Foreword To The Book 'The Mystic Melodies Of Shaikh Farid' By Pritpal Singh 

The only real; and, of course, the most beautiful, emotion human-beings experience is the mystical. Mysticism is a source of inner illumination and transcendental knowledge. That explains the immense popularity the mystic poetry has always had in all literatures of the world.

Sufism which originated in Persia as the mystical dimension of Islam found a fertile soil in India which can boast of having a large number of venerable Sufi shrines. Punjab, in particular, has been home to many Sufi dervishes. Several of them wrote poetry which constitutes a major literary movement in Punjabi. Shaikh Farid, being the doyen of them all, had a special significance which was further enhanced when his poetry found a place in the Sikh scripture. He is, indeed a very popular figure in both the folklore and literature of the land.

It is, however, distressing that no Punjabi scholar has ever cared to delve deftly into the depths of the word of this saint poet. Prof. Pritpal Singh, the author of the present discourse, must be complimented for what I may safely describe to be the first serious response to the legend and poetry of Shaikh Farid. His polyglottic erudition and his deep understanding of both the Sufi doctrines and the Sikh scriptures, as well as his knowledge of literary traditions of the Punjab combine to make him an ideal person to undertake such an endeavour. His involvement with the medieval Punjabi literature for almost half a century now has enabled him to deal insightfully with a multitude of data with judicious methodological innovations and remove thereby the cobwebs of amateurish notions wowen around the bard and his verses. In the process he has succeeded in shedding new light on almost all aspects of the poetry and poetics of Shaikh Farid. He has settled old controversies and added new dimensions to the study of Farid's poetry.

The hallmark of the book, however, is the remarkably faithful translation of the saint's poetry and his Paddhatinama, a prose manuscript hitherto neglected by scholars. It has been done keeping close to the text and with a finesse of language. Prof. Pritpal Singh has taken care of the diverse inter-textual connections. He is precise and careful in choosing the signifiers and, while doing so, he liberates them from the Judaic-Christian interpretations and Western philosophical connections. Nowhere do they muffle the freshness of the original or the fragrance of the Sufi thought and the Punjabi soil.

On the whole this tightly written treatise presents an authentic exposition of the writings of the great Sufi savant. The author has made use of several primary sources to collate and corroborate various bits of information, refraining, at the same time, from passing judgements on the basis of hearsay or repeating the cliches. Such a species is becoming rare in our times.

The Mystic Melodies of Shaikh Farid builds a bridge between the divine wisdom of the poet and the reader. I earnestly hope that the book will engage the minds not only of the scholars, but also of all those who are interested in placing religion and mysticism on their intellectual agenda.

Dear, Academic Affairs,

Punjabi University, Patiala.

Aug. 15, 2001