Song lyrics

Seb Maya Hai

📜 Lyrics

Everything is illusion, everything flows and shifts like shadow, In this love, what we have lost and what we have gained, What you have spoken, what Faiz has proclaimed, Everything is illusion. Yes, sometimes the wealth of vision comes into our hands, Or there is but one pleasure whose name is ruin, All else that we have earned as reward, Everything is illusion. One name alone endures, if life is not, When we see in this transaction there is no loss, Then the moth has come to offer its life to the flame, Everything is illusion. We know the tale of Qais the lover too, All are the same—this Ranjha and this Insha as well, And Farhad who carved out a river with his own hands, Everything is illusion. Why do we spend the night writing in the name of sorrow, Speaking of fire that lies beyond seven seas, Has no one been deceived by that very fire? Everything is illusion. For the fair one on whom we write a ghazal every evening, You know why we cannot write her name, Her heart too has come back after kissing the threshold, Everything is illusion. That girl too who was the queen of the moon-city, She in whose bewildered eyes was wonder, Today she too has sent this very message, Everything is illusion. Those who still speak the name of faithfulness, They know they are deceived, they deceive in turn, Yes, we have proclaimed the decree with a flourish, Everything is illusion. When we saw that everyone here is faithless, We have built a cottage far from this city, And upon that cottage's brow we have inscribed, Everything is illusion. Everything is illusion. Everything is illusion.

💡 Meaning & story

This ghazal is one of the masterpieces among the celebrated creations of the renowned Urdu poet Ibn-e-Insha. Its central idea carries a Sufi hue and concerns the impermanence of the world (that is, the world's transience). "Maya" is a Sanskrit word meaning "illusion, deception, or optical illusion." ________________________________________ Central Idea In this ghazal, Ibn-e-Insha says that in this world, love, affection, fame, and material things are all temporary. What a person strives for throughout their entire life ultimately turns to dust. ________________________________________ Explanation of the Verses 1. The Opening Couplet Everything is illusion, everything is a shifting shadow; in this love, what we have lost and what we have gained. Explanation: The poet says that everything we see in this life is like a shifting shadow (which changes from morning to afternoon). In love, whether a person gains something or loses everything, in reality neither has any permanent value. Everything is a mirage. 2. A Reference to Faiz What you have said, what Faiz has proclaimed—everything is illusion. Explanation: Here, Ibn-e-Insha speaks in a most beautiful manner, saying that whether it be the words of an ordinary person or the revolutionary discourse of a great poet like Faiz Ahmad Faiz—all are mere wordplay. Before death and annihilation, all are equal. 3. The Pleasure of Disgrace Yes, sometimes the wealth of seeing the beloved comes to hand, or there is but one pleasure—that of disgrace; apart from this, whatever virtue one earns. Explanation: The poet says that in love, sometimes a glimpse of the beloved is granted, or sometimes one gains infamy in love. Apart from these two things, whatever goodness or "virtue" a person accumulates in the world is merely temporary gain. The true reality is only the pain that one feels. 4. The Lamp and the Moth Only a name remains, if the soul does not; when I saw loss in this bargain, the moth came to give its life to the lamp. Explanation: When a person comes to understand that life will end anyway, they do not fear sacrificing themselves for a purpose (the lamp). The moth knows that life will be lost regardless, so why not burn it in the fire of love and make it eternal. 5. The Tales of Lovers I know the story of Qais, they are all the same—this Ranjha too, this Insha too, this Farhad too, who carved a river of milk. Explanation: Here, the great lovers of history are mentioned (Majnun, Ranjha, Farhad). The poet says that whether someone carved a mountain to bring forth a river of milk or searched through desert sands, all of them met the same end. Time erased them all, so their labor too was but "illusion." 6. The Fire Beyond Seven Seas Why do you write letters of sorrow all night long? Of whom do you speak—that fire across seven seas—has anyone been deceived by that fire? Explanation: Here the poet becomes somewhat ironic. He says: why do you stay awake writing letters of separation? The beloved who is far from you is not alone in her betrayal. This world's nature is such that everyone deceives and is deceived by someone. 7. The Queen of Chandnagar That girl too who was the queen of Chandnagar, she in whose innocent eyes was wonder—even she has sent this same message now. Explanation: That beloved who was once beautiful, innocent, and proud has also come to realize, as time passed, that beauty and youth are things that fade away. Now she herself confesses that "everything is illusion." 8. The Deception of Loyalty Those who still speak the name of faithfulness—they know of deceptions they suffer, deceptions they give. Explanation: Ibn-e-Insha says that those who still claim constancy are actually turning away from reality. They know that nothing called loyalty is permanent; it is merely a way to console one another. 9. The Closing Couplet (Final Verse) When I saw that everyone here is a deceiver, I built a cottage far from this city, and upon its doorway I had written: Everything is illusion. Explanation: This is the most powerful part of the ghazal. The poet says that when I realized that in this world no one belongs to anyone and every person is disloyal, I chose to withdraw from the crowd. I left the city and built a hut, and upon its door I have inscribed this lesson: everything in the world is transient and deception.