Beyond Boundaries: The One in the Many

Shabeer Ahmad Lone 

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Markaz hai nukta, nukta hai khatt, khatt hai daira

Saahir qadam hudoos mein husn-e-nazar hua

– Saahir ( Pandit Amarnath Madan)

Juz zaat-e ahad neest, che tashbeeh o che tanzeeh

Khvaahi sanam eijaad kun o khvaahi Samad-gar-Mirza Bedil

Kharam-e naz dar virana ha darad Tamashae

Ze raftaarat qiyamat mi ravad bar dil, biya bingar-Mirza Bedil

Chon dar-en tira khakdan uftad,

Aaftabe ze aasman uftad.-Mirza Bedil

 

 

Ae faghan buguz-e-charkh o lamakan taskhir baash,

Chand dar zer-e-sipar kardan nihan shamshir ra.-Mirza Bedil

Beyond boundaries, the vision of love, unity, and pluralism embodied in Kashmiri Sufi poetry-as articulated through prophets, sages, saints, mystics, and poets-emerges not merely as a literary theme but as an enduring civilizational wisdom rooted in the conviction that existence itself is woven together by an underlying unity which manifests through diversity rather than despite it.Against fanaticism, polarization, loneliness, consumerism, technological alienation, ecological crisis, identity conflicts, nihilism, Kashmiri Sufi poetry offers: meaning, simplicity, compassion, dialogue, self-transcendence, shared humanity, spiritual depth, and hope.

Beginning with the prophetic dictum, “Al-khalqu ayal-ullah”- All creation is the family of God”-the entire spiritual architecture of Kashmiri Sufi poetry rests upon an ethic of reverence for life and compassionate coexistence. This profound saying of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) elevates service to humanity into an act of worship and transforms love into the most authentic expression of faith. In this light, religion ceases to be a badge of exclusion and becomes a means of participating in the Divine compassion that embraces all beings without distinction.Altaf Husain Hali echoes this same prophetic wisdom:

Yeh pehla sabaq tha kitab-e-huda ka 

Ke hai sari makhlooq kunba Khuda ka.

In the same spirit, Hafiz Shirazi proclaims:

“Mubash darpai aazaar o harchay khwahi kun 

Ki dar tareeqat-e-ma besh az-een gunahay nest”

“Seek not to cause pain to any living being, and then do as you wish; for in our spiritual path, there is no greater sin than causing distress to another.”

Here, ethics precedes metaphysics, and compassion becomes the highest criterion of spiritual authenticity. The essence of religion is measured not by outward conformity but by the degree to which one alleviates suffering and enlarges the circle of love.

Jalal al-Din Rumi carries this moral and spiritual revolution into the realm of the self:

From compassion, the journey now turns inward.

Nafs natwan kusht illa zill-e-pir 

Daman-e-an nafs-kush ra sakht gir

The conquest of the ego is not achieved through coercion but through companionship with those who have themselves transcended the tyranny of selfhood. Thus, the path of spiritual realization is inseparable from humility, discipline, and the transforming influence of enlightened souls.

Carrying this insight further, Rumi identifies love as the supreme healer of the human condition.

Likewise, in his immortal hymn to Love:

Shad bash ay ishq-e khush sauda-ye ma 

Way tabib-e jumla illat-haye ma 

Har kura jama zi ishqe chak shud 

O, zi hirs o az, kulle pak shud

Rumi identifies love as the supreme physician of human existence. Love heals alienation, purifies greed, overcomes fear, and dissolves the false barriers that divide humanity. Love, in the Sufi understanding, is not sentimentality but ontological truth-the very force through which the universe itself came into being.

This vision of universal brotherhood finds further expression in Khwaja Ghulam Farid’s remarkable declaration:

Rakh tasdeeq ne thein Awareh

Kaaba, Qibla, Dair, Dwarah 

Masjid, Mandir, haikdo Noor.

Behind the plurality of forms shines one Light. The apparent diversity of religious traditions conceals an underlying unity of spiritual aspiration. Likewise, Iqbal writes:

Banda-e-ishq az Khuda girad tareeq 

Mi shavad bar kafir o mumin shafeeq.

The lover derives his character from God Himself and becomes compassionate toward believer and unbeliever alike. Love abolishes the tyranny of labels and restores the primacy of shared humanity.

Nowhere does this vision assume a more profound and socially transformative form than in Kashmir. Kashmir’s spiritual landscape, nourished by Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic streams, produced a unique synthesis often designated as Kashmiriyat-a culture whose deepest foundations lie not merely in political coexistence but in metaphysical hospitality. When Islam entered Kashmir in the fourteenth century, it encountered an already rich tradition of contemplative spirituality and, rather than erasing it, entered into a creative dialogue with it. From this encounter emerged one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of mystical literature.

