Nund Rishi

NUND RISHI: SUFI SAINT OF KASHMIR Selected Poetry (Large Print & Large Format Edition) Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Nund Rishi ('Rishi' meaning Kashmiri Sufi) or Shaikh Nur ud-din, as he was afterwards named, was born at Kaimuh, a village two miles to the west of Bijbihara in Kashmir in 1377. He used his poetry as tool to spread the knowledge of the absolute and he vehemently criticized the so-called Mullas and other pseudo-scholars of Islam and gave expression to the lives of the poor and common people of the valleys. He also composed many poems on the pitfalls of the spiritual path and on the love of the devotee for God. His shorter 2 couplet poems of which he composed more than any others are called, as in the case of his mentor Lalla Ded, vakhs. The Rishi order is a Sufi tradition of religious harmony and it was founded by among others Nund Rishi. He was popular as a Sufi Perfect Master in Kashmir in his lifetime and still is. This is the largest version of his poems in English and the only one keeping the correct rhyme structure of the originals. Introduction on his Life & Times & Poetry and on Sufis, Rishis, Dervishes; Their Art and Poetry. Large Print (18pt) & Large Format (8" x 10") Edition. 231 pages. Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu, Kashmiri and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Lalla Ded, Ghani Kashmiri and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa

LALLA DED, NUND RISHI, KABIR Three Great Sufi/Bhakti Poets of India of the 14th-15th centuries. SELECTED POEMS Translation & Introduction Paul Smith THE BHAKTI AND SUFI MOVEMENTS in India played an important role in bringing harmony between the Hindus and the Muslims. Three of their greatest poets of integration are here represented in large selections of their poems in the correct rhyming form. LALLA DED is the famous female poet/saint from Kashmir who lived at exactly the same time as Hafiz of Shiraz (1320-1392). Her vakhs (poems/sayings) are sung even today in Kashmir. She was married at a young age but the marriage was a failure and she walked out at the age of twenty-four. She became a disciple of Siddha Srikanth. It must have taken a lot of courage on her part to walk out of a marriage and to walk around unclothed as she did. She was treated with contempt by some and much reverence by others, seeing her as a saint and eventually as God-realized. Her two hundred vakhs are some of the oldest examples of Kashmiri written. She was a bridge between Hindu mysticism and Sufism. NUND RISHI ('Rishi' meaning Kashmiri Sufi) or Shaikh Nur ud-din, as he was afterwards named, was born in Kashmir in 1377. He used his poetry as tool to spread the knowledge of the absolute and criticized the mullas and other pseudo-scholars and gave expression to the lives of the common people. He also composed many poems on the pitfalls of the spiritual path and on the love of the devotee for God. His poetry is called valkhs as in the case of his mentor Lalla Ded. He was popular as a Sufi Perfect Master in Kashmir in his lifetime and still is. KABIR (meaning 'great') was born near Varanasi (Banaras), India, in 1398 A. D. and died towards the end of the 15th Century. He was brought up by an elderly Muslim weaver-couple named Niru and Nirna, having been abandoned shortly after birth. He learnt the same trade as his new parents and used the imagery of weaving often in his poems. It is said that he had a number of Masters. One was a Sufi Master named Sheikh Taqqi. The most famous was Ramanand. Here are wonderful words of wisdom (sakhis/poems) from one of the wisest of the wise. Here are lines of love from a Master and a human being who has lived as all human beings should live, with compassion, honesty and courage. He proved to the people through the pure logic of the heart the stupidity of believing that religions are different from each other by pointing out the essential sameness in all of them. At a time when the Muslims and Hindus were at each other's throats this was a very brave thing to do, and by doing it he brought an end to their fighting. Large Format Paperback 7" x 10" 342 pages Paul Smith (b.1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Yunus Emre and many others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa

THREE GREAT SUFI POETS OF KASHMIR Lalla Ded, Nund Rishi, Ghani Kashmiri Selected Poems Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Lalla Ded is the famous female poet/saint from Kashmir who lived at exactly the same time as Hafiz of Shiraz (1320-1392). Her vakhs (poems/sayings) are sung even today in Kashmir. She was married at a young age but the marriage was a failure and she walked out at the age of twenty-four. She became a disciple of Siddha Srikanth. It must have taken a lot of courage on her part to walk out of a marriage and to walk around unclothed as she did. She was treated with contempt by some and much reverence by others, seeing her as a saint and eventually as God-realized. Her two hundred vakhs are some of the oldest examples of Kashmiri written. She was a bridge between Hindu mysticism and Sufism. Nund Rishi ('Rishi' meaning Kashmiri Sufi) or Shaikh Nur ud-din, as he was afterwards named, was born at Kaimuh, a village two miles to the west of Bijbihara in Kashmir in 1377. He used his poetry as tool to spread the knowledge of the absolute and criticized the mullas and other pseudo-scholars and gave expression to the lives of the common people. He also composed many poems on the pitfalls of the spiritual path and on the love of the devotee for God. His poetry is called Shruks that are poems in the rhyme structure of A-B, A-B. The Rishi order is a Sufi tradition of religious harmony and it was founded by among others Nund Rishi. He was popular as a Sufi Perfect Master in Kashmir in his lifetime and still is. Ghani Kasmiri (1610-1668) is Kashmir's greatest Sufi poet of the Persian language. His teacher & spiritual master was another great Sufi & poet Mushin Fani. Ghani was visited in Kashmir by Sa'ib, Kalim & Qudsi, along with Ghani some of the most influential poets of the new style of Indian Persian poetry (Sabk-e-Hindi). Ghani led a simple life often in seclusion and never wrote for royalty or the rich. He exposed corruption and sang of truth, love and beauty in ghazals and ruba'is that are unique. Both Ghalib and Iqbal were influenced by him and sang his praises. These are the largest version of their poems in English keeping the correct rhyme structure of the originals. Introduction on htheir Life & Times & Poetry and on the forms of Poetry. Selected Bibliographies. Large Format Paperback 7" x 10" 434 pages. Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre. Lalla Ded, Mahsati and others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books, screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa Published by New Humanity Books

