Word Meaning
सरमस्ती
sarmastii
Meaning
Intoxication, ecstasy, or a state of joyful, sublime enrapture.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu and Sufi poetry, 'sarmasti' signifies an ecstatic state of spiritual intoxication or supreme unselfconsciousness. In this couplet, it combines with wonder ('hairat') to depict an all-encompassing existential trance that straddles absolute darkness and total revelation. It elevates intoxication beyond physical wine to an elevated state of perception and metaphysical joy.
Etymology
Persian compound of 'sar' (head) + 'mast' (intoxicated) + 'i' (abstract noun suffix).
Usage
Widely employed in ghazal poetry to denote divine intoxication and mystical absorption as opposed to dry intellectual reasoning.
Examples
Lost in the sarmasti of the wine of truth.
The sweet sarmasti of love banished all grief.