Couplets › Restlessness
From Bang-e-Dara · originally composed in Urdu
Duniya ki mahfilon se ukta gaya hoon ya rab
Kya lutf anjuman ka jab dil hi bujh gaya ho
Kya lutf anjuman ka jab dil hi bujh gaya ho
“I have grown weary of the world's gatherings — what pleasure is there in company when the heart itself has gone dark?”
Romanहिन्दी
दुनिया की महफ़िलों से उकता गया हूँ या रब
क्या लुत्फ़ अंजुमन का जब दिल ही बुझ गया हो
क्या लुत्फ़ अंजुमन का जब दिल ही बुझ गया हो
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
The Interpretation
Iqbal names a quiet kind of exhaustion: the crowd is present, the noise is plentiful, and none of it reaches him. The couplet locates joy not in the room but in the heart that meets the room. When the inner flame is out, no amount of external company can relight it; the problem is never the gathering, it is the dimmed self.
For You, Today
When socialising leaves you flat, the fix is rarely a better party. Tend the heart first; restore your own sense of aliveness, and the same rooms become bearable again.
In the same spirit
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
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