Word Meaning
ख़ुदी
khudī
Meaning
Selfhood, self-respect, self-awareness, or human spiritual ego.
Detailed Meaning
In Urdu poetry, 'khudi' signifies the cultivated moral ego, dignity, and spiritual self-realization rather than petty conceit. In this couplet, it represents the vital inner honor and sovereignty of an individual, without which life declines into disgrace and humiliation. It marks the foundation of genuine freedom and noble existence.
Etymology
Persian 'khudī' (خودی), formed from 'khud' (self) with the abstract noun suffix '-ī'.
Usage
While early Sufi poetry occasionally treated it as base ego to be annihilated, Iqbal and modern poets redefined it as elevated self-affirmation and moral agency.
Examples
Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdeer se pehle
Khudi ki khalwaton mein gham-kashaan-e-ishq rehte hain