AMONG our mystic poets, Sachal Sarmast should be considered as one of the most outspoken. He lived in a very turbulent period of Sindh’s history. He saw invasions, infighting, famines, social injustice and religious intolerance. Shah Latif Bhitai stands out as a towering figure in Sindhi literature and music, but Sachal has his own approach to dealing with life’s vicissitudes.

He belonged to the Farooqi clan. His forefathers came to Sindh in the early days of Islam and were very learned people. After visiting many places, Khwaja Mohammad Hafiz alias Sahibdino settled at Daraza in Khairpur district. This made this small abode a great centre of learning. His was named as Abdul Wahab, but owing to his outspokenness and steadfast character he became known as Sachoo, Sachal and Sachedino, which he also used as nom de plume in his verses.

Sachal Sarmast (1739-1829) was not only a keen learner academically but also an eager student of life which actually became his real school of wisdom. At the early age he memorized the holy Quran and learnt the basics of Persian, Arabic and philosophical interpretations of life. He learnt various disciplines from a number of scholars.

Like Shah Latif Bhitai (1689-1752), Sachal Sarmast saw many agonizing developments. He developed the practice of expressing himself through mysticism with such force that none could stop him. He took the path of Wahdatal Wujood (pantheism) and spoke so vociferously that he was called Mansoor-i-Saani after Hussain bin Mansoor Hallaj. He was a small boy when Shah Latif visited Daraza, the birthplace of Sachal, and remarked that the mission he had launched would be accomplished by Sachal.

Sachal, well-versed in Sindhi, Seraiki, Punjabi, Hindi and Persian, was a close observer of the social conditions of Sindh resulting from political changes, foreign invasions, feudal infighting, conspiracies and religious intolerance that had been created by the greedy ruling classes. Shah Latif had chosen a subtle approach to exposing the atrocities committed by the rulers, who on one pretext or the other, had killed Shah Enayat Shaheed, Makhdoom Bilal and Sarmad. Sachal thought that a more direct and explicit mode of communication with the distressed people was necessary to create an awareness among them. Thus, Wahdatal Wujood.

Sachal’s basic perception of poetry was love. Like all mystics, he also used popular folk stories to narrate his philosophy of life but he was more vigorous in condemning exploitative forces that had overtaken society in the most brutal way. He was hardly 15 when Ahmad Shah Abdali, on his way back from Delhi, plundered Sindh and Punjab in 1754. This was followed by the devastation wreaked by Madad Khan Pathan during the Kalhora period.

While the Kalhoras struggled for their survival, the Sikhs and the British eyed Sindh. Insecurity and lawlessness were rife in the region, and nobody in Sindh felt safe. The economy had collapsed, internal and external trade had gone down and the people yearned for peace.

It was during the Kalhora period that religious fanaticism gained a more virulent form. It had already ruined the socio- economic fabric of Sindh. Sachal thought that only unity could restore peace in the country. But that needed strong preaching. He asked the people to stand up and be counted:

Mataan veheen math main, manjh jaldi jul,

Hite veh nah al, taan ke punjen pandh khe.

(Do not sit idle, expedite your travels. Do not sit here so that

you miss your destiny).

He asks the people to participate in the struggle:

Passi janj main jal, manjh tamashe ma paven,

Bhool na biye bhul, vathj haal haram jo.

(Do not become a spectator in the bridal procession, become

the groom and raise your voice, and take the unjust to task).

Class divisions tormented Sachal and he considered them

degrading for human dignity. At one place, he says:

Khayal buzragi dahoon na medaayee, na mangat Makhdoomi,

Sachal kith naheen koyee paida, hoonda vich ma’admi.

(I have no ambition to become a leader or makhdoom, neither a

pir nor mashaikh, nor I intend to be a fortune teller.

There is no Hindi, Sindhi, Shami nor Roomi,

Sachal nobody comes out of nothingness.)

He does not oppose the religious disciplines people observe, but he is against shallow knowledge that breeds contempt for other faiths. He does not use similies employed by romantic poets; instead, he speaks directly, insisting that love is the greater and eternal virtue that can grant a more useful life.

He also takes up the great phenomenon of self-exploration. He wants to know as who he is and repeatedly asks “Man keestam” and then replies:

Puchho na munhinji zaat, joyee aahiyaan soyee aahiyan,

Sachal sir sahee pahnijo kar pahnijo ishq manjhaaoon ishqaat.

(Do not ask for my cast. Whatever I am I am. I come from a place

where there is no day and night, the languages are only identity.

Sachal is not afraid of life and holds love in high esteem).

He was a many-faceted person indeed — a humanist and a preacher of peace, harmony and tranquillity. He was not an ascetic who would abandon the world and speak about what he thought about himself. He loved life, indeed he was so overwhelmed by it that he did not care for his life. To reach out to the people, he composed poetry in more than five languages.