Persian · noun · Selfhood & Will
Khud-aagahi
ख़ुद-आगही
said khud-aa-ga-HEE
also written: khud-aagahi, khudagahi, khud-agahi
Meaning
Self-awareness, self-consciousness; awareness of one's own being.
Literally: self-awareness, consciousness of one's own being
How Iqbal uses it
Khud-aagahi is awakened self-consciousness — the moment a self becomes aware of itself as a free, responsible centre of will. Iqbal treats this awakening as decisive: a people sunk in heedlessness must come to self-awareness before they can act, and the realised self lives in continual consciousness of its own powers and purpose. It is the inward dawn that ends spiritual sleep.
See it in the verse
Khud-aagahi 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
Khud badalte nahin Quran ko badal dete hain
Hue kis darja faqeehan-e-haram be-taufeeq
Hue kis darja faqeehan-e-haram be-taufeeq
They will not change themselves, so they reinterpret the Quran instead — how utterly bereft of grace the jurists of the sanctuary have become.
Justice · Awakening · Courage
Jab ishq sikhata hai aadab-e-khud-aagahi
Khulte hain ghulamon par asrar-e-shahanshahi
Khulte hain ghulamon par asrar-e-shahanshahi
When love teaches the discipline of self-awareness, the secrets of sovereignty open up even to slaves.
Freedom · Self-Knowledge · Awakening
Ishq bhi ho hijab mein husn bhi ho hijab mein
Ya to khud aashkar ho ya mujhe aashkar kar
Ya to khud aashkar ho ya mujhe aashkar kar
Love is veiled and beauty too is veiled; either reveal yourself, or make me one who can be revealed.
Love · Self-Knowledge · Restlessness
Taqlid ki rawish se to behtar hai khud-kushi
Rasta bhi dhund khizr ka sauda bhi chhod de
Rasta bhi dhund khizr ka sauda bhi chhod de
Better self-destruction than a life of blind imitation; find your own road, and give up the obsession with a guide.
Selfhood · Freedom · Courage
Miri mashshatgi ki kya zarurat husn-e-mani ko
Ki fitrat khud-ba-khud karti hai laale ki hina-bandi
Ki fitrat khud-ba-khud karti hai laale ki hina-bandi
What need has true beauty of meaning for my adorning hand? Nature, all on its own, paints the tulip red.
Self-Knowledge · Humility · Action