Yes!! The beginning of the new chapter "Path To Peace" (Sur Yaman Kalyan in Sindhi)

This chapter is divided into five sub-chapters and talks mostly about the pain of being separated with the Beloved and cure to this pain.

To get an idea what kind of words this chapter mostly consists of, you can analyze the above image. The size of each word is directly proportional to the frequency of word being used in the complete chapter.

Instead of posting single stanzas, I'll be posting the "group" of stanzas from now onwards depending on the sense those will make.

Like the introductory sub-chapter of this Sur (Chapter) consists of 4 stanzas out which 3 stanzas are beginning with the line "Thou art the friend; the healer thou"

I'll be posting this introductory chapter in my next post titled "Thou art the friend; the healer thou (Path to Peace - Chap1 - Stanzas 1-4)"

(Read Full Chapter)

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Image edited by me. Original can be found here

"To guard and to preserve the head,
the lover's business is not this---
One of beloved's glance is worth
so many hundreds head of his---
Flesh, skin and bone, and all there is ,
the 'least ' of loved-one , equals not."

The last stanza of first chapter "Sur Kalyan (Peace)" is a true representation of intensity of Love.

To make it a bit easy for my fellow readers, it says:

"Lover's task is not to preserve and protect his head but to have that "glance" of his beloved. The worth of that glance is incomparable. It has more attraction and peace than guarding your head; heads which are so common in this world. What do you have?! Flesh? Skin? Bones? These are not comparable to what your beloved has"

The intriguing point is that Bhitai has compared a tiny particle with the huge desert and the difference in these two variables is in terms of Power and Love. How?

It is not flesh, skin and bone of yours, these are "nothing" for your beloved! [read: Power]
The glance.... it is incomparable... it attracts... it calls... [read: Love]

One more thing I heard while reading this is that a Genuine Lover is similar, yet different from others...

It's really nice to see this chapter coming to the end. If you want to read the full chapter, go to
Home > Shah Jo Risalo > Chapter 1 - Peace or click "Read full chapter" at the bottom.

What are your opinions about this chapter? Why it is named as "Peace"? Comments are welcomed here as well as the Chapter's comment section

(Read full chapter)

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(Editted, Original image taken from here)

"The genuine lover, for his head
care and concern has none;
He cuts it off---joins it with breath
as gift then hands it on ;
Carves down to shoulders, from loved-one
then begs for love's return."

First, putting this stanza in simple words:
"The genuine lover does not have any concern or care for his head, he cuts it off, combines it with his breath, carves (Engrave or cut by chipping away at a surface) himself down to his shoulders and offers his head to his Love to have something in return."

According to me, the most powerful line is: Carves down to shoulders, from loved-one :o

The head was mentioned in the previous stanza as well, where it represented "Pride and Ego"

Of course it is implied that above lines are not to be taken in the literal sense, but i am quite surprised at his imagination, and i would like to know the result and outcome of putting up such imagination into words.

Perhaps this is linked with the Iqbal's stray reflection regarding "Miracles"; to go out-of-the-canvas...

What do you think?

(Read full chapter)

"If you a draught desire
to tavern find your way;
Thy head do sever, and that head
beside the barrel lay;
Only when you this price do pay
then few cups you may quaff."

I observed that last four stanzas of this chapter have a similar theme. i.e. paying a cost to prove yourself a true lover.

These lines are very powerful :/

"OK so what's the importance of head among other parts of human body?", i asked myself

The reply: "Waqar (honor), mind, brain... yup that's it"

So "Honor" fits here the best according to me.

Does Bhitai want to say that "forget your pride and devote yourself to your Love?"

(Read full chapter)

"There is a call to gallows, friends,
will any of you go!
Those who do talk of love may Know
to gallows they must speed."

The stanza says that a lover will speed up towards gallows when he is called up as this will prove him a "true lover"

Gallows is an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging.

So is he saying that death will prove you a true lover?

OR

Death will quench your thirst?

(Read full chapter)

Image taken from here

"From One, many to being came;
'many' but Oneness is;
Don't get confounded, Reality
is 'One' , this truth don't miss
Commotions vast display - all this
I vow, of Loved-one is."

"Reality is One! Although we seem to be 'many' but in reality we are 'one'"

Bhitai knew that his readers will stumble upon confusions in understanding the concept of 'Oneness' so he has already mentioned this in the line "Don't get confounded..."

He is promising that everything we see (including ourselves) belongs to Loved-one.

I believe this thought is going parallel with Iqbal's concept of 'Organic Unity', which, Khurram Ali Shafique has mentioned on his blog:

1- Unity of Life
2- Unity of Humankind
3- Unity of Nation

(Read full chapter)

Image taken from here

"The poison-drinking lovers, lured
by poison sweet, drink more and more;
To bitterness of fatal cup,
the poison-drinkers are inured,
Though wounds are festering, and uncured,
no whispers to the vulgar goes."

Poison... it takes your death.. and if seen from a different angle, it helps you to enter in a new world.

Notice that Bhitai is referring to those people who are "attracted" to the sweet poison and are in love with it as this poison gives them strength. It makes them tougher.

