Translate Site

Table of Contents
   Profile
   Lal Vakh Audio
   Kashmiri Saints
  Download Book

Koshur Music

An Introduction to Spoken Kashmiri

Panun Kashmir

Milchar

Symbol of Unity

 
Loading...

Key to the understanding of Lal Ded

by R. N. Kaul

Part 1

Introduction
R.N. KaulIt is common knowledge that Lalla Ded (1320-1389) lived in the fourteenth century. This was the most unfavourable time for the cultivation of mystical powers lying dormant in our beings. The Happy Valley was passing through traumatic events of political and religious turmoil. Sandwiched between the two extremes of orthodox Brahmanism and aggressive Islam (due to some fanatics) there emerged a tradition or 'cult' engendered by Hindu mystics and Muslim sufis of the time. It was in reality the resurgence of an indigenous tradition of the unique Kashmiri psyche known for its tolerance, secularism, universal brotherhood and love, in short, of humanism. In this synthesis of cultures Lalla Ded was destined to play a leading role. Her special contribution to this synthetization was to give it a mystical content. She was closely followed by Sheikh- Noor-ud-din (1376-1438). Both, she in her vaakh and he in his srukh emphasized the importance of over-coming the senses and the wavering mind and concentrating on Sadhana (meditation) as a means to attain salvation, the merging of individual soul with the Universal Consciousness. It really meant the realizing of the Divine in one's own being. This tradition of mystic ecstasy was continued, enriched and strengthened by later mystic poets and poetesses like Rupa Bhawani, Parmanand (1791-1874), Shams Fakir (1834-1904), Abdul Ahad Zargar and a host of others.

The secret of Lalla Ded's perennial appeal lies in her power to translate into

Photo Courtesy: Anjali Kaul, Austin

metaphors and symbols the longing of man to know ('the burthen and the mystery'), to feel, at least vicariously, one with the infinite, the supreme power that inheres in all things. Her outbursts are clothed in her verse-sayings so succinctly and yet so communicatively that these have continued to hold us as if under a spell. That charm and that appeal are like Keats's "magic casements" to make the Solider- Scholar Temple utter:

Thine is a- song that enslaveth me,
Son of an alien kin and clime.
Shiekh Noor-ud Din wrote:
The Lalla of padmanpur-
She drank her fill of divine nectar,
She was indeed an avatar of ours,
Oh God, grant me the self-same boon.
Shamas Fakir has this to say:
 Lalla merged her prana in the Transcendent.
While she went to bathe
At the sacred shrine of shurahyar bank,
With a leap into the water
She swam across to meet her God.
Lalla Ded's perennial appeal stems from the fact that she spoke in the idiom of the masses, the vernacular kashmiri and not in Sanskrit. She in fact, became the founder of modern Kashmiri, the Kashmiri that with slight changes down the years, continues to retain the infrastructure of Lalla's making.

But the essentiality of Lalla Ded's appeal lies in her mystical experience or anubhav clothed in nearly intelligible languages. Thoughshe did not give rise to any order as such and did not present any systematized philosophy, yet the direction of her sayings in unmistakable, an ethico-mystical message is inescapable. There is a method in her 'madness' or personal ecstasy. She lays down a moral code and prescribes rules for attaining spiritual salvation.

