Shah Abdul Latif’s philosophy of sorrows
Sorrows adorn joys

By Saleem Bhutto Lateefi

Justifying the ways of God to man as J. Milton said, Shah Latif cries with the same tendency when our great poet says:

Those you consider the verses, are sign ports,
That direct your mind to God’s abode

This is his earnest quest, a holy journey of spiritual self, an inner evolution to seek that divinity for which Shakespeare says the divinity that shapes our ends. The recognition of sorrows and the capacity of endurance of the sorrows and to enjoy in life is all its forms with a peculiar attitude and fullness of courage, are the intricately interwoven trends in Shah Latif’s mystical, spiritual and sensuous poetry. It is interesting to note that Shah Latif is labeled as religious mystic on one hand. It would be worth while to explore the relationship between Shah Latif’s ideas of sorrows and pains and opulence of his language and to observe was this relationship facilitates a better understanding of religious faith embodied in his sensuous poetry. It is important to show that aspects of his poetry wherein experience of sorrows and knowledge of human nature along with the religious values and moral ethics go side by side, thus having direct effects on human mind. Shah Latif’s speculation bursts out as ’if poetry is to come out, it should come as naturally as leaves to a tree’, and as Shelley says, “Our sweetest songs are those that cometh grass saddest thoughts”. Thus queries of how and why Shah Latif’s language and thoughts evolve as it does are relevant subjects for analysis today because are of the features of present day literary criticism is that it has taken on a linguistic term and is turned as ’structuralism’.

While analyzing the relationship between Shah Latif’s values of life and those of poetic vision, it is voted that the poet was of course not writing in a vacuum. Religion during the period was significant dimension of public life at the time and it itself influenced the political and social life but mysticism started contributing to change the political and social order of the period. As a mystic poet, he was of the opinion like consider that “religion, true or false is and ever has been the centre of gravity in a realm to which all other things must accommodate themselves”. He was conscious of fact that the religions principles cementing their social order would have to be re-evaluated critically or changed which is practiced by so called and laymen religious leaders, to adjust with the spirit of religion and delivering goods to the people as in Shelley’s words, “equilibrium between institutions and opinions”. What made mystics important figures in intellectual, religious, social, moral and literary history of Sindh in particular and subcontinent in general, was not the skeptics but belief in natural goodness of man  an exigent sense of optimum that inspired radical dissatisfaction of pubic preached by state and rulers and radical religious leaders supporting or supported by the state while criticizing such an attitude of clergy class. Shah Latif says:

1. “Whole world with “I” (ego) flaunting twists and turns,
Knowing not that all this magic show He unfuris”(1)

2. The learned ones, page after page turn,
Their hearts accept not what they learn,
The more pages they turn, the more they sin. (2)

3. Unfortunate one! Does knowing words make you learned?
Come not nigh with confusion and concept,
This drinks taste Azazeel (Satin) to you will teach. (3)

4. The more leaves you aimlessly turn, the more
Prone to sin you become,
If he himself asides not, of what use are guides admonitions. (4)

Shah Abdul Latif, of course, offers specific program of religious reforms, who so ever must be insisted on the need for it. However, as the religious community abandoned the true nature of moral principles and hardened into bleak rulers religiosity, our great poet preserved the ideal of freshness of experience and of imaginative liberty in matters of spirit. Shah Latif voicing the ideas of mysticism, believed and heralded new ethics and opinions of original religion for public. Poet’s message can be turned as ’unfailing herald of awakening’ of people to work a beneficial charge in opinions or institutions. No wonder then that collection of poet’s verses is infused with a special vitality and purity of thought and expression. He preached ’Oneness’ of God and cries that ’these verses direct the people to right path of God’ as Milton said, “He justifies the ways of God to man”, and the same vibration is felt in the following verses of Shah Latif:

1.” Foremost, Omniscient and supreme is word’s Lord,
of His own might in existence since oceans old,
Mighty Creator, merciful, sustainer, one and only,
His praises sing, He planned and perfected the universe.”(5)

2. There be no God but He, unique is He,
Your deaf ears this must clearly hear,
Conscience’s voice loudly proclaims,
When witness confronts, bitter tears will be your share.(6)

3. These words repeat and repeat,
He be one, no kith, no kiss has He,
You win or lose in world’s battle fields,
Heavenly cup filled to the brim,
He himself will reward you these with.(7)

4. He be one, no Kith no Kin has He,
This faith’s sound test be,
Repenting losers are followers of duality.(8)

Shah Abdul Latif believed that the prevailing ’religiosity’ of his time was fast losing its hold on the minds and hearts of the people. Only the clergy class and Sayeds were symbols of show business of religion as H.T Sorely writes, “The extent to which holy men or reputed holy men were revened and pampered in Sindh, is almost outside the bounds of credibility.

…The Sayeds, the Pirs, the Pirzadas, the Kalandars, the Sufis and a host of others were the real power in the land… but the practical results were not encouraging…. There is no cousinly in Asia or rater on earth that is so perfectly priest-ridden. …  the expenses of the ecclesiastical establishment at one-third of the grass revenue was enjoyed by the state. … there is no zeal but for the propagation of the faith, no spirit but in celebrating the Id, no liberty but in feeding Sayeds and no taste but in ornamenting old tombs. … in consequence of the privileges and immunities they enjoy, they flock from all the neighboring centres into Sindh where they are a constant tan on the poorest of the inhabitants…. The meanest wretch who can boast this origin from the holy stock enjoys a place in society higher than temporary rank an bestow…(9) During such a state of religion in society, Shah Abdul Latif voiced his poetry as a revival of the original ’natural religion’ ordained by God, and preached by Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and later by the true saints and followers of Islam, seemed to our great poet to be in the offing. H.T Sorely came outs on this aspect of poets thought as, “The real from and meaning of Islam in Sindh is not to be found in these abulations of popular and incredible fanaticism, but is to be read in the beautiful spiritual poems of Shah Abdul Latif. It will be most unfair to judge Sindh by the former and forget the latter…”(10) For from being an agoustic, Shah Abdul Latif was an avid seeker of truth who believed in the existence of Supreme Being and who felt the need to look into the consequence of that belief. This is why we find is Shah Latif’s poetry, a brave acceptance of human limitations and poet cires that:

1. My love bound me, and threw me in water’s depth,
Standing there, He kept saying, “doesn’t you wet yourself.”(11)

2. “Reins in the lands of creator
I am the helpless creature.” 

3. He alone blocks the way, He alone directs,
He elevates whom He pleases,
He degrades whom He wishes. 

But on the contrary our great poet believes in the power of endurance and learn from sufferings and also the knowledge of human possibilities which may reach friction if one learns to pursue this task of joy and grief most piously and humbly he says:

1. “Let your head be an anvil, than ask for Smith abode,
So you be changed to steel after may a stroke.”(12) 

2. Hundred joys and my own head would I give in exchange,
If I find true love, I would only traffic in that.(13) 

3. To each is given a handful of sorrows, I have piles,
Carrying their load I roam, their buyers I cannot find.(14) 

4. “Oh mother! Hot is the ground beneath my feet,
fire of love within me burns”,
Burning in double flames, she yearns.”(15) 

5. Tears from my eyes fall like drops of rain,
What I consider love was in truth fire’s flame.(16) 

6. Over my head burns love’s flame, unaware of truth you try me to restrain,
Mother, come close that I my tale of woe to your relate.”(17) 

7. Sorrows led her through intiricate path,
They guided to unite her with her Lord.(18) 

8. Sorrows adorn joys, without sorrows joy disdain,
Through such sorrows, my Love come to me again.(19) 

Repudiating the traditional doctrones of religions, preached by the so-called religious leader. Which to him seemed to institutionalize religion, Shah, Abdul Latif remained in constant endeavour. So many reformers in his most significant poems, his ironical pronouncements on religious man, shows his attitude towards their practice which were void of truth and sincerer submission as negative capability he syas:

1. There who seek not sentence that with ’Alif’ (God) begin,
Aimlessly pages turn, nothing without love they tears.(20)  

(Continued)