Found in Translation: Bulleh Shah (2)

A Journey into Urdu Poetry (16)

Here is another poem from the great Punjabi poet of the eighteenth century, Baba Bulleh Shah. This brings out his mystic side as he wrestles with the themes of identity and existence. Who am I? he asks. He rejects birth religion as identity, saying clearly that he is not a worshipper in mosques or temples. As to existence, he concludes that he is the beginning and the end. This is a common refrain among Sufis/mystics which may be interpreted in various ways. I take Bulleh Shah to mean simply that human existence is entirely confined to the time/space between birth and death, between the first and last breaths. There is no pre-life and no afterlife.

Poet: Bulleh Shah (1680-1757)
Poem: Who Am I?

Neither a worshipper in mosques
Nor a bell ringer at temples
Neither a prophet nor a pharaoh
I am not the pure among the impure

What do I know of good and bad?
The difference between sorrow and joy?
I am not of water nor of earth
Nor yet of wind or fire

I do not wear the cloak of religion
I know not Adam, I know not Eve
I am the beginning, I am the end
Nothing else need I conceive

Transliteration (in Punjabi) 
Poem: Bulleh ki jaanan mein kaun

Na main momin vich maseetan
Na main vich kufr di rait haan
Na main paakan vich paleet haan
Na main Musa na Firaun

Na main vich paleeti paaki
Na vich shaadi na ghamnaki
Na main aabi na main khaki
Na main aatish na main pavan

Na main bhait mazhab da paaya
Na main Adam Havva jaya
Avval aakhir aap noo jaana
Na koi dooja hor pehchaana