi was one of those, influenced by Sanai and he acknowledged both Sanai and Attar as his two primary inspirations.

Hakim Sanai was actually a court poet and he was also engaged in writing praises for the Sultan of Ghazna. However, Hakim Sanai left his job as the court poet at a young age and started to study and know about Sufism from a Sufi master named Yusef Hamdani. He also went on pilgrimage to the holy place of Mecca and after returning from the pilgrimage, he composed one of his best works, named "Hadiqatu`l Haqiqat" or "The Walled Garden of Truth". Hakim Sanai is considered as the earliest Afghan teacher, who used the love-motif in Sufism. Sanai has composed his popular work, "The Walled Garden of Truth" in such a way that gives several readings for many passages. The book contains 10,000 couplets in 10 sections and describes Ha
kim Sanai`s ideas on God, love, philosophy and reason.

The walled Garden of Truth

We tried reasoning
our way to Him:
it did not work;
but the moment we gave up,
no obstacle remained.
 
He introduced himself to us
out of kindness: how else
could we have known him?
Reason took us as far as the door;
but it was his presence that let us in.My friend, everything existing

exists through him;
your own existence is a mere pretense.

My friend, everything existing
exists through him;
your own existence is a mere pretense.

"The Walled Garden of Truth" earned popularity among the people during Hakim Sanai`s time and even after 900 years the book is still popular even today. The book has also been constantly employed as a classic and Sufi textbook during these years. Sanai followed the path of poetry for spreading his knowledge and message among the common people. According to him, lust and greed and emotional excitement, always stood between humankind and divine knowledge that was the only true reality (Haqq). He said that Love (Ishq) and a social conscience are the foundation of religion. He felt that the mankind is asleep and living in what is in fact a desolate world. About common religion, Sanai said that it is only habit and ritual. 

A Ruby there is just a piece of stone:
and spiritual excellence the height of folly.
Silence is praise - have done with speech;
your chatter will only bring you harm and sorrow -
have done!
   
The dumb find tongues,
when the scent of life reaches them
from his soul

Hakim Sanai had a great influence on the Persian literature through his brilliant poetry and he is considered to be the first poet to use verse forms as the qasidah (ode). He also used the verse forms as the ghazal (lyric) and the masnavi (rhymed couplet) for expressing the philosophical, mystical, and ethical ideas of Sufism. The Dervish Songs of Hakim Sanai nicely represents the lyrical presentation of Sufi experience. Talking about the progress of human being, Hakim Sanai said that the human`s progress is that of one who has been given a sealed book, written before he was born. Sanai said that the person always carries it inside himself until he `dies`. Sanai further said that man does not know the contents of that sealed book, as he is subject to the movement of Time. Hakim Sanai felt that what appears to be truth is in fact a worldly distortion of objective truth. He said that the essence of truth is far superior to the terminology of `How?` or `Why?` Sanai told his disciples that the man usually does not notice the fact that he is like an infant in the hands of a nurse. Sometimes he feels happy, sometimes sad, according to what happens to him. Hakim Sanai further asked his disciples and the common people to not to speak of their heartache and the God is speaking. Sanai suggested people not to seek God, as He is seeking. He further said that the God has actually shown everyone, the Path of the Teaching. 

 
But how will you ever know him,
as long as you are unable
to know yourself?

Once one is one,
no more, no less:
error begins with duality;
unity knows no error.

Honey without wax  

Knowing what you know,
be serene also, like the mountain;
and do not be distressed by misfortune.
Knowledge without serenity is an unlit candle;
together they are honey-comb;
honey without wax is a noble thing;
wax without honey is only fit for burning.

Heap of dust

Leave this abode
of birth and decay;
leave this pit,
and make for your destined home.
This heap of dust is mirage,
where fire seems like water.

The lover unites

The pure man unites
two in one;
the lover unites
three in one.

  He is no tyrant

He is the provider
of both faith and worldly goods;
he is none other
than the disposer of our lives.
 
He is no tyrant:
for everything he takes,
he gives back seventy-fold;

Hakim Sana’i was one of the most significant poets in the history of Islamic mysticism. The proper name of Sana’i of Ghazni was Abul Majd bin Majdud bin Adam. Sana’i was born in the province of Ghazni in southern Afghanistan. He was one of the three great mystical mathnavi writers of Persia, the second being Shaikh Faridu'd-Din 'Attar and the third jalalu'd-Din Rumi, who write; “Attar is the soul and Sana’i its two eyes, I came after Sana’i and 'Attar.”

Sana’i was the court poet of Bahram Shah, according to sources, and spent many years praising the king and his court but few years later he became more devoted to God and abruptly left the court of the king.

Bahram Shah was planning to lead an expedition to India, Sana’i wrote a verse and took read it to the palace at the presence the King. On the way to the palace he heard a drunkard ordering the Saqi (the, Cup bearer) to serve him wine, which he would drink for the King's stupidity. The cupbearer said, "Don't talk nonsense, Bahrarn Shah is not stupid, he is wise and just." The drunkard retorted, "His expedition to Ghazni has not yet come to an end; he is planning to lead an expedition to India. What else can be more foolish than this?"

After finishing one jaam of wine he asked for another saying he would drink the second to Sana’i's foolishness. The cupbearer said, "Why do you call Sana’i foolish? He is a good natured poet with lofty ideas." The boozer answered, "He writes in praise of unworthy persons, goes to them and with folded hands recites what he has written for worldly gains. Is he not a fool? What will he say to God, on the day of the Reckoning when He (God) asks him, 'what have you brought for me? "

The words of the drunkard opened Sana’i's eyes; he left the king's service, gave up writing panegyrics and retired into seclusion.

Sana’i wrote his most famous mathnawi Hadiqat-ul-Haqaiq ("Garden of Truth") at a very old age and died soon after its completion in A.D. 1131.

A brief interlude ...

(The tales of Nasrudin are sometimes adapted and used as teaching stories by followers of the Sufi way. Iranian mystic traditions use jokes, stories and poetry to express certain teaching. We shall proceed further with Tales of Nasruddin just as we enjoy Hakim Sanai’s poems.

Who Am I?

Mullah Nasrudin was going into a large inn to sleep for the night. There were many beds all in one room. The thought occurred to Nasrudin that in the dark he would not know who he was, so he tied a balloon to his ankle. While Nasrudin was sleeping, the man in the next bed decided to play a joke. He untied Nasrudin's balloon and tied it on his own ankle. When Nasrudin woke up, he looked at the man next to him. Then he reached out to shake hands and said, "Ah, I know who you are. You are Mullah Nasrudin, but please, tell me who I am." )

Look on it as good

For the wise man
evil and good
are both exceeding good.
No evil ever comes from God;
whenever you think to see
evil proceeding from him,
you were better to look on it
as good.
I'm afraid that on the way of faith,
you are like a squinter seeing double,
or a fool quarreling with the shape of a camel.
If he gives you poison, deem it honey;
and if he shows you anger, deem it mercy.

Everything exists through him

My friend, everything existing
exists through him;
your own existence is a mere pretense.
No more nonsense! Lose yourself,
and the hell of your heart becomes a heaven.
Lose yourself, and anything can be accomplished.
Your selfishness is an untrained colt.
  

 

Not much is known about Hakim Sanai, often just called Sanai or Sanai of Ghazna. Sanai is one of the earlier Sufi poets. He was born in the province of Ghazna in southern Afghanistan in the middle of the 11th century and probably died around 1150. Rumi acknowledged Sanai and Attar as his two primary inspirations, saying, "Attar is the soul and Sanai its two eyes, I came after Sanai and Attar." Sanai was originally a court poet who was engaged in writing praises for the Sultan of Ghazna. The story is told of how the Sultan decided to lead a military attack against neighboring India and Sanai, as a court poet, was summoned to join the expedition to record the Sultan's exploits. As Sanai was making his way to the court, he passed an enclosed garden frequented by a notorious drunk named Lai Khur. As Sanai was passing by, he heard Lai Khur loudly proclaim a toast to the blindness of the Sultan for greedily choosing to attack India, when there was so much beauty in Ghazna. Sanai was shocked and stopped. Lai Khur then proposed a toast to the blindness of the famous young poet Sanai who, with his gifts of insight and expression, couldn't see the pointlessness of his existence as a poet praising such a foolish Sultan. These words were like an earthquake to Hakim Sanai, because he knew they were true. He abandoned his life as a pampered court poet, even declining marriage to the Sultan's own sister, and began to study with a Sufi master named Yusef Hamdani. Sanai soon went on pilgrimage to Mecca. When he returned, he composed his poetic masterpiece, Poems by Hakim Sanai

Sana’i wrote his most famous mathnawi Hadiqat-ul-Haqaiq ("Garden of Truth") at a very old age and died soon after its completion in A.D. 1131. He uttered the following words at the time of death:

“I returned to what I had said previously because there is no word in meaning -nor words in meaning.”

Hakim Sana’i is the first writer to introduce "Tasawwuf" (mysticism) in poetry. Before him Abu Saeed Abul Khyr wrote several quatrains (A stanza of four lines rhyming alternately) in Sufi style but Sana’i's verses were completely covered in Tasawwuf. He writes in Hadiqa: 

No one in the world wrote verses (of Tasawwuf) like myself; if anyone has written tell him to come and recite. In the world if there are verses like this (even if it is one in thousand) they are mine. No one can write like me banning the Quran and Hadith(the Traditions).

I have given up Tasawwuf half finished, hear it complete (in full) from Hakim of Ghazna i.e. Sana’i. Sana’i was also the first to lay the foundation of ethical poetry, and laid down rules for it. He introduces ethics in an uncommon manner, which produces great impression on reader's mind.

