Rupa
Bhawani was the second great mystic
poet of 17th century. She had a great and deep
experience of ups and downs of life. The worldly
sufferings showed her the path of spiritual life.
Her spiritual 'Guru' was her father Pandit Madhav
Joo Dhar who initiated her into the mysteries and
practices of yoga. She gave rich mystic poetry to
Kashmiri language. In her poetry, we can find the
influence of both Kashmir Shaivism and Islamic
Sufism.
Selflessness is the sign
of the selfless;
Bow down at the door of
the selfless.
The selfless are of the
highest authority,
The kings of the time and
the wearers of the crest and crown.
These lines show her
spiritual understanding. According to her
dissolution of self is essential for Realisation.
Rupabhawani was a great preacher of yoga. She
describes her yogic practice. The different stages
of 'yoga' and awakening of Kundalini has been
described in the simple language of common men:
I dashed down into the
nether regions and brought the vital breath up;
I got its clue out of
earth and stones;
Then my kundalini woke up
with nada;
I drank wine by the mouth,
I got the vital breath
gathered it within myself;
This great mystic poetess
had experienced the truth and then explained the
same. Such mystics had real experience and not a
bookish one. That is the reason why this mystic
poetry in every language is considered great after
so many centuries.
