The Negative Theology of Nund Rishi

Book excerpt: This book is an extensive critical study of the mystical poetry of Nund Rishi (1378-1440), the founder of the Kashmiri Sufi order called the Rishi Order, who is revered and remembered by most Kashmiris as 'Alamdār-e Kashmir or the flag-bearer of Kashmir. The author breaks with dominant perceptions of Nund Rishi as a quietistic Sufi and argues that the themes of Islam, Death, the Nothing and the Apocalyptic in his poetry are a form of negative theology. Nund Rishi's negative theology is presented as a discourse on the transcendent which relies on negations rather than affirmations that disclose an existential politics. It explores Nund Rishi's mystical poetry not only within its historical context but also in relation to religious and political controversies in medieval Kashmir. The book locates the negative theology of Nund Rishi as one form, among others, of the 'negative path' across regions in the medieval Indo-Persian world.