Ghalib's Scientific Thought
Afzal A. Khan
This has reference to Jamil Saheb's most illuminating and
scholarly posts in the thread "Ghalib Project". In his
latest post, he has observed as under (and none can disagree
with his comment) :
"Ghalib's scientific ash'aar as you call them are quite a few.
But first let us clarify something. By such interpretations in
light of science, I am not pretending that Ghalib had scientific
meaning in mind, or indeed he (or anyone else) was even aware of
the scientific principles which we are now trying to extract from
his couplets. All this is for fun, or at best it can serve some
useful pedagogical purpose."
This reminded me of a very interesting thread on ALUP some ten
years back, when someone asked a query about Iqbal's well-known
poem on Mirza Bedil, which I quote below :
MIRZA BEDIL
Hai haqeeqat ya miri chashm-e-GHalat~beeN ka fasad
Yeh zameeN, yeh dasht, yeh kohsaar, yeh charKH-e-kabood
Koi kehta hai "naheeN hai", koi kehta hai ke "hai"
Kya KHabar! hai ya naheeN hai teri dun'ya ka wujood
.
Meerza Bedil ne kis KHoobi se kholi yeh girah
Ahl-e-hikmat par bohat mushkil rahi jis ki kushood
"DIL AGAR MEE DAASHT VUS'AT, BE~NISHAAN BOOD EEN CHAMAN
RANG-E-MAI BAIROON NISHAST, AZ~BAS'KE MEENA TANG BOOD!"
Jamil Saheb had provided an explanation for Mirza's Faarsi sher :
"If the heart were vast enough, the universe (as we see it)
would be nothingness, since it would be lodged INSIDE the
heart. Now it seemingly exists outside, just as if the colour
of wine were to be outside the bottle because the bottle was
too small."
I am sure Jamil Saheb would recall this thread.
While participating in the discussion, I had cited the following
sher by Ghalib :
Hasti ke mat fareb men aa jaaio Asad
'Aalam tamaam halqa-e-daam-e-KHayaal hai
Maybe, just maybe, both Bedil and Ghalib are referring to the
modern concept of "Virtual Reality". If we can conceive of a
Gigantic Para-cosmic Computer, the whole known Universe would
be nothing but a part of the Desktop Screen. We, as mere
specks, would be part of that Desktop. Although we are very
much conscious of all that is around us, actually all that we
see and feel is nothing but a part --- and a very small part at
that --- of that Vast Screen or Virtual Reality.
Jamil Saheb talked of "some useful pedagogical purpose".
Whatever I have said in the preceding para ought to make us
feel very humble and insignificant. And, perhaps, that would
be one useful purpose.
Afzal
P.S. Jamil Saheb also referred to the late Abdur Rehman
Bijnori. It is nearly 65 years since I first came across
the NusKHa-e-Hameediya in my father's library. Its fore-
word was written by Bijnori Marhoom and he began it with
the following words :
"Hindustaan ki il'haami kitaabeN do hain, muqaddas Ved and
Diwaan-e-Ghalib"
B.G.M.
> "Hindustaan ki il'haami kitaabeN do hain, muqaddas Ved and
> Diwaan-e-Ghalib"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
phir tau, zaruur...
"....put his kalaam in a rehl and touch it only after
making ablutions? " :)
======================================================
Afzal A. Khan
Isn't that what most of his admirers do ? !!
Ghalib himself has said :
Yeh masaail-e-tasawwuf, yeh tira bayaan Ghalib
Tujhe hum wali samajhte, jo na baada(h)~KHwaar hota
Waise hum sab ko shukr manaana chaahiye ke kam~az~kam Ghalib
ka kalaam paRhne ya us ke baare men baat karne par koi
paabaNdi naheeN hai.
Warna jaisa Akbar Ilaahabadi ne kaha hai :
RaqeeboN ne ripaT likhwaayee hai ja ja ke thaane men
Ke Akbar naam leta hai KHuda ka is zamaane men
Afzal
Jamil
> I am sure Jamil Saheb would recall this thread.
I sure do. But has it been 10 years already?
> While participating in the discussion, I had cited the following
> sher by Ghalib :
>
> Hasti ke mat fareb men aa jaaio Asad
> 'Aalam tamaam halqa-e-daam-e-KHayaal hai
Here is one by Mir along the same lines:
hasti apni Habaab ki si hai
yeh namaa'ish saraab ki si hai
and there is another sh'er by Ghalib:
haaN khaaiyo mat fareb-e-hasti
har chanNd kaheN keh hai nahiN hai
>
> Maybe, just maybe, both Bedil and Ghalib are referring to the
> modern concept of "Virtual Reality". If we can conceive of a
> Gigantic Para-cosmic Computer, the whole known Universe would
> be nothing but a part of the Desktop Screen. We, as mere
> specks, would be part of that Desktop. Although we are very
> much conscious of all that is around us, actually all that we
> see and feel is nothing but a part --- and a very small part at
> that --- of that Vast Screen or Virtual Reality.
>
Interesting idea - our being all specks on a vast desktop. This she'r
of Ghalib would be relevant;
yaa rab zamaanah mujh to miTaataa hai kis liye
loH-e-jahaaN peh Harf-e-mukarrar nahiN huuN maiN
Many of us have had the experience of having duplicate icons on our
desktops; we delete them. In today's parlance, Ghalib would say, "I
am not a duplicate icon. Why am I being deleted?"
Ghalib has written a Farsi GHazal touching on the idea of illusion
versus reality. Fortunately the GHazal was translated into Urdu verse
by Sufi Tabassum. Since it may be of some interest, I am posting both
the original and the translation, along with my own literal
translation:
duud-e-saudaa'e tatuq bast, aasmaaN naamiidam-ash
diidah bar khaab-e-pareshaaN zad, jahaaN naamiidam-ash
[A smokey haze of madness spread over me, and I
called it the sky. I had a chaotic dream; I called it the world]
Tabassum's translation:
duud afsoon-e-nazar thaa, aasmaN kehnaa paRaa
ik pareshaaN kh(w)aab dekhaa aur jahaaN kehnaa paRa
vehm KHaak-e riikht dar chashm-am, bayaabaaN diidam-ash
qatrah-e be-gudaaKHt behr baikaraaN naamiidam-ash
["vehm" put sand in my eyes, I saw it as desert. A drop melted
and I called it a vast ocean.]
thaa Ghubaar-e-vehm vuh, maiN ne bayaabaaN keh diyaa
thaa gudaaz qatrah, behr-e-bekaraaN kehna paRaa
baad daaman zad bar aatish, nau bahaaraaN kh(w)aaNdam-ash
daaGH gasht aaN shu'laah, az mastii KHazaaN naamiidam-ash
[The wind flared up the flames, I thought it was new spring.
When the fire (which I had thought were red flowers) died down, I
called it autumn]
aag bhaRkaaii havaa ne, maiN ise samjhaa bahaar
shu'lah ban kar daaGH jab ubhraa, KHazaaN kehnaa paRaa
GHurbat-am naasaazgaar aamad, vatan fehmiidam-ash
kard taNgi halqah-e-daam, aashiyaaN naamiidam-ash
[Exile did not suit me, I thought it was my own land. When the
(hunter's) net tightened around me, I called it my nest.]
naa-mavaafiq thi bahut GHurbat, vatan kehte banii
taNg nikla Halqa-e-daam, aashiyaaN kehnaa paRaa
buud dar pehluu be-tamkiine keh dil me-guftam-ash
raft az shauKHii be-aa-ine keh jaaN naamiidam-ash
[The beloved was sitting next to me with glory, and I was calling
him/her my heart. Then the beloved departed in such a way, that I
called him/her my life. (After the departure, it felt like my life
had ended)]
is taraH pehluu meN baiThaa keh jaise dil thaa vuh
is ravash se vuh gyaa uTh kar keh jaaN kehnaa paRaa
dar suluuk az har cheh pesh aamad guzashtan daashtam
ka'bah diidam naqsh-e-paa-e-rahravaan naamiidam-ash
[In the Path, I ignored whatever I came across. I saw ka'bah,
and I called it the footprint of those who passed earlier]
yuuN tariiqat meN har ik shai se nazar aage paRii
ka'beh ko bhi naqsh-e-paa-e-rahravaaN kehnaa paRaa
I have left out some couplets that did not relate to illusion. Also,
Sufi Tabassum did not translate a few others.
