Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj: Poet of Spiritual Renaissance
Sant_Mat_Gnosis
Sant Mat Fellowship:
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sant_mat_gnosis ( James ) san...@zdnetonebox.com
Subject: Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj: Poet of Spiritual Renaissance
The 30st of May marks the 12th death anniversary of an
administrator-poet-saint extraordinaire, Sant Darshan
Singh Ji Maharaj (1921-1989). He was born on Sept. 14,
1921 in Kountrilla, Dist. Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan.
Sant Darshan Singh was a living exemplaire of the term
"Positive Mysticism". He coined this term to
differentiate between the kind of mysticism that
prescribes seeking God in seclusion along with the
giving up of societal responsibilities and that which
prescribes living in the household and fulfilling the
responsibilities of the external world while
practising introspection and meditation. He advocated
renunciation of the mind, of violence, of fear and
hatred, rather than that of the world. Retiring from
the high office of the Joint Secretary in the
Government of India, he succeeded Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
Maharaj (1984-1974) in the spiritual lineage of Sant
Mat, known worldwide today as Science of Spirituality.
Taking up Persian at Government College, Lahore at the
bidding of his mentor, Huzur Baba Sawan Singh Ji
Maharaj of Beas (1858-1948), his poetic talents were
nurtured by Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum and later,
Janab Shamim Karhani and in the literary field, his
English professor Eric Dickenson had great influence
upon him.
Contributing four world tours, Sant Darshan Singh was
honoured worldwide, being presented with the key of
many cities and awarded the Medal of Congress by the
Colombian parliament and Citations of Merit by the
United States Congress and the Michigan State
legislature. He presided over an enormous expansion of
the mission, begun by Sant Kirpal Singh at the behest
of Huzur Baba Sawan Singh to bring together, for the
first time in modern times, leaders of the varied
religious faiths on a single stage. He worked hard to
bring to the world the gist of the teachings of `Sant
Mat' (Path of the Masters) and of the leaders of the
various religious faiths. He also established a
library which he envisaged to become the nucleus of a
centre for parallel studies in religion and yoga. The
Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, established in 1975 by
Sant Darshan Singh has over 1000 branches worldwide
presently and is being ably guided by his successor,
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj (b: 1946), himself a
distinguished engineer-scientist.
What makes Sant Darshan Singh's Sufi poetry unique is
the fact that it sprang from his personal spiritual
experience and revelation as he himself expresses,
"There surges in the heart and soul a boundless ocean
of perceptions and felt-experiences, and every word
which rises from its depths is impregnated with its
riches." Most of his verses may be traced to some
incident in his life and it is his true-to-life
imagery that makes his exotic poetry easily understood
by the common man, for whose upliftment he strived
constantly. As the renowned poet, Ali Javad Zaidi
says, "His lofty ideas and aspirations do not dissolve
into thin mystic air, for his feet are firmly set on
the ground." He is fully aware of the deep crisis that
has overtaken our civilization. The quest for
material progress has enabled mankind to climb to
undreamt of heights, conquering even the outer space
in the process, but the question remains: have we
truly reaped the fruits of this progress? We are still
groping in darkness for the peace and happiness which
are our birthright. "Darshan" tells us that the light
which we are seeking can be found even now through
love, the element missing in our hectic pursuit of
material gains. In the mystic poet's concept of love,
the entire universe is an indivisible entity and the
barriers of colour, race, nationality, language or
religion are not recognized. His concept of beauty too
is universal and embraces the entire humanity. His is
the message of all the great Masters from the bygone
ages - his poetry, in his own words, "gives expression
to the message of Buddha, Ashoka, Christ, Kabir, Guru
Nanak and the Sufi Masters."
