Anchor In Kaifiyat, Faqiri Of Divine Love

PM Narendra Modi recently stated that Sufism could serve as a beacon for humanity. "In today's world, where war is causing immense suffering, this message of unity and peace is more relevant than ever," he said.


An ecstatic, trance-like remembrance, Zikr of God lies at the core of Sufi mystical experiences, which through qawwali , reflects a unique synthesis of Persian and Braj cultures. This mixed idiom of local and classical vocabulary in qawwali creates a new universal Sufi language of love, bringing out intense longing to merge into this enchanted Kaifiyat , state of being.

Amir Khusro 's compositions are rooted in the theme of separation from the Beloved, a metaphor for God. His qawwali-music touches inner space in every listener, transporting him into a dimension beyond the outer world of duality. His most-famous composition, still sung at every traditional Sufi gathering, puts this love-lorn longing succinctly: Chhap tilak sab chini, re mose naina milaike, where the Divine is seen as beloved, whose glance has snatched away all outer social trappings. He alludes to mysterious paradox of love, referring to it as a tempestuous river, into which those who enter must drown, but only those who drown paradoxically get across.

This tryst with love arose out of special bond which Khusro shared with his preceptor Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Chisti Silsilah - a bond which transcended all other relationships. It was a bridge to the Beloved which he sought. Khusro believed that the preceptor alone could transform secular into the Divine, and this requires a surrender of ego through service, which Amir Khusro himself exemplified by serving in Nizamuddin Auliya's daily 'langar', virtually licking away used plates. He advocated this spiritual seeking amid all other worldly dispensations, which destiny places each man in, providing proper perspective and balance to all our ambitions and pursuits. Khusro's seeking transformed him from a poet to qalander, a free soul.

Dara Shikoh 's spiritual restlessness, too, led him to forge a new Sufi cosmogony in his opus Majma-ul-Bahrain, Mingling of Two Oceans, where Hindu panchabhutas or five elements are shown corresponding to five principal components of Islamic thought: "Unsur-i-Azam, great element: akas, ether; vayu, wind; atish, agni, fire; jal, water, and prithvi, earth. These are constituents of all mundane creation. Similarly, five senses - shamma, sense of smell; dhaiqa, sense of taste; basira, sight; sami'a, hearing and lamisa, sense of touch - correspond to panch indriyas of Hindu philosophy..."

In his Sirr-i-Akbar, Great Secret, his mystical quest led him to study Upanishads deeply. In translating them from Sanskrit into Persian, Dara Shikoh contended that both Upanishads and Quran reflect divine monotheistic thought.


Yearning to be absorbed into enchanted Kaifiyat state of mind, is at the heart of Sufi consciousness of both Amir Khusro and Dara Shikoh. The evocative lyrics of Amir Khusro's last composition - 'Gori sove sej par/mukh par daarey kes, chal Khusro ghar apne..." embody this poignant yearning, where mystical soul turns away from materialistic trappings and longs to be anchored in faqiri of spiritual love .

Authored by: Pranav Khullar