Transmutability of Things in Munir Momen’s poetry

by Nighat Na-koja

 

                                                        Munir Momin
 

 

Japanese scholar and writer, Toshihoko Isutzu[1], refers to the transmutability of things as a “state of consciousness in which nothing any longer remains itself, and anything can be anything else. It is an entirely new order of Being, where all beings, liberated from the shackles of their semantic determinations freely transform themselves into one another.” This is the phenomenon of transmutation of things, or the concept of Wu-ha. It’s a cornerstone of Chuang-Tzu’s philosophy, the third century B.C. Chinese philosopher who claimed that everything we call reality is in reality a dream.

To quote Ghalib:

Hai ghaib ghaib jis ko samajhte hain hum shahud

hain khwab me hunuz jo jaage hain khwab mein

What’s veiled, we view as manifest truth

Trapped in a dream, we awaken in a dream

Both Ghalib and Chuang-Tzu seem to be saying that whatever we call reality is nothing but an illusion, a big dream. To understand the paradoxical truth of Chuang-Tzu or Ghalib’s worldview, we have to put aside our normal, surface level consciousness and intentionally lose our sense of egotistical self-identity. If we could reach such an ego-less, self-less state of awareness, we would witness the eternal chaos, where dream and reality merge into one reality. Such a primordial state of apparent chaos and confusion, Isutzu explains, is what is needed to witness the transmutability of all things.

Savour these lines taken from Momen's poems to see how the transmutation of things, i.e. where one thing merges into another, and both are finally merged into Unity, becomes the natural order of reality. Even though they may appear dream-like and absurd to our surface consciousness, all things are ultimately transmutable into one another.

The forest is a living being with emerald eyes, the poet becomes the city and vice versa, the artificial demarcation between animate and inanimate beings is dissolved. We become part of a living, feeling, sensing universe in which everything throbs with presence. A sample of Munir Momen's poetry in translation:

 

The birds, their voices filled with lament,

questioned the forest's emerald eyes.

I had become that forest

even before a dream took root.

 

The forest, mirrored in the soul's deep well

transformed me into a city.

Birds hummed a song.

Snakes lit lamps of fire,

and where green rocks were bred

I was swallowed whole

 

Butterflies have become protectors of this city

And the bricks of palaces have become lamps.

Stars build nests in eyes.

Such is the landscape of my poems.

Where flames of desire have not yet been lit.

Where the landscape is still raw.

Where people still speak the language of birds.

Where dreams roam the streets fearlessly.

 

Once, you were a lamp,

and I, your prayer.

No eye was needed,

nor a word from me.

You were an infinity of light

and I was filled with countless melodies. 

 

Trees and walls became grub.

No dusty anxiety breathed,

no lamp whimpered.

Gloom alone reigned,

the crickets chirped.

 

nor in my deep longing for you

did I gaze at a corner of the saffron sky.

I merely wrapped myself in hope.

Hope—more beautiful than winter,

mightier than flames,

sweeter than birdsong at daybreak.

 

If your love grew wings,

I could become a dove.

The moon, a nest.

A tree could be planted there,

in its shade a celestial tapestry unfurled.

Star fairies, carrying lamps of melody,

could be our guests.

 

I make a boat from this city

and float it in the sea of your promises.

Sea and boat fall asleep in your eyes

 

Munir Momen is a well-known contemporary poet from Balochistan, Pakistan. He has published several collections of poetry in Balochi, a short story collection and many essays. His ghazals in Balochi continue to be sung by singers throughout Balochistan.  

Translator's Note: The excerpts from Munir Momen's poems quoted above have been translated by  Nighat Na-koja, using as a reference, the Urdu translation by Ehsan Asghar from the collection Gumshuda samandar ki Awaz (Aks Publications, Lahore, Pakistan, 2020). The English translations were revised when needed based on ongoing discussions with Munir sahib.

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[1] Toshihoko Isutzu: (1983) Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts. Iwanami Shoten Publishers, Tokyo, Japan.