Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Iran/Per
(Middle East)

Sarmad

Timeline (? - 1659)

Poems by Sarmad
Books - Links

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Sarmad, or Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed, is a fascinating and complex character who seems to have bridged several cultures in Persia and India. Apparently, Sarmad originally lived in an Armenian community in Iran. Some believe that Sarmad was from a Jewish background, earning him the modern epithet of the Jewish Sufi Saint of India. Other scholars suggest he was Christian before taking up the Sufi path.

He had an excellent command of both Persian and Arabic, essential for his work as a merchant. Hearing that precious items and works of art were being purchased in India at high prices, Sarmad gathered together his wares and traveled to India where he intended to sell them.

Near the end of his journey, however, he is said to have fallen in love with a dervish boy. This ardent love ('ishq) created such a radical transformation in his awareness that Sarmad immediately dropped all desire for wealth and worldly comfort. In this ecstatic state, he even lost all concern with social convention and began to wander about without clothes, becoming a naked faqir.

He continued journeying through India, but now as a naked dervish rather than as a merchant. He ended up in Delhi where he found the favor of a prince in the region and gained a certain amount of influence at court. That prince, however, was soon overthrown by Aurengzeb, who saw the naked Sarmad as a political enemy. Sarmad was eventually accused of political crimes and unorthodox Muslim practice, and Sarmad was eventually put to death.

Poems by Sarmad

	Companion
	Every man who is aware of his secret
	He is happy on account of my humble self
	The universe
	To the dignified station of love I was raised,

Recommended Books

The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry, Translated by Peter Lamborn Wilson / Translated by Nasrollah Pourjavady

Amazon.com

Sarmad the Saint, by M. G. Gupta

Amazon.com

Sarmad: Jewish Saint of India, by Isaac A. Ezekiel

Amazon.com

Related Links:

	Companion: a poem by Sarmad, translated by Azarm Ghareman http://www.mythicartist.org/artists/work/ag_companion.htm A brief description of the use of rhythm in this poem, along with a sound recording of Azarm Ghareman reading the poem in the original Farsi.
	Chishti Poetry http://www.chishti.ru/sufi_poets.htm A couple of quatrains by Sarmad, as well as poetry by several other Sufi poets.
	Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed: The Naked Sufi Martyr http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00005363&channel=leafyglade%20inn A good, detailed biography of Sarmad, with a few poem excerpts.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Sarmad

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Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World