Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
Apne mann mein kar pa ja suragh-e-zindagi
Tu agar mera nahin banta na , apna to
Tu agar mera nahin banta na , apna to
“Dive into your own self and find the trace of life. If you will not be mine, then do not — but at least become your own.”
Romanहिन्दी
अपने में डूब जा सुराग़-ए-ज़िंदगी
तू अगर मेरा नहीं बनता न , अपना तो
तू अगर मेरा नहीं बनता न , अपना तो
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal sends you inward, not outward, to find the secret of life. And the closing line is startling in its generosity: even God, the speaker here, would rather you belong fully to yourself than belong to Him as a borrowed, unrealised self.
For You, Today
Before you can be of use to anyone — a cause, a company, a person — you first have to be your own. An unrealised self has nothing real to give.
In the same spirit
Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdeer se pehle
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai
Raise your selfhood so high that, before issuing every decree of destiny, God Himself asks you: tell me, what is your wish?
Selfhood · Courage
Mere Allah burai se bachana mujh ko
Nek jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujh ko
Nek jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujh ko
My God, save me from evil; set me on the path that is good.
Humility · Self-Knowledge
Parwaz hai dono ki isi ek faza mein
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Kargas ka jahan aur hai, shaheen ka jahan aur
Both take flight in this very same sky — yet the vulture's world is one thing, and the falcon's another.
The Falcon · Self-Knowledge