Persian · noun · The Tavern & the Cup
Jaam-e-jam
जाम-ए-जम
said jaam-e-JAM
also written: jam-e-jam, jaam e jam, jaam-e-jamshed
Meaning
The legendary cup of Jamshed in which the whole world could be seen; a mirror of all things.
Literally: the cup of Jamshed
How Iqbal uses it
The legendary cup of the ancient Persian king Jamshed was said to reveal the whole world within it — so it became the emblem of total mystical vision, the heart polished until it mirrors all reality. To possess the jaam-e-jam is to see by the light of love rather than the eye. Iqbal invokes it to say that such all-seeing insight is not a relic of kings but the birthright of the awakened self, the heart that has drunk the wine of love.
See it in the verse
Jaam-e-jam in Iqbal’s couplets
Utha na sheeshagaran-e-farang ke ehsaan
Sifaal-e-Hind se meena o jaam paida kar
Sifaal-e-Hind se meena o jaam paida kar
Do not accept the favours of the West's glassmakers — from the humble clay of India, fashion your own goblet and cup.
Selfhood · Freedom · Action
Utha na sheesha-garaan-e-firang ke ehsaan
Safaal-e-Hind se mina-o-jaam paida kar
Safaal-e-Hind se mina-o-jaam paida kar
Do not be indebted to the glassmakers of the foreign land — fashion your goblet and cup from the clay of your own soil.
Selfhood · Freedom · Action