People, as a rule, obey doctor or physician's orders but they circumvent religious instructions. Sana’i saw that in his time the physicians in Iran were mostly Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians. He also saw that what these physicians generally told their patients to abstain from were lawful things like sweets etc., while Shara tells people to abstain from harmful and unlawful things. He writes:

 “God forbids you to drink wine and a Christian (physician) forbids you to eat sweets. You give up sweets for the sake of your body, at your doctor's command although eating sweets is lawful, but you do not give up drinks which you yourself consider unlawful and which God forbids you to drink.” 

This clearly proves that you consider a Christian's command above God's injunction. Everyone admits that death ends all troubles and tribulations of life. Hakim Sana’i thinks otherwise. He says:

“Behave with mankind in such a way that when you die you free yourself from the worries of the world; not in a way that when you die people may have to say "God has relieved us from a troublesome fellow."”

Against wine one can say that in a state of intoxication one loses his head, quarrels and starts abusing all and sundry. It can also be said that one becomes generous when drunk.

Hakim Sana’i presents the evils of drink in the following verses: “Wine is such an abominable substance that if one showers gifts in state of drunkenness that is attributed to liquor and not to one's generous nature.”

To prove people's judgment, their acceptance and rejection wrong, Sana’i says: “Let not people's judgment influence you. Tribe of Moses worshipped the 'golden calf' and Noah's tribe refused to accept him as a prophet. (They both were in the wrong.)”

All are seekers

At his door, what is the difference
between Moslem and Christian,
virtuous and guilty?
At his door all are seekers
and he the sought.

What is it to him

  And does the sun exist
for the cock to crow at?
What is it to him
whether you are there or not?
Many have come, just like you,
to his door.

  He sees you

If you know your own worth,
what need you care about
the acceptance or rejection of others?
 
Worship him as if you could see him with your physical eyes;
though you don't see him,

he sees you

(Hakim Sanai is unique, unique in the world of Sufism. No other Sufi has been able to reach to such heights of expression and such depths of penetration. Hakim Sanai has been able to do almost the impossible. …- Osho)

.

 Hakim Sanai was connected with the court of the Ghaznavid Bahram-shah who ruled from 1117 – to 1157. It is said that once when accompanying Bahram shah on a military expedition to India and Sanai , met the Sufi teacher Lai-khur. Sanai quit Bahramshah's service as a court poet even though he was promised wealth and the king's daughter in marriage if he remained.

He wrote an enormous quantity of mystical verse, of which The Walled Garden of Truth is his master work and the first Persian mystical epic of Sufism. Dedicated to Bahram Shah, the work expresses the poet's ideas on God, love, philosophy and reason.

For close to 900 years The Walled Garden of Truth has been consistently read as a classic and employed as a Sufi textbook. According to Major T. Stephenson: "Sanai’s fame has always rested on his Hadiqa; it is the best known and in the East by far the most esteemed of his works; it is in virtue of this work that he forms one of the great trio of Sufi teachers — Sanai, Attar, Jalaluddin Rumi." 

Sanai taught that lust, greed and emotional excitement stood between humankind and divine knowledge, which was the only true reality (Haqq). Love(Ishq) and a social conscience are for him the foundation of religion; mankind is asleep, living in a desolate world. To Sanai common religion was only habit and ritual.

Sanai's poetry had a tremendous influence upon Persian literature. He is considered the first poet to use the qasidah (ode), ghazal (lyric), and the masnavi (rhymed couplet) to express the philosophical, mystical and ethical ideas of Sufism.

( Mulla again ..

Hot Soup 

Hearing that a man wanted to learn the Kurdish language, Mullah Nasrudin offered to teach him even though Nasrudin's own knowledge of Kurdish was limited to a few words. "We shall start with the word for 'Hot Soup'," said Nasrudin. "In Kurdish, this is Aash." "I don't quite understand, Nasrudin. How would you say 'Cold Soup'?" "You never say 'Cold Soup'. The Kurds like their soup hot."

 On Forgetfulness

Mullah Nasrudin called at a castle to collect for charity. "Tell your master," he said to doorkeeper, "that Mullah Nasrudin is here and asks for money." The man went into the building, then came out again. "I am afraid that my master is out," he said. "Let me give you a message for him, then," said Nasrudin. "Even though he has not contributed he can have this advice for free. Next time he goes out he should not leave his face at the window. Someone might steal it." )

Sanai sings ..

And if, my friend, you ask me the way,

I'll tell you plainly, it is this:

to turn your face toward the world of life,

and turn your back on rank and reputation;

and, spurning outward prosperity, to bend

your back double in his service;

to part company with those who deal in words,

and take your place in the presence of the wordless.

Belief and unbelief

Belief and unbelief
both have their origin
in your hypocrite's heart;
the way is only long
because you delay to start on it:
one single step
would bring you to him:
become a slave,
and you will be a king.

Brings me close to You

Belief brings me close to You
but only to the door.
It is only by disappearing into
Your mystery
that I will come in.

Bloom Like a Rose

Your heartrending fire
made me bloom like a rose.

I died at your feet
and returned fast to life.

My inborn freedom
offered nothing in profit;
but now I am free,
since becoming your slave.

We gave up We tried reasoning our way to Him: it did not work; but the moment we gave up, no obstacle remained. His presence He introduced himself to us out of kindness: how else could we have known him? Reason took us as far as the door; but it was his presence that let us in. But how will you ever know him, as long as you are unable to know yourself? No error The Walled Garden of Truth Once one is one, no more, no less: error begins with duality; unity knows no error.

Hakim Sanai wrote an enormous quantity of mystical verse, of which The Walled Garden of Truth or The Hadiqat al Haqiqa is his master work and the first Persian mystical epic of Sufism. Dedicated to Bahram Shah, the work expresses the poet's ideas on God, love, philosophy and reason.

For close to 900 years The Walled Garden of Truth has been consistently read as a classic and employed as a Sufi textbook. According to Major T. Stephenson: "Sanai’s fame has always rested on his Hadiqa; it is the best known and in the East by far the most esteemed of his works; it is in virtue of this work that he forms one of the great trio of Sufi teachers — Sanai, Attar, Jalaluddin Rumi." Sanai taught that lust, greed and emotional excitement stood between humankind and divine knowledge, which was the only true reality (Haqq). Love(Ishq) and a social conscience are for him the foundation of religion; mankind is asleep, living in a desolate world.

Sanai's poetry had a tremendous influence upon Persian literature. He is considered the first poet to use the qasidah (ode), ghazal (lyric), and the masnavi (rhymed couplet) to express the philosophical, mystical and ethical ideas of Sufism.

Knowing what you know,
be serene also, like the mountain;
and do not be distressed by misfortune.
Knowledge without serenity is an unlit candle;
together they are honey-comb;
honey without wax is a noble thing;
wax without honey is only fit for burning.

Leave this abode
of birth and decay;
leave this pit,
and make for your destined home.
This heap of dust is mirage,
where fire seems like water.

Sufi Mystic Hakim Sanai

A High Wind

Mullah Nasrudin climbed into someone's kitchen garden and started filling a sack with everything that he could lay his hands on. A gardener saw him and came running. "What are you doing here?" "I was blown here by a high wind." "And who uprooted the vegetables?" "I caught hold of them to stop myself being swept along." "And how does it come that there are vegetables in that sack?" "That is just what I was wondering about when you interrupted me."


Hot Soup

Hearing that a man wanted to learn the Kurdish language, Mullah Nasrudin offered to teach him even though Nasrudin's own knowledge of Kurdish was limited to a few words. "We shall start with the word for 'Hot Soup'," said Nasrudin. "In Kurdish, this is Aash." "I don't quite understand, Nasrudin. How would you say 'Cold Soup'?" "You never say 'Cold Soup'. The Kurds like their soup hot."

 Coming of death

The coming of death
is the key which unlocksthe unknown domain;
but for death, the door of true faith
would remain unopened,

    

Drunk with the wine of God

Melt yourself down in his search:
venture your life and your soul
in the path of sincerity;
strive to pass from nothingness to being,
and make yourself drunk with the wine of God.

Love's conqueror is he
whom love conquers.

(OSHO about Hakim Sanai

HAKIM SANAI: THIS NAME IS AS SWEET to me as honey, as sweet as nectar. Hakim Sanai is unique, unique in the world of Sufism. No other Sufi has been able to reach to such heights of expression and such depths of penetration. Hakim Sanai has been able to do almost the impossible.

If I were to save only two books from the whole world of the mystics, then these would be the two books. One would be from the world of Zen, the path of awareness: SOSAN'S HSIN HSIN MING. I have spoken on it; it contains the quintessence of Zen, of the path of awareness and meditation. The other book would be Hakim Sanai's HADIQATU'L HAQIQAT: The Walled Garden of Truth - in short, THE HADIQA: The Garden. This is the book we are entering today.

THE HADIQA is the essential fragrance of the path of love. Just as Sosan has been able to catch the very soul of Zen, Hakim Sanai has been able to catch the very soul of Sufism. Such books are not written, they are born. Nobody can compose them. They are not manufactured in the mind, by the mind; they come from the beyond. They are a gift. They are born as mysteriously as a child is born, or a bird or a rose flower. They come to us, they are gifts.

So first we will enter into the mysterious birth of this great book THE HADIQA: The Garden. The story is tremendously beautiful:

The Sultan of Ghazna, Bahramshab, was moving with his great army towards India on a journey of conquest. Hakim Sanai, his famous court-poet, was also with him, accompanying him on the journey of this conquest. They came alongside a great garden, a walled garden.

