Engrossed, Yet Not Immersed
By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
26 March 2026
They too enjoy life
Who remain detached and dry
A Sufi saying
A few days ago, I read a beautiful thought in the Persian mystic Jami's profound poetry, ' There's a mystic in a truly intellectual self which doesn't let one get too attached to anything.' It made me think. A truly intellectual mind is above mundane attachments because there's an ever-present hermit in the core of an enlightened person. Gita's eternally thought-stirring exhortation by Krishna to Arjuna, 'Tanmay apitu tatasth' (engrossed yet not involved) articulates this evolved state of mind which remains like a 'drashta' (spectator) despite being in the hullabaloo of life. Ghalib articulated this higher consciousness in his inimitable manner, ' Bazeech-e-atfaal hai, duniya mere aage / Hota hai shab-o-roz tamasha mere aage' (The world is like a child's play / This charade has been going on before me for ages). The cavalcade of life is best observed from a distance when one's an indifferent spectator. 'Saahil pe baith ke lahron ko dekhte hain / Saakit khade hum door se chehron ko dekhte hain' (Sitting on the shore, I look at the waves / Remaining silent, I observe the faces from a distance).
To see life in its myriad avatars, it's a must to observe it from a distance with the heart and mind of an uninvolved onlooker. When the great Buddhist monk Sariputra was arrested and taken to the king of Java, the king asked him, 'Young man, you'll soon be beheaded. Are you not afraid?' The ever calm Sariputra said, ' Why should I be afraid just because the blade of the sword will cause me some pain while getting decapitated by it? I've a body but I'm not in it. I've gone beyond the quotidian feelings of pain and pleasure.' The king was stunned by the reply of 23-year-old Sariputra and he freed him to spread the message of his master Buddha. The same happened when the great Arab mystic Mansoor Hallaj was being excoriated for proclaiming 'An-al-Haq' (I'm the god) in 922 AD. The evolved mystic went beyond all perceived pains of the body and declared on the cross that this very pain has now metamorphosed into bliss: ' Dard ka had se guzarna hai dava ho jaana' (When pain exceeds its limits, it becomes its own remedy!).
We all can be interested and disinterested in life just like the great souls mentioned here. It's very much possible to be engrossed, yet not immersed just like water and oil. They remain together but don't get mixed up like milk and water. ' Duniya mein hoon, duniya ka talabgaar nahin hoon / Baazaar se guzra hoon, kharidaar nahin hoon' (I'm in this world, but I'm not desirous of it / I've gone to the market but not as a buyer). Akbar Ilahabad's philosophical couplet is further consolidated by an anonymous poet's equally profound couplet that puts an accent on the dispassionate existence of an individual despite his ostensible involvement in life's varied activities, ' Majnoo(n) hain magar khwahish-e-Laila nahin karte / Hum ishq toh karte hain, tamanna nahin karte' (I'm a lover but I don't long for my beloved / I love but I don't covet). Human life finds its true significance, in fact, its true calling in the non-involvement of life's illusions. A superior and unagitated mind realises this and gets insouciant to worldly pleasures, though it doesn't show its indifference in an obvious manner.
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/engrossed-yet-not-immersed/d/139413
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