A New Approach to Iqbal.
Publisher: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Published: 1987
Place of publication: New Delhi
Language: eng
Subjects: Iqbal, Muhammad, -- Sir, -- 1877-1938.
Description: The following article represents extracts from Professor Mohammad Hasan's book A New Approach To Iqbal (Publications Division, Ministry of Information, Government of India) and aims to briefly explain Iqbal's theory of Khudi (Ego).
 
 
 
What makes nations great? Is it mere chance that in the coarse of history, certain nations prosper and acquire distinction and glory while others are subjugated, or fade out? Is there some pattern that can be traced in this strange panorama of the rise and fall of nations? Is there an explanation in any way connected with certain qualities imbibed by certain nations or their leaders in course of their struggle for survival?
 
 

Obviously these are questions which need a close scrutiny of history, sociology and other disciplines of social and natural sciences. Iqbal, one of the greatest poet-philosophers of our times, has commented extensively on the subject. Fortunately, for Iqbal, he was scrutinizing these questions at a time when Darwin, on one end, and Bergson, on the other, had already delved deep into them and conclusions reached by them had greatly influenced our times. Darwin clearly defined his theory of the 'survival of the fittest' as the only principle which governs the rise and fall of all species. According to him, the struggle for existence not only guarantees the survival of any species but also effects internal changes in the structure of the species itself so as to make it more adaptable and effective in facing new challenges. Building on the Darwinian concept, philosophers and social scientists tried to detect a pattern in human history and to categorise the rise and fall of nations accordingly. 

Bergson worked out his theory of creative evaluation and in our own times, historian Toynbee explained the entire course of human civilization in not too disparate terms of 'Challenge' and 'Response'.

The Western nations were not born great nor were they genetically more advanced. According to Iqbal, what made them great was their passion for living, zest for conquest of Nature. Hence, if any single motivation common to all developed nations could be traced, it shall first and foremost be the will to live. Conversely, the real cause of the downfall of the defeated Asian nations shall have to be found out in their defective outlook towards life, in their lack for passion for living. 

Iqbal blamed the lack of zest in the Asian way of thinking to the major influences on Asian thought processes, namely Oriental mysticism. He draws a parallel between Islamic and Hindu mysticism, for both preach annihilation of desire, both stand for negation of self, both adhere to the cult of total introspection – Samadhi and Muraqba – and discard action and the conquest of nature. 

Iqbal was, therefore, compelled to take the opposite position of upholding the primacy of desire, which alone can provide firm basis for action and the urge to conquer Nature. Desire, then, may be the primary cause of human suffering, as Buddha held, but what is more significant to Iqbal is the fact that it is Desire and Desire alone which leads Man to ceaseless action and progress which in turn kindles Hope. The zest for life thus generated guarantees the survival of the fittest. According to Iqbal, the only man who truly serves mankind is the person who burns with this zest for living. This sacred sacred discontent with the present state of things evokes an urge to bring about transformation of society. This alone guarantees the continuance of human existence in a world of ruthless competition and one-upmanship. 

In his scale of values, Iqbal places Angels at the lowest ladder of existence as they are only faithful worshippers of God and are free from all desire. Lucifer (Iblis), he places at a superior level for in him burns bright the eternal flame of desire, which led him to refuse obeisance to Adam even when ordered to do so by the almighty God Himself. At the pain of being thrown into divine disfavour as an eternal exile, Lucifer (Iblis) dares retain his dignity, reiterates his self and suffers for his disobedience. This may be by the connivance of God Himself, wonders Iqbal, for without Lucifer the universe would have been without the burning flame of desire and, without it, how colourless would have been this planet called Earth.


Iqbal prefers even a misguided Desire to lack of Desire and Lucifer ideally fulfils his conception of misguided desire. For if Desire is to be extolled unconditionally, every dacoit shall appear to be a superman and the society wedded to such blind worship of Desire shall soon land into absolute anarchy. For Iqbal, the only criterion of true Ego is that it should conform not only to the dictates of the individual's own aspirations but also to the aspirations of the society (Millat) he lives in. And since, neither angels nor Lucifer have a society of their own, Man is the only species to acquire this highest stage of socially controlled Desire. 

This brought Iqbal to the conclusion, that what ailed the West and the East both was the lack of proper balance between desire and its subservience to social welfare. The East had no Desire, no Passion. It had been suffering from the disease of annihilation of the self brought about by the mystics and sufis. All sufis and seers emphasise annihilation of desire as prerequisite of all deliverance which finally resulted in paralysing all sources of action and self-confidence and made Asian nations docile and submissive. 

On the other hand, the West travelled to the other extreme. Desire filled its life and ambition turned into an endless pursuit for material comforts and riches. This mad race made their lives sordid and empty. Wordsworth once complained that the "world is too much with us" and he was correct. The West was yet to learn that unbridled and undisciplined egoism could only lead to ruin.

The entire question then, revolves round the relationship between the individual and society. The individual to find his self and to realise his true potential should cultivate ambition and to achieve it, ceaselessly work for it not for petty material gain but for social good. This was, in short, Iqbal's theory of Khudi (Ego) which, if unbridled leads to Satanic activity, while pursuit of ambition with a social commitment could lead to the true flowering of human personality.
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