Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 · originally composed in Urdu
ke mein hai umr-e-javidan ka
ke se hain ummaton ke
ke se hain ummaton ke
“Within the music of selfhood lies the trace of an everlasting life — and it is by the burning of selfhood that the lamps of whole peoples are lit.”
Romanहिन्दी
के में है उम्र-ए-जावेदाँ का
के से हैं उम्मतों के
के से हैं उम्मतों के
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 links the inner self to two things at once: a kind of permanence, and a public light. A self with its own music carries a clue to lasting life; and the same self, burning, becomes the flame that lights a whole community.
For You, Today
Building yourself is not a selfish project. Iqbal says a self that genuinely burns becomes the lamp others see by — your inner work quietly lights the room you stand in.
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
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
Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
My longing rises to my lips as a prayer: O God, may my life be like a candle's flame.
Hope · Aspiration