One more thing is interesting here. "The poison drinkers are inured" says that this poison makes them "stronger" and on the other side, it also makes their wounds "fester". So physically (festering wounds can be seen by everyone), it is working as the normal poison works, but spiritually (may be), it has a positive impact.

If we read the next stanza "There's no bitter", we can get an idea about the source of this poison, i.e all from Beloved's side is sweet.

Sadly, i couldn't understand the last line. :( "no whispers to the vulgar goes".

Anyone?

(Read full chapter)

Image taken from here

"He is without a partner” , when
this glorious news you break
With love & knowledge, Mohammad
accept ..as cause him take
Why would you then obeisance make
to others after that?"

It's a bit confusing. :s because of the word "You".

As i got it, in first three lines, "You" is referring to Muhammad PBUH and it is referring to us (the reader) in last three lines.

So to rephrase it:
"When You(Mohammad PBUH) are giving us this glorious news by saying that God is without any partner, then why would you(reader) show obedience to anyone else after that? Accept this news without any ambiguities!"

Am i right?

Secondly, according to Bhitai, the reason Muhammad PBUH knows this news is because of two things:
1- Love
2- Knowledge

(Read full chapter)

Image taken from here

"If you have learnt to long, by pain
be not distressed-
Secret of love's sorrow must be
never confessed-
Suffering is by the heart caressed,
and there it is preserved."

OK! I got this:

If you are suffering and you have got no one with whom you can share the suffering (or cause of the sorrow), don't worry! You don't need to confess it. Keep it in your heart as there is no place and friend better than your own heart!

Now the part i didn't get is why is he saying that secret of love's sorrow must not be shared with anyone but your heart?

To me, one should share everything with people around you. It helps others and you yourself as well to get better understanding of certain things and experiences.

Sooo... To understand his concept:

1-Your heart here may mean everyone
2-This sorrow may be of different type, may be it is "flipped"... err... opposite i mean. By sharing sorrow, you feel good, but in this case, you may feel better by "not sharing" it.
3-Protect this suffering. It may be an asset!

These are still "may-s".

Are these true? What do you people think?

Image taken from here

"All from Beloved's side is sweet
whatever He gives to you.
There is no bitter, if you knew
the secret how to taste."

I think this stanza is in parallel continuation with "Echo and Call" (secret of taste) and "I'll meet my master" (everything from Beloved's side is sweet).

As i read this stanza, i am thinking that man has been made as a neutral thinker. Like he has been given choice to go either towards negative(which he thinks is positive) or positive. We have been given a tool to taste and feel "bitterness" but at the same time we can sense "sweet" too.

Challenge is that you taste bitter (consider it as a tool to study sweetness) and convert that bitterness to sweetness... in your perception... and may be in reality :s

In any case, you have to observe dark to understand bright...

Original version can be found here

5

             The Echo and the call are same,
             if you sound's secret knew
             They both were one, but two became
             only when 'hearing' came.

We'll go word by word:

1. Call: I think this word has been used for the "messenger/teacher" here. Like the one who tells or delivers you certain message/thought. I think we can take it as "source of the message" as well
2. Echo: Scientifically, it is the repetition of a sound resulting from reflection of the sound waves. In this context, "message taker/interpreter" is being represented by this word.
3. Sound: The medium through which the message/thought is coming.
4. Sound's secret: The secret way to use this medium. It is a secret as we don't know it yet, but he knows it.(Bhitai has used the word "you" instead of "we" in the second line. So i am asuming that he knew this secret)
5. Hearing: Scientifically, it is one of the Human's senses to understand any message. Here this word can be taken as the "resistance" to understand the message/thought.

As far as I've undersood, Bhitai is saying that whoever is giving a message to you, in any form, in any reflection, every echo is equal to the call. So when we look at world in this manner, everywhere is source and every thing is covered in light.

But due to our desire to be "different" from others, and to walk with our heads up, we start to see impurities in this World, in every scene, in every thought, in every color...

So we'll have to hear the message as Bhitai has heard. But we can only "repair" or "improve" our hearing after we know the sound's secret.

2

             None shares His glory, "He was..is,
             shall be"..who this doth say
             Accepts Mohammad as 'guide'
             with heart and love's true sway;
             None from amongst those lost their way
             or ever went astray.

Bhitai has mentioned time (Past, present and future) here by saying that God was, is and will be present everywhere. Nobody shares his powers and glory. He then writes about the followers of Muhammad S.A.W. by saying that those people who make Muhammad S.A.W. as their guide never lost their way and fail in their lives.

Now the interesting thing to note here is the "way" or "destination" he is talking about. Similar to the first stanza, where counterpart of universe is unknown, here the unknown thing is the "way".

1

"The One Creator, the all greats;
Lord of the universe
The living, the original;
Ruler with power innate;
The giver, the sustainer,
the unique , compassionate;
This master praise, to Him alone
thyself in praise prostrate..
The generous, who does create
the universe in pairs.."

