Fakir Shah Jalaluddin Vasali

Shah Jalaluddin Vasali of Khurashan was a God-realised fakir and a wanderer. The term ‘Vasali’ means one who has attained Union. He became known and famous to some extent in India, among the Hindus as well as the Muhammadans. The devotees of Ram take him to be one of them, describe his devotional acts, and believe in many miraculous responses he got in answer from his Beloved, which rarely fall to the lot of even a chosen devotee.

I give as much as possible an exact reproduction of the incidents of his life so well described by one of his admirers in the Kalyan.

The writer calls him ‘Mahatma Vasali’ and says: "He was a man of great devotion and a lover of Beauty. He was a devotee of Ramchandraji and considered that he would win his salvation by repeating his name alone. Wandering from place to place, he reached the town of Multan in the province of the Punjab. Here a certain panditji called Tekchand had recently arrived and used to hold ‘Kathas’ in which he recited passages from the Hindi Ramayan, the celebrated and inspired translation of Tulsi Das. So beautifully and in such a fine and melodious voice did he recite that people gathered from distant villages to hear him, and there used to be a gathering of thousands."

One day the chapter recited dealt with the Swayamvar of Sita in the palace of Raja Janak, when the entire city of Mithila had gone mad after Ram and marvelled at his beauty and strength. It is one of the finest portions of the Ramayan, and that day the panditji recited it with so much charm and effect that many amongst the audience fell into a Swoon or got into a condition of ecstatic emotion, while others found it difficult to restrain their tears or shouts of praise and love. A wonderful atmosphere was created and the panditji went on reciting till late at night. When at last he closed his book and wrapped it in his cloth and stood up to go home somebody came to him making his way through the crowd. It was the Shah Saheb who said, "Panditji, Panditji, I was greatly pleased on hearing your ‘Katha.’ I was beside myself with joy and at times got into trance and ecstasy. Do tell me what great book it is that you read and of which great and Yussuf-like handsome Beloved does it speak?"

The panditji replied, "Shah Saheb, at some distance from the Himalayas there is a town of Ayodhya in the province of Oudh. Our great Maharaja Dasaratha used to rule the province and it was his capital. He was a great God-realised sage. Ramchandraji was his son, famous as you have heard for his beauty, bravery, and knowledge. ‘Who was an ocean of merit, accomplished, polite, refined, brave and handsome, with a body shining with rays of light.’ This book is the Ramayan and contains his praise, which you have heard recited to-night. How did you like it, Shah Saheb?"

Shah Saheb replied, "Panditji, for many days I am regularly coming to this place and listening with great adoration and rapt attention. I get into a great ecstasy and roll in the ocean of love and delight. I have really become a lover and a devotee of this Prince of Beauty." Then he added, "I turn my face from the world and find myself in the lane of my Beloved."

The panditji said, "You seem to be a devotee of Ram and an admirer of this ‘Katha.’ Kindly come daily to hear it. I will give you a place near my side."

Shah Saheb answered, "I do come here daily. I am the first to arrive and the last to leave, but nobody lets me sit here. I however do not mind it. For I can clearly hear it standing at a distance. Let me take leave of you to-day. I will come tomorrow again." After this he daily visited the ‘Katha’ and became a well-known and a prominent figure there. The news of his devotion spread all over the place. His Muhammadan co-religionists also heard of it and troubled Shah Saheb, and failing to convince him they felt greatly offended and angry. At last a meeting was organised to which all the Muhammadans of the town were invited. Shah Saheb too, was forcibly dragged to the place. The famous learned Molvi Saheb of the town got upon the pulpit and explained the fundamental principles of Islam and the rules of religion. Shah Saheb who had taken his seat in a far-off corner, did not seem to pay much attention. At an opportune moment he quietly recited the lines of Khushro:

"I have become an idolater of Love and have no more any need of religion.

Every vein of my life has turned into a harp string and I have no more any need of a rosary.

The whole world says, see Khushro has become an idolater.

Yes, yes, he has become an idolater and has no more any need left of the entire world."

And saying "all my aspiration and longing and desire is only this: O Beloved, appear before my eyes and I may go on seeing Thee forever," he quietly slipped out of the place.

After the long speech was over, Shah Saheb was called for, but he was nowhere to be seen in the gathering. People got enraged on hearing that he had left. They went in search of him and seeking him at all possible places finally came to the ‘Katha.’ Here, they found him sitting in a semi-conscious condition swaying with emotion and love, and tears falling from his eyes. Seeing this the rage of the Muhammadans only grew more. They thought it was the panditji who had converted him and he should therefore be held responsible for it. A great uproar and confusion took place in the ‘Katha.’ That same day the panditji was threatened and warned to leave off holding his ‘Katha’ in the town. His life was in danger.

The panditji himself was a mild and peaceful man and had never got into such a situation before. He, therefore, thought it best to leave the town and resume his journey. And the very same night he left it secretly and alone. On the road he was surprised to meet Shah Saheb who recognised him from a distance, and said loudly, "O, Panditji, where are you going away? Wait a moment, I wish to hear of the Beloved."

The panditji said, "Shah Saheb, I am fleeing from the town with my life on my palms. With the least delay there is a likelihood of my being caught and hampered, otherwise I would surely have recited what you ask me to do."

"What do you fear, Panditji?" Shah Saheb answered. "I give you this staff, dash, it against the ground, and it will become a great serpent and frighten away all your enemies. I will give it to you as you recite the praise of my Beloved; what is there for you to fear?"¹

The panditji sat then, opened his book and began reading. This time too, he happened to read the same passage describing the time of the breaking of the bow, when all the women had fallen in love with Ram's beauty and the rajas and kings stood amazed at his marvellous grace and strength. After the recitation, the panditji closed the book with the words:

"Dharnika bhar harne yahi Ram ab bane hain,
Papoka ghan udane Ghansyam ab bane hain,
Vishnu yahi Vishvambbar yahi Nilkanth Dhari,
Yahi Para Brahma Ishvar yahi Ram Murari,"

But when he turned to Shah Saheb he found him in a condition of trance, with hardly any consciousness of outer things. He woke up with a start, (says the writer) and in a generous movement of gratitude and with an aspiration to do some service to the one who read to him the praise of his Beloved, Shah Saheb turned to the panditji and said, "Ask what you wish from me." The panditji thought for some time and said, "I ask for three things. First, I wish to have a son. Second, that my death should be unexpected and without pain. Third, I should be given Priti of Ramchandraji." Shah Saheb said, "All right, I grant you the first two boons now. But the third you will get only when you see me next and recite the praise of the Beloved." The panditji felt sorrowful at the reply, and repented why he did not ask the third boon first, which was the chief of all. And he asked, "Shah Saheb, where shall I find you next?" To which this reply: "Where else but in the lane of the Beloved. My Beloved will draw you and bring you to the place where I shall be. You will meet me there. Let us part now."

Tekchand went in one direction and Shah Saheb took the road leading to the lane of the Beloved, singing to himself:

"My Beloved, come into my eye-sight, my eyes are pining for Thy vision, show Thyself to me."

Five months after Shah Saheb reached the town of Ayodhya and got down at the mosque of Baber. His joy at having reached the destination knew no bounds. He went into a profound contemplation of Sri Ram. A man now came to him and said, "Shah Saheb, how is it that you are sitting alone here." This woke up Shah Saheb, and he said, "Sitting alone? I was not alone and lonely till now. By your intrusion I have become lonely." The man felt ashmed, begged his pardon, kissed his hand and went away.

Shah Saheb then took a round of the city. As Moulana Rumi has said:

"Na man bebuda girde koocha o bazar mi gardam
Maza keh ashqui darm, paeye dedar mi gardam."

Translating:

"Would that I had not to wander aimlessly in lane and bazaar,
Would that I had a Beloved and wandered for the sight of the face."

After taking the round of the town he walked with great joy through its lanes. In those days there were not many temples in Ayodhya. To the few that were admission was utterly out of question. He wished to enter but was not allowed anywhere. "This set his entire being aflame and the fire of devotion blazed up in his heart. He felt the pangs of separation acutely and pined for darshan."

It is a fact, (says the writer) that there exists no love that gets no response, When one loves, the Beloved too loves him in return and responds to hiscall, whether it be God or man. The poet Tulsi Das sings:

"The lotus resides in water and the Sun and the Moon stay high up in the heavens, but for him who loves, his place is in the heart itself."

At last he heard a voice: "Come soon, Vasali, I am to meet thee." On hearing it tears flowed from his eyes. He stood up from where he was sitting, and running straight towards the river jumped into it. The people on the shore seeing this plunged after to rescue him. But they could find him nowhere. It was the first month of the rainy season. The river was in flood and the current strong. There seemed to be no hope of finding his body and they returned disappointed to the shore. After three hours he was seen at a ghat and was pulled out of the water. It is believed up to this day that the Gudari–thecloth he was wearing–was dry, though his body was wet. He saw a rare and exquisite vision in the stream, of which he writes in inspired lines of poetry:

"Doosh raftam basooey hummamy
Didam anja yaki dilarami,
Chabooki dilbari bebaki,
Nazuki mehrukhi gulandami,
Chun mara deed barooeye khud talabyd
Tana varzad zoorey andami
Man nami danam keb andar anhairat, ba Vasali keh dad paighaemi."
Translating:
"SO handsome, exquisite, beautiful and agile,
Carless, and free with the face like the Moon,
And the delicacy of a rose petal,
Tall, fragrant from head to foot, proud and hurting,
Sharp and quick, a tormentor of the heart,
Eyes deeply drunken, resembling the ocean deep,
The face so fair contrasted against the dark hair.
Seemed as if the truth is placed side by side with doubt,
My Beloved saw me, and he himself sent for me
Fearing lest my life itself may not be consumed by that pang of separation.
I could not know in that great wonder, bewilderment and dazzle,
Who it was that gave Vasali the Love message.
When the eyes and the heart are constantly seeking
Whatever one sees, it becomes the Beloved."

Searching for Shah Saheb Tekchand now arrived in Ayodhya. He could not get news of him from anybody here and was almost disappointed. A very brilliant idea struck him. "If I begin my ‘Katha’ he is sure to hear of it and come." And he began reading the Ramayan. People gathered from all sides to hear him. The saying "Others may have magic in their eyes, but thou hast got it in the voice" proved very true in his case. Many days passed and Shah Saheb did not come. One day he appeared all of a sudden at the end of the ‘Katha' and threw five grains of barley at the book from a distance without coming near. On picking them up all remained wonderstruck to find that they were of gold, and believed it to be a miracle of Shah Saheb.

The panditji briefly narrated his story and said, "Now grant me the last boon." Shah Saheb answered, "Come to me under the bir tree at Pramod Ban," and went away.

Tekchand went in that direction. Many people followed him. But he sent them all saying, "If anyone accompanies me neither he nor I would be able to see him." A man followed him unseen from behind. Tekchand reached the bir tree at Pramod Ban but Shah Saheb was not to be seen there. He sat on the ground in disappointment and the man who had come turned and went away. After he had gone out of sight, Shah Saheb appeared sitting at the foot of the tree. Tekchand said to him respectfully, "By your grace I have got a son, now grant me the third boon." Shah Saheb answered, "Distribute all you got in the ‘Katha’ to-day to the poor and come to this place at night. But bring nobody with you as you did this time."

Tekchand went home and distributed all he had to the poor and returned to the tree at night. He found him deeply absorbed and thought him to be in the state of union with the Beloved. He went and sat near. Shah Saheb did not open his eyes but asked Tekchand to repeat these lines with him, which he had spontaneously uttered in a moment of inspiration on arriving at Ayodha:

" We the lovers that are awakened neither turn to wordly things nor to religion.

Like so many bulbuls of the same branch of the tree we are separated by fate and will and fallen out of the garden.

We are all seeking that gem only which solves this opens the gate of this great secret."

Shah Saheb recited slowly, the panditji repeating. After some time, Shah Saheb said, "Now, become Vali Allah."

The panditji said, "I am the servant Tekchand."

Shah Saheb answered, "I see, I see, yes, yes, then become Vali Ram." At this Tekchand lost his senses and turned almost love-mad.

Tekchand remembered the three couplets. They gave him such an inspiration that he became a learned man and a scholar of Persian and Arabic. He composed a book of poems called Divan-ai-Vali Ram. It is a book of great merit.

Shah Saheb lived under the same tree whilst Tekchand lived in the city. They spent many hours of the night together in meditation under the tree. After a short period, Shah Saheb left this world. His grave is still to be found under the tree. Once Moulana Nazir came to see Shah Saheb and recited the three couplets which he had given to Tekchand. Shah Saheb was surprised to hear them and asked him where he could have heard them. Moulana Nazir replied that he had heard them long ago in a "Mushaira" at Lucknow, where they were sweetly sung by Pirzada Naki Saheb and were greatly liked and praised by all. Shah Saheb thinking it to be ‘a secret’ of his Beloved remained silent in thought. The writer compares this incident of Shah Jalaluddin Vasali with that of a famous experience of Madhavendra Puri of Bengal in connection with God Krishna in Gopinath Temple, about whom there is the famous proverb in Bengali: "Pratishthar bhaye Puri jaya palaiya; Puri age pratishtha jaya douraiya." (Puri fled from fame but fame preceded Puri.)

It is clear from the facts given above that Shah Jalaluddin Vasali was a sage, who had no doubt won his realisation. He surely was the devotee of Ram as is evidenced by his life. Even if it be argued that it was only a temporary phase of his aspiration and a result of exchange of consciousness and condition between him and the devotees of Ram with whom he came into contact during his visits to the ‘Katha,’ there is no doubt that this aspiration became his own, and got its fulfillment and ended in the realisation of Ram whose vision he obtained in the river.

His life shows clearly how unimportant the outer religious forms and barriers are for the man who has got inner spiritual experience and how easily a free soul can rise above them to their Reality.

1 This is based on an incident given in the Quoran in connection with Moses. God told Moses to go to king Firoun who had become a tyrant and ask him to fear God, Moses said, "O God how can I face so proud, faithless and tyrannic a king. He will kill me at once." Thereupon God said, "I am with you to help. Throw down the staff that you hold in your hand and it will become a serpent and frighten away all thy enemies," I think, Jalaluddin said the same thing about his staff in a kind of devotional faith, not literally meaning what he said. But this is important, for it shows to what a great degree he had the Hindu mind, For it is characteristic of the aspiration of a Hindu devotee to wish to do things which had been done by God. It is utterly absent in the Muhammadans and does not come even in their thought, and is considered blasphemy and sin.