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68 / Bhai Vir Singh
intensity of his poetic genius to his advancing years. At the
age of 81, he published a new collection of verse, called Mere
Saiyan Jeo ("O! My Lord Master"l. This last specimen of his
poetryhadthesamemorning-dew'sdistilledbeauty,thesame
deeplyfelt longingofthe heart andthe same sensitive energy
of expression as his precious rubaiyat or haunting Kashmir
poems written at the beginning of the century.
SuchwastheintegrityandvitalityofBhaiVir Singh'searly
poetic experience, which touched the strings of his being to
eternalmusic, andso faithful his adherenceto itthattime made
little differenceto thefreshness of his creative spirit. His lyrical
ardour and artistic powers remained unaffected. So remained
the ideal which he had set before himself as a young man in
his early twenties. The great changes around and the violent
doubts andtensionstowhichthehumanmindhasbeensubject
overthepastfew decadesfailed to ruffle his calmandpeaceful
temper or to draw him away from the chosen pursuit of his
heart. This is at once a tribute to the firmness of his belief and
the enduringvalidity of his poetic ideal.
Thepoet'soriginalexperiencewasderivedfrom a religious
inspirationwhichtookdeeprootinhistender,responsive soul.
His strong faith and his intuitive grasp of the spiritual verities
of life preserved for him the glorious vision. All his poetrywas
an attempt at essentializing and recapturing this beatitude.
Why it came into being and how?
The sages have racked themselves over the question.
Why should you, my soul, pursue the path,
Which has been the ruin of so many?
Give up your rovings: light up a single love;
And then rest in eternal inebriation.
Drunkenness is better far than soberness,
For it keeps you everin sanity. 1
Thus thepoetpinedfor a life of thesensations. But hewas
notunaware ofthemore intellectualfunctions of poetry. As he
1. "Hosh Masti" in LahirHulare. 1958 edition. p. 23
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