In times of growing dissatisfaction and the need to bring a method to the chaos around the simplistic, yet profound, teachings of Sufism resonate louder than ever. And a torchbearer in the effort to take Sufism to the masses is Rumi Foundation spearheaded by Muzaffar Ali and his series of artistic publications, the latest of which is The Sufis of the Punjab.
It’s a part of what began as a series of poetry-driven books in respect to regions and places, Muzaffar tell us. “It’s the same flower that is blooming in different areas and soils. The first one focused and documented the legacy of Hazrat Amir Khusrau while the next commemorated Jalaluddin Rumi and between the two we tried to show the parallels between Khusro and Rumi. The third one was on the Rishis and Sufis of Kashmir.”
Peaceful coexistence, communal harmony and love between different faiths forms the binding thread of all the articles. Muzaffar avers, “We’ve encapsulated all those we could find material on. There’s Bulleh Shah, Ghulam Farid, Sultan Bahu, Qalandar, Dara Shikoh, among others. It talks about the entire setting of Punjab being riddled with Sufi saints like Guru Nanak, Shah Hussain and Waris Shah. And about the current poetry patterns and commonalities between how Sufism takes from and gives to different faiths. It talks about influences of Sufism on Guru Granth Sahib, Radha Soami Satsang Beas and on the concept of langars.”
The flourishing cultural history of an undivided Punjab gains prominence when one talks about the region, so when asked if the book does reflect on the old times and yearns for the region to become an undivided hub of Sufism again, Muzaffar refrains from making any political statement, “It’s got people from both sides and definitely something like this that can unite,” he says and adds, “It shows how Sufism has tried to hold the two Punjabs together. For instance, riots never happened in Malerkotla because the Nawab there stood forth against the execution of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons.”
And as a growing number of people look upto Sufism for answers to their lack of peace, Muzaffar attributes the newfound love for Sufism to many things.
“The West is fed up of the establishment, its system and policies and India is disgusted with communalism professed by certain elements to attain powers. They’re disenchanted with exploitation of man by other man. Sufism’s concept of surrender and deeper realisation attracts them,” he sums up.