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Last Updated on Friday, 09 April 2010 19:31 Friday, 09 April 2010 15:52

The Rise of Khudi

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A Route to the Root of Existence - Khudi

By Sadaf Abid

“…I would like to see the Punjab, the North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single state…”

Sir Muhammad Iqbal’s 1930 Presidential Address to the 25th Session of the All-India Muslim League, Allahabad, 29 December 1930

This dream envisaged the genesis of the struggle and depicted the four provinces to appear on the map of the world as one nation state. We have, undoubtedly, grasped the literal message but have indisputably missed the soul within. Imagine a devoted   creator’s dream to get his own canvas to pencil-in his life-long reverie. He paints the entire canvas green with a vertical white stripe in the hoist. One white stroke of progress furnishes a crescent and another white stroke of light endows a five-pointed star. He knew that dreams come true if you survive the hard times. His wisdom was au fait. Meri nawa-e-paraishan ko shairi na samajh, keh mei hun mehram-e-raazdaron mei khana (Don’t take my wailing as mere poetry, for I am aware of the secrets of the universe). It was, thus, vital to plunk pride into these tacitly expressive colours. This pride and selfhood was Khudi (Ego). The visualization was handed-over to his son. The son stayed contented only with the dazzling shades and somehow failed to empathize the message, fell short of appending value to further glorify it and neglected the extension of its worth which ultimately lead him to enveloped feudalism.

“Metaphysically, the word Khudi is used in the sense of that indescribable of ‘I’ which forms the basis of the uniqueness of each individual. Ethically, the word Khudi means (as used by me) self-reliance, self-respect, self-confidence, self-preservation, self-assertion when such a thing is necessary in the interest of life and power to stick to the cause of truth, justice, duty, etc. even in the face of death....” (Syed Abdul Vahid, Thoughts and Reflections of Iqbal. Lahore, 1964, p.80)

Allama Mohammad Iqbal’s Khudi and Pakistan today seems to be an imaginary line that divides the earth from the sky – a horizon. He endeavoured to raise the level of consciousness by presenting his unique vision of Khudi or Ego. Dr. Allama Iqbal’s passionate poetry and philosophy inspired millions of people to wake up to the reality of the times and forge a destiny for themselves. He was deeply concerned about the persuasive lethargy that had settled over the minds and souls of Muslims under the colonial rule. His message motivated millions of Muslims to struggle for emancipation and it seems more applicable today. Fortuitous ignorance bred fear at that time and calculated fear is breeding repression today.

Today whatever circumstances we are facing is not due to any democratic political party or dictator but it’s all due to our changing values. The catastrophe is that we have somehow sold our Khudi @ 10%. The sole reason being the difference in our sacrifice. Yesterday we sacrificed our desires to keep our Khudi intact and today we are sacrificing our social and cultural values…our Khudi in the name of deals and bills to gain materials. Voracity of riches has empowered our souls and ravenousness of power dictates our body making body and soul two separate entities. The act of discrimination is what has brought us to where we are standing today. The question now arises as to whether we can again rise to the original noble heights as dreamt by Allama Iqbal? Have we failed to honour the depth of his dream? According to him: Teri khak mein who sharer, keh khail O Fuqr O Ghana Na ker, Kay jahan main nan-e-shaeer hai madare quwat-e-haidari (Your mettle has the sparkling beyond the thought of richness or poverty, As the strength of Ali lies on stale bread)

The thought makes my heart snivel as to where we were and where we are today. We need to learn the lesson again. We need to revise the course again. We need to pass this exam. And if we fail to do so – a dream will die, a thought will cease and the root of existence (Khudi) will go to ashes. The Qur’an puts it as: ‘The one who causes this (self) to grow in purity has indeed attained success; and the one who is negligent of this (self) has indeed utterly failed.’ (Al-Shams 91:9,10). To ascend to this level where we Pakistanis enjoy the fruits of real freedom we need to attain the highest form of self-consciousness which is self-control. This strength of mind can help us discipline our lives and levitate to a level where we get acknowledgment as a revered nation. We cannot afford to leave behind what Sir Allama Iqbal wrote for us: Aye nowjavan-e-muslim, kabhi tadabur bhi kiya tu ney, who keya gardun tha tu hai jiska toota huwa tara (O young Muslims, have you ever pondered what a great height were you? Now you are just a fallen star thereof). It’s a wake-up call for all.

Around twenty years back in school we used to celebrate Iqbal Day with zeal and fervor to pay tribute to the great philosopher and poet. Our school used to chalk out special programmes for the day. Our parents used to tell us a couple of weeks ago about the upcoming day and we used to listen to stories about how such panoramic dreams were transformed into reality. Our teachers used to convey Iqbal’s message through speeches, poetry recitation and debate competitions. On the same day in 1995 I remember asking my teacher a question in my naivety: Sir, Dr. Iqbal only had dreams and no nightmares? It was a fun-poked question that anyone of my age would not hesitate asking. But my teacher’s reply will always remain with me. He said: “Dr. Iqbal was a normal human being like us. The only difference is that he had a thinking brain. If he had dreams he had nightmares too and he overcame his nightmares because of his dreams.”

Let’s ask ourselves a question: Does Khudi exist today? It’s definitely there but we hide it even from our own selves. We can understand the concept of Khudi only if we practice it. Our practices make us crouch down on knees, stoop our self-image, and debase our esteem just for few loans that consequently will snatch our rights on our own Khudi. This opens the individual to a process of continuous growth, challenge, struggle and creation. Sir Allama Iqbal was frustrated by the lack of dynamism in the intellectual and spiritual lives of people. If he were alive today, Iqbal would be filled with dismay over the same lack of movement in the intellectual and spiritual spheres of current day. This proves that the depth of his message and its manifold implications have yet to be realized. Vested interests of most of the political regimes have not allowed the Muslims to reach the ideal of emancipation and creativity as envisioned by Iqbal.

Only our upcoming generation can make us come out of the dilemma we are stuck in. I make an appeal to all parents to please let their children know and understand Iqbal’s message. We are using force today to fight the dirt but if we take inspiration from Iqbal’s thought we can conclude that using mind is better than being physical. Iqbal writes: “Indeed the evolution of life shows that, though in the beginning the mental is dominated by the physical, the mental as it grows in power, tends to dominate the physical and may eventually rise to a position of complete independence…..” (Iqbal, 1989, p.85).

Let the cohort know that only education can help us fight this battle of smokes, only schooling can show us the route out of this labyrinth and only learning can make us choose good leaders to guide and lead us.

Zindigi ho meri parwaane ki soorat ya rab

Ilm ki shama se ho mujko mohabat ya rab

(My life would be like that of a moth that loves light and flies into it, O Lord! 
Such would be my love for Knowledge, O Lord!)

The author can be reached at sadafjaved@hotmail.com

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