That is the meaning of FIRDAUS: the walled garden. And from FIRDAUS comes the English word `paradise'.

They were in a hurry; with a great army the Sultan was moving to conquer India. He had no time. But something mysterious happened and he had to stop; there was no way to avoid it.

The sound of singing coming from the garden caught the Sultan's attention. He was a lover of music, but he had never heard something like this. He had great musicians in his court and great singers and dancers, but nothing to be compared with this. The sound of singing and the music and the dance - he had only heard it from outside, but he had to order the army to stop.

It was so ecstatic. The very sound of the dance and the music and the singing was psychedelic, as if wine was pouring into him: the Sultan became drunk. The phenomenon appeared not to be of this world. Something of the beyond was certainly in it: something of the sky trying to reach the earth, something from the unknown trying to commune with the known. He had to stop to listen to it.

There was ecstasy in it - so sweet and yet so painful, it was heart-rending. He wanted to move, he was in a hurry; he had to reach India soon, this was the right time to conquer the enemy. But there was no way. There was such strong, strange, irresistible magnetism in the sound that in spite of himself he had to go into the garden.

The Way to You, Sanai

It was Lai-Khur, a great Sufi mystic, but known to the masses only as a drunkard and a madman. Lai-Khur is one of the greatest names in the whole history of the world. Not much is known about him; such people don't leave many footprints behind them. Except for this story, nothing has survived. But Lai-Khur has lived in the memories of the Sufis, down the ages. He continued haunting the world of the sufis, because never again was such a man seen.

He was so drunk that people were not wrong in calling him a drunkard. He was drunk twenty-four hours, drunk with the divine. He walked like a drunkard, he lived like a drunkard, utterly oblivious of the world. And his utterances were just mad. This is the highest peak of ecstasy, when expressions of the mystic can only be understood by other mystics. For the ordinary masses they look irrelevant, they look like gibberish.

He was available only to the chosen few, because only very few people can rise to such a height where he lived. He lived on Everest - the Everest of consciousness, beyond the clouds. Only those who were fortunate enough and courageous enough to climb the mountain were able to understand what he was saying. To the common masses he was a madman. To the knowers he was just a vehicle of God, and all that was coming through him was pure truth: truth, and only truth.

He had made himself deliberately notorious. That was his way of becoming invisible to the masses. Sufis do that...

From Unio Mystica, vol. 1, chapter 1

Hakim Sanai: The Walled Garden of Truth)

     

Garden of Truth

Bring all of yourself to his door:

bring only a part

and you've brought nothing at all.

  

It's your own self defining faith and unbelief:

inevitably it colors your perception.

Eternity knows nothing

of belief or unbelief;

for a pure nature

there is no such thing.

  

  

Not one knows how far it is

from nothingness to God.

As long as you cling to your self

you will wander right and left,  

Remain unmoved by hope and fear.

To non-existence mosque and church are one;

to a shadow, heaven and hell likewise.

For someone whose guide is love,

belief and disbelief are equally a veil,

concealing the doorway of the friend;

his very being is a veil

which hides God's essence.

  

Until you throw your sword way,

you'll not become a shield

until you lay your crown aside,

you'll not be fit to lead.

 Lost Again

One day there was news in every corner of the town about Mullah Nasrudin's donkey, which he had lost. When his neighbors heard the news they got sad, and decided to go to the Mullah's house and help him to find his donkey. So they came to the Mullah's house and saw that the Mullah was very happy and very thankful to God! They couldn't understand it and asked the Mullah: " Mullah aren't you sad about loss of your donkey?" The Mullah laughed and said, "I am happy because God helped me that I was not riding it, otherwise I would be lost as well."


This is for Last Week

Nasrudin went to a Turkish bath. As he was poorly dressed the attendants treated him in a casual manner, game him only a scrap of soap and an old towel. When he left, Nasrudin gave the two men a gold coin each. He had not complained, and they could not understand it. Could it be, they wondered, that if he had been better treated he would have given an even larger tip? The following week 

Nasrudin appeared again. This time, of course, he was looked after like a king. After being massaged, perfumed and treated with the utmost deference, he left the bath, handing each attendant the smallest possible copper coin. "This," said Nasrudin, "is for last time. The gold coins were for this week

Similes and metaphors are the main organs of poetry. Sa'di, Saeb, Kamal and many other poets used these figures of speech in abundance in their verses; but Sana’i was the pioneer and past master in the art of making appropriate use of metaphor and simile in his verses. One reaches perfection not immediately but after years of labor and pain. Rome was not built in a day. Sana’i proves validity of the maxim in verses given below:"

“It takes months for a handful of wool from sheep's back to become a Sufis patched cloak or a rope for donkey's neck. It takes years for a stone to become a ruby. You have to wait for ages for a drop of rain to become a pearl in the shell; and it takes years for a child to become learned. Truth, sincerity, straightforwardness and long life is needed to get nearer to God like Uwais-i-Qarni.”

