Read Ebook: The Secrets of the Self (Asrar-i Khudi) — A Philosophical Poem by Iqbal Muhammad Sir Nicholson Reynold Alleyne Translator

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Thy soul cares only for itself, like the camel: It is self-conceited, self-governed, and self-willed. 850 Be a man, get its halter into thine hand, That thou mayst become a pearl albeit thou art a potter's vessel. He that does not command himself Becomes a receiver of commands from others. When they moulded thee of clay, 855 Love and fear were mingled in thy making: Fear of this world and of the world to come, fear of death, Fear of all the pains of earth and heaven; Love of riches and power, love of country, Love of self and kindred and wife. 860 The mixing of clay with water nourishes the body, But he that is drowned in sin dies an evil death. So long as thou hold'st the staff of "There is no God but He," Thou wilt break every spell of fear. One to whom God is as the soul in his body, 865 His neck is not bowed before vanity. Fear finds no way into his bosom, His heart is afraid of none but Allah. Whoso dwells in the Moslem Faith Is free from the bonds of wife and child. 870 He withdraws his gaze from all except God And lays the knife to the throat of his son. Though single, he is like a host in onset: Life is cheaper in his eyes than wind. The profession of Faith is the shell, but prayer is the pearl: 875 The Moslem's heart deems prayer a lesser pilgrimage. In the Moslem's hand prayer is like a dagger Killing sin and frowardness and wrong. Fasting makes an assault upon hunger and thirst And breaches the citadel of sensuality. 880 The pilgrimage enlightens the minds of the Faithful: It teaches separation from one's home and destroys attachment to one's native land; It is an act of devotion in which all feel themselves to be one, It binds together the leaves of the book of religion. Almsgiving causes love of riches to pass away 885 And makes equality familiar; It fortifies the heart with righteousness, It increases wealth and diminishes fondness for wealth. All this is a means of strengthening thee: Thou art impregnable, if thy Islam be strong. 890 Draw might from the litany "O Almighty One!" That thou mayst ride the camel of thy body.

FOOTNOTES:

The religious law of Islam.

The first article of the Mohammedan creed.

Like Abraham when he was about to sacrifice Isaac or Ishmael.

The lesser pilgrimage is not obligatory like the greater pilgrimage .

The original quotes part of a verse in the Koran , where it is said, "Ye shall never attain unto righteousness until ye give in alms of that which ye love."

Koran, ch. 2, v. 29. The Ideal Man is the final cause of creation.

Koran, ch. 17, v. 1, referring to the Ascension of the Prophet.

For the white hand cf. Koran, ch. 7, v. 105, ch. 26, v. 32, and Exodus, ch. 4, v. 6.

These four lines may allude to Jesus, regarded as a type of the Perfect Man.

FOOTNOTES:

Murtaz?, "he whom with God is pleased," is a name of Ali. B? Tur?b means literally "father of earth."

A miracle of the Prophet.

The fortress of Khaibar, a village in the Hij?z, was captured by the Moslems in A.D. 628. Ali performed great feats of valour on this occasion.

A river of Paradise.

See note 33 on l. 213.

The burning pyre on which Abraham was thrown lost its heat and was transformed into a rose-garden.

