Kashmir , also known as “PEREVAER” the alcove of saints in local parlance, has produced great religious personalities; but when one name comes to our mind -Sheikh-ul-Alam - our chests quickly inflate with pride for he is the greatest of all the personalities ever born here and the one who redeemed our motherland of the blanket dark of paganism and led us to the light of the truth.
There are, since times immemorial, scholars, researchers, authors and poets who have always brought into limelight the role and contribution of this great spiritual personality. But by virtue of a book released recently under the title of “ALCHEMY OF LIGHT”, G. N. Adfar has given new dimensions to the understanding of this magnanimous saint of Kashmir.
New vistas are let ajar by means of translating such verses of Sheikh-ul-Alam that have either been translated for the first time or were translated earlier but misquoted in the past, for lack of comprehension of the refined vernacular used in the original manuscript. The author has ventured into saying that Alamdar-e-Kashmir was not an UMEE (Unlettered) as labeled by some of his forerunners in the field of research on Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali, but most educated and learned of all the great saints ever produced by the soil. His argument is substantiated by the vivid proof from the verses of Wali-e-Kamil himself. The book contains more than 350 Sheikh-e-Shruik (poetic verses) on different subjects.
On the day of the release of the book itself the author quoted some of the verses which, though may not appear in the book, contain evidence enough to prove that Sheikh-ul-Alam was not at all an ordinary spiritual person. He is by all means the greatest of the scholars and spiritual guides.
Let us now quote some of the examples put forth by the author so that the claim staked by him is justified. At one place he quotes that
“Guide-spiritual is my father & mother
Guide-true is the aurora in my eyes
Management is but my worship
Deeds-pious art alike florid over it.”
 
At other place he says while appreciating the knowledge of Sheikh-ul-Alam as a learned physicist:
“Let thou ascertain the reality of ice, rime and snow (solid state)
Devised all art with peculiarity by omnipotent God
Whence get exposed to brisk solar radiations (gaseous state)
Do lose their configuration in unique liquid lustre (Liquid state)”
 
We all know the most popular quote of Sheikh-ul-Alam:
“Food is subservient to forests”
And thus the author says that only a visionary environmentalist can proclaim this.
There are innumerable instances to quote from and thus providing index that Sheikh-ul-Alam is a multidimensional personality with varied abilities that give him the highest berth among the privileged ones of the valley.
The moment we take the book in our hands we feel a kind of sensation inexpressible in words. The book is witness enough of the toil, the labour and tireless effort made by the author in revealing the saint in an all new look attired in the university convocation gown to receive the post-doctoral degree in human behaviour and realization of the “TRUTH”. The book contains 35 chapters dedicated to different topics that are spread over a span of 480 pages. The author has been able to do justice to a greater extent with regard to translation of the verses thus giving the reader a broader insight into the perspective. Besides, the author has presumably tried to cover almost all the topics so as a better understanding of the saint could be had. At the same time the author has tried his best to present the translation in a versified manner to maintain the essence of the original manuscript. Over all, the book is a great feast to eyes and a brilliant tonic to the mind and soul and a must-read for all of those who value and consider Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani as the greatest of all the saints produced by Kashmir.

(Response at: muzamil_khan08@yahoo.com)

Lastupdate on : Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 1 May 2012 00:00:00 IST