An Indian artist called ‘Satinder Sartaaj’ has a beautiful Punjabi song dedicated to the great poet Rumi. It has perfect vocals along with wonderful lyrics and dramatic Turkish music. The song is describing how being in this life means being in separation from the Beloved and how all of life leads us to union with the Beloved. Here is the video below along with English captions to translate the lyrics. Listen and be transported to the land of Rumi.
Restlessness is very precious It is from this, that one achieves contentment Everyone gets impressed, but you become devoted When the beloved sees this, he/she will feel proud of you
Give up your heart Give up your whole self Let the losers be deemed winners here (who surrenders is the winner) Love in such a way, poet Sartaaj That some gets surprised and others sacrifice themselves (over the love)
Such is the ritual of this love market that Even after giving the beloved a lakh breaths, there is no acknowledgement Whoever steps in this land of love, has no permanent happiness or sadness
There is no other refuge like love There is nothing which is as extremely difficult as love Keep looking inside yourself Sartaaj Don’t hope to find this love outside of yourself
The gentleness of love is something fascinating When it hurts in love, we feel like laughing
Sometimes lovers lift their hands and pray to God While sometimes they will clench their fist in anger Sometimes they will sing love poetry to the leaves (of a plant/tree) While sometimes they will not even admit their own sorrows to themselves
Ask these lovers what did you get in return for this They will say they can see God in their beloved’s face It’s because of this devotion That we see the light in love Think about where you stand, poet Sartaaj The town of love seems pretty far for you
Why do you keep your feet in two boats Either come together or go your separate ways
Be brave and take a side Either become a spec of dust or become a miracle
Do something in love that makes others jealous Do something in love that makes others remember you
Autumn is a season with bittersweet energy – the days get shorter, the air gets chilly, humans get slower, animals migrate or start preparing for hibernation, leaves turn colors and they start emptying the trees. It really is a season of letting go. This makes me think of a beautiful song which reminds me of the energy of Autumn.
The song is called ‘Haminastu’ which means ‘If there is Heaven anywhere, it is here, it is here’. I love the texture of this song, with it’s deep and clear musical beginning which has a soulful rubab playing. It’s hauntingly beautiful happy-sad lyrics are sung beautifully by Zeb Bangash, a talented artist. This is one of music director – Amit Trivedi’s masterpieces. Below is the song and its lyrics and translation.
gar firdaus, barooye zameen ast haminasto, haminasto meri jaan rooh dil se baabast haminasto, haminasto.. (Persian)
If there is paradise on this earth somewhere, here it is, here it is. Inhabited by my life, my soul and my heart, this is the place, here it is.
khaamosh darakhton ke saaye ye khauf hai soya saa kuch khoya khoya humne bhi ye chehra hai roya saa (Urdu)
In the shadows if these silent trees there is a fear that is hidden
Seems like I have lost something the face is as if it has cried
murjhate gulon ne jhuk ke kaha hume aadat hai hamin asto… chalte lamhon ne ruk ke kaha inaayat hai hamin asto… (Urdu)
Even the dying flowers bowed and said, we are used to this.. in this place. Moving moments stopped and said, it’s kindness/mercy on us.. in this place.
ye veerane, ye sannaate ye kya bol rahe hain aate jaate, aate jaate ho… (Urdu)
these desolate places, these silences, what are they saying as they pass?
panchhi saare ud gaye kahin bas ghonsley hain haminasto gar jannat hai zameen pe kaheen yaheen pe hai haminasto, haminasto.. (Urdu)
all the birds have flown away somewhere, only the nests remain in this place. if there is heaven on earth somewhere, here it is.. here it is..
Here is my interpretation of Hafiz’s ‘My eyes so soft’ poem:
Don’t
Surrender
Your loneliness so quickly.
Let it cut more
Deep.
Let it ferment and season you
As few human
Or even divine ingredients can.
Something missing in my heart tonight
Has made my eyes so soft,
My voice so
Tender,
My need of God
Absolutely
Clear.
In this poem, Hafiz is trying to tell humans the importance of loneliness. Loneliness is a feeling a human experiences when he/she is away from their soul, their spirituality. They try to fill this void by other people or things or activities or food/drinks, but ultimately everything is temporary and this loneliness returns. Hafiz says, remain lonely for a while, remain in the pain of being lonely. What gives you pain – teaches you, it ferments you – transforms you and shows you a better way to live life. Hafiz says, this loneliness is actually extremely useful for a person as it makes the person ultimately realize that he/she will feel a sense of belonging only and only when they get in touch with their spiritual nature. This will remove every part of their loneliness.
Read between the lines 