In this spiritually eclectic and bold Kafi, titled Asan So Bad Mast Qalandar houn, the great mystic Khwaja Ghulam Farid explores the profound concept of Wahdat-ul-Wajood (Universal Oneness). The poet adopts the persona of a liberated Qalandar—a soul that has transcended the dualities of mosque and temple, virtue and vice, and joy and sorrow. By moving through various human conditions and geographic locations, he illustrates that the Divine light reflects in every mirror, and the true seeker finds the Beloved in the chaos of the city as much as in the silence of the desert.
اساں سو بد مست قلندر ہوں
کڈیں مسجد ہوں کڈیں مندر ہوں
Asan so bad mast Qalandar houn
Kadeen masjid houn kadeen mandir houn
We are those utterly intoxicated Qalandars;
Sometimes we are in the mosque, sometimes in the temple.
کڈیں چور بنوں کڈیں جار بنوں
کڈیں توبہ استغفار بنوں
کڈیں زہد عبادت کار بنوں
کڈیں فسق فجوریں اندر ہوں
Kadeen chor banoun kadeen jaar banoun
Kadeen touba astaghfaar banoun
Kadeen zuhd ibadat kaar banoun
Kadeen fisq fujoreen andar houn
Sometimes we become thieves, sometimes transgressors;
Sometimes we become the essence of repentance and seeking forgiveness.
Sometimes we are practitioners of asceticism and worship;
Sometimes we are immersed in sin and transgression.
کِتھاں درد کِتھاں درمان بنوں
کتھاں مصر کتھاں کنعان بنوں
کتھاں کیچ بھنبھور دا شان بنوں
کتھاں واسی شہر جلندر ہوں
Kithan dard kithan darmaan banoun
Kithan Misr kithan Kanaan banoun
Kithan Kech Bhanbore da shan banoun
Kithan wasi shehar Jalandhar houn
Somewhere we are the pain, somewhere the remedy;
Somewhere we are Egypt, and somewhere the land of Canaan.
Somewhere we are the glory of Kech and Bhanbore (lands of Sassi-Punnu);
Somewhere we are the residents of the city of Jalandhar.
کتھاں صومعہ دیر کنشت کِتھاں
کتھے دوزخ باغ بہشت کِتھاں
کتھے عاصی نیک سرشت کِتھاں
کِتھے گمرہ ہوں کِتھے رہبر ہوں
Kithan soma’a deyr kunisht kithan
Kithay dozakh bagh-e-behisht kithan
Kithay aasi nek sarisht kithan
Kithay gumrah houn kithay rehbar houn
Somewhere a monastery, a temple, or a synagogue;
Somewhere hell, and somewhere the garden of paradise.
Somewhere the sinner, and somewhere the noble-natured saint;
Somewhere we are the lost ones, and somewhere the guides.
ہیوں او قلاش تے رند اساں
پئی نودی ہے ہند سندھ اساں
ہیوں بے شک عارف چند اساں
کل راز رموز دے دفتر ہوں
Hayoun oh qallash te rind asan
Payi navdi hai Hind Sindh asan
Hayoun bey-shak arif chand asan
Kul raaz rumooz de daftar houn
We are those penniless and intoxicated dervishes;
Before whom the lands of India and Sindh bow in reverence.
Without doubt, we are the moon-like enlightened gnostics;
We are the complete manuscripts of all Divine secrets.
ہن ناز نواز دے ٹول کڈیں
ہے مونجھ منجھاری کول کڈیں
رلے ڈھول کڈیں گیا رول کڈیں
کڈیں بر در ہوں کڈیں در بر ہوں
Hun naaz nawaz de toul kadeen
Hai munjh munjhari koul kadeen
Rale dhouk kadeen gaya roul kadeen
Kadeen bar dar houn kadeen dar bar houn
Sometimes we possess the grandeur of coquetry and grace;
Sometimes sorrow and affliction accompany us.
Sometimes united with the Beloved, sometimes wandering lost;
Sometimes at the door of the wilderness, sometimes within the house.
ول واتوں سمجھ فرید الا
کر محض نہ شعر جدید ولا
ہے چالوں حال پدید بھلا
تونے کیجو سارے ابتر ہوں
Val vatoun samajh Farid ala
Kar mehaz na shehr jadeed vala
Hai chaloun haal padeed bhala
Tuney keejo saarey abtar houn
Watch your tongue and speak with care, O Farid!
Do not merely compose modern verses again.
Our spiritual state is better revealed through our conduct;
Even if outwardly everything appears ruined and wretched.
- Wahdat-ul-Wajood: The Sufi philosophy of “Unity of Existence,” suggesting that nothing exists except the Divine Reality and all creation is a manifestation of God.
- Bad Mast: Highly intoxicated (with Divine love).
- Qalandar: A free-spirited dervish who transcends social norms.
- Jaar: Transgressor or wayward (symbolic of spiritual outcasts).
- Fisq-o-Fujoor: Wickedness and immorality.
- Darmaan: Cure or remedy.
- Kunisht: A Jewish synagogue or place of worship.
- Qallash: Penniless, bankrupt, or one who has renounced all possessions.
- Rind: A drunkard; spiritually, one who is drunk on the wine of love.
- Navdi: To bow or pay homage.
- Munjh Manjhari: Confusion, sadness, or deep melancholy.
- Dhouk/Dhool: The Beloved.
- Abtar: Ruined, wretched, or incomplete.