By M. H. Zaffar

Abstract
The spiritual and aesthetic values that have come down to us by the  word of mouth through Guru-Shisha parmpara from Lal-Ded and Nund Rishi,  have been a great source of inspiration for all our Sufi poets even to  this day. With their own spiritual experiences they have broadened, deepened and enriched this tradition. The characteristic feature of this tradition has been the spiritual approach to the problems of life. The concept of religion is more comprehensive, it is cosmopolitan in essence.
Freedom from prejudice and narrow mindedness is the hall-mark of this culture. The whole corpus of Kashmiri Sufi poetry revolves round the experience of self recognition, pratyabhijna or Irfan-i-Dhat which is considered the ultimate purpose and function of human existence. The paper attempts a brief diachronic view of the tradition.

Introduction
Kashmir’s unique identity and essence can be delineated by identifying and foregrounding its metaphysico-mystical traditions. Rishism, Shaivism and Sufism are ideal frameworks to give it a locally rooted global identity. Kashmiri culture has been founded and nurtured by those saints, called Rishis and Sufis in whose name Kashmir is still known as Reashwa’ar (abode of Rishis). The foundational layers of Kashmiri cultural tradition are informed by the world-view which comprises mainly the intense intellectual and spiritual labour of these Rishis.

From the 6th century A.D to the 11th century A.D, Kashmir was considered to be the seat of learning and knowledge, in this part of the world. Throughout the Indian sub-continent it was known as Sardapith i.e. the abode of Sarasvati, the Goddess of knowledge. The 4th Buddhist Council was held here during the 7th Century A.D. Holding of this council in the Valley is a proof of the fact that Kashmir held the position of centrality from the point of view of the development of knowledge and learning, although geographically it happens to be on the margins of the sub-continent.

Buddhism and Shaivism 
In Buddhist thought Nirvana is possible only by removing the wrong knowledge about self and realizing the principle of non-self or Shunya, whereas in Shaivism the recognition of self itself, which is the sole and ultimate reality, is the only way to liberation. Buddhism was divided into two sects: Hinayana and Mahayana. Hinayanees are of the view that an individual should concern himself with his own Nirvana and that is possible if he follows the righteous eight-fold path as shown by Buddha.

But Mahayanees are of the view that individual Nirvana is of little significance unless and until the realized one aims at and attempts for the Nirvana of all his fellow beings. They advocate that although Gautama had attained enlightenment, he came back to his fellow men as Buddha to assist them in attaining enlightenment. The Shaivistic approach to liberation is informed by the principles of Mahayana Buddhism. The enlightened one has to come back to the society for the enlightenment of one’s fellow beings and this is corroborated not only by the life and message of Lal Ded and Nund Rishi, who are considered as the pioneers of Kashmiri Sufi poetry, but also by a long line of Sufi Saint Poets who succeeded them.

The etymological meaning of the word Shiva is good. According to Shaivism the ultimate and the eternal reality is Absolute Good. The Universe is the manifestation of the Absolute Good or Shiva. This Absolute Good is an infinite, eternal and conscious light, which is also manifested through space and time and all that is contained within space and time. So, the Universe is a manifestation of the absolute reality and this reality is absolute conscious light. Man is also a ray of the same light. The goal and purpose of human life is to recognize this absolute and eternal reality.

Self-recognition is the ultimate intrinsic value for Shaivism. Since all creation has only one origin and source, there is no question of inequality among humans on the spiritual plane. But to realize this value man has to strive very hard. Shaivism as propounded and propagated during the medieval times in Kashmir is not only an academic and intellectual pursuit but essentially a spiritual course of action for seekers of the truth and self knowledge. This is amply proved by the very person of the saint poet Lal-Ded who transformed her earthly existence into Heavenly Being by treading the path of the spiritual discipline. Her poetry forms the foundation not only of contemporary Kashmiri literature but also that of culture as a whole. As stated earlier Kashmir produced great thinkers and Spiritual practitioners from the 6th century A.D to the 12th century A.D but all their works are in Sanskrit language. After the advent of Islam in Kashmir around this time Kashmiri people gradually lost their hold on the language due to various political, social, religious and linguistic reasons; and whatever intellectual heritage their predecessors had bequeathed to them, became inaccessible to them. With the passage of time a gulf emerged between the pre- Islamic Kashmir and the Islamic Kashmir; but Lal-Ded is the most significant historical bridge that connects the two shores of this gulf very effectively. She was the product of the creed preached by Vasugupta in the 9th century and the philosophy propounded by Abhinavahgupta in the 10th and the 11th centuries. Her poetry was not written down during her life time. It was because of her power to move that people heard her and formed her words into chants and mantras which continue to be sung even today. She revolted against all the oppressive structures which stifle and kill the human spirit and critically interrogated practices of inequality and injustice that were current during the times. In one of her famous Vaakhs she hits the nail on the head by taking us to the roots of all conflict: inequality, oppression, lack of respect for one another’s belief, dogmatic thought etc. In addition to all this the Vaakh contains a very profound spiritual message, it reads:

