He who has saved himself
by taking refuge in love,
will never die no matter who kills him.
Once he has found his life by dying,
death will never come near him again.
Death has become the fruit of life,
through it, one’s body becomes immortal.*
O soul, if you are afraid of death, then follow the path of taking refuge in love.
Now and hereafter, fear of death disappears, for love is the sanctuary of the world.
539. The elixir of immortality will fill love’s sanctuary, wherever
it is found.*
As long as poetry is cultivated on earth, so long will our
lovers’ names resound.
APPENDIX
The Symmetry of Madhumālatī
It is hoped that readers will have enjoyed the symmetry of the plot of Madhumālatī, with the two couples interacting and coming together in a beautifully balanced conclusion, as well as the circularity of the story which returns to its starting point though at a higher level. Unless, however, they were unusually perceptive, they may not have noticed that the narration of the story, the manner of its unfolding, is also in my reading symmetrical.1 What suggestive clues has Manjhan left that might justify this claim of narrative symmetry? Consider the following: the point referred to as the turning point of the story, when Manohar heard about the life-giving tree and became certain that God would give him victory over the demon, comes exactly halfway through the story; the shipwreck and the introduction of Pemā come exactly a third of the way through the narrative and the introduction of Tārācand and his capture of the bird Madhumālatī come exactly two-thirds of the way through; the episode with the fairies occupies precisely the second eighth of the story and ends exactly a quarter of the way through the narration; Manohar and Madhumālatī’s ultimate union occurs at exactly five-sixths of the way through the story and the leave-takings begin at eleven-twelfths of the way through. In addition, the end of the first meeting of the couple at verse 135 is exactly 180 verses, a third of the text, from their second meeting at 315. The full union at verse 450 is exactly 270 verses (half of the text) from Manohar’s shipwreck and total aloneness in verse 180. Finally, Pemā’s story to Manohar in the forest is exactly 270 verses away from the story of Tārācand’s falling in love and marrying her and spread over exactly the same number of verses. Such precision and proportionality cannot have been accidental and must have been deliberate on Manjhan’s part. What is the explanation?
The story is circular and a brief scrutiny of other Shaārī works reveals that the circle was their favourite and most persistent symbol, used in expressing the cosmology of the Order as well as in many other applications. When the poem is plotted round a circle, it becomes clear what is going on. The poem in the critical edition, which has good manuscript support, has 539 verses. Around a circle; verse 1, in praise of God and beginning with the word Love, become verse 540, like a serpent swallowing the tip of its tail. Taking 540 to be the basis of the proportionality, the clues given by Manjhan and identified above can be entered on the circle, as in Fig. I. The turning point of the battle with the demon comes precisely at the bottom of the circle. Nine separate points around the circle are given by these clues, which enables one to deduce that the complete design has twelve points with an interval of 45 verses between each point as shown in Fig. II, which reveals the full symmetry in all its complexity.
What is the purpose of this design? At the very least, it would have provided Manjhan with a model on which to plan his writing which would produce a well-proportioned and symmetrical story and narrative. Closer examination, however, reveals that it is far more than just an author’s preliminary sketch. It will be shown how it embodies the Shaārī Order’s cosmology and that the symmetry’s various systems reinforce and further elaborate the symbolism, thus making Madhumālatī even deeper and richer than is at first realized, and that much more of a masterpiece in consequence. First, however, it will be helpful to review the twelve points on the circle that the symmetry emphasizes. The first, at the top of the circle, is verse 1/540 discussed above which is both the end and the beginning of the story and in which Manohar and Madhumālatī are eternally together. The second is verse 45. The Prologue ends at verse 43 and the story begins at 44, which introduces the King and his longing for a son. Verse 45 elaborates on the reasons why having a son is desirable. In that sense it is the true beginning of the story of Madhumālatī and, symbolically, perhaps it is suggestive of the causes for Creation itself. The third is verse 90, which is part of the description of Madhumālatī and so highlights Divine Beauty. The fourth is verse 135, which marks the end of the lovers’ first meeting and partial union. The fifth is verse 180, which marks the beginning of the next phase of Manohar’s story after the shipwreck when he is totally alone immediately prior to meeting Pemā. The sixth is verse 225, which is the beginning of Manohar’s story of meeting Madhumālatī and their separation and his suffering. The seventh is verse 270, the halfway point both of the story and of the battle with the demon. The eighth is verse 315, at the start of Manohar’s second encounter with Madhumālatī. The ninth is verse 360, which is at the point where Madhumālatī allows herself to be caught by Tārācand. The tenth is verse 405, which is part of Mad-humālatī’s bārahmāsā, her account of the suffering she had felt in separation from Manohar throughout the twelve months of the year. The eleventh is verse 450, in the middle of the description of their full married union. The twelfth is verse 495, in which the four decide to leave and the final leave-takings begin.
