Couplets › Restlessness
From Bal-e-Jibril · originally composed in Urdu
Ik hai ki bhi hai
Ik hai ki nahin
Ik hai ki nahin
“There is one madness that carries clear awareness; there is another madness that carries none.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
इक जुनूँ है कि भी है
इक जुनूँ है कि नहीं
इक जुनूँ है कि नहीं
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
اک جنوں ہے کہ با شعور بھی ہے
اک جنوں ہے کہ با شعور نہیں
اک جنوں ہے کہ با شعور نہیں
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
Iqbal distinguishes two kinds of passion. One is blind, a frenzy with no understanding behind it. The other is fierce yet lucid, an intensity that knows exactly what it is doing and why. He prizes the second: ardour married to awareness, not feeling that has lost its mind.
For You, Today
Passion alone is not a virtue. Aim for the kind of intensity that stays clear-eyed, where you can be wholly committed and still know precisely what you are committed to.
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
Ho mere dam se yunhi mere watan ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Let my country be adorned by me, as a garden is adorned by its flowers.
Aspiration · Youth · Action