Iqbal, Ghalib, Amir Khusraw: Three Masters, Three Poems

Re: # 21, echoboom:

I am stumped and stupefied at the site given by you!!!!

I am, forever, indebted to you for this tip.

Who is this guy, Pritchett? Wo to bilkul sarabor hai Ghalib sey!!!

Par hamaare liye to aap hii bahot uunche haiN.

I still look forward to seeing your selection of Jewels of Urdu made easy for me!!!!!!!

Inquirer:
Thank you for the exaggerated & undeserved adulation. I do not really enjoy being a ``tutor`` simply because it robs me of an opportunity to learn myself--time , you understand is at a premium now. Being a late starter myself, and having acquired & developed the taste in Urdu, Farsi, and arabie entirely on my own [I was thoroughly ruined by the Ba Ba Blacksheep missionary schools--hence my angst gainst the rape of young minds in slavistaans].

That is why I referred to as ``gut-wrenching`` although one could call it tedious & boring. I am ``wild`` & ``undisciplined`` in my disposition, and I neither relish it or regret it--it came with the manual--and get nervous when faced with tedium & routine.

There is plenty of work already done & let me refer you to the Pritchet site where it has everything laid out so beautifully in all the three scripts.


http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ghalib


But my translations are entirely my own & I never read tafseers by others. I try to ``solve`` the shairs at my own level(maybe primary) and at my own pace.

``Zeest mushkil hai, issay aur bhee mushkil naa banaa`--Life already is humdrum, render it not even more meaningless.

---

haiñ āj kyūñ żalīl kih kal tak nah thī pasand
gustāḳhī-e farishtah hamāre janāb meñ

a simple straightforward tete-a-tete with Allah mian. {ghalib`s humour}

So why we (humans: adam`s progeny) now are in such a mess. It was just yesterday that
an archangel`s indicretion towards us was not tolerated by you. [Referring to the condemnation of Satan when he refused to prostrate to Adam].

Re: # 19, echoboom:
Bhai! Kyaa kahnaa!!
Aap kii yeh post to aap ke home page kaa aks rakhtii hai!!!

****Yours is the exact style that is needed at Chowk to develop widespread interest in Urdu Shaayari of great poets.

I represent the ``needy`` because I do not know Urdu script but have a keen interest Urdu shaayari.

It will be great if you select a dozen great poems and produce a systematic treatment you have initiated with this sher of Ghalib.

I know I am suggesting a work that would be ``gut wrenching,`` many times!! But it will be a unique service to Urdu Poetry.

By the way, aap kii ijaazat ho to ``dost kaa sher`` maiN apne ek dost ko bhej doon!

Ghalib`s ghazal here; one shair at a time.

``Kal kay liyay kar aaj naa khhissat sharaab meiN
Yeh soo-e-zUn hai, saaqi-e kausar kay baab meiN``

Kal kay liyay: for tomorrow or future
aaj na: not today

Khissat: stinginess but more closely un-generous or worrier-about-tomorrow or a ``saver``

Sharab meiN: metaphorically goodies, benefits, sharing wealth with friends or poor: A generic term for what could make the receiver happy in this world.

Yeh soo-e zUn: It is the optimistic delusion that one would be around even tomorrow to
drink the wine thus pinched or saved.

saqi-e kausar: The prophet (pbuh) who as the sufi tradition goes is a paragon of magnanimity & generositywho will look after the ones who love him. Qaseem-i-kausar: Hazrat Ali. Saaqui-e-Alam : Allah

baab meiN: meaning that in a hadeeth the prophet has said that one should not be so sure of his tomorrow that he witholds from the needy what could bring them happiness today.

we can continue:

P.S: Aaasif bhai--``Khataa hUm ney kee, jo khafaa ho gae haiN
......................... Vo vaaday muhabbat kay, kyaa ho gae haiN``

Re: # 17:
Yes, it would be interesting if you could adopt the following format for each sher:

(i) A glossary of the words used. Imagine people not familiar with Urdu.

(ii) Basic idea of the statement.

(iii) What imagery you would like to be seen.

Inquirer,

The version you have posted appears more of a looser translation; mine was literal and deliberately so: I didn`t want to change Ghalib`s actual words even if it made it less poetic although I did try to be poetic where possible.

As for retaining the word `niqab` I think it is a word which is now familiar enough to
English readers to be untranslated. The word `veil` has different connotations and denotes headscarf...

If you like we can discuss Ghalib`s ghazal couplet by couplet? The matla` is obviously religious and only makes sense if it is read as such too...

Re: # 15: Thanks, now your translation is readable.

