Sometimes I searched for you here, sometimes I reached there,

Wandering far and wide just to see you.

The poor have perished, trampled and forgotten,

Yet no trace of you has reached anyone.

You are neither here nor there, and yet everywhere,

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

In every particle, you manifest with grandeur,

Yet the mind wonders; what are you, who are you?

I searched for you in temples and mosques, but you weren’t found,

But I found you residing in my heart.

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

You are nowhere to be found when sought,

Yet wherever we are, you are there.

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

When there is nothing but you,

It becomes difficult to understand why you hide yourself.

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

Your dazzling beauty shines in both temples and mosques,

Both are resplendent because of your light

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

The one lost in your love

Is the one who has truly found something,

Not in idol houses nor the Kaaba,

But found in a broken heart

As nothingness, you hide somewhere,

And as existence, you come forth.

If you don’t exist, then what is there to deny?

Even negation hints at your being.

What I call my existence—

If it isn’t you, then what is it?

If you never entered my thoughts,

How did I come to understand you as God?

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

I am bewildered; who are you, and what are you?

If I can hold you, you are an idol; if not, you are God.

If the mind comprehends you, how can you be infinite?

If you are understood, then how can you be God?

A philosopher does not find God in debates

He tries to untangle the thread but cannot find the end.

Though you declare your place is beyond space,

It is baffling how you reside in broken hearts.

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

When no one exists besides you,

What is this tumult, O God?

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

You do not hide, yet you do not appear.

You reveal your splendor, yet you do not show it.

You do not resolve the conflicts of temple and mosque,

And you do not reveal the true matter.

I am astonished at how you fit in my heart,

Though you do not fit in two universes?

Why these temples, mosques, churches, and shrines,

You are elusive, which is why you do not reveal the truth.

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

Mystery has taken over my heart

Forming a tangled image that is hard to comprehend.

I don’t understand this cycle at all,

What game have you been playing since eternity?

You’ve caged the soul in the body,

And then placed death as a guard over it.

You gave the bird of free will the wings to fly,

But laid the traps of destiny everywhere.

For years, you adorned the two worlds,

Yet you’ve also devised a plan to end it all.

You still lay claim to the realm of the infinite.

You also sent the message, “We are closer.”

This evil, that good, this hell, that heaven—

Tell me, what is all this turmoil for?

Adam committed the sin, but his son(s) have been punished—

What standard of justice is this?

By granting humans your caliphate in the world,

You have turned the whole world into a spectacle.

You made everything to recognize yourself,

Yet you have hidden yourself from all eyes.

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

You create new forms and then erase them,

Who knows what crime of desire you punish us for.

Sometimes you turn pebbles into gems,

And sometimes you merge gems into dust.

The one who granted life to countless dead,

That Messiah you hung on a cross.

What someone sought a glimpse of yours on Mount Sinai

You burnt the mount itself with your radiant light.

You cast your friend into the fire of Namrood [the king of Babylon],

Then turn that fire into a garden.

You threw the moon of Canaan into a well,

And take away Yaqub’s (Jacob) power of sight

And you sold Yousuf (Joseph) in the markets of Egypt,

Only to make him the king of Egypt.

The one who reaches the peak of passion,

You put “I am the truth” in his heart.

You issue the decrees of blasphemy against him.

And you hang Mansur on the gallows.

The one who longs for your sight,

You make him lose his very self.

If a Romeo travels in your search

You tie him up in a creeper of conflict

If someone sets out in your pursuit,

You turn him into a Romeo of a Juliet.

If love for you awakens in a heart of Sassi

You burn her in the scorching desert.

If Sohni imagined you as her Mahinval

You drown her in the raging waves.

But when you wished, you summoned your beloved to the divine throne,

And granted the ascension [to the divine throne] in a single night.

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

You take offense at what I say, I know,

Yet I still hold a grievance against you.

You remained silent, watching from your throne,

As Muhammad’s grandson burned in the scorching desert.

He offered his blood to loyalty,

Though for three days, he was dying of thirst.

Enemies remained enemies, but sadly,

You did not even provide him a sip of water.

Cruelty is the inheritance of oppressors,

While the oppressed receive neither consolation nor comfort.

Yesterday, I saw a crown on someone’s head,

Today, that same person begs with a bowl.

When I ask what this is, you say,

No one can become acquainted with this secret.

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

You are everywhere, but no one knows where,

I have heard your name, but I do not know your sign.

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

When desires leave the heart, they become fireflies,

And when they gather in the eyes, they become tears.

Not even a hair is damaged when comes under a dagger

But the arrow in an infant’s throat becomes the scale of justice

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

On every step of the path of truth, I find confusion;

I see discord among ideas, thoughts, and circumstances.

I become a picture of distress and worry,

Whenever I carefully examine the mirror of world.

I see so many contradictions in a single glance,

I see one place divided into so many parts.

Somewhere I witness the smoke of hardship

While elsewhere, I see the rain of blessings

In one place, roaring rivers rush; in another, silent mountains stand.

There are forests in one corner, deserts in another, and gardens in yet another.

This division brings tears to my eyes—

Here, some are wealthy, while others are poor. 

The day bears a burning sun,

While the night is adorned with stars.

Somewhere I see the flowers of truth wither,

And elsewhere, the thorns of lies are blooming.

I see the skin of Shams being stripped away,

And the neck of Sarmad being severed. 

What is night, and what is dawn?

What is this light, and what is this darkness?

I am your deputy, after all—

So why do you say, “What is yours?”

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

What would the one who sees you truly perceive?

You are veiled in every way

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

Mosque, temple, tavern—

Some acknowledge this, some acknowledge that.

All of these places belong to you.

We are witness to your oneness,

While some lean toward denial.

But you alone know the Truth.

One includes him in the creation,

The other stays aloof from all,

Both are your devotes.

Some acknowledge this, some acknowledge that.

When all are lovers of your name,

Why are there disputes over Rahim and Ram?

You are in the temple, you are in the mosque,

You are on the Earth, you are on the divine throne.

Depending on where one can reach,

There you are present for him.

You are unique in every colour,

You are a baffling puzzle [tum ek gorakh dhanda ho]

You are the center of our quest, the world of colour and scent

You manifest at all times; you are omnipresent

In this atmosphere, nothing is missing,

You are so captivating, you are so beautiful.

The splendour of the heavens, the grace of the earth—

You are the fulfilment of longings from both worlds.

The eye has purified itself with tears,

Now grant us a flask of your manifestation.

Come forth from the veil to meet my gaze;

A few moments of union, a couple of hours of conversation.

When beauty sways, it manifests as elegance.

He has no partner; he is one

God is God.