Mirza Ghalib and the message of Vedanta and Upanishads

Ghalib’s world is vast and one can’t fit him into any one category of issues or subjects. In Ghazals, he carries, not only a unique intensity of emotions but also a perfection of form and a deep feeling for the beauty of the world. Very consciously, he feels himself a part of the cosmos which he attempts to touch and view through his poetry.

Undoubtedly, many couplets of Ghalib reveal the core message of Vedanta / Upanishads. We have no source to verify if Ghalib had ever learnt Sanskrit or read Upanishads in Persian translation. How he came so close to the core philosophy of Vedanta / Upanishads? This is an enthusing mystery that can be the subject for a serious research.

   

It is also a well-known fact that Ghalib was highly influenced by the Persian poet Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil (1642-1720). Bedil was a Sufi poet of the Indian School known as ‘Sabk e Hindi’. He had done deep  study of the ancient Indian philosophy and the influence of Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna is evident in the Persian poetry of Bedil.

Bedil was also influenced by the Advait philosophy of Adi Shankara. This appears to be the reason for the influence of Vedanta upon Mirza Ghalib’s poetry. Did Ghalib read Dara Shikoh’s Persian translation of the Upanishads? We can’t comment for we have no authentic source to fall back upon.

Dara Shikoh was a lover of Upanishads and had 52 Upanishads translated into Persian just two years before he was executed. His translation,’Sirr-e-Akbar’ (The Greatest Mystery ) was completed in 1657. He also got Bhagavad-Gita and the Yoga Vasishtha translated into Persian. In his foreword to Sirr e Akbar, Dara writes this:

“Happy is he, who having abandoned the prejudices of vile selfishness, sincerely and with the grace of God, renouncing all partiality, shall study and comprehend this translation titled ‘The Greatest Secret ‘ [Sirr-i-Akbar], knowing it to be a translation of the words of God. He shall become imperishable, fearless, unsolicitous, and eternally liberated.”

As a poet of humanity, Ghalib is free from all narrow inhibitions of sect, segment or religion. He is frank, straight and unambiguous to say that his love is also sensuous even if erected on a foundation of idealism and self-surrender. His poetry leaves your mind free but creates its passage through your heart. The inquisitive mind of Ghalib seeks to know the nature of the cosmos when he says:-

“ Sabz o Gul kahaan se aaye hain

Abr kya cheez hai havaa kyaa Hai ……..(Ghalib )

(Where from have these 

 Flowers and greenery come?

What are these clouds all about?

What is the secret of the air ) 

Ghalib’s creativity is enigmatic that has the anguish and restlessness of a relentless seeker of truth. Ghalib also made attempts to unravel reality through mundane worldly  experiences. Even as a lover, he seeks to know the nature of reality. I quote:-

“Ye pari chehra log kaise hain,

Ghamza o ishva o adha kyaa hai ? ”…….(Ghalib)  

(What are these faces that look like fairies?

How does one describe their tempting and seductive 

demeanour ?)

Dr Gopi Chand Narang, the well-known scholar and authority on Ghalib writes this:

“Ghalib was highly influenced by the Persian poetry of Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil ( 1642-1720 ). Bedil was a lover of Upanishads and had with him a Persian translation of “Yog Vasistha” that he read and that influenced his thought .”

Yog Vashistha consists of six books and  about 29000 verses. Within these six books are stories told by sage Vasistha in the form of a dialogue with Sri Rama. These books unfold the major Yogic and Hindu philosophical and religious themes.

According to Yoga Vasistha, happiness visits a human being should he sincerely work for it. His action or effort must always be in four components. These components of effort are, Samo (quietude of mind), Vichara  ( spirit of Enquiry), Santosha ( contentment ) and Satsang (the company of the realized ones).

The philosophy of Yoga Vasistha says that true happiness resides in our nature. And our true nature is beyond pain and pleasure. Pain and pleasure are reactions that arise from our cravings and bind our consciousness. These Verses have a philosophical foundation similar to those found in Advaita Vedanta. It is a treatise on the universe, the human mind, Maaya, Brahman and the principles of non-duality.

It may not be out of place to mention that Sultan Zain ul Abdin of Kashmir, fondly known as Budshah was also a lover of Yoga Vashistha. It was Sanskrit scholar and his court historian Srivara who read passages from ‘Yog Vashishtha ‘ and explained these to the liberal and tolerant Sultan that Kashmir ever saw. Like Nagarjuna and Adi Shankara, Ghalib and Bedil were engaged in resolving the mystery of reality.

Influence of Upanishads and Adi Shankara’s philosophy on Ghalib

I put forth a few couplets of Ghalib with a relevant selection from Upanishads / Adi Shankara’s verses.

“Jab Ki Tum Bin Koyi Nahin Mojood

Phir Yeh Hangaama Aey Khuda Kyaa Hai ?”……..( Ghalib) 

(When nothing here exists without you,

Then wherefore all this tumult. O Lord?)

“God/truth alone exists as the substratum and this entire world is merely an appearance. It stands immutable and alone in all high glory and divinity as pure existence consciousness pervading the entire universe”………. (Shvetashavatra Upanishad)

“Huun me bhi tamaashaai nairang e tamanna 

Matlab nahin kuchh iss se ke matlab hi bar aave”…….( Ghalib )

( I am wanting to see,

the outcome of my yearning.

My desires may come to fruition

But it is not predictable.

I should better act as a witness to my own doing.) 

“Act he must. As he acts so does he become? The doer of good becomes good. The doer of sinful actions becomes sinful. By virtuous actions, he becomes virtuous; and by evil actions evil.”………..(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

“Mohabbat mein nahin hai fark jeenay or marnay kaa

Useeko dekh key jitay hain jis kaafir pe dum niklay”……….( Ghalib)

( Life or death make no difference to a lover,

As lover, I live merely by looking at my beloved

whose very sight is the cause of my demise.)

“Whosoever, living substance or animals and objects in the world are living on each other…like parasites…. All are honey and nectar of and for each other.”……(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

This is how close Ghalib comes to the concept of “Turiya “ a state of “ pure consciousness” .

”Hum wahaan hain jahan sse hamko bhi

Kuchh hamaari khabar nahin Aatee”………..( Ghalib )

 

(I am at that stage from where,

even I get no news of my own self)

“Not inwardly cognitive, nor outwardly cognitive, not both-wise cognitive, not a cognition-mass, not cognitive, not non-cognitive, unseen, with which there can be no dealing, ungraspable, having no distinctive mark,non-thinkable, that cannot be designated, the essence of assurance, of which is the state of being one with the Self the cessation of development, tranquil, benign, without a second, such they think is the fourth. He is the self (Atman). He should be discerned.”………………(Mandukya Upanishad)

“Hasti ke mat fareb mein aa jaaiyo ‘assad’

Aalam tamaam halqaa-e-daam-e-khayaal hai”………( Ghalib )

 

( Get not trapped by the deception of this existence O ! “Assad “, This visible world in its entirety,

belongs to the realm of imagination only.)

“(Brahman satyam jagat mithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah)

( Adi Sankara from Vivekachudamani )

 

“Brahman (the ultimate unchanging reality ) is the only truth, the world is not real, and in the end there is no difference between Brahman and individual ‘Self’ (Atman).”

Upanishads say that this world is empirical reality (Maaya ) and not absolute reality (Brahman). But Brahman is the cause of this universe. The world thus is something like an unreal perception of the viewer.

An illusion not because it does not exist, but because it is not what it appears to be all the time. From an absolute perspective, the material universe is a temporary creation.

Upnishads assert that mind has the power to perceive the world as it is, as well as fabricate the world as it wants to perceive it. Mind is a means to see the world but it is prone to flaws.

In this Ontological quest man has to make a serious attempt to realize the “true reality ( Brahman ) behind perceived reality ( Maaya )”. That Brahman has no attributes or characteristic.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.

The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.

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