POETRY
There was a man who lived long decades before me, yet I feel his presence even today. His words seem written for my time, my struggles, my questions … a man whose writings I am completely obsessed with. A thinker whose verses I read again and again! And, each time I read a verse, I uncover a new layer of meaning, a fresh spark of thought. That man is Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the poet, philosopher, and visionary whose voice still speaks to hearts across ages.
When I read his poetry, I don’t feel like I’m just reading literature. I feel like I’m seeking counsel from his legacy. His words push me, comfort me, challenge me, and sometimes even leave me with goosebumps. He was not an ordinary poet who only wrote about beauty. He was a seeker, a thinker, a wanderer in the landscape of ideas, searching for answers. And through his search, he discovered something that became the centre of all his thought: the concept of khudi or the self.
What is khudi? Iqbal’s answer completely changed the way I saw myself. For him, khudi was not arrogance or selfishness. it was about discovering who you truly are, the part of you that comes from God, the strength that lies hidden inside you. When you discover your khudi, you stop bowing to fear or doubt. You stop kneeling. You rise. You soar. You feel free.
Khudi means the self – the real, powerful self that God has placed inside every person. Iqbal believed that when we discover our khudi, we can rise beyond every limit. He wrote:
Raise your selfhood so high,
That even before destiny writes your fate,
God Himself will ask you:
Tell me, what is it you desire?
What a beautiful union of soul and syntax! Imagine living in such a way that even destiny has to pause for you. That’s what Iqbal wanted for us – to stop living small, to stop underestimating our worth, and to recognise the strength God has already given us.
Iqbal often used the image of the eagle. And I always ask myself, why the eagle? Why not some other bird? The answer is clear: the eagle soars higher than all and it does not settle for the ordinary. It faces storms without fear. That was his message: be bold, fearless, rise above difficulties, and never be content with mediocrity. He once wrote:
Break the chains of fear,
Learn the secret of your own existence,
You are the falcon – born to soar,
Not to live in the cage.
Reading this, I feel as if he is speaking directly to every young person who doubts themselves, who feels weak, who feels lost.
What makes me sentimental is that Iqbal said all this at a time when his people were weak, broken, and enslaved. His vision was not just for one nation – it was for humanity.