The Rubaiyat of Sarmad

Rubaiyat of sarmad is written in Persian poetry. It was translated into English poetry by Dr. Bankey Behariji when he practised in Allahabad High Court as junior to DR. K. N. Katju. He was the scholar of Persian, Urdu and English. He wrote many books on Sufism like in Hindi, Revival of Religious Sciences by Alghazali in English; Tadkaratula Aulia (i. e. Memoirs of Saints) by Faridudin Attar in English; Fiha (Table Talk Of Maulana Rumi); the Immortal Sufi triumvirate-Sanai, Attar and Rumi, Tuhfa, the Ministrel Divine; Sufis, Mystics, and Yogis of India all in English. He was awarded the prize by UNESCO on his Sufi paper, ‘’The Was to Ecstasy’’ and it was considered as the best Indian work of the year 1973. After translating the Rubaiyat of Sarmad in Allahabad, Dr. Bankey Behariji renounced his legal practice and having taken Sannyasa came to Vrindaban. He adopted the intense spiritual and realized God here and departed to Goloka dhama, the divine abode of the Lord on the 7th February 1975 after living in Vrindaban for 35 year. So many of this work remained of Sarmad translated into English poetry. So I requested Sri Praveen Mittal the Managing Director of B.R. Publishing works other unpublished works of Dr. Bankey Behari and he has kindly complied with my request. I am grateful to his for that.

Sarmad was the sufi saint remained naked and lived in Delhi in the reign of the emperor Aurangzeb. As it was against the mandates of the hold Quran to remain naked Sarmad was hanged by Aurangzeb. When he proceeded to the gallows, he sang a couplet in Persian.

‘’O my Beloved Lord! I am being hanged for the crime that I love Thee. How myriad of people have come to see the scene! Come in your balcony and just witness how beautiful the scene is and how Thy lover offers his life to Thee!’’

Sarmad had become the devotee to Lord Sri Rama and Sri Laxmana as it is revealed from his last quartrain.