The saint of Hujw?r was venerated by the peoples, And P?r-i Sanjar visited his tomb as a pilgrim. With ease he broke down the mountain-barriers 1085 And sowed the seed of Islam in India. The age of Omar was restored by his godliness, The fame of the Truth was exalted by his words. He was a guardian of the honour of the Koran, The house of Falsehood fell in ruins at his gaze. 1090 The dust of the Panj?b was brought to life by his breath, Our dawn was made splendid by his sun. He was a lover, and withal a courier of Love: The secrets of Love shone forth from his brow. I will tell a story of his perfection 1095 And enclose a whole rose-bed in a single bud. A young man, cypress-tall, Came from the town of Merv to Lahore. He went to see the venerable saint, That the sun might dispel his darkness. 1100 "I am hemmed in," he said, "by foes; I am as a glass in the midst of stones. Do thou teach me, O sire of heavenly rank, How to lead my life amongst enemies!" The wise Director, in whose nature 1105 Love had allied mercy with wrath, Answered: "Thou art unread in Life's lore, Careless of its end and its beginning. Be without fear of others! Thou art a sleeping force: awake! 1110 When the stone was anxious on account of the glass, It became glass and got into the way of breaking. If the traveller thinks himself weak, He delivers his soul unto the brigand. How long wilt thou regard thyself as water and clay? 1115 Create from thy clay a flaming Sinai! Why be angry with mighty men? Why complain of enemies? I will declare the truth: thine enemy is thy friend; His existence crowns thee with glory. 1120 Whosoever knows the states of the Self Considers a powerful enemy to be a blessing from God. To the seed of Man the enemy is as a rain-cloud: He awakens its potentialities. If thy spirit be strong, the stones in thy way are as water: 1125 What recks the torrent of the ups and downs of the road? The sword of resolution is whetted by the stones in the way And put to proof by traversing stage after stage. What is the use of eating and sleeping like a beast? What is the use of being, unless thou have strength in thyself? 1130 When thou mak'st thyself strong with Self, Thou wilt destroy the world at thy pleasure. If thou wouldst pass away, become free of Self; If thou wouldst live, become full of Self! What is death? To become oblivious to Self. 1135 Why imagine that it is the parting of soul and body? Abide in Self, like Joseph! Advance from captivity to empire! Think of Self and be a man of action! Be a man of God, bear mysteries within!" 1140 I will explain the matter by means of stories, I will open the bud by the power of my breath. "'Tis better that a lovers' secret Should be told by the lips of others."

FOOTNOTES:

Hujw?r?, author of the oldest Persian treatise on S?fism, was a native of Ghazna in Afghanistan. He died at Lahore about A.D. 1072. P?r-i Sanjar is the renowned saint, Mu`?nudd?n, head of the Chisht? order of dervishes, who died in A.D. 1235 at Ajm?r.

These lines correct the S?f? doctrine that by means of passing away from individuality the mystic attains to everlasting life in God.

A bird was faint with thirst, 1145 The breath in his body was heaving like waves of smoke. He saw a diamond in the garden: Thirst created a vision of water. Deceived by the sunbright stone The foolish bird fancied that it was water. 1150 He got no moisture from the gem: He pecked it with his beak, but it did not wet his palate. "O thrall of vain desire," said the diamond, "Thou hast sharpened thy greedy beak on me; But I am not a dewdrop, I give no drink, 1155 I do not live for the sake of others. Wouldst thou hurt me? Thou art mad! A life that reveals the Self is strange to thee. My water will shiver the beaks of birds And break the jewel of man's life." 1160 The bird won not his heart's wish from the diamond And turned away from the sparkling stone. Disappointment swelled in his breast, The song in his throat became a wail. Upon a rose-twig a drop of dew 1165 Gleamed like the tear in a nightingale's eye: All its glitter was owing to the sun, It was trembling in fear of the sun-- A restless sky-born star That had stopped for a moment, from desire to be seen; 1170 Oft deceived by bud and flower, It had gained nothing from Life. There it hung, ready to drop, Like a tear on the eyelashes of a lover who hath lost his heart. The sorely distressed bird hopped under the rose-bush, 1175 The dewdrop trickled into his mouth. O thou that wouldst deliver thy soul from enemies, I ask thee--"Art thou a drop of water or a gem?" When the bird melted in the fire of thirst, It appropriated the life of another. 1180 The drop was not solid and gem-like; The diamond had a being, the drop had none. Never for an instant neglect Self-preservation: Be a diamond, not a dewdrop! Be massive in nature, like mountains, 1185 And bear on thy crest a hundred clouds laden with floods of rain! Save thyself by affirmation of Self, Compress thy quicksilver into silver ore! Produce a melody from the string of Self, Make manifest the secrets of Self! 1190

FOOTNOTES:

