Sansar Se Bhaage Phirte Ho: Revisited

 On October 25,2023 I had written a post about this song. I found myself lingering on the lyrics of this song again this morning. This time from a different angle.

संसार से भागे फिरते हो

भगवान को तुम क्या पाओगे

You turn your back on the world. What do you expect to receive from God?

इस लोग को भी अपना ना सके

उस लोक में भी पछताओगे

You failed to embrace this world. You are unlikely to fit elsewhere, in another life. 

ये पाप है क्या ये पूण्य है क्या

रितो पर धर्म की मोहरे है

What are these rules of virtue or sin? They are mere stamps of approval or disapproval on certain customs from religious or social laws.

हर युग में बदलते धर्मो को

कैसे आदर्श बनाओगे

Since these laws change from one era to another how can you set them as your ideals or gold standards? 

ये भोग भी एक तपस्या है

तुम त्याग के मारे क्या जानो

Enjoyment is also a penance in itself. People like yourself who are obsessed with renunciation can hardly understand this truth.

अपमान रचेता का होगा

रचना को अगर ठुकराओगे

Realize that by denying creation you would be disrespecting the creator.

हम कहते है ये जग अपना है

तुम कहते हो झूठा सपना है

I consider and treat the world as mine. You reject it as being unreal or a false dream.

हम जनम बिता कर जायेगे

तुम जनम गँवा कर जाओगे

I will live my life to the fullest before I leave the world. You on the other hand will squander your life away.

संसार से भागे फिरते हो

भगवान को तुम क्या पाओगे

When you are out and about in the pursuit of spiritual freedom, slowly and steadily you are disengaging from the world of objects, or at least trying to. You are navigating the complexities of family and social relationships as you seek to turn your mind solely towards the divine principle. Often the confusion arises about what is the right thing to do…. at least in the beginner stage…to love your people or to remain aloof, invest your emotions in them or not? You need to pick any one side of the argument. You cannot reconcile them both.

The view from the top is not the same as the one from the bottom. At the top there is no real conflict between dispassion and love. Both can exist under the same roof and make complete sense. The non-reality of the world and acknowledgement of the world do not pose a contradiction. Experiencing sense objects and simultaneously not being influenced by them is possible without an ounce of hypocrisy. When true light shines within, dispassion becomes a reality on the inside and does not necessitate outward renunciation. Universal love becomes a natural tendency that does not always require a loud expression. 

The real problem is not reaching the top. It is staying permanently at the top. And this happens because understanding the theory is easy for the mind. Transforming irrevocably in accordance with the theory is difficult. A common mistake that seekers make is confusing theory with transformation. 

Ego is the guard blocking the narrow passage that runs from the city of theoretical mastery to the citadel of transformation. To reach the citadel you must defeat the guard. 

ये भोग भी एक तपस्या है
तुम त्याग के मारे क्या जानो
अपमान रचेता का होगा
रचना को अगर ठुकराओगे

For a transformed mind, avoiding the world and embracing the world do not contradict each other. Bhog( indulgence in sensual pleasures) does not enter into a conflict with tyaag( sacrifice of comforts). Neither do the sensual pleasures tickle the core of such mind nor do the absences of these pleasures prick it. It remains gloriously untouched under both circumstances. There is indifference to its own comforts and discomforts but sensitivity to the comforts and discomforts of others. 

ये पाप है क्या ये पूण्य है क्या
रितो पर धर्म की मोहरे है
हर युग में बदलते धर्मो को
कैसे आदर्श बनाओगे

Coming to the issue of sins and virtues, honoring social and ethical standards that’s where often we see lines get blurred. If we observe carefully, the ones who have understood the spirit only in theory will break social and ethical norms for their personal benefit. The transformed ones rarely break the rules, and in instances where they do, it is never for personal benefit. It is for the larger good. 

Therefore while considering the moral implications of questioning and abandoning common values, social etiquettes and rules, one must first ask the question, who is benefiting from this rebellion? What is the purpose of this defiance? Waywardness needs serious cross examination. It can have generational consequences. 

Disgrace befalls not due to the lapse in judgment of the King residing in the citadel but because the guard outside the citadel went rogue. He begins to impersonate the King and blabber the theory he learned. Little does he comprehend that theory by itself is a key to LaLaLand. Only when fortified by the perfect transformation it gives access to the throne. 

So returning to the question of obeying ethical norms and principles of social justice, respecting the laws of the community, these are imperative for the guard and optional only for the King. The guard never becomes King and the King never gets demoted to a guard. 

हम कहते है ये जग अपना है

तुम कहते हो झूठा सपना है
हम जनम बिता कर जायेगे
तुम जनम गँवा कर जाओगे

Only the King knows that the city at the foothills is imaginary and so is the guard. Neither the guard knows this nor does anyone else. Yet the King plays along and extends courtesy to all imaginary neighbors. This is how for the same person( the atma, the King in the citadel) the world is his family and a dream at the same time. He is the one who is awake in the real sense of the word and hence capable of experiencing life in its totality. The rest of them are incapable of fully experiencing life and simply traverse from point A( birth) to point B ( death) like suitcases on the revolving belt at baggage claim. 

This song by Sahir Ludhianvi is profound in the concepts it puts forward. The lyrics are magical in more ways than one. The same lyrics whisper different things into the ears at different times.  Whichever way you look at them they compel you to think. They are capable to make you grow. They can be whatever you choose them to be: Sources of entertainment, empowerment or enlightenment. You simply need to be sure about what you are seeking.