Shiva chhuy thali thali rav zaan
Mov zaan heund ta musalman
Trukay chhukh ta panun paan prava zaan
Soy chhay sahebas zaine zaan
[Shiva is everywhere; know Him as the sun
Know not the Hindu different to the Muslim
Know yourself; if wise, as a ray of that sun
That alone is the way to Sahib]

The key concepts of this Vaakh - Shiva and Sahib occurring respectively in the first and the last lines of the Vaakh belong to two different religio-spiritual and linguistic traditions; one indigenous and the other which came from outside but was destined to become the dominant tradition in the times to come. Writing about Lala’s poetry a modern scholar comments on this Vaakh; Apart from the obvious idea of breaking down religious barriers by invoking the image of the sun shining upon every one without distinction, notice how seamlessly Lal-Ded hangs the Islamist valance of Sahib to the apparent Shaivite reference to Shiva. The verse enacts in its own syncretic idiom, the religious, mystic and linguistic synthesis it advocates.

Almost all the basic features of Shaivism are woven in the mosaic of Lala’s verses and all the principles of this spiritual practice can be delineated in her poetry. She abhorred the dogmatic religious rituals and practices and was quite outspoken in condemning them, she says:

Deev vatta divar vatta
Petha bon chhuy ikavaath
Pooz kas karakh hutta batta
Kar Manas tu pavanas sangath
[The idol is but stone; the temple is but stone,
From top to bottom all is stone,
What is it you worship, O stubborn Pandit?
True worship must bind the vital air of the heart to the mind.]

And again:
The thoughtless read the holy books.
As parrots in their cages recite Ram, Ram.
Their reading is like churning water.
Fruitless effort ridiculous conceit.

Here are some of the Vaakhs that give us an idea of the path that Lal-Ded traversed and the destination she reached.

In life I sought neither wealth nor power,
Nor ran after the pleasures of sense,
Moderate in food and drink, I lived a controlled life;
Patiently bore my lot, my pain and poverty,
And loved my god.
Slay the murderous demons,
Lust, anger and greed;
Or aiming their arrows at you, they will
Surely shoot you dead.
Take care, feed them on the self-restraint
And discrimination of the self;
Thus starved, these demons will become powerless and weak.

O fool, right action does not lie
In observing fasts and ceremonial rites
O fool, right action does not lie
In providing for bodily comfort and ease
In contemplation of the self alone
Is right action and right Council for you.
Realisation is rare indeed:
Seek not afar, it’s nearby you.
First slay desire, then still the mind,
Giving up vain imaginings;

Then Meditate on the self within,
And lo! The void merges in the void.
My guru gave me but one precept
From without withdraw your gaze within
And fix it on the Inmost self.

Taking to heart this one precept,
Naked I began to dance.

These Vaakhs give us an idea of the spiritual discipline that Lal practiced and prescribed for us. Now let us see the fruit of this spiritual labour:

Would you understand what oneness is?
It has turned me into nothingness.
Though He is one, alone, and All,
Yet I am caught in the war of Two
Though He has neither colour nor form,
Yet I am caught in his wondrous forms.
Whatever work I did became worship of the lord
Whatever word I uttered became Mantra.
What this body of mine experienced became.
The sadhana! Of saiva tantra.
Illumining my path to paramsiva
Thou wert absorbed in Thine own Self,
Hidden from me;
I passed whole day in seeking thee out.
But when I saw Thee in mine own self,
O joy! Then thou and I
Disported ourselves in ecstasy.
Here there is neither word nor thought,
Transcendent nor non-Transcendent here.
Vows of silence and mystic mudra-s
Cannot gain you admittance here.
Even siva and shakti (tattva-s) remain not here.

I traversed the vastness of the void alone,
Leaving behind me reason and sense,
Then came upon the secret of the self;
And, all of a sudden, unexpectedly,
In mud the lotus bloomed for me.
Like a tenuous web Siva spreads Himself,
Penetrating all frames of all things,
If while alive, you cannot see Him,
How can you see Him after death?
Think deep and sift the true Self from the self.

