Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797 - 1869) was a
poet philosopher of India in the eighteenth
century. They were times of flux, and the
entire world was engulfed in a drastic
change. It was an age of transformation for
all of mankind. The whole world was in
tumult because the change was fundamental
in nature. Industrialization was spreading
rapidly, and with the advent of the machine
age a major sifting and shifting of human
values was taking affect. Centuries old and
established moulds of culture and morality
were being reshaped in the light of the
immense impact of the material giant of mass
production through machines. Man, who had
hitherto considered himself completely under
the control of Nature and its rampant laws
now began to perceive the power of his own
discovery and invention -- the machine. He
started to use it to his material benefit
and the uplift of his fellow-beings,
gaining more self confidence and personal
security. The ideas of -- ‘ work now and be
rewarded later ’, and that -- ‘ all labour
and effort of each individual was being
recorded, to be compensated and acknowledged
in another life perhaps’ ; were being
questioned. The entire basis of human
morality came under close scrutiny. The
theory and belief of a completely subjugated
man, which had been exploited by the
dogmatic and myopic view of the clergies of
the religious beliefs of all three
monotheistic orders, too started to show
cracks under critical analysis. Man seemed
to feel surer of himself and the fear of the
unknown began to recede. The subtle workings
of ‘Mother Nature’ which man could not
observe by his naked gaze, he could now
examine by a telescope over his head or a
microscope under his eye. The ‘hows’ and
‘whys’ and his own position in the universe
of things started becoming clearer to him
with the advancement of scientific
knowledge. Some of the greatest men of
learning were the outcome of this
fundamental readjustment of human thought.
Ghalib was one of the front-runners of these
independent thinkers.
As the title suggests, this is only an
individual’s attempt to understand the
intellect and genius of Ghalib -- the
likes of whom take birth but only once for
mankind. A large number of people have been
drawn into Ghalib’s fold and a great variety
of work has been done on the poet. One of
the greatest of them in English, has been
done by
(Prof) Ahmed Ali in his book:
The Golden Tradition -- an
anthology of Urdu poetry.
Published by Columbia University Press (
ISBN 0-231-03688-4)
The back
ground and period of Urdu poetry is most
comprehensively discussed and explained in
it, along with an unparalleled translation
of selected poems from celebrated poets of
each period.
Ghalib’s ever lasting quality is his depth
of human knowledge and philosophy presented
in a unique tongue, diction and tradition of
his time. The depth of thought and
observation have been married in the
maturity of language and vocabulary. The
result is a vast variety of shades of
impressions, giving a new slant every time
it is read. Therein lies its perpetual
bloom and appeal for all ages. Ghalib’s
philosophy embodies humanity, hence its
universal acceptance and admiration. His
maturity and intricacy of style is also
evident in his double meaning sentences and
stanzas, and above all his pun. eg.
Kayuun Jal Gaya na taab-e rukh-e
yar daekh kar
Jalta hoon apni taqat-e didaar
daekh kar
Why did I not burn on seeing the
heat of her ire
I am jealous of my own ability to
bear the fire.
and
Nukta cheen hai gham-e dil, ous
ko sunayae na banay
Kaya banay baath, jehan baath
banae na banay
Difficult task is the sorrow of
the heart,
even her, one can’t narrate it to.
What use is there to make ado,
where no make ado, will ever do.
Ghalib was a “progressive Muslim”,
one who questioned, deciphered, understood
and only then submitted to Nature’s laws.
He did not surrender to the dictates of
the dogmatic or the fundamentalist’s school
of thought. His questioning mind brought
him to the zenith of detached
self-observation and critical personal
analysis. He understood the workings of
human nature from outside the shackles of
ignorant and dogmatic religious beliefs and
practices. For he says:
Hum Mouwahid hain, hamara caish
hai tark-e rusoom
Millatain jub mitt gaiyan ajzaa-e
imaan ho gaiyan
We are monotheists, our belief
is
to shun traditions and scribes.
Ingredients of faith flourish
with the elimination of sects and
tribes.
All
original thinkers have a sensitivity about
them. They are aware and gain consciousness
of phenomena which are beyond ordinary
humans and want to share it with the world;
only to be rebuffed and ridiculed by
conformists and propagators of status quo.
Original thought leads to the reality of
extreme loneliness and elevated
comprehension, and is insatiable by
temporary companionships which one seeks in
the surroundings. Ghalib’s awareness and
vision were so acute and penetrating that to
preserve sanity he sought some relief.
Knowing fully well that exceeding the limit
would tilt the balance and lead to addiction
and escapism. He has narrated this so aptly
by saying:
Bay mae kisay hai taqat ashoob-e
aaghahee
Kheincha hai eijz-e hawsala nae
khat ayagh ka.
Without wine who has the
strength
to bear the din of consciousness.
The defeat of courage has drawn a
mark,
on the rim of the cup’s evenness.
And he goes
further to stress that:
Mae say gharaz nishaat hae kis
roosia ko
Eik Goona baekhudi mujhay din
raat chahiaye
Which wretched sinner seeks
pleasure from wine.
A deep oblivion, day and night for
me, there should be.
A state of
oblivion or bliss is sought by man since the
beginning of time. It may not be achievable
in this mortal life but its search is
eternal and has been endowed in human
nature. Self fulfillment is one form of
acquiring it. Contentment comes in spurts
and bliss and satisfaction are temporarily
achieved when man puts in his best and
whole-hearted effort in exposing the hidden
embedded talent, possessed by every
individual; thus fulfilling the very purpose
of his creation perhaps. The liberation of
the trapped treasures of ones nature is
every ones desire, but the majority of us
are lost and tangled in the achievement of
glamour and material glitter of this worldly
life. Only some can see the truth beyond
its physical garb. Ghalib was one who saw
it. His view encompassed the universe it
self; as is evident from:
Hastee kay muth farayeb may
ajayeeoo Asad
Aalam tamam halqa-e daam-e
khayaal hai.
Be not deceived, O Asad, by the
dazzle of creation
All existence is encircled, by the
net of imagination.
The one distinctive aspect between man and
the rest of the creation
is his intellect. All things have good or
bad effects depending on how they are viewed
and employed. So also it is with the
intellect. If intellect is endowed with a
positive approach it leads to progress and
achievement, but if enshrined in pessimism
it destroys and destructs the edifice of
life itself. The basis of intellect is
thought and imagination. Out of which emerge
all word and deed. It is this fact which
Ghalib has so beautifully bejeweled in the
verse above. A beautiful thought emanates
from purity, and a vicious idea takes birth
in the ugliness of contamination. Purity in
its turn is inculcated by faith and belief,
whereas impurity originates in doubt and
deceit.
It just goes to show what faith and belief
Ghalib must have possessed.
Ghalib tried to view the reality of Nature
itself, but in its reflection saw his own
image; since he said:
Sach kehtay hoe khud beene O’,
khud aara hun
na kayuun hun ?
Baitha hai buth-e aaina seema
meray aagay
True I am self observing, self
admiring, why be it not so ?
Facing me is one whose forehead,
like the mirror, is aglow.
Then Ghalib
goes on to tackle the hidden mysteries of
Nature and questions its underlying
purpose. For he says:
Naqsh faryadee hai kis ke
shokhi-e thareer ka
Kaghazi ha payrahan her paykarr-e
tasweer ka
Whose dazzling work does the impression
stricture ?
Of paper is the robe, of every
figure in the picture.
The impression – the picture or creation, is
questioning, crying out loud, for having
been given the brilliance and the joy of
being created; brought into existence and
given the consciousness of it. Yet there is
lament and pain of awareness because all is
temporary and short-lived, just like the
dress of paper of each figure face in the
picture.
When he comes to behold beauty in Nature he
questions its secrecy:
Jab woh jamal-e dil farooz,
surat-e mehar-e neem rose
Aap he hoe nazara sooz, purdaey
mein munh chuppaeye quon
When her radiance is heart
enthralling
and appearance like the sun at
noon.
Self-exposed and self-adoring,
Why then in veil, she hides her
bloom?
and then
professes to explain its reason:
Dashna-e ghamza janistan, nawak-e
naz bay panah
Taera hi ux-e rukh saahee, samnay taeray
aayae quon
Like shooting arrow your demeanor,
and dagger sharp your vanity.
Even your own faces shadow,
in front of you why would it be?
This wonder, amazement and query then leads
him to lament the fact -- the same
conclusion as has been reached by
philosophers like Plato, Pythagoras and
others -- that man is fallen divinity. As
is evident from his verse:
Na tha kutch to Khuda tha
Kutch na hoota to Khuda hoota
Duboya mujh ko honay nay
na hoota main to Kaya hoota?
When naught existed God existed,
Had none there been, God would be.
My own existence lowered me.
Would I not be, what would it be?
In the end
I would like to leave the questioning mind
with my question for Ghalib lovers to
ponder, decipher accept or reject. For, if
and when I meet Ghalib I will ask him as to
why he did not write thus:
Na tha kutch to Khuda tha,
Kutch na hoota to Khuda hoota
-Sujhaya- mujh ko honay
nay,
na hota main to Kaya hoota?
For if I had not been brought forth I would
no doubt have been part of the whole; but
an insensitive, unconscious, ignorant part.
My very being and individual existence
gives me an identity of an entity and is
responsible for making me aware of that
fact. Hence:
When naught existed God
existed,
Had none there been, God would be.
My very being, this made me
see.
Would I not be, what would it be?