Fig. I. Manjhan’s Clues
Fig. II. The Full Symmetry
Although the emphasis given by the symmetry appears to be specific to these twelve verses, in fact it is better to consider the emphasis to be rather to the point in the narration, to what is going on over say three or several verses rather than to a single verse. Although numbers and the numerical value of letters formed an important part of Shaārī practice, it is not thought here that the symmetry was numerological. As far as can be divined what seems to matter to Manjhan is the overall shape and design and the precise proportionality rather than that any particular number should be exemplified. This suggestion would not effect the symmetry but would mean that the emphasis is designed to be on the following themes rather than on the specific numbers of the verses in which they are expressed: the King’s yearning for a son; Divine Beauty; Encounter with the Image of God; Total aloneness and the meeting with Pemā, Love; God granting victory over the demon; Second encounter through Love with the Image of God; God arranges to be caught by Tārācand, selflessness; God’s yearning for the human soul; Union with God: Separation from the conditioned world; the human soul and God eternally together.
The Yogic Symbol
Now the various systems within the symmetry can be examined. Unexpected but clear is the symbolism of the yogi, which has been explicitly stated to be a disguise. The symmetry relating to this level has been highlighted in Fig. III with the relevant lines emboldened. It will be recalled that the right-hand side of the circle is told mainly from the point of view of Manohar and the left-hand side from Madhumālatī’s point of view. Manohar is described as the sun and Madhumālatī as the moon, which would be interpreted in yogic terms as the iḍā and piñgalā nāḍīs, the two main psychic veins which run up either side of the spine and which connect at both the top and the bottom with the central psychic channel, the suṣumnā, which runs up from the base of the spine to the top of the head. It is possible to locate the iḍā nāḍī on the right side as line 45–225, and the piñgalā nāḍī on the left as line 495–315. In this way the line 270–540 becomes the suṣumnā nāḍī and it is quite obvious what is implied. The battle to release Pemā from the demon is none other than the battle every Tantric yogi undertakes to set free the force of kuṇḍalinī so that the śakti or energy can travel up the suṣumnā bringing to life the various cakras it passes through until
it re aches the sahasrāra cakra at the very top where it brings about the highest state of sahaja and the Union of Śiva and Śakti. It is also possible to read from the diagram the different cakras: the mūladhārā cakra, where the kuṇḍalinī is detained, is at the base of suṣumnā represented by verse 270; the svādhiṣhāna cakra, which is essentially the sex centre, is the intersection of the suṣumnā by the line 315–225; the maṇipūra cakra, the navel, is represented as the intersection of suṣumnā, by line 360–180; the anāhata cakra, the heart cakra, is the intersection of suṣumnā by the line 405–135, which is significantly exactly at the centre of the entire diagram; the viśuddha or throat cakra is the intersection of suṣumnā by the line 450–90; the ājñā cakra, situated between the eyebrows, is the intersection effected by the line 495–45 and the topmost cakra, the sahasrāra, is represented by verse 540/1. Read in this way, it can be seen that Manjhan has included a complete model of the Tantra yogic psycho-spiritual process within his design and integrated it well with his symbolism. But the yogic symbolism is a disguise, as has been repeatedly emphasized, and what is particularly significant is that the heart cakra appears in the very centre of the design. In Tantrism, the symbol of the heart, the anāhata cakra, is two interpenetrating triangles and this again is represented in the diagram by the triangle 540/l-180–360 interpenetrated by the triangle 450–90–270. Manjhan situates the heart cakra at the very centre of his design with the two interpenetrating triangles, the symbol of the heart, around it. It is as if he was indicating that in his eyes the whole yogic process is valuable only in so far as it sets Pemā free to awaken the heart to Love, which is the real means of mankind’s salvation.
Fig. III. The Yogic Symbol
The Coincidentia Oppositorum of Love
In Fig. IV the six lines that pass through the centre of the diagram are emboldened so that the twelve points on the circle are seen as the end of twelve spokes radiating out from the centre of the circle. At 540/1 the lovers are together; at 45, apart; at 90, together; at 135, together; at 180, apart; at 225, apart; at 270 apart; at 315 together; at 360, apart; at 405 apart; at 450, together; at 495, together. For each of the six lines, the lovers are together at one end and apart at the other. While this might be accidental, since so little is accidental in this work it is worth considering what it might mean if it were deliberate. The overall symbolic value of the circle for the Order was that there was Unity at the centre represented by the point and the circumference of the circle represented all the different manifestations of the phenomenal world. In placing the lovers apart at one end of the radii and together at the other end, it is as if Manjhan were saying that togetherness and separateness are only phenomenally opposites. In the Unity of Love in the centre these two states do not exist, there is only Love. Love is the true coincidentia oppositorium, a proposition endorsed by many other of the great Sufi writers.
Fig. IV. The Coincidentia Oppositorum of Love
Inner and Outer Quaternities
At its most obvious the diagram shows the story falling into four quarters produced by the lines 270–540 and 135—105. While not particularly sophisticated, this fourfold division of the story, allowing for a small degree of overlap, does correspond to the four stages of the ‘universal’ spiritual path given by Underhill and discussed in the Introduction. The first quarter is concerned with Awakening, the second quarter with Purification and Struggle, the third quarter with Illumination and the Dark Night of the Soul, and the final quarter with Union. That is coincidental but, when put into Manjhan’s terms, it becomes a valid categorization, although for Manjhan it would be more appropriate to speak of Initial Union, Descent, Ascent, and Re-Union along classic Neoplatonic lines.
It is, however, in the utilization of the four triangles within the circle that the symmetry and intermeshing symbolism become highly sophisticated. This can be seen in Fig. V, where the four triangles are emboldened.
The first triangle, formed by verses 1/540–180–360, could be designated The Triangle of Outer Narration. It can be regarded both statically and dynamically. Statically, it represents the major characters in the story; Madhumālatī and Manohar at 1/540, Pemā at 180 and Tārācand at 360. Dynamically, it represents the three mutually dependent processes that make up the story. The first process is the story of Manohar and Madhumālatī, which begins at 1 and ends at 539. The second process is the story of Pemā, which truly begins at 180 as Manohar heads off into the forest and finds her in the hut. This process continues until almost the poem’s end. The third process is the story of Tārācand, which begins at 360 and continues almost to the end. These three processes or stories, each beginning at their indicated places, interreact to produce the total dynamism of the work on the literal outer level.
Fig. V. The Four Triangles
The first triangle, that of outer narration, is interpenetrated by the triangle 90–270—150, which can be designated The Triangle of Inner Narration because it gives the inner, bāin, meaning to the outer, zāhir, story. The three points are Manohar’s first contact with Divine Beauty (90), the descent and struggle with the demon to set Love free (270), and the full Union of Manohar and Madhumālatī (450). The inner narrative is that of the Shaārīs’ inner path—putting oneself at the point of Divine Beauty, descending to the phenomenal world, struggle and ascent until full Union. It is specifically but also shared by all spiritual paths that are informed by Neoplatonism.
The third triangle, 45–225–405, provides the motivations that drive the story and can thus be designated The Triangle of Yearnings. At 45 there is the yearning of the King for a son or symbolically of the Creator for creation. At 225 there is the yearning of Manohar for Madhumālatī or symbolically of the human soul for God. At 405 there is the yearning of Madhumālatī for Manohar or symbolically of God for the human soul. These are the yearnings of Love in all its forms which drive the story and much else besides. Finally, the fourth triangle, 135–315—495, provides the goals of the story and can be designated The Triangle of Union and Unification. 135 gives the first Union, partial, neither real nor unreal, but the first goal of the Shaārī sālik. 315 gives the second Union, that of Illumination, and 495 gives the final state of Unification before leaving the conditioned world altogether.
These four triangles form a tetrad along the lines of Aristotle’s aetiae, which had long before become part of Islamic philosophy. The Triangle of Outer Narration, the literal story and its characters which provide the ground, the actual material in need of transformation, is Aristotle’s material cause. The Triangle of Inner Narration provides the ideal pattern of the descent from God to the phenomenal world and the ascent back again to God which constitutes Aristotle’s formal cause. The Triangle of Yearnings which provides the instrumentality of the tetrad is Aristotle’s efficient cause and The Triangle of Union and Unification, which is the intentional term, the aim of humanity, Union, is Aristotle’s final cause. All of this is implicit in the symmetry of Manjhan’s masterpiece.
Manjhan’s Shaārī” Cosmology
Finally, there is Manjhan’s cosmology, which will be shown to be foundational to his story-telling, his imagery, and his symbolism at every level. This was a cosmology which derived ultimately from the Great Shaikh Ibn al-‘Arabaī but which reached Manjhan through a number of intermediaries and interpreters as the received Shaārī cosmology. In his work the Jawāhir-i amsah Shaikh Muhammad hau discusses six worlds or levels of manifestation of the Absolute. These are represented by Manjhan as a hierarchy of six levels into which the circle is divided as shown in Fig. VI, where the relevant lines are emboldened.
When Manjhan’s narration and symbolism are examined in relation to these six levels or worlds, it is clear that he made every attempt to respect the characteristics of each cosmological level as far as was possible given the constraints of telling his story. The first world, called the Martaba al-Aḥadiyyat, or the Level of Oneness, which is beyond all attribution and determination, is represented by everything in
the circle above the line 495–45. The whole of the Prologue is contained here, that is, this unconditioned undetermined world of Absolute Oneness is prior to the beginning of everything. The King appears on both sides of the circle, which confirms the correctness of regarding him as an important symbolic figure, especially as it is the King whose yearning in this world leads to the birth of Manohar in the world below, and it is to him that Manohar returns with Madhumālatī. The story from 495 is taken up with leave-taking from the conditioned world of relationships. Even Pemā and Tārācand have separated from Manohar and Madhumālatī before the last leg of the journey home. In this world the Divine Absolute is non-determined (lā ta‘ayyun), beyond all attributes and absolutely One (al-Aḥad).
Fig. VI. Manjhan’s Cosmology
The second level, the Martaba al-Waḥdat, the Level of Unity, is the first degree of manifestation (tajallī) or determination (ta‘ayyun). It occupies that segment of the circle contained between line 495–45 and line 450–90. In the cosmology, this is the world in which the Absolute manifests in the form of light, unity, and the archetypal reality of Muhammad; and the Divine Names and Attributes exist in the Divine Presence and are identical to it. In the narration, this level contains the greater part of the head-to-foot description in which Madhumālatī’s body is unveiled in terms indicative of the Divine Names and Attributes. Here too Manohar, sometimes suggestive of Muhammad and Adam, is born and brought up and educated particularly in names, as Adam was by God. On the left of the circle, the first full union of Manohar and Madhumālatī takes place, which is followed by the marriage and union of Pemā and Tārācand. Thereafter all four live together and their harmony and unity is constantly stressed. In this way, as with the first level, Manjhan respects the specific characteristics of this world in his narration.
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