This ghazal, “Ishtayake Showk,” was written by Meher Baba in his early days. It conveys the deep spiritual significance of a seeker’s dialogue with the Divine Beloved, and the divine secrets of transforming the self into Godhood. This ghazal is often sung at Meher Baba’s Samadhi in Meherabad, India.
इश्तियाके शौक जब हद से सिवा हो जायेगा,
सामने आँखों के वो जलवानुमा हो जायेगा |
Ishtiaakay showk jub hudd say siva ho jaayegaa.
Saamanay aankho kay voh julvaa numa ho jaayegaa.
When your passion for God becomes intense beyond limit,
You will see His glory right in front of your eyes.
क्या कहूं अय दिल खुदी खोकर तू क्या हो जायेगा,
वासिले हक होगा बन्दे से खुदा हो जायेगा ||
Kya kahoon ai dil khudi ko kar tu kya ho jaayegaa.
Vaasilay huk hogaa bunday sey Khuda ho jaayegaa.
What can I tell you about what you will become when you lose your ego?
You yourself, the lover, will become the Beloved.
कानों में आकर के वो कह गए मुझे परदे की बात,
मैं तेरा हो जाऊँगा जो तू मेरा हो जायेगा |||
Kaano may aa kar kay woh kahaygaye mujhey purdey ki bat
Main teraa ho jaaungaa jab tu meraa ho jaayegaa.
He whispered in my ear the secret beyond the veil:
I will become all yours when you become all Mine.
– मेहर बाबा – (Meher Baba)
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Meher Baba’s Ghazals
These ghazals were written and sung by Meher Baba during his years of intense spiritual training between January, 1914, when Hazrat Babajan tore away the veil of his limited individuality with a kiss to his forehead, and February, 1922, when his consciousness stabilized in both the individual and universal states, and Upasni Maharaj declared him to be Adi Shakti (the Primal Force of the universe). He then assumed his avataric duties and began the process of attracting and training his inner circles of intimate disciples.
Ghazals, usually sung in Persian or Urdu in the sufi and Islamic traditions of spiritual discipline, have a very formal structure of two-line verses, each line divided in two parts. The last part usually ends with the same words throughout the entire song. Meher Baba wrote in Persian, Hindi, Urdu and Gujerati. It is customary for the author to identify himself by name in the last verse. Meher Baba’s literary name, Huma, refers to the Persian “bird of Paradise,” similar to the Egyptian phoenix, which is superior to all other birds in ability to fly, and which consumes itself in fire every few hundred years, only to rise anew from the ashes. It joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg. It avoids killing for food, rather preferring to feed on carrion. The Persians teach that great blessings come to that person on whom the huma’s shadow falls.