Ouspensky, Love and Mir Taqi Mir

Although we are “followers” of Hasan Askari and Saleem Ahmad, we have no desire to stage a fight between creative and intellectual wrestlers. There should be no misunderstanding regarding the word “desire”. To clarify, this is not a matter of choice but of compulsion. To compare or stage a fight between creative and intellectual heavyweights requires knowledge, insight, and taste, none of which we possess, unfortunately. Moreover, a wrestling arena is also needed for such fights. Askari and Saleem Ahmad’s arena was their criticism. By a stroke of good or bad luck, we do not have access to such an arena either.

In “New Verse and the Complete Man” (nai nazm aur poora aadmi), Saleem Ahmad pitted Noon Meem Rashid and Meeraji against all romantics and routed everyone from Akhtar Sheerani to Faiz. In “Who is Ghalib” (Ghalib Kon), he made Ghalib and Mir fight and proved that Meer is a greater poet than Ghalib. As for Askari, it is difficult to even count the number of warriors he has made to compete in feats of strength. However, he staged the final contest between East and West and shattered the myth of the West. Some people did not appreciate Askari Sahib’s audacity in this regard, which is why unreasonable questions are still being raised about it even today. These examples clearly show how difficult this task is. However, there is no difficulty in changing one’s taste. So we thought, let’s make P.D. Ouspensky and our Mir Taqi Mir fight today and see what comes of it.

Gurdjieff and his disciple PD Ouspensky emerged as symbols of great “intellectual discoveries” in a particular, limited circle of the Western world. Gurdjieff was considered a mysterious figure from his advent to his demise. He was seen as an expert in all religions and by his own admission, he had imbibed from every fountainhead of true knowledge. Gurdjieff relied on oral tradition whereas his disciple Ouspensky took to writing, and Gurdjieff has remarked at one place that he envies Ouspensky’s writing and oratory skills.

Ouspensky’s second book was Tertium Organum, first published in Russian around 1910. Its English translation, second edition, was published from London in 1922. One of the translators also wrote an introduction for the second edition. According to what has been said about the book in the introduction, it can be summed up in the following sentence, “This book will guide human thought in the future”. The translator has made several other claims about the book as well, the most important of which, in the context of our discussion today, is that Ouspensky has broken his pen while writing about “love”. The translator says that until now, you have been reading Schopenhauer and Freud’s confused ideas about love, and you have also gone through Goethe’s Werther. Now read Ouspensky’s thoughts and see how far he has taken this concept and what kind of startling discoveries he has made about it.

Since the translator has referred to Ouspensky’s ideas as startling discoveries, with what seems like academic sincerity, we also acknowledge them as such. But what are these ideas? Ouspensky has devoted a separate chapter to love, spanning just 9 pages. Clearly, translating all those pages here is not possible. However, the essence of Ouspensky’s most important points about love is this:

Love and death are two sides of the same coin. As far as love is concerned, contemporary art has limited itself to the expression and psychological analysis of love, whereas love is a cosmic or universal phenomenon, in which context the human, even humanity itself, is merely accidental. Man tries to make love his subordinate, but he cannot do so. Nothing can subordinate love and use it as a tool. However, by becoming a tool of love, man fulfills his cosmic duty. The purpose of love is the continuity of life. As we know, nothing is ever finished or destroyed. If energy exists, it will certainly transform itself into another form. If energy is spent here and there, it will also be spent in shaping the future. This is deeply connected with the matter of love. A burning candle gives light, but the heat it provides is even more than the light. Outwardly, the candle’s heat seems to disappear, but in reality this does not happen. The same is the case with love. Love constitutes creative activities in various directions. The elements of selfishness, self-adoration, ostentation, and self-interest are also hidden in love, but love strips every veil. Love is a fire in which humanity and human genius find elevation and sublime height. Now consider this sentence as well:

“In love, the most important element is that which absolutely does not exist from the usual worldly, materialistic point of view.”

It is a well-known psychological fact that in conditions of intense joy or sorrow, everything else feels “unreal”. This is a moment of awakening of consciousness. Love is the most powerful emotion, and if a person has profound and deep internal emotions, the awakening of consciousness can become a permanent reality.

This is not a literal translation of Ouspensky’s coherent sentences, but we have attempted to put together the essence of his idea to present his scattered inner voice to you. Ouspensky has said much more, but what we have presented of his thoughts before you gives a good estimate of the “greatness” of his conception of love.

You might say that Ouspensky has entered the wrestling arena and proclaimed his greatness, but where is Mir sahib in all this? Let’s find him and get him out of the corner of some wall saying that a comfort-loving man has no business with love. Here, we have found Meer Sahib. But pardon me! At this moment he has only one couplet, I mean two lines, to offer. This is very worrying. How will Meer Sahib take on Ouspensky’s 9 pages with one couplet? Here, Meer sahib has brought out his goods and said:

محبت نے کاڑھا ہے ظلمت سے نور
نہ ہوتی محبت، نہ ہوتا ظہور

(Love has created light from darkness
Without love, there would be no manifestation)

I do not know what your opinion is about this contest, but our view is that like a gentleman, Ouspensky has apologized and left the wrestling arena, saying loudly as he walks away:

اب تو جاتے ہیں بت کدے سے میر
پھر ملیں گے اگر خدا لایا

Now I take leave, Meer, from your abode
We shall meet again, if God wills it so

Admittedly, Meer sahib’s couplet goes far beyond Ouspensky’s 9 pages in taking him on, but there is a saying that the grass is always greener on the other side.