His is a message of great optimism and hope for the
times to come, and invites us to collective endeavour
and hope. In his "Spiritual Awakening", he describes
the dawn of the golden era of spirituality, prophesied
first by Swamiji Maharaj Shivdayal Singh of Agra
(1818-1878), founder of the current lineage of the
Sants or Perfect Masters, thus: "For those who have
the eyes to read the signs, the Golden Age of
Spirituality has already begun, and we are witnessing
its dawn. Already, young and old throughout the world
are beginning to seek spiritual awakening." Describing
the process by which this awakening is brought about,
he says, "The Golden Age begins with each of us - it
begins within each of us. There is a sure and definite
path which we can follow to realize the totality of
our potential - the path of Spiritual Awakening."
He wrote books in Urdu, Hindi, English and other
languages, some of which have been translated into as
many as 53 languages of the world, besides bringing
out numerous Satsang talks through audio-visual media.
Though not a scientist by training, he maintained keen
interest in scientific developments and drew parallels
between the exoteric and the esoteric sciences in his
remarkable books, 'The Challenge of Inner Space and
Soulergy: The Source of All Energy'. His collections
of talks such as 'Secret of Secrets' 1977, 'Spiritual
Awakening' 1986 and 'Wonders of the Inner Space' 1988
are truly remarkable in that they portray the highest
in spirituality in terms of mundane analogies from
everyday life. In doing so, he gave colour to the line
drawings provided by Sant Kirpal Singh whose works
extensively deal with the theory of spirituality and
the parallels between religion and yoga. He not only
expounded the `tehzib' (culture) of Sant Mat, but also
continued the tradition of Sant Kirpal Singh in
bringing out the spiritual significance of the
numerous rites and rituals in our religious practice.
As in Sant Kirpal Singh's times, Sawan Kirpal Ruhani
Mission continues to mother the tradition of
inter-faith dialogue that has gathered enormous
momentum worldwide in recent years.
Sant Darshan Singh is acclaimed as the foremost poet
of the mystic verse in Urdu, sustaining and extending
the Sufi tradition, which he got popularized on stage,
radio and TV. His poetry won him numerous accolades
including awards from Urdu Academies of Lucknow and
Delhi and the Government of Punjab. `Talash-e-Noor'
(Quest for Light) 1965, `Manzil-e-Noor' (Abode of
Light) 1969, `Mataa-e-Noor' (Treasurehouse of Light)
1988, `Jaada-e-Noor' (Path of Light) 1991, and
`Mauj-e-Noor' (Wave of Light) 1996 are his five basic
collections of Urdu poetry, some of which he
translated himself into English in the `Cry of the
Soul' 1977, `A Tear and a Star' 1986 and `Love at
Every Step' 1989. The poet has used both traditional
and new forms of verse, delighting alike in the
couplet, in free verse, and blank verse. In his youth,
he tried his hand at the sonnet. "Darshan" has
experimented with many poetic forms, but the one form
to which he has returned most consistently is that of
the ghazal and in using it for dealing with mystic
love, he has extended its range of theme and its
effect. In his hands, the ghazal as a vehicle of
mystic writing has attained its highest point of
development. Significantly, a recent anthology
covering 400 years of poetry, 'Ruhani Ghazlein'
(Spiritual Ghazals) was dedicated by its editor,
Inderjit Lall, to Darshan Singh.
He began writing his spiritual poetry at the tender
age of 17 with a misra (hemistich) provided by Sant
Kirpal Singh:
Khuda ka noor Murshid mein bhalaa maaloom hota hai
Yeh ainaa hai woh jismein Khudaa maaloom hota hai
(The Light of God has manifested itself in the form of
the resplendent, glorious master, the mirror which
reflects the Eternal Creator.)
In describing the glory of the master, he drew on the
popular Sufi idiom of the "saaqui", the beloved and
the true wine of the Holy Word or Naam that he pours
out to his disciple, the lover through his eyes:
Maine pee sahbai irfaan har tajalleegaah se
Ek hi saaqui thaa jo maikhaana dar maikhaana thaa
(I quaffed the wine of divine knowledge
wherever I could find it,
And I met the same Cupbearer in every tavern.)
