Lalla
Ded
Lalla was a great
saint and mystic from the Kashmir province of India. She lived in the 14th
Century, which was a period of great religious upheaval and change. He home
province of Kashmir had a tradition of fusing religious traditions. For example
although Buddhism has almost disappeared it was still a significant influence
on the different Hindu traditions. In the fourteenth century the people of
Kashmir came under the influence of Islam. However the Islam which was brought
by mystics such as Bulbul Shah was heavily influenced by Mahayana Buddhism and
Upanishadic philosophy. Thus the people of Kashmir were sympathetic to the
branch of mystic Islam that Lalla embodied.
Lalla was married
at an early age but was badly treated by her mother in law. However despite her
bad treatment and lack of food she acted with forbearance and equanimity.
However this cruel upbringing encouraged her to enter the life of a renunciat
and she found a guru called Sidh Srikanth.
Lalla excelled in
spiritual practices and is said to have reached a lofty height of self
realization, ‘The abode of nectar’. However Lalla also wished to manifest and
reveal the spiritual truths she had received. Therefore she took to the life of
a wandering pilgrim, travelling around the county teaching those who were
receptive.
During her life
Lalla composed many hundreds of songs. Primarily these spoke of her great
longing and love for her beloved Shiva. Indeed there are many similarities
between her life and her near contemporary Mirabai. Her
poems or Vakyas, formed an important part of Kashmiri language and
culture and are still very much revered today.
In Lalla, we
witness the devotion of a bhakti saint.
‘God does not want meditations and austerities
Through love alone canst though reach the Abode of Bliss.
Thou mayst be lost like salt in water
Still it is difficult for thee to know God.’
Through love alone canst though reach the Abode of Bliss.
Thou mayst be lost like salt in water
Still it is difficult for thee to know God.’
In Lalla we also
feel the detachment of a Karma yogi. Like Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad
Gita; she urges her followers to work without attachment to the result:
Let them jeer or cheer me;
Let anybody say what he likes;
Let good persons worship me with flowers;
What can any one of them gain I being pure?
Let anybody say what he likes;
Let good persons worship me with flowers;
What can any one of them gain I being pure?
If the world talks ill of me
My heart shall harbor no ill-will:
If am a true worshiper of God
Can ashes leave a stain on a mirror?
My heart shall harbor no ill-will:
If am a true worshiper of God
Can ashes leave a stain on a mirror?
Kashmir has produced many saints, poets and mystics. Among them, Lal Ded is very prominent. In Kashmir, some people consider her a poet, some consider her a holy woman and some consider her a sufi, a yogi, or a devotee of Shiva. Some even consider her an avtar. But every Kashmiri considers her a wise woman. Every Kashmiri has some sayings of Lalla on the tip of his tongue. The Kashmiri language is full of her sayings.
Kashmiri Hindus and Muslims affectionately call her "Mother Lalla" or "Granny Lalla". She is also called "Lallayogeshwari". Some people call her Lalla, the mystic.
It is said that Lal Ded was born in 1355 in Pandrethan to a Kashmiri Pandit family. Even as a child, Lalla was wise and religious-minded. When Lalla was twelve years old, she was married. Her in-laws lived in Pampur. The in-laws gave her the name Padmavati. Her mother-in-law was very cruel. She never gave her any peace. It is claimed that her mother-in-law used to put a stone on Lalla's plate. She would then cover the stone with rice so that people would get the impression that Lalla had a plateful of rice. Lalla would remain half fed, but would never complain about her mother-in-law. Her father-in-law was a good man and he was kind to her, but her mother-in-law made her miserable. She would even speak ill of Lalla to her husband. Poor Lalla knew no happiness either with her husband or with her mother-in-law.
When Lalla was twenty-six she renounced the family and became a devotee of Shiva. Like a mad person, she would go around naked.
She became a disciple of Sidh Srikanth. She would only keep the company of sadhus and pirs. She did not think in terms of men and women. She would claim that she had yet to encounter a man, and that is why she went about naked. But when she saw Shah Hamdan, she hid herself saying: "I saw a man, I saw a man."
Why is Lalla so famous in Kashmir? She was illiterate, but she was wise. Her sayings are full of wisdom. In these sayings, she dealt with everything from life, yoga, and God to dharma and atma:. Her riddles are on the lips of every Kashmiri.
The exact date of Lalla's death is not known. It is claimed that she died in Bijbehara (vejibro:r). People like Granny Lalla do not really die. Lal Ded is alive in her sayings and in the hearts of Kashmiris.
The sayings of Lalla number around two hundred.
When Lalla was asked why she wandered around naked, the answer would be: ‘Because there are no men in Kashmir.’ One day, near Srinagar, she saw Shah Hamadan, considered to be one of the greatest patron saints of Kashmir, approaching and realized that here was a real man and ran to hide herself in a grocer’s shop. However, she was turned away because of her scandalous state, whereupon she jumped into the nearby baker’s oven. The poor baker was stunned, even more so when he saw Lalla emerge from the burning oven fully clothed in green colored garments of Paradise. It remains the most renowned tale associated with her, indelibly enshrined in the current Kashmiri proverb ayeyi wa ‘nis gay iandras (she [Lai Ded] had gone to the grocer but [instead] arrived at the bakers).
Lalla was a great
mystic but she could be critical of religious ceremonies and religious
orthodoxy. Her teachings and poems are thus reminiscent of Kabir,
(although Kabir came
later).
‘ Idol is of stone temple is of stone;
Above (temple) and below (idol) are one;
Which of them wilt thou worship O foolish Pandit?
Cause thou the union of mind with Soul.’
Above (temple) and below (idol) are one;
Which of them wilt thou worship O foolish Pandit?
Cause thou the union of mind with Soul.’
Lalla had a
profound impact on both Hindu’s
and Muslims her wisdom stemming from a profound self realization as Lalla says of
herself:
When my mind was cleansed of impurities,
like a mirror of its dust and dirt,
like a mirror of its dust and dirt,
I recognized the Self in me:
When I saw Him dwelling in me,
I realized that He was the Everything
and I was nothing.
I saw and found I am in everything
I saw God effulgent in everything.
After hearing and pausing see Siva
The House is His alone; Who am I, Lalla.