I am sorry, I asked you about the eleven principles and its relationship to monism without clarification. That inquiry has nothing to do with your submission, Ghalib or his poetry. I was intrigued when I read about it separately and asked you the question since you call yourself Naqshbandi!

Now, there seems to be some difference between the two versions available on the Chowk board so I was looking for the Devnagari version. Of course, Ghalib did not write his ghazal in Devnagari but I believe that translation may be more authentic than the computerized translations.

Let us consider an example of the differences:

Yours:
She has still not finished adorning her beauty
Before her eyes a mirror, forever hidden inside the niqab!

The other:
The adorning of her beauty
Leaves no time for ease;
Even beneath the veil, her mirror
Constantly confronts her.

In your version the emphasis is on the continued private adornment while the other version indicates a fundamental dissatisfaction with the state of adornment and even its consequence.

Furthermore, Naqshbndi Bhai, it is desirable in English translation not to use urdu words like ``nikab.``

I think it might be more doable and constructive to pick up a good poem, tranliterate it, and provide an interpretation for the discussion on the Board rather than develop an English poetical translation which is much more demanding.

Do Not Be Stingy With the Wine Today by Mirza Ghalib

Inquirer, I have removed the spaces and just printed my translation below. This format should make it easier to read. IMHO, it is Ghalib`s expression of the Sufi concept of Wahdat al Wujud which, despite apparent similarities with Monism is NOT the same as Monism. Monism says that `God is in Everything`. This is kufr. The Sufis say, ``Only God really Exists. Everything else is an allusion.`` This is the ultimate understanding of Tawheed.


Do not be stingy with the wine today for fear of tomorrow:
Hold a better opinion of the Cupbearer of Kawthar than this!
Why are we so disgraced today when til yesterday
Even the angels weren`t permitted to be rude in our presence?
Why does my soul appear to leave my body during the audition?
It`s as if that cry is hidden in the notes of the instruments
The steed of life is in its stride, where will it halt?
There is no hand upon the reins, no foot in the stirrups lies!
I`m as far removed from the Reality of my Self as
I am perplexed by the thoughts of the Other
The reality of the witness, the Witnessed and witnessing is one;
I am astonished then as to the meaning of bearing witness.
The existence of the Ocean is encompassed in the drop
What then is the purpose of drop and wave and bubble?
Shame is a coquettish gesture, even if it is for oneself!
Many unveiled ones are thus veiled in this manner!
She has still not finished adorning her beauty
Before her eyes a mirror, forever hidden inside the niqab!
He is unseen even from the Unseen, whom we believe to be Present
Those who awaken inside a dream are still really dreaming!
Ghalib, the breeze coming from the Friend smells of the Friend
I`m busy with the Truth, in the adoration of ‘Bu Turab [Ali ]!

Naqshbandi Bhai:

Here is another interpretation of Ghalib`s Ghazal that you have translated. It would be nice to have a Devanagri version of the original Ghazal to discuss the differences in approaches. For some reason your presentation has many gaps and, therefore, it is hard to read. Would be interested in your comments.

With the thought of tomorrow,

Be not niggardly today, O Saqi;
This would be disrespectful
To the Saqi of Paradise.

Why have we become so contemptible
Today, when till yesterday ,
Our honour did not tolerate
The impudence of the angel.

Listening to sweet music, why does it seem
That one`s life is draining away?
Is it because we hear His voice
In the notes of the lute and the rebeck?

The steed of age is galloping;
Let us see where it will stop;
The hand does not hold the rein
And the foot is not in the stirrup.

I am as far removed
From my own reality
As my twisting and turning
Stems from the thought of the other.

The reality of the sight of God,
The one who sees, and what is seen,
All in effect are one; I am amazed
Then, what is all this witnessing?

The sea`s substance consists of
The shifting appearance of forms;
What then is in the drop,
And the bubble, and the wave?

Coyness, even with oneself
Is but a form of dalliance;
How many unveiled ones
Go about covered by a veil?

The adorning of her beauty
Leaves no time for ease;
Even beneath the veil, her mirror
Constantly confronts her.

Re: # 12, Naqshbandi Bhai:
``If these 11 exercises have some commonality with the spiritual practises of other faiths, e.g. hinduism, that is neither here nor there. ``

Not really, it is an indication how a religious synthesis and syncretism was developing in India prior to the pernicious partition of India. We need to recognize its importance and draw appropriate lessons. On the other hand, if we don`t then we will inexorably retrogress into sectarian conflicts even within Islam and Hinduism. Of which Pakistan and Iraq are the currently burgeoning examples.

