Kaandhaari Annar

Shri Nathji likes and occasionally asks for “Kaandhaari Annar”–a special variety of pomegranates which Shri Nathji says originated in Afghanistan. And both HH Priya Nath and Shri Nathji used to take them. Shri Nathji always praised the pomegranate for its powers to generate blood in the human body: “Ye khoon paidaa kartaa hai.”

The pomegranate is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.

Native to the area of modern day Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as well as the Himalayas in Northern India. Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa and tropical Africa, Indian subcontinent and the drier parts of southeast Asia. Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is also cultivated in parts of California and Arizona. In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February. In the Southern Hemisphere, the pomegranate is in season from March to May.

The pomegranate has been mentioned in many ancient texts, notably the Book of Exodus, the Homeric Hymns and the Quran. In recent years.

The pomegranate is native to the region of Persia (modern day Iran) and the western Himalayan range, and has been cultivated in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Russia, and the Mediterranean region for several millennia. Kandahar in Afghanistan has always been famous for its high quality pomegranates. And even today the best fruit comes from Kandahar. Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m (3,297 ft) above sea level. The Arghandab River runs along the west of the city. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit.

The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements. Alexander the Great had laid-out the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar in the 4th century BC.

The name has originated from the word "kand" or "qand" in Persian means "candy", and "har" means necklace. The name "Candahar" in this form translates to "candy-necklace". Therefore, "Qandahar" becomes "river of candy". This has to do with the city being known for producing sweet  fine pomegranates, grapes, apricots, melons and other sweet fruit

 In Ayurveda system of medicine, the pomegranate called - Anar has extensively been used as a source of traditional remedies for thousands of years. The rind of the fruit and the bark of the pomegranate tree is used as a traditional remedy against diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites. The seeds and juice are considered a tonic for the heart and throat, and classified as a bitter-astringent (pitta or fire) component under the Ayurvedic system, and considered a healthful counterbalance to a diet high in sweet-fatty (kapha or earth) components.

The astringent qualities of the flower juice, rind and tree bark are considered valuable for a variety of purposes, such as stopping nose bleeds and gum bleeds, toning skin, (after blending with mustard oil) firming-up sagging breasts and treating hemorrhoids. Pomegranate juice (of specific fruit strains) is also used as eyedrops as it is believed to slow the development of cataracts.

Pomegranate juice provides about 16% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and natural phenols, such as ellagitannins and flavonoids. Pomegranates are listed as high-fiber nutritional value.

Dengue Fever

In October 1982, there was an outbreak of Dengue Fever in Delhi.  Both Shri Nathji and HH Priya Nathji where down with Dengue Fever for few days. By the time the fever had left, both Shri Nathji and HH Priya Nath had lost 4 kilograms of weight each. They can barely get up and walk.

Shri Nathji suddenly begins to laugh very loudly as he says:

“Ye dengue itne logon ko tang kar gayaa–usse milaa kyaa? Khaak! Jaise Americans chandralok tak ho aaye magar laaye kyaa? Khaak!”

“The dengue virus has harassed so many persons and gone, but what did it gain from doing this? Nothing! The Americans sent their spaceship to the moon–but what did they gain from it? Nothing!”

Both, HH Priya Nath and Shri Nathji, laugh for a long time at Shri Nathji's joke on the virus.

Shri Nathji continues:

“Sab thheek to chal rahaa thaa–illness kaa to naam nishaan bhi naheen thaa. Ye to pataa naheen kahaan se Dengue Fever aa gayaa. Dengue! Dangar kaheen ka!”

“Everything was going on smoothly, there was no sign of illness. Where did this Dengue Fever come from? Dengue! What a beast!”

HH Priya Nath found Shri Nathji's humour to be incredibly delightful. Shri Nathji was looking very comical indeed in his loose shirt-kurtaaa, as he jokes about the Dengue Virus.

For a while it appears as if Shri Nathji might fall ill again as he almost vomits again, but the situation is well under control and Priya Nath and Shri Nathji begin making a good recovery.  There are reports in the newspapers that the raging Dengue Fever had claimed many lives. Both, Shri Nathji and Priya Nath, have had a very narrow escape.

Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.

Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the genus Aedes, principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different types; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. As there is no commercially available vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites.

Treatment of acute dengue is supportive, using either oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or moderate disease, and intravenous fluids and blood transfusion for more severe cases. The incidence of dengue fever has increased dramatically since the 1960s, with around 50–100 million people infected yearly. Early descriptions of the condition date from 1779, and its viral cause and the transmission were elucidated in the early 20th century. Dengue has become a global problem since the Second World War and is endemic in more than 110 countries. Apart from eliminating the mosquitoes, work is ongoing on a vaccine, as well as medication targeted directly at the virus.

