Myth of Aab-i-Hayat

May 15, 2005

By Amar Jaleel

Loved or loathed, man doesn’t want to be forgotten after death

THE nearest equivalent, not translation of, Aab-i-Hayat in English is nectar, the drink of gods. Aab-i-Hayat is made up of two words, Aab and Hayat. Aab means water and Hayat means life. Thus, it denotes the ‘drink of life.’ It sustains, perpetuates, and extends life. Why is nectar, its equivalent in English, is called the drink of gods? The most distinct attribute that differentiates man from gods is that gods do not die, whereas man dies. The legend is that Aab-i-Hayat transforms life into an everlasting phenomenon. It never terminates. It goes on and on till eternity. Having sipped from the fountain of Aab-i-Hayat man defies the two maxims, ‘He who is born is destined to die,’ and ‘For every beginning there is an end.’

Is Aab-i-Hayat a reality, or a myth? Or is it a symbolic interpretation of man’s desire for not dying, or living after death in the memory of others, to be remembered and recalled? Fame, even notoriety, denotes desire to live beyond death. It is man’s most vulnerable aspect of life. Liked or disliked, loved or loathed, man doesn’t want to be obliterated and forgotten after death. He desires to live in the memory of others for ever. He vies to be commemorated after his death. Except for ascetics, hermits, and Sufis every mortal, low or lofty desires for unending longevity in life; not to die; and for immortality to step into the footsteps of gods.

Almost each monarch worth mentioning in history is buried in a huge and majestic monument crowned with an imposing dome. The massive mausoleum symbolizes two aspects of an emperor’s parting desire, to create awe among the beholders, and his desire to be remembered after passing away from this world. Had Taj Mahal, the marble marvel not enshrined the graves of Emperor Shahjehan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal the couple, like their illustrious Sufi son Dara Shikoh, would have been forgotten. The colossal Pyramids through structural mystery keep the mummified Pharos proverbially alive in their burial chambers even after thousands of years of being dead under the millions of massive stone slabs.

The desire for perpetuation in life persists among ordinary mortals in different forms. A person having no son among his children wears a melancholic look on his face in our eastern society. Even a pauper considers his son an heir to his nothingness. Man perceives prolonged existence in life through his son. A son in our culture is an extension of his father. We are living in a highly competitive world. It induces aggressive and exploitative marketing. Girls with dark skin and average appearance die to look fair and attractive.

Cosmetic industries have taken full advantage of the weakness of women to look beautiful, and have dumped the market with creams, soaps, masks, and a variety of costly cosmetics. Bald men and men with thin hair beg, borrow or steal to undergo expensive hair transplant operations. Many doctors after obtaining diplomas in hair transplant are minting money by exploiting men’s desire for carrying a hairy head over his drooping shoulders. Hair transplant specialists charge heavier fees than kidney transplant surgeons. Men readily give in for grabbing easy money. It is a weakness that once created a booming prize bond culture in the country. The rapidly growing influence of stock exchange markets has knocked out prize bond culture with the crazy culture of shares.

After his arrival, man’s everlasting desire for not departing and staying forever in this world is his perpetual passion from time immemorial. Pharmaceutical companies are aware of this desire. They have invented antioxidant pills that thwart nature’s onslaught of aging on you. However, they don’t promise you for your permanent stay in this world till Doomsday. But Aab-i-Hayat does. Having sipped from the fountain of Aab-i-Hayat you will never die. You will go on living till eternity.

Does Aab-i-Hayat really exist? Or did it exist in any era of history, and then became extinct like legendary mammals and the birds, and the plateaus? Or is it figment of man’s imagination? Or does it signify symbolic interpretation of man’s desire to remain alive for ever in the memory of others?

Once Sikandar-i-Azam, Alexander the Great, had embarked upon mysterious journey through snow and darkness in search of Aab-i-Hayat. It turned into an unending, frustrating odyssey. In the process he lost thousands of his brave solders. In an hour of anguish a man returning from the fountain of Aab-i-Hayat called on him. “Did you drink from the fountain of life?” Alexander asked.

The man replied, “No, I did not.”

Surprised, Alexander asked, “Why?”

The man said, “I saw countless decomposed stinking corpses of men, women, animals, and birds scattered around the fountain of life. They were not dead. They were alive but infected with incurable diseases. They were praying for death for deliverance from pathetic existence. However, they couldn’t die for they had sipped from Aab-i-Hayat, the fountain of life.”

To the bewildered Alexander the man said, “Accomplish something praiseworthy in life so that you live an everlasting life of a legend in history.”

Alexander asked, “Oh wise and knowledgeable, who are you?”

The man replied, “I