At the heart of this spiritual synthesis stand Lal Ded and Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani.Their poetry represents not simply literary genius but a profound reorientation of religious consciousness. They shifted emphasis from ritual to realization, from dogma to experience, and from division to unity.

Sheikh-ul-Alam’s timeless words:

Ekysiy maelyis maaji hindyan tyiman diy traeevith ti kyaat, Musalmaanan kyo hindyan, Kar bandan toashi khudaya

express an anthropology grounded in shared origin and shared destiny. If humanity emerges from the same father and mother, hatred becomes irrational and morally indefensible.

Complementing this vision, Lal Ded’s realization:

kalimay porum kalyimay sorum kalyimay korum panun paan 

kalyimay hanyi hanyi moayas torum adi lal bi veetsis laa makaan

depicts the mystical journey from multiplicity to unity, culminating in the realization of the spaceless Reality. The sacred Word permeates existence until the distinction between knower and known disappears.

In one of the greatest affirmations of spiritual universalism, she proclaims:

shiv chhuy thalyi thalyi rav zaan 

mav zaan hyond ti musalmaan 

trukh hay chhukh ti paani prazaan 

sway chhay tas siity zeenyiy zaan

constitutes one of the greatest declarations of spiritual universalism in world literature. The Divine dwells everywhere; therefore, sectarian identities are secondary to self-knowledge. True wisdom lies in discovering the Divine presence within.

Her companion verse:

“Suy chu panun parmasar, Hindu Musalman chu wuchhun andar.”

further undermines external distinctions. The search for God begins not with ideological battles but with inward awakening.

This inward quest is beautifully echoed by Mir Abdullah Baihaqi in memorable confession:

“Katyi bo tshaaran su chhu harsuu,

Oaryi man kari yoo hoo tay hoo.”

“Where shall I seek Him, for He is everywhere?

Let me cherish Him within my heart.”

Resonating with this sentiment, Bulleh Shah sings:

Tussee Subhani bhaeekhay theenday ho!

Har ja tusi diseenday ho!

“O Sublime Beloved, You shine through all things; wherever I turn, I see none but You.”

The same longing finds expression in Mahmood Gami’s mystical yearning which captures the same vision:

“Tshaarath boo rangi rangay,

Kasstum gaflatich bangay.”

“O Colourless One, I seek You through myriad colours;

awaken me from the slumber of heedlessness.”

expresses the paradox of Divine transcendence and immanence. The Colourless manifests itself through countless colours. Diversity becomes not an obstacle to unity but its very expression.

At the philosophical level, this insight reaches maturity in the doctrine of Wahdat al-Wujūd.Far from advocating pantheistic confusion, it points toward the metaphysical unity underlying the multiplicity of phenomena. Sheikh-ul-Alam expresses this beautifully:

Akooy Khudaya naav chhis lachhaa,

Zyikryi ros kanh kachha mo;

Umir vyandoon akoy pachha,

Ryizqi rus kanh mechchaa mo.”

“God is one though He bears a million names;

no blade of grass is devoid of prayer.

Regard life as fleeting as a fortnight;

not even a fly is deprived of sustenance.”

Thus, nature itself becomes a cosmic liturgy.

This metaphysical vision was further articulated by Nizami:

Nizami’s profound observation:

Door-beenaan-e-baargah-e-alast; 

Juz azin pay na-burdah-and ke hast.

affirms that all spiritual insight ultimately culminates in the realization of Being itself.Likewise, Shabistari deepens this understanding:

Hulool-o-ittihaad injaa muhaal ast; 

Ke dar wahdat, dui ayn-e-zalaal ast.

In the realm of Absolute Unity, duality itself is illusion.

The same conviction reverberates in the verse of Habibullah Nowshehri:

“Yemi daryave as paida gyie.”

That Ocean has given birth to all of us.

For Nund Rishi, therefore, spirituality was rooted in experience rather than mere affiliation.

For Nund Rishi, spirituality was not a matter of religious affiliation, but of personal experience and inner transformation.

Kashmiri Sufi poets also critiqued the growing institutionalization of religion, which they saw as a barrier to spiritual awakening.

Lal Ded’s poetry frequently critiques those who seek God externally, urging them instead to turn inward.

The humanistic and compassionate ethos of Kashmiri Sufi poetry is perhaps most evident in the Rishi tradition, which emphasizes service to humanity as a form of worship.

The focus on social reform, rooted in love and empathy, stands as a stark contrast to self-serving attitudes prevalent in both religious and political circles.

