Couplets › Selfhood
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Tulu-e-Islam' · originally composed in Urdu
Khudi mein doob ja ghafil, ye sirr-e-zindagani hai
Nikal kar halqa-e-shaam-o-sahar se javedan ho ja
Nikal kar halqa-e-shaam-o-sahar se javedan ho ja
“Dive into your selfhood, O heedless one — this is the secret of life. Step out of the ring of evening and morning, and become everlasting.”
Romanहिन्दी
ख़ुदी में डूब जा ग़ाफ़िल ये सिर्र-ए-ज़िंदगानी है
निकल कर हल्क़ा-ए-शाम-ओ-सहर से जावेदाँ हो जा
निकल कर हल्क़ा-ए-शाम-ओ-सहर से जावेदाँ हो जा
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 calls the distracted person back to the one place worth diving into — the self. The 'ring of evening and morning' is ordinary time, the repeating cycle of days. A self that goes deep enough, he suggests, steps outside that ring into something that does not simply repeat and fade.
For You, Today
Time keeps cycling whether you grow or not. Iqbal's instruction is to use that time to go inward and build something durable — a self substantial enough to outlast the calendar.
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
Na samjhoge to mit jaoge ai Hindostan walon
Tumhari dastan tak bhi na hogi dastanon mein
Tumhari dastan tak bhi na hogi dastanon mein
If you will not understand, you will be erased, O people of Hindustan — not even your story will remain among the stories.
Awakening · Courage