The characteristic symptoms of dengue are sudden-onset fever, headache (typically located behind the eyes), muscle and joint pains, and a rash. The alternative name for dengue, "breakbone fever", comes from the associated muscle and joint pains. The course of infection is divided into three phases: febrile, critical, and recovery.

When a mosquito carrying dengue virus bites a person, the virus enters the skin together with the mosquito's saliva. It binds to and enters white blood cells, and reproduces inside the cells while they move throughout the body. The white blood cells respond by producing a number of signaling proteins, such as interferon, which are responsible for many of the symptoms, such as the fever, the flu-like symptoms and the severe pains. In severe infection, the virus production inside the body is greatly increased, and many more organs (such as the liver and the bone marrow) can be affected, and fluid from the bloodstream leaks through the wall of small blood vessels into body cavities. As a result, less blood circulates in the blood vessels, and the blood pressure becomes so low that it cannot supply sufficient blood to vital organs. Furthermore, dysfunction of the bone marrow leads to reduced numbers of platelets, which are necessary for effective blood clotting; this increases the risk of bleeding, the other major complication of dengue fever.

There are no approved vaccines for the dengue virus. Prevention thus depends on control of and protection from the bites of the mosquito that transmits it. There are no specific treatments for dengue fever. Treatment depends on the symptoms, varying from oral rehydration therapy at home with close follow-up, to hospital admission with administration of intravenous fluids and/or blood transfusion.

Japji Sahib

When Shri Nathji’s mother, Smt. Durga Devi, was about to leave this world, She also requested Babaji Maharaj to recite the Japji  Sahib for her at the time of her death.  When Devi Dasji asked her what she desired most at such a time, she asked him to read from the Sacred Scriptures of the Japji Sahib of the Sikhs. And even as Devi Dasji's voice recited the words of the holy book, Durga Devi closed her eyes to the physical world around her and entered the spiritual realm.

'Japji' is a universal song of God composed by Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith.

Japji Sahib consists of the Mool Mantra as the beginning followed by 38 hymns and a final Salok at the end of this composition. The Japji appears at the very beginning of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Book of the Sikhs. It is regarded as the most important Bani or 'set of verses' by the Sikhs and is recited every morning by all practicing this faith. The word ‘Jap’ means to ‘recite’ or ‘to ‘chant’. ‘Ji’ is a word that is used to show respect as is the word ‘Sahib’. 'Ji' can also be used to refer to one's own soul.

This Bani was composed by the founder of the faith, Sri Guru Nanak Dev, who was the first of ten Sikh Gurus. The Ten Gurus of Sikhism were responsible for the creation of this faith which took place over period 1469 to 1708 – a period of about 239 years. At the point when the last of these Gurus departed this Earth, the Guruship was passed to the Sikh Holy Book, the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikh treat the Guru Granth Sahib as a living Guru and the respect shown for the Shabad or ‘Message of the Gurus’ is unique in the faith. The Image above is the first page of the manuscript of Japji Sahib.

Sukhmani Sahib

In 1982 at HH Priya Nath’s instance, Shri Nathji also recorded a beautiful sermon on the Sukhmani Sahib of the Sikhs in chaste Punjabi. It was as if a great Sikh Guru were pouring forth spiritual truths.

Shri Nathji would also used to often quote from the Sukhmani Sahib in chaste Punjabi

"Je tis nazar na aaviye

Taan vaat na pucche koi

If thou hast not seen Him,

Then thou are not of any worth to anyone.

Sukhmani Sahib is the name given to the set of hymns divided into 24 sections which appear in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scriptures on page 262. Each section, which is called an Ashtpadi(asht means 8), consists of 8 hymns per Ashtpadi. The word Sukhmani literally means Peace in your mind. This set of Hymns or Bani is very popular among the Sikhs, who frequently recite it in their places of worship called Gurdwaras and at home. The full recital takes about 90 minutes and is normally undertaken by everyone in the congregation.

 According to Sikh doctorine, this Bani is believed to bring peace to one's mind and compoundly peace to the world. This set of 192 hymns were compiled by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji.