The last two Vaakhs are a bold statement that absolute reality can and is to be realized in this very life. Notice the interrogative emphasis in the two lines:

If while alive you cannot see Him,
How can you see Him after death.

And relate it to the last line of the earlier Vaakh which reads:
In mud the lotus bloomed for me.

Through spiritual effort one has to realize the blooming of the flower upon the dirty ground covered with litter, mud and dirt i.e. something valueless (representing human body). One has to begin with brute matter, the lower prakrti, the manifested universe in order to realize the higher self within (the flower) and thence to immerse in the lake of immortality (lay Karmas amritsars) that is absorption in the Divine (to quote her oft repeated phrase) void merging in the void (shunyas shunyaya millith gav).

Sufism
After Lal-Ded the first Muslim saint poet of Kashmir Sheikh Noor ul-din-Wali popularly known as Nund Rishi is considered along with Lal-Ded the fountainhead of all subsequent Kashmiri Sufi poetry, which considers this world as a play field where we have our time of fun and frolic, of our allotted sunshine and shade. But, however absorbing the world may be, we are warned not to forget our eternal Home, the blessed presence of God. Thus the goal is defined. Lalla-Ded calls it Mukti or release from the bondage of the cycle of birth and death, by self recognition which implies God recognition. Nund Rishi speaks of everlasting bliss in Heaven as a result of spiritual evolution and reabsorption in Him who is the source of all existence. The most attractive feature of this faith is the assurance that the goal is attainable by anybody who observes a certain code of conduct and adopts the path scrupulously avoiding the way layers, viz., inordinate greed, attachment to worldly goods, anger, pride and conceit. Through the beautiful medium of their poetry the saint poets have shown the path. The message transmitted through the aesthetic device of Rasa leaves an indelible mark on our psychological and spiritual space. Nund Rishi is all adoration for Lal-Ded and the spiritual tradition she bequeathed to us and he prays thus:

Tami Padma:npo:rachi Lalei
Yami galei amrit chiva.
Soy sa:ni avta:r lvalei
Suy ma var ditto: diva

[(It was) Lalla of Padmanpora
Who drank, in long draughts, nectar divine;
A beloved Avtar she was to us, too:
May Thou, Lord, bestow a similar boon upon me!]

On examining the shalook, (Shruk in Kashmiri) we find the key concepts therein are: Amrit, Avatar, Var (vardhana) and Deev or Devta. All these concepts are indigenous and belong to the linguistic, cultural and spiritual tradition of pre- Islamic Kashmir and the Sheikh by celebrating the rhythm and music of these concepts in a new complex religio-political and socio-cultural scenario demonstrates as to how much deeply and firmly he is rooted in his soil.

Nund Rishi is called the Alamdar-i-Kashmir (Flag Bearer of Kashmir) as he assimilated and propagated a synthesis of the two spiritual traditions one the indigenous and the other imported which had become popular among the people of Kashmir lately. His greatness does not lie only in the fact that in a new religio-socio-politico milieu he nurtured the spiritual heritage of Kashmir; rather his real greatness is exhibited in his life long effort for making the spiritual and cultural values of the tradition an integral part of the collective consciousness of Kashmiri speaking people and he worked for creating and enhancing the social space for these values. He also enriched this tradition by new encounters and spiritual experiments; expanded and refocused it in a thought provoking way even for those who had come with the new message and some of whom were unduly proud and considered themselves culturally and spiritually superior to the natives. There is a popular story in Kashmir, to the effect:

When Nund was born he would not suckle at his mother’s breast and refused to be drawn to feed itself for three days. At this crucial juncture the wandering saint Lal-Ded came to the rescue of the worried mother of the newly born. She took Nund in her lap and put her dried breast into his mouth and asked, ‘When you were not shy of being born, why are you shy of suckling now?’
The infant started suckling at the breast of the saint and the story goes that milk oozed out of the breast and fed the infant.

This is a mystical or metaphorical rendering of the fact that the spiritual tradition of Kashmir was transmitted from Lal-Ded to Nund Rishi. Nund Rishi or Shiekh-ul-Alam also holds the view that this universe is the manifestation of the Ultimate Reality and he also like Lal-Ded is a staunch believer of Oneness of Being. He has articulated and expressed this experience in many of his Shalooks. One of them reads;

Thou art the butcher, thou the slaughtering blade;
Thou art the vendor, Thou the customer too.
The one There, is the One Here;
Omnipresent, he occupies all space:
The pedestrian and the charioteer are one,
The invisible He, behind the scenes.

He too has realized the fruitlessness of dogmatic religious rituals and practices in the process of spiritual evolution; and says:

If seven times bathing where to bear any fruit
The fish and crocodile alike would behave
If God were gladdened when we famish with fasts
Never would the destitute put rice in the pot.
And again;
Their plate and tongue wore out with reading
And writing tired out their hands
Still they lost not their attachment to the world
Neither care nor Council prevailed over them.

For Nund- Rishi also recognition of the self is the ultimate value, but its realization presupposes great spiritual evolution. The biggest hurdle in this process is the ego; and the psychological constructs that originate from it. Nund says:

My ego is an Elephant run amuck
Me has he trampled under his heavy foot;
You may feed him on broth, again and again,
Full of pranks is the captivating animal!
Out of a thousand, hardly one escapes,
Otherwise, all have been crushed by him

The journey might be tedious, but the goal is achievable; and in keeping with his cultural and spiritual tradition he also marks a path for the realization of this value. See the following Shalooks:

He does not judge thee by thy dialectics,
The spiritual condition does He observe.
Meditate on God with tongue stuck to thy palate,
Thus will the King Swan be drawn into thy net.
Call not the self bad:
Thou hast to deal with it, always:
Within bounds, shouldst thou restrain the self,
God is attained by recognizing it.
I ferried my boat without an oar,
I slayed Vanity, Greed and Attachment,
And looked for the Lord, with an undivided mind:
Thus did I recognize my own soul.
I looked for Him in the Bhavans and six directions,
Neither any mark nor clue did I come upon:
I enquired of the Mullahs and the Hermits:
Hearing me they only bemoaned (their ignorance).
As I subdued my logic and doubts,
Lo! I found Him all-pervading and myself naught.

From the last two Shalooks we can infer that self recognition is not possible through discursive and logical knowledge rather one can proceed on this path only when one gives up all the observational, logical and rational means and supports of knowledge. According to Shaiva system human effort can be effective only to the extent of washing out Kărma mala and Mãyiya mala but for washing out Ãnava mala Grace of God is required. At this stage all possible human supports are to be given up and one has to ferry one’s boat without any oar; as the poet has said in the Shalooks refereed to, above. Nund Rishi’s vision is not much different from that of Lal-Ded, but his song had a new feel as it was a synthesis of Shaivite and Islamic rhythms. Just ponder over this Shalook;

Poz yod bo:zakh pa:ntsh namu:rakh
Nata ma:z namu:rakh soy chhem nema:z
Shivas ta Shunyahas yod myul karakh
Seduy soy chhay vahantar nema:z.

If you listen to truth, curb the five;
Otherwise, you bend the body and call it Nemaz!
If you unite Siva and the void,
That is the inner Nemaz, indeed.

The concept of Nemaz is not to be found in Lal-Ded; but Shiva and Shunya (void) are the warp and the weft of her spiritual experiences. Now contemplate for yourself how Nund preserves and enriches the tradition.

To unite Shiva and the Shunya (void) is the real Nemaz. With what ease have the concepts belonging to different spiritual traditions been intermingled and what a fantastic rhythm they create. The spiritual experience of the saint has highly recharged these concepts and the terms connoting them appear to be dancing. A divine light emanates from this dance which is so sharp that it pierces not only one’s eyes but the heart also. Nund is creating and evolving new norms of beauty a new aesthetics. He is a Rasik also and by celebrating Srinagar he illuminates the path both for himself and for others;

A lover is he, who burns with love,
Like gold will glitter his own self,
The one, who’s heart is afflicted with love,
Will surely attain the infinite self.
When the unification of Shiva and Shunya is effected through the Nemaz of love, the goal is attained;

Close by me stood He, and I by him,
Relaxed felt I by His very side,
Wrongly had I looked for him in alien lands
(When) I found solace within myself.

The spiritual and aesthetic values that have come down to us by the word of mouth through Guru-Shisha parmpara from Lal-Ded and Nund Rishi, have been a great source of inspiration for all our Sufi poets even to this day. With their own spiritual experiences they have broadened, deepened and enriched this tradition. The characteristic feature of this tradition has been the spiritual approach to the problems of life. The concept of religion is more comprehensive, it is cosmopolitan in essence.

Freedom from prejudice and narrow mindedness is the hall-mark of this culture. The whole corpus of Kashmiri Sufi poetry revolves round the experience of self recognition, pratyabhij or Irfan-i-Dhãt which is considered the ultimate purpose and function of human existence. Let us have a brief diachronic view.

After Lal-Ded and Nund Rishi who belong to the 14th century there is a vacuum in the history of Kashmiri poetry that extends almost up to the last decades of the 18th century. During these three hundred years we come across only three names; Haba-Khatoon, Habibullah Nowshahri and Rupa Bhawani the first two belong to the late 16th century and the early 17th century, while Rupa Bhawani belongs to the 17th century.

Haba-Khatoon was a romantic poet and most of her verses have come down to us. The other two are Sufi poets but not much of their poetry is available. Rupa Bhawani who was born more than two hundred years after the death of Nund Rishi rekindles the same fire with her verses:

Churn the milk of the mind, your Self the churner,
Locate the Primal Point and sound. Break it down with the power of mediation.
Heat the butter of knowledge,
spiritually empowered, you will find the ghee.
With these ingredients, a yagya I perform,
Offering the oblation of my own organs
The flames that rise are Your own effulgence.
In them my essence revealed, I stand as myself, finally.
This concern for the realization of the centre of one’s being,
One’s true identity, reveals her roots in the tradition.

There might have been poets during these three centuries whose compositions have not been able to survive the harshness of times, but after the 18th century we have a galaxy of Sufi poets whose verses are a witness to the depth and strength of Kashmiri spiritual tradition. Momin an early 18th century poet sings:

Realize unity and transcend duality.
Recognise thyself, from within you.
Leave six, four, nine and seven behind;
Drive your horse ahead.
One is manifesting His oneness.
Recognise thyself, from within you.

His contemporary Sucha Kral celebrates the oneness of being in his poetry saying:

O! Myself who am I?
All is He, I am just a pretext.
Nothingness there was; there was something.
What Does Nothingness signify?
I did not realize, everything is He.
The Lord was himself, in my home.
Whom shall I call a friend; whom an enemy?
All is He, I am just a pretext.

And again:

Don’t count you and me.
This is a vain delusion.
Duality mars can’t you see?
This is a vain delusion.

One of the significant and authentic voices of the early 19th century is Shaha Gafoor, whose poetry is greatly permeated by the concepts drawn from Shaivistic thought. Here is a quote:

Nothing is to be gained from birth and death.
Fuse your consciousness with so hum.
Transcend the self and realize the lord.
Be with the real and you shall be the real.
To realize the lord ego has to be killed.
Fuse your consciousness with so hum.
His younger contemporary Shamas Fakir sings:
In the brook, flows the source of the brook,
From where did the source come?
Turn your gaze within; you shall realize the ‘One’
From where did the source come?
Here is another quote:
I am nothingness, he is the Being.
How shall nothingness communicate with the Being.
I perceive only nothingness on all sides.
How shall nothingness communicate with the Being.
And again:
Transform consciousness into jñãna,
jñãna shall unite with the Lord.
She (Lal) went to pray in the Karmic Sansar,
In the idol house of the Dharma shastra.
When lal-united cosmos with the self,
jñãna united with the lord.

The whole process of Lala’s transformation has been reproduced rather re-enacted artistically in these verses and as a consequence thereof the path of knowledge has been illuminated for the seeker.

Coming to the 20th century I shall talk about three representative poets of the tradition. These are Samad Mir, Ahad Zargar and Bimla Raina. Samad Mir who died in the year 1958 had no formal education and was an illiterate. Zagar died in the year 1984 he was, semi-literate. Bimla Raina is in her sixties and lives at Jammu, she studied up to the high school. Although not highly educated in the formal sense of the term, these poets are quite well versed in their cultural and spiritual tradition which has survived through the word of mouth. Unfortunately the most of the products of our new education system are quite uneducated when it comes to their own cultural and spiritual tradition.

Samad Mir is quite at home in both the spiritual traditions one indigenous and the other Islamic and their syntheses which he inherited. In order to create an appealing colour scheme and new designs in the fabric of his poetry, he draws upon the tradition creatively. Here is an example:

Die in life and realize Ha and Hu
Recite Om Su, recite Om Su
One, who transcends doubt, leaves anger and vacillation
Ram Rahim become indistinguishable for him
One who burns the self that hates, becomes Sãdhu
Recite Om Su, recite Om Su.

