Section Two

Nund Reshi's Shruiks Translated

OMNIPRESENCE AND ALL PERVADING NATURE OF GOD

1. He, who was here, is also there;
He's in possession of house everywhere
He's the Pedestrian, and He the Ruath, (old type of vehicle )
He's all in all; invincible and obscure!

Note: The sufi concept of the Omnipresence and all pervading nature of God is analogous to the science of totality or KULA system of Kashmir Shaivism in essence wherein TRUTH OF TOTALITY shines everywhere. According to this mystic experience and knowledge, there is no creek left anywhere to distinguish between man and man or any other form of life.

C/O Lalla Vaakh No one, 35

2. SELF REALISATION:
He's beside me and
I'm beside Him,
Blissful I feel with Him,
In vain, I went a—seeking Him
In strange lands, for
My Friend Himself graced me
in my own House !

Note: C/P Lalla Vaakh No 3&8,35

3. SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND SHARING PROSPERITY AND PAIN.
Mere chanting of "Shiva, Shiva "
Won't awaken Shiva.
Ghee you'ld consume in
Kangri fire
Feed on ghee and
Be strong or
Give it to other,
Should you not need it.

Note: C/P Lalla Vaakh No. 4, 48 & Preface.

4. RELIGION IN ACTION:
Feed the Hungry, if you can,
Ask not the caste of the naked:
Gain a thousand times
The virtue,
Nor would you ever lose it,
Dear brother, Nunda !

Note: C/P Lalla Vaakh No. 49 and preface

While infusing a spirit of humanism and social good into his people Nund Reshi lays stress on need-based and not to creed, colour or language based sympathy. A man's inner sun should shed its lively light equally on all rich and poor, yellow or green, living or non living alike.

5. Within the cluster of rills was lost,
A sparkling spring;
A saint was lost amongst
A gang of thieves;
Amidst a family of duds was lost,
A learned Pandit Guru;
A gorgeous swan was lost,
Amidst a flock of crows !

Comments

The most probable allusion of the saints, among others, is to the group who, according to legend, had become thieves under the stress of adversity. But the saints'  inborn divine disposition wouldn't keep him in tune with them. Unlike Vaimiki, celebrated author of Ramayana, who was a robber before becoming a saint of high order and poet of eminence, Nund Reshi was born with the Moon of Divinity shining within him.

As a child he was once forced by his colleagues to break into a house at night to collect a booty of precious articles but to their amazement he stole only a mortar from the kitchen in order not to make his victim suffer too much . Again, the barking of dogs pricked his conscience and awakened his soul. Thenceforth he is said to have embarked on the spiritual path in seclusion.

6. Bathe out of sight,
Meditate in secluded isolation,
Be regular in action don't forget,
But---- out of sight;
Should you forget, you'll regret !

C/P LV No. 7

7. Should you not shun inner anger,
How can you, your external wrath ?
Unless you cleanse you inner mind
You'll lead an ostriched life !

C/P LV No. 38

8. You gave sugar to sugarcane,
And honey to the honey bee
You gave grapes to
The winding vine:
You gave the deer stag
The forest green:
Such are your godly gifts !

9. You've to bear lightning and thunder,
Tornados and storms at mid-day;
You've to bear with lifting mountain weights,
You've to bear with your palm aflame,
You've to pass through a rolling mill,
You've to tolerate eating poison and fire!

C/P LV 34

Note: This trio of saint poets, like all others of the international tribe of saints, clearly hints at the hurdles faced by them in their search after mysticism and god realization.

10. Fear, attachment and violent thought,
I shunned,
For a whole life-time,
I followed
But one path, and then,
Bathed in the waters of contemplation,
I walked to a sojourn
In blissful seclusion !

C/P LV 17

11. He who sits in vigil
At His door,
To him, He 'II offer
His own sherbet (Medicine);
His devotees are different but,
Only with one prayer;
He, whom He blesses,
Will prosper!

C/P LV---,PP---

12. Avariciously, I filled my belly
------draped the devilish frame
Of my long cage !
Robbed off was, I even
Of the ever-withering leaf:
Sinned I and earned
The vice !

13. O self, lend ear to
The gossip that's going on;
This's the knell of
The warrants of death !
A day before like a lamb
They'll take you to the butchers,;
With a tuft of grass, they'll
Lure you on to the grave !