Sur Kalyan (Peace) starts from the praise of God. It says that God is one. He is the creator and ruler of this whole universe.
The other thing Bhitai has mentioned is about the pairing of universe. Now I am getting confused here. Is he talking about the pair of universe itself or simply saying that everything in this universe has some counterpart?

Click links of each stanza to read more.

Introduction

Labels: Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Yaman Kalyan

Yes!! The beginning of the new chapter "Path To Peace" (Sur Yaman Kalyan in Sindhi)

This chapter is divided into five sub-chapters and talks mostly about the pain of being separated with the Beloved and cure to this pain.

To get an idea what kind of words this chapter mostly consists of, you can analyze the above image. The size of each word is directly proportional to the frequency of word being used in the complete chapter.

Instead of posting single stanzas, I'll be posting the "group" of stanzas from now onwards depending on the sense those will make.






_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Click links of each stanza to read more.

Introduction

Universe in Pairs (Stanza 1)

Labels: God, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan, Universe

The One Creator, the all greats;
Lord of the universe
The living, the original;
Ruler with power innate;
The giver, the sustainer,
the unique , compassionate;
This master praise, to Him alone
thyself in praise prostrate..
The generous, who does create
the universe in pairs

The True Guide (Stanza 2)

Labels: God, Muhammad, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan, True destination

None shares His glory, "He was..is,
shall be"..who this doth say
Accepts Mohammad as 'guide'
with heart and love's true sway;
None from amongst those lost their way
or ever went astray.

The Glorious News (Stanza 3)

Labels: Oneness, Reality, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan, Truth

”He is without a partner” , when
this glorious news you break
With love & knowledge, Mohammad
accept ..as cause him take
Why would you then obeisance make
to others after that?

Oneness (Stanza 4)

Labels: God, Muhammad, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan, True destination

From One, many to being came;
'many' but Oneness is;
Don't get confounded, Reality
is 'One' , this truth don't miss
Commotions vast display - all this
I vow, of Loved-one is.

 Echo & Call (Stanza 5)

Labels:  Call, Echo, Secret of Love, Shah Jo Risalo, Sound, Sur Kalyan

The Echo and the call are same,
if you sound's secret knew
They both were one, but two became
only when 'hearing' came.

 I'll Meet My Master!!! (Stanza 6)

Labels: Life, Master, Sur Kalyan, True destination

A thousand doors and windows too,
the palace has ..but see,
Wherever I might go or be
master confronts me there

Secret of Love's Sorrow (Stanza 7)

Labels: Secret of Love, Shah Jo Risalo, Sorrow, Sur Kalyan

If you have learnt to long, by pain
be not distressed-
Secret of love's sorrow must be
never confessed-
Suffering is by the heart caressed,
and there it is preserved.

Drink to the Bitterness of Fatal Cup (Stanza 8)

Labels: Bitterness, Love, Poison, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan

The poison-drinking lovers, lured
by poison sweet, drink more and more;
To bitterness of fatal cup,
the poison-drinkers are inured,
Though wounds are festering, and uncured,
no whispers to the vulgar goes.

There is No Bitter! (Stanza 9)

Labels: Sense, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan

All from Beloved's side is sweet
whatever He gives to you.
There is no bitter, if you knew
the secret how to taste.

Call to Gallows (Stanza 10)

Labels: Gallows, True Lover, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan 

There is a call to gallows, friends,
will any of you go!
Those who do talk of love may Know
to gallows they must speed.

Find Your Way to Tavern (Stanza 11)

Labels: Cost, Desire, Honor, Powerful, Price, Pride, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan, Tavern

If you a draught desire
to tavern find your way;
Thy head do sever, and that head
beside the barrel lay;
Only when you this price do pay
then few cups you may quaff

The Genuine Lover (Stanza 12)

Labels: Genuine Lover, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan

The genuine lover, for his head
care and concern has none;
He cuts it off---joins it with breath
as gift then hands it on ;
Carves down to shoulders, from loved-one
then begs for love's return

The Lover's Business (Stanza 13)

Labels: Genuine Lover, Intensity of Love, Love, Peace, Power, Secret of Love, Shah Jo Risalo, Sur Kalyan, True Lover

To guard and to preserve the head,
the lover's business is not this---
One of beloved's glance is worth
so many hundreds head of his---
Flesh, skin and bone, and all there is ,
the 'least ' of loved-one , equals not.



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I've decided to narrate the series of poems of Shah jo Risalo written by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (SALB). The book consists of 29 poems in total. Every poem has been given a title of "Sur" meaning "a musical note". Every sur or note is then divided into different stories (daastaan), like first poem is divided into 3 stories. Some stories have a concluding stanza (Wayee) as well.

Now the question is that why and how SALB has created such divisions and partitions? and what message is he trying to deliver through his poems? We (yes we = me + YOU) will try to find this during this narration.

The books I am using for narration are these two:

1- Shah jo Risalo (Sindhi version) - compiled by Abdul-Majid Bhurgri
2- Shah jo Risalo (English version) - translated by Shah Elsa Kazi

I guess we are going to have fun on this roller coaster ride :)