Word Meaning
दरवेशी
darveshī
Meaning
Asceticism, mendicancy, or the spiritual detachment and life of a dervish.
Detailed Meaning
Darveshi denotes the life, state, or practice of a Sufi ascetic (darvesh), marked by voluntary poverty and detachment from worldly power. In Iqbal's couplet, it represents institutionalized or hypocritical religious piety and mysticism, which the poet critiques as having become just as deceptive and manipulative ('ayyari') as temporal rule ('sultani'). Thus, instead of genuine spirituality, it refers here to a guise of holiness used for worldly or sectarian advantage.
Etymology
Persian: from 'darvēsh' (mendicant, mystic, religious poor) + abstract noun suffix '-ī'.
Usage
In classical Urdu poetry, darveshi is traditionally revered as spiritual nobility, but modern philosophical poetry often contrasts it against hypocritical or passive monasticism.
Examples
The dignity of darveshi surpasses the crown of kings.
When darveshi turns to cunning, true faith is lost.