Sana’i presented mysticism as a philosophy of life. His diwan besides being read in royal courts was a popular textbook of study in the Sufi centers of Delhi, Gulbarga and Multan, and his verses were quoted on every matter. Shaikh Nasiru'd-Din Chiragh of Delhi was a great admirer of Sana’i's spiritual excellence and very pathetically recited the verse of Sana’i:

"O you who have listened about the glories of Rum and China, get up and behold the realm of Sana’i."

In this verse Sana’i invited the people lost in the ephemeral glory and the glamour of the political world to return to the world of spirit.

The following couplets were often on the lips of Shaikh Nizamu'd-Din Awliya of Delhi:"

Aspen Tree

“Do not parade much your world illuminating beauty and if you have done so go bum the aspen (a common place tree) seeds. What is your beauty? It is your pride while aspen (ordinary) is your existence.”

Shaikh Saifu'd-Din Bukhari used to say that the following verse of Sana’i made him a true Muslim: 

 "You blow the lute of your sex-impulse from top of mount Sinai of desire; Do not seek the Love of Moses with this self-abasement." 

From the time of Shaikh Nizamu'd-Din Awliya to the days of Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, Sana’i has been a powerful influence on Indo-Muslim religious thought. When lqbal declared: 

 Unlike his many other contemporary mystics Sana’i did not believe in knowledge being (a big Curtain that prevented the vision of Reality). He rejected over-intellectualism and defined the purpose of (knowledge) thus:

“ Knowledge is good, it leads towards God. A learned person is considered God's chosen one; yet over-intellectualism is bad. To acquire knowledge for the sake of dignity and power is a waste of time and labour.”

'Good' and 'evil' have no meaning
in the world of the Word:
they are names, coined
in the world of 'me' and 'you'.

Your life is just morsel in his mouth;
his feast is both wedding and a wake.
Why should darkness grieve the heart?
- for night is pregnant with new day.

You say you've unrolled the carpet of time,
step then beyond life itself and reason,
till you arrive at God's command.

You cannot see anything, being blind by night,
and by day one-eyed with your foolish wisdom!

Little is known about the 12th century Sufi master Hakim Sanai, but he has much to teach us about the wall, the garden and the music. But Sanai, like all other spiritual masters, began his journey in the world outside the garden. Sanai had gained fame as the court poet of the Sultan of Ghazni, Bahramshah. As such, it was his duty to write poetic histories that sang the praises of the Sultan and immortalized his victories. In his exalted capacity, Sanai was accompanying the Sultan and his army on a mission of conquest across India.  As the great caravan passed a walled garden, Sanai heard a melody so sweet; it pierced his heart with an ecstasy he had never felt before.  Although he felt compelled to investigate, the rest of the vast company was disinterested and irritated by the ‘noise’ they heard.

Sanai was shocked to find that the musician responsible for the glorious music appeared to be an incorrigible drunk. It’s considered a sin for Muslims to drink alcohol, but the musician called for wine so he could toast the passing Sultan. Of course the Sultan expected praise; who would offer anything else to one who could so easily end your life? But this was no ordinary drunk; it was Lai-Khur, a renowned, yet notorious, Sufi mystic. Instead of praise, Lai-Khur toasted the Sultan’s blindness in going off to attack India when Ghazni itself contained infinite beauty.  If that were not enough, he called for a second toast to the ‘even greater’ blindness of Hakim Sanai!

Hakim Sanai, Walled Garden

Before we discover what happened next, it’s important that we look past the surface of the story.  The meeting between a ‘crazy’ mystic and two great men could easily be written off as dead history, but when we look closer, the symbolic language tells a timeless story of spiritual awakening.  We can begin by understanding that the walled garden symbolizes something far greater than a few flower beds. The English word paradise came from old French, Latin and Greek words describing an ‘enclosed park.’ Thoughts of heaven may come to mind when the word paradise is used, but this walled ‘paradise’ garden symbolizes the sublime spiritual state of oneness with the Divine.  The wall signifies the fact that one must make a conscious choice to enter.  

It’s common for us to think of a wall or enclosure as something that’s constructed by someone else who wants to keep us out, but in this case we would be mistaken.  This wall is a barricade we each construct to keep the Divine music from reaching us and luring us into the garden to join in the song. But why would we do such a thing? Sadly, we’ve convinced ourselves that we would be happier outside the garden playing our own music even if we must play alone. The wall also symbolizes the difference between being spiritually awake and asleep, believing we are this body or understanding that the body is a mere projection of the true Self.