The present article is an attempt to explain, in as simple a manner as humanly possible, the technique Lalla Ded followed to reach her destination: discovering the Supreme residing in the depths of her own soul. She adopted the theory and practice of Trika 'Sastra' called Kashmir Shaivism, The technique has a physiological mystical content. It adopts the Laya Yoga though other yogas exist like Hatta Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bakhti Yoga. In kashmiri the Laya Yoga is called the kundalini Yoga. According to this yoga there are six Cakras (Chakras) or centres of Cosmic power in the human body. The Kundalini Sakti is supposed to lie coiled round the svayambhu (the genital part) at the muladhara Cakra. This Sakti is roused through yogis exercises or mantras and brought up through the six circles to the highest centre, the Sahasrara, the abode of Siva. A kind of mystical bridge is established to help the Kundalini Shakti to reach this highest point. There exists a nadi (in the abstract) called Sushumna nadi which enables the practiser to reach this seat of Siva and enjoy the mystical taste of nectar oozing from Shashikala, Digit of the Moon. To understand it better one has to become more familiar with Kashmir Sahivism. Parmasiva is the highest metaphysical principle of this system. It has two aspects: one, the static, the eternal changeless and Pure Consciousness, two, the dynamic, the one in constant flux. The first is named Siva, the second Shakti, the two being one and the same. Man's spiritual goal is to establish identity of the two in his own being. This effort is obstructed by the power of the senses and the waywardness of the mind over our higher existence. The world is like a magnetic illusion and the bold ofthe senses is so strong that man lives many lives to seek their satisfaction. And the most formidable task for the seeker of the Infinite according to the Laya yoga is that he has to die (control his/her senses) and know the Supreme Self while alive. The mind can be controlled through the vital energy of consciousness centered in the body in the form of Susumna nadi, the uneven movement of prana and apana is brought to a uniform rhythm by breath control. The Susumna nadi extends from the muladhara at the base near the rectum right up to Sahasrara in the crown of the head along the spinal cord. It is through this subtle mystical corridor that Kundalini Sakti rises upwards to meet her consort Siva in that thousand-petalled lotus of Sahasrara Within these two extremes are six centres of energy cilled cakras or lotuses. These are:

1. Muladhar - at the base of the spinal cord.
2. Suadhishsthana - at the base of the reproductive organ
3. Manipur - in the region of the navel
4. Anahata - in the region of the heart
5. Visudha - near the throat
6. Ajna - between the two eyebrow
There are two other nadis running parallel to the Susmna. These are ida and pingla. Prana flows through the former while apana flows through the latter. The two breaths are kept in perfect balance through the practice of yoga. All the channels (nadis) join at the two eyebrows' junction; this point is called Triveni, symbolic confluence of Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati. The Rundalini Sakti which normally lies dormant is awakened by yogic exercises and it then cuts its way through the six cakras to meet 'her' consort Shiva in Sahasrara, Prana goes upwards while apana downwards. To attain spiritual goal, man has to control five pranas, ten indriyas and their controller, the wavering mind. This is done through abhyas or yoga practice. Prana rises at the heart and ends at a distance of twelve fingers from the nose. To attain absolute control, the mystic syllable OM is repeated with rise and fall of breath as it travels through - subtle channels another mantra is called hamsah. This mantra enables the yogis to concentrate. At each of these points there occurs a split second in which prana remains still. It is this interval which brings the seeker to the abode of Siva. The unstuck sound of anahata or OM coincides with hamsa. There is complete merger of man's soul with Universal Soul; then there is an ecstatic revelation that the two are in reality one:
Through the central channel of Susumna
I reached the sanctum sanctorum of my own soul
And lo! I beheld Siva and Sakti sealed in one.
Feeling ecstatic I reached the nectar-lake of the mystic moon
Apparently dead, I am now really alive.
The same anubhawa is expressed in another telling vaakh:
I held firm the reins of the horse, my mind,
I controlled well the pranas coursing through the ten nadis;
Then did the nectar of the mystic moon
Melt and flow, suffusing my whole being,
The mind thus curved,
My void merged with the void of pure consciousness.
Thus Lalla Ded, without rejecting the flesh altogether but accepting it only as a necessary evil, found her spiritual salvation within her own self.
I discovered the Lord
Within the walls of my own soul.
Note: The author has consulted many books written on Lalleshwari especially those of Jaya Lal Koul and Nil Kanth-Kotru.
 

Part 2

'Lali me nilavath tchol no zah'

Life and Legend

It is not only natural but almost imperative to blend fact with legend when dealing with the lives of saints or mystics. Miracles become integral parts of their messages or of their personal experiences. Even if no miracles occur, it is sometimes necessary to invent some in order to brighten the halos round their heads and then great saints, mystics and prophets become God's instruments to bring under discipline the moral and spiritual and even secular lives of men and women living on this planet of ours. These miracles become proofs of their spiritual powers or of their powers of endurance and self-restraint. Divested of these their lives become dull studies and their messages fail to convince the masses.