Now I will open one more gate of Truth, I will tell thee another tale. The coal in the mine said to the diamond, "O thou entrusted with splendours everlasting, We are comrades, and our being is one; 1195 The source of our existence is the same, Yet while I die here in the anguish of worthlessness, Thou art set on the crowns of emperors. My stuff is so vile that I am valued less than earth, Whereas the mirror's heart is rent by thy beauty. 1200 My darkness illumines the chafing-dish, Then my substance is incinerated at last. Every one puts the sole of his foot on my head And covers my stock of existence with ashes. My fate must needs be deplored; 1205 Dost thou know what is the gist of my being? Thou art a condensed wavelet of smoke, Endowed with the properties of a single spark; Both in feature and nature thou art star-like, Splendours rise from every side of thee. 1210 Now thou becom'st the light of a monarch's eye, Now thou adornest the haft of a dagger." "O sagacious friend!" said the diamond, "Dark earth, when hardened, becomes in dignity as a bezel. Having been at strife with its environment, 1215 It is ripened by the struggle and grows hard like a stone. 'Tis this ripeness that has endowed my form with light And filled my bosom with radiance. Because thy being is immature, thou hast become abased; Because thy body is soft, thou art burnt. 1220 Be void of fear, grief, and anxiety; Be hard as a stone, be a diamond! Whosoever strives hard and grips tight, The two worlds are illumined by him. A little earth is the origin of the Black Stone 1225 Which puts forth its head in the Ka`ba: Its rank is higher than Sinai, It is kissed by the swarthy and the fair. In solidity consists the glory of Life; Weakness is worthlessness and immaturity." 1230

At Benares lived a venerable Brahmin, Whose head was deep in the ocean of Being and Not-being. He had a large knowledge of philosophy But was well-disposed to the seekers after God. His mind was eager to explore new problems, 1235 His intellect moved on a level with the Pleiades; His nest was as high as that of the Ank?; Sun and moon were cast, like rue, on the flame of his thought. For a long time he laboured and sweated, But philosophy brought no wine to his cup. 1240 Although he set many a snare in the gardens of learning, His snares never caught a glimpse of the Ideal bird; And notwithstanding that the nails of his thought were dabbled with blood, The knot of Being and Not-being remained untied. The sighs on his lips bore witness to his despair, 1245 His countenance told tales of his distraction. One day he visited an excellent Sheikh, A man who had in his breast a heart of gold. The Sheikh laid the seal of silence on his lips While he lent his ear to the Sage's discourse. 1250 Then he said: "O wanderer in the lofty sky, Pledge thyself to be true, for a little, to the earth! Thou hast lost thy way in wildernesses of speculation, Thy fearless thought hath passed beyond Heaven. Be reconciled with earth, O sky-traveller! 1255 Do not wander in quest of the essence of the stars! I do not bid thee abandon thine idols. Art thou an unbeliever? Then be worthy of the badge of unbelief! O inheritor of ancient culture, Turn not thy back on the path thy fathers trod! 1260 If a people's life is derived from unity, Unbelief too is a source of unity. Thou that art not even a perfect infidel Art unfit to worship at the shrine of the spirit. We both are far astray from the road of devotion: 1265 Thou art far from ?zar, and I from Abraham. Our Majn?n hath not fallen into melancholy for his Lail?'s sake: He hath not become perfect in the madness of love. When the lamp of Self expires, What is the use of heaven-surveying imagination?" 1270

