Monday 25 March 2013

The Flight: Iqbal and Bach

Wrote a blog in October 2009 about one of my all time favorite book “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach, at that moment  and earlier I really missed that this work was so much resonating with Iqbal’s poetry, just check this:

 "When Jonathan Seagull joined the Flock on the beach, it was full night. He was dizzy and terribly tired. Yet in delight he flew a loop to landing, with a snap roll just before touchdown. When they hear of it, he thought, of the Breakthrough, they’ll be wild with joy. How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s a reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!
and precision flying is a step toward expressing our real nature."

See how this resonates with Iqbal's poetry:

ہر اک مقام سے آگے مقام ہے تیرا
حیات ذوقِ سفر کے سوا کچھ اور نہیں


تہی زندگی سے نہیں یہ فضائیں
 یہاں سینکڑوں آسماں اور بھی ہیں

قناعت نہ کر عالمِ رنگ و بوپر
 چمن اور بھی آشیاں اور بھی ہیں
تو شاہیں ھے پرواز ھے کام تیرا
  ترے سامنے آسماں اور بھی ہیں

11 comments:

  1. Never had the chance to read this book but this small text which is beautiful and sensational seems very much similar to Iqbal's poem.

    A nice post :)

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  2. Greetings Sir,

    Thank you for this post. It brings me joy to reflect on the fact that I love a book which you cherish as well. What are Iqbal's poetic words here?

    All good wishes,

    robert

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iqbal's words mean exactly what Bach has written that Life is actually finding the excellence in living.

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    2. Thank you Sir.

      All good wishes,

      robert

      Delete
  3. Greetings Sir,

    Thank you for sharing this with us! I haven't read his book so far, but I will definitely check it out now.

    I absolutely love the following passage:

    "How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s a reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!..and precision flying is a step toward expressing our real nature."

    Best wishes,
    Shaidi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes you must check this very interesting book and I am sure you will like to read it again and again.

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  4. I didn't know about this book,Akhtar Bhai,my neighbor has an office library and room full of books.She wants me to check with her before buying any new books.So I'll get it from her.
    Thanks for this.
    Regards,
    Chaman

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please read this online and also print a copy its a very small volume.

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    2. Greetings,

      This is such a very nice book. One of my all-time favorites.

      All good wishes,

      robert

      Delete
  5. Yes its really profound under these simple lines.

    ReplyDelete