Sitalang Shah Fakir – Md. Abdul Musabbir Bhuiya
Sitalang Shah’s original name was Muhammad Salimullah. Once he became a Fakir (Renunciant), he considered himself humble and started referring to himself as Sitalang. This means ‘one’s heels’. He was born in the village of ‘Hilchar’ near Sriguari in Karimganj. It is difficult to ascertain the date of his birth. Yet it can be reasonably said that he was born sometime between 1201-1206 B.E., because the date of his death is inscribed on the grave. It was seventeenth Agrahayana of 1296 B.E. His life-span was between 90-95 years. On the basis of this, we have inferred that he was born during the above mentioned period.
Sitalang Shah’s father Jaha Baux alias Kamal Shah was a fakir. He was a service-holder under the Nawab of Dacca. It is said that the Nawab of Dacca once sent him on an errend towards Cachar. He made that journey by boat. The purpose for which he was sent was not a noble one rather it offended the general maxim of morality. Hence he prayed to God to relieve him of this unjust duty. It so happened that near Srigauri his boat sank. He did not return to Dacca. He made Srigauri his home and married one Surat Bibi, an aunt of Balamian.
When his first son was born, he left Srigauri forever and settled at the village Tarinipur, about ten miles from Srigauri. There two more sons, Ali Baux and Pir Baux were born. Salimullah alias Sitalang Shah was admitted to the Madrassa at Fulbari in Sylhet district. In that Madrassa along with Islamic studies, Bengali and other subjects were also taught, In addition to these, emphasis was laid on spirituality and suitable teachers were engaged to give instructions. Sitalang Shah spent the last part of his life at Kasirchar in Barthakuri Mauza (now in Bangladesh) and also breathed his last there.
Salimullah was a pupil of Madrassa and hence in addition to Arabic, he had to learn Persian also. Hence in his writings, we come across a large number of words from Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit etc. He returned to his native village Tarinipur after completing his education al Fulbari. He began life as a peasant along with his father. But he could not concentrate his mind on such tasks. He left home stealthily and reached the mountain range called Bhuban. There he spent a long time in meditation. Then he shifted to the mountains of Laur in Sunamganj subdivision and continued to stay there.
When he had fled from home his mother became apprehensive that the wild animal would kill him. He made a miraculous journey to his mother on a night at the back of a tiger. After a long time when his anonymous living in forests was over, he returned to human habitation and found that his mother was already dead. He was then staying in a forest near Tarinipur. He did not wander like a tourist. He walked miles after miles not on the beaten track but through unknown jungles and forests. He has chanted the name of God, meditated and practised yoga, reached an equanimous state with wonderful concentration of mind. He was a firm believer in Islam. Spirituality was the vow of his life. Yet we find mention of the divine love of Radha-Krisna in his writings. The poet seemed to have a complete realisation within himself the pangs of love-lorn Radha. The poet says:
Piriter chel buka yar Kalanka tãr amankār
Kulamãner bhay nãi re tãr
piriter nay nisani saday thake udasini
ego cerã malin thake tãr
dibã nisi bekarar।।
Ksudhã nidrã nãi tãr mane jaladhãrã dui nayane
ego chir ghure premadhundhe
dibã nisi intijar।।
hãsi khusi nãi tar mane sadãy thake ghur nayāne
ego lãj bhay ãi tär
kalanka tãr alankar।।
Not only this, behind the apparent offer of love and intense desire to meet the beloved, the deeper spiritual significance of Radha’s surrender was also realised by him.
prathamaku pirite māja avitiya parite sãjã
ego tritiya pirito rãjã
food ranga khusi besumãr।।
Sitälang Fakire bale premer mala yar gale
ego tãrã keurar katha yar gale
bandhu bandhu bandhu sar।।
It is a wonder that during his student-days at Fulbari, he was in the midst of a thorough Islamic tradition and apparently there was no scope to go beyond the limitations of Islam to enter into the mysteries of Vaisnavism. In his native village Tarinipur, this was also beyond imagination. In the writings of the poet references to Vaisnavism is interwoven with his poems. Be that as it may, it is clear that he did rise above the orthodoxy of a particular religion either by his innate powers or through the help of others.
d! There is a Siva temple on the summit of Bhuban mountains. There is an annual fair on the occasion of Sivaratri. Saints and mendicants from different parts of the country assemble there. Sitalang Shah met these saints and there were exchanges on spiritual matters between them. He has made mention of an occult practice in spirituality, which is only resorted to by the Hindu yogis. Morever, like the Hindu spiritual seekers he imagined himself in the role of a man. At times he would project himself in the role of Radha and the almighty as Krisna.
During the last phase of his living along in forests, he shifted from the densely populated area of Sunamganj towards the north at the foot hills of Laur mountains and began to reside there. There was a lake at the foot of the hills and a man used to catch fish from there. He would offer the fakir some milk everyday. On being asked by the man, the fakir told the man that his name was Sitalang Shah. Many miraculous incidents were said to be performed by the fakir. Once he made the dead grandson of an old woman alive. He is also said to have restored the life to a dead cow and again made it lifeless. Another is that no issue of Abdur Rahman Chaudhuri, a zamindar of Kitigara would survive on his return from Laur he happened to reach this place and on hearing the sad tale of the zamindar, the fakir gave him his blessings. The descendants of the said Chaudhuri are still living. No rational explanation to these can be given. We may only surmise that he had traversed long in the spiritual path. Another anecdote is cited below,
Deeper in the Himalayas in a cave named ‘Urga’, a group of organised people have been staying for a very long time. One Major Pearson, a resident of Canada in connexion with trade with China, also stayed there for a considerable period. A Chinese friend of his who was also his partner in trade and a co-inquirer, was also with him. That Chinese friend out of curiosity to know about the monastery at Urga, wrote a letter to one of the inmates. The reply he received stated that every information could not be given. He would just forward a hint. The Chinese friend translated the contents of the letter to Chinese language. Major Pearson, later on translated it into English and added some footnotes for easy comprehension. This had been known as ‘Linga Manuscript’. On his return to Canada, Pearson set up an organisation to carry out research on this.
The sum and substance of the letter written by the saint of Urga monastery is this: “My knowledge is extremely limited. In a higher level immeasurable fund of secret spiritual knowledge is available with many on the higher plane. I have not been able yet to reach those levels. However I am on the way to those higher spheres. I can say only that the creator has endowed man with infinite powers, but men do not utilise a millionth part of it. With the aid of these powers, one can transport his gross physical body from one place to another in the twinkling of an eye. The relatives who have been left in the world, can be visited by man and also he could stand by them in their need. He can send messages to anywhere in the world. Time and space are no barriers to him. He can go out of his physical body and re-enter again at will. This is not something remarkable in our daily pursuits.”
Hence it may be said that the miracles performed by fakir Sitalang Shah are not at all impossible. As said by Shakespeare, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
According to Sayeed Ali, an intimate associate of Sitalang Shah, when Sitalang would visit any one’s place, he would close his eyes and make a peculiar sound. After opening his eyes, he would compose a tune instantly. There were people with pen and paper around him. They would at once put it on paper in Jãlãlãvadí Nagrí. Jalālāvadí Nagri was widlley prevalent then in these regions. Sitalang Shah had lived or sometime in Garkapan village near Badarpur. The village is no longer to be found. It has been swallowed by the river Barak, Durking his stay at Garkapan, a brahmin of nearby Kasirchak village (Now in Bangladesh) approached him with the request to stop the disturbance at his home created by birds and monkeys. On hearing this, by his occult powers, Sitalang Shah drove away the birds and animals. The brahmin was highly satisfied with this act and as a gesture, he donated the house to Sitalang Shah. Since them, Sitalang Shah continued to live in that house and breathed his last there. He was buried in that house.
He was a person of great physical stature. His body was sturdy and well-built. His height exceeded six feet. He had a rich and sweet voice. Usually he would put on trousers and Kurta. His face was fully bearded. He would wear a turban. He had long hair but at times he would shave it off. During prayer and because of the rigours of prayers, blood would come out of his mouth. He would suck pills of opium.
His compositions were mainly songs and written in the verse forms of payar and tripadí. Four of his manuscripts are extant. They are 1. Muskitaran, 2. Rag Baul, 3. Kiyāmatnāmã, 4. Häsartaran. He had a very good command over Bengali language. His writings were rich because he drew words from Arabic, Persian, Urdu and other Languages. Moreover, It was enriched by the addition of local are regional vocabulary used in opposite manner.