Religions call for various forms of purification, whether through a visit to the Ganges, the ablutions required for Muslim prayer, or the ritual of baptism. Here is an ecstatic comment on the subject by the Punjabi mystic Bullhe Shah (1680-1757 CE). For more about Bullhe (also Bulleh or Bullha) Shah, see this earlier post.
If the divine is found through ablutions
surely frogs and fish would find him first
if the divine is hidden in jungles
the cattle would have discovered him by now
O Bulleh, the divine is found by those
with pure and true heart
Translation Fuad Usman Khan
What a relief!
I spent years looking for the the perfect place to be
But now here
a train passes by
railway tracks to the Infinite
sound ,forms ,light and colors
all speak only of The name
that no one knows
One thread, one thread only!
Warp and woof, quill and shuttle,
countless cloths and colors,
a thousand hanks and skeins —
with ten thousand names
ten thousand places.
But there is one thread only. Bullhe Shah
One Thread Only
by Bullhe Shah
English version by Ivan M. Granger
One thread, one thread only!
Warp and woof, quill and shuttle,
countless cloths and colours,
a thousand hanks and skeins —
with ten thousand names
ten thousand places.
But there is one thread only.