Extreme Guru Bhakti – Bulleh Shah
The search for Guru is an eternal search in the life of a soul moving on its journey back to Godhead. When the material yearnings and desires are fulfilled to a certain extent, there is dissatisfaction within and a yearning for something more in life. That yearning is for the exclusive love of God. To attain knowledge of how to attain this exclusive love, one needs a Guru who has already walked the path successfully and is ready to guide those who are yearning for it. Bulleh Shah, the great Sufi mystic was one such person who was born in a very rich family and had everything to suit his tastes in life. Yet there was in him a deep inner yearning which made him walk the spiritual path and seek a Guru to show him the Light.
Bulleh Shah came from the illustrious lineage of Prophet Mohammed. He belonged to the Syed family. He was born with a golden spoon in the mouth. He was extremely intelligent and well versed in scriptures. He had memorized them well but had not experienced them. The deep yearning in him to be enlightened made him experiment with many practices and ways. Consequently he developed some spiritual powers or Siddhis. He was not satisfied with his life and the yearning for oneness with Divinity increased as the days passed. His thirst for God was acute and only real experiences of Light could satisfy him. So he continued searching for a Guru. And when the disciple is ready, the Guru comes. This is a great blessing of the Universe.
One day Bulleh Shah heard about Inayat Shah who had attained the Light. Inayat Shah belonged to a low caste. He was a gardener. In those days, people of higher castes did not mix with those of lower castes. Bulleh Shah’s thirst for God was so acute that this fact made no difference to him. So he went in search of Inayat Shah. Inayat Shah was busy planting onion crop. His back was towards Bulleh Shah. Bulleh Shah did not have the courage to hail him or disturb him. He wanted the Master to turn and notice him. There were some mango trees where Inayat Shah was working. Bulleh Shah closed his eyes and remembered Allah for a minute. When the mangoes rained down from the trees, Inayat Shah turned and saw a man standing behind him.
Inayat Shah said: O thief, why do you make those mangoes fall? Bulleh Shah was surprised and looked around to see if there was any other person besides him. There was no one else besides them both. Bulleh Shah replied: If you are asking me, then see, I do not have any stones or sticks in my hands. I have not made those mangoes fall. The Master said: You are clever. What do you want? Bulleh Shah fell at his feet and said he was searching for God and wanted him as his Master. The Master said: Why are you falling below? Look upwards towards at me. Bulleh Shah looked at Inayat Shah. There was tremendous love, compassion and power in the eyes of the Master. Bulleh Shah simply fell in deep love with him.
Bulleh Shah’s love for his Master was exceptional. His eyes always thirsted for the sight of his Guru. He was always near his Master drinking him in with his eyes. His love for his Guru was so intense that it made his Guru angry. The Guru asked him to leave his house immediately. Bulleh Shah could not bear to be away from his Master. He went away in agony. He wished to find a way by which he could please his Master and be with him at all times. He talked to many people to learn about the likes and dislikes of his Master. He was told by someone that Inayat Shah loved to watch dance. So in order to please his Guru, Bulleh Shah went to a prostitute and learned dancing. He became proficient in it and came to his Master as a dancing girl. Such was his intensity of love for his Master. Bulleh Shah was an example of extreme guru bhakti. Inayat Shah graced Bulleh Shah with the secret of spiritual insight and the Knowledge of God.
Those of us who are blessed to have already found a Guru should always do everything possible to please the Guru and obey the Guru. By doing so, many karmas are wiped out and Grace descends by which we are lead to the light. Let us do our SitaRam Mantra and meditation by which we get the grace of the Guru.