Notice how the terms Ha, Hu, Om, Su Ram Rahim and Sãdhu are aesthetically blended and how they enhance the beauty of the text. The intense spiritual experience of the poet enables him to use words in totally new arrangements, giving birth to unexpected shades of meaning. Here is yet another example of his powerful expression.

With his ego dissolving cry, Mansoor,
Did not respect the limitations of the path even once,
He did not hide in the safe abode.
Since then every fibre of my being is on fire.
The fire that burns the poet, is at the same time the source of light
and warmth for him as well as for others. In order to enlighten oneself
and the others one has to burn oneself. That is the message of the

Sufi
Ahad Zagar is one of the most significant signatures of the contemporary Kashmiri Sufi poetry. He has great command over language. Like Samad Mir he is well versed in the spiritual ethos of Kashmir and by his contribution has definitely enriched the tradition. Some of his poems ignited controversies in the conservative religious circles of the valley, and some clerics even issued fatwas against him. But threats and fatwas notwithstanding he continued to articulate and express himself in the same controversial but piercing idiom. Here are some extracts:

I am the hidden secret of both the interior as well as the exterior.
To whom shall I bow, and for whom shall I perform the Nemaz
I am the ultimate grace of both the mosque and the temple.
I am the worshiper, but I am the one worshiped.
I am the chain of birth and death.
And it is me again who is to play the game of love.
In the absence of Nothingness, there is no possibility of Being.
Nothingness is all pervading.
But if Nothingness is mere Nothingness,
Who has deluded me?
Realize Nothingness within yourself,
Dance round nothingness like a moth.
Keep your heart awake with Nothingness.
Now you can yourself appreciate the kind of language the poet is using.

Here is yet another instance of his creative use of language:

Upon the dark throne sits the dark king
On the dark gate is the dark gate keeper
And the army of the General is also dark
The dark city is ruled by the king Indera
The dark fairies are playing the music
In the dark city there is the echo of dark music
In the dark ocean there are dark gems
The dark diver is in search,
So that he can lay his hands on the dark pearls
Ahad Zargar came with a dark gift
Wearing a necklace of dark pearls
He has made a heap of dark jewels
Rig Veda Yajir Veda, Sam Veda are the robes of sanyasees,
My master pointed to the four Vedas
Yogis demonstrated the method of jñãna,
Realize the essence of air, earth, fire and water
Transcending clouds of passion unite with the essence.

Ahad Zargar is a prolific poet. It is not possible to comment upon all the aspects of his poetry in such a brief presentation, still the writer has made an effort to discern the aspects of his poetry that relate him to the synthetic spiritual tradition of Kashmir.

Bimla Raina who is a living poet composes in the style and form of Lal-Ded. She calls her compositions Vaakh. Not only the form of her compositions but her language also resembles that of Lal-Ded. Some literary critics opine that her language is archaic, consequently they disapprove of it. But the present writer is of the view that form and content are inseparable in poetry. The kind of themes Bimla ji is articulating and expressing demand the kind of language she is using. She is also quite creative in the matter of using language. In the first instance it may appear that the language used is archaic, but when one delves deep in the universe of her poetic compositions, one realizes that appearances are deceptive. There is nothing archaic about the language Bimla ji is using. Her poetry springs from the depths of her being and it gets its form as well as content from the creative process it undergoes. Here are some of her Vaakhs.

Through arguments vehement, you will not reach him.
The one, who is imminent, yet fixed and still.
Warnings He sends you through your heart and pulse.
And judges, who can absorb and how much.
I cleansed my mind of envy, aversion and prying,
And underwent the penance of going through the mill;
Gave up selfishness and learnt to worry for others;
Thus I got to know,
How to offer myself at the altar of love.
Drink the nectar of love sip by sip
And the heart will bloom lotus like
Thoughts of duality will melt away
And never will your mind restless be

Conclusion
This is no surprise that an echo of Lal-Ded is discernible in these Vaakhs. Even non-Sufi or secular contemporary Kashmiri poetry draws heavily from Lal-Ded and relates itself to her. Lal-Ded is as alive today as she ever was; and so is the message of her life. Let me conclude with two Vaakhs of Bimla ji that remind us of the lesson that Lal-Ded had learnt and we along with the poet may make an effort to learn:

Listen to the strings of your own heart,
Shutting barring all doors and windows,
Tune them and wait for the music within.
He Himself is the musician.
The Guru told me, go inwards,
Hold Him tight within your heart,
Read but the lesson that Lalla did Every pore of my body chants ‘Om Om