Jamil
Naseer
On Sep 27, 7:43 pm, "Afzal A. Khan" <me_af...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> This reminded me of a very interesting thread on ALUP some ten
> years back, when someone asked a query about Iqbal's well-known
> poem on Mirza Bedil, which I quote below :
>
> MIRZA BEDIL
>
> Hai haqeeqat ya miri chashm-e-GHalat~beeN ka fasad
> Yeh zameeN, yeh dasht, yeh kohsaar, yeh charKH-e-kabood
>
> Koi kehta hai "naheeN hai", koi kehta hai ke "hai"
> Kya KHabar! hai ya naheeN hai teri dun'ya ka wujood
> .
> Meerza Bedil ne kis KHoobi se kholi yeh girah
> Ahl-e-hikmat par bohat mushkil rahi jis ki kushood
>
> "DIL AGAR MEE DAASHT VUS'AT, BE~NISHAAN BOOD EEN CHAMAN
> RANG-E-MAI BAIROON NISHAST, AZ~BAS'KE MEENA TANG BOOD!"
>
> Jamil Saheb had provided an explanation for Mirza's Faarsi sher :
>
> "If the heart were vast enough, the universe (as we see it)
> would be nothingness, since it would be lodged INSIDE the
> heart. Now it seemingly exists outside, just as if the colour
> of wine were to be outside the bottle because the bottle was
> too small."
>
janaab-i-Afzal Sahib, aadaab 'arz hai.
In his article "How to Read Iqbal" Shamsu Rahman Faruqi quotes this
very section of Iqbal's poem and provides a translation:-
(http://www.urdustudies.com/pdf/20/03FaruqiIqbal.pdf )
...............................................................................................................
Mirza Bedil
Is this the Reality, or the mischief wrought
By my false-seeing eye?
The earth, the wilderness, the mountain range,
The dark-blue sky,
Some say: It is; others, it is not,
Who knows if this your world exists at all.
How well Mirza Bedil unknotted this knot
Whose unravelling has been
So hard for the Philosopher:
“If the heart had enough space, this garden
Were sightless: the wine’s hue chose to come out
Because the wine-flask didn’t have enough room .”
................................................................................................................
Although this is essentially the same as what Jamil Sahib has said, I
prefer Jamil Sahib's elaboration of this Bedilian verse.
dil agar mii-daasht vus'at, be-nishaaN buud iiN chaman
rang-i-mai beruuN nishast az bas kih miinaa tang buud
If the heart were spacious enough, the universe would cease to exist.
(By the same token) the colour of wine only becomes manifest since the
bottle itself is too restricted.
I understand this shi'r in the following way.
If we ( our heart/ our intellect) could comprehend this universe, it
would cease to have its vastness (its mystery) since it has been
conquered (understood) by us. But we are incapable of doing
this. In fact we are so restricted in our understanding of our
surroundings that we are akin to a container (bottle) which can not
encompass even its contents (wine) fully since it allows a portion of
it (colour) to escape from within it.
> While participating in the discussion, I had cited the following
> sher by Ghalib :
> Hasti ke mat fareb men aa jaaio Asad
> 'Aalam tamaam halqa-e-daam-e-KHayaal hai
> Maybe, just maybe, both Bedil and Ghalib are referring to the
> modern concept of "Virtual Reality". If we can conceive of a
> Gigantic Para-cosmic Computer, the whole known Universe would
> be nothing but a part of the Desktop Screen. We, as mere
> specks, would be part of that Desktop. Although we are very
> much conscious of all that is around us, actually all that we
> see and feel is nothing but a part --- and a very small part at
> that --- of that Vast Screen or Virtual Reality.
> Jamil Saheb talked of "some useful pedagogical purpose".
> Whatever I have said in the preceding para ought to make us
> feel very humble and insignificant. And, perhaps, that would
> be one useful purpose.
As to our humbleness and insignificance, I sometimes wonder what a
common house fly perceives of its environment. We, as the "noblest of
creation" may feel quite superior to it but perhaps the jump from a
fly to a human is not all that great in terms of what we know and what
we don't.
KHair-KHvaah,
Naseer
nages...@yahoo.com
>
> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Afzal Sahib:
I think my reply to your earlier post was lost in cyberspace. I
enjoyed your rendition of Iqbal's ghazal - both the subject matter and
the sound left an impression on me. To my untrained ear, it felt as
though a word might be missing from the first line of the last sher.
Is it possible that it should be:
Meerza bedil ne kis khoobi se kholi hai yeh girah
Regards,
Nagesh
Naseer
janaab-i-Nagesh Sahib, aadaab 'arz hai.
Although your query is addressed to janaab-i-Afzal Sahib, the shi'r
quoted is correct and there is no "hai" in it.
KHair-andesh,
Naseer
Srinage...@gmail.com
Thanks, Naseer Sahib. I guess my ear still needs training.
And, with reference to your posting and discussion of Hasrat Mohani's
ghazal (raushan jamaal) here is another couplet regarding pairaahan
rang pairaahan ka khushboo zulf lahraane ka naam
mausam-e gul hai tumhaare baam par aane ka naam
(Faiz)
Nagesh
UVR
of books containing translated "masterpieces" of Urdu poetry[1]. The
book's preface contains the following Ghalib quatrain (qit'a):
ghar hamaaraa jo na rote to bhi veeraaN hotaa
baHr gar baHr na hotaa to biyaabaaN hotaa
tangi-e-dil kaa gila kyaa, yeh woh kaafir dil hai
ke agar tang na hotaa to pareshaaN hotaa
The author continues the preface, and I quote ad verbatim, saying that
"the second line of the quatrain [...] shows Ghalib's awareness of the
facts of geology and evolutionary thought ..."
-UVR.
[1] Not prizes for guessing who the author in question is.
Jamil
Naseer Sahib
Your interpretation of the Bedil verses is valid and as plausible as
the one in the translation you have quoted, and what Afzal Sahib
quotes. But your meaning is evidently different from how Iqbal
interpreted the couplet when he used it in his poem.
Let us read what Iqbal said again. The first three ash'aar are
Iqbal's own and and in the last one he quotes Bedil:
> > Hai haqeeqat ya miri chashm-e-GHalat~beeN ka fasad
> > Yeh zameeN, yeh dasht, yeh kohsaar, yeh charKH-e-kabood
>
> > Koi kehta hai "naheeN hai", koi kehta hai ke "hai"
> > Kya KHabar! hai ya naheeN hai teri dun'ya ka wujood
> > .
> > Meerza Bedil ne kis KHoobi se kholi yeh girah
> > Ahl-e-hikmat par bohat mushkil rahi jis ki kushood
>
> > "DIL AGAR MEE DAASHT VUS'AT, BE~NISHAAN BOOD EEN CHAMAN
> > RANG-E-MAI BAIROON NISHAST, AZ~BAS'KE MEENA TANG BOOD!"
Iqbal says that Bedil has untied the knot and solved the problem that
had puzzled the wise, namely: Does the world exist, or is it just an
illusion? There have been endless debates on the topic, and
philosophers are still debating it.
According to your interpretation of the couplet, Bedil just says that
we are "incapable of understanding" the world. If that had been how
Iqbal understood the couplet, he would not have quoted it in a poem
that first lays down the problem of existence versus non-existence,
and which then claims that Bedil has given a (mystic's) solution to
the puzzle.
While the she'r in isolation could possibly have your interpretation,
its inclusion in the context of this poem can indicate only that Iqbal
interpreted it differently.
iraadatmaNd
Jamil