Many people are first introduced to Sufism through the poetry of these Sufi saints that challenges the listener to come to his or her own spiritual understanding. This expression of poetry and music is found in the other mystics of the subcontinent like Kabir, Tulsidas and Gurunanak. In the subcontinent these mystics and the Sufi saints have had an influence on people of all faiths. Kabir is not easily categorised to any faith and his poetry is a synthesis of both Hindu and Sufi philosophy:
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage, then who is there to know what happens without?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage, then who is there to know what happens without?
Hari is in the East: Allah is in the West. Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Kabîr is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
In the same vein Sufi poet Baba Farid, who is recognised as the first acclaimed poet in the Punjabi language, is also considered one of the holy saints in Sikhism. His verses are compiled in the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib under the chapter: ‘Farid’s Sayings by Guru Nanak Dev’.Sufi Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, whose shrine is in Sehwan and who incorporated the whirling dance of the dervish of mevlevi semas introduced by Jalaluddin Rumi in Turkey, was also called Jhoolay Lal by the Hindus of his area believing him to be an avatar of Hindu saint Jhoolay Lal.
A few years ago when a young Indian singer, Rabbi Shergill, made a debut with thekalams of Baba Bullay Shah, the eighteenth century Punjabi Sufi mystic of Kasur, his main number, Bulla ki jaana maen kaun, topped the charts. Some of its verses are:
Na maen bhed mazhab da paaya
Na maen aadam havva jaaya
Na maen apna naam dharaaya
Na vich baitthan na vich bhaun
Bulla kee jaana maen kaun
Secrets of religion, I have not known
From Adam and Eve, I am not born
I am not the name I assume
Not in stillness, nor on the move
Bulla, I know not who I am!
