Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Iran/Per
(Middle East)

Sarmad

Timeline (? - 1659)

Poems by Sarmad
Books - Links

Daily Poem Email

Support the Poetry Chaikhana

Donations to the Poetry Chaikhana in any amount are always welcome. Thank you!	Click here
Click here	A small amount each month makes a big difference. Become a voluntary Subscriber for just $2/mo.
Click here	Help the Poetry Chaikhana reach more people. Become a Supporter for just $10/mo.

Sarmad (sometimes called Sarmad the Cheerful or Sarmad the Martyr), is a fascinating and complex character who seems to have bridged several cultures in Persia and India. Apparently, Sarmad originally lived in the Kashan region in Iran, between Tehran and Isfahan. Sarmad was probably from a Jewish merchant family, and was said to be well-educated in the Torah. Because of his Jewish heritage and his later migration to Delhi, he is sometimes called the Jewish Sufi Saint of India.

He had an excellent command of both Persian and Arabic, essential for his work as a merchant. Hearing that precious items and works of art were being purchased in India at high prices, Sarmad gathered together his wares and traveled to India where he intended to sell them.

Near the end of his journey, however, he met a beautiful Indian boy and was entranced. This ardent love ('ishq) created such a radical transformation in his awareness that Sarmad immediately dropped all desire for wealth and worldly comfort. In this ecstatic state, Sarmad abandoned his considerable wealth and, losing all concern for social convention, he began to wander about without clothes, becoming a naked faqir.

Some biographers assert that Sarmad formally converted to Islam, while others claim he had a universalist notion of God and religion, seeing no conflict between his Judaism, and the esoteric truth of the Sufi path he adopted. In his own poetry, Sarmad asserts that he is neither Jew, now Muslim, nor Hindu.

He continued journeying through India, but now as a naked dervish rather than as a merchant. He ended up in Delhi where he found the favor of a prince in the region and gained a certain amount of influence at court. That prince, however, was soon overthrown by Aurengzeb. The new prince and many of the orthodox religious authorities were offended by Sarmad's open criticism of their social hypocrisy and mindless religious formalism.

Sarmad was greatly loved by the general population and Aurengzeb, in fear of the people, staged a show trial to make it appear as if the process of law was being followed. Sarmad was initially accused breaking an injunction against public nudity, but that was later dropped in favor of the charges of atheism and unorthodox religious practice, for which he was convicted. The army was called in to occupy Delhi and prevent a popular uprising, and the naked saint was publicly beheaded. The story is told that, after the beheading, Sarmad's body picked up its own head which recited the Muslim affirmation of faith the kalima-i taiyaba (There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his Prophet) and then proclaimed to the crowd, "Ana al-Haq" (I am Reality, I am one with God), a statement famously made by another beloved Sufi martyr, Mansur al-Hallaj. Sarmad thus proclaims the continuing stream of truth despite violent repression, and also his unity with the Ultimate.

Sarmad's tomb in Delhi is today visited by pilgrims of all faiths: Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, and others.

Poems by Sarmad

	Companion
	Every man who is aware of his secret
	He and I are one,
	He dwells not only in temples and mosques --
	He is happy on account of my humble self
	Hundreds of my friends became enemies,
	My friend, engage your heart in his embrace
	My heart searched for your fragrance
	Once I was bathed in the Light of Truth within,
	The ocean of his generosity has no shore.
	The universe
	To the dignified station of love I was raised,

Recommended Books

	The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry, Translated by Peter Lamborn Wilson / Translated by Nasrollah Pourjavady Amazon.com
	Sarmad the Saint, by M. G. Gupta Amazon.com
	Sarmad: Jewish Saint of India, by Isaac A. Ezekiel Amazon.com
	Sarmad: Martyr to Love Divine, by Isaac A. Ezekiel Amazon.com

Related Links:

	Companion: a poem by Sarmad, translated by Azarm Ghareman http://www.mythicartist.org/artists/work/ag_companion.htm A brief description of the use of rhythm in this poem, along with a sound recording of Azarm Ghareman reading the poem in the original Farsi.
	Chishti Poetry http://www.chishti.ru/sufi_poets.htm A couple of quatrains by Sarmad, as well as poetry by several other Sufi poets.
	Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed: The Naked Sufi Martyr http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00005363&channel=leafyglade%20inn A good, detailed biography of Sarmad, with a few poem excerpts.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Sarmad

Daily Poem Email

Support the Poetry Chaikhana

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World