Couplets › Self-Knowledge
From Bang-e-Dra, 1924 · originally composed in Urdu
hoon Iqbal apne ko
hi hi hoon
hi hi hoon
“I wander about, Iqbal, searching for my own self — as if I am at once the traveller and the destination.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
ढूँडता फिरता हूँ मैं इक़बाल अपने को
ही ही हूँ मैं
ही ही हूँ मैं
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
ڈھونڈتا پھرتا ہوں میں اقبالؔ اپنے آپ کو
آپ ہی گویا مسافر آپ ہی منزل ہوں میں
آپ ہی گویا مسافر آپ ہی منزل ہوں میں
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
The search Iqbal describes has no external object. The seeker, the road and the goal collapse into one person. To know yourself is not to arrive somewhere else; it is to recognise that the place you were looking for has been carrying you the whole time.
For You, Today
If you feel you are still searching for who you are meant to be, Iqbal suggests the answer is not ahead of you but within you. You are both the question and the reply.
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
Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Beyond the stars there are worlds yet — there are still more trials of love to come.
Aspiration · Love · Restlessness
Apne mann mein doob kar pa ja suragh-e-zindagi
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
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.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge