An Inspiring Poem About Missed Opportunities - Karvan Guzar Gaya

I am a big fan of the legendary Hindi poet Gopaldas 'Neeraj', and I have been fortunate enough to hear him recite his poems in a kavi sammelan. Particularly, I love his poem, "Karvan Guzar Gaya Gubar Dekhte Rahe", which has also been sung as a song by Md Rafi for 1965 film Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal. Before proceeding further, listen to the song in the video below, and you would agree that it is not just a normal song, but a beautifully crafted poem in which each word has been selected very carefully.

Click Here to Play The Video 

 

Whenever I read and hear this poem, it inspires me and charges me up. You may wonder that how can a poem about disappointments of life be inspiring? Let me answer this with my interpretation of the words of this immortal poem. The meaning of the poem is easily understood, so I will not try to give the literal meaning or translation of the poem.  I do not know if this is an accurate interpretation, but it is one that inspires me. Whenever I hear this poem, I get the following messages:

1. Realize your dreams before opportunity slips away
2. Life is short, do something now 
3. Change is inevitable, embrace it
4. Fulfill your mission in life
5. Act when the going is good

1. Realize your dreams before opportunity slips away

स्वप्न झरे फूल से,
मीत चुभे शूल से,
लुट गये सिंगार सभी बाग़ के बबूल से,
और हम खड़े-खड़े बहार देखते रहे
कारवां गुज़र गया, गुबार देखते रहे!

This is the overarching message of this poem. The line कारवां गुज़र गया, गुबार देखते रहे.. brings out the feelings of regret about lost opportunities very expressively. It stresses the need to take positive action to realize our dreams, before the opportunity slips away. Swami Vivekananda said, "Awake! Arise!! and stop not till the goal is reached." The poem is a poetic expression of what happens when we do not take right action in time.

2. Life is short, do something now 

नींद भी खुली न थी कि हाय धूप ढल गई,
पाँव जब तलक उठे कि ज़िन्दगी फिसल गई,
पात-पात झर गये कि शाख़-शाख़ जल गई,
चाह तो निकल सकी न, पर उमर निकल गई,

गीत अश्क़ बन गए,
स्वप्न हो दफ़न गए,
साथ के सभी दिऐ धुआँ-धुआँ पहन गये,

और हम झुके-झुके,
मोड़ पर रुके-रुके
उम्र के चढ़ाव का उतार देखते रहे
कारवां गुज़र गया, गुबार देखते रहे।

Very often we keep waiting for the right opportunity to act. To me, these lines highlight that even being alive is an opportunity that we should not underestimate. At the fag end of life, we regret about the things that we could have done. A common reason for it is that we continue to 'sleep' through life, and by the time we wake up, it is too late. Life is too short to wait for anything. These lines are wake up call to come out of our 'sleep' and do something now.

3. Change is inevitable, embrace it

क्या शबाब था कि फूल-फूल प्यार कर उठा,
क्या कमाल था कि देख आइना सिहर उठा
इस तरफ जमीन और आसमां उधर उठा,
थाम कर जिगर उठा कि जो मिला नज़र उठा,

एक दिन मगर यहाँ,
ऐसी कुछ हवा चली,
लुट गयी कली-कली कि घुट गयी गली-गली,

और हम लुटे-लुटे,
वक्त से पिटे-पिटे,
साँस की शराब का खुमार देखते रहे
कारवां गुज़र गया, गुबार देखते रहे।

Change is a harsh reality of life. Nothing is permanent. We may have youth, good looks, health and wealth today, but all of this may be lost tomorrow. In a sense, we should view each of these as opportunities that we should not let go waste; and to deal with changes in life, we need to stay mentally prepared to embrace changes quickly all the time.
Want to explore more on this topic? Read the book "Who Moved My Cheese" for more detailed coverage.

4. Fulfill your mission in life

हाथ थे मिले कि जुल्फ चाँद की सँवार दूँ,
होंठ थे खुले कि हर बहार को पुकार दूँ,
दर्द था दिया गया कि हर दुखी को प्यार दूँ,
और साँस यूँ कि स्वर्ग भूमी पर उतार दूँ,

हो सका न कुछ मगर,
शाम बन गई सहर,
वह उठी लहर कि दह गये किले बिखर-बिखर,

और हम डरे-डरे,
नीर नयन में भरे,
ओढ़कर कफ़न, पड़े मज़ार देखते रहे
कारवां गुज़र गया, गुबार देखते रहे!

These lines remind me about the ultimate purpose or mission of life. We are born to help others, spread happiness, and make the world a better place to live. If we keep this mission firmly in mind, we will find time to work on it, and this in turn will give us an unbounded internal happiness. The poem brings out the sad emotions of emptiness that result from an unfulfilled mission.

5. Act when the going is good

माँग भर चली कि एक, जब नई-नई किरन,
ढोलकें धुमुक उठीं, ठुमक उठे चरण-चरण,
शोर मच गया कि लो चली दुल्हन, चली दुल्हन,
गाँव सब उमड़ पड़ा, बहक उठे नयन-नयन,

पर तभी ज़हर भरी,
ग़ाज एक वह गिरी,
पुंछ गया सिंदूर तार-तार हुई चूनरी,

और हम अजान से,
दूर के मकान से,
पालकी लिये हुए कहार देखते रहे।
कारवां गुज़र गया, गुबार देखते रहे। 

These lines portray the uncertainties and the ephemeral nature of life very beautifully. We do not know when a calamity or disaster can strike and change the course of life or even end it. 
Hence, let us act now when the going is good.

To conclude, this beautifully worded poem contains a very inspirational message of action if taken in the right spirit.

Destiny or Action?

My friend Hasit is a wise man with knowledge about a wide range of topics. He is always ready to engage in intelligent discussion at the drop of a hat. People meeting him for the first time get really impressed with his thinking.

One day, we started chatting on the controversial topic of karma and destiny. I triggered the discussion with a loaded question, "Hasit, what plays more important role in our life - luck, prayer or efforts?"

Hasit seemed to be ready for a long chat, "Actions sure play a vital role in your success. Nothing is ever gained without making efforts."

"But not all efforts bear success", I countered, "So, may be luck is the determining factor."

Hasit replied with a question, "Is everything in life pre-destined like a script? We can influence our life with our actions, isn't it?"

We went on and on and during next few minutes, explored different arguments and examples in favor of different opinions; the discussion warmed up and became engaging.

Suddenly Hasit's face lit up and he said,"The answer to this puzzle can be found in the way a bank locker works.”

I responded with a question mark on my face.

Hasit smiled and continued, "As you know, a bank locker has two keys. One key is kept with the bank, and second key is given to the customer. When you want to open the locker, you insert your key in the locker, and the bank manager puts his key in. Either of the keys is not sufficient to open the locker on its own. You need to have both the keys”

"In the same way, efforts and destiny are two keys of the locker. If you want to open it, you need to have both the keys."

This thought got me excited, "You are right. We get the desired results when we put in the efforts and the time is right. i.e. both the keys are there. At times, we put in efforts, but do not succeed because the other "key" is missing. There are also times when we fail to take advantage of an opportunity that fate has given us by not taking the proper step from our side." 

"But who if the bank manager in this case?", I asked, getting further interested in the chat.

Hasit replied, "It has to be God. He holds the bank's key. we don’t know when the Almighty puts his key in, so our best strategy is to keep our key always handy. Keep doing efforts on all the time, so that you are ready when God brings in His key, i.e. fortune favors you.”

This made a lot of sense to me. But I wanted to discuss it further, "That's right, but where does prayer fit in this picture? How do we get desired results by praying?"

By this time Hasit was fully clear about it. He replied,"Let us see.. when we go to the bank to operate the locker, we request the manager to come and put in his key. Prayer is like that request to God. When the prayers are granted, God puts in his key."

We did not stop at this, and continued our lively discussion on this interesting subject.

Both of us were feeling great on coming up with such a beautiful interpretation of the relationship between karma and destiny.