I saw God effulgent in everything.
After hearing and pausing see Siva
The House is His alone; Who am I, Lalla.
Period of Lalla
This period in
which Lalla lived was an important time. It was one in which the divisions
between religions were broken down. A saint like Lalla was able to appeal to
the heart of the people. Her spiritual realizations cross caste and religious
barriers and is still admired today.
For ever we came
For ever we come, for ever we go;
For ever, day and night, we are on the move.
Whence we come, thither we go,
For ever in the round of birth and death,
From nothingness to nothingness.
But sure, a mystery here abides,
A Something is there for us to know.
(It cannot all be meaningless).
For ever, day and night, we are on the move.
Whence we come, thither we go,
For ever in the round of birth and death,
From nothingness to nothingness.
But sure, a mystery here abides,
A Something is there for us to know.
(It cannot all be meaningless).
By: Lalla
How shall the
nameless be defined
A thousand times my Guru I asked:
How shall the Nameless be defined?
I asked and asked but all in vain.
The Nameless Unknown, it seems to me,
Is the source of the something that we see.
How shall the Nameless be defined?
I asked and asked but all in vain.
The Nameless Unknown, it seems to me,
Is the source of the something that we see.
By: Lalla
I was Nothing
When my mind was cleansed of
impurities,
like a mirror of its dust and dirt,
I recognized the Self in me:
When I saw Him dwelling in me,
I realized that He was the Everything
and I was nothing.
like a mirror of its dust and dirt,
I recognized the Self in me:
When I saw Him dwelling in me,
I realized that He was the Everything
and I was nothing.
: Lalla
I will weep
I will weep and weep for you, O Mind;
(my Soul) The world hath caught you in its spell.
Though you cling to them with the anchor of steel,
Not even the shadow of the things you love
Will go with you when you are dead.
Why then have you forgot your own true Self ?
(my Soul) The world hath caught you in its spell.
Though you cling to them with the anchor of steel,
Not even the shadow of the things you love
Will go with you when you are dead.
Why then have you forgot your own true Self ?
Purdah, nudity and
public dancing
Mysticism helped
these women transcend normally revered feminine virtues of beauty, modesty and
gentleness. Several women mystics showed complete freedom from inhibition and
defied all attempts to control their sexuality. Lalla is said to have discarded
her clothes and danced naked. In her Vaakh, Lalla sang:
Lalla, think not of things that are without
Fix upon thy inner self thy thought
So shall thou be freed from doubt.
 |
| Poetry against Purdah |
Dance then, Lalla, clad but in the sky
Air and sky, what garment is more fair?
Cloth, says custom, (but) does that satisfy?
Lalla Arifa and Mirabai
Both Lalla Arifa,
also known as Lal Ded, and Mirabai walked out on their marriages. Lalla, who
was a saint and mystic from Kashmir who lived in the 14th century, was married
at the age of twelve to a Brahman and was badly treated by her mother-in-law.
Her mother-in-law used to place a stone in her plate covered with a thin layer
of food, starving the young Lalla. On the festive occasion of grihashanti (literally
‘peace at home’), Lalla’s friends teased her about the excellent food she would
get to eat, to which she replied with the now famous verse: ‘They may kill a
big sheep or a tender lamb, Lalla will have her lump of stone all right.’
This cruel
upbringing encouraged her to enter the life of an ascetic. Lalla’s
mother-in-law is said to have agitated her son with tales of Lalla’s
infidelity. In anger her husband allegedly stoned the pot that Lalla carried on
her head. Though the pot broke, the water purportedly remained frozen on her
head. This terrified her husband to such an extent that he could not think of
retaining her as his wife. Lalla composed many songs, most of which speak of
her great longing and love for Shiva. Her poems formed an important part of
Kashmiri language and culture and are still revered. Indeed, there are many
similarities between her life and her near contemporary Mirabai who was married
to Prince Bhoj Raj of Mewar.
Why do you dote
Why do you dote upon someone, my Soul,
who is not your true love ?
Why have you taken the false for the true?
Why can’t you understand, why can’t you know?
It is ignorance that binds you to the false,
To the ever-recurring wheel of birth and death,
this coming and going.
who is not your true love ?
Why have you taken the false for the true?
Why can’t you understand, why can’t you know?
It is ignorance that binds you to the false,
To the ever-recurring wheel of birth and death,
this coming and going.
By: Lalla
Lalla was an
adherent of the Trika School of Kashmiri Saivism, a branch of Hindu mysticism
that arose in Kashmir during the 13th and 14th centuries.
Drunk with joy
Drunk with joy
Passion for God set fire to all she had
And from her heart rose clouds of smoke
Having a draught of ahd-e-alast (A promise by Allah before we took birth)
Intoxicated and drunk with joy was she
One cup of this God-intoxicating drink
Shatters reasons into bits...
Spiritual poetry
The saintly lady Lalla Arifa, a mystic of the highest order, was a second Rabiya ... this chaste lady was born in a Brahmin family in the village of Sempor. During the early days of her life she was under the influence of an extraordinary spell of ecstasy – she was married at Pampor.
The saintly lady Lalla Arifa, a mystic of the highest order, was a second Rabiya ... this chaste lady was born in a Brahmin family in the village of Sempor. During the early days of her life she was under the influence of an extraordinary spell of ecstasy – she was married at Pampor.
Yet that Lalla was
an actual person is corroborated by some of the greatest saints of Kashmir,
both Hindu and Muslim, and subsequently also by numerous hagiographers and
historians. But the greatest witness is the Lalla Vaakh, a collection of
profound spiritual poetry that has been studied by numerous scholars. It is
important to note that these verses live on in the oral tradition of Kashmir,
and enjoy a stature similar to the poetry of Mira, Kabir, Bulleh Shah, Baba
Farid, Guru Nanak and other great mystic poets and saints of the subcontinent.
