Kashmir since first century remained abode of high intellectual ,poetic & spiritual activities. Since the period when Kashmir was attacked by terror &voilence, the philosophy of Renaissance and spiritual unity presented eloquently by great wizards of kashmir came to its rescue to save & protect its kashmir’s five thousand years of great civilization.
In 1321 A. D when Mongol terror attacked kashmir it was spiritual impact of Hazrat Abdul Rahman Bulbulshah who arrived from Khurasan & central Asia which through windows of Tasawuf influenced the King & Queen of time Sultan SaderuddeenRenchanshah& Sultan Kota Rani.
The spiritual trio unanimously came to understanding that Reshi culture with mutual respectability of Shivism, Buddhism & Islam suits people of kashmir with variety of faiths to follow without any conflict & hate. Renaissance & mutual love for each other’s faiths became Symbol of kashmir civilization.
Poets &poetesses like Sheikh ulAalam& Lalla Daed expressed mutual respectability , love, tasawuf&Rishiyat through their Shruks&Vakhas. This spiritual Renaissance based on mutual love & devotion continued & survived in kashmir in spite of all adverse circumstances and on slaughts from forces of hate &voilence.
The name of King of Tasawuf Makhdoom Ghulam Rasool Mir popularly with love & intimacy known as Rasul Mir also glitters in galaxy of such stars who gave new heights to kashmir’s spirituality. Beig Ghulam Rasool, the name itself indicates that he was among category of Ashiqaan e Rasool (SAW).
When makhdoom Rasul Mir in one of his verses refers about a trapped bird reciting in plans Allah hoo, it describes the spiritual importance of Rasul Mir’s ideology. Unfortunately many without understanding depths of his spiritual poetry or having hate against such lovers of divinity tried to categorise him only romantic poet & deliberately supressed his Tasawuf content abundantly available in his poetry. When he writes Come you lovers to my shop to sip in bowls the wine of Ishiq,(love) he expresses his ishiq for divinity.
He was also during his life time known as Rasul Mir Shahbadi born in Doru Shahabad. He was treated and revered as “imām-e-ishiq ” Which in tasawuf means for whom doors of divine love are always open,.
About the year and month when Rasul Mir was born the unanimity of scholars is that Makhdoom Rasul Mir was born in September 1840 A. D. As per exact date of birth 2nd September, 9 September or 11 September are conflicting dates with regard to exact date .
The age of Rasul was around 15 years when Hazrat Mahmud Gami of his neighbouring villagerMahmoodaAabad and HazratSwochKral had left the world. Both Hazrat Mahmood Gami’s&Hazrat Swatch kral’s contribution in spiritual poetry of same order as introduced during HazratBulbulshah times based on mutual love were significant. Makhdoom Rasul Mir continued the same.
The Revenue Department record dated 5 April 1889 reveal Hazrat Rasul Mir was a muqdam (village chieftain) and combination of this title & his spiritual contribution made himMakhdoom. He lived up to 1870 and witnessed both Maharaja Ranjeet Singh’s rule & Gulab Sigh’s take over through Amritsar covenant on kashmir. His last resting place is inside Khanqah FaizPanah (shrine of Amir-i-Kabir), Dooru Shahabad, Anantnag, Kashmir. The distinguished contributions of this revered poet are Bal Maraeyo, Baeliyeruthemaiyaar, Chawmaijamijamai, Lalas vantaichussawaal, Lo lati lo, Rind posh maal. He was greatly influenced by Reshiphilosphy of the time of HazratBulbulshah.
Muhammad, Hafez, Saadi Shirazi, Bedil, Firdausi, Shah-e-Hamadan, Rumi, Nizami, Attar, Ghani Kashmiri. He was well versed with kashmiri&persian languages. The world scholars treat him as one of the most celebrated Kashmiri poets and they popularly call him the John Keats of Kashmir. He converged spiritual way of expressions adopted in Shrukus by Sheikh ulAalam and in Vakhs by Lalla Daed first time in kashmiri poetry in form of kashmiriGazal. For some it became romantic Gazals but majority of Kashmiri poetry analysts treat it master pieces of Tasawuf.
The Sikhs ruled for twenty-seven years in kashmir the years of Makhdoom Rasul Mir’s childhood while he became conscious when Maharaja Gulab Sigh had taken over kashmir. Thus wizard of kashmir Rasul Mir saw with his own conscious eyed the period when Sikh rule ended in 1846 under the Treaty of Amritsar orchestered by British rulers. He was active social leader of kashmir expressing emotions of people when transformation of rule in kashmiroccurred.
The ugly historical fact that Kashmir was handed over by the British to the Dogra ruler, Gulab Singh, in return of seventy-five lakh (7.5 million) Nanakshahee rupees, was seen by her and he too was counted along cattle when Britshers sold human & cattle together including land to Maharaja Gulab Singh with political concessions that he will in capacity of british proxy rule jammu and Kashmir which will be monitored by Vice Roys.
However the transformation of rule proved change for the better for Rasul Mir as he was assigned with title of Mukhdam or Makhdoom because of his great intellect during Maharaja Gulab Singh’s autocracy . He was witness of disasters when fourth-time, valley of kashmir faced worst famine in 1877, wiped large number of population.
Makhdoom Rasul Mir was thinker of highest intellectual status . He summarised his feelings through his verses. He himself was witness of the worst prevailing situations the pain of which was concealed in each word but his predominant factor was love &Ishiq considered as important components of Tasawuf.
Makhdoom Rasul Mir was fond of wandering around and visiting different places but mostly loved to stay in Dooru, Shahabad. Even he was meditating also which would inspire him to get more pregnant thoughts. His house in Doru and the area as a whole was a place of the most bewitching beauty-spots in the valley. Dorushahbad was known for its numerous springs, particularly the serene and placid spring of Verinag; its flower gardens filling the air with colour and fragrance. The panoramic heavenly beauty of kashmir played significant role to influence each verse of Makhdoom Rasul Mir as verse of kashmir.
The revealing fact about Makhdoom Rasul Mir was that he was bestowed with art of holding Samaa Saadat where he himself would sing his own verses. Primarily he was classic Samma singer, Makhdoom Rasul Mir led a singing party, moving from place to place and singing spiritual songs,vakhs&shrukd which were very common in kashmir. Rasul Mir’s poems, “Dilhainyunamtsuri lo lo”, “Chawmaijamijamai”, “Koutgoum” and “Rind posh maal” are metrically what they are because they were written for certain occasion of Samma saadaat. He visited most beautiful sbodesAchhabal, Khannabal, Mattan, Nishat-Shalimar, Sona Lank- and its divine impression is seen in his poetry.
Makhdoom Rasul Mir while expressing his love many times with a Brahmin girl named Kwong who belonged to a Hindu landlord family in Dooru being his real spring of love and endless ghazals for her made Makhdoom Rasul Mir as master of Gazals., He was a romantic at heart and intensity of his love was divine and almost monotheistic. Many believe his love story was similar to First century Towering Buddhist scholar Naga Arjun known as Naag Rai & his Hindu Queen Heemal who had fallen in love with each other in Shopian Spiring and lived together in Theed&Harwan mountains.
Makhdoom Rasul Mir’s acumen lay in acclimatising Persian words and phrases .He used Persian words in Kashmir poetry in such crafty manner that the reader got its beauty through local linguistic charam. His Kalaam (poetic works) is counted by experts as seventy-nine poems or Baeths (a Kashmiri lyrical ballad), including a ghazal in Persian., His famous piece of Tasawuf is “Maie chu moorayLalwunNaar ” , “Karinamgraykotgoum”, “Suygoumtravithbalbavekasty” and “Gattemye mar sone kanedoorani”. The solitary ghazal in Persian is just an occasional amateurish exercise and has no special merit.
(Author is Retired KAS Officer and a distinguished scholar and author of manybooks)
