Aye Jazba-e-Dil gar main chahoon

 

Aye Jazba-e-Dil gar main chahoon

ऐ जज़्बा-ए-दिल गर मैं चाहूँ 

There was something soulful about this ghazal when it first reached my ears. Perhaps the way the singer had rendered it. Her voice. The hint of pain and longing in that voice. It wasn’t the words because I could hardly understand them in that first hearing. 

I didn’t even know the singer. I had never heard her voice before or even her name or seen her face. This was my first introduction to Nayyara Noor. I learned much later that she was born post partition in Guwahati in Assam,India but spent most of her life in Pakistan and died in Karachi in 2022 at the age of 71.When I heard her she was already gone. Her voice still carries that soulfulness that I perceived in the first time. Deep, beautiful and calling for the mind to drown in it. Essentially making you experience samadhi.

It was later that I ventured to understand the lyrics. And they are equally beautiful as the vocal rendition. Incidentally the poet, Behzad Lakhnavi, also was born in India in the city of Lucknow in 1900 much before India’s partition. He too died in Karachi, Pakistan like Nayyara Noor. It was 1974 at the age of 74 when he passed away.

My interpretation springs from my personal relationship with God as the mother, guardian, friend and guide who has been with me for most of my life. The interpretation becomes personal but understanding moves into impersonal emotional space. 

Aye Jazba-e-Dil gar main chahoon

Har cheez mukabil aa jaye

In this opening stanza:

The poet is addressing his passionate mind!

Jazba-w-dil! Passion of the heart!

Aye jazba-e-dil !  Oh passionate heart!

Some minds carry a lot of passions and dreams but not all are equipped with the confidence, courage and determination to convert them to reality. Doubts, fears, lack of focus and inertia come in the way more than anything else.

Here the poet is confident. He tells his mind that if I wish, I know, I can make any dream come true. 

Not, I think.

I know! 

Manzil ke liye do gam chalu

Aur samne manzil aa jaye

If I make even the smallest but sincere effort, my goals will be within my reach.

He also knows that just wishing will not be enough.

He will have to move his hands and legs to get what he wants.

There are several things to take into consideration here.

A mind engulfed in the darkness of ignorance has thousands of desires that are not sorted out. They lie there piled up haphazardly and without conscious recognition or consideration or seriousness. Such mind does a wild dance to the tune of these unsorted desires rather than make a focused effort to turn a few chosen desires into reality.

The I speaking to the mind may be the ego which identifies itself as the finite person or physical body. In that case the desires too, no matter how grand they are, will be finite. 

Or the I speaking to the mind may be the unlimited consciousness that pervades the universe.

In the present stanza let us presume that the one who is speaking to the mind is the infinite consciousness or awareness. Consciousness is talking to the unconscious mind and rousing it. It is beckoning the mind to get serious. To become focused. 

It is making the dull mind to understand the concept of will. If any desire is taken seriously and brought under the lens of the will, it can take on real wings. Those wings can prove functional when connected to the fuel tank of effort. 

Consciousness is thus emphasizing the magical power of effort. Even a small amount can take a person long distances. 

As long as focus, effort and persistence remain united, it doesn’t take much time for a dream to convert to reality. 

The question is which desires out of the thousands that lie strewn in the untidy mind should one pick out and focus the energies on? This really is the million dollar question.

Usually there is only one desire that is laden with a degree of deep passion that penetrates the soul, not just mind and intellect, but the soul! It can take time to recognize this one. A mind that gets aligned with the pure consciousness is more likely to identify this one desire that calls for spending the entire life’s energy on. 

There are so many examples from history where lost minds came into contact with super consciousness and the result was the creation of some of the lasting works in the history of mankind. One example is that of Valya Koli, the roadside dacoit who became Valmiki, the author of the Ramayan! Anyone can be sceptical and critical about the Ramayan but the fact remains that after centuries and millennia, Ramayan remains a recognized piece of literature for many.

