Kun Faya Kun / Catharsis
A song that made me cry for no reason
Catharsis (medical meaning in Ancient Greece): Purgation or evacuation of the body, particularly of the bowels.
Catharsis (modern meaning): Catharsis is commonly used to refer to the release of strong emotions, particularly through art or drama, as well as in psychological contexts.
Kun Faya Kun
Apparently I am a top 2% listener of the song Kun Faya Kun as per Spotify statistics.
This shocked me to a certain extent, given my critical views about the movie Rockstar.
Before I watched the movie Rockstar, I had heard many positive things about this song. But I did not know why Kun Faya Kun was held in such high regard.
I realised the reason for the popularity of this song only after watching Rockstar. Though I understood the entire song, including the religious bit, some lines from song impacted me quite deeply.
Action vs Void
क़दम बढ़ा ले, हदों को मिटा ले
Take a step forward. Erase the boundaries
Sometimes, thinking about an outcome without doing anything can be addictive. The thinking spiral makes you worry more about the barriers rather than actions. Taking the first step is obviously the only way to reach a destination that seems impossible at times.
Self-imposed Limitations
अर्ज़ तुझे, कर दे मुझे, मुझसे ही रिहा, अब मुझको भी हो दीदार मेरा
कर दे मुझे, मुझसे ही रिहा,
मन के मेरे ये भरम, कच्चे मेरे ये करम
लेके चाले है कहाँ मैं तो जानूं ही न
तू है मुझमें समाया, कहाँ लेके मुझे आया, मैं हूँ तुझमें समाया
I plead to you, free me from myself. Now let me also see myself
Free me from myself. The illusions of my mind.
My deeds are immature. Where are you taking me, I do not know
You are absorbed in me. Where have you brought me. I am absorbed in you
These lines create a sense of parity between god and man by saying that both are part of each other. The idea of freeing an individual from oneself underlines how our thoughts and illusions are the biggest barriers to happiness.
God as an Anchor
जब कहीं पे कुछ नहीं भी, नहीं था
वही था, वही था, वही था, वही था
वह जो मुझ में समाया, वह जो तुझ में समाया
When there was nothing anywhere, there was nothing
He was there, He was there, He was there, He was there
That which is absorbed in you. That which is absorbed in me
When anyone thinks about loss, it is natural for that individual to feel grief. It is hard to stare at the vacuum and feel helpless. The idea of god becomes essential to save the soul during such a time.
When there was nothing in this universe, god was there. Something divine existed before we came into the picture.
For an individual staring at the vacuum during a bad phase, it is quite helpful to know that god is around. It becomes easier to climb out of the vacuum for a person who believes in this idea.
Catharsis
The spiritual value of Kun Faya Kun increased even further after I watched Virat Kohli’s speech after the T20 World Cup final. After this, several reels about his belief in “God’s Plan” surfaced on my Instagram feed.
And it got me thinking about God’s Plan for me. Did I really have control over everything that happened to me? Or was it God’s Plan?
Does this mean things are going to get better? Was the pain, sorrow, betrayal that suffocated my soul part of God’s Plan?
Should I thank God for my fighting spirit and zest for life? Maybe the answer is yes.
Many of these ideas don’t fit into a solid rational story. It’s a waste of time to come up with a cause and effect explanation for everything. I can’t write a flowchart for all events that have happened to me.
Sometimes, it’s just God’s Plan.
And like Kohli, I need to believe that God can make a plan that’s better than plans I am capable of making.
