Ghalib: Hindu, Buddhist, Mansur and Momin
By Syed Osman Sher
Mississauga, Canada
When we use reason in understanding such things as the nature of the world, existence, values, and knowledge, and when we involve ourselves in questioning, critical discussions, and rational arguments and make systematical presentations, it is precisely what the philosophers do. In this way, the Urdu poet Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib was a great philosopher.
Every couplet of his poetry exudes wisdom and philosophy of the highest order that shakes the consciousness of the reader and puts him to wandering in multiple directions. To come to grips with his poetry the reader’s fantasy has to take a flight to Ghalib’s magic land of treasure of meanings (ganjeenaye maani ka tlism), and when the world of wisdom opens before him he realizes as if the poet has entered into his heart (goya yah bhi meray dil may hai). Being a philosopher himself, Ghalib also attests to the truth of various other philosophies. Though the field of his vision is very extensive, yet we would limit ourselves here to a few.
One of the basic philosophies of Hinduism, for example, is that an individual takes birth, dies, and the he is reborn. And this cycle of birth goes on. To an ordinary mind, it looks strange, unreasonable, and impossible. But if we ponder, we would find the truth in it, i.e., the living organisms, i.e., human, animal, plant or single-celled life, together produce each other. After the death, they mix up in the earth, and from that mixture, they arise again to life. Ghalib accepts Hinduism’s religious and philosophical concept of reincarnation or transmigration in the following couplets:
Sab kahan? Kuchh lala o gul mein numayan ho gayeen
Khaak mein kiya suratein hongee kay pinhan ho gayeen
(Not all, but only a few reappeared in the form of tulips and roses
Alas! Many of the lovely faces remained hidden in the dust.)
Similarly, Hinduism believes in the concept of “Maya”, which according to Vedic texts connotes an illusion. It can be defined in spiritual terms as "that which exists but is spiritually unreal". The Upanishads further explain this concept that the unchanging principles and consciousness are eternal, hence Atman or soul, while the changing world and nature are temporary, hence Maya or illusion. Ghalib also is convinced that what we see all around is just a deception or, in plain Urdu/Hindi, it is a “maya jaal”. But how to disbelieve his own eyes and perceptions? Ghalib, therefore, questions himself, being confused about existence and non-existence both. But, in the end, he reaffirms that “the non-existence” is the reality. Ghalib expresses this concept of Maya in the following couplets.
Hasti kay mat fareb mein aajaiyo Asad
Aalam tamaam halqay-e daam-e khayaal hai
(Let not fall into the deception of existence
The Universe is simply a bundle of illusions.)
Haan khaaiyo mat fareb-e hasti
Har chand kahein kay “hai”, naheen hai
(Let not fall into the deception of existence
Even if repeated thousand times that “it exists”, it does not!)
Hastee hai na kuchh adam hai Ghalib
Aakhir tu kiya hai? Aye! “naheen hai”
(Neither existence nor nothingness do I see)
After all, what are thou? Oh! “Thou art not”.)
Shahid-e hasti-e mutlaq ki kamar hai aalam
Log kahtey hain kay “hai”, par hamein manzoor nahin
(The Universe is the middle/ highness of the True Existence
People say that “it exists”, but I do not agree.)
Ghalib then turns a Buddhist. The philosophy of Buddhism starts with man’s life. It asserts that life is an embodiment of suffering. Man is full of lust, greed, and sin. He is bound to indulge himself in bad deeds. His deeds themselves are the arbiter, and for his bad deeds, he has to be punished. On that account, he is tied to the cycle of Samsara or suffering-laden, continuous cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Only his good deeds, treading the eight-fold path of righteousness, would lead him to Nirvana, and only then he would cease to take birth. Ghalib is embracing the core philosophy of Buddhism, i.e., bringing one to life simply to suffer, when he says “doboya mujh ko honay nay”, because the state of non-existence is another name for the total bliss or freedom from sufferings.
Na tha kuchh to Khuda tha, kucch na hoata to Khuda hota
Duboya mujhh ko honay nay, na hota main to kiya hota?
(In “the Nothingness” there was only God, if it continued God would still exist
I am doomed because of my creation; if not created, what difference that could make?)
Ghalib now enters into the body of Mansur al-Hallaj. As said in the above-mentioned couplet, nothing existed except God in the eternity. Therefore, whatever exists today and what we see around us comes out of Him. Thus, all things, material or immaterial, are part of the Divinity. In this way, MansurAl-Hallaj’s declaration of “Ana’al Haq’ (I am the Truth or I am the Divine) was not without reason. By saying ‘Na tha kuchh to Khuda tha, kuchh na hota to Khuda hota’, Ghalib too becomes a part of the Divinity. He reaffirms this belief in another couplet that though he seems like a small drop, yet in reality, he is “the Ocean”, as Mansoor had declared himself to be. But in view of his humility and not being shallow-minded like Mansur, he prefers not to proclaim this fact.
Qatra apna bhi haqiqat mein haye darya lekin
Ham ko taqlid-e tunuk zarfi-e Mansur nah
(My existence looks like a small drop, but in reality, it is “the Ocean”
I do not, however, like to follow the shallow temperament of Mansur
But Ghalib is not a Kafir. He is a perfect Momin. Whatsoever charms other religions spread, Ghalib remains steadfast in his iman. He is not enticed. Nothing deters him from following his own faith. And it is one’s steadfastness that makes him a Momin in the true sense so much that even if a Brahaman, following his faith with perseverance dies while worshiping the idols he should be buried in as important a place as the Kaaba, the most revered and exalted place according to Ghalib’s iman. He is such a diehard believer that he also conforms to the Unity of God, rejecting polytheism. Further, his iman is reflected in his admission that the real worship of God should be without expectation of reward, a submission without lust but purely for the love of Him. As a lowly person, Ghalib admits that God’s exalted position is beyond his comprehension. In this state of non-comprehension he takes extra precautions as not to have the audacity even to pronounce the word, “Qibla”, but only refers to it as “Qibla–numa” or Qibla-like). In the following couplets, Ghalib affirms his iman in this way:
Iman mujhay rokay hay jo khainchay hay mujhay kufr
Kaaba meray pichhay hai kaleesa meray aagay
(My iman holds me back as the infidelity pulls me)
The Kaba is behind me and the cirice is in front
Wafadari basharte istawari asl-e iman haii
Maray butkhana mein to Kaaba mein garro Barhamn ko
(Faithfulness with perseverance is the true iman
If the Brahman dies in the idol-temple, bury him in the Kaaba)
Usay kaun dekh sakta, kay yagana haye woh yakta?
Jo duee ki bu bhi hoti to kahin do chaar hota.
(Who can see Him, because that Unique is only One?
Had there been a semblance of duality, there would have been many.)
Taa’at mein taa rahay na maye o angebeen ki laag
Dauzakh mein daal do koi lay kar Behisht ko
(Lest there be lust for wine or women in submitting to Him.
Let someone throw away the Heaven into the Hell.)
Hai paray sarhad-e idrak say apna masjud
Qiblay ko ahle nazar qibla numa kahtay hain.
(Beyond comprehension is my Lord
The wise thus do not even pronounce ‘Qibla’, but only say Qibla-like.)
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