14. Should you have a friend,
Sacrifice yourself for him.
From time to time, a friend
Is a breezy dawn !
Earth, earthly be, free from
Birth-Re-birth;
What need remains for
Protective defence ?
Or
What need remains
To fear fate?

15. What catch will a crow, show
To the lion of the jungle ?
How can dhup (incence) surpass wine,
In fragrance?
What light can a candle
Show to the moon?
What a salvation will Shiva give
To a-----

Note: Wine refers to the intoxication of the light of the inner moon of self consciousness as pet Lall Ded's inner vision and that of sufis of wine like Maulana Rumi, Pammanand and other mystic saints.

16. Death's a lion.
How can you escape him?
From a flock of sheep
It 'II pick you up like a lamb.

17. A blonde I, dressed and combed,
Became a queen of beauty:
Bewitched my youth was by flowers.
Frozen as snows on mountains
I was and
Blown off by WULAR wind; (biggest lake in Kashmir)
Divested by robbers, I was
In dazzling bewilderment:
Ruffled my half-cooked rice became
By bran and husk
While a poor man's day
Passed for a year.

18. Yee alone, O Deva, are the need
Of the hour,
To set the earth a-right in beauty ?
Yee alone, the shadow of skeletons:
Yee alone awaken
Without the tolling of bells;
What's virtue and what vice ?

Note: The idea conveyed is that God alone is dispassionate and responds to plaints and prayers of his devotees in whichever way they approach HIM.

19. Shiva 's there, spread with
A fine net:
That's Death and
That's Pilgrimage !
Should you not die while living,
How else can you, when dead ?
Recognise self from yourself
By contemplation.

20. Straight I came and,
Straight l'ld go,
What harm can the crooked do
To a straight man ?
I fully recognized and
Merged with Him there
What can the recognized do
To the recogniser ?

C/P L.V. No. 3

21. ARADANA

Introductory: Sages and seers are scientists in the spiritual and mystic fields whereas, scientists are spiritualists in the scientific field. Their work is guided by certain individual principals, aims, and objectives. Both observe, firm hypothesis, experiment and come to natural conclusions by pragmatic experience, one, in the confinement of the laboratory and the other in the calm seclusion of nature, under the guidance of a Guru.

Whereas one, experiments with materials and energy, the other probes the transcendental and mysterious in a more subtle way, purely in the mental laboratory using its peculiar tools of energy and contemplation,

Nund Reshi, like other saints, gives vent to what he aims to achieve in his spiritual exercise in this invocation. He observes strict discipline, renouncing all pleasures of life till he blooms and achieves perfection in the domain of godly life.

Naturally he rises to the status of the most popular saint alongwith his contemporary, Lall Ded. Both guided, the modes and ways of cordial conduct of all kashmaris for more than six centuries to date. No wonder therefore, that Budshah, the great king of Kashmir, took pride in giving shoulder to Nund Reshi's dead body, when he left for eternal abode. Like Lalleshwari, Nund Reshi self addresses this message, of inclusion of high standards of spiritual conduct, humanism and desirable social behaviour in man as if he himself was not a symbol of good qualities and virtues.

a) That Lana of Padmanpora
Gulp by gulp who nectar drank,
And saw Shiva face to face everywhere
Grant me that boon, O Deva!

b) The speaking damsels of Loka—Bhawan
And the dumb socio—human ones,
Took flight with birds;
Grant me that boon, O Deva !

Note: The girls wholeheartedly helped others and served birds with grains before their spiritual flights.

c) Janak Reshi of Dandakvan.
Living on herbs, wild fruit, was
A perfect Bhakta, a pearl among devotees !
Grant me that boon, O. Deva.

