by Dr Sabreen and Dr Mehak Majeed
Seventeenth-century Kashmiri mystic Rupa Bhawani blended Shaivism and Sufism through yoga and poetry, emerged as Lal Ded’s spiritual successor, and became a lasting symbol of communal harmony and devotion.
Selflessness is the sign of the Selfless
Bow down at the door of the Selfless,
The selfless are the highest authority,
The kings of the time and wearers of the crest and crown…
TK Raina
Pandit Madhav Joo Dhar used to pray at the Hari Parbat fort daily throughout his life. He was devoted to Goddess Sharika. Reciting Panchastavi, he would perform japa each day. His devotion knew no end. He was a devotee of Lal Ded. He prayed to Goddess Sharika, asking for a daughter, a form of the Goddess herself, reflective of Lal Ded in soul and impression.
In 1642, he was blessed with a daughter known by the name of Rupa Bhawani. While she was raised in love and affection, Pandit Dhar could see her miraculous disposition right from her early childhood. Following her father’s footsteps, she began performing japa at an early age. She would often accompany her father to Hariparbat, listen to him during his japas, and discuss Shaivism and Lal Ded with him. As a result of these observations, discussions, and endless conversations, each passing day revealed a growing reflection of both Mata and Lal Ded in her aura, aesthetics, and thought process.
At sixteen, she both expressed and manifested her ultimate devotion and love towards God. She would often hear Nadas (unstruck inner mystic sounds). She would tell her father that she had visions of Lal Ded. She heard ‘Om’ in a rhythm that would rise and fall. One morning, she woke up with the realisation of losing herself completely in God and His cause. Since then, until the end of her life, she remained engrossed in God, adopting ways such as yogic practices and mystic poetry. Influenced from a young age by her father’s philosophical temperament and by a first-hand experience of worldly sufferings and ups and downs, her poetry began expressing love for God as the deep, soulful voice of her heart.
Rupa was married at a very young age, as was the tradition of the time. Given her Sufi temperament and philosophical understanding of both the manifest and the hidden world, she was unable to adjust to ordinary domestic life. This led to a strained relationship with her in-laws. At a point when she could no longer endure it, she renounced worldly life altogether. Under her father’s mentorship, whom she referred to as her Guru, she began her dedicated spiritual journey. Starting with studying, learning, and practising yoga, she moved towards a deeper understanding of Vedanta. This was followed by her interest in other Hindu scriptures. All the while, a deeper soul was being nurtured into her visible self.
This was followed by her wandering phase. She moved from place to place in search of truth and God. Records state that she performed several miracles during this time, including helping a blind person restore his vision. She chose Chashma Shahi as a place to meditate. As people learned about her, visitors and devotees would often surround her. Spiritual discourses would continue for hours at a stretch. Her thoughts and discourses, and later her poetry, manifested a soulful blend of Shaivism and Islamic Sufism. Those who visited her included both Hindus and Muslims of Kashmir.
Over time, Rupa’s command of Sanskrit and Persian strengthened, as did her understanding of religion and philosophical discourse. It was increasingly understood and discussed that Rupa was a manifestation of Mata herself. Being Pandit Dhar’s daughter further strengthened this belief. Her charisma as a Yogini, her ability to love everyone, and her equal treatment of all made her popular among both Hindus and Muslims. A contemporary of hers, Shah Sadiq Qalandar, held her in great regard and respect. Rupa lived to the ripe age of ninety-seven, influencing generations and strengthening the notion of mutual harmony and admiration between Hindus and Muslims.
Rupa Bhawani holds an important and respected place in the Sufi mystic discourse of Kashmir. She is the only known successor of Lal Ded in this school of thought in the seventeenth century. Her verses do justice to the spirit of harmony that is central to the land of Kashmir. Being a Hindu both by birth and practice, she upheld and further shaped the process of mutual harmony between the Hindus and Muslims of Kashmir, who equally identify in spirit as followers of the Sufi school of thought. The scope of her verses and the spirit of her teachings span surrender to God, a pious life of dharma and goodness, centring one’s life on knowledge, upholding the spirit of oneness and brotherhood, and validating knowledge by looking deep into one’s heart and soul.
In one of her poems, she says:
I did not come on this earth as a seed,
To fall in the circle of births,
I am not the elements,
Earth, water, fire, air and ether,
I am the supreme consciousness…
The length of her Vaakhs varies between three and seven lines. Vaakhs like these universalise the finding of a common God across religions and sects. Most of her verses draw inspiration from her yogic practices, forging symbols of mysticism across both Kashmir Shaivism and Islamic Sufism. The broader classification of her Vaakhs includes four areas: salvation, knowledge-seeking, divine ecstasy, and self-realisation, as manifested by these verses:
I dashed into the nether regions
and brought the vital breath up:
I got its clue out of earth and stones:
Then my kundalini woke up with nada:
I drank wine by the mouth:
I gathered the vital breath within myself.
Rupa’s Vakhs made a significant contribution to her contemporary times and afterwards. She added value and continuity to the discourse of Lal Ded while situating her own originality. She contributed directly to the Kashmiri Shaivism school of thought and influenced the Muslim population as well. Devotees across these two sects found unanimity and oneness in her verses and mentorship. Expressing the importance of having a yogic eye in finding both God and one’s true self, Rupa says in Sanskrit:
Sahasra sarvatraviyapisuhratvichariyam
Bahubaisa-bahu aklamswayambuprama kari
Which translates to:
Infinite, omnipresent, self-effulgent, all-powerful:
Everywhere is the entirety of the universe…
Rupa believed in the power of yoga in finding both the divine and the purpose of one’s life. She associated it with inner strength and believed in its ability to unwind the coils of ignorance. She further says:
Tad roopmayi tat paramagatisathanipravahi
Gati gut poornichuda deh triptam
Which translates to:
Of the form of that state,
Static-localised.
Dynamic: all in currents…
These verses briefly yet powerfully express the divinity of yogic practices. Through meditation, Rupa believed, the ultimate could be attained. Yoga is defined as the pathway that moves a person away from worldly desires towards oneness with the divine. To further reiterate its importance, she says:
Hosh maley-ta posh phowani
Gosh khilani sadhu-sang
Translating to:
Companionship of seers and saints
Imparts awakening; flowering perception…
Rupa was both inspired by Lal Ded and a living reflection of her. She was inspired by multiple saints and sages of the time and believed in the oneness of Sufi traditions among Hindus and Muslims. To put into perspective the importance of Lal Ded in her life, she writes:
Kali Kalimilnovum
Leli havum roof panaye
Which translates to:
Degree by degree attained the merger
and Lalishwari blessed me with her vision…
Rupa, who herself expresses a merger of her soul with that of Lal Ded, stands as a link between the past and future of the Sufi mystic discourse of Kashmir. Her continuation of Lal Ded’s thought is crucial, though largely unexplored, in upholding and revalidating the unanimity of the Sufi mystic school indigenous to Kashmir, practised across both Hindu Shaivism and Islamic Sufism.
Over the years, multiple ashrams dedicated to the teachings of Rupa Bhawani have been built and maintained by her devotees across areas such as Waskura, Safa Kadal, and Manigam. Her collection of sayings has been preserved in a book titled Rupabhavani Rahasyopadesha, which requires further exploration and research to better understand her thought of Sufi mysticism.
(The authors are affiliated with IUST and work at the intersection of gender, region, and feminist discourse. Ideas are personal.)