Little is historically known about Lalla's life. She lived in the fourteenth century (1320? to 1389?) as the oral tradition declares. She was born and brought up in the reign of Alau-ud-Din (1344-55) and died in the reign of Sultan Shihabud Din (1355-73). Her name is first mentioned in 1654 by Baba Dawud Mushkati in his Asrarul-Abrar (The secret of the Pious). Then followed her mention in Waqiate Kashmir completed in 1746. Some names testify to her life and to her miracles. Her vaakhs too furnish some internal evidence to her existence and to some of the hardships she had to undergo. That her immediate successor, the mystic Sheikh Noorud Din Noorani (1377-1438) should mention Lalla's name in one of his outbursts confirms her existence. It is said that she fed the newly born babe (Sheikh Noorud Din) at her motherly breast and that he became her disciple in the mystic lore and experience.

Hence it follows that the legends that are associated with her name are things taken for granted by the people. In all hagiologies, whether written or handed down through tradition, it is that the miracles associated with a saint assume greater significance. In fact though never verified these miracles establish the greatness of these aints in peoples' hearts. In this no rational analysis can be offered. The 'bluish something' as Gandhi called Lord Krishna lifted the hill Goverdhan on His little finger; Hanumana brought an entire mountain from the Himalayan ranges to the southern shores of Bharat; Christ walked the waves and brought the dead to life. And Lal Ded remembered her past janamas (lives) as a woman giving birth to a son, in another janama getting born as a filly at village Marhom. The filly died and was reborn as a pup at Vejibror. There a tiger killed the filly in the disguise of a pup. This was verified by Lalla's guru Sidha Shrikanth. All the cycle of birth and death was repeated the seventh time at Pandrethan. She was born at Sempore near Pampore and at the age of 12 was married to Nika (Sona) Bhat of Drangbal near Pampore. Her vaakhs tell us of Lalla Ded's belief in transmigration of the soul. She refers to her herself having witnessed the whole valley being changed into a vast lake from Hannukha in the north-west to Konsar Nag in the south of Kashmir. Was she alive during the period when the valley was Sati Sar?

But it is after her marriage that more miracles and legends begin to gather round her life. Born and brought up till her marriage in an atmosphere of leaming that she obtained in her parent's home. Lalla became a mistress of the spiritual lore, of the Bhagwad Gita, of tantric practices prevalent at the time, especially of Trika Shastra or what is Popularly known as Kashmir Shaivism. She had learnt and imbibed certain spiritual sadhanas before she was locked in marital relationship with Nika Bhat. In picking up Laya Yoga, the inspiration and guidance of Sidha Mol, her family guru, must have been extra-ordinary indeed. In those days girls were married even before they attained puberty and the marital communication took place when the girl had advanced far beyond her teens. It is therefore safe to assume that at her in-laws' Lalla continued her Sadhana. In those days the atmosphere at the in-laws for a maiden daughter-in-law was naturally conservative and extremely orthodox. And it must have been particulary suffocating for the spiritually and aesthetically sensitive Lalita, who had now become Padmavati. Her beloved was Sankara, and estrangement between the husband and wife must have surfaced much earlier. The villains of the peace must have been

(i) the malignant and proverbially harsh mother-in-law and

(ii) Lalla's own sadhana which must have made her averse to sensual indulgence. The mother-in-law's behaviour has given rise to another legend. The father-in-law is generally generous and of caring nature whereas the mother-in-law is only practising the persecution she herself must have home at the hands of her own mother-in-law. And the son is always led by the nose by the mother acting as the wire-puller at the 'puppet show'. The story goes that Lalla's mother-in-law would invariably conceal a stone (nilavath) beneath the small fare of rice that was Lalla's share. And she gulped down the little rice without any grumbling. Had she complained, she would have been shown the door. Hence Lalla moans- they may have mutton, but for Lalla the stone is the only fare.

We can imagine how Lalla's endurance must have exhausted the vindictive powers of her mother-in-law. She took recourse to other more reprehensible tricks. It was Lalla's habit to rise early go to the ghat with an earthen pitcher under her arm and before collecting water, she would spend time on ablutions and yogic exercises like breath control etc., while going across to the temple of Natakeshaw Bhairaw. The mother-in-law had insinuated to her son that Lalla was not faithful to him. And on one fine morning another miracle occurred. Her husband waited for Lalla to return, with the firm resolve to shove her out of his home. He had his diabolical form and his stick behind the door. As Lal Ded approached, Nika Bhat struck the pitcher. It is believed that the pitcher broke into pieces but the water content remained intact in a frozen state. Lalla filled each household pot with water till not a drop more was needed. The broken pitcher was flung outside where at once a fresh water spring appeared. This spring is now dried up but to this day it is called Laila Trag (trag means "pond"). As the historian Pir Ghulam Hassan has stated, this spring went dry in 1925-26.

The miracle of the pitcher turned out to be a watershed in Lalla's relationship with her in-laws and in her much more important relationship with the Supreme Consciousness. By this time most probably she had still to receive the 'word', the occult, rather cryptic or esoteric light from her guru as to what course she should adopt to know the Eternal in her own Self. She left her in-laws for good and took to wandering as an ascetic, a sanyasin in search of Enlightenment. The story goes that she wandered almost naked like a mad person who does not care for any formality of dress. The legend goes that her lul or belly protruded forward, bent itself to cover her private parts. People therefore forgot her original maiden name of Lalita (shortened to Lalla in Kashmir) and began to call her Lalla Ded/Lal Ded, the granny with the belly dangling down. This is surely hearsay and cannot be reconciled to the fact that she was christened Lalita. Muslims later on claimed her conversion to Islam and called her Lalla Arifa. But the reality is that all kinds of stories and legends grew up as time massed on and threw a pall of obscurity on the period during which she lived her life. Yes, for her the Hindu ritualistic system became meaningless to find the Source in her own body. Distinctions between religions and castes became redundant for the mystic of Lalla's stature:

<verses>

The Lord pervades everywhere, There is nothing like Hindu or Musalman; (All distinctions melt away) If thou art wise, know thyself, Seek the Lord within.

The legend of the belly bulging downwards appears to be mischievously invented because if Lalla Ded were moving naked in the streets how could she have incarnated herself as the Muse of knowledge or, more precisely speaking, as the Muse of Poetry. If true, the legend confirms her miraculous powers.

And finally the legend associated with her mahasamadhi, getting freed from the mortal coil of her body and getting blissfully merged with that which shall last for ever-the Infinite Soul, Lalla's Siva. When claimed by both the Hindus and the Muslims alike, Lalla performed a postmortem miracle. There arose a flame of light from her dead body and without anyone realizing what was happening, it vanished into the void

"shoonyas shoonyaa meelith gav"

Many such miracles are associated with the mahasamadhis of saints and mystics or even prophets. Christ's body left the Cross and ascended as if divinely winged to the abode of the Lord to be resurrected again. Sant Kabir's corpse proved mystically elusive to the Muslims and to the Hindus who were fighting each other to claim it for their distinctive funeral rites. It is said that Mira Bhai's soul merged with the idol of Ranchodeshji making the body invisible. Lalla Ded is said to have attained Nirvana in 1389 or so. But her metaphors which clothe her mystical practice in the form of vaakh continue to inspire mankind.

[The author, Prof. R.N. Kaul, former Principal, is one of our veteran scholars of English and a fine writer, well-known for his book on Shiekh Mohd. Abdullah. He lives in Jammu.]

Article reproduced from: Patrika

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
 

JOIN US

Facebook Account Follow us and get Koshur Updates Youtube.com Video clips Image Gallery

 | Home | Copyrights | Disclaimer | Privacy Statement | Credits | Site Map | LinksContact Us |

Any content available on this site should NOT be copied or reproduced

in any form or context without the written permission of KPN.

Download App
Download App