Kalam-e-Bahoo

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Naal kusangee sang na karee-e,
Kul noon laaj na laaee-e hoo.
Timme mool tarbooz na honde,
Torh makke lai jaaee-e hoo.
Kaan de bachche hans na theende,
Pae motee chog chugaaee-e hoo.
Kaurhe khooh na mitthe hunde,
Sai manaan khand paaee-e hoo.
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Shun the company of the ill-reputed,
Lest it should discredit your family.
Never will a bitter melon turn sweet,
Even if you take on a pligrimage to Mecca.
Never will the offspring of a crow grow into a swan,
Even if you nourish it on pearls.
Never will the water of a bitter well turn sweet,
Even if you pour tons of sugar into it.
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Nit asaade khalle khaandee,
Ehaa duneeaa zishtee hoo.
Jainde kaaran baih baih rovan,
Sheikh, mushaaikh, Chishtee hoo.
Jinhaan andar hubb duneeaa dee,
Gharq unhaan dee kishtee hoo.
Tark duneeaa dee kar toon Baahoo,
Khaasaa raah bahishtee hoo.
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This foul, ugly world For which priests and leaders of religion shed tears
Is rebuffed and rebuked by the lovers of God.
If you are ambitious for the world,
You will drown midstream in the ocean of life.
Let us renounce the world, O Bahu,
And adopt the invaluable path to God.
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Nafal namaazaan kamm zanaanaa,
Roze sarfaa rotee hoo.
Makke de val soee jaande,
Gharon jinhaan tarotee hoo.
Uchcheeaan baangaan soee devan,
Neeat jinhaan dee khotee hoo.
Keeh parvaah tinhaan noon,
jinhaan Ghar wich laddhee bauhtee hoo.
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Formal prayer and prostration are feeble pursuits.
Fasting has little merit, other than to save food.
Only they go on pilgrimage to Mecca
Who are not wanted at home.
Only they pray loudly, professing their devotion,
Who are deceptive of intent.
But those who have found God’s Name in their hearts
Care not to fast nor prostrate themselves in formal prayer.
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Na oh Hindu na oh momin,
Na sajdaa den maseetee hoo.
Dam dam de wich wekhan Maulaa,
Jinhaan qazaa na keetee hoo.
Aahe daane bane divane,
Zaat sahee vanj keetee hoo.
Main qurbaan tinhaan ton Baahoo,
Ishq baazee jin leetee hoo.
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Not Hindu’s no Muslims-
Free of religious ties, lovers don’t pray in temples;
But they never take a break from their devotions
And are always in communion with the Lord within.
Absorbed in the essence of the Lord,
They feign ignorance to conceal their wisdom.
I sacrifice myself to anyone, O Bahu,
Who eneters the arena of love and wins its game.
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Na Rabb arsh mu-alla utte,
Na Rabb khaavve Kaabe hoo.
Na Rabb ilm kitaabeen labbhaa,
Na Rabb wich maihraabe hoo.
Ganga teerath mool na miliaa,
Painde be-hisaabe hoo.
Jad daa murshid pharhiaa Baahoo,
Chhutte sab aazaabe hoo.
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God doesn’t live in the highest heaven,
Nor can he be found in the holy shrine of Ka’ba.
No one ever found him through learning
Or by knowing the scriptures.
I never met him through bathing in holy waters-
I roamed far and wide in a fruitless search.
But I was rid of all my despair and anguish
When I put myself in my Master’s hands, O Bahu.
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