Bulleh Shah

A mystic in the Sufi tradition who lived in eighteenth-century Punjab, Bulleh Shah was said to be a descendent of the prophet Muhammad, and was therefore considered a member of the highest level of society. Bulleh Shah's poems reveal his unquenchable love for his spiritual Master, Inayat Shah, who was a simple gardener. In his poems, Bulleh Shah uses the allegory of the romance of Heer and Ranjha to symbolize the relationship of the Master and disciple, the Lord and the soul. Bulleh Shah was estranged from his Master for a certain period because of his arrogant behaviour, and the poems he wrote during that period convey his intense longing for the company of his Master. Bulleh Shah's life and his poetry demonstrate the importance of pure love on the spiritual path, the futility of traditional religion and rituals, and the irrelevance of caste, class, and other man-made divisions.