Note: Janak Reshi of Handwara jungles lived on herbs and wild fruit. His was a perfect, realised soul.

d) That Miran Reshi of Reshivan,
Who fed a thousand people
And created an averse free atmosphere:
Grant me that boon, O Deva:

e) A shephered followed rams. T
hat very moment
He was beckoned off
And flew to the Heaven
At Harmukh:
Grant me that boon, O Deva:

Note: A pious shephered, while grazing his flocks of sheep and goats on the HARMUKH slopes, had face to face Darshan of Shiva and merged with him!

f) You blessed the sadhu at Ishabar,
He recognised you and served you.
Blessed you, also Rugzal?`
The pashmina—seller:
Grant me that boon, O Deva I

Note:

i) Refers to an ancient gyanyogi sadhu of Ishabar near Nishat Garden.

ii) Rugzal replaces Rukhsonjahai as suggestd by J&K Academy of Art, culture and languages commentator.

iii) Refers to a Pashmina trader who after renouncing the world achieved self realisation.

g) That wise, hunch-backed, Kubza.

Note: Refers to hunch backed Kubza of the Ramayana.

h) You blessed Sadhwani, the vapbodh,
He drank the milk of intimacy I
In full,
You blessed Shethi Srikantha,
The sidha;
Grant me that boom, O Deva !

Note: Refers to Sadwani who was blessed with Lord Shiva's Darshan at the foot of Shankaracharaya hill.

Refers to Yogi Rajsidh Sri Kant of Srinagar, Probably Lall Ded's Guru.
References quoted above by courtesy of Sahaz Quasum June'91.

i) In time should I act for my future;
Maybe, it may bear fruit ;
Meekly'ld I exhort Him;
Maybe, He may bless Nund too !
Grant me that boon, O Deva !

VEGETARIANISM

22. As stated elsewhere, Nund Reshi respected all life as himself . Even on his death bed, he simply could not be persuaded into fish-eating to revive his fast -deteriorating physical condition. (Ref.

He was a strict vegetarian as is clear also from his own shruk quoted in "Kuliyate-Sheik ul Alam." Quote from Fida Mohd Hushain's book." The beautiful Kashmir Valley" published by Rema publishing House New Delhi. "Sheikh Noor-Ud-Din gave his mystical experiences and teaching in the Kashmiri language. Khawaja Habib-Ullah Naushari in 16th century composed his poems in Kashmiri."

My darling, why should you poach on fish
My darling understand this truth
Those, who deavour the living
To nourish their own lives
Would feed on the poison of sin !

Ref. L.V. 11.

23. DOES WRATH BECOME A MUSLIM ?

 a) Does wrath behave a Muslim?
 Should you display anger, you'll
 Jeopardise your purpose.
 Wrath'll prove to be a robber
 Of your treasures !
 Does wrath become a Muslim ?

 b) What happened to him who
Was deposed from his heavenly, throne ?
Numbness overtook that Muslim and.
He fell a victim to the devil: and
Hid in a boat man's ......
Does wrath become a Muslim ?

c) Should you peep into the
Veiled harem of strangers,
It'ld be like showing
A red rag to the bull,
Causing hue and cry, din and noise !
Does anger become a Muslim?

 (d) Study daily, the Quran,
The lighthouse that'll
 Scare away the devil in you:
 Does wrath become a Muslim?

 (e)The Lord'll Himself accompany
The guest;
Give something in His love and,
Remember, what you give to others
Will remain in store for you:
Does anger become a Muslim?

(f) In a far off field,
They 'll leave you buried and,
Rot'll your flesh, and organs too,
Underground and
You, Yourself will have to be
Answerable for your own deeds,
Does wrath become a Muslim?

 24. HE, WHO PLOUGHS THE FIELD, REAPS THE CROP:

 (a) Be conscientious in doing your duty, man,
  Plough the field, to harvest the crop
  In autumn and. provide for
  Your comforts in the cold month of magh:
  He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (b) Blind is the spring, keep't in view,
  Be quick to collect the material of
  Seed, and store's at home:
  Don't you lag behind, for
  The spring is elusive, man;
  He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (c) Lend no ear to falsehood now,
  Winter lies ahead, and freezing cold
  Daughters and daughters-in-law, children
  And grand-children regard him, who
  Ploughs the field and reaps the crop:
  He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (d) Deluding is the hunger;
  Yoke it to the plough,
  Scare't away.with the whip of fasting;
  Thus wouldn't it hinder the polughshare:
  He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (e) Keep the kit trim and your ploughshare;
  Attend to your ablutions, it's dawn,
  The usual time for prayers.
  Shun listlessness, caste and pray:
  He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (f) Full of weeds is your field,
Enter with determination and deweed it
Bend you must in blazing heat
To deweed your field:
He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (g) Devote your time to Islamic work:
Shun lassitude, Kalima's the lighthouse of
Your knowledge at home:
Duly attend to daily "Nimaz" pilgrimage and
Graceful alms-giving: For,
He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (h) Many times, the seed is the ear of crops:
Many times more though latent, is CORDIALITY.
Still more beneficial is contemplation of God:
He,  who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (i) Beware of the watchman:
Day by day, He counts the stockpiles:
Truly fear the Landlord;
He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop:

