The Philosophy of Dynamism and Purposeful Action in the Teachings of Sultan Bahoo
Waseem Farabi | September 07, 2026
The Philosophy of Dynamism and Purposeful Action in the Teachings of Sultan Bahoo
Author: Waseem Farabi
Sultan Bahoo stands among those Sufis who firmly believed in struggle and continuous movement. There is no room for stagnation anywhere in his teachings. He taught how to fight challenges head-on. He taught how to push to the very limits in the journey of dedication and passionate love. He urged his readers to keep walking, always forward, without pausing. He himself was the living embodiment of this principle throughout his life: for thirty years he searched for a spiritual guide (murshid). He met dozens of masters of the spiritual path (ṭarīqat), witnessed their spiritual miracles (karāmāt) and their spiritual statuses, yet he did not stop until he found what he was seeking.
جِس مَنزل نوں عِشق پُچاوے اِیمان نوں خَبر نہ کوئی ھو
"Ishq attains destinations that faith even does not know - Hoo, "
Faith is an exalted degree in the hierarchy of spiritual stations. Sultan Bahoo tried it, attained mastery within it, and yet did not stop there. Seeking what lay beyond, he discovered that passionate love ('ishq) goes further, which in the Hadīth of Gabriel (Hadīth Jibrīl) also called as the station of grace (iḥsān). When he plunged into the ocean of passionate love, his heart came to know secrets that could never have been discovered while remaining at the station of faith. This is why he declared that faith is necessary, but passionate love is a station that goes beyond even faith. Consider further:
لُوں لُوں دے مُڈھ لَکھ لَکھ چَشماں ہِک کھولاں ہِک کجّاں ھو
اِتنیاں ڈِٹھیاں صَبر ناں آوے ہور کِتے وَل بھجّاں ھو
"Every bit of me be millions of eyes, I would constantly view my mentor, by closing one and opening another - Hoo,
Even then my incessant zeal wouldn‘t subside, where would I go? - Hoo, "
The state of restlessness here has reached its absolute peak. He is not content merely to behold his Beloved with the two outward eyes; he illuminates the inner eyes as well. When even that does not satisfy his heart, he expands and broadens his witnessing still further until his entire being becomes an eye, and he begins to witness the face of his Beloved with the totality of his existence, opening one and covering another. Even after this, when millions upon millions of eyes have opened beneath every single hair on his body, and he is beholding that beautiful face with millions of eyes at once, he is still not satiated. A stagnant recogniser would have been satisfied witnessing with the two eyes of the heart and, at most, would have gone as far as witnessing with the totality of his existence and then settled. But Sultan Bahoo, being a recogniser entirely free of stagnation, having witnessed with the totality of his existence, refused to be content even with that. He did not stop. He declared his dissatisfaction even at that point: my longing will not let me sit still even here. Where else shall I now run? Those who are not native speakers of Punjabi, Saraiki, or Hindko language, may not fully feel the boundlessly rising restlessness in "hor kite wal bhajjān," but they can certainly appreciate it in meaning.
This is not something found at just this one point; it is the enduring state of Sultan Bahoo, and he expresses it at many places. What the world has settled upon as the ultimate ceiling, thinking nothing higher is possible, he regards as immature and incomplete thinking. In his view, no one has yet discovered the ultimate limit, and to consider any station as the final one is an unfinished and raw condition. This is why, for him, there is no stopping, no pausing, no settling anywhere. What Iqbal said as "Life is nothing but the desire for the journey" finds its perfect expression in Sultan Bahoo: in his view, a thirst that is quenched was, in reality, never true thirst at all, for the thing that quenches thirst in fact deepens it further. What value can one even begin to place on the line in which Sultan Bahoo says:
دَریا وحدت دَا نوش کِیتوسے اَجاں بھی جِی پِیاسَا ھو
"We drank from the Ocean of Oneness and still feel thirsty - Hoo"
Belief in the Self and Awakening One's Inner Powers
ناں کر مِنّت خَواج خِضر دی تیرے اندر آب حیاتی ھو
"Do not ask favors from Khawaja Khidhr, the water of immortality is within you - Hoo"
Humanists hold the same view, and the philosophy of the modern Western way of life echoes it precisely: recognise the limits you have placed upon yourself, and you will discover that you can be limitless. Depend on no one. Build your own world. Connected to self-belief is the concept of self-confidence, which Sultan Bahoo awakens in those who love him in this manner: if you are strong from within, the lack of external means can be made up for by your inward strength and maturity.
