The following is the transcript of a tape recording made in August 1983 in Krimpen, Holland. It is an unscripted speech by Dr
Zahurul Hasan Sharib made for that occasion. The original tape recording was made by disciples who were present there, and I
am grateful to them for giving me this copy which I have now made into a CD. I have trancribed the tape as closely as I can but have
added some words in square brackets where I felt some clarification may be helpful, usually arising from the unscripted nature of
the speech. The title is my own. JMZ.
The Loving Way of the Gudri Shahi Order of Sufis
by Dr Zahurul Hasan Sharib
To be in Holland in August is a great pleasure, and to be with Siraj and Gulnar at their own house is itself
a source of great spiritual joy. I am not using the word 'happiness' because happiness is a state, a
transitory state which passes away very soon, whereas joy and inner satisfaction are the two states
which are a source of reflection on the past. And every time [a person]....thinks over ....what has
happened in the past, [whatever it is ] which made him so happily enjoy [it] is itself a source of joy.
My visit to Holland was overdue. I remember in 1981 Siraj had arranged it, [and] I was equally anxious
for it. But as is said, "man proposes, and God disposes" it did not actually happen [at that time].
When I reached here I was so very happy to meet Siraj, Gulnar and their two lovely children Minhaj, and
Miraj, and Mrs Eschott, at the Hook of Holland. As soon as I saw [them] I felt a great inward strength, but
at the same time, when I reached their home, I missed his father, the late lamented Mr Elschott who I
was so keen and eager to meet, and his [Siraj's] brother Hans, who [I] had met at Ajmer some years
back.
Anyhow in every joy there is some hidden sorrow and a man should adapt himself to the circumstances
.. which he has to face.
The old myth 'East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet' is now exploded. It is no
more true! Now East and West have come together. Now there is no border and birth, no North and
South, and the world has become so interdependent that one has to learn from the other. When I was in
London I thought - what is it that the East has to learn from the West, and what is it the West has to learn
from the East? What I think is that the East has to learn from the West the spirit of self help. There I found
everybody helping himself ....[whilst in the East] people still walk on crutches. They are actually playing
with matchsticks because they have not the spirit of self help. For ordinary things they depend upon
others. And moreover our international set up is such that we cannot afford to live in isolation. The globe
has now become very short [small] due to the means of communication, scientific inventions, and
whatever happens in one country has a repercussion in another country. There are very many
international organisations like the UNO, the International Labour Office, UNICEF, UNESCO and so
many others. These international gatherings have brought us together. But in spite of that we do not
realise the oneness of man. Man is still divided emotionally, ideologically and, at the same time, ideally
[idealistically?] that there are different ideals guiding and leading man into different directions and hence
there is the conflict. Anyhow that is quite a different matter. But this much is sure, that East and West
have come now very close, and [the] West has also learned from the East - and what is it [that it has
learned]? It is simplicity, and not laying much emphasis on the so-called 'standard of living'. According to
the West, the standard of living is judged by material acquisitions.
According to the East it is judged by things other than material acquisitions. And what are those things?
They are beauty, grace and light. They determine the standard of a man, not his outward appearance but
his behaviour and his internal life, and the life that he leads privately, and the dealings that he has in
public.
My contact with Holland began in March 1950, I had not met any Dutch man before that. It so happened
that the late Baron von ......?, he visited India along with his wife Baroness Saeeda Begum, and they
were so very eager to meet my uncle and Murshid, the late lamented Nawob Khadim Hasan Saheb.
That day I wrote him a letter,... at that time Nawob Saheb was in Moradabad - and I was living there too,
in Moradabad. From Delhi they reached Moradabad and after a short stay they left the city. I still
remember him [Baron von...?]- a tall figure with spectacles on, wearing a navy blue suit, and at that time,
during our conversation, I still remember, that he wanted me to be in contact with the Institute of Social
History Studies at the Hague. Another thing was that he suggested that he would be too glad if I
undertook a translation of Jami's famous book Nafat ul Uns.
After that time my contact with Dutch people gradually began and it so happened in 1973 Siraj came to
Ajmer, and this strengthened the bonds between me and the Dutch - and Holland rather. His yearly visits
always gave me joy and a source of inward satisfaction, which it is difficult for me to describe or to
explain. Afterwards it so happened that Siraj and Gulnar were married in Ajmer, in the room of Nawob
Saheb. It was a simple, solemn, ceremony, but still, people in Ajmer, especially the women, recall it with
great joy. They say she looked so very beautiful and Siraj looked so very innocent as an Indian bride and
bridegroom do.
