Tumhe Dillagi : Part 2

 

Tumhen dil lagi bhool jani padegi

Part 2

Love ain’t for the weak 

Tumhen dillagi bhool jani padegi

Muhabbat ki rahon mein aa kar to dekho 

TaDapane pe mere na phir tum hasoge 

Kabhi dil kisi se laga kar to dekho

( please start with part 1. This is part 2 of 7)

Tumhen = For you, you

Dillagi = infatuation 

Bhool = forget

Bhool jani padegi = will need to be forgotten 

Muhabbat = love

Ki = of

rahon = paths

Mein = in

aa kar = by coming

to = just

dekho= see Tadapne = suffering

pe = on

mere= my

na = will not

Phir = then

tum = you

hasoge= will laugh Kabhi = sometime, once

dil = heart

kisi se = with someone

laga kar = put into

to = just

dekho = see

You will need to forget infatuation 

Try joining me on the path of Love. 

You will then no longer laugh at my suffering 

Once you give your heart to someone.

People use the term love very loosely. I am in love, I fell in love, I love him, I love her, it was love at first sight, I am head over heels in love, love is in the air, love birds, etc etc. For the majority it is a fleeting emotion characterized by passion, want of attention, showering of affection, desire for possession. Something in the other person evokes the emotion, whether it is the looks, the physique, the mannerisms, the lifestyle, the intelligence, the success, the popularity, the charm, the efficiency, the status, the simplicity, the attitude, shared interests or something else. Tagged along with such “love” is a desire to own the person as are a set of expectations and conditions that the person may not always be aware of. No sooner than one or few of those expectations fail to be met the love fades. Love dies. They fall out of love. The other person suddenly means nothing to them.

Such love is not love. It is infatuation. Infatuation has a short shelf life.

True love is unconditional. It has no death. No timeline. 

A true devotee of God gives himself up for the love of God. Neither God asks anything from him nor he from God. Yet the path is strewn with suffering from time to time. Most if not all poet saints have documented their experiences of pain and suffering in their journey of devotion. 

Meerabai describes her pain from perceived separation from Krishna thus:

Aye ri main toh prem deewani 

mera dard na jaane koy

Sooli upar sej hamaari

 sovan kis vidh hoy

Gagan mandal par sej piya ki 

kis vidh milna hoy

Dard ki maari ban ban dolu 

baid mila nahi koy

Meera ke Prabhu peer mitey jab

Baid Saawaliya hoy

( Oh I am crazy in love. No one understands my pain.

My bed is laid on the ends of spears. How then can I get restful sleep?

In contrast my beloved’s bed is high up in the sky. How then can we possibly meet?)

In several of his abhangas Sant Tukaram has vocalized his turmoil. One such example is the following abhanga:

Kanya saasuryaasi jaye

Maage paratoni paahe

Taise zaale mazya jeeva kevha bhetasi Keshava

Chukaliya maaye baal huruhuru paahe 

Jeevana vegali masoli taisa Tuka talmali 

( Like a young girl bids farewell to her parents when she gets married and leaves for her husband’s home, keeps turning to look behind sorrowfully because of the attachment she has to her father and mother. That’s how my heart longs to meet you oh Heavenly Father Keshavaa.

Like a baby left behind keeps waiting desperately for his mother to return

Or like a fish taken out of water

Tuka experiences similar distress.)

Their pain is real. It is intense. And there is no one to share it with. Yet they are willing to suffer without any end in sight.

Brings to mind lyrics from more recent times penned by Mr. Anand Bakshi.

Pyar deewana hota hai mastana hota hain

Har khushi har gam se woh begana hota hain

Shama kahe parwaane se pare chala ja

Meri tarha jal jaayega yahan nahi aa

Woh nahi sunta usko jal jaana hota hain

( Love is crazy and intoxicating

It is indifferent to happiness or sorrow

A flame tells a moth to stay away because it will be burnt to ashes if it comes closer to the flame. But the moth doesn’t heed the warning because it intends to lay down its life if that’s what it takes to be with the flame.)

Until someone is in the same shoes he would not understand the difficulties or joys of the other person.

Ghayal ki gati ghayal jaane

Aur na jaane koy

Johari ki gati johari jaane

Keeje na johari hoy

Says Meerabai

( A wounded knows the pain of another wounded person. An experienced jeweler alone can appraise a jewel correctly, not someone with no experience.)

In the present Qawwali there seems to be a dialogue. Whether between God and his devotee or between two people of unequal levels of spiritual progress or two partners in a relationship of love. The one at a higher level is beckoning the lower one towards deep, meaningful commitment. Underlying the challenge is a cautionary advice that this is by no means a road for the weak at heart. Expect suffering in this path.

Saree is a cotton sambalpuri bandha.