توڑے تَنگ پُرانے ہووَن گجُھے نہ رَہندے تَازی ھو
مَار نَقارہ دَل وِچ وَڑیا کھیڈ گیا اِک بازی ھو
"Even if the horse saddles are worn, the thoroughbred (Horses) cannot remain hidden - Hoo,”
“With the Drum Beat‘ the heart entered into battlefield and fought boldly - Hoo,
Do illuminate the lamp of longing, perhaps you might find what you have lost - Hoo,"
The meaning is clear: the ageing of your saddle, meaning the scarcity of external means, is no obstacle to the genuine quality that lies within you. In Sultan Bahoo's view, victory in the arena of life depends on inner authenticity, not on the show and paraphernalia of external appearances. If you have genuine belief and trust in your inner strength, you need neither the Water of eternal life from Honourable Khidr nor require a new saddle on your back to win in the arena of the world. Conversely, if you have no confidence in yourself, even meeting Honourable Khidr will not grant you the Water of Life, and even a fine new saddle on your back will not make you the conquering Arabian thoroughbred.
شوق دا دیوا بال ہَنیرے مَتاں لَبھی وَست کھَڑاتی ھو
"Do illuminate the lamp of longing, perhaps you might find what you have lost - Hoo,"
The first feeling here is that of lighting the lamp of longing and desire. The second is the awareness of something lost. Put both together and this emerges: regaining what you have lost is not impossible, but the question is the measure of your longing. Are you sincere enough in your desire to stake your life for it? If you have that courage and determination, you can attain whatever you seek. If you cannot take the risk, if you fear losing your life, then there is no place for you in this world.
Sultan Bahoo holds in the highest esteem those who stake their lives in pursuit of their goal. This concept runs prominently through several of his single lines:
نام فقیر تَد تھِیندا باھوؒ جَد وِچ طَلب دے مَرئیے ھو
"Title Faqeer is bestowed Bahoo, when one dies in quest - Hoo."
تَدوں فقیر شتابی بن دا جَد جَان عِشق وچ ہارے ھو
"The ‘Faqeer’ is roused as the soul is lost in eternal love - Hoo,"
مَیں قُربان تِنہاں توں باھوؒ جِنہاں خُون بَخشیا دِلبر نوں ھو
"I sacrifice upon Bahoo, whose love reached its zenith - Hoo."
عَاشقاں دے گَل چھُری ہمیشہ باھوؒ اگے محبوب دے کُسدے ھو
"Lovers are always ready Bahoo, for being sacrificed in front of Beloved (SWT) - Hoo"
جِس مرنے تھیں خَلقت ڈردی باھوؒ عاشِق مرے تاں جیوے ھو
"People dread the death Bahoo, but the lover finds life only when he dies - Hoo."
Sultan Bahoo's Love Those Who Embrace Difficulty
اوسے راہ وَل جَائیے باھوؒ جِس تھِیں خَلقت ڈَردی ھو
"Let us embark upon the real path Bahoo, where the people fear to tread in - Hoo."
