Couplets › Awakening
From Bal-e-Jibril (1935) · originally composed in Urdu
Nigah paida kar ai ghafil tajalli ain-e-fitrat hai
Ki apni mauj se begana rah sakta nahin dariya
Ki apni mauj se begana rah sakta nahin dariya
“Cultivate vision, O heedless one, for radiance is the very nature of things; a river cannot stay a stranger to its own wave.”
Romanहिन्दी
निगह पैदा कर ऐ ग़ाफ़िल तजल्ली ऐन-ए-फ़ितरत है
कि अपनी मौज से बेगाना रह सकता नहीं दरिया
कि अपनी मौज से बेगाना रह सकता नहीं दरिया
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 tells the inattentive person that the light is not hidden; it is built into reality itself. What is missing is the eye to see it. The river and its wave are one, so the self cannot truly be cut off from its own deepest power. The estrangement is only inattention.
For You, Today
If life feels flat and dull, the problem may be your seeing, not the world. Train your attention. The power you feel separated from is not somewhere far off; it is your own wave, waiting to be recognised.
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