The following is an excerpt from an Urdu song, it is accompanied by the English translation.

I heard this initially on a drive to my uncles house a few months back and the words came to life as they hit my eardrums. Upon listening to it more and more, two notions came into my head.

1- ART IS BEAUTIFUL 

The first notion seems very typical and although it is cliche to say, the composition was in fact beautiful.

2-  Maya

There is a word that comes to mind when I think of this song. Maya. Illusion. It seems that we surround ourselves with illusion every day. And worse, we buy into the lies we tell ourselves. I myself know I am guilty of this. . In our day and age we have individuals who do indeed think they are as invincible as god. They steal from the poor, they are filled with greed and hate, they go out and they kill. And perhaps the worst part, is the willful ignorance, the idea that although we are knowing of our misdoings, we continue to believe in the Almighty and act as if everything is okay. We indulge ourselves in rituals, yet we don’t truly understand the magnitude of them. I have come across stories of people who will go on pilgrimages and pray through all hours of the night, only to continue their deceitful ways. I have come across individuals who have more money than what they know what to do with, but have terrible relationships with their families. We tend to chase the material things but we do not focus on what is really important.

 

I prepared a letter.

To My Creator,

I must drop my ego in front of you and say, forgive me lord for truly, I have sinned. Not in the biblical sense of committing misdoings and seeking repentance, but in a far greater scale. I have forgotten who I am, and I have forgotten who you are. In the chase for seeking approval, in the chase for monetary items, in the chase for showing off, I forgot my true purpose. I was not put on this earth to buy into the glittering spectacle of illusion. The worst part about this would my willful ignorance. I have falsely “humbled” myself before you with my morning prayers, I have falsely humbled myself before you with my religious articles, and I have falsely humbled myself before you with my thoughts that I was being true.

I have no religion, and I follow no human. I am committed to you and all of you, in your many forms and your entirety. I am a student of you and this life you have gifted me.

I cannot lie to you again and tell you what I will change. All I can tell you is I will be better. I’m sorry, I will be better.

Your son,

Kahrun