Foreword

In the name of Allah the most Beneficentand the most Merciful

God created Adam and Eve and sent them to earth for spreading their progeny upon the earth. Creation of man is ever continuing according to the will and plan of the Creator.

With the increase in population, needs of man also kept on growing. With the passage of time Scriptures were sent down upon the Prophets of God. And when tribes and families spread far and wide, the Torah, Old and New Testaments and in the last, the holy Quran was sent down to complete the Godly Guidance.

We are told that so far one hundred and twenty four thousand prophets of God have come to the world out of which 25-30 have been mentioned and exemplified in the Scriptures and Divine Books.

Much has been written about the coming of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and about the appointment, services and completion of Herculean task of delivering the message to the people by the last of all the prophets of God but the people endearing him still wanting to hear more about him.

What this all is????

It is the reverence, humility and love and an expression of one's inaptitude of loving him. Passion of his love is overpowering the people. Passing through this path is like sipping some divine wine for everyone but for the believing men of faith it is like entering into the Gardens of Paradise. One who can lead anyone through these paths and could let him have a glimpse of the Beloved (PBUH), he is the worthy mentor. And, the one who is an adamant desirous of achieving his goal, is ready to sacrifice all his hopes upon the will of his mentor, adopts all his ways with faith, is the true disciple and is bound to succeed.

Cognition, understanding and witnessing the unity of Godhead appears to be an easy task but in the passing through the insurmountable valleys of real cognition of Divinity, keeping one's beliefs intact all along one's advancement on these paths is like making a camel pass through an eye of the needle. When a wayfarer passes through some jungle he faces fears and when the same jungle is trudged in the darkness of the night, it is horrifying. Similarly, when one sets upon the journey of dark waters of reverence and respect he encounters terrifying forms of fears, horrors, • sorrows, reversions and upsets of all sorts. In such a dark scenario, a mentor., is the greatest of all blessings who allows him to hold his finger and makes him to trudge along the paths of Divinity as if an infant

busy in suckling his mother's milk and is embracing the merciful Nature.

God is the One and Only, He is Self-Sufficient, ' begotten not and begets not. Every religion has trumpeted this very Unity of Godhead. No religion upon the face of the earth has denied (the Oneness of God or has declined His Existence. Sufis and Auliya adopted various means and ways of understanding and explaining this very Oneness, Self-Sufficiency, Reality and Unity of Godhead. Commonly, Unity of Godhead consists of four things, namely; Shariat (Religious Laws), Tariqqat (Practicing the Laws), Haqqiqat (Knowing the Reality) and Marrafat (Cognition).

It is the statement of Holy Prophet (PBUH), "One who recognizes his self, cognizes his Lord." The knowing of the self does not mean recognition of the desires and lusts, body needs, near and dear ones, mother and father, home, town and cities or country nor is it the cognition of the worldly knowledge. It is the appreciation and understanding of the fact that why has the nature created me? What is the essence of the objective of bringing me into existence from nothingness? What are the faculties of wisdom and leadership that I have been decorated with by the intents of fate? Have I been created only for the sake of myself? If someone could reach down to the core of the purpose of his creation and could comprehend what is there in his true self, then he is the one who finds himself, understands himself and believes in himself and a

person rising up to an intuitive understanding cognizes the grandeur of the lordship of his God.

When one's faith grasps the exact truth and the true reality, he enjoins the true purpose. When the part comprehends the purpose of the whole, it is no longer a part, it reaches such a state which is better to be kept secret than lime lighting.

God has stated about His Oneness and Unity of His Godhead: "And, thy Lord is the only God, do not worship anyone except Him, He is the most Beneficent and the most Merciful."

Worshiping is for none but One and the Only One God, Except Him there is no god, He is the Ever-Living and Eternal.

The renowned Sufi saint of his times JunaidBughdadi (RA) says, "Knowledge of Oneness is different from His Being and His Being is separate from the -knowledge." That is to say, God is far above the limits of the knowledge i.e. He is so limitless that not knowledge could grasp Him.