Siraj and Gulnar belong to the same spiritual order, to which I belong. I belong to the Gudri Shahi Order
of the Sufis. This order is known after the name of Saeenji Gudri Shah Baba who wore a Gudri. Now
Gudri has got an implication, it is a patched clothes, very ordinary dress, it has different patches of
different colour, of different dimensions. And it is a symbolic dress, which people do not realise. To unite
different patches of different colours together means to unite humanity of different colours, different
caste, different communities, different nationalities, different ideologies, different schools of thought, and
at the same time of different set up. This means he was wearing a dress which symbolised the unity of
mankind. That is one thing. By his own behaviour, and by his own treatment, and by his own spirit of self
abnegation people were very much attracted towards him. But, as is usual with a Sufi saint, he does not
feel to be drawn to the people. He neither cares for censure nor praise, nor admiration, nor criticism nor
blame. He is above all these things as a leaf floating in the river does not admit any water in it but floats,
so is a Sufi saint. He doesn't care for these trifles and emotional upsurges ... inner upsurges, which may
be either in one way or another. Blaming or criticising, praising or admiring, exalting or degrading, these
are all passing phases. To him it is no value. Saeenji emphasised another thing, another characteristic
of the Gudri Shahi order is this - he said here is no need for reading or writing. It doesn' t mean that he
was condemning knowledge, it doesnt mean that. It means something very vital and very important.
Knowledge is of various kinds. To take a degree from a university or to read a book is an ordinary thing
- people do it - let them do it. But Sufi saints rely more on a different source of knowledge, which is given
to a very few. Which comes as a gift of God. That source is intuition and inspiration, and they rely upon it.
For example the holy Prophet Muhammed was not literate, but he gave us so much, he gave us so
much, he gave us the Hadiths - a monument of learning. Ali - nobody knows as to which college and
school did he go - but he is known as the Gate of Knowledge.
Why? What was the source of knowledge? It was the same knowledge, inspiration, intuition,
communion with God, receiving messages, giving messages, and upon this they relied. This means that
a man should adapt himself in a diferent mental set up in order to receive the message. When your radio
is on then you can have news from some city. Though there is news everytime but if your radio set is
closed and the switch is not on you can not hear it. As soon as it is on you can hear some news, some
music, some message. So is the heart of man. If it is calm and tranquil you can get message, you can
hear the voice, and you can be guided by the light. But if there is inner disturbance, confusion, chaos,
turmoil, then all those outlets which receive the message, they are closed.
In the Gudri Shahi Order what is more important is not so much the rituals, the outward exercises, the
ascetic practices, or renunciation, or what you may call abnegation, or self effacement, but it is to love.
There is another fundamental plank in the Gudri Shahi Order.
Love gives all those things which are acquired by another means. For example meditation gives
concentration. In love, if the love is true, and real, and genuine there will be automatically concentration.
The man who claims to love - I mean the lover, will be ever absorbed in the thought of the Beloved. Then
love gives justice, mercy, kindness, benevolence, charity, all these things. And the sufis say once a man
has acquired the gift of love he will automatically get other things without his asking. This is another thing.
This order is rather a scion of the Chishti Order and the Qadri order, and Nawob Saheb traced his
descent from the Suhrewardy Order, and the Naqshbandi Order too. His father belonged to the
Naqshbandi Order, he was a murid of Maulana Fazlur Rehman who is a very outstanding saint of the
Naqshbandi Order. And he traced his descent from another saint, Maqdum Samauddin who was the last
great saint of the Suhrewardy order in India. After that the Suhrewardy Order underwent a decline.
After Gudri Shah Baba came Qazi Saheb, Qazi Gudri Shah Baba - he was just assiduously following in
the footsteps of his preceptor. Then came Nawob Saheb. He made the order - he gave the order wider
dimensions. At first he was not meeting people, in the sunshine [of society] - but in the last years he was
always available, to everybody, irrespective of what he was.
When I come to Holland I am so very glad to be in Krimpen where Gulnar and Siraj live. It is I think the
fulfilment of my long cherished desire, and I am happy to see that they are living in a beautiful house, well
furnished, having all the facilities, having all the amenities - but I dont think I am correct, it is not a house it
is a home. It is true it is built of brick but it is also cemented by love. A house is built of brick from lime or
wood, and it is built by a mason. But a home is built by the joint efforts of the inmates of the house. If you
want to judge a house you see the inmates of the house. As they are so will be the house. This is the
criterion set up.
Home is a [ receptacle ?] of blessedness, peace, joy and gives birth to high ideals, noble ambitions, and
great deeds. Whereas a house may be just a fishmarket where there is quarreling, mischief mongering,
distrust, mistrust, and suspicion. But here the things are that the house is beautiful and the inmates of the
beautiful [home] are equally beautiful inwardly, morally, and culturally. Siraj by nature is a scholar, but by
choice he is a Sufi. Gulnar by nature is a housewife but by choice she is also Sufi. She is so very
inquisitive, about knowing about Sufism. This means she is in search. Where there is search - knock
and it should be opened. Where there is search one is sure to find something. I think that in days to
come people will come close to each other and understand all the hardships of the present man. Modern
man .... in spite of all, what he has achieved is devoid of inner peace. And for this inner peace people
have longed to achieve it, in whatever direction [it can be found]. Taking this in view I think Sufism has a
bright prospect. In this century, I mean the 20th century - the 20th Century is marked as an age of strife.
Here the law is get out or get on. This means those who cannot get on - they should leave the world and
retire somewhere or commit suicide. But sufism teaches that those who cannot get on should enabled to
get on, and they should not be asked to get out. This means there is a spirit of accommodation, there is
a spirit of reconciliation, there is a spirit of help, and there is a spirit of mutual help. By these virtues
inherent in sufism people are being drawn towards it, and it is spreading in the West, as it was
spreading in the East in the last century. This means spiritually the East and West, both are coming
together. They are coming quite close to each other. And they have come to realise that they have to
learn a great deal.
I have not travelled much - I admit. Whereas some people have travelled a lot, and I remember what
Sheykh Saadi has said - a sufi does not become a sufi unless he drinks from the goblet, and an
imperfect man does not become perfect unless he travels a lot. This means according to Sheykh Saadi,
the measuring rod of perfection is that one must travel a lot. He has himself travelled a lot. Like Maqdum
Jahangir Jahanghost - he has also travelled. He was a globe-trotter. And he has said this because in
those days travelling was a great hardship. And travelling is also a source to learn many things. You
learn manners, you learn customs, you learn norms. You learn standards, you learn ideology, you see
their way of living [of the people and places you visit]. This means, when you study these things you will
come again very close. And above all travelling is a source to see the glory of God spread throughout
the world. People make invidious distinctions of caste, creed, colour, region, religion, and so many other
cultural [distinctions]. They say this man is literate, this man is illiterate, this man is high, this man is low,
but nobody knows that the intrinsic value of man is to be a man. And to be a man is a very difficult
process which we have still to learn. We are still on the road to perfection. But how man will attain
perfection? That is another question. I think he can learn perfection only when he becomes ... a little
generous like the ocean or river, a little hospitable like the sun, a little humble like the earth and when he
imbibes [in order] to cultivate, and to exercise, and to practise, the quality of patience as given to
prophet Jacob, the spirit of dependence as given to prophet Adam. The spirit of liberty as given to
prophet Moses, the spirit of crucifixion as given to Prophet Jesus Christ, and the spirit of forebearance
as given to Prophet Muhammed. If these qualities are inculcated and acquired in the modern man then
he can live under the sun. Otherwise we are facing a crisis. They [mankind] are sitting on a volcano, it
may errupt, and our civilisation and our culture may come to nought.
But before that there is another cautious [similee?], and that being fear God and love humanity. If you
love humanity then this means you love God and if you love God .. it means you love humanity. This
means that to love God and to love humanity are identical terms if you love one you love the other. And if
you love the other you love the one. But love should be all absorbing, all absorbing. Love demands its
price - love. All the people fear disappointments, people are dismayed, people lose hope, and people
undergo some suffering, and all of a sudden they forget their ideal. They must know that life's
disappointments are nothing as to the [sightless ? unseen ?].....appointments they are far better, and if
we have that appointment then we will have no disappoinment.
I think what we lack most is that we rely more upon ourselves and we do not rely on our Maker. Man is
losing faith and the loss of faith is one of the main problems which the modern man feels unconsciously.
As soon as anxiety begins, as soon as there is some worry, as soon as a man begins to complain of
some suffering, some inconvenience, some loss this means there is a loss of faith. And the end of
anxiety, end of worry is the beginning of faith.
When I was travelling from New Delhi to Amsterdam I used to hear ... they used to give directions
...fasten your [seat] belts. In Amsterdam aerodrome where I was to pass a few hours I was thinking that
for a few hours, say eight hours, we were asked to fasten [our seat] belt in order that we may be sure,
secure and I was thinking that the belts were used - we were asked to tighten belts, for our own safety
and security. That was only eight hours in a journey covering eight hours. What to say of the journey of
life? Which may last months or may last years, what belt we may fasten - that there is a belt which we
may fasten and that belt may be faith, may be hope, may be belief, may be carelessness [carefree i.e.
reliant on God] , and if you have such a belt then of course you may easily cover the journey of life with
safety, security, and safely.
If I say that I thank Gulnar and Siraj it will be too much conventional. Thanking by words is a very ordinary
way of expressing some gratitude. But to be silent, and to wish well and to invoke that God may repay on
your behalf that is a better way of repaying the kindness shown to a man. So I hope, and I trust and I
believe that God in His infinite Mercy [keep] [Gulnar] and Siraj and their two lovely sons Minhaj and Miraj
in His Safety and give them what they aspire to, and make them happy tranquil peaceful and ever
smiling.
Published by The Zahuri Sufi Web Site November 17th 2002