Kashmir - Mystic Thought

Reshi movement has emerged due to interaction between Tasawuf and local Saivism immediately during and after the 14th century. Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Wali (Nund Reshi) consolidated and organized this spiritual code form the stray, scattered and ignored tradition which was created from the 10th century by Zalka Reshi up to Sozan Reshi(1320) into a broad-based, cadre oriented and popular disciplined movement. This book projects all the facts of the multidimensional personality of Nund Reshi and illustrates his word through his own deed. It is out of such discourse and study of the contribution of various streams of spirituality that remained dominant upon the celestial culture of Kashmir that the book projects a definite and distinguishable local mystic philosophy. Stress has been made to highlight the poetry of Nund Reshi in bulk and specimen pieces from the verse stock of his successor poets in the discipline have been quoted as a sample and on that basis, an argument advanced with lucid reasons that such creative contribution does not fall within the ambit of Sufi poetry. On the basis of the stress on words, metaphors, and symbols used in the two systems the Kashmir mystic poetry cannot be clubbed with Sufi literature. Though the mystic streams in a content look akin each have its own temperament and treatment. It is in that light argued that Kashmir mystic poetry though akin to Tasawuf cannot be called Sufi poetry. Equally, its resemblance with Trika Shastra will not bring it under that label. In content and quality, it is but an indigenous thought of Kashmir.

Publisher - Gulshan Books