Category: The Jewelled Garden

Akka Mahadevi was an important figure in the 12th c. CE Bhakta movement. For more about her, see this earlier post. Sunlight made visiblethe whole length of sky,movement of wind,leaf, Continue Reading →

Niyazi Misri (1616 – 1694 CE) was a Turkish Sufi, the son of a Naqshbandi sheikh, who later later became a disciple of the Helveti poet and saint Ummi Sinan. Continue Reading →

Abu Said al Kharraz was an early Sufi of whom very little is known. He was from Baghdad, a cobbler by trade, who went to reside near the Kaaba, and Continue Reading →

For more about Rabia al Adawiyya (714? — 801 CE), see this post. Fariduddin Attar relates that once three Sufis went to visit Rabia. The conversation turned to the question Continue Reading →

In this poem by the early 14th c. mystic Janabai, Vitthal refers to a particular manifestation of the god Vishnu. For more about Janabai, see this post. If the Ganga Continue Reading →

It should be understood that Abdullah Ansari here speaks of friendship with God, or as he puts it, with Divine Truth. For more about this early Sufi, see this post. Continue Reading →

Shih-te (9th c. CE) was a lay Buddhist monk and poet who was a dharma companion of Han Shan and Feng Kan. For more about him see this earlier post. Continue Reading →

When Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (1006–1088 CE), who came to be known as the Pir of Herat, was in his late twenties, he had a decisive experience. At a sema, a Continue Reading →

Shaikh Ahmad Jami (1048 – 1141 CE) was born in Namagh, Persia, and died in Jam, in what is present day Afghanistan. He came from a farming family, and was Continue Reading →

In this short poem, perhaps we recognise ourselves as the seekers who, in spite of all our efforts, overlook the obvious Truth. For more about Allama Prabhu, see this post. Continue Reading →