Such extraordinary works cannot come into existence without a human mind being aligned with something higher than itself and accepting to abide by the principles of focus, effort and persistence. Where discipline, purpose and integrity shine, magic happens. 

Magic happens out of the ordinary. It just takes the right ingredients from the ordinary to come together to create the perfect recipe. 

The divine consciousness chooses to bring forth some manifest work or change, it partners with a suitable sensitive mind that can channel the dream into a reality which in turn can be perceived by many. The degree to which the human partner can empty his/her own mental contents, and channel the divine energy in its purest form, determines the quality, integrity and timelessness of the product. In other words surrender matters. The cleanest instrument can reveal a masterpiece of the universal consciousness.

With this understanding now read or listen to that first couplet.

ऐ जज़्बा-ए-दिल गर मैं चाहूँ हर चीज़ मुक़ाबिल आ जाए
मंज़िल के लिए दो गाम चलूँ और सामने मंज़िल आ जाए

This is a calling. A mind is drawn inwards to recognize the calling and surrender itself in every sense so a divine manifestation can occur.

ऐ शम्मा! क़सम परवाने की, इतना तो मेरी ख़ातिर करना
उस वक़्त भड़क कर गुल होना जब साहिब-ए-महफ़िल आ जाए

This couplet was found surreptitiously inserted into this ghazal. The couplet is authored by a different Urdu poet by the name of Shauq Bahraichi (1884-1964) who lived in India. I decided to not exclude this one because its meaning adds value to the topic in discussion in Lakhnavi’s ghazal.

Bahraichi has used a popular metaphor of flame and moth to depict a relationship that stands on intense love, surrender and sacrifice. The relationship of Purush and Prakriti. Brahman and Maya. 

The moth is telling the flame, in the name of love, I ask you for one favor. When the guest of honor at the party arrives, please blow up and get extinguished.

The universal consciousness invests itself into pure minds. The love and sacrifice between the two partners is mutual.  

When they work together to manifest any extraordinary piece of creation, when it is time to share the final product with the connoisseurs who will appreciate it, make the best final appearance of your brightness( oh mind), and then bow out. Take leave. Dont stay there for a single moment to hog the attention or credit. 

Once the job is done, any entity claiming credit is an imposter. It is the ego. The entity that did the job died the moment the job was completed. 

Here the significance is that consciousness is asking the ego to die. Let there be no ghost lingering to divert the attention from the work. 

The example that comes to mind here is of the young Sant Dnyaaneshwar who insisted on taking samadhi once his literary work was completed. He did the job and shed his separate existence to go back merge into the consciousness. 

ऐ दिल की लगी चल यूँही सही चलता तो हूँ उन की महफ़िल में
उस वक़्त मुझे चौंका देना जब रंग पे महफ़िल आ जाए

Lakhnavi acknowledges the imperfections of the human mind. Not all minds are at the level of dispassion as was the case with Dnyaneshwar. Not every mind can totally defy the temptation of worldly pleasures. 

Oh passionate mind, ok, I’ll come with you to party with other friends. But just when the party comes in it’s full swing I count on you to shake me and bring me to my senses.

We live surrounded by common pleasures of life ( family, friends, food, drinks, entertainment). It is not entirely possible to not participate in these activities. But even as we temporarily indulge, it is important to stay connected with our conscience and aware of our bigger purpose of life. These activities must not be allowed to overshadow the awareness of who we are and what we are in the world for.

A mind that has heard its calling learns to spend more time in solitude and answering to that calling even though it does not completely lock itself out from the outside world. It pays heed to social obligations and norms to the extent that it does not pose a disruption to its main focus.

ऐ रहबर-ए-कामिल चलने को तय्यार तो हूँ पर याद रहे
उस वक़्त मुझे भटका देना जब सामने मंज़िल आ जाए

Oh highly qualified guide, I trust in your ability and prepare myself to walk with you towards the destination. But on one condition. Just when we are about to arrive at the destination, deliberately distract me from it. 

