Hadrat Sultan Bahoo Says In his Poetry

Ishq maahee de laaeeaan aggeen,
Laggee kaun bujhaave hoo.

Main keeh jaanaan zaat ishq,
jo Dar dar chaa jhukaave hoo.

Na saunven na sauvan deve,
Suttiaan aan jagaave hoo.

Main qurbaan haan usde jehrha,
Vichhrhe yaar milaave hoo.

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My heart is ablaze with the fire of love.
Who will quench the flames?

How was I to know what this love was like?
It has made me bow my head at every doorstep.

It is always awake, and it always keeps me awake;
It doesn’t allow me a wink of sleep.

O Bahu, I sacrifice myself to anyone,
Who will reunite me with my long-separated Friend.

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Ishq muazzin dittiaan baangaan,
Kanneen sad peeose hoo.

Khoon jigar daa kadh karaahaan,
Wuzoo paakh sezeeose hoo.

Sun taqbeer fanai walee,
Murhan muhaal theeose hoo.

Parh takbeer theeose waasil,
Taaheen shukr keetose hoo.

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When love gave the call to prayer,
My heart responded:

I purified myself-I performed my wuzoo*
With the blood of my heart!

When the cry “God is great” inspired me
To merge in that great Lord,
I found my heart unwilling to turn back.

When I myself proclaimed Allah’s greatness,
I merged in him and thanked him
For relieving me of my long suffering.
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(Wuzoo refers to the Muslim practise of cleaning oneself by washing on’es face, hands and feet with water before namaaz, the ritual prayer)

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Aqal fikar dee jaa na kaaee,
Jit wahadat sirr subhaanee hoo.

Na uth mullaan pandit joshee,
Na uth ilm Quraanee hoo.

Jad Aihmad aihad wikhaalee dittaa,
Taan kul hove faanee hoo.

Ilm tamaam keetone haasil,
Thapp kitaab asmaanee hoo.

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Intellect and wisdom find no foothold
Where the secrets of unity in God are revealed.

Priests are no help there
Nor is any knowledge of the scriptures.

You can only merge your self in the
Absolute When the Master reveals the divine secret.

You can only acquire ultimate knowledge of God
After you put away the scriptures.

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Ilmon baajh je faqar kamaave,
Kaafir mare deewaanaa hoo.

Sai variaan dee kare ibaadat,
Allaah theen begaanaa hoo.

Ghaflat theen na khulsan parde,
Dil jaahil butkhaanaa hoo.

Main qurbaan tinhaan ton,
jinhaan Miliaa yaar yagaanaa hoo.

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If you meditate on God without guidance,
You wll die faithless and lost.

Even if you worship like this for hundreds of years,
You would still be unfamiliar with God.

The veil will not be lifted without knowledge of the Way-
The heart will stay dark like a house of idols.

I sacrifice myself to anyone, O Bahu,
Who has found the Master without peer.

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Raah faqar daa tad ladhosee,
Jad hath pharheeosee kaasaa hoo.

Tark duneeaa ton tad thiosee,
Jad faqeer miliosee khaasaa hoo.

Dariaa wahadat nosh keetose,
Ajaan bhee jee piaasaa hoo.

Raah faqar rat hanjhoo rovan,
Lokaan bhaane haasaa hoo.

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I found the mystic path When I held the beggar’s bowl in hand,
Begging for the Master’s grace.

I could only truly renounce the world
After I had met my exalted Master.

Deep have I drunk from the ocean of oneness,
Yet my soul thirsts for more and more.

Tears of blood pave the way to God, O Bahu!
None but the ignorant will take this lightly.

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Roze, nafal, namaazaan, taqwaa,
Sabbho kamm hairaanee hoo.

Inheen galleen Rabb haasil naaheen,
Khud khwaanee khud daanee hoo.

Qadeem hamesh jalendaa milio,
So yaar yaar na jaanee hoo.

Virad vazeefe theen chhut raihsee,
Baahoo hosee jad faanee hoo.

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Fasting, prayers and rites of abstinence Only end in confusion.

God is not found through such means;
These are all but acts of vanity and self-promotion!

You have failed to recognize the beloved
Friend Who always lives within you.

You will save yourself from rites and rituals,
O Bahu, when you lose your being in God.

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Re-raihmat us ghar wich vasse,
Jitthe balde deeve hoo.

Ishq hawaaee charh gaee falkeen,
Kitthe jahaaz ghateeve hoo.

Aqal fikr dee berhee noon chaa,
Paihale poor burheeve hoo.

Har jaa jaanee disse Baahoo,
Jitwal nazar kacheeve hoo.

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Bliss and grace reign in the heart,
That glows with the light of love.

The sail of love has soared to the heavens,
Leaving the ship of thought and reason.

Without its motive power-sinking
On its very first attempt to cross the ocean of life.

From where I stand, In whatever direction my eyes turn,
I see only my Beloved, O Bahu.

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Zaahid zuhd kamaande thakke,
Roze, nafal, namaazaan hoo.

Aashiq gharq hoe wich wahadat,
Naal muhabbat raazaan hoo.

Makkhee qaid shahad wich hoee,
Keeh udsee sang baazaan hoo.

Jinhaan majlis naal nabee,
Oh saahib naaz nawaazaan hoo.

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The pious tire themselves out With austerities and fasts,
With worship and rituals, While lovers dissolve themselves
In the ocean of oneness.

Through love they acquire the secret of God!
Like a bee drowning in a jar of honey,
The worldly –minded are drowning in a jar of honey,
The worldly-minded are drowning in worldly pleasures.

They cannot soar to the spiritual heights of the mystics
Any more than a bee can fly with eagles!

Those who keep company with a
Master Are honored in God’s court, blessed with God’s grace.

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Zabaanee kalma har koee parhhdaa,
Dil daa kalmaa koee hoo.

Jitthe kalmaa dil daa parhhee-e,
Mile zabaan na dhoee hoo.

Dil daa kalmaa aashiq parhhde,
Jaanan yaar galoee hoo.

Kalmaa mainoon peer parhhaaiaa,
Sadaa suhaagan hoee hoo.

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Everyone recites the Kalma with his lips;
Rare is the person who recites it from the heart.

When the Kalma comes from the heart,
The spoken word has no value.

Only mystics know this Kalma of the heart.
What do they know, who only sing and preach?

My Master has taught me this secret Kalma;
I am now forever united with my Lord.

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Sabaq sifaatee soee parhde,
Jo vat hain naheen zatee hoo.

Ilmon-ilm unhaan noon hoiaa,
Aslee te asbaatee hoo.

Naal muhabbat nafs kuthone,
Kadh qazaa dee kaatee hoo.

Bahraa khaas unhaan noo jinhaan,
Laddhaa aab hayaatee hoo.

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Only those who practise his true Name
Know how to sing God’s praises.

They acquire through inner revelation,
The knowledge real and true!

Wielding the swerd of God’s will
They slay their ego with God’s love.

Those who find the water of eternal life
Acquire divine wisdom, O Bahu!