Bulleh! to me, I am not known

by Bulleh Shah


Original Language Punjabi

Not a believer inside the mosque, am I
Nor a pagan disciple of false rites
Not the pure amongst the impure
Neither Moses, nor the Pharaoh

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Not in the holy Vedas, am I
Nor in opium, neither in wine
Not in the drunkard`s intoxicated craze
Neither awake, nor in a sleeping daze

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

In happiness nor in sorrow, am I
Neither clean, nor a filthy mire
Not from water, nor from earth
Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Not an Arab, nor Lahori
Neither Hindi, nor Nagauri
Hindu, Turk, nor Peshawari
Nor do I live in Nadaun

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

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

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

I am the first, I am the last
None other, have I ever known
I am the wisest of them all
Bulleh! do I stand alone?

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Bulleh Shah has given us a riddle to unravel today.

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Ask yourself, What or who is not known when he keeps saying that he is "not known"? How can he say to himself that he is not known?

The little self, the ego, the self of attributes with a place in the world, the self that answers to the name Bulleh ("I am not the name I assume") -- that self can't know the deeper Self. Why? Because the True Self is far too immense. The True Self is "not a believer... nor a pagan." The True Self is not involved "in happiness nor in sorrow." The True Self is too big to be contained by those definitions; it permeates them and encompasses them, without being caught by them.

Not from water, nor from earth
Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth


The True Self is not hemmed in by beginnings and ending.

From Adam and Eve, I am not born

One's True Self is eternal.

I am the first, I am the last

And utterly whole and all-encompasing, with nothing external.

None other, have I ever known

No surprise then that the little self that clings to definitions and boundaries cannot know the Self Bulleh speaks of. The great, flowing vastness one is, well, it is perceived, but it is not 'known.'

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

To encounter the deepest mystery, we have only to look in the mirror.

Ivan


PS- A blessed Ramadan to all of my Muslim friends. Ramadan Mubarak!

PPS- And also let me quickly acknowledge the passing of Muhammad Ali. He gained fame as a boxer, but it was his greatness of spirit that made him an international icon. He was a verbal poet, a social activist, a courageous man nobly living with a debilitating illness. He was a genuinely kind and wise man... and, less well known, he was a follower of the Sufi path. His presence was a gift to the world. RIP.



Recommended Books: Bulleh Shah

The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology) Real Thirst: Poetry of the Spiritual Journey Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi Bulleh Shah: The Love-Intoxicated Iconoclast (Mystics of the East series) Saint Bulleh Shah
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Bulleh! to me, I am