Ever heard the song "peera ho..." by Khalid Anum?
It has the most incredibly haunting melody to it. I was completely entranced by the tune and the lyrics from the first moment I heard it some ten or so years ago. I have no idea what the lyrics mean. They are, I believe, sung in punjabi.
Remarkably, I understand the song. I'm not quite sure how, though. It is almost as if the concept and the melody transcend language itself. Like a communion of souls in which no language is necessary or relevant.
To me the song is about God. The finding of Him quite unexpectedly. It is not about religion, though. It transcends the pettiness of religion itself.
It is a song about a race to own and conquer the world. And when you have done that, it is still all meaningless. You are still unfulfilled, still lost, still unhappy... Despite all you have, and all you have achieved you still have nothing at all. It is a song about a struggle to find inner peace. A quest for belonging. A search for the self. It is about an elevated plane of understanding, where your link to the supreme being is actually about knowing yourself. And in knowing yourself you know Him. Once you have known Him, you cease to be. All ceases to be. Then there is just Him. The love for Him. The search for Him....
At this plane of existence one has no earthly desire or understanding left. There is no recognition of child or parent, love or loss, food or cold. There is merely a sense of urgency. A frenzy. A trance in which one is in ultimate communion with the One. Your living, breathing moments weld into one everlasting second of existence. Momentary and endless at the same time. There is nothing of value left to tempt you in this world. You exist simply to praise and exalt Him. You "are" simply so you can "know" Him.
The malangs* I feel, exist on such a plane mentally. They have ceased to live for this world. They are beyond what the common man may understand. They have found peace. They have found God...
*( a dervish of sorts.... someone who has left worldly pleasures for God)
14 comments:
The song was actually a sound track of the then famous drama series Mystery Theater... and was nothing less of a mystery... lol... And that is where the vdo comes from... naturally they would not want you to understand it... :P !!!!
The song is used as the soundtrack for that drama..... but if I am not mistaken, Anum released it much earlier....
well... yea i guess dat was da case... but somhow or da other i have always seen it wid dis vdo...
its a pity khalid is only known for dis one song... !!!
That leads to a very general question i.e. what's that sole purpose for which all of us were sent to this world. If a man has to live for let's say 70 years or so and he knows that he's going to die some day; so every thing he does in his life is just meaningless. Most of us just don't think about this, i mean there's got to be a purpose of our being in this world and eating three times a day, messing files in the office and thinking about the next months utility bills don't serve this purpose at all.Our spirits are more inclined towards what this world has to offer for us and that's where I'd say religion fits in. I'd strongly recommend that you listen to "Tum ek Gorakh dhandha ho" by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, there are a fair amount of riddles in those lines.
"It is not about religion, though. It transcends the pettiness of religion itself."
Very well said. That very aspect of "sufi" philosophy attracts many. And the fact that it exalts forgiveness over punishment, embracing over excluding and the biggie: love over duty. The quest for God cannot be driven by anything but love - hunger, thirst, desire YES ...but NEVER fear or a sense of duty!
What is the point of "obeying" God and following His dictates out of fear so we'll be spared in the afterlife. Go crawl into some anthill and toil there mutely all your life! That is not what "man" was created for (well i cannot really claim to be in the mind of the Creator!)but the magnificient creature that "man" is - an essentially fear-driven life is not his raison d'être.
What a beautiful philosophy: "in knowing yourself you know HIM"
"and once you know Him you cease to be" true - or maybe HE ceases to be... or best of all, it is irrelevant at that point.
Its great that you get that from the Khalid Anum song - to each his own! I understand the lyrics since I am very much punjabi but while the melody and the instrumentation is good, to me Khalid falls flat on his face - not his fault, he just does not fit:in calibre, in background (too urban) in rendition of the language nuances...
I am opinionanted babes but hopefully not a bigot! Though I am very scary when it comes to music: i do not suffer fools, period! To the 5-10% that really understand it, i offer instant "jai ho - pairi paeniyaan" (touch-your-feet)kind of salutation and regard. The others beware!
On another note - thanks for the "Across the Universe" link - I had completely forgotton that one and it was a pleasure listening to it again after so many years. We grew up on the Beatles and while "Hey Jude" and "Something" made it through three decades and continents, this one had slipped my memory - so thanks!
Have found a new song: who else? A.R. Rahman (Song: Khwaja mere Khwaja; Movie Jodha Akbar.) Sufi qawali. The only thing I like about my Lexus is the sound system and thank God I had reason to be out a lot today otherwise I might have taken the “longest distance between point A and point B” just so I could get my fill! …the refrains and the tabla…divinity.
I am that way about the things I love. I actually feel jealous of all people who have not yet heard a song that I love or have not read a book I love….. for the pleasure that awaits them – it is entirely besides the point that they will likely miss completely that which makes my skin tingle!
That’s all there is now…..my music, my words, my muses and my love… I shamelessly seek such accommodation as my age and seniority might afford me for being self absorbed….that is all there is and it suits me just fine…every miniscule particle of my reality is as profound and satisfying as the whole….reality…guts and bone reality – how can fantasy ever compete?
S.
Cherish the moments like this that spring upon us and leave us feeling satiated... for a brief while content and at peace.
And keep living.
May you feel free and light again.
Hugs
I thought about you today and wished you peace.
…( smiling…)
Thanks for being kind.
The song did not give me peace – it left me filled with longing…yet I loved it: the age old thesis, antithesis and synthesis. I know you are familiar with this thought/experience – you refer to it often enough – I am in love with it: the everything in the nothing, the ecstasy in the agony…….…the peeraabeelum is that my longings/torments stubbornly refuse to synthesize!
I no longer seek satiety, BUTT, I would not mind a respite!
Did I ever tell you how much I love the Canadian weather? I was only half alive living in all the other places. 4 distinct (read distinct!)glorious seasons - no need for an idiot CNN anchor to announce the coming of spring or fall: it is in the air announcing itself, assaulting your senses in so many ways. I was out in a blizzard last night with snow whipping across my face and was laughing as I entered the client's house in my long black coat turned momentarily white by the snow flakes. Excusez Moi! I wax lyrical only because you "Southies" are so deprived and clueless...
PS: more than half the kindness is being perceptive.
Regarding the comment on the "Southies"... I am not one and yet I found myself bristling in mock indignation.... lol
My response: Damn Canadian snobs!
Of course the Brit in me agrees with you :P
In regards to the perception part,
My response:
Sista woman, you and I are soul kin. Enough said.
And there are days only you can fathom the depth of my writing so the kindness and perception is mutual.
Hugs my dear friend, until next time.
"I am not one and yet I found myself bristling in mock indignation"!!!
It is comments like this - more than anything else - that got me hooked onto your blog!
...and there are some associations in ones life that refuse to be dislodged. There is no way for me to hear the words "kindred souls/soul kin" without thinking of our dearest "Humane one".... I actually think I love him!....he makes me laugh but it is a sort of affectionate, fuzzy, protective feeling.
"Humane One"
Sista, if you and I are referring to the same being then I understand you totally.
Well said.
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