On the Idea of Symbiosis in the Poetry of Bulleh Shāh, an 18th Century Punjabi Sufi Poet

抄録

This paper examines the coexistence of various religions in Punjab in the 18th century, particularly the Bhakti movement, the poetry of Sufism and the doctrine of Sikhism. First, it reviews the history of the development of Sufism in North India and points out its correlation with the Bhakti movement there. This coincides with the period of stable development of the Mughal dynasty through the coexistence of Hindus and Muslims, both politically and socially, and examines how religious coexistence was preserved in songs and other forms. The poetic works of Kabir, a leading Bhakti poet, and Bulleh Shāh, a Sufi from Punjab who enjoys great popularity today, are then exemplified and examined. The common thread in both poems is their criticism of the skeletonised religious authority in Hinduism and Islam of the time, and beyond such formalist currents, they point out the characteristic emphasis on devotion to the Absolute God. in Bulleh Shāh’s poetry, God is depicted as a lover or husband, which is strongly influenced by the Vishnu school of Hinduism. Punjabi folklore is also depicted as a protagonist in his poetic work, in that Islam was once spread by Sufis who came from West and Central Asia, whereas Muslims born in the Punjab wrote Islamic poetry under the influence of migratory folklore and Hinduism. This indicates the situation where Islam was becoming entrenched in the Punjab. It was in this vein that Sikhism was established, and its doctrines show that it was not only influenced by Bhakti, but also formed the environment in which Sufis such as Bulleh Shāh were born.