(j) The king of fate, pounces on the crop:
Rise with confidence and show......
The attainments of your endeavour:
And when, the king's gone,
Contemplate on" What He said ":
He, who sows the seed reaps the crop !

 (k) Estimates of every field, they'll make and,
Name every kind of fruit.....................
Collecting all, they'll seal the stores:
He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (l) They'll force him divide bagfuls of crops
And make him, sort out grain by grain.
Reaping, collecting, separating, winnowing,
They'll induce him to weigh the harvest;
He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop

(m) With the display of a sword,
To begin with, they'll warn him against
Irresponsible sloth, listlessness,  and
Ask him to be careful in future:
God forbid, maybe, they'll get him lashed too:
He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

 (n) Slowly, imperceptibly, life has waned,
O you, unmindful fellow, haven't you
Realised the truth by now?
Look, how you have robbed your own self:
He, who ploughs the field, reaps the crop !

 (o) Don't you be too fond of glamourous mansions
Elegant ZOONA DUB (well decorated verandah)
For,
None but you have to account for your deeds:
What use's preaching to the unwise?
He, who sows the seed, reaps the crop !

(p) You careless man, realise yourself
You 'll reap here, what you've sown there,
 They'll weigh all sins and virtues:
He, who ploughs the field, reaps the crop !

 (q) Take the mukkadam (headman) to plead your case
Before the king of kings:
Nund Reshi knows well the Landlord:
He, who sows the seed, collects the fruit !

Note: The poem is multi meaning, Two of them at least, are conjugate: Whereas one reflects on the political conditions of the time, the other refers to the kingdom of God.

C/P Parmanand's Karma Bhoomika

25. WHAT HAVE I GAINED AFTER BIRTH ?

(a) With full settlement, I had come
On business to the world;
Lured on the way I was
In the market place:
Behold how I bore with
The master mind:
What have I gained after I was born ?

(b) Why did I overhear my friend
At HIS house?
Who'll keep that laughing Joker
In good humour ?
Virtuous is my mind but
Plenty of sins have I gathered:
What have I gained after birth ?

(c) Spanned has the thread of
My necklace of pearls:
Consumed by fire
Have been all my gains
Reduced to dust or consigned to flames
Has been all my wealth:
What have I gained after birth?

(d) My living body fell here in chaos,
Good it is to sacrifice it for the times:
Wouldn't it honour the Lord?
What have I gained in life ?

(e) Originally crooked Couldn't reach the source
How I tried to uphold the dignity of
My home:
Keep in fear of HIM, O thee rider and pedestrian:
What have I gained in life

 (f) Peddlers are on the move
From city to city:
Isn't it time for you
To burn in the fire of hell?
Kneeling low, Nund Reshi prays and
Exhorts the Lord in all humility:
What have I gained in Life ?

26. Bear with: As you sow, so shall you Reap

 (a) Bear with the calls from the compound, friend.
Respond to your inner voice:
As you sow here, so shall you reap there.
Sow and reap, sow and reap.

 (b) "Occupy the grave" does the blonde;
Nought's mine:
Sow and provide for food here.
If only,
For fear of harm to the heart:
Sow and reap, sow and reap.

(c) Theists and atheists will be questioned;
Contemplate on the Prophet and the Lord,
Smash the spear and the Gurza; (Lethal weapon of Hanuman)
Sow and reap, sow and reap.

 (d) When the case reaches the divine court.
There,
From whom can we hide our untruth?
Beware! none but you, yourself'ld have to
Bear the consequences of your deeds:
Sow and reap, sow and reap.

 (e) Virtue and vice'ld they weigh there, brother.
Think ahead, of life there
Lest your gains turn into losses,
Sow and reap, sow and reap!