Cultural Syncretism, Poetic Contributions and the Spiritual Historiography: Lal Ded’s Conception of Morality on Modern Interfaith Relations

Abstract

Considering the importance of communal harmony and advancing interfaith dialogue in the present-day Kashmir, this paper attempts to locate an almost absent interstitial nexus between Shaivism and Sufi mysticism with an intent to further our understanding of the philosophical values—the values that form much of the foundations of India. It is intriguing to find a synthesis of doctrinal traditions, the hermeneutics of cultural syncretism and poetic contributions, in which Lal Ded, an extraordinary 14^th century Kashmiri poet and mystic, occupies a pivotal locus in the region’s spiritual and cultural historiography. The paper argues that Lal Ded’s conception of morality and flexibility to enjoy and experience the spiritual realities in mundane world, through her Vakhs (aphoristic verses), the most influential medium for the expression of devotion, is adept enough of resisting fragmentation while affirming a shared heritage.