Lalleshwari (1320 – 1392) was a mystic of the Kashmiri Shaivite sect.
She was a creator of the mystic poetry called vatsun or Vakhs, literally “speech”. Known as Lal Vakhs, her verses are the earliest compositions in the Kashmiri language and are an important part in history of Kashmiri literature. She inspired some of the later Sufis of Kashmir.
She is also known by various other names, including Lal Ded, Lalla, Lal Arifa, Lal Diddi, Laleshwari, Lalla Yogishwari and Lalishri.
INTENSE COLD MAKES WATER ICE
Lalleshwari
Intense cold makes water ice.
Then the hard ice turns to slush
and back to water, so there are three
forms of consciousness: the individual,
the world, and God, which in the sun
of True Awareness melt to one flowing:
Lalla is that.
In meditation, I entered the love furnace,
burned impurities away, and as the sun
of a new knowing rose, I realized
that the words ‘Lalla’ and ‘God’
point to this peacefulness.
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THE SOUL
Lalleshwari
The soul, like the moon,
is new, and always new again.
And I have seen the ocean
continuously creating.
Since I scoured my mind
and my body, I too, Lalla,
am new, each moment new.
My teacher told me one thing,
Live in the soul.
When that was so,
I began to go naked,
and dance.