NUND RISHI: LIFE & POEMS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Nund Rishi ('Rishi' meaning Kashmiri Sufi) or Shaikh Nur ud-din, as he was afterwards named, was born at Kaimuh, a village two miles to the west of Bijbihara in Kashmir in 1377. He used his poetry as tool to spread the knowledge of the absolute and criticized the mullas and other pseudo-scholars and gave expression to the lives of the common people. He also composed many poems on the pitfalls of the spiritual path and on the love of the devotee for God. His poetry is called Shruks that are poems in the rhyme structure of A-B, A-B. His shorter 2 couplet Shruks of which he composed more than any others are called, as in the case of t his mentor Lalla Ded, vakhs. The Rishi order is a Sufi tradition of religious harmony and it was founded by among others Nund Rishi. He was popular as a Sufi Perfect Master in Kashmir in his lifetime and still is This is the largest version of his poems in English and the only one keeping the correct rhyme structure of the originals. Introduction on his Life & Times & Poetry and on Sufis, Rishis, Dervishes; Their Art and Poetry. 120 pages. Introduction to Sufi Poets Series 'AISHAH Al-BA'UNIYAH, AMIR KHUSRAU, ANSARI, ANVARI, AL-MA'ARRI, 'ATTAR, ABU SA'ID, AUHAD UD-DIN, BABA FARID, BABA AZFAL, BABA TAHIR, BEDIL, BULLEH SHAH, DARA SHIKOH, GHALIB, GHANI KASHMIRI, HAFIZ, HASAN DEHLAVI, IBN 'ARABI, IBN YAMIN, IBN AL-FARID, IQBAL, INAYAT KHAN, 'IRAQI, JAHAN KHATUN, JAMI, KAMAL AD-DIN, KABIR, KHAQANI, KHAYYAM, LALLA DED, MAKHFI, MANSUR HALLAJ, 'ARIFI, MIR, MU'IN UD-DIN CHISHTI, NAZIR, NESIMI, NIZAMI, OBEYD ZAKANI, RAHMAN BABA, RUMI, SADI, SA'IB, SANA'I, SARMAD, SHABISTARI, SHAH LATIF, SHAH NI'MAT'ULLAH, SULTAN BAHU, YUNUS EMRE, EARLY ARABIC SUFI POETS, EARLY PERSIAN SUFI POETS, URDU SUFI POETS, TURKISH SUFI POETS, AFGHAN SUFI POETS 90-120 pages each. Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre. Lalla Ded, Mahsati and others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books, screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa

THE BOOK OF NUND RISHI (Shaikh Nur ud-din) Selected Poetry Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Nund Rishi ('Rishi' meaning Kashmiri Sufi) or Shaikh Nur ud-din, as he was afterwards named, was born at Kaimuh, a village two miles to the west of Bijbihara in Kashmir in 1377. He used his poetry as tool to spread the knowledge of the absolute and he vehemently criticized the so-called Mullas and other pseudo-scholars of Islam and gave expression to the lives of the poor and common people of the valleys. He also composed many poems on the pitfalls of the spiritual path and on the love of the devotee for God. His poetry is commonly called Shruks that are poems in the rhyme structure of A-B, A-B. His shorter 2 couplet Shruks of which he composed more than any others are called, as in the case of t his mentor Lalla Ded, vakhs. The Rishi order is a Sufi tradition of religious harmony and it was founded by among others Nund Rishi. He was popular as a Sufi Perfect Master in Kashmir in his lifetime and still is This is the largest version of his poems in English and the only one keeping the correct rhyme structure of the originals. Introduction on his Life & Times & Poetry and on Sufis, Rishis, Dervishes; Their Art and Poetry. 214 pages. Large Format Paperback 7" x 10". COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'." It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance.." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Lit.) Tehran." Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of works in English into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart." Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu, Kashmiri and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Lalla Ded, Ghani Kashmiri and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa