Poet unknown · kept here, honestly labelled
Mita de apni hasti ko agar kuchh martaba chahe
Ki dana khak mein mil kar gul-o-gulzar hota hai

Dissolve your ego if you wish to rise — for the seed, only by merging into the dust, becomes a garden in bloom.

Romanहिन्दीPoet unknown
मिटा दे अपनी हस्ती को अगर कुछ मर्तबा चाहे
कि दाना ख़ाक में मिल कर गुल-ओ-गुलज़ार होता है

The verse 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

A startling image: the seed must consent to disappear into the dark soil before it can become a garden. The self that refuses to dissolve, when dissolving is exactly what growth requires, stays a seed forever.

For You, Today

Sometimes the thing blocking your growth is the very identity you are protecting. The seed that will not break open never becomes the garden it was always carrying.

Often quoted as Iqbal's, but its authorship is genuinely uncertain — Rekhta lists it under an unknown poet. We keep it, honestly labelled, for the truth of the thought.
Themes:HumilityGrowth
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More from Poet unknown
Solitude
is ki panah le kabhi us ki panah le
Defiance
jalwe tujhe dikhaenge bas intezar kar
The Self
ruswaiyon ki khak se mar jaun kya karun
All couplets by Poet unknown

The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →