Tumhe Dillagi: Part 4

 

Tumhen dil lagi bhool jani padegi

Part 4

The Divine Union

Khuda ke liye chor do abb yeh parda 

Ke hain aaj hum tum nahi ghair koi 

Shab-e-vasl bhi hai hijaab iss khadr kyun 

Zara rukh se aanchal utha kar to dekho

Khuda ke liye = for the sake of God

chor do = let go

abb = now

yeh parda = this curtain/ veil Ke = because/ for

hain = are

aaj = today 

hum tum = me and you. We

nahi = not

ghair koi = any strangers Shab-e-vasl = an evening of meeting

bhi = also

hai = is here

hijaab = veil

iss = this

Khadr = righteous servant of God, mystic, one with wisdom

kyun= why Zara -= a bit

rukh = face

se = from

Aanchal = scarf

utha kar to dekho = try lifting

( please start with part 1. This is part 4 of 7)

Kabir echoes the same mystical message in one of his well known poems.

घूंघट के पट खोल रे तोहे पिया मिलेंगे।

Lift the veil from the face and you will meet your beloved!

The individual soul can’t see God due to a veil of ignorance. A devotee spends a good portion of his/ her life in the love of God. It is a rather unusual courtship where the devotee knows God in the heart, is in search for God but there remains a certain distance between them. Almost like a long distance relationship. There is mutual love but not yet perfect intimacy. Both parties are increasingly eager to meet face to face but that long awaited day remains elusive for one reason or another.

The basis of distance between man and God or individual soul and universal spirit is either due to being engrossed in material pleasures or mistaken identity caused by spiritual ignorance. A man who is not initiated into the path of religion believes himself to be flesh and blood. A slightly more thoughtful person may consider himself to be the intellectual, subtler entity within the body. Until he disengages from identifying with his thoughts or physical attributes he can never know himself or God.

The path of devotion gradually purifies the understanding and creates a transparency in the mind that wasn’t always there. That’s when the soul can see both himself and understand God more clearly. 

On one hand such devotee or spiritual seeker has distanced himself from the world of materialism and the people engaged in material pleasures. His path has also diverged from those seeking intellectual gratification. 

On the other hand God seems to be an ever out of reach goal. 

Ironically this is the most painful part of his journey. There is no one to talk to who would understand this pain and one who can understand is the cause of the pain due to HIS absence.

The darkest hour is just before the break of dawn. The toughest part of labor is just before the baby emerges from the mother’s womb. 

Similarly the most difficult part of the spiritual journey is before the ultimate meeting with God. And then suddenly the seeker stands face to face with the one he sought for a lifetime.

Yet there is that veil that separates them as two entities. Only when the final barrier of ignorance separating them is removed do they “meet” and unite. Duality ends there. Spiritual love is consummated in that moment.

In the verse here, the All Knowing GOD is telling the perfected devotee that you have come such a long way to meet me. We are no longer strangers to each other. You have known me for a long time and I’ve known you even longer than that. Why the modesty of the veil on your face ( eyes) at this time? Pull down the last barrier and see me now. The long awaited moment of our union is here.

There is an interesting use of the expression here in the opening phrase: Khuda ke liye which means For God’s sake! Ordinarily used to add force to a request or express impatience or frustration, here it is employed to imply a literal meaning in addition to the commonplace meaning. 

Saree is a Dabu printed chanderi silk cotton.