Pride and Soul of Kashmir
by P.K. Kaul
Man's preoccupation with acquiring and adding to his
material comforts has assumed such proportions that his
belief in God and his native divinity are dismissed as
primitive, irrational and unscientific sentiments. He
marches through life deeply committed to his material
well-being and as deeply indifferent to and ignorant of
his spiritual needs. Through its continual contact with
the phenomenal world the mind, thus, keeps our
consciousness tethered to the physical plane,
identifying the material world outside, instead of the
Self within, as the main focus of attention. We identify
ourselves as mortal bodies with great gusto and,
unfortunately, ignore the immortal Life-Force, which
brings this otherwise corpse of a body alive and gives
it meaning, with extreme neglect. In spite of being the
repositories of the priceless gem, we masquerade as
beggars, unable to keep pace with our desires,
associating ourselves with death rather than life and
seeking tinsel and trash in the ever changing material
world which is never likely to give us anything better
than decay and death. This is typical of life in the
current Kali age which is characterised by the decline
in morality, prevalence of falsehood and upsurge of
selfishness, greed and hatred.
Whilst going through the
literature available on the life and times of Lalla
Yogeshwari, one of the greatest apostles of light and
love that Kashmir has known, who was equally revered by
Hindus and Muslims alike, I was deeply touched by the
profundity of the spiritual truths enshrined in her wise
sayings urging mankind to recognise its divine heritage,
to give up the frivolities of material existence and
rise above hypocrisy and sectarian bigotry. Marvelling
at the sweetness and sublimity of her timeless
utterances suffused with great tenderness and love, and
reflecting upon how she would have reacted to the
quality of life today, I was inspired to pen down,
following in her style, the following eight verses as a
tribute to the memory of that great yogini:
1. Yottaani pozz pazzay, tottaani aalam dazzay,
Pazzarich pritchagaar kaansi no wannay;
Apazuk vodbav gatchaan hani hannay,
Pazzaruk moll na-ba chhui kuni kannay.
What a great pity that we wake
up to the Truth only when it is too late! No one seems
to be the least bit inclined or disposed towards
acknowledging the Reality or seeking the Truth in time.
As falsehood and untruth appear to flourish by and by,
Reality and Truth, as surely, recede beyond reach and
recognition.
2. Assalichi ropayi no chhui kanh ti pritchaan,
Khotchi ropayi ho bisyaar sood meilaan;
Pozz chhonaan apuz yasla vopdaan,
Buthi buthi dith-ti-no paayas pyavaan.
Recognising the Truth
(immortality of Atma, the Life-Force) has gone out of
fashion; the blind worship of untruth (identity with the
body-mind complex) is seen to reap rich dividends. As
the Truth gets devalued, falsehood gets up-valued
exponentially. Even though it brings us nothing but
grief and unhappiness yet, strangely, we seem unable or
unwilling to alter our course towards self- destruction!
3. Choora akh wuchhum watta paanchh meinaan,
Khevaan chavaan ta taav taav karaan;
Dalimati magazav watti watti pheiraan,
Hairaan ta wairaan, saar na-kenh soaraan.
A thief I saw roaming the five
streets. Mind which is nothing but a bundle of thoughts
and desires is the thief referred to. It reaches out,
makes contact with and enjoys the objects of the world,
through the five senses of touch, taste, sight, sound
and smell. It gathers unto itself the impressions from
these objects forming veil upon veil of ignorance. Since
the objects are not permanent, the impressions gathered
therefrom cannot be lasting either. They are but passing
shadows without any substance and are therefore referred
to as ignorance. Having lost its marbles, this thief
(mind) is wallowing in sense pleasures, completely
baffled and bewildered and utterly ruined with nothing
to show for its troubles.
4. Beni-boay maij-ta-mole yem thov na vannay,
Assalich wath su-no vuchhi kuni kannay;
Dara dara darbadar pheri kanni kannay,
Sahaz kar vechaar nata kyah bannay.