If you read our earlier blog on Hafiz, you may have already realized that Lai-Khur was drunk, not on literal wine, but on gnosis: the direct, personal experience of the Divine. Although he was still projecting a body, he was living fully as the Divine Self. From the standpoint of those who were outside the wall, still enmeshed in this world, he appeared to be a raving lunatic and his music more discord than harmony. When Lai-Khur raised the cup of truth to toast the Sultan and Hakim Sanai, he was accusing them of spiritual blindness. When Lai-Khur scolded him for going to India when he already possessed a kingdom, he was alluding to the fact that the Sultan had set his heart on conquering what was outside him when the real prize was already his. He would remain blind to the treasure within if he continued to look outside.  

Sanai may have secretly agreed that the Sultan was greedy and foolish, but he certainly wasn’t prepared to have Lai-Khur accuse him of being even worse!  Sanai had thought of himself as devout and virtuous, but that was the problem.  The Sultan was aware of his own greed for power and riches, but Sanai was fooling himself. He was religious, but he wasn’t spiritual. He scrupulously followed religious rules and thought of himself as one who was devoted to God, but it was the world and its accolades that really interested him.  

But Lai-Khur’s exquisite music had entered his heart, and his spiritual eyes were opened. He suddenly understood that he had been as deeply asleep as the Sultan, and just as attached to the world and the little self. He realized that if he was to enter the garden, he would have to be the one to tear down the wall of separation that he had erected to keep him from Oneness with All That Is. Without delay, Sanai resigned his position as court poet. The Sultan, who couldn’t imagine what insanity had suddenly overtaken his friend, offered Sanai his daughter and half his kingdom if he would stay. But what had once been very important to Sinai had become completely meaningless.

Sinai’s spiritual eyes were opening and he was waking up. Once this process begins, there is no turning back. This awakening is often referred to as ‘enlightenment,’ and many mistakenly believe it means that they have reached the ultimate spiritual goal. But recognizing the Oneness that’s hidden behind the illusion of separate forms is a beginning, not an end. Sanai didn’t make that mistake; he left the Sultan and set off on a pilgrimage of his own that would give him time to assimilate the overwhelming realization that life was not at all what he had imagined.

War on India

Sanai continued to open himself to one insight after another until he had mastered the self. When he returned to Lai-Khur, he was living as the Divine Self and he was ready to enter the garden.  But Hakim Sanai did not come back empty handed. He had poured his experience of gnosis into a book, “The Walled Garden of Truth.” He joined his chords to the music that continually drifts from behind the walls of the garden. Do you hear it? Will you join in?

You are what you are:
hence your loves and hates;
you are what you are:
hence faith and unbelief.

Hope and fear drive fortune from your door;
lose yourself, and they will be no more.

At his door, what is the difference
between Moslem and Christian,
virtuous and guilty?
At his door all are seekers
and he the sought.

God is without cause:
why are you looking for causes?
The sun of truth rises unbidden,
and with it sets the moon of learning.

And does the sun exist
for the cock to crow at?
What is it to him
whether you are there or not?
Many have come, just like you,
to his door.

You won't find your way
in this street; if there is a way,
it is on your road of sighs.

 Sufi’s in Gulbarga(Kalaburagi) , Karnataka, India

(The person compiling these articles on "Enlightened Masters" happes to be from Gulbarga and hence a little write up about Gulbarga ..... )

Jumma Masjid , Gulbarga

Sufism is nothing other than Islamic mysticism. The saints who preached the principles of Sufism are called Sufi saints. Karnataka is one of the most important southern states of India. The advent of Sufi saints would have been from the very inception of Islam in the beginning of the 7^th century A.D. in South India. Trade and commerce carried out by the Arabs paved out a way for Islam and later for Sufism to enter Karnataka.

The earliest reference to a Sufi saint in Karnataka can be traced back to 1301 A.D. Hazrat Sayyid Shah Hisamud-din-Teighbarana was the first saint to come to Gulbarga. (At present his tomb is located in the fort near Jagath talab in Gulbarga.) Karnataka was ruled by many Muslim dynasties. During the Muslim reign, the Sufis had found an amicable geographical and cultural abode in Karnataka for Sufi flourishment and popularity. The kings and queens of Karnataka like the common people promoted Sufism. The Sufi saints who came from North India as well as from Persia, Arabia and Baghdad settled here because of its amicability and great concern of the people. There were different types of Sufis living in Karnataka, like the landed elites, warriors, reformists, literates and dervishes. The Bahmanis ruled Gulbarga from 1347 to 1424 A.D. and Bidar from 1424 to 1538 A.D. During their period many Sufi saints lived. Among them Shiak Sirajud –din-Junaidi, Gesu Daraz (Bande Nawaz) in Gulbarga and Syed Tajuddinin in Bidar were the most important Sufi saints. The Bahmani rulers from the very beginning of their rule in Karnataka gained the goodwill and co-operation of the Sufi saints.

