Nami Danam

By Shakeel Bin Abdul Ali

Some days ago, while driving back home from Iqbalpora Larnoo in the Kokernag area, where I have been newly posted, I tuned in to 92.7 Big FM. The radio show was hosted by RJ Amir, a close friend and a younger brother of mine. As I was listening, a song from the movie Om Shanti Om played. The lyrics, written by the legendary Javed Akhtar, included the phrase Nami Danam. This phrase, which means “I know nothing,” is from a poem by the Sufi poet Amir Khusrau. It got me thinking deeply about what we know and how we understand the world. This write up is about those thoughts.

Have you ever wondered if what we know is just an opinion of someone else? The things we learn from books, teachers, and even our own experiences might just be the way of seeing the world by another person. If that is true, then what is real knowledge?

This idea is not new. A long time ago, the Greek philosopher Protagoras said that everything we know comes from how we see things. He meant that our understanding of the world is shaped by our own thoughts and feelings.

Imagine two people looking at the same painting. One might see the bright colours and patterns, while the other might feel emotions or memories connected to the painting. Both people are looking at the same thing, but they experience it differently because of their unique perspectives.

Think about the objects around us. They exist even when we are not looking at them,right? For example, our houses do not disappear when we go outside. But this idea can get a bit tricky when we think about things that we do not see at all.

New animals, plants, or even planets are discovered every now and then. These things were always there, even though we did not know about them. So, does something need to be seen or known to exist? Not really. This makes us wonder if there are things in the universe that exist even though we do not know about them yet.

Let us assume humans are the only beings in the universe who can think and understand. Everything we know has been seen, measured, or experienced by us. But what if there are things out there that we have not discovered yet? How can we be sure they exist?

This question is similar to an idea from Plato. He told a story about people who lived in a cave and only saw shadows on the wall. For them, the shadows were the only reality. But if one of them stepped outside the cave, they would see that the shadows were just reflections of real things. This story shows that our understanding of the world might be limited by what we see and experience.

This idea is not just about philosophy; it also touches on spiritual beliefs. Many religious teachings suggest that there is more to life than what we can see or touch. For example, the Holy Quran says :

“And indeed We have created man, and We know whatever thoughts his inner self develops, and We are closer to him than (his) jugular vein.” (Quran 50:16).

This is what the Creator, The Almighty, tells us about Him being so close to us. But have we ever encountered even the Divine presence? Why? Because we never understood the Verse, or we never tried to?

In Islam, there are people called Wali-Ullah, or friends of God. These people understand that there are limits to what we can know. They accept that some things are beyond our understanding and are okay with that. A Wali might live a simple life, but they have a deep understanding of the Divine.

Let us look at the story of Amir Khusrau,  the Sufi poet and disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, to better understand this idea.The story of Amir Khusrau shows us how spiritual understanding can go beyond what we think we know.

Khusrau’s journey started when his teacher, Nizamuddin Aulia, sent him to visit another Sufi teacher, Hazrat Shah Qalandar. One day, Qalandar asked Khusrau why he had never seen his teacher at a special heavenly gathering led by Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). Khusrau was confused and sad because he didn’t know how to answer.

When Khusrau told his teacher about this, Nizamuddin Aulia just smiled and gave him some advice. He told Khusrau that the next time Qalandar asked the question, he should ask Qalandar to take him to that heavenly gathering.

The next time Qalandar asked, Khusrau followed the advice of his teacher. Qalandar placed his hand on Khusrau’s heart, and suddenly, Khusrau found himself in a beautiful, shining place. But even there, he could not find his teacher.

Khusrau continued searching through different levels of heaven, each more special than the last. But still, he could not find Nizamuddin Aulia. Finally, at the highest level, Khusrau saw two mysterious figures at the feet of the Prophet. When he got closer, he realized that one of them was his teacher, Nizamuddin Aulia. These two were the teachers of all the other saints he had seen on his journey.

When Khusrau returned to the physical world, he visited his teacher and shared a poem he wrote about the experience.

Nami danam che manzil bood shab jaaheki man boodam

Bahar su raqs-e-bismil bood shab jaaheki man boodam.

(I do not know what place it was where I was last night,  

All around me were half-slaughtered victims of love, tossing about in agony…!!!)

These lines describe the mysterious and divine experience Khusrau had. The poem shows that the other world exists, whether we know about it or not. But to truly understand it, we must start by admitting that we know nothing.While human knowledge has limits, there is much more to life than what we can see or measure. The spiritual journey is about recognising these limits and seeking a deeper understanding that goes beyond the physical world.

As we go through life, we often try to understand the world by looking at things, measuring them, and thinking about them. But the story of Amir Khusrau and the teachings of spiritual guides like Nizamuddin Aulia remind us that there are limits to what we can know. True understanding might mean accepting that some things are beyond our reach.

The search for knowledge is not just about learning new things. It is about finding a deeper understanding of the world and our place in it. It is about recognising that our knowledge is shaped by how we see things and that true wisdom comes from accepting that there are mysteries we may never fully understand.

When I reached home, I realised that we should take to heart the wisdom of Amir Khusrau and face the unknown with humility and openness. Often, the first step to truly understanding something is acknowledging that we know nothing at all.

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