Just as Rahim and Kabir were Muslims and they tried to understand the elements of Hinduism, similarly there were, in India, Hindu monists who saw Islamic practices as a subset of monism and they tried to adopt a syncretical attitude towards Islam. The specific case that I pointed out to you was not an academic exercise. Those elements were incorporated in the corpus of the faith propounded and practiced by those monists.

Inquirer bhai,

That there exist common stages in the spiritual ascent of man which are found in all of the world`s religions is something i have never disputed. i merely mentioned that Shaykh al0-Ghajdawani was the one who delineated these spiritual practises which all Naqshbandis are expected to do if they wish to progress on the Path. If these 11 exercises have some commonality with the spiritual practises of other faiths, e.g. hinduism, that is neither here nor there.

#4, echoboom:
``Iqbal is simply urging muslims to be more dynamic in ``active`` Islam as well, besides the rituals. ``
****The crux of the matter lies in defining `dynamic in ``active``.` What is the importance of exclusivism and exploitation in it?****

#7, murtaza``
``‘There`s a superhuman inside you and I and all those around us. We`re living in a time when we have no choice but to bring him out.’ ``
****The selfish and deliberate miunderstanding (= distortion) resulted in fascism in Germany and can lead to the same anywhere. By and large, the idea of the superman is really the propaganda of the dishonest.****

#8, Naqshbandi:
**** That I, of course, suspected. But I wanted you to note the synthetic process that existed between Islam and Hindu thinkers. The Hindu thinkers tried in a practical way to identify the common features of all religions. All that was - not irreversibly, I hope - destroyed by the Jinnah and his ilk.

Your providing of information that some Sufi saint developed the eleven principles is appreciated but it is a tautology which illustrates an inability to recognize the shared quality of the principles. This is possibly an inadvertent indication of exclusivism with which the Muslims are reared. Your singular lack of interest in the thinkers I referred to confirms my statements!!****

#9, ecoboom: Your page is a storehouse of info!

#10, echoboom: I agree with much of what you have written about superman/ubermensch in #9, 10. Besides, one has to guard against becoming a cheap copy of the Nazis! Truly, hopefully, you are right in:

``So Umer you see where our man differs from superman?``

One needs to have a proper understanding of:
``Where all that is hath ever been,
As One and Whole. ``

Further to#9:

This is an excerpt ferom ``Reconstruction....`` , Iqbal`s remarkable lectures, originally in english, compiled & published in 1912. Has never gone out of print ever since.

Here ( most likely you`ve already read this one, but maybe for others) Rumi, 7/8 hundred years ago is talking not only from where we came but where we are & most importantly where we are heading.

This concept was very elegantly employey by Ricchard Bach in `` Jonathan Livingstone Seagull``. A thin short story about a bird which wants to be a super-bird. Richard Bach, an ace pilot & maybe the best in US airforce, refused to shave his mustache & gave up flying
simply to retain his ``khuudi``--hence this marvellous book which brought a revolution in corporate US & was a used, vulgarly & sadlyI should say, to increase sales .

It was a top best-seller in the 70`s.

---

...............``

In the second place we have to look to the great practical importance of the question. The modern man with his philosophies of criticism and scientific specialism finds himself in a strange predicament. His Naturalism has given him an unprecedented control over the forces of Nature, but has robbed him of faith in his own future. It is strange how the same idea affects different cultures differently. The formulation of the theory of evolution in the world of Islam brought into being Rëmâ’s tremendous enthusiasm for the biological future of man. No cultured Muslim can read such passages as the following without a thrill of joy:

............................................``

(Man--by Rumi:) [ this is title given by me--echo; I cannot recall the original right now]

Low in the earth
I lived in realms of ore and stone;
And then I smiled in many-tinted flowers;
Then roving with the wild and wandering hours,
O’er earth and air and ocean’s zone,
In a new birth,
I dived and flew,
And crept and ran,
And all the secret of my essence drew
Within a form that brought them all to view -
And lo, a Man!
And then my goal,
Beyond the clouds, beyond the sky,
In realms where none may change or die -
In angel form; and then away
Beyond the bounds of night and day,
And Life and Death, unseen or seen,
Where all that is hath ever been,
As One and Whole.

So Umer you see where our man differs from superman?

Umer Murteza:

Nice to hear from you.

That was a very uplifting account you gave about your art. Please write more.

Goethe in his ``faust`` has thoroughly castigated the concept of superhuman man. Do not get me wrong. Unbridled pursuit can be even be satanic . The mad scientist (chemistry!) there is the metaphor for Dr.Strangloves of our times [``dr. Stangelove--or how I learned to love the bomb``--the movie PeterSellers superb].

Mardi-Khuda or Mard-i-Momin is the true ``translation`` of Ubermensch [If you notice even in english it is a ``wrong`` translation ``uber`` being /over but not /super ]

Masjid-i-Qartaba is the only & ultimate poem you need because it talks about the ``Art`` & the ``artist`` & nothing else; of-course in the context of ``Islamic[ uncorrupted Humanism]
background.

``Hai mgar uuss naqsh mein RunG O sabaat O Dvaam
jis ko kiyaa ho kisi, mrd-e khudaa ney tamaam
mrd-i khuda kaa amal, ishque sey sahib faroagh
ishque khuud ik sAeil hai, sAeil ko laita hai thaam

Rung ho ya khisht O sunG , chUnG ho ya hrf O saut
mujaza-i fUn kee hai, khoon-i jigar sey namood!

IN the above shair Iqbal has beautifull covered all art: Rung--Painting; Khisht--brick--architecture; sung--stone--sculpture; chUng--lyre--music; hrf--word--writing; saut--sound--voice [singing & oratory]

Iqbal`s Javed Naama is the ultimate science-fiction & space-travel book you`ll ever need. Ii also covers all the names who have spoken of ``superman`` & in one go covers eons of human-thought. If you know farsi--then great (i know little myself) but english would do.

If you know Dr. Naumaan-ul-Haque let me know or i`ll give you his e-mail. He spent his sentire school years in england. Graduated with laurels in engineering [& never pursued that career) at cambridge & Iqbal directed him to humanities and now we have someone who is so ``at-home`` with the east & west. He taeches univ. and somehow has a fondness for me. He once suggested that we both pursue higher studies at Qom; the great learning center in Iran [Dr. Hussain Nasr`s second alma-mater]. I`ve had very rewrding meetings with Mr. Meer also. These gentlemen are quite fascinated by ``unprofessionals`` like us.

I hope I`ve been of some help; write to me & maybe we`ll meet someday.

Asif:

The ``confusion`` about Iqbal lines above was because they are two separate Rub``a``ees which are written as a ``poem`` above. Believe me, how desperate I got trying to locate the ``poem``..because I ``knew`` it was somewhere & just couldn`t find it.

also I wanted to ``correct`` the vo dil vo ``awaaz``--no it is arzoo. I did not want to correct this unless I could confirm it. Please do not get the roman ones from the net. Do it from the book itself ; because you are good at urdu--farsi yourself.

Umer/asif & others: On my i-log page there is a link for muslim philosophy. That would give you the entire works of muslim writers through the ages.

Umar,
Writers who`ve written about the Superman. Well, obviously there`s Iqbal--you should read everything you can by him (esp. Bal i Jibril and his Persian stuff and the book Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam) and the secondary literature is vast so I`d recommend biographies and studies of his work by Anne Marie Schimmel, Arberry, and Mustansir Mir. In Urdu there is the book by his son, Zindarud. Dr. Ali Shariati is also another good writer about Iqbal and his ideas about Khudi.

Then, of course, there is Nietzsche. Any decent introductory book on him will cover his ideas of the Ubermensch. And you could then read his actual works too.

****

Inquirer, that is not a Hindu gurus idea--those 11 principles are the Principles of the Naaqshbandi Sufi path as defined and laid out by Shaykh al-Ghujdawani, one of the Grand Masters in the Naqshbandi silsila.

Asif, echo,

I was recently exhibiting a couple of numbers in the recent Islam expo held in Alexandra Palace, London, when a lady enquired about the yellow painting with lots of sphere’s and sticks. She pointed at a blue sphere.

‘That’s oxygen.’

She prodded at a ring structure.

‘Noradrenaline.’

She then moved back and with her finger traced Muhammed in the air.

I had, so to speak, painted a chemical ‘portrait’ of prophet Muhammed. When she asked why I had painted the chemistry of the man I told her that this was the chemistry of every human. And these chemicals weren’t just the cogs and cams of a corporeal creature. These were the retainers of knowledge, providers of motion and energy, transformers of body states, enforcers of love. Chemicals affected moods; moods were linked to emotions. And if ever she had experienced moments of profound truths she would know that they were associated with intense emotional states.

‘There`s a superhuman inside you and I and all those around us. We`re living in a time when we have no choice but to bring him out.’

And it dawned upon me that I have been fascinated with the superhuman concept without ever fully realising it. Iqbal without a doubt is a great influence and there are other paintings which have been inspired/influenced by a sentence or two from a work here and there (but what I have read is not even a fraction of his work).

If you folks can give any directions towards writers/poets/works who deal with the superhuman, I’d be forever indebted. Many thanks.

Umer M