He who does not heed the
counsel of wisdom (from his well-wishers), he who does
not respond to the prompting of his inner conscience and
use his powers of discrimination, he will never find
himself treading the path of Truth. From door to door
and pillar to post (enjoying one desire after another,
yet never satiating the hunger) will he find himself
wandering aimlessly and unfulfilled. Contemplate this
truth with due diligence, otherwise you might as well
give up any notion of redemption.
5. Hess ta hoash dallimit, annigatti wallimit,
Bar mandinen ho choor chiiy farimit;
Kaam kroodh loobh mooh chovaapaerfalirnit,
Zinda paanas chhiy morada jaama gandimit.
You seem to have taken complete
leave of your senses and allowed yourself to be
enveloped by darkness (of ignorance). Under the cloak of
this darkness with which you have chosen to wrap
yourself, you have enabled the robbers to gain entry
even in broad day-light! In consequence, desire, anger,
greed, attachment, pride and jealousy, the six deadly
foes, are enjoying the freedom of the house with
absolute impunity and robbing you of your peace and tranquility.
Remember! The Life-Force (Atma) never dies, the
body-mind complex, no better than a piece of meat in a
butcher's shop, is never alive; what a pity then that
you should parade the precious immortal Self as the
lifeless mortal body!
6. Tchu kus ta ba kus, hu kyah ta yi kyah,
Apazui aalam rozavun kati kyah;
Fungaryomut chhukh, taaras dikh kyah,
Swopna-maay chain maali, gaj gah chhu kyah.
Who are you and who am I? What
is that and what is this? Questions such as these only
underline the apparent diversity and manifoldness of the
manifested universe and ignore the all important
underlying unity and oneness. Since the universe is
changing, inconstant and transitory, how can it possibly
fit the definition of the unchanging and eternal Truth?
Ask yourself, what aspect of the universe composed of
the five primordial elements will endure and last?
Having squandered all powers of discrimination in
subservience to the unruly mind, you have rendered
yourself bankrupt and become destitute; what O what fee
will you render to redeem yourself with? Wake up to the
realisation before it is too late that what you behold
through the five senses is nothing but a grand illusion,
a dream, however well designed, well laid out and real
it may appear to be.
7. Azapa Gayatri manas laya annay,
Mana choor dalli-bhramma teli hani hannay;
Catta chali gaash yiya, pozz ada nunnay,
Soo-Ham dui chalith akui AUM sunnay.
Let your life breath dance to
the tune of He am (So-Hum) and I am He (Hum-Sah). Only
taming it thus can the flippant mind be trained to
gradually rid itself of its delusion, and only
thereafter will the dark clouds of ignorance lift,
letting in the light of wisdom and experiencing the
effulgence of the Atma. And then, in time, will even the
duality of He and I dissolve, yielding place to AUM, one
Truth, One God.
8. Woth zuva beh traav, praan mo raavraav,
Somana maali huend mokhta mo chhakaraav;
Bhakhti-bhaav praavith agyaan chalaraav,
Aham gaal, Meuon traav, sahaz prakaash praav.
Wake up therefore and stir into
action O slothful ignoramus! Squander not the precious
gift of life, cast away not before the swine the pearls
of wisdom, waste not your breath and effort; seek out
and secure the lamp of faith and devotion and with the
help of its light dispel the darkness of ignorance. Get
rid of the notion of 'I and Mine' and, through the
dissolution of the thinking and the calculating mind in
the supreme effulgence of the Atma, earn the right to
proclaim the victory of Truth over falsehood, of Light
over darkness, of Life over death. As a tribute to our
beloved mother Lalla, it is my earnest hope that, in
spite of the trying times we find ourselves in, we do
not lose the true perspective on life, but live up to
her ideals and make our sojourn on earth a worthwhile
pilgrimage.
Source: Koshur
Samachar
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