Once on a time, laying hold of the skirt of the mountain, Ganges said to Himalaya: "O thou mantled in snow since the morn of creation, Thou whose form is girdled with streams, God made thee a partner in the secrets of heaven, 1275 But deprived thy foot of graceful gait. He took away from thee the power to walk: What avails this sublimity and stateliness? Life springs from perpetual movement: Motion constitutes the wave's whole existence." 1280 When the mountain heard this taunt from the river, He puffed angrily like a sea of fire, And answered: "Thy wide waters are my looking-glass; Within my bosom are a hundred rivers like thee. This graceful gait of thine is an instrument of death: 1285 Whoso goeth from Self is meet to die. Thou hast no knowledge of thine own case, Thou exultest in thy misfortune: thou art a fool! O born of the womb of the revolving sphere, A fallen-in bank is better than thou! 1290 Thou hast made thine existence an offering to the ocean, Thou hast thrown the rich purse of thy life to the highwayman. Be self-contained like the rose in the garden, Do not go to the florist in order to smell sweet! To live is to grow in thyself 1295 And gather roses from thine own flower-bed. Ages have gone by and my foot is fast in earth: Dost thou fancy that I am far from my goal? My being grew and reached the sky, The Pleiades sank to rest under my skirts; 1300 Thy being vanishes in the ocean, But on my crest the stars bow their heads. Mine eye sees the mysteries of heaven, Mine ear is familiar with angels' wings. Since I glowed with the heat of unceasing toil, 1305 I amassed rubies, diamonds, and other gems. I am stone within, and in the stone is fire: Water cannot pass over my fire!" Art thou a drop of water? Do not break at thine own feet, But endeavour to surge and wrestle with the sea. 1310 Desire the water of a jewel, become a jewel! Be an ear-drop, adorn a beauty! Oh, expand thyself! Move swiftly! Be a cloud that shoots lightning and sheds a flood of rain! Let the ocean sue for thy storms as a beggar, 1315 Let it complain of the straitness of thy skirts! Let it deem itself less than a wave And glide along at thy feet!

FOOTNOTES:

A mysterious bird, of which nothing is known except its name.

Rue-seed is burned for the purpose of fumigation.

?zar, the father of Abraham, was an idolater.

FOOTNOTES:

A celebrated Moslem saint, who died at Lahore in A.D. 1635.

Aurangz?b.

Koran, ch. 50, v. 29.

FOOTNOTES:

This appears to be a pseudonym assumed by the author.

Jal?lu'dd?n R?m?.

Abraham refused to worship the sun, moon, and stars, saying, "I love not them that set" .

See note 81 on l. 1040.

The famous idol of Somnath was destroyed by Sultan Mahm?d of Ghazna.

The pilgrims are forbidden to kill game.

See note 90 on l. 1258.

Green be the pure grave of Sh?fi`?, Whose vine hath cheered a whole world! His thought plucked a star from heaven: He named Time "a cutting sword." How shall I say what is the secret of this sword? 1535 All its brilliance is derived from Life. Its owner is exalted above hope and fear, His hand is whiter than the hand of Moses. At one stroke thereof water gushes from the rock And the sea becomes land from dearth of moisture. 1540 Moses held this sword in his hand, Therefore he wrought more than man may contrive. He clove the Red Sea asunder And made its waters like dry earth. The arm of Ali, the conqueror of Khaibar, 1545 Drew its strength from this same sword. The revolution of the sky is visible, The change of day and night is perceived. Look, O thou enthralled by Yesterday and To-morrow, Behold another world in thine own heart! 1550 Thou hast sown the seed of darkness in thy clay, Thou hast imagined Time as a line: Thy thought measures length of Time With the measure of night and day. Thou mak'st this line a girdle on thine infidel waist; 1555 Thou art an advertiser of falsehood, like idols. Thou wert the Elixir, and thou hast become a peck of dust; Thou wert born the conscience of Truth, and thou hast become a lie! Art thou a Moslem? Then cast off this girdle! Be a candle to the feast of the religion of the free! 1560 Knowing not the origin of Time, Thou art ignorant of everlasting Life. How long wilt thou be a thrall of night and day? Learn the mystery of Time from the words "I have a time with God." Phenomena arise from the march of Time, 1565 Life is a part of the contents of Time's consciousness. The cause of Time is not the revolution of the sun: Time is everlasting, but the sun does not last for ever. Time is joy and sorrow, festival and fast; Time is the secret of moonlight and sunlight. 1570 Thou hast extended Time, like Space, And distinguished Yesterday from To-morrow. Thou hast fled, like a scent, from thine own garden; Thou hast made thy prison with thine own hand. Our Time, which has neither beginning nor end, 1575 Blossoms from the flower-bed of our mind. To know its root quickens the living with new life: Its being is more splendid than the dawn. Life is of Time, and Time is of Life: "Do not abuse Time!" was the command of the Prophet. 1580

FOOTNOTES:

Founder of one of the four great Mohammedan schools of law.