Kashmiriyat which is not merely a political slogan or cultural nostalgia but a spiritual and civilizational ethos grounded in: humility, service, compassion, hospitality, coexistence, mutual enrichment.Its deepest foundations are metaphysical rather than ideological.The idea of Kashmiriyat, as articulated through the poetry of Lal Ded and Nund Rishi, offers a model for religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue rooted in mutual respect and a shared sense of spiritual purpose.

Returning to the theme of self-discovery, Momin Shah urges humanity to transcend duality and rediscover the Self:

“Doginyaar traav,

Ognuy sapan ti doginyaar traavov;

Paani menzy paan parzinaavoo loo.”

“Abandon duality; become one with Unity and forsake division;

discover your essence within yourself.”

Likewise, he reminds the seeker:

ay taalyib-e maulaa lobithathay ti lobuth kyah

ay aashiq-e shaida, lobithathay ti lobuth kyah

Leby leby pakaan gatsh raavinas andar atsh,

raavikie ti raavakh ni zah, lobithay ti lobuth kyah

mast jaami neely chhiy yelyi tyim tsatakh

path kun roozakh adi kun hyuv banakh

O seeker of God, what is your gain?

O Lover ,all devotion, what is your gain?

Take all care in your journey, brave getting lost,

In being lost you find your Self.What is your gain?

The garment of ignorance when torn asunder,

You may find yourself One, and shall be the real One.

gaash thaav gaashoo gatyi kuth kunyay

paani gatshyi menzy nhiarrubyay loo

O dear keep light towards the dark room,

You may then pass through it;

Zaan kar paydaa bar chyiki chaavov…

muda-aa chchu kunuy dah ta kah traavov

tshhaaay chay paniny raay badlaavov…

Puuri ras siity rooz duuryar traavov 

looli siity dyil pholiraavov loo

gaib al ghalib nyishyi lubaab draavov

ath pyov Muhammad naavov loo

Cultivate knowledge and feel the bliss…

The Intention is One , why ‘ten’ and ‘eleven’

Your own shadow is the hurdle , change your mind

Be near completion and remove distances,

make your soul blossom with love

The Essence of the Unknown appeared to sight,

The Essence was named Mohammad (saw)

Through their poetry, Lal Ded and Nund Rishi established a spiritual framework that transcended the boundaries of religious tradition, offering a vision of unity that resonates across time and space.

When examined within the broader context of global mystical traditions, Kashmiri Sufi poetry reveals striking parallels with other movements that sought to transcend religious divisions and promote universal love.

This mystical annihilation of the ego is expressed with striking simplicity by Swachhi Kraal:

“Hataa paani bi kus goos,

Paanay oos bi bahaanay;

Kus chhu dushman, kus chhu doos?”

“Who am I? He alone is all, and I am but a pretext.

Who is friend and who is foe?”

Elsewhere he warns:

“Akh tsi to beyi genzar mabaa,

Haba yo chhu gumaanah.”

“Do not count ‘you’ and ‘I’;

all such distinctions are but delusion.”

Comparable insights may be found in other mystical traditions as well.Christian mystics, such as St. Francis of Assisi, also preached a message of universal love. Kashmiri Sufism thus stands within a rich tradition of mystical movements emphasizing love, compassion, and spiritual unity.

Similarly, Shah Ghafoor affirmed the all-pervading reality of the Divine:

“Aaryifan yaqyien hyieryi ti buanay,

Kyenh chhuni sivaay-e Allah.”

“The saints know Him above and below;

there is nothing besides Allah.”

Along the same lines, Shams Faqir taught that the distinction between self and other is illusory:

Par ti paan yodvay hyivuy zaanakh

Kharichakh lachh ti saas

ath jaayi veetyith sath naag Dyienthyim

Path naag chhuy aabichooliyay.(Shamus Faqir)

Trans.If you know no difference between your self and others,

you shall have plenty to spend.

Seven springs I saw there,

the fount lay in the back forest

“If you know no difference between yourself and others,

you shall possess inexhaustible riches.”

A similar vision animates Ahmad Batawari’s celebrated poem “Sifaatiky Rang” (“Countless Colours of the Colourless”) beautifully portrays the One manifesting in infinite forms,

Sifaatiky Rang

syifaat pholmut bahaary yay

bye rang rang dyith tsuapeery yay

kal kernam myilitseery yay

bye rang rang dyith tsuapeery yay

guaDi chhuy poochar sari karinuy

adi chhuy poochras laa karinuy

qudrat chhya khaanadeery ya …..

kath kar maaluum sari kar kath

kathyi nyishyi labihan zeevyij vath

vath chhay Syiendyi yapeery yay…..

-(Ahmad Batawari)

Translation:

Countless Colours Of The Colourless

The manifest is everywhere like springtime

the colourless appears in countless colours.

The one-ness inspires my mind,

the colourless appears in countless colours.

First you may know what completion is,

then you say you know your being complete,

mastery lies in managing your house……

The word be known and assessed well,

in meaning lies the truth of speech,

the path lies across the river Sind.

Likewise, Ahad Zargar succinctly encapsulated the egalitarian spirit of Kashmiri Sufism:

“Damay dyoon thum shah ti gadaa, suy chhu muda myoon.”

“In a moment behold king and beggar alike-

that is my cherished aspiration.”

Deye travith sun yaksaanus

Giyaanus laag parvaan

Talib shaaster chee Ahad Zargar

Galib chchu looleh mayee lolo

Remarkably, modern thought has arrived at similar insights.Indeed, Kashmiri Sufi poetry consistently identifies the ego as the root of fragmentation. Lal Ded’s warning:

maarukh maari buuth kaam, kruud luub

calls for the conquest of lust, anger, and greed. Without this inner jihad, external peace remains impossible.

In this regard, the Rishi-Sufi tradition anticipated with remarkable clarity the insights of René Girard. In Violence and the Sacred, Girard demonstrated that violence often arises not from differences but from mimetic rivalry. Kashmiri mystics had long understood that conflict originates in possessiveness, egoism, and imitation. Peace emerges when the cycle of rivalry is interrupted by compassion and self-transcendence.

In this regard, Eric Heller’s observation is particularly illuminating.Eric Heller’s assertion that poetry vindicates a meaningful world resonates deeply with Kashmiri Sufi literature. These poets reveal what Heller calls “the true stature of things.” Poetry becomes an instrument of spiritual perception, restoring reality to its sacred dimensions.

Likewise, even W. H. Auden’s poetry reveals an unexpected kinship with Kashmiri spirituality. Where Auden urges acceptance of “the dance’s pattern,” Lal Ded and Nund Rishi invite humanity to transcend the ego that fragments existence. Where desire divides, love reunites.

This universality explains why Kashmiri Sufism stands alongside the traditions represented by Ibn ‘Arabi, Fariduddin Attar, Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, Hafiz, Ghalib, Saint Francis of Assisi, Meister Eckhart, and countless other visionaries. Though separated by geography and theology, they converge upon the same perennial insight.

The same perennial wisdom echoes across civilizations

The Rig Veda’s celebrated declaration:

“Truth is one; the wise speak of it in many ways”

finds a striking echo in the voices of Lal Ded and Nund Rishi. Unity does not abolish plurality. Difference is not deficiency but abundance. Diversity becomes the music through which the One expresses itself.

Modern philosophy and science , too, has recognized the importance of mystical insight.Bertrand Russell’s recognition of the indispensable role of mysticism further underscores this truth. Philosophy without mysticism risks abstraction; mysticism without reason risks sentimentality. Their union enriches human existence. Hence Heraclitus, Plato, Spinoza, Bruno, Hegel, Bergson, and Whitehead all recognized dimensions of reality inaccessible to purely analytical thought.Kashmiri Sufi poetry serves as part of the universal mystical conversation represented by: the Upanishads, the Rig Veda,

Ibn ‘Arabi, Attar, Rumi, Hafiz, Ghalib, Meister Eckhart, Saint Francis of Assisi, Spinoza, Whitehead, Bertrand Russell.

and scores of modern thinkers.

Kashmiri Sufi Poetry resonates profoundly with both the great poetic traditions represented by Whitman, Yeats, Hölderlin, Rilke, Blake, Goethe, Dickinson, Tennyson, the Brontës, Okakura, Noguchi, Carlyle, Milton, and Heidegger, and the perennial philosophy articulated by Frithjof Schuon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Huston Smith, René Guénon, Martin Lings, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Echoing Whitman’s “multitudes,” Yeats’s “Unity of Being,” Hölderlin’s sacred wholeness, Rilke’s invisible harmony, Blake’s conviction that “Everything that lives is Holy,” Goethe’s Weltliteratur, and the perennialist vision of the transcendent unity of religions, the title affirms a timeless truth: the One shines through the many, diversity enriches rather than divides, and love is the deepest grammar of existence. In this sense, it situates Kashmiri Sufi poetry within humanity’s enduring spiritual, literary, and civilizational conversation.

