ਚੁੱਪ ਕਰਕੇ ਕਰੀਂ ਗੁਜ਼ਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ
ਸੱਚ ਸੁਣਕੇ ਲੋਕ ਨਾਂ ਸਹਿੰਦੇ ਨੇ, ਸੱਚ ਆਖਿਆ ਤੇ ਗੱਲ ਪੈਂਦੇ ਨੇ
ਫਿਰ ਸੱਚੇ ਪਾਸ ਨਾਂ ਬਹਿੰਦੇ ਨੇ, ਸੱਚ ਮਿੱਠਾ ਆਸ਼ਿਕ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਨੂੰ
ਚੁੱਪ ਕਰਕੇ ਕਰੀਂ ਗੁਜ਼ਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ
ਸੱਚ ਸ਼ਰਾ ਕਰੇ ਬਰਬਾਦੀ ਏ, ਸੱਚ ਆਸ਼ਿਕ ਦੇ ਘਰ ਸ਼ਾਦੀ ਏ
ਸੱਚ ਕਰਦਾ ਨਵੀਂ ਆਬਾਦੀ ਏ, ਜਿਹਾ ਸ਼ਰਾ ਤਰੀਕਤ ਹਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ
ਚੁੱਪ ਕਰਕੇ ਕਰੀਂ ਗੁਜ਼ਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ
ਚੁੱਪ ਆਸ਼ਿਕ ਤੋਂ ਨਾਂ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਏ, ਜਿਸ ਆਈ ਸੱਚ ਸੁਗੰਧੀ ਏ
ਜਿਸ ਮਾਹਲ ਸੁਹਾਗ ਦੀ ਗੁੰਦੀ ਏ, ਛੱਡ ਦੁਨੀਆਂ ਕੂੜ ਪਸਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ
ਚੁੱਪ ਕਰਕੇ ਕਰੀਂ ਗੁਜ਼ਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ
ਬੁੱਲਾ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਸੱਚ ਹੁਣ ਬੋਲੇ ਹੈ, ਸੱਚ ਸ਼ਰਾ ਤਰੀਕਤ ਫੋਲੇ ਹੈ
ਗੱਲ ਚੌਥੇ ਪਦ ਦੀ ਖੋਲੇ ਹੈ, ਜਿਹਾ ਸ਼ਰਾ ਤਰੀਕੇ ਹਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ
ਚੁੱਪ ਕਰਕੇ ਕਰੀਂ ਗੁਜ਼ਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ
– ਬੁੱਲੇ ਸ਼ਾਹ
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu
Sach sunke lok na sehnde ne, sach aakhiye te gal painde ne
Phir sache paas na behnde ne, sach mitha aashiq pyaare nu
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu
Sach shara kare barbaadi ai, sach aashiq de ghar shaadi ai
Sach karda naveen abaadi ai, jiha shara tareekat hare nu
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu
Chup aashiq to na hundi ai, jis aayi sach sugandhi ai
Jis maahl suhaag di gundi ai, chadd duniya kood pasaare nu
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu
Bulla Shah sach hun bole hai, sach shara tareekat phole hai
Gal chauthe pad di khole hai, jiha shara tareeke haare nu
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu
– Bulle Shah
Stay silent to survive.
People cannot stand to hear the truth.
They are at your throat if you speak it.
They keep away from those who speak it.
But truth is sweet to its lovers!
Truth destroys shara.
Brings rapture to its lovers,
And unexpected riches,
Which shara obscures.
Stay silent to survive.
Those lovers cannot remain silent
Who have inhaled the fragrance of truth.
Those who have plaited love into their lives,
Leave this world of falsehood.
Stay silent to survive
Bulla Shah speaks the truth.
He uncovers the truth of shara.
He opens the path to the fourth level,
Which shara obscures.
Stay silent to survive.
– Bulle Shah, Translated by Sana Saleem
Get along by keeping silent.
When they hear the truth, people can not endure it.
If you tell the truth, they fall on you.
Then they sit beside a truthful person.
Truth is sweat ti the dear lover.
Truth destroys the law.
Truth is delight of the lover’s house.
Truth makes things flourish anew.
It is like law for the follower of the way.
Silence is impossible for the lover
who has experienced the perfume of truth,
and who has plaited the garland of married bliss.
Forsake the world;s false expanse.
Bulle Shah now speaks of reality.
He examines the truth of the law and the way.
He reveals the secret of the fourth state.
It is like the law for the follower of the way.
– Bulle Shah, Translated by Christopher Shackle
ਸ਼ਰਾ, Shara : Sharia, or sharia law, is the Islamic legal system[1] derived from commands in the basic texts of Islam, the Quran and Hadith
ਤਰੀਕਤ Tariqat : a school or order of Sufism, or especially for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ḥaqīqah “ultimate truth”. Tariqat in the Four Spiritual Stations: The Four Stations, sharia, tariqa, haqiqa.
ਸ਼ਾਦੀ shaadi : happiness
ਚੌਥੇ ਪਦ fourth level: The fourth station, marifa, which is considered “unseen”, is actually the center of the haqiqa region. It’s the essence of all four stations.
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu sung by Wadali Brothers
Najam Hussain Syed’s essay on Bulle Shah’s poetry
Source: Kalaam Baba Bulle Shah (1680–1757) a Punjabi Sufi poet, humanist and philosopher
English Translation by Sana Saleem, Pakistani Writer
Originally posted at http://sanasaleem.com/2008/10/03/chup-karke-kareen-guzaare-nu-stay-silent-to-survive/
Picture: Mansur Al Hallaj (858 – 922 ) addressing an audience. A mystic, revolutionary writer and teacher of Sufism, famous for his saying: “I am the Truth” (Ana ‘l-Ḥaqq), which is confused by orthodox Muslims for a claim to divinity and was executed after being accused of heresy.
Update ( 31-05-2015) : Added translation by Christopher Shackle. Scholar of Modern Languages of South Asia. His book on Bulle Shah’s work by Murty Classical Library of India is available at Amazon.in, Flipkart.com and hup.harvard.edu
Reflections 