“The history of India has for its landmarks not wars and emperors
but saints and scriptures.” - Dr. S. Radhakrishanan
 |
| Kashmiri Shaivism |
Lalla, was one
such poet saint of Kashmir, who lived in early fourteenth century. At that time
Kashmir was home to bhaktas of Shiva and Vishnu, to Islamic Sufis, as also to
followers of Tantric Buddhism. Lalla’s poems are a reflection of all these
influences, but ultimately express her own veneration and self-realization
culminating from her meditations and yogic discipline. Her poems, though a vocalization
of her spiritually intense experiences, instantly appealed to the masses
because she spoke in the common metaphor of her day. Greatly respected even
today her deep, effective sayings continue to inspire scholars and lay people
alike in the valley. She is lovingly known by many names - Lal Ded (grandmother
Lal); Lalleshwari (Lalla the yogini); Lal Arifa.
In “Lalla
- The Poet who gave a Voice to Women”.
Prof. Neerja Mattoo says:
Prof. Neerja Mattoo says:
In the fourteenth
century, a woman writing in any language was a rarity, but it happened in
Kashmir. A voice, which set off a resonance heard with clear tone till today,
spoke directly to the people and what is more, was heard with all seriousness,
recorded in collective memory and later, the words put down on paper. This
path-breaking woman is the mystic poet Lalla, whom the Kashmiris venerate to
this day as a prophetess, moral guide and a fount of practical wisdom. Her word
is quoted at every step in their lives. In fact the very language owes most of
its richness of phrase and metaphor to her contribution to it. Apart from its
spiritual message, her work, like Shakespeare's, has a timeless meaning
accessible to people of different intellectual levels. Unlike most women who
have left an imprint on history, she was not related to an important person in
the social or spiritual hierarchy of the time.
Tradition has it
that she was from a Brahmin family from a village near Srinagar. She was
married off at the age of twelve to Nika (Sona) Bhat of Drangbal near Pampore.
The ill-matched marriage was doomed from the start. Ignored by her insensitive
husband and ill-treated by her mother-in-law, she bore her fate as long as she
could with patience. The daily humiliation she suffered is very evident from
the following story. It goes that every day she was apportioned just a little
rice to eat, with a stone hidden underneath to make it appear like a lot more.
Without protest, with endurance Lalla would eat her meager portion, wash the
stone and plate and put them back together for her next meal. This practice
prompted her to say:
They may have mutton, but for Lalla the stone is the only fare.
Lalla’s Lake/Pond
Saints of her
stature always have legends and miracles associated with their
lives. One of Lalla’s chores was to fetch water for the household
every morning, after ablutions at the ghat and a visit to the temple. One day,
instigated by his mother, the jealous Nika broke the pitcher of water she
brought home. To their utter amazement the water continued to hold its shape on
her head. Not a drop spilled. With this she filled all the pots in the
house. And where the shards of the broken clay pitcher fell, there arose
a fresh water spring to form what came to be known as Lalla’s Lake/Pond. This
spring is now dried up but to this day it is called Laila Trag (trag means
"pond/marsh"). According to history it went dry in 1925-26.
Unable to endure
her distressful marriage any longer, she finally left her husband in her early
twenties. She became a disciple of a respected saint, Sidh Srikanth, in the
Kashmir Shaivism tradition of yoga. Later she wandered about, from village to
village, going naked or nearly naked, and singing songs of enlightenment
(Vakhs). Indeed there are many similarities between her life and her near
contemporary Mirabai.
She sang -
 |
| Lal Ded on stones |
Dance, Lalla, with nothing on
but air: Sing, Lalla,wearing the sky.
Look at this glowing day! What clothes
could be so beautiful, or
more sacred?
could be so beautiful, or
more sacred?
This is a
beautiful concept – to dance with nothing on but air – to be free of social
pretences and prejudices, to be in the present and enjoy the sacredness of
simply Being. Delving beyond the apparent meaning, one sees Lalla’s heightened
state of awareness in her words.
About her critics
she said
I am indifferent
They may abuse me or jeer at me,They may say what pleases them,
They may with flowers worship me.
What profits them whatever they do?
I am indifferent to praise and blame.
Let them mock at me and call me names.
If a true devotee of Siva I be,
I shall not feel distressed nor hurt.
Can a few ashes a mirror befoul?
 |
| Hindu Muslim |
Lalla had a
profound impact on both Hindus and Muslims. She urged people to rise above
caste, creed and colour and see the light within.
"Shiva is all-pervading and present in each particle.
Never differentiate between a Hindu and a Muslim.
If you are shrewd and intelligent, know THY SELF.
There lies acquaintance with god".
Never differentiate between a Hindu and a Muslim.
If you are shrewd and intelligent, know THY SELF.
There lies acquaintance with god".
Like Kabir, who of
course came much later, she did not hesitate to lash out even at priests
“Idol is of stone, temple is of stone;
Above (temple) and below (idol) are one;
Which of them wilt thou worship O foolish Pandit?
Cause thou the union of mind with Soul.”
Above (temple) and below (idol) are one;
Which of them wilt thou worship O foolish Pandit?
Cause thou the union of mind with Soul.”
And again in this
short poem where she minces no words
O fool, right action does not lie
in observing fasts and ceremonial rites.
O fool, right action does not lie
in providing for bodily comfort and ease.
In contemplation of the Self alone
is right action and right counsel for you.
in observing fasts and ceremonial rites.
O fool, right action does not lie
in providing for bodily comfort and ease.
In contemplation of the Self alone
is right action and right counsel for you.
In the words of Prof. M.L. Koul
Bhakti Yoga
No right thinking
person can dispute the status of Lalla Ded as Shaiva yogini . She took the
Shaiva-praxis to recognize her essential worth as Shiva. Lalla Ded was a
bhaktin too, who is consensually ranked with great bhaktas like guru Nanak,
Sant Kabir, Meera Bai, Raidass, Tulsi Dass et all. Prof. B.N. Parimu in his
monumental studies on Lalla Ded uneqivocally calls her the fore-runner of the
Bhakti Movement in India. As yoga and bhakti are not mutually contradictory to
each other, Lalla meticulously practiced bhakti yoga. Her self-image as a
‘bhaktin’ had fortified her against the zig zags and adversities of life and
world, and had invested her person with absolute equipoise and equanimity of
temper and deportment.
Towards the end of
her life Lalleshwari is believed to have gone to Bijbehara town in Anantnag
district in South Kashmir where, her soul arose as a flame, to merge into the
Supreme Soul.
An interesting
anecdote associated with her death is analogous to that of Kabir’s. Both Hindus
and Muslims staked a claim to her body, so she settled the dispute in a
miraculous way. It seems her spirit asked those present to bring two large
washbasins. The body is said to have sat inside one with the other inverted
over the head. Thereafter the body is stated to have shrunk slowly till the two
washbasins overlapped. When her followers lifted the inverted basin, they found
there a liquid formation. Half of the liquid is said to have been taken by the
Hindus for cremation (?) and the other half by the Muslims for burial adjacent
to the local Jama Masjid.
Never differentiate between a Hindu and a Muslim.
If you are shrewd and intelligent, know THY SELF.
There lies acquaintance with god".
If you are shrewd and intelligent, know THY SELF.
There lies acquaintance with god".
God in the form of Shiva
Lalla, also affectionately called Lalli, Lal Ded, Lal Diddi ("Granny Lal"), or Lalleshwari, was born near Srinagar in Kashmir in northern India.
Little is known with certainty about her life, other than hints that come to us through her poetry and songs.
She was a young bride, married, tradition says, at the age of twelve. After moving into her husband's family home, she was abused by her mother-in-law and ignored by her husband.
A story is told about "Lalla's Lake" -- one day when returning from the well with a clay water jug on her head, her husband lost his temper over her delay and struck the jug in his anger. The clay vessel broke but, miraculously, the water held its shape above her head. This becomes an important symbol of the heavenly nectar that rains down from the crown.
Finally, Lalla could endure no more mistreatment and, in her early 20s, she left. She became a disciple of a respected saint in the Kashmir Shaivism tradition of yoga and she took up the life of a holy woman dedicated God in the form of Shiva. Lalla began wandering about, village to village, going naked or nearly naked, and singing songs of enlightenment.
Lalla's songs are short, using the simple, direct language of the common people, yet she touches on complex yogic techniques and the most elevated states of awareness.
The name Lalla can be translated as either "seeker" or "darling."
Lalla is deeply loved by both Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir today, even amidst the terrible fighting ravaging the land. There is a saying that in Kashmir only two words have any meaning: Allah and Lalla.
Lalla, also affectionately called Lalli, Lal Ded, Lal Diddi ("Granny Lal"), or Lalleshwari, was born near Srinagar in Kashmir in northern India.
Little is known with certainty about her life, other than hints that come to us through her poetry and songs.
She was a young bride, married, tradition says, at the age of twelve. After moving into her husband's family home, she was abused by her mother-in-law and ignored by her husband.
A story is told about "Lalla's Lake" -- one day when returning from the well with a clay water jug on her head, her husband lost his temper over her delay and struck the jug in his anger. The clay vessel broke but, miraculously, the water held its shape above her head. This becomes an important symbol of the heavenly nectar that rains down from the crown.
Finally, Lalla could endure no more mistreatment and, in her early 20s, she left. She became a disciple of a respected saint in the Kashmir Shaivism tradition of yoga and she took up the life of a holy woman dedicated God in the form of Shiva. Lalla began wandering about, village to village, going naked or nearly naked, and singing songs of enlightenment.
Lalla's songs are short, using the simple, direct language of the common people, yet she touches on complex yogic techniques and the most elevated states of awareness.
The name Lalla can be translated as either "seeker" or "darling."
Lalla is deeply loved by both Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir today, even amidst the terrible fighting ravaging the land. There is a saying that in Kashmir only two words have any meaning: Allah and Lalla.
Enlightenment
Kashmiri Poetess
Lala who lived in the 14th Century:
about
enlightenment and her direction she said;
in this state there is no Shiva,
nor any holy union.
only a somewhat something moving
dreamlike on a fading road.
when asked about
sacred practices she said;
there are those sleeping who are awake,
and others awake who are sound asleep.
some of those bathing in the sacred pools
will never get clean.
and there are others
doing household chores
what are free from any action.
Enlightenment absorbs this universe of
qualities
when that merging occurs, there is nothing
but God. This is the only doctrine.
there is no word for it, no mind
to understand it with, no categories
of transcendence or non-transcendence,
no vow of silence, no mystical attitude.
there is no Shiva and no Shakti
in enlightenment, and if there is something
that remains,
that whatever it is
is the only teaching.
Lalla, or Lal Ded,
was a Kashmiri mystic who lived in the 14th century at the height of
Kashmiri Shaivism. Though she was a Hindu and a yogi, even Shah Hamdan, the
great Sufi teacher who was her contemporary, recognized her as a saint. The
best translations are those of Indian poet Ranjit Hoskote, who worked directly
from the old Kashmiri, and who incorporates into his translations the
inconsistencies of style and diction and textual variations that stem from the
nature of these ecstatic utterances passed down by word-of-mouth over the
course of centuries before being assembled into a written canon.
Here's a short verse:
Here's a short verse:
I'm towing my boat across the ocean with a thread.
Will He hear me and help me across?
Or am I seeping away like water from a half baked cup?
Wander, my poor soul, you're not going home anytime soon.
Will He hear me and help me across?
Or am I seeping away like water from a half baked cup?
Wander, my poor soul, you're not going home anytime soon.
Here Lalla is either pulling her vessel through the water or is she herself the water? At any rate, it seems not to matter, either to the nameless He (one presumes it is God) because she enjoins her soul to continue to wander. It's a lot of thinking packed into four short lines, far indeed from the palliative and pithy epigrams one has become used to in spiritual literature.
Indeed, Lalla explores a fragmentation of the self that feels typical in contemporary discourse but at the time the great philosophers of Yoga were only beginning to wonder what the nature of the individual human self was. In Lalla's poetry the question was never simple and never resolved:
He who strikes the Unstruck Sound
calls space his body and emptiness his home,
who has neither name nor color nor family nor form,
who, meditating on Himself, is both Source and Sound
is the god who shall mount and ride this horse.
calls space his body and emptiness his home,
who has neither name nor color nor family nor form,
who, meditating on Himself, is both Source and Sound
is the god who shall mount and ride this horse.
Gods and humans seem equally confused, equally desirous of knowing their own natures. In another short verse Lalla skewers secular life as well as the yogis and Muslims who practiced their own kinds of asceticism:
Gluttony gets you the best table in the town of Nowhere,
fasting gives your ego a boost.
