Tag: Hindu

Kashmiri Sufism and the Yogini Lal Ded

Filed under Religion, Sufism

LalDed

Yogini Lal Ded

The two founding figures of Kashmiri Sufism are Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani (1377 - 1440 CE) and Sheikh Ali Hamadani (1314 - 1384 CE). Both of them are said to have encountered a female Hindu yogini called Lal Ded (1320 - 1392 CE) who was in the habit of wandering around naked.

One story of Lal Ded mentions how she was teased by a number of children. A nearby cloth merchant scolded the children for their disrespect. Lal Ded asked the merchant for two lengths of cloth, equal in weight. That day as she walked around naked, she wore a piece of cloth over each shoulder and, whenever she was met with respect or scorn, she tied a knot in one or other cloth. In the evening, she brought the cloths back to the merchant, and asked him to weigh them again. Both cloths were equal in weight no matter how many knots were in each, showing that respect and scorn have no weight of their own.

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