Abu BakarWasti stated: "Creation is not on the paths of Reality and the reality is not in the creation,"  meaning that the people claiming perception of Godhead fail to understand that He is far above and beyond the limits of human perception and having access to His Person is not possible.

Verses of the holy Quran and the sayings of the holy men are evident upon the fact that understanding the Oneness of Godhead is not as easy as it appears to be. Just as the .water of an ocean cannot be held in by a pond or the water of a pond cannot be put into a pitcher or the water of the pitcher cannot be put into a goblet likewise the human intellect, understanding, thought, perception, senses certitude and intuition cannot grasp the One who is known as Allah, the Almighty and who is Self-Existing from Eternity to Eternity.

After the Holy Prophet (PBUH), his companions and their followers, Auliya Allah provided every assistance and guidance to make us true believers of God. After OwaisQarni, Shaikh Mohiuddin Abdul Qader Jilani, Ali Hajweri known as Data Ganj Bukhsh, Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Nizamuddin Auliya Mehboob-e-Elahi, Khwaja Moeenuddin Chisti Ajmeri, Allaouddin Sauir Kalari, Bu Ali Shah Qalander, Sabibzada Shaikh Ahmad SerhindiFaroqi Mujaddad Alif Sani, Hafiz Abdurrehman Jami Malang Baba, Shah Abdul Latif Bhattai, Sachal Sarmast, Lal Shahbaz Qalander et all remain a source of inspiration for the people at large. In south Asia, with the passage of time services of these august people are brightening all the more. Spiritual mission of these saints is above all the religious, national limitations of casts or creeds. People of every cast and creeds tome to them to seek help for their needs and do not leave till they get some positive indication. Centuries

have passed by their tombs and their graves are still pulsating with life.

Nature keeps on lighting a candle and the torch of cognition keeps on shifting from to another hand. These Qutabs, Ghous, Valies, Abdals Sufis and Qalanders are those hands of nature that carry the torch of spiritual enlightenment. They not only enlighten themselves by this light but also reflect it to others. Whosoever is benefited from the light of their torch succeeds in having access to Ali, the gateway to the knowledge, who passes him on to the source of cognition of Reality Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Not only in the history but also in the hearts of masses their goods deeds are still thriving: Their prayers blessed people with life, health, wealth, children, solace peace and inner calm.

The holy Quran proclaims that ways of Allah do not change nor they are suspended. According to this law ways of God remain enforced since Eternity till the Last Day. Since prophet-hood has come to an end with the Holy Prophet (PBUH) therefore nature set a chain of Auliya blessed with the hierarchy of knowledge of the Last Prophet of God, about whom the Holy Quran tells that these friends of God do not have fears nor do they grieve.

Qalander Baba Auliya one of those shining stars of the prophetic hierarchy about which Holy Prophet (PBUH) has stated that I am leaving behind two things the Book of God and my hierarchy.

In this book besides excerpts from his wonderful work on Spiritualism, Loh-o-Qalum (Pen and the Scripturum) and his enlightening Rubaiyat, his teachings, quotations, and wonder-working have been presented so that people of every school of thought, men of wisdom and vision could take the advantage of his teachings.

Mentioning of the people enlightened with Divine Light helps us to be enlightened too. A few moments of their company is better than a hundred years submissions and after their passing away from this world their remembrance is better than a thousand years supplications. Mentioning of such close friends of God is ecstasy that draws us closer to God.

God says; "O Prophet, the stories past prophets are related to you so that you be pacified and your heart may be strengthened."

Eternal Being keeps on sending people who teach us to be aware of instability of the world. Their mission is to acquaint man with his Lord Creator and enable him to have an established correlation with Him. Let's decorate these pages with the sayings of Qalander Baba Auliya in such a manner that his picture could emerge upon the screen of our mind.

Establishment of the Roohani Digest formed a penal headed by my spiritual son, Mohammad Younas Azeemi to compile this book. I am pleased that he did the job nicely and for the first time the

events of Qalander Baba Auliya's life are being published.

God may bless us all to spread Baba's mission all over the world so that man could enter life of peace, tranquility and inner calm after achieving his distinctions.

Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeerni.

27th October 1982.