Iqbal’s Concept of Khudi (Ego) The significance of the Self in an individual is that it is the source through which we can bring ourselves closest to the Ultimate. Let us, therefore, study the nature and immense power that lies in the human self . Iqbal has gone so deep into the ocean of the self that it has become difficult for a common person to dive with him to that depth. This is why he had to face severe criticism during his lifetime particularly from religious people. In fact he possessed a very high aesthetic sense, on account of which he adopted a highly literary and poetic method to explain his creative ideas with respect to developing the rich faculties of the human mind through the self. Since the language used by him contains very rich poetic imagination, it creates some difficulty for the reader to understand him, especially when it comes to the expression of his intuitive ideas. Iqbal’s famous book on Khudi in Persian language is “Asrar-i Khudi”. His learned teacher Professor R.A. Nicholson of Cambridge translated the book during Iqbal’s lifetime and named it as “Secrets of the Self”. While translating the book Professor Nicholson wrote a letter to Iqbal in search of certain answers. The reply from Iqbal received by Professor Nicholson was so interesting that he published the whole of it in the introductions of the Secrets of the Self, which was published at London in 1920. The introduction to this book alone covers twenty-five pages. Since we are trying to understand the nature of human Self, a few words from the the translater about Iqbal’s idea are quoted hereunder: “Everyone, I suppose, will acknowledge that the substance of the ´Asrar-i-Khudi` is striking enough to command attention. In the poem, naturally, this philosophy (i.e.Self) presents itself under a different aspect. .............., its logical brilliancy dissolves in the glow of feeling and imagination, and it wins the heart before taking possession of the mind.”
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 16:06:59 +0000
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