Lal Ded

Lal Ded was born in 13th century in a Kashmiri Pandit family. She was married off at a very young age to a Brahmin temple priest from the village of Pampore. Her mother-in-law is said to have cruelly mistreated her, and her husband, jealous of her spiritual attainments and her growing popularity among the people, forced her out of his house. She then took to the jungles, roaming about completely naked, performing stern austerities and meditational practices. She met Hazrat Jalaluddin Bukhari Makhdoom Jahanian Jahangasht and embraced Islam at his hands, after which she took to the Sufi path and travelled widely with him all over Kashmir. She in turn influenced Sheikh-ul-Alam who is considered by the Kashmiris, both Hindus as well as Muslims, as the patron saint of Kashmir.

She is also called Lala Arifa. Lal Ded died in 1400 just outside the Jamia Masjid in the town Bijbehara. Her body was not to be found, and in its place her followers discovered a pile of flowers. Her Hindu disciples consigned them to the flames, while her Muslim followers buried them, each in accordance with their own religious customs.

Lal Ded deeply influenced Kashmiri thought. She also spoke of the concept of the divine manifestation of God and the rapturous relationship of the soul with God.

Her philosophy was a synthesis of mystical Shaivism and Sufism, which went straight to the hearts of the masses. The sayings of Lala Arifa echo and re- echo to this day. She sang in the language of the masses. A mystic of the purest ray serene, Lala urged the people to rise above caste, creed and colour and see the light within.

"SHIV CHHUY THALI THALI ROZAN,
MO ZAAN HYUND TA MUSALMAN,
TRUK AY CHHAUK TA PAN PANUN PARZANAV,
SOI CHHAY SAHIBAS SATI ZANI ZAN"

(Siva is all-pervading and present in each particle. 
Never differentiate between a Hindu and a Muslim.
If you are shrewd and intelligent, know THY SELF. 
There lies acquaintance with god".)

Some people consider her a poet, some consider her a holy woman and some consider her a Sufi, a yogi, or a devotee of Shiva. Some even consider her an Avatar. But every Kashmiri considers her a wise woman. Every Kashmiri has some sayings of Lala on the tip of his tongue. The Kashmiri language is full of her sayings known as Vakhs.