In doing so he established the triumph of
`Ishque-e-Haquiqui' (Divine love) in a world besotted
by `Ishque-e-Majazi' (Worldly love).
He was saddened in heart by the growing alienation of
the modern man from his very neighbour:
Justajoo chaand sitaaron ki jaari hai magar
Aaj insaan ko kahaan hai dile-insaan ki khabar
(We are communing with the moon and the stars,
But alas, we have not reached to the heart of
neighbours.)
In love he saw a universal remedy:
Gale lagaa lo har insaan ko ki apnaa hai
Chalo to raahguzaaron mein baant-te hue pyaar
(Embrace every man as your very own,
And shower your love
Freely wherever you go.)
He was derisive of the ego of the intellect, and
instead called for the upliftment of the soul into the
world of love:
Kare talsaash junoon, zulmate khirad se kaho
Junoon kiran hai, kiran ke siva kuch aur nahin
(O tell the darkness of intellect
to seek the madness of love.
For this madness is a beam of Light,
and nothing but Light.)
His message transcended the religious divide and he
spoke of the oneness of God:
Apne Dost ki to hain jitnee hain yeh nishaahiyaan
Dair mile to sar jhukaa, Kaaba mile salaam kar
(All places of worship are symbols of the One Beloved.
Bow your head when you see a temple, and salute when
you see the mosque.)
Of his life's journey, he says:
Khaaq se taabah kahkashaan, hamne to jab kiya safar,
Ishque milaa qadam qadam, husn milaa nazar nazar.
(Whenever I travelled from earth to the milky way.
I met love at every step and beauty in every glance.)
Of himself, the 'Cosmic Man' this is what he had to
say:
Naam hai aadmi to kya, asl mein roohe-ishque hoon
Saari zameen hai mera ghar, saara jahaan mere watan
(What does it matter if I am called a man?
In truth, I am the very soul of love;
The entire earth is my home,
And the universe my country.)
He foresaw a universal awakening through the renewal
of the moribund religious institutions with the power
of spirituality:
Haram ke phool, Kaleesa ke phool, Dair ke phool
Jo mil gaye hain to aayee hai is chaman mein bahaar
(When the flowers of the church, mosque and temple
come together,
Spring will blossom forth in your garden, O Lord.)
He prophesied the return of world-weary mankind to
God:
Vus-ate kaynaat ke sair ka maahsal to hai
Tere hi dar pe aayegaa kal yeh thakaa hua bashar
(The flights into the expanse of this
vast creation will one day come to an end.
Man, when totally exhausted, will ultimately
come back to you, O Lord.)
It is the intoxication of the true wine that leads to
true globalisation of the spirit, as his verse here
reveals:
Milee voh mai ki main sarshaar ho gayaa saaqui
Har aadmi se mujhe pyaar ho gayaa saaqui
(O Cupbearer, the intoxicating wine you
served overflowed the goblet of my heart,
And now I am in love with all humanity.)
And he prays:
Joshe masti se bagalgiir hon bichude hue dil
Aaj insaan ko insaan banaa de saaqui
(O Cubearer, let those long divided embrace one
another,
And through the intoxication of your love, make
mankind truly human.)
Phir kabhi hosh na aye to koi baat nahin
Aaj ham jitnee piyen, utni pilaa de saaqui
(What does it matter if we never regain our senses?
This day, O Cupbearer, pour forth as much as we can
drink.)
Amn ki baat chale, pyaar ka paighaam chale
Baat jab chal hi padi, subah chale, shaam chale
Chhaa gayee waqt ke maikhaane pe Saawan ki ghataa
Saaquiyaa jaam chale, jaam chale, jaam chale
(From dawn to dusk, let us speak of peace
and listen to the message of love,
The shower laden clouds of `Sawan' have engulfed the
tavern of time,
O Cupbearer, let the cup of love go round and round
and round.)
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