The Eternity of Mystic Verse: Transcending Time and Space

Poetry is closer to vital truth than history

PlatoWhat does it mean to be poetic? Is it to compose beauty in words? To appreciate beauty in the Keatsian sense? Or to convey complex emotions? To me, poetry is expression. It is about getting my thoughts across, around a diverse bouquet of ideas - from love and longing to politics, spirituality, action, and identity. Poetry resides in simple experiences - there is poetic movement and depth even in the peeling of an orange! All you need is a poetic perspective, layered with emotion. Whether it is the Iliad, Beowulf, Mahabharata, or Ramayana, humanity’s oldest stories first emerged as poems. From oral traditions and epics to written verse, song, and spoken word, poetry in India has evolved over centuries, adopting various stylistic and thematic markers from region to region.
 

Mystic poetry, formed by the meeting of Sufi and Bhakti traditions, flourished in Punjab between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. It was famously anti-institutional, breaking away from the constraints of rigid hierarchies and instead foregrounding the direct connection between the soul and the divine. Love, longing, mystery, humility, and humanity are highlighted through symbolism and metaphors in mystic poetry.

Everyday and vernacular Punjabi, specifically the ‘majhi’ dialect, which is the standard dialect used in the region, is used in this form. This choice was not only linguistic but political as well. Philosophical ideas were expressed in concise verses, making complex thoughts more accessible and relatable to a broader range of people. The everyday Punjabi speaker, often excluded from Sanskritic texts or elite Persian literature, now found in poetry a space of belonging, reflection, and spiritual inquiry in mystic poetry. 

One can claim that the legacy of mystic poetry lives on in the spiritual and cultural heart of Punjab: Amritsar.
 

Amritsar has been a site of political upheaval from colonial-era struggles, the horror of Jallianwala Bagh, the pain of Partition to the defining and damning moments of Operation Blue Star. In all these junctures of history, poetry has offered people a way to grieve, protest, and remember. Mystic poetry, in particular, has allowed residents of Amritsar to anchor themselves in something larger, which is, a divine longing that transcends the immediacy of the present.

The Golden Temple, or Harmandir Sahib, is not only the holiest site in Sikhism but also one of the few sacred spaces in the world where poetry is recited to music, uninterrupted from morning till night. The architecture of the Golden Temple, wherein Hindu-Rajput architecture is married to Mughal influences, mirrors how the Bhakti movement and Sufism birthed the mystic poetic tradition. Amritsar has long been a crucible where various cultures converge, creating a space for art forms to evolve.
 

The Guru Granth Sahib, which is the central religious text for Sikhs, includes writings from Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and a mystic poet in his own right, as well as Baba Farid, Bhagat Kabir, and others. These poets came from different religions, castes, and languages, but were united by a search for the divine truth. They found this through poetry. Their writings and contributions to the scripture underline the belief that poetry is not bound by religion or rituals.
 

Poets like Baba Farid, Guru Nanak, Bulleh Shah, and Waris Shah have each left indelible marks that have allowed Punjabi mystic poetry to become a form that has transcended time.
 

Guru Nanak wrote poetry that went beyond religious boundaries. His verses underlined ideas of compassion and introspection. Baba Farid, regarded as a major Punjabi poet, mystic, and preacher, wrote deeply spiritual and meditative verses. Many of these emphasise the fleeting nature of the world, the ephemeral essence of life itself, and the need to shed ego. Sufi poet Shah Hussain, known for his kafis, wrote in the voice of a female devotee (a common Bhakti tradition) and often critiqued religious orthodoxy.  Bulleh Shah, perhaps the most beloved of them all, was radical, humorous, and defiant. His poetry reflected on ideas of caste and the illusion of self.
 

The mystic poetic tradition in Punjab has seeped into India’s broader cultural landscape. Its influence has extended beyond gurudwaras, temples, and dargahs into contemporary Indian poetry, music, and cinema. The influence of Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain can be seen in Gulzar’s metaphysical lyricism. There is a sense of otherworldly longing that can be recognised in Amrita Pritam’s spiritual feminism. Pritam directly refers to Waris Shah in ‘Aj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu’ (I Say to Waris Shah) as she calls upon him in her writing to lament the violence of the Partition.
 

Punjab’s rich folklore is also inseparable from its mystic poetry. Stories like Heer-Ranjha, Laila-Majnu, and Sohni-Mahiwal do not just portray love but also spiritual longing. These tales are not just romances; they are expressions of the ideas of viraha (longing), fanaa (annihilation), and ishq-e-haqiqi (divine love), all of which are key themes in Sufi and Bhakti thought.
 

Even today, mystic poetry continues to shape Indian cultural expression– from qawwalis and ghazals, to film and music, and now social media. Mystic poetry in Punjab has not only found a place in today’s day and age, it has also reinvented itself and evolved to adapt to the constantly changing mediums of expression and prevalent issues while carrying universal and timeless themes and thus allowing many groups of people to resonate with this poetry.
 

In a world increasingly marked by ideological rigidity, mystic poetry reminds us that truth is often found in contradictions. I like to think that poems transcend time. Sleepwell presents The Sacred Amritsar celebrates these sacred truths that transcend time, language, and identity, with its 4th edition from 20th to 22nd February, 2026. Celebrate the art of mystic poetry, pay homage to the many poets that shaped it, and experience the Golden City in all its majesty with The Sacred Amritsar 2026. 
 

Delegate registrations for the upcoming 4th edition are live at: The Sacred Delegate Experience. For more information, visit: The Sacred Amritsar.