Sufism - as against the fundamental fanaticism Ishwar Allah Tere Naam (Ishwar & Allah are 2 different names of the same Almighty God ) - the famous declaration by Gandhiji reminds me of the sufi tradition of Hindu-Muslim unity. It always fascinates me to think of these Sufi saints who preferred to austere, service oriented life, bringing the essence of Islamic scholarly view and Hindu vedantic view of Almighty. They had to face the fanatical rulers and orthodox islamic clergy who were skeptic about these saints. But ordinary people as well as enlightened ones never failed to rever these Sufi saints for their simplicity, wisdom, humane service and mystical powers. Throughout the indian subcontinent you can find many sufi shrines. 1. Khawaja Muinuddin Hasan Chishti, Ajmer Sharif, India 2. Hazrat Sarmad and Hazrat Huri Baree Saheb, Delhi, India 3. Hazrat Lal Shabaaz Qalandar, Shewan Sharif, Shewan, Sindh, Pakistan 4. Baba Farid Shakar Ganj of Pakpattan, Pakistan (Don't give me a knife but give me a needle.!) and so many. These holy shrines are visited as pilgrimage by both muslims and hindus alike. Sindh - the home land of Indian Sufism Jhoolay Lal - Hindu saintly warrior, believed by sindhi hindus to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu, who saved thousands of sindhi hindus from genocide from a fanatical muslim ruler in 11th century. He is also revered by Muslims as Shaikh Tahir. Hazrat Lal Shabaaz Qalandar - Sufi saint based in Shewan believed to be the reincarnation of Bhartihari, the saintly brother of the legendary King Vikramaditya and did worship in the famous Shiva temple in Shewan. Lal Shabaaz was reverred by both muslims and hindus alike for his endeavour for their unity and his benign mystical power. There was a famous sindhi folk song ("Lal meri") in tribute to these 2 great saints sung for centuries. Both people of India and Pakistan enjoy this sufi song in the voices of yesteryear great singers like Asha & Runa Laila as well as the current generation Mahalaxmi Iyer and others. The pakistani sufi-band Junoon had this song in their album. From coolgoose.com you can download the song by different singers. Coolgoose require free registration. Either search for "Lal Meri" or "Dama Dam" or "Duma Dum". OR after free registration, straight away you can go to the relevant pages with following links to download the mp3 files. by Asha Bhosle : http://web.music.coolgoose.com/go/song?id=48662 Runa Laila : http://web.music.coolgoose.com/go/song?id=52442 Mahalaxmi : http://web.music.coolgoose.com/go/song?id=40878 The song (by Kaif) is available here : http://www.kaif.org/music/lal_meri_evergreen_studios.mp3 Though i am a non-sindhi i do feel this song brings the sprit of hindu-muslim unity prevailed in Sindh, the home land of Indian Sufism. Comments and inputs are welcome.