These lines are reminiscent of another beautiful song in Marathi popularized in the voice of Asha Bhonsle, written by M.P. Bhave.

स्वप्नातल्या कळयांनो, उमलू नकाच केव्हा
गोडी अपूर्णतेची लाविल वेड जीवा ॥धृ.॥

(Oh tender buds of my dreams, may you never bloom open into a flower. The sweetness of being incomplete will keep my mind intoxicated.)

Both poets are shying away from achieving total fulfillment. What’s behind this?

If we try to understand this from the perspective of a human mind that has surrendered to the light of the universal consciousness, it is in a rather peculiar place. By itself, it is within finite space. Its companion is not bound by time or space. What would happen when a destination is set and reached? There would be nothing more left to do together. The fear is not about losing oneself, it is about losing the eternal love, the eternal companion. The destination is just a ruse for the company. The mind therefore wants to indefinitely defer arriving at a finite destination.  

There is a quote attributed to Woody Allen:

“I am not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

A completed journey implies end of the journey. A person who is passionate about travel does not look forward to the end of the journey. He wants to look at every destination as a midway stop, not the final destination. Like Woody Allen, Lakhnavi is telling his divine guide that if we are at road’s end I don’t want to be aware of it. Delude me at that critical moment if you are going to leave and I have to part ways with you. 

The unsaid part : Or take me into you. Allow me to merge and become one with you.

हाँ याद मुझे तुम कर लेना आवाज़ मुझे तुम दे लेना
इस राह-ए-मोहब्बत में कोई दरपेश जो मुश्किल आ जाए

(दरपेश = आगे, सामने)

The consciousness responds to the mind saying I am going to be within your reach at any given time. You just call when you need me. We are companions on the path of love. If you encounter any difficulties on the way I’m going to be there for you.

There is no human life that has not been laden with any troubles. Many people experience great loneliness in their times of crisis. For people of deep faith, troubles become a sweet excuse to experience the hand of the divine. Same troubles. Different perspectives. That makes a whole lot of difference. 

अब क्यूँ ढूँडूँ वो चश्म-ए-करम होने दे सितम बाला-ए-सितम
मैं चाहता हूँ ऐ जज़्बा-ए-ग़म मुश्किल पस-ए-मुश्किल आ जाए

(चश्म-ए-करम = कृपादृष्टि), (बाला-ए-सितम = जुल्म के ऊपर), (जज़्बा-ए-ग़म = दुःख की भावना), (पस-ए-मुश्किल = मुश्किल के पीछे)

And with that understanding and reassurance, the mind becomes brave and ready to take on troubles. 

Why should I scramble for divine grace (when I have already found it)? 

Let there be trouble after trouble.

Oh sadness of my mind, I wish for one difficulty to be continually followed by another.

What does this mean? It doesn’t imply that the man has gone crazy. It shows that he is genuinely equipped to face the difficulties that tend to come in every life and is aware that he is no exception to the rule. Difficulties no longer daunt him or dampen his spirits. 

From the spiritual perspective he finds difficulties bring additional opportunities to be in close proximity to divine consciousness. So that’s an advantage he rather have than not. 

इस जज़्बा-ए-दिल के बारे में इक मशवरा तुम से लेता हूँ
उस वक़्त मुझे क्या लाज़िम है जब तुझ पे मिरा दिल आ जाए

(जज़्बा-ए-दिल = दिल की भावना), (लाज़िम = आवश्यक)

The faithful pauses for a moment with a unique doubt in mind. He asks his divine companion and guide for advice regarding his passionate heart.

What would be the right thing to do when I helplessly fall in love with you?

Desire and love for anything else in the world beyond certain limits is considered inappropriate and sinful. But what if I have followed the rules and eventually fall in love with the divine presence? Would that be a fault? Would that need redemption?

The consciousness is silent here. The answer is to be understood in one’s heart.

