"Catechization Concerning Civilization" by Bulleh Shah (1680-1757)

Bulleh Shah (1680-1757) translated from the Punjabi by Manfred Spencer Alverston & Associates.

“Catechization Concerning Civilization”

“I cannot know who I am!”

Bulleh-a! Cannot perceive who I am?

Neither am I an orthodox disciple, nor an unorthodox iconoclast

Neither am I an impure amongst pure, nor Moses amongst Pharaoh

Bulleh-a! Cannot decipher who I am?

I am not into demarcating pureness or impurities

I am not into indulgently rejoicing or lamenting

Neither am I aquatic nor earthy

Neither am I fire nor wind

Bulleh-a! Cannot elucidate who I am?

Neither have I reconciled with the mystery of doctrine, nor have I resigned my outset to Adam-Eve’s foreordination

Neither have I acquired a metronymic, nor have I attained a diminutive title

Neither have I settled, nor have I wandered

Bulleh-a! I cannot know who I am?

I believe thou are the first, prior, and last

I acknowledge no perpetual entity

No other person is wiser than I am

Bulleh-a! Look beyond! Who is standing over there?

Bulleh-a! I do not know who I am?

Let’s go Bulleh-a! Beyond the bounds where everyone is sightless: No one discriminates my caste, or does anybody acknowledge my presence.

Bulleh Shah (1680-1757) translated from the Punjabi by Manfred Spencer Alverston & Associates.