Couplets › Selfhood
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Saqi Nama' · originally composed in Urdu
Khudi kya hai raaz-e-daroon-e-hayat
Khudi kya hai baidari-e-kainat
Khudi kya hai baidari-e-kainat
“What is the self? The secret hidden within life. What is the self? The awakening of the universe.”
Romanहिन्दी
ख़ुदी क्या है राज़-ए-दरून-ए-हयात
ख़ुदी क्या है बेदारी-ए-कायनात
ख़ुदी क्या है बेदारी-ए-कायनात
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's most direct definition of khudi: it is the inner secret of life itself, and nothing less than the cosmos coming awake. The self is not a small private ego but the point where the universe becomes conscious. To develop the self is to advance creation.
For You, Today
Iqbal frames selfhood as cosmic, not selfish — the universe waking up in you. Building your khudi isn't ego-work; it is taking part in something vast becoming aware. Take your own awakening that seriously.
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
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