ऐ बर्क़-ए-तजल्ली कौंध ज़रा क्या मुझ को भी मूसा समझा है
मैं तूर नहीं जो जल जाऊँ जो चाहे मुक़ाबिल आ जाए

(बर्क़-ए-तजल्ली = प्रकाश फैलाने वाली बिजली), (तूर = सीरिया का एक पहाड़ जिस पर हज़रात मूसा ने ईश्वर का चमत्कार देखा था), (मुक़ाबिल = सम्मुख, सामने)

This couplet is the most challenging for my understanding to interpret but I’m going to be candid about how it appears to me at the present time. Like many other things it is highly possible that I may see it much differently at another time. I also would say this to anyone reading this that you shouldn’t consider my interpretation as an acceptable one. It is a highly subjective and controversial opinion and best to be questioned when contemplating on it yourself independently. 

Literal translation of the line is thus:

Oh divine flash of lightning, so you see me like you saw Musa( Moses) on the mountain of Tur ?

I am not at all like Mount Tur that would burn down when struck by you.

Most interpretations I came across for these lines claim that here the poet is expressing exceptional confidence in his ability to withstand onslaught of divine power. 

When I try to connect the dots with the metaphor of Moses that the poet has used here, it brings an entirely different meaning. Scriptural story says that Moses expressed a desire to see God and when God appeared it was in the form of such blinding bright flash of light that Moses lost consciousness. The inference is that the intensity of the experience was so powerful that in one instant Moses was completely transformed internally. He gained permanent insight from one face to face encounter with divinity. His ignorance was completely burned down from the contact.

Now, when the poet says “ did you think I’m Moses to burn down with the flash of your light “ he could not be claiming he is stronger than Moses. Quite the contrary, it appears to me. He is being self deprecatory. My ignorance is so profound that one flash of your divine light is not going to burn it down. I am no Moses to instantly get enlightenment. I am quite resistant for intervention. You will need to try again and again to destroy my darkness.

I’m reminded here of the mythological story about Ravan’s ten heads that continually regenerated, making him invincible to defeat or death. The final aim of divine intervention had to be directed at the navel, that is indirectly to the heart, to finally destroy his ego. 

While a highly evolved prophet like Moses is ready for enlightenment with a single direct contact, any less evolved person would need longer time and repeated interventions to transform. The poet in this case has utmost humility to be aware of and admit his limitations. He is, in an indirect manner, asking the guiding light to be patient with him and not abandon him because of his shortcomings.

कश्ती को ख़ुदा पर छोड़ भी दे कश्ती का ख़ुदा ख़ुद हाफ़िज़ है
मुश्किल तो नहीं इन मौजों में बहता हुआ साहिल आ जाए

(कश्ती = नाव), (साहिल = किनारा), (हाफ़िज़ = रक्षक, बचानेवाला)

Having negotiated the partnership terms with the divine consciousness he now turns to address his own mind.

Let go the boat( Life) in the waters without any worry. The Lord ( guardian ) of this boat is quite capable of protecting it. The same powerful waves that appear to shake and threaten your boat have in them the power to bring the shores to the boat ( to take you to safety). 

The poet is instilling faith into the mind. Let go of all fear as you wade into the tough waters of life. The power that creates the tides will protect you and take you across safely. 

Ultimately man’s closest, most intimate and constant friend, guide, philosopher is the pure consciousness within himself. Whether to fulfill the need to love and be loved by another, share the journey with someone, seek a purpose and direction for the journey or bare the uncomfortable feelings of sadness, doubts, inadequacies or fears, it is the same consciousness that proves to be within the reach anywhere and anytime. Through this poetry one is treated to a beautiful portrait of this remarkable relationship between a human mind and the consciousness that transcends the mind. 

Do listen to this poetry in Nayyara Noor’s voice. It invariably transports me into another dimension. 

( read the post with your phone placed horizontal to be able to read the lines in full. In the vertical position part of the lines remain out of the picture.)