Bulle Shah

Shri Nathji was fond of the Punjabi Sufi saint Bulle Shah and used to narrate how Bulle’s guru once visited the grand darbaar of Bulle, in which Bulle was revered as a great saint himself. Bulle’s guru, Pir Inayat Khan, deliberately carried a vegetable breakfast on his head because he belonged to the lower caste–an ‘Aaraayin’. Bulle belonged to the higher caste amongst the Muslims, the Sayyad sect.

When Bulle Shah saw his guru enter his darbaar carrying a vegetable basket on his head, he was perplexed. How could he bow down before his guru now? What would the assembled gathering think? Bulle was lost in the illusions of his own grandeur.

The thought had barely crossed Bulle Shah’s mind when Pir Inayat Khan understood what Bulle Shah was thinking, and said with great anger:

“Jaa, Bulle daa Bullaa hee reyaa! You were one who was ignorant, and have remained ignorant!”

All at once Bulle’s spiritual light vanished. He felt empty and forsaken. In the days that followed, his followers began to desert him, one by one. An agony of repentance tore at his soul for having annoyed his own Spiritual Master. Bulle tried various ways to please his guru but they failed.

Bulle Shah discovered that his guru was very fond of watching certain types of dances from the Maraasis, and so he went to join the dance troupe and learned to dance from them. Later he came in the guise of a Maraasi dancer and danced before his guru singing out loud:

“Tere ishq ne nachaayaa thhayyaa thhayi

Bas kar ji hun bas kar ji,

Gal kar hans kar ji, hun hans kar ji!

“Thy love has made me dance this dance,

Enough of thy wrath, now, O Sire, enough!”

As Shri Nathji narrates the dance of Bulle Shah, tears stream from Shri Nathji's eyes, so touched is he with the story, in the manner that he himself is narrating.

The guru at once recognises Bulle Shah in the dancer’s dress and cries out:

“Bulla hai? Is it Bulla?”

“Nayin, Bhullaa!”

“No sir, it is Bhullaa,” says Bulle, “No Sir it is one who has lost his way!”

“Bulla?”

“No, Master, Bhullaa!”

And the guru and Bulle Shah repeat the question and answer a number of times, even as the guru rushes up to Bulle and embraces him with love!

No one could narrate the story in such a touching manner as Shri Nathji, whose stories came from a plane that was divine.

Bulle Shah (1680–1757)  was a Punjabi Sufi poet, humanist and philosopher. His full name was Abdullah Shah. Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, in present day Pakistan. His father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a teacher and preacher in a village mosque. Little is known about Bulle Shah's ancestry except that some of his forebears were migrants from Uzbekistan, and that his family claimed direct descent from Muhammad.

When he was six months old, his parents relocated to Malakwal. His father later got a job in Pandoke. Bulleh Shah received his early schooling in Pandoke and moved to Kasur for higher education. He also received education from Maulana Mohiyuddin. His spiritual teacher was the Qadiri Sufi Shah Inayat Qadiri, who was a member of the Arain tribe of Lahore. Bulleh Shah practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Shah Hussain (1538–1599), Sultan Bahu (1629–1691), and Shah Sharaf (1640–1724).

Bulle Shah lived in the same period as the Sindhi Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai (1689–1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722–1798), of Heer Ranjha fame, and the Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahab (1739–1829), better known by his pen-name, Sachal Sarmast (“truth seeking leader of the intoxicated ones”).

The verse form Bulle Shah primarily employed is called the Kafi, a style of Punjabi, Sindhi and Saraiki poetry used not only by the Sufis of Sindh and Punjab, but also by Sikh gurus. Bulle Shah's time was marked with communal strife between Muslims and Sikhs. But in that age Baba Bulle Shah was a beacon of hope and peace for the citizens of Punjab. While Bulle Shah was in Pandoke, Muslims killed a young Sikh man who was riding through their village in retaliation for murder of some Muslims by Sikhs. Baba Bulle Shah denounced the murder of an innocent Sikh and was censured by the mullas and muftis of Pandoke. Bulle Shah maintained that violence was not the answer to violence. Bulleh Shah also hailed the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur as a Ghazi, or "religious warrior", which caused controversy among Muslims of that time.

 His poetry highlights his mystical spiritual voyage through the four stages of Sufism: Shariat (Path), Tariqat (Observance), Haqiqat (Truth) and Marfat (Union). The simplicity with which Bulle Shah has been able to address the complex fundamental issues of life and humanity is a large part of his appeal.  Bulle Shah died in 1757. His tomb is located in Kasur, not far from Lahore in present day Pakistan. It is known a popular place of Sufi Pilgrimage. Above are the photos of his tomb from the outside and the inside.