Slaves of extremes, learn the art of balance
and all the closed doors will open at your touch.
fasting gives your ego a boost.
Slaves of extremes, learn the art of balance
and all the closed doors will open at your touch.
Lalla–also known as Lal Ded or Lalleswari–is one of the yoginis who writes about the vitality of the breath in the dance with the divine. Several of her poems are actually deep teachings on the deep intimacy between Lover and Beloved and how it is Breath which unites them beyond separation.
How did I get here?
Where am I going?
Only true initiation helps.
Is breath-awareness
all there is?
(Lalla: Naked Song, Translations by Coleman
Barks, p. 78)
Lalla is not
speaking of the nothingness of the void, nor of despair. This is the
nothingness that transcends individuality and brings an awareness of Unity with
that which is truer than the persona.
Lalla’s work with
the breath goes even further, as we see in this exchange:
Some people abandon their homes.
Others abandon hermitages.
All this renunciation does nothing,
if you’re not deeply conscious.
Day and night, be aware
with each breath,
and live there.
Lalla is not just questioning the value of renunciation, but also receiving teachings about the mysteries of pranayama and the inner yogas from her own heart teacher. What is being described is the cooler in-breath and the warmer out-breath: partners in bringing the dualities into unity in her own body.
Another women, Maitreyi
In Kashmir there
was a woman of the name Lalla. In Kashmir they-have a proverb: We know only two
names - Allah and Lalla. Lalla was a rare woman, a Buddha, but she must have
been not very feminine; she must have had a little more of a male mind than a
female mind. She lived her whole life naked. She is the only woman in the whole
world who did that. Many men have lived naked:
Mahavir, Diogenes, all the Jain teerthankaras, and thousands of others, but only one woman. It looks very unfeminine, because the very essence of the feminine mind is to hide, not to show - to hide in the inner cave. Lalla is known to be an enlightened woman; few other women are known to be enlightened.
Woman, Maitreyi, is known in the days of the Upanishads, but she must have been a very male type.
It is said that the king Janak had called a great debate among all the learned people of his kingdom to decide the ultimate question: What is reality? It was going to be a great discussion and all the learned people, all the pundits of the country gathered together. And there was going to be a great prize for the winner - one thousand cows, the best of the country, with gold-covered horns, with jewelry around their necks. They were standing there outside the palace - one thousand cows.
Whosoever won the debate would take the cows.
Yagnawalkya came - one of the great learned men of those days - and at that time he must not have been enlightened, later on he became an enlightened sage. He came with his disciples - he was a great teacher - and he was so arrogant, as scholars are, that he told his disciples, "You take these cows. I will decide the matter later on, but you first take these cows because it is too hot and the cows are suffering from the heat." He must have been very arrogant - so certain.
Only ignorance is so certain. Wisdom is always hesitating because it is so vast - and how to decide the ultimate nature of reality? Who can decide it?
All the other scholars were offended but they couldn't say anything because they knew that they could not defeat this man in argument. In argument he was superb. And he argued, and he defeated all.
But a woman was sitting there; she was the only woman, and she had not said anything. She was Maitreyi. And then she stood at the end, when the debate was almost finished and he was going to be declared the winner. She said, "Wait. I have to ask a few questions." And she asked simple questions; but in fact simple questions cannot be answered.
She asked, "On what is this earth supported? Who is supporting this earth?"
The old Indian tradition says the earth is being supported by eight elephants, big white elephants.
So Yagnawalkya repeated the old tradition, that the earth is supported by eight elephants: "Are you absolutely illiterate, don't you know this much?"
The woman asked, "Then on whom are those elephants supported?"
Now Yagnawalkya suspected trouble. So he said, "On Brahma, on the God." And he was thinking that now she would stop.
But she said, "I would like to ask on whom is your God supported, on what?"
Yagnawalkya became angry, and he said, "Woman! Stop! Otherwise your head will fall off. You will be killed!"
This woman later on became enlightened. But she must have been a very male type. She argued and even got Yagnawalkya into trouble and in fact she remained silent but she was not defeated - anyone can see that. In fact Yagnawalkya was defeated. If I had been the judge, she would have won and the cows would have had to be given to her. Because this is no argument, to say that your head will fall off. This is no argument. Anger is no argument, violence is no argument; this way you can keep somebody silent but you have not won the debate.
This woman became enlightened but she must have been a male type. Otherwise no woman bothers to argue about such things.
(now for a small relief with mulla ...
Mahavir, Diogenes, all the Jain teerthankaras, and thousands of others, but only one woman. It looks very unfeminine, because the very essence of the feminine mind is to hide, not to show - to hide in the inner cave. Lalla is known to be an enlightened woman; few other women are known to be enlightened.
Woman, Maitreyi, is known in the days of the Upanishads, but she must have been a very male type.
It is said that the king Janak had called a great debate among all the learned people of his kingdom to decide the ultimate question: What is reality? It was going to be a great discussion and all the learned people, all the pundits of the country gathered together. And there was going to be a great prize for the winner - one thousand cows, the best of the country, with gold-covered horns, with jewelry around their necks. They were standing there outside the palace - one thousand cows.
Whosoever won the debate would take the cows.
Yagnawalkya came - one of the great learned men of those days - and at that time he must not have been enlightened, later on he became an enlightened sage. He came with his disciples - he was a great teacher - and he was so arrogant, as scholars are, that he told his disciples, "You take these cows. I will decide the matter later on, but you first take these cows because it is too hot and the cows are suffering from the heat." He must have been very arrogant - so certain.
Only ignorance is so certain. Wisdom is always hesitating because it is so vast - and how to decide the ultimate nature of reality? Who can decide it?
All the other scholars were offended but they couldn't say anything because they knew that they could not defeat this man in argument. In argument he was superb. And he argued, and he defeated all.
But a woman was sitting there; she was the only woman, and she had not said anything. She was Maitreyi. And then she stood at the end, when the debate was almost finished and he was going to be declared the winner. She said, "Wait. I have to ask a few questions." And she asked simple questions; but in fact simple questions cannot be answered.
She asked, "On what is this earth supported? Who is supporting this earth?"
The old Indian tradition says the earth is being supported by eight elephants, big white elephants.
So Yagnawalkya repeated the old tradition, that the earth is supported by eight elephants: "Are you absolutely illiterate, don't you know this much?"
The woman asked, "Then on whom are those elephants supported?"
Now Yagnawalkya suspected trouble. So he said, "On Brahma, on the God." And he was thinking that now she would stop.
But she said, "I would like to ask on whom is your God supported, on what?"
Yagnawalkya became angry, and he said, "Woman! Stop! Otherwise your head will fall off. You will be killed!"
This woman later on became enlightened. But she must have been a very male type. She argued and even got Yagnawalkya into trouble and in fact she remained silent but she was not defeated - anyone can see that. In fact Yagnawalkya was defeated. If I had been the judge, she would have won and the cows would have had to be given to her. Because this is no argument, to say that your head will fall off. This is no argument. Anger is no argument, violence is no argument; this way you can keep somebody silent but you have not won the debate.
This woman became enlightened but she must have been a male type. Otherwise no woman bothers to argue about such things.
(now for a small relief with mulla ...
Once I asked Mulla Nasruddin, "How are things going between you
and your wife? I never see any arguments. "
He said, "On the first day we decided one thing and we have been following it, so everything is going very very well."
I said, "You tell me, because many people come to me for my advice about problems, so I can suggest it to them."
He said, "On the first day we decided one thing and we have been following it, so everything is going very very well."
I said, "You tell me, because many people come to me for my advice about problems, so I can suggest it to them."
He said, "It is a simple law. We have decided that on ultimate
questions, final questions, great problems, my advice will be final. And on
small things, petty things, her advice will be final."So I said,
"This is a very good decision. Then what problems do you call petty and
what problems do you call great?"
He said, "For example, which movie we should go to see, what type of food we should eat, what type of restaurant we should visit, where we should send our children, to which college or to which university, what type of education should be given to them, what type of clothes should be purchased, what type of house and car - these are all petty things. She decides."
So I asked, "Then what are the great problems?"
He said, "Whether God exists or not. Great problems I decide!"
Women really are never interested in great problems because they know deep down they are foolish.
You can decide whether God exists or not, or how many angels can dance on one point of a pin - you can decide.
And Nasruddin told me, "This arrangement has been so good that not a single argument has arisen - I always decide great problems, she always decides small problems. And things are going well."
By and by every husband comes to know that he is free only to decide metaphysical problems - otherwordly. No woman is interested in writing scriptures. They have never written any. But that doesn't mean that women have not become enlightened - the same number have. Life follows a proportion. It should be so, otherwise the balance will be lost. Life completely follows a proportion.
He said, "For example, which movie we should go to see, what type of food we should eat, what type of restaurant we should visit, where we should send our children, to which college or to which university, what type of education should be given to them, what type of clothes should be purchased, what type of house and car - these are all petty things. She decides."
So I asked, "Then what are the great problems?"
He said, "Whether God exists or not. Great problems I decide!"
Women really are never interested in great problems because they know deep down they are foolish.
You can decide whether God exists or not, or how many angels can dance on one point of a pin - you can decide.
And Nasruddin told me, "This arrangement has been so good that not a single argument has arisen - I always decide great problems, she always decides small problems. And things are going well."
By and by every husband comes to know that he is free only to decide metaphysical problems - otherwordly. No woman is interested in writing scriptures. They have never written any. But that doesn't mean that women have not become enlightened - the same number have. Life follows a proportion. It should be so, otherwise the balance will be lost. Life completely follows a proportion.
Lalla Ded
Lalla Ded.
(Lalleshwari) (1320–1392) was a mystic of the Kashmiri Shaivite sect. She wrote
many devotional and mystic poems, expressing her longing for the Divine. She
remains an important cultural icon in Kashmir
To learn the scriptures is easy,
to live them, hard.
The search for the Real
is no simple matter.
to live them, hard.
The search for the Real
is no simple matter.
Deep in my looking,
the last words vanished.
Joyous and silent,
the waking that met me there.
the last words vanished.
Joyous and silent,
the waking that met me there.
- Lalla Ded
LIFE is in living. It is not a thing, it is a process. There is no way to attain to life except
by living it, except by being alive, by flowing, streaming with it. If you are seeking the
meaning of life in some dogma, in some philosophy, in some theology, that Is the sure
way to miss life and meaning both. - OSHO
Two drunks are walking down the streets
of London with nothing to do, as all the pubs have closed long ago. They come
by a street light and both stop to stare at it. After a few moments, one of
them mumbles, "Is not the moon beautiful tonight?" The other one
turns to him in surprise, and says, "The moon? That is the sun you are
looking at."
They argue for a while, and just as they have decided to get an
opinion, another drunk come stumbling around the corner. One of the first
drunks asks him, "Excuse me, is that the sun or the moon?" The drunk
shrugs his shoulders, and says, "Sorry, I don't know. I don't live around
here."
Five Sayings of
Lal Ded
I
By a way I came, but I went not by the way.
While I was yet on the midst of the embankment
with its crazy bridges, the day failed for me.
I looked within my poke, and not a cowry came to hand
What shall I give for the ferry-fee?
(Translated by G. Grierson)
While I was yet on the midst of the embankment
with its crazy bridges, the day failed for me.
I looked within my poke, and not a cowry came to hand
What shall I give for the ferry-fee?
(Translated by G. Grierson)
II
Passionate, with longing in mine eyes,
Searching wide, and seeking nights and days,
Lo' I beheld the Truthful One, the Wise,
Here in mine own House to fill my gaze.
(Translated by R.C. Temple)
Searching wide, and seeking nights and days,
Lo' I beheld the Truthful One, the Wise,
Here in mine own House to fill my gaze.
(Translated by R.C. Temple)
III
Holy books will disappear, and then only the mystic formula will
remain.
When the mystic formula departed, naught but mind was left.
When the mind disappeared naught was left anywhere,
And a voice became merged within the Void.