Kashmir’s own intellectual and spiritual heritage bears eloquent witness to this synthesis. Bilhana and Kalhana in Sanskrit, Gani Kashmiri and Hyder Malik Chadura in Persian, Habba Khatoon, Lal Ded, Rupa Bhawani, Sheikh Noor-u-Din Noorani etc. in Kashmiri together constitute an extraordinary constellation of intellectual and spiritual brilliance.

Rupa Bhawani’s words:

“Selflessness is the sign of the selfless… 

The kings of the time and the wearers of the crest and crown.”

reveal that genuine sovereignty belongs not to worldly rulers but to those who have conquered themselves.

In an age marked by fragmentation and uncertainty, the relevance of this wisdom has become more evident than ever.Modern human condition with predicament of Polarization, fanaticism, loneliness, ecological crisis, technological alienation, and the erosion of shared meanings, the wisdom of Kashmiri Sufi poetry possesses renewed relevance. Its message is neither escapist nor antiquarian. It addresses some of the most urgent challenges of our time. Against hatred, it proposes compassion; against exclusivism, hospitality; against consumerism, simplicity; against nihilism, meaning; against fragmentation, unity.

Its vision is not one of uniformity but harmonious plurality. As Ghalib suggests:

“Ba-gard-e-farsh-o-sina-e-baliyan-barabar-ast.”

From the perspective of Ultimate Reality, dust and splendour, king and beggar, East and West, self and other participate in the same mystery of Being.

Hence the lament:

Na Mashriq iss se bari hai, na Maghrib iss se bari Jahan mein aam hai qalb-o-nazar ki ranjori

reminds us that the maladies afflicting humanity are universal and therefore demand a universal ethic grounded in love and wisdom.

Ultimately, the great mystics converge upon the same truth.Rūmī’s insight:

Ittisal-e be-takalluf be-qiyas Hast Rabb-un-naas ra ba jaan-e naas

speaks of an intimate connection between God and the human soul that transcends all intermediaries.

And finally, Attar invites humanity to behold the Divine everywhere, Attar’s invitation:

Chashm buksha ki jalwa-e dildar 

Mutajalli ast az dar o diwar

calls upon humanity to open the eyes of the heart and behold the Divine radiance shining through all existence.

And finally, the profound Persian verse:

Jamāl-e shakhs na chashm ast o zolf o ‘ārez o khāl, Hazār nokteh dar īn kār-o-bār-e deldārī ast

reminds us that beauty, truth, and love possess inexhaustible depths inaccessible to superficial vision.

Kashmiri Sufi poetry stands as one of humanity’s enduring monuments of civilizational memory and spiritual wisdom, becoming an act of social, intellectual, moral, and spiritual resurrection through the redemptive power of remembrance.As Iqbal sings, “Be-niyāzāna ze shūrīda-navāyam magzar, murgh-e lāhūtam o az dūst piyālah dāram,” the poet appears as a bird of heaven bearing the wine of the Beloved. Yet the soul remains haunted by a forgotten vision: “Az rūzgār-e khwīsh nadānam bajuz īn qadar; khwābam zi yād rafta, wa taʿbīram ārzūst.” Since the mystery of the Beloved is inexhaustible, “Agar har mū-e man gardad zabāne, zi torānam ba-har yak dāstāne,” for every tongue would still sing a different tale of the One. Hence, “Nām-e nīk-e raftagān zāye na-kun, tā bimānad nām-e nīk-at barqarār,” for remembrance is itself a form of fidelity and immortality. Thus, “Cho ʿĪsā-ye dil īn murdagān rā tamām, sar-ā-sar hama zinda kardah banām,” and “Nawishta bāmand siyāh bar safīd”-through the grace of the written word, the departed live anew, memory triumphs over oblivion, and the many are gathered into the eternal unity of the One.

Thus, beyond boundaries and beyond labels, Kashmiri Sufi poetry emerges as one of humanity’s enduring treasures/monuments of spiritual wisdom .It invites us to recognize that beneath the multiplicity of names, forms, traditions, and identities lies a single sacred Reality and a shared human destiny. Its enduring message is neither the negation of difference nor the triumph of sameness, but the reconciliation of unity and plurality through love.

For ultimately, prophets, sages, saints, mystics, and poets across civilizations bear witness to the same perennial truth: unity need not mean uniformity, nor diversity division. Beneath the multiplicity of names, forms, traditions, and identities shines a single sacred Reality and a shared human destiny. The highest wisdom does not abolish differences but transfigures them through love. In this lies the enduring secret of Kashmir’s spiritual heritage and one of humanity’s most precious civilizational gifts-a vision in which the One reveals itself through the many, and the many find their fulfilment in the One.

 

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Author can be mailed at  shabirahmed.lone003@gmail.com