Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. asGhar husain asGhar gonDvi (1884-1936) from a family of limited means in gorakhpur, he learnt urdu, arabi, faarsi and English through personal effort. He has a philosophical sufiyaana bent. This Ghazal in the zamin of Ghalib’s ‘aisa kahaaN se laauN keh tujh sa kaheN jis’e’, is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
jaan-e-nashaat¹ husn² ki duniya kaheN jis’e
jannat hai aek Khoon-e-tamanna³ kaheN jis’e    1.soul of joy, essence of happiness 2.beauty 3.killing/not fulfilling desires
The soul of joy/essence of happiness is what we call the world of beauty. Heaven is what we call unfulfilled desires. Let us dig deeper into the metaphors … the world of beauty (beauty itself) is transient; hence joy/happiness is transient. But the idea of heaven (eternal happiness) is intimately tied with ‘Khoon-e tamanna’, suffering through the pain of unfulfilled desires.
2
uss jalva-gaah¹-e husn² meN chhaaya³ hai har taraf⁴
aisa hijaab⁵ chashm⁶-e tamaasha⁷ kaheN jis’e     1.place of manifestation 2.beauty 3.spread over 4.all around 5.veil 6.eye 7.spectacle, viewing, witnessing
Here, ‘beauty’ represents divine beauty and the ‘jalva-gaah-e husn’ – the place of manifestation/display of this divine beauty is the universe. This implies that one can see the manifestation/display of divine beauty all around us in the universe. But it is veiled with such a veil that can be called the eye of witnessing i.e., the veil itself is the eye with which divine beauty can be seen, meaning that we have to develop the inner eye that can see divine beauty in the veil itself, because real beauty is impossible to perceive.
3
yeh asl¹ zindagi hai yeh jaan-e-hayaat² hai
husn³-e mazaaq⁴ shorish⁵-e sauda⁶ kaheN jis’e    1.real, true 2.soul/essence of life/existence 3.beauty, skill, aesthetics 4.taste, sophistication 5.turmoil, madness 6. all-consuming love, overwhelming passion, obsession
‘This’ is real living, ‘this’ is the essence/soul of existence. The reality of life and soul of existence is more than biological existence. What is ‘this’. It is described in the second misra … the spiritual skill/sophistication (to perceive the divine) and the inner turmoil of all-consuming love (of the divine or perhaps of humanity/creation).
4
mer’e vidaa¹-e hosh² ko itna bhi hai bahut
yeh aab-o-raNg³ husn⁴ ka parda⁵ kaheN jis’e     1.farewell 2.senses, intellectual perception 3.brilliance and style 4.beauty 5.veil
Just ‘this much’ is enough for my senses to bid farewell i.e., for me to go into a deep trance. The ‘this much’ is described in the second misra in which ‘husn’-beauty is divine beauty. The ‘aab-o-raNg’ – brilliance and style of divine beauty is the universe, all of ‘creation’. It is this that we call ‘parda’-veil because it hides (but still reflects) divine beauty. Thus, the beauty of creation is more than enough to send me into a trance, I don’t have the capacity to bear the sight of the real divine beauty behind it.
5
aksar¹ raha hai husn²-e haqiiqat³ bhi saamne⁴
ek mustaqil⁵ saraab⁶-e tamanna⁷ kaheN jis’e     1.often 2.beauty 3.truth, reality 4.in front, in sight 5.permanent 6.mirage, illusion 7.desire
Here, ‘husn-e haqiiqat’-the beauty of truth/reality is the divine essence hidden in everything and ‘saraab-e tamanna’-the mirage/illusion of desire is the desire for union with the divine which we know to be an illusion but we still entertain it. Often I see before me the divine essence is everything, which may be called a constant/permanent illusion-like desire for union with the divine.
6
ab tak tamaam¹ fikr² o nazar³ par mohiit⁴ hai
shakl⁵-e sifaat⁶ mu’aani⁷-e ashiya⁸ kaheN jis’e     1.all, total 2.thought, reason 3.sight, perception 4.encompassing, surrounding, overarching 5.face, image 6.attributes, qualities 7.meaning 8.things
Even now, all human reason and perception is overwhelmed/captivated by the image of qualities and meaning of (material things). The implication is that that is why we are unable to penetrate the veil and see divine reality behind everything.
7
har mauj¹ ki voh shaan² hai jaam³-e sharaab⁴ meN
barq⁵-e faza⁶-e vaadi⁷-e siina⁸ kaheN jis’e     1.wave, ripple 2.dignity, glory 3.cup, goblet 4.(mystic) wine (of love) 5.lightning 6.ambience, atmosphere 7.valley 8.Sinai
This has reference to the story of moosa/Moses who is said to have gone up mount tuur is the sinaaii, asking to see god. He was told that he could not bear the sight but insisted and saw a flash of lightning and fainted. Here the ‘jaam-e sharaab’ – the goblet of wine is the mystic wine of universal love. In every ripple of this wine is the same glory that manifested itself in the lightning of the air of mount tuur.
8
zindaaniyoN¹ ko aa ke na chheRa² kare bahut
jaan³-e bahaar⁴ nik’hat⁵-e rusvaa⁶ kaheN jis’e   1.prisoners 2.tease 3.soul, essence 4.spring/joy 5.fragrance 6.disgrace
Here, ‘zindaaniyaaN’-prisoners are all humans whose souls are imprisoned in their bodies; and nik’hat-e rusvaa-fragrance of disgrace is the imagery of afterlife that puts this life to shame; this fragrance/imagery is also described as ‘jaan-e bahaar’-the essence of spring/joy. The poet calls upon this fragrance/imagery to not tease us mortal humans who are confined to our bodies.
9
iss h’aul¹-e dil se garm-rau²-e arsa³-e vajood⁴
mera hi kuchh Ghubaar⁵ hai duniya kaheN jis’e     1.terror, turmoil 2.rapidly flowing/passing 3.time period, duration 4.existence, life 5.dust
The rapid flow/passing of the duration of life i.e., the enthusiastic participation in/hot pursuit of life is nothing but running away, trying to escape the inner turmoil of the heart. Imagine a journey of rapid movement raising a cloud of dust behind it. This cloud of dust is the material world from which the soul is trying to run away.
10
sarmastiyoN¹ meN shiisha²-e mai³ le ke haath meN
itna uchhaal⁴ deN keh surayya⁵ kaheN jis’e     1.intoxication 2.glass 3.wine 4.throw up high 5.the constellation Pleiades
This is no ordinary intoxication-it is a sufi trance, ecstacy, spiritual bliss. The glass of wine is no ordinary wine-it is mystic/divine wine of universal love. To take it in your hand means to achieve it/possess it. Such possession is a great act of joy and in the euphoria of that joy the poet/sufi throws this wine high into the sky, so that it can be called (become equal to) Pleiades i.e., achieving an exalted status.
11
shaa’ed¹ meray siva² koi uss ko samajh sake
vo rabt³-e Khaas⁴ ranjish⁵-e bejaa⁶ kaheN jis’e     1.perhaps, maybe 2.except for 3.connection, relationship 4.special, unique 5.resentment 6.unjustified
Perhaps, except for me, nobody can understand ‘it’. The ‘it’ is explained in the second misra. It is the that special relationship which is called ‘ranjish-e bejaa’-unjustified resentment. Relationship between who and who, resentment against whom? We have to resort to mystical interpretations. It is a unique bond with the divine that other people unjustifiably resent. I don’t think that the poet claims a special/privileged relationship with the divine that he has and others don’t and so they resent it; he means a special bond with the divine that anyone can achieve if only they stop being resentful of the fact that the divine has separated humans from itself and placed them on earth. If we understand this to be a passing phase with ultimate union with the divine, then this becomes a special bond that those who understand can have.
12
meri nigaah¹-e shauq² pe ab tak hai mun’akis³
husn⁴-e Khayaal⁵ shaahid⁶-e zeba⁷ kaheN jis’e   1.gaze, glance 2.desire, longing 3.reflected 4.beauty 5.imagination 6.witness, also-beloved 7.elegant, beautiful
The poet/lover/seeker has had a longing/desirous gaze for a long time. Even now that image is reflected before his gaze. What is ‘that image’. It is described in the second misra. It is husn-e Khayaal-beauty/excellence of imagination that can be called the beautiful beloved. Thus, he is imagining the beloved in his gaze. Of course, it can be the divine beloved and rightly, we should interpret it to be that, based on the heavily sufi tone of the rest of the Ghazal.
13
dil jalva-gaah¹-e husn² bana faiz³-e ishq se
voh daaGh⁴ hai keh shaahid⁵-e raana⁶ kaheN jis’e     1.place of manifestation/appearance 2.beauty 3.benevolence 4.scar, wound 5.beloved 6.graceful, elegant
By the benevolence of (divine) love, the heart became the place of manifestation of (divine) beauty. How (in what form) is divine beauty manifest in the heart. It appears like a wound that can be called an elegant beauty. Thus, divine beauty is manifest in the form the wound of the sorrow of separation.
14
asGhar¹ na kholna² kisi hikmat-m’aab³ par
raaz⁴-e hayaat⁵ saaGhar⁶ o miina⁷ kaheN jis’e    1.pen-name of the poet 2.reveal, disclose 3.full of wisdom/intelligence 4.secret 5.life 6.goblet, cup 7.wine
The poet thinks that the secret of life lies in ‘cup and wine’. This is not meant to be the ordinary wine of grapes but the mystic wine of divine love. The scolar-hikmat-m’aab-full of knowledge of the material world, would not appreciate this secret. There is no point in disclosing it to him.