Microsoft Word - Shah_Final

3. Bhittai's Quest for Truth & Spiritualism

In his quest of spiritual knowledge, Shah Bhittai travelled to many parts of Sindh

and also went to the bordering lands. In his search for truth, peace, and harmony he

travelled for three years as a jogi (ascetic), in the company of the Sufis (mystics) and

jogis - all dressed in similar saffron-coloured clothes, to hills, valleys, the banks of the

rivers, and the fields in Jesalmere, Hinglaj, Lakhpat, Junagardh, at the foot of the

Himalayas, and parts of the Thar desert.

He always probed into the mystery of man's relationship with his Creator, and

was perturbed by the questions like: what relationship do we bear to our Creator? What is

the nature of our Creator? He had an intense longing for a direct approach to the Creator

rather than through intermediaries.

In the relentless search for truth, an intense longing for a direct approach to his

Creator seized Bhittai. His soul was constantly thirsting for the Divine and all things

divine. This led him to the path traversed by mystics. His quest for eternal truth became

his primary concern. He found God in everything - believing that "All that is, is God"

rest is all illusion and deception. Bhittai was a saint and a mystic - a Sufi. Guided by deep

feeling and contemplation, he had been able to arrive at certain truths of the spiritual life.