He rejects ease-seeking and complacency completely. Ordinary people, people of ordinary passion and ordinary courage, walk on those roads where footprints already exist and where many examples of success can be found. But those who seek new worlds walk paths that deviate from the common route. They forge their way through ravines and gorges from which ordinary people recoil in fear. He expresses this same idea at another point:
جِس دُکھ تھِیں سُکھ حاصِل ہووے اُس دُکھ تھِیں نہ ڈَرئیے ھو
"From such sorrow attain solace don’t be afraid of sustained sorrows - Hoo"
New worlds can only be discovered by forging new paths. Those who nurture small fears in their hearts and stay simply remain sitting forever. Sultan Bahoo has praised those who choose difficult paths in the pursuit of their purpose, holding up their courage as an example throughout his poetry. He said that the difference between ordinary people and those with true dedication, that is, passionate love, is that ordinary people abandon the path at the first wound, while those with genuine dedication continue toward their destination even after bearing hundreds of thousands of wounds. Only the dedicated board the boats where danger of capsizing and sinking is ever present. True lovers are those who set their boats with firm resolve against storms and whirlpools:
ہِکی ہِکی پِیڑ کولوں کُل عالم کُوکے عاشقاں لَکھ لَکھ پِیڑسَہیڑی ھو
جِتھے ڈَھہن رُڑھن دا خطرہ ہووے کون چَڑھے اُس بَیڑی ھو
عاشق چڑھدے نال صلاحاں دے اونہاں تار کپر وچ بھیڑی ھو
"Universe is screaming from single pain but lover has sustained hundreds of thousands of torments - Hoo,
Where there is a danger of fall or drifting who would board such boat - Hoo,
Lovers board such boat, which they have taken in whirlpool - Hoo."
One expression of comfort-seeking and laziness is that new paths are never sought and storms are never confronted. The courage to take risks gradually dies away. A person becomes accustomed only to the sweetness of fruits and flowers and loses the drive to throw his lasso at the stars. This is precisely the difference between the flight of a bee and the flight of a falcon: the bee is imprisoned in the garden while the falcon recognises no frontier or boundary. Sultan Bahoo says:
مَکھی قید شہد وِچ ہوئی کیا اُڈسی نال شہبازاں ھو
"A bee trapped in honey cannot fly along eagles, Hoo."
A bee that falls in love with the sweetness of honey and makes it the purpose of its life has no idea what delight lies in soaring through the heavens. Such a bee will never fly alongside the falcon.
Sultan Bahoo Teaches Determination Instead of False Consolation
Sultan Bahoo teaches courage and firm resolve, not hollow reassurances:
بھَار بھَریرا منزل چوکھیری اوڑک ونج پَہیتُوسے ھو
"A heavy weight and then a long distance to go, but we accomplished the goals - Hoo,"
This line too makes it clear that in the philosophy of life of Sultan Bahoo, there is no path of escape from the responsibilities of life and no room for the comfortable option. He does not let anyone flee from their responsibilities; rather, he reminds them again and again that the burden of fulfilling every responsibility, from individual life to collective life, rests upon your own shoulders, and there is no way to deny or escape it. If you seek reassurance that the destination is near or the road is easy, no such hollow comfort exists in life. The closing lines of William Ernest Henley's poem "Invictus" rest on exactly this same philosophy:
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."
Inspired by this poem, the West gave wide acceptance to the philosophy:
"Be the captain of your own ship."
The entire responsibility for the ship of your life is your own. Heavy burdens and difficult roads: the only way to succeed is to pick up that burden with courage and traverse those difficult paths, fighting through storms, pirates, highwaymen, and enemies along the way. Only then can the destination be reached. Sultan Bahoo not only teaches how to navigate life with courage and boldness; he also forbids complaint and grievance about trials:
بَر سر آیاں دَم ناں ماریں جاں سر آوے سَختی ھو
"In the state of calamity or hardship do not sigh - Hoo"
When difficulty descends upon a person in the course of fulfilling life's responsibilities, he must not complain. Complaining on the path of passionate love and life is a sign of weak resolve and unripened intention. Iqbal's lines pour the nectar of courage into hearts on this same theme:
جو فقر ہوا تلخیءِ دوراں کا گلہ مند
اُس فقر میں باقی ہے ابھی بوئے گدائی
"That spiritual-excellence (faqr) which complains about the bitterness of the age still carries within it the scent of begging."
Never to stop at any station, never to be content with anything, never to regard any degree as the ultimate limit, never to halt the steps of courage: this is one of the most prominent principles of Sultan Bahoo. He encouraged moving forward and ever forward in his poetry (Abyāt). This mirrors the Punjabi saying "ruk wesein tān muk wesein," meaning "if you stop, you are finished." Iqbal's philosophy of movement is the same: "Hastam agar mī rawam, gar nah rawam, nīstam" meaning “if I am moving forward, I exist; if I stop, I do not.” Sultan Bahoo praises precisely those people who follow Iqbal's "hastam agar mī rawam." Two lines show what a splendid and exemplary vision of life he gave:
میں قربان تنہاں توں باھو، جنہاں رکھیا قدم اگیرے ھُو
"I sacrifice upon you Bahoo, who still pursued the path of love - Hoo."
ثابت صِدق تے قَدم اگیرے تائیں رَبّ لبھیوے ھو
"Remain firm on truth and step forward, then you shall find Lord – Hoo."
In the philosophy of Sultan Bahoo, there is not the slightest trace of stagnation, stopping, or heedlessness from movement and action. His philosophy of life is entirely free of such absurdities. In his view, some obstacles on the path of dedication rise from within the person and some from without, and whoever has a genuine and sincere dedication to their purpose overcomes both. For such a person, neither day nor night, neither hunger nor thirst nor sleep, nor even death itself remain obstacles:
راتیں رَتی نِیندر نہ آوے دِہاں رہے حیرانی ھو
"Sleepless at night and restless during the day – Hoo."
عاشقاں نِیندر بھُکھ ناں کائی عاشق مُول نہ مَردے ھو
مِثل سکندر ڈُھونڈن عَاشِق اِک پَلک آرام نہ کردے ھو
"Lovers feel neither hunger nor sleep, they never die – Hoo
Like Sikander, lovers go on seeking the water of life; they never cease their efforts – Hoo."
The above concerns our inner obstacles. When dedication is genuine, external obstacles too can do nothing:
اوجھڑ جھل تے مارُو بیلے اِتھے دم دم خوف شیہاں دا ھو
تھَل جَل جنگل گئے جھَگیندے باھوؒ کامل نِینْہہ جِنْہانْدا ھو
"There are bushes, jungle and rivers on this path with fears of lion’s attain on each step - Hoo,
They fearlessly cross jungles, deserts and rivers Bahoo, who have perfect ‘Ishq’ - Hoo."
Sincere dedication and sustained effort and courage are weapons that annihilate both kinds of enemies, inward and outward alike.
Sacrificing One's Life to Prove the Truth
No mastery in knowledge or craft can be attained without staking one's life for it. This is why Sultan Bahoo advises at many points: on the path you have chosen as your life's purpose, do not worry about your life. There may come a time when you must prove your truth by staking your very existence. He repeatedly said that when such a moment arrives, do not step back, do not delay, do not be afraid; rather, with courage and bravery, head high and chest forward, give yourself entirely for your purpose.
سِر دِتیاں جے سرّ ہتھ آوے سَودا ہار نہ توہاں ھو
"Do not hesitate in making a bargain, if the secret of life can be attained by sacrificing your ego - Hoo,"
جِے سر ِدتیاں حق حاصل ہووے باھوؒ اُس مَوتوں کی ڈَرناں ھو
"If ‗Haq‘ is achievable by sacrificing ‗Head‘ Bahoo, why fear death - Hoo."
باھوؒ جے صَاحب سر مَنگے ہَرگِز ڈِھل نہ کرئیے ھو
"Bahoo, If Honorable (Master) demands sacrifice, one should never hesitate – Hoo"
عِشق دی بازی اُنہاں لئی جِنہاں سر دِتیاں ڈِھل ناں کیتی ھو
"Game of love is won by those, who do not hesitate in sacrificing their head - Hoo"
The echo of Sultan Bahoo's vision resounds in these lines by Faiz Ahmad Faiz, which are undoubtedly among the most celebrated verses in Urdu literature:
جس دھج سے کوئی مقتل میں گیا وہ شان سلامت رہتی ہے
یہ جان تو آنی جانی ہے اس جان کی کوئی بات نہیں
"The dignity with which someone went to the place of execution endures. This life comes and goes; this life is of no consequence."
In Sultan Bahoo's view, do not leave your dedication half-finished out of fear that you might be cut down along the way. Even if you must be cut down, he says, do not turn your face from your dedication. Continue your journey fearlessly in the direction where your dedication is being fulfilled. He presents Honourable Imām Husayn (R.A.) as the role model in this regard: just as he was martyred for the truth, if you too wish to be immortal, never retreat from your purpose.
