Category: The Jewelled Garden

Bibi Hayati Kermani was born in the early 19th c. in a Sufi family in the Kerman province of south-eastern Iran. She was raised by her brother, who guided her Continue Reading →

Muhyiddin ibn Arabi (1265 – 1340 CE) was born in Murcia, Spain, but his family traced its origins to Arabia, as recorded in his name. He was a prolific writer Continue Reading →

At some time in the late 5th to early 6th c. a Christian mystic, philosopher and theologian wrote works which would subsequently help to kindle the light of many devoted Continue Reading →

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 Continue Reading →

Mahsati Ganjavi was a 12th c. Persian poet who is said to have been an associate of Omar Khayyam, and the Seljuk sultan Sanjar. Virtually nothing is known about her Continue Reading →

Devara Dasimayya was a tenth century Indian mystic who was devoted to Shiva. Tradition says that he was in the jungle, undergoing intense ascetic practices when Shiva appeared to him Continue Reading →

Milan Mohanta Janabai (late 13th c. – 1350 CE) was a poet from Maharashtra whose works are highly revered by Maharathi speaking Hindus. She came from a poor, lower caste Continue Reading →

Lalleshwari or Lal Ded was a 14th c. Kashmiri yogini in the Shaivite tradition. She is deeply loved in Kashmir, both by Hindus and Muslims, and it is said that Continue Reading →

Allama Prabhu was a 12th c. mystic and poet in Karnataka, a key figure in the Shiv Bhakta movement that put devotion to Shiva above rituals and formalities. He appears Continue Reading →

Sheikh Ruzbihan Baqli (1128 -1208 CE) was a Persian poet, mystic and Sufi master who, after travelling through the middle east, settled in Shiraz, where he taught for fifty years. Continue Reading →