The Prophet said, "I have a time with God of such sort that neither angel nor prophet is my peer," meaning that he felt himself to be timeless.

The glorious days when Islam first set out to convert and conquer the world.

O Thou that art as the soul in the body of the universe, Thou art our soul and thou art ever fleeing from us. Thou breathest music into Life's lute; Life envies Death when death is for thy sake. 1620 Once more bring comfort to our sad hearts, Once more dwell in our breasts! Once more let us hear thy call to honour, Strengthen our weak love. We are oft complaining of destiny, 1625 Thou art of great price and we have naught. Hide not thy fair face from the empty-handed! Sell cheap the love of Salm?n and Bil?l! Give us the sleepless eye and the passionate heart, Give us again the nature of quicksilver! 1630 Show unto us one of thy manifest signs, That the necks of our enemies may be bowed! Make this chaff a mountain crested with fire, Burn with our fire all that is not God! When the people let the clue of Unity go from their hands, 1635 They fell into a hundred mazes. We are dispersed like stars in the world; Though of the same family, we are strange to one another. Bind again these scattered leaves, Revive the law of love! 1640 Take us back to serve thee as of old, Commit thy cause to them that love thee! We are travellers: give us devotion as our goal! Give us the strong faith of Abraham! Make us know the meaning of "There is no god," 1645 Make us acquainted with the mystery of "except Allah"! I who burn like a candle for the sake of others Teach myself to weep like the candle. O God! a tear that is heart-enkindling, Passionful, wrung forth by pain, peace-consuming, 1650 May I sow in the garden, and may it grow into a fire That washes away the fire-brand from the tulip's robe! My heart is with yestereve, my eye is on to-morrow: Amidst the company I am alone. "Every one fancies he is my friend, 1655 But my secret thoughts have not escaped from my heart." Oh, where in the wide world is my comrade? I am the Bush of Sinai: where is my Moses? I am tyrannous, I have done many a wrong to myself, I have nourished a flame in my bosom, 1660 A flame that seized the furniture of judgement, And cast fire on the skirt of discretion, And lessoned with madness the reason, And burned up the existence of knowledge: Its blaze enthrones the sun in the sky, 1665 And lightnings encircle it with adoration for ever. Mine eye fell to weeping, like dew, Since I was entrusted with that hidden fire. I taught the candle to burn openly, While I myself burned unseen by the world's eye. 1670 At last flames breathed from every hair of me, Fire dropped from the veins of my thought: My nightingale picked up the spark-grains And created a fire-tempered song. Is the breast of this age without a heart? 1675 Majn?n trembles lest Lail?'s howdah be empty. It is not easy for the candle to throb alone: Ah, is there no moth worthy of me? How long shall I wait for one to share my grief? How long must I search for a confidant? 1680 O Thou whose face lends light to the moon and the stars, Withdraw thy fire from my soul! Take back what Thou hast put in my breast, Remove the stabbing radiance from my mirror, Or give me one old comrade 1685 To be the mirror of mine all-burning love! In the sea wave tosses side by side with wave: Each hath a partner in its emotion. In heaven star consorts with star, And the bright moon lays her head on the knees of Night. 1690 Morning touches Night's dark side, And To-day throws itself against To-morrow. One river loses its being in another, A waft of air dies in perfume. There is dancing in every nook of the wine-house, 1695 Madman dances with madman. Howbeit in thine essence Thou art single, Thou hast decked out for Thyself a whole world. I am as the tulip of the field, In the midst of a company I am alone. 1700 I beg of Thy grace a sympathising friend, An adept in the mysteries of my nature, A friend endowed with madness and wisdom, One that knoweth not the phantom of vain things, That I may confide my lament to his soul 1705 And see again my face in his heart. His image I will mould of mine own clay, I will be to him both idol and worshipper.

FOOTNOTES:

Salm?n was a Persian, Bil?l an Abyssinian. Both had been slaves and were devoted henchmen of the Prophet.

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