Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. panDit amarnath sahir dehlavi (1863-1962) was deeply affected by the cultural degeneration following the 1857 war. He turned to themes of mysticism in his poetry. He was a scholar of sanskrit, arabi and faarsi. This is one of two Ghazal of panDit amarnath sahir styled after Ghalib’s ‘dil-e naadaaN tujhe hua kya hai’ and is highly sufiyaana.
1
jasad¹ ne jaan² se poochha keh qalb³-e be-riya⁴ kya hai
Khitaab⁵ aaya keh aaiine meN jauhar⁶ ke siva⁷ kya hai    1.body 2.soul, conscience 3.heart 4.without hypocrisy, sincere, truthful 5.word, speech, reply 6.shine, reflection, qualities 7.except for
The body asked the soul – what is a sincere/truthful heart. What is there in a mirror except the quality to reflect. This implies the following – the quality to reflect is the essential feature of a mirror, without it, it is nothing. In urdu poetry the heart is often symbolised as a heart that reflects reality or divinity. Thus, a sincere heart is that which reflects divinity or divine truth.
2
ayaaN¹ aaiine meN soorat²-e m’aani³, safaa⁴ kya hai
nehaaN⁵ taskiiN⁶ meN hai izteraab⁷-e dil, riya⁸ kya hai    1.apparent, visible 2.like, similar to, in the shape of 3.(real/true) meaning 4.purity 5.hidden 6.contentment 7.restlessness 8.hypocrisy
What is purity other than a reflection in the mirror/heart of the true meaning/intention. In much the same way hypocrisy is restlessness (acquisitiveness) hidden/still lingering in contentment i.e., if you declare that you no longer desire any worldly luxuries but still entertain those wishes, then it is hypocrisy.
3
miTaana¹ aap² ko, naabuud³ ho jaana, fana⁴ kya hai
samaana⁵ aap² meN aur Khud-ba-Khud⁶ hona, baqa⁷ kya hai    1.erase, efface 2.self, ego 3.non-existent 4.annihilation 5.contained, poured into 6.of your own volition 7.immortality
I found this a bit woolly and difficult to decipher, but here is the best I can do for now. “fana” is an important concept is sufi thought – annihilation of the self is merger with the great spirit. Given that, the first misra is a simple rhetorical question – what is fana – it is to erase your ego and become non-existent. Similarly, the concept of “baqa” – to achieve immortality, is becoming one with the great spirit but still retaining identity. This identity is more akin to Khudi and not at all to ‘ego’. Thus, ‘apne aap meN samaana’ is to become self-contained – without any attachments to the material world. ‘Khud-ba-Khud hona’ is also the same concept – becoming oneself/content within oneself. Thus, ‘baqa’ consists in becoming ‘self-contained, without any attachments’.
4
do-aalam¹ jalva-gaah²-e husn³ meN ain⁴-e basiirat⁵ hai
ye aks⁶-e shaKhs⁷ hai aaiine⁸ meN soorat-numa⁹ kya hai    1.here and hereafter, all cosmos 2.the place of display of glory 3.beauty (divine) 4.essence, focus 5.sight, ability to see 6.reflection 7.person, divine person, god 8.mirror/heart 9.like a face
All of the cosmos is a display of the glory of god. The essence of sight/of the discerning eye is the ability to see this. You look in your heart and the face you see in that mirror is a reflection of the divine person.
5
vo yakta¹ zaat² hai ain³-e suroor⁴ o ilm⁵ o haq⁶ aye dil
nehaaN⁷ kasrat⁸ meN vahdat⁹ ho gaii hai maasava¹⁰ kya hai    1.unique 2.being 3.essence 4.happiness, contentment 5.knowledge 6.truth 7.hidden 8.many, multitude 9.one-ness 10.what else
He/she is a unique being, the essence of happiness/contentment, knowledge and truth. Hidden in the multitude (of the cosmos/universe) is its one-ness, uniqueness – what else.
6
qidam¹ hai zaat²-e vaahid³, haal⁴ hai, maazi⁵ o mustaqbil⁶
azal⁷ se taa⁸ abad⁹ ki ibteda¹⁰ kya inteha¹¹ kya hai    1.ancient (qadeem) – used here to mean eternal 2.being 3.unique 4.present 5.past 6.future 7.eternal (in the sense of from forever) 8.until 9.eternal (in the sense of forever in the future) 10.beginning 11.end
That unique being is eternal. It is/will be the present, past and the future. If something exists from eternity to eternity then how can it have a beginning and an end.
7
miTa kar dil se pindaar-e Khudi insaaf se dekho
ke be-zauq-e tamanna hasti-e bem of rija kya hai    1.erase 2.hubris, arrogance 3.ego 4.sincerely 5.without the taste for 6.desire, longing 7.existence, life 8.fears 9.hopes
Erase the arrogance of ego and look with sincerity. Then you will see that this life of hopes and fears is cannot be without desire. The implication is that if you get rid of desire, then this life will be one of contentment.
8
na the aape¹ meN moosa² varna³ un ka hausla⁴ kya tha
jo bol uThte keh aa parde se baahir dekhta⁵ kya hai    1.in control of self, capable of 2.Moses 3.otherwise 4.courage, daring 5.used as – what are you waiting for
This has reference to a Biblical/qur’aanic story that moosa went on mount tuur and asked to see god. There was a manifestation in the form of a lightning flash and moosa fainted. Says the shaa’er, moosa was not in control, if only he had insisted and said – come out from behind the veil (from the unseen), what are you waiting for. But his courage failed him and he fainted. This is similar in thought to Ghalib’s …
girni thi hum pe barq-e tajalli na tuur par
dete haiN baada zarf-e qadah Khwaar dekh kar
9
tajalli¹ ban gayii saahir² naqaab-e ruu³-e jaan-e-jaaN⁴
keh diidan⁵ hukm⁶-e na-diidan⁷ hai, yaarab⁸ maajra⁹ kya hai    1.brilliance, glory 2.pen-name of poet, magic 3.face 4.life of my life, beloved, god 5.seeing 6.edict 7.not seeing, inability to see 8.my lord 9.happening, predicament
The brilliance of the glory (of god) has itself magically become a veil drawn over the face/image i.e., I don’t have the power to look at this brilliance without getting blind. It is as if the permission to look has become an order not to see. What kind of a predicament is this, my lord.