عاشِق سوئی حقیقی جِہڑا قَتل معشوق دے منّے ھو
عِشق نہ چھوڑے مُکھ نہ موڑے توڑے سے تلواراں کھَنّے ھو
جِت وَل ویکھے راز ماہی دے لگے اوسے بنّے ھو
سچّا عِشق حسینؑ علیؑ دا باھوؒ سِر دیوے رَاز نہ بھنّے ھو
"True lover is he who acknowledges his killing by the beloved - Hoo,
He neither abandons his love nor turns back even if he finds hundreds of swords drawn upon his head - Hoo,
He settles himself on the side only where he finds some signs of his beloved - Hoo,
True love is of Hussain bin Ali (A.S) Bahoo, who sacrificed life but did not expose the secret - Hoo."
The Rejection of Comfort-Seeking and Ease
In the philosophy of Sultan Bahoo, comfort-seeking and ease-seeking are regarded as a lethal poison. When he advises the man of spiritual excellence (faqīr) on how to attain mastery in the path of truth, he invariably recommends this very embrace of difficulty, this love of hardship, this willingness to expend one's very self. Consider this verse on the theme:
دودھ تے دہی ہر کوئی رڑکے عاشق بھا رڑکیندے ھُو
تن چٹورا من مندھانیط آہیں نال ھلیندے ھُو
دکھاں دا نیترا کڈھے لسکارے غماں دا پانیط پیندے ھُو
نام فقیر تنہاں دا باھُوؒ جیہڑے ہڈاں توں مکھنط کڈھیندے ھُو
“Everyone churns milk and curd but the lovers (Aashiq) churn fire (of love) - Hoo,
They use body as big pot, soul as churner and with sigh churn - Hoo,
The churning face sobs with grief and tears pour water into it - Hoo,
Only those are honored with title of ‘Faqeer’ Bahoo, who get butter out their bones – Hoo.”
Sultan Bahoo's Philosophy of Dynamism and Intellectual Pursuit
Sultan Bahoo was both a scholar and a practitioner of Sufism, and his guidance is addressed to those who walk that path. But this guidance applies equally to those who advance in any branch of knowledge: until one passes through the stages of expending oneself with courage and sustained effort in any discipline, until the heat of its fire is produced, mastery in that discipline simply cannot be attained. Even in science or philosophy, what a genuine and pure truth it is that only by wringing butter from one's bones can one become a master of any craft.
The poetry above used the metaphor of wringing butter from bones to teach the love of difficulty. At one point, Sultan Bahoo described the mark of a person who has attained the heights of mastery in their craft as one from whom the flesh has separated from the body, leaving only bones hanging in weakness:
تَن تھیں مَاس جُدا ہویا باھوؒ سوکھ جھلارے ہڈیاں ھو
"Flesh got removed from bones Bahoo, now only bones are moving - Hoo"
At another point, he said that the person of true dedication is one who uses his very bones as fuel in the fire of his dedication, who runs a saw of labour through his life and liver to make them roast, who remains engrossed at all times in the fulfilment of his dedication, free of the world and its people, drinking the blood of his own liver:
عِشق دی بھَاہ ہَڈاں دا بَالن عَاشِق بیھ سِکیندے ھو
گھت کے جان جِگر وچ آرا ویکھ کباب تَلیندے ھو
سرگردان پھِرن ہر ویلے خُون جِگر دا پِیندے ھو
"Fire of love burns within bones, lovers acquires warmth from it - Hoo,
Slashing their heart, they get the meat and make Kababs‘ - Hoo,
They wander about in wonder, drinking their won life blood - Hoo,"
The phrase "blood of the liver" (khūn-e-jigar) brings to mind Iqbal's "Masjid-e-Qurtuba," in which he wrote: "The miracle of art is born from the blood of the liver" and at the conclusion of that same poem: "All forms are incomplete without the blood of the liver."
Without bloodying one's liver, the purpose cannot be achieved. Without passing through the stages that melt body and soul, a person cannot attain mastery in any craft. Sultan Bahoo illustrated this through several every day, accessible examples. He says: when you endure the blacksmith's furnace and the strike of the hammer like iron, then you shall be called a sword. When your body is sawed through repeatedly like wood, then you shall be fit to be combed through the locks of the Beloved. When you are ground fine like henna leaves into tiny particles, then you shall be applied to the palms of the Beloved. When you are carded and spun thread by thread like cotton and woven anew, then you shall become the turban worthy of being tied upon the head of a king:
لوہا ہوویں پِیا کُٹیویں تاں تلوار سَڈیویں ھو
کنگھی وَانگوں پِیا چِریویں تاں زُلف مَحبوب بھَریویں ھو
مِہندی وَانگوں پِیا گھُوٹیویں تاں تَلّی مَحبوب رنگینویں ھو
وَانگ کَپاہ پِیا پنجیویں تاں دَستار سَڈیویں ھو
"Hammered like steel would you become sword - Hoo,
Sawed like comb would you be able to dress hair of beloved - Hoo,
Ground like henna would you be able to beautify beloved’s feet soles - Hoo,
Being a true lover Bahoo, you would be able to taste drink of love - Hoo."
At another point, he used the example of gold jewellery: until gold is cleansed in acid (in the goldsmith's Punjabi terminology, "khaṭṭā" means acid), you cannot become the earring that adorns the ear of the Beloved:
کَنیں خُوباں دے تَدوں سُہاون جَدوں کَٹھے پا اُجالے ھو
"He cleans them with cleanser and polishes these, then adorn the ears of the beloved - Hoo,"
Sultan Bahoo says that one should dive into the ocean of dedication and yearning with courage and bravery. And wherever the waves are highest and their fury is greatest, that is precisely where to plant your foot, to test your courage, to prove yourself. Do not be frightened or discouraged by fearsome forests, the wild beasts within them, and the terrors of river crossings on the path to your goal. You can only truly be called a master when you have been struck down in the very cause you are dedicated to:
عِشق دَریا محبّت دے وِچ تھِی مَردانہ تَرئیے ھو
جِتھّے لہر غضب دِیاں ٹھَاٹھاں قَدم اُتھائیں دھرئیے ھو
اوجھڑ جھَنگ بَلائیں بَیلے ویکھو ویکھ نہ ڈرئیے ھو
نام فقیر تَد تھِیندا باھوؒ جَد وِچ طَلب دے مَرئیے ھو
"One should swim in the River of Love like a man - Hoo,
Not to hesitate to put his foot into whirlpools where waves and currents whirl angrily and furiously - Hoo,
One should not also be fearful of forest, ferns and thickets full of snakes and scorpions - Hoo,
Title Faqeer is bestowed Bahoo, when one dies in quest - Hoo."
Conclusion
A study of the Punjabi poetry (Abyāt) of Sultan Bahoo reveals that for him, stopping at any station is a flaw of the seeker. In his view, life is defined by relentless striving. A person should place his trust in Allah Almighty and try his own strength, for this world belongs to those with courage. Mastery in any craft simply cannot be attained until one dives into its depths with passion and dedication. According to his philosophy, building a great personality requires passing through severe trials and rigorous tests, just as the process of becoming a sword takes iron from the mine and puts it through the agony of fire and hammer. If the iron flees from this process, it can never become a sword. The same is true of any leader of a nation or class. In his view, those who succeed in life are those who adopt unceasing action and do not taint their lives with inaction. They are sincere in their dedication. They have no fear in their hearts in pursuit of their goal. And when the moment arrives, such people, following in the footsteps of Honourable Imām Husayn (R.A.), offer their very lives upon the altar of their purpose.
پر صادق دین تنہاں دے باھوؒ جو سِر قُربانی کردے ھو
"Only those were truthful in their faith Bahoo, who sacrificed their heads - Hoo"
This article was originally published in Urdu in the Monthly Mirrat ul Arifeen International Magazine.
To cite the original article:
Waseem Farabi, “The Philosophy of Dynamism and Purposeful Action in the Teachings of Sultan Bahoo,” Monthly Mirrat ul Arifeen International, December 2024. Available at: www.mirrat.com/article/91/1544