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The Concept of God in Maluka’s Poetry

By

Mohammad Saleem
Research Scholar,
Department of English Studies & Modern European Languages,
University of Allahabad, Allahabad

Sant Maluk Das was one of the great poet saints of India

with the universal message of love and oneness of God. He

was a saint who taught love, amity and devotion, and

looked upon everyone as equal and was never biased on the

basis of caste and creed. His Ashrams continue to send

out a message of spirituality, integrity, and harmony to

this day. They are a sanctuary where people from all

walks of life come to find peace within and around. Like

all great Sufis and saints, Maluk Das revived the true

spirit of religion with the ultimate objective of finding

communion with God through love and devotion, not through

rituals.

The tradition of Indian saints is all-inclusive, all

embracing. It concerns the well being of entire humanity

and the being only. This is why Sufis and saints of the

Bhakti cult like Guru Nanak, Kabir, and Rumi, Baba Farid

and Maluk Das were never confined to any organized

religion or sect. They aimed at direct communion with the

Supreme Sovereignty. Sant Mat or Sufism shows the path

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leading to the union of the soul with the Ultimate Soul

which Sufis or saints call Sat Naam or Al-Haqq.

Like Nanak, Kabir, and Rumi, Maluk Das adopted poetry as

the medium to spread his message of spirituality,

devotion, and universal brotherhood. His poetry also

deals with temporal issues and various aspects of human

concerns. It seeks to promote social reform, religious

tolerance, and goodwill among men.

Maluk Das believes in God as a formless Being and the

Creator and Sustainer of the universe, Who, at the same

time, pervades through each and every shape. Maluk Das

addresses Him by several names, eg. Nirankar (That which

has no shape), Avinashi (That which does not perish),

Allah, Parameshwar, Jyoti Saroop (The form of Light),

Parmanand (The absolute Joy), Sirjanhaar (The Creator),

etc. These names are indicative of the attributes of God

and His extension beyond what man can comprehend.

Wordsworth felt the presence of a Divine Spirit in the

'beautiful forms'. Maluk goes beyond this and experiences

the reflection of his God, the Paramatama, the ultimate

Soul, in everything concrete or abstract.

tks czãkaM fi.M gS lksbZA iS ;g eje y[kS ufga dksbZ AA

tho&tho dks eu esa eu dks A cqf)&cqf) dks fpr gS fpr dks AA

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jluk esa jl cSu c[kkuSA vax Li’kZ ldy lq[k tkuS AA

Jouu e/; lquS lc cSukA fuj[ks :Ik dVkNu uSuk AA

Ukklk :a/k xa/k tks cw>SA varj ckgj tfg lc lw>S AA

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tks vn`’; n`”Vk gS gksbZA y[kS lks vkiq y[kkoS lksbZ AA

lksbZ txifr ikyugkjkA lksbZ mrifr djr lagkjk AA

This Divinity is echoed in everything and it is this very

force that sustains the universe.

lc dfy;u esa ckl gS] fcuk ckl ufg dks; A

For Maluk Das the greatest form of worship is the ecstasy

of love for God. God is not confined to the premises of a

religious building, temple, or mosque. Maluk, therefore,

does not regard it necessary to visit a mosque or temple

to offer prayer, nor does he believe in rituals,

sacrifices, etc.

The love for the Supreme Kindness finds expression in the

love for His creation which includes man and everything

else. God loves those who care for others and cure their

pain. Maluk regards it as the surest way to find God.

dgr eywd lksbZ tu rsjks tks ij ihj gjS AA

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Maluk Das seems to attain a stage where he sees no

difference between the Creator and His Creation. This

stage appears to be the complete loss of self, as the

hadith, i.e. saying of Prophet Mohammad, upon whom be

peace, goes: Mootu qabla anta mootu (Die before you die).

It is the same as 'Let the self perish before physical

death comes.' There is nothing like being Two. He attains

the perfect communion with God. The atma becomes the

paramatma. When there is no self, i.e. when the self is

totally effaced, it mirrors the Infinite. This is the

same experience as the mystic Sufis like Mansoor express

shouting in ecstasy Anal Haq, Anal Haq, i.e. I am the

Truth, I am the Truth (God).

Lkkgc feyh lkgc Hk, dNq jgh u rekbZ AA

dgS *eywd* rk ?kj x, tgk¡ iou u tkbZ AA

This is why this great mystic teaches his disciples to

dissolve the self into the vastness of the Immeasurable:

vkIkk esVks jke Hktks rqe] dgr eywd fnokuk A

Maluk Das condemns idolatry and regards recognized

religious texts as useless, if no effort is made for the

advancement of the self.

ewjr ewtSa cgqr efr] fur uke iqdkjSa A

dksfV dlkbZ rqY; gSa] tks vkre ekjSa AA

Like Kabir, he does not believe in rituals such as

pilgrimage, etc. When he has realized that his heart is

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itself the abode of God, these exterior forms are

unnecessary.

la/;k riZu lc rts] rhjFk dcgq¡ u tkÅ¡A

gfj ghjk fgjn; feyk] rkfg ikSBs vUgokš AA

He enlightens his disciples that realization of one’s

self leads to salvation and the divine bliss.

vkRe jke u phUggha] iwtr fQjS Ik”kku A

dSlsgq eqfDr u gksbxh] dkSfVd lqukS iqjku AA

When the seeker attains this stage, he is able to

recognize God in every particle of the universe, and he

does not need to seek God at specified places of

pilgrimage.

jke jke ?kV esa clS] <w¡<r fQjS mtkM+ A

dksbZ dklh dksbZ izkx esa] cgqr fQjS >[k ekj AA

He seeks only the final refuge, i.e. God, Who is all

pervading and can be found only through love and devotion

to His name.

jke uke iwtk esjh] lqefju esjs jke A

rhjFk xaxk vkfn lc] esjs gfj ds uke AA

And

osn iqjku lklrj] iwtk fØ;k vpkj A

,d iq:”k ds vkljs] rft, lc csogkj AA

He further says that when he has realized that God dwells

everywhere, in every object, and all ideas emanate from

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Him and end onto Him, why the Limitless Soul should be

confined to a mere stone or a book?

loZ O;kid vkRek] lrxq: fn;ks crkb A

vc D;ksa ikrh rksfjds] izfrek iwtkSa tkb AA

Maluk Das does not merely reveal the fruitlessness of the

prevailing forms of worship. He tells the surest way to

achieve salvation. Swamiji Yogiraj Nanak, the spiritual

heir of Sant Maluk Das, describes him as follows: "He

imbibed the universal religion. He saw complete God and

went beyond, that is how he was able to say, "Neither am

I repeating the name of Ram, nor doing prayer, God is

doing all these for me, I am at peace."

ekyk tikSa u dj tikSa] ftH;k dgkSa u jke AA

lqfeju esjk gfj djSa] eSa ik;ksa foJke AA

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