(Translated by G. Grierson)
The energy of the cosmos is surrounding you. All that is needed is a certain emptiness in you. So the emptiness is good; don’t fill it by beliefs, don’t fill it again by another kind of god, another philosophy, some existentialism. Don’t fill it. Leave it clean and fresh, and go deeper. Soon you will find from both sides, from outside and inside, a tremendous rush of energy, a tremendous rush of consciousness. Then you disappear, you are almost flooded with the cosmos. You are so small and the cosmos is so vast. You suddenly disappear into it, and that disappearance is the ultimate experience of enlightenment. Then you know you were neither an outsider, nor an insider; you are one with existence. Other than oneness with existence, nothing is going to help you. But that oneness is so easy, so obvious. Just a little relaxation, just a little turning in — not much effort, not much discipline, not much torture for yourself. - OSHO
When the mystic formula departed, naught but mind was left.
When the mind disappeared naught was left anywhere,
And a voice became merged within the Void.
(Translated by G. Grierson)
The energy of the cosmos is surrounding you. All that is needed is a certain emptiness in you. So the emptiness is good; don’t fill it by beliefs, don’t fill it again by another kind of god, another philosophy, some existentialism. Don’t fill it. Leave it clean and fresh, and go deeper. Soon you will find from both sides, from outside and inside, a tremendous rush of energy, a tremendous rush of consciousness. Then you disappear, you are almost flooded with the cosmos. You are so small and the cosmos is so vast. You suddenly disappear into it, and that disappearance is the ultimate experience of enlightenment. Then you know you were neither an outsider, nor an insider; you are one with existence. Other than oneness with existence, nothing is going to help you. But that oneness is so easy, so obvious. Just a little relaxation, just a little turning in — not much effort, not much discipline, not much torture for yourself. - OSHO
IV
You are the heaven and You are the earth,
You are the day and You are the night,
You are all pervading air,
You are the sacred offering of rice and flowers and of water;
You are Yourself all in all,
What can I offer You?
You are the day and You are the night,
You are all pervading air,
You are the sacred offering of rice and flowers and of water;
You are Yourself all in all,
What can I offer You?
V
With a thin rope of untwisted thread
Tow I ever my boat o'er the sea.
Will God hear the prayers that I have said?
Will he safely over carry me?
Water in a cup of unbaked clay,
Whirling and wasting, my dizzy soul
Slowly is filling to melt away.
Oh, how fain would I reach my goal.
Tow I ever my boat o'er the sea.
Will God hear the prayers that I have said?
Will he safely over carry me?
Water in a cup of unbaked clay,
Whirling and wasting, my dizzy soul
Slowly is filling to melt away.
Oh, how fain would I reach my goal.
(Translated by R.C. Temple)
began to go naked
There are no written chronicles on Lalla. The stories are what we know from oral sources. As a young girl, it is said, she was mistreated by her mother-in-law and her husband so much, that the torture became her take-off pad for an extraordinary journey to Self. At twenty-four she left home and became a student of a Hindu teacher called Sed Bayu. Later, she became associated with the Sufi Master as well called, Ali Hamadani.
She roamed around the valley naked - naked meaning either of the two - one, of true nakedness, a body without clothes, the other, nakedness of the soul arising from the nakedness of the mind, a mind free of all boundaries.
According to Coleman Barks, translator of the Book " Naked Songs" about the songs of Lalla Reducing shadow cloth to shreds and patches in fine work of poetry. Sometimes abstract and at other times wonderfully imaged, her short-song scissor-bites cut free the conventional veils and solaces, the light-blockers that hide our own soul-nakedness. She leaves us out in the open with nothing on, like the new moon".
" The soul. Like the moon,
is now, and always new again."
" My teacher told me one thing,
live in the soul.
When that was so,
I began to go naked,
And dance."
A woman, transcended above all identities of body, has no feeling or shame around the physical body because, shame and identities begin not in the body, but in the mind. A mind free of the temporal/spatial cognates has no use of this body, whether, clothed in diamonds or in rags or nothing at all.
" Don’t be so quick to condemn my nakedness.
A man is one who trembles in the Presence.
There are very few of those.
Last, but not the least -
" Gently I weep for my mind,
caught in its illusion of ownership.
Mind, you’re not who you think you are.
You’re dancing over a pit.
Soon you’ll fall through,
And these things, you’ve valued
And collected will be left behind."
" Gently I weep for my mind,
caught in its illusion of ownership.
Mind, you’re not who you think you are.
You’re dancing over a pit.
Soon you’ll fall through,
And these things, you’ve valued
And collected will be left behind."
Lal Ded or Lalla,
the great 14th century Kashmiri poetess and mystic, has been venerated both by
Hindus and Muslims for nearly seven centuries. Known as Lalla Yogini by the
Hindus and Lal Arifa by the Muslims, Lalla's mystical poems or Vakhas — despite
the passage of hundreds of years — continue to inspire, guide and offer succour
to the people of Kashmir on a daily basis.
Questing for truth
Born as
Lalleshwari in a Brahmin family near Srinagar, she was married at the age of
12. But her spiritual inclination did not give her a happy married life.
Brutalised by her husband and her mother-in-law, she left her home at the age
of 26 and became a disciple of a famous saint of her time. Later, after
completing her apprenticeship in spirituality, she went out as a wandering,
clotheless mendicant. As a ‘quester' of the ultimate truth, she challenged the
existing social practices and religious ritualism. And during those spiritual
journeys and detours, she came out with her Vakhas or sayings (or ‘Utterances'
). Each of her vakhas ‘strike us like brief and blinding bursts of light:
epiphanic, provocative, they shuttle between the vulnerability of doubt and the
assurance of an insight gained through resilience and reflection.' Self
knowledge, renouncement of worldly desires and intense longings to annihilate
the self in order to finally merge with the Supreme Being or God are the main
motifs of Lalla's utterances. Here is an example:
 |
| Lalla Ded |
True mind, look inside the body,
this body they call the Self's own form.
Strip off greed and lust, polish this body,
this body as bright as the sun.
There
is another one:
I, Lalla, wore myself down searching for Him
and found a strength after my strength had
died.
I came to his threshold but found the door
bolted.
I locked that door with my eyes and looked
at Him.
"Whatever work I did became worship of the Lord;
Whatever word I uttered became a prayer;
Whatever this body of mine experienced became
the sadhana of Saiva Tantra
illumining my path to Parmasiva."
Whatever word I uttered became a prayer;
Whatever this body of mine experienced became
the sadhana of Saiva Tantra
illumining my path to Parmasiva."
Deep in my looking,
the last words vanished.
Joyous and silent,
the waking that met me there.
the last words vanished.
Joyous and silent,
the waking that met me there.
- Lalla Ded
Yet another Biography of Lalla
Ded
 |
| Mystic Islam |
Lalla was a great
saint and mystic from the Kashmir province of India. She lived in the 14th
Century, which was a period of great religious upheaval and change. Her home
province of Kashmir had a tradition of fusing religious traditions. For example
although Buddhism has almost disappeared it was still a significant influence
on the different Hindu traditions. In the fourteenth century the people of
Kashmir came under the influence of Islam. However the Islam which was brought
by mystics such as Bulbul Shah was heavily influenced by Mahayana Buddhism and
Upanishadic philosophy. Thus the people of Kashmir were sympathetic to the
branch of mystic Islam that Lalla embodied.
Lalla excelled in
spiritual practices and is said to have reached a lofty height of self
realization, ‘The abode of nectar’. However Lalla also wished to manifest and
reveal the spiritual truths she had received. Therefore she took to the life of
a wandering pilgrim, travelling around the county teaching those who were
receptive.
During her life
Lalla composed many hundreds of songs. Primarily these spoke of her great
longing and love for her beloved Shiva. Indeed there are many similarities
between her life and her near contemporary Mirabai. Her
poems or Vakyas, formed an important part of Kashmiri language and
culture and are still very much revered today.
In
Lalla, we witness the devotion of a bhakti saint.
‘God does not want meditations and austerities
Through love alone canst though reach the Abode of Bliss.
Thou mayst be lost like salt in water
Still it is difficult for thee to know God.’
Through love alone canst though reach the Abode of Bliss.
Thou mayst be lost like salt in water
Still it is difficult for thee to know God.’
In
Lalla we also feel the detachment of a Karma yogi. Like Krishna to Arjuna in
the Bhagavad Gita; she urges her followers to work without attachment to the
result:
Let
them jeer or cheer me;
Let anybody say what he likes;
Let good persons worship me with flowers;
What can any one of them gain I being pure?
Let anybody say what he likes;
Let good persons worship me with flowers;
What can any one of them gain I being pure?
If
the world talks ill of me
My heart shall harbour no ill-will:
If am a true worshipper of God
Can ashes leave a stain on a mirror?
My heart shall harbour no ill-will:
If am a true worshipper of God
Can ashes leave a stain on a mirror?
Lalla
was a great mystic but she could be critical of religious ceremonies and
religious orthodoxy. Her teachings and poems are thus reminiscent
of Kabir, (although Kabir came later).
This period in which Lalla lived was an important time. It was one in which the divisions between religions were broken down. A saint like Lalla was able to appeal to the heart of the people. Her spiritual realisations cross caste and religious barriers and is still admired today.
By:Richard
LALLA
"I discovered
the Lord
Within the walls of my own soul.
Within the walls of my own soul.
I search for my Self
until I grow weary,
but no one, I know now,
reaches the hidden knowledge
by mere effort.
Then, absorbed in 'Thou art Everything,'
I found the place of Wine.
All the jars were filled to the brim
but no one was left to drink it.
(Heaven is here -- you just have to know how to live it. And hell too is here, and you know perfectly well how to live it. It is only a question of changing your perspective, your approach towards life. The earth is beautiful. If you start living its beauty, enjoying its joys you are in paradise. If you condemn everything, then the same earth turns into a hell -- only for you. It depends on you where you live, it is a question of your own inner transformation. It is not a change of place, it is a change of inner space. Live joyously, guiltlessly, live totally. And then heaven is no more a metaphysical concept, it is your own experience. - OSHO)
There are no written chronicles on Lalla. The stories are what we know from oral sources. As a young girl, it is said, she was mistreated by her mother-in-law and her husband so much, that the torture became her take-off pad for an extraordinary journey to Self. At twenty-four she left home and became a student of a Hindu teacher called Sed Bayu. Later, she became associated with the Sufi Master as well called, Ali Hamadani.
She roamed around the valley naked - naked meaning either of the two - one, of true nakedness, a body without clothes, the other, nakedness of the soul arising from the nakedness of the mind, a mind free of all boundaries.
is now, and always new again."
" My teacher told me one thing,
live in the soul.
When that was so,
I began to go naked,
And dance."
Clothes, have been symbolic for many who write or speak of spiritual journey or realization. Here the clothes are synonymous with dropping of identities or societal dressings.
In India, we have looked at nakedness with shame and in the same breath we have accepted nakedness among spiritual practitioners with an attitude of shraddha. Thus, on this soil, even to this day, we live with equal tolerance, of both shame and shraddha on the subject of nakedness. We bow before a Digambara Jaina muni walking naked on the streets, or an atmagyani who has shed his/her clothes, even watch with ecstatic joy, the absolute abandon of the Naga Swamis. Our children, our women and our men go with faith and devotion to a realized souls (* See hyperlink below: The presence of a Sufi Mystic in our own land - Kashmir) and seek His/Her blessings with reverence. These naked fakirs are a boon to our lives as human beings.
A wo/man, transcended above all identities of body, has no feeling or shame around the physical body because, shame and identities begin not in the body, but in the mind. A mind free of the temporal/spatial cognates has no use of this body, whether, clothed in diamonds or in rags or nothing at all.
" Don’t be so quick to condemn my nakedness.
A man is one who trembles in the Presence.
There are very few of those.
Why not go naked?
The ram of experience must be fed
And ripened for the sacrifice.
" Then all these customs will disappear
like clothes. There’s only the soul."
Last, but not the least -
" Gently I weep for my mind,
caught in its illusion of ownership.
Mind, you’re not who you think you are.
You’re dancing over a pit.
Soon you’ll fall through,
And these things, you’ve valued
And collected will be left behind."
Coleman Barks who has translated " Lalla - Naked Song" has also translated and published other esoteric poets like The Sixth Dalai Lama, Rigdzin Tsangyang Gyatso and Jalaluddin Rumi
🙏
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