“
This life of ours—the act of being born—what is it but ishq? This is worldly
love, ishq-e-majazi. And the closer we approach death, the path of divine love, ishq-e-haqiqi, opens up
before us. You have to keep ishq-e-haqiqi only for the Lord. You no longer have Begum Falak Ara
before you, nor Munirabai, nor Manto bhai’s Begu or Ismat, there’s only he, Alhamdulillah. But how
many of us can actually tread that path? Maula Rumi did. Each of us is a moth, whirling around in the
trap set by ishq-e-majazi. Have you noticed the irony, Manto bhai? Ishq-e-majazi is worldly love, it’s like
loving a picture or a symbol; and ishq-e-haqiqi, which is only directed at Allah, is true love. What does
this mean? We are all shadow puppets, spinning about in a symbolic forest of love.
”
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