Roman script

Uddi ja.. uddi ja ja..

Soar freely.. go on, soar freely..

Ilm kitaabi maghron laah ke

Ilm kitaabi maghron laah ke

 Haqq diyaan mundraan kanni pa ke

Liberating yourself from mere bookish wisdom

Putting on the humble earrings of the devotee of Truth

Uddi ja.. uddi ja..

Soar freely.. soar freely..

Bin murshad de dar dar dur dur

Bin murshad de dar dar dur dur

Rang chadha jehṛa jaave na khur khur

Rang chadha jehṛa jaave na khur khur

Salle ‘ala da wird paka ke

Salle ‘ala da wird paka ke

 Murshad de hatth ḍor phada ke ja

Without your spiritual guide,

You’ll just be spurned at every door

You must take care your blessed colour doesn’t wear off

Repeating in devotion blessings on the Prophet

Submitting yourself to his tender guidance

Uddi ja.. uddi ja..

Soar freely.. soar freely..

Haq haq labhna en haq man andar

Haq haq labhna en haq man andar

Baat ‘ishaq di waang samandar

Baat ‘ishaq di waang samandar

Yaar jo aakhe bhes wata ke

Yaar jo aakhe bhes wata ke

 Chor andar de nu phaahe la ke

You go around searching for God,

but God is right here in your heart

The reality of Love is boundless as the sea

Changing your guise at the beloved’s instruction

Throttling the base desires of your heart

Uddi ja.. uddi ja..

Soar freely.. soar freely..

Aakhe murshad kamli waala

Pa gale illal-laah di maala

Bauhkar andron maar ve bandiya

Mattha ghisiyaan rabb naeen milda

‘Aabid ban ban maan ee khaṭṭiya

Main da but dilon nah kaḍḍhiya

Tu main waali kheḍ ee koyi naeen

Shah-rag wasda sooli chaṛhda

Jeewen chaahwe yaar oh karda

 Jeewen chaahwe yaar oh karda

The beloved, black-cloaked Prophet says

Wear the prayer-beads of ‘(nothing) except God’ around your neck

Cleanse your heart from within, O human

You won’t gain God by rubbing your forehead in prostration

You have been at pains to earn the reputation of a pious worshipper

But you have failed to remove the idol of ‘I’ from your heart

Where everything is ‘He’, there can be no possibility of ‘I’

He is nearer to us than our jugular vein;

and it was He who said ‘I am the Truth’ and went to the gallows

Uddi ja.. uddi ja..

Soar freely.. soar freely..

Translated by Zahra Sabri

 With special thanks to Asim Raza

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