Shaikh Sirajud-din Junaidi came to Gulbarga in 1347 A.D. The King Alaud-din Hasan Bahman Shah selected him as a royal preceptor. Sultan Muhammad I (1358-75 A.D.) and his son Mujahid (1375-1378 A.D.) always counted on the prayers of this saint whenever they set out on a campaign. His tomb called Shaikh Roza dargah is located in Shah Bazar at Gulbarga.

Hazrat Shaikh Saad Zanjani Rahimatullah Aulia came to Gulbarga in 1351 A.D. His dargah is located near the Chor Gumbad at Gulbarga.

Hazrat Shaikh Minajjuddin Tamim-ul-Ansari came to Gulbarga from Daulatabad in 1352 A.D. At present his dargah is located in Kirana Bazar near fort road at Gulbarga.

Hazrat Shah Ruknud-din Tola of Qadiri order is said to have come to Gulbarga before Gesu Daraz during the period of King Firuz Shah Bahman. His dargah at present is located near Chor Gumbad in Gulbarga.

Khaja Bande Nawaj

Syed Muhammad Gesu Daraz (Hazarat Khwaja Bande Nawaz; 1321-1422 A.D.)

One of the most prominent figures in the early history of Islamic mysticism in Gulbarga was Syed Muhammad Gesu Daraz. He was of the Chishti order that had created a centre of Sufi culture at Gulbarga. He was born at Delhi on 30^th July 1321 A.D. In 1335 A.D., he came to Delhi from Daulatabad to complete his education and became the disciple of the most outstanding Chishti saint Shaikh Nasirud-din Chirag. For years he imbedded from his master the spirit of the Chishti Silsilah. Gesu Daraz had arrived at Gulbarga from Delhi about 1400-1 A.D., and had settled down at a Khanqah in the vicinity of Gulbarga fort during the period of King Firuz Shah. For about a quarter of a century he propagated the Chishti mystic’s principle in Gulbarga and other parts of Deccan. He died at the age of more than a hundred years on 1^st November, 1422 A.D. (Sherwani and The Bahmanis ruled Gulbarga from 1347 to 1424 A.D. and Bidar from 1424 to 1538 A.D. During their period many Sufi saints lived. Among them Shiak Sirajud –din-Junaidi, Gesu Daraz (Bande Nawaz) in Gulbarga and Syed Tajuddinin in Bidar were the most important Sufi saints.

The Bahmani rulers from the very beginning of their rule in Karnataka gained the goodwill and co-operation of the Sufi saints. In many movements of crisis connected with accessions, campaigns, and factious conflicts in the history of the Bahmanis, the Sufi saints exerted their influence in favour of one or other claimant. King Alaud-din Hasan Bahman Shah (1347- 1358 A.D.) had great respect for Sufi saints named Shaikh Burhanud-din Gharib, Shaikh Ainud-din Bijapuri and Shaikh Sirajud-din Junaidi .

Gesu Daraj

Hazrath Khwaja Bandanawaz Gesudaraz(Rh)
Born on the 13th of July 1321 / 4th ::
Passed away on the 1st of November 1422 / 16th Dhu al-Qadah 825

1. Hazrath Khwaja Bande Nawaz Khwaja Bande Nawaz was a famous Sufi Saint from India who advocated understanding, tolerance and harmony among various religious groups. Khwaja Bande Nawaz was born in Delhi in 1321. At the age of 4, his family shifted to Daulatabad in Maharashtra. In 1397, he went to Gulbarga, Karnataka at the invitation of Sultan Feroz Shah Bahmani. Bande Nawaz authored about 130 books in Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages.

The arrival of Gesu Daraz to Gulbarga had a great cultural impact on the people of Karnataka with important consequences. It is said that the Khanqah of this great Sufi saint often surpassed the Bahmanis court in terms of the number of the audience. A Persian scholar to begin with, he learnt Urdu and had 104 literary works to his credit which are in Persian, Dakhani Urdu and Arabic languages. He was much revered and respected by all.

A profound scholar, with a keen and penetrating insight into the religious sciences, Gesu Daraz gave a new fillip to religious studies in Karnataka. He has written a commentary on the Quran and another on the Mashariq-al-Anwar (a famous collection of the Traditions of the Prophet). He had studied Hindu mythology and was conversant with the Sanskrit language also. He mingled with Hindus and the Hindu yogis of Gulbarga and had respect for their sacred books and culture. His works were voraciously read in the higher mystic circles while the common people thronged to his khanqah in large numbers. His disciples who spread in towns and villages applied themselves to brisk spiritual activity and propagated his name and teachings far and wide. The poets, scholars, saints and sages of Karnataka in the succeeding centuries have paid eloquent tributes to Hazrat Gesu Daraz and have prided in their association with his spiritual order. After his death, King Ahmad I, who was a staunch disciple, constructed the dargah in Gulbarga. The paintings on the walls and domes are in Turkish and Iranian style. The dargah is even now regarded with great esteem and veneration by the people of Karnataka. )