Meaning
The secrets of the self, the hidden principles of selfhood and its development.
Literally: secrets of the self
How Iqbal uses it
Asrar-e-Khudi is the title of Iqbal's seminal Persian poem, where he unveils khudi as the dynamic core of life and the answer to self-negating mysticism.
See it in the verse
Asrar-e-Khudi in Iqbal’s couplets
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
Ho agar khudnigar-o-khudgar-o-khudgir khudi
Ye bhi mumkin hai ki tu maut se bhi mar na sake
Ye bhi mumkin hai ki tu maut se bhi mar na sake
If your selfhood becomes self-seeing, self-making and self-possessed, it is even possible that not even death can make you die.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge
Mira tariq amiri nahin faqiri hai
Khudi na bech gharibi mein naam paida kar
Khudi na bech gharibi mein naam paida kar
My way is not wealth but faqr, the dervish's poverty. Do not sell your selfhood; make your name in poverty itself.
Selfhood · Humility · Courage
Giraanbaha hai to hifz-e-khudi se hai warna
Gauhar mein aab-e-gauhar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
Gauhar mein aab-e-gauhar ke siwa kuchh aur nahin
If you are precious, it is from guarding your selfhood; otherwise a pearl is nothing but the lustre that is its own.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge
Khudi ka sirr-e-nihan La Ilaha Illallah
Khudi hai taeg fasan La Ilaha Illallah
Khudi hai taeg fasan La Ilaha Illallah
The hidden secret of the self is 'There is no god but God'; the self is the sword, and that declaration is the whetstone that sharpens it.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge · Courage
Shakh-e-gul par chahak wa-lekin
Kar apni khudi mein aashiyana
Kar apni khudi mein aashiyana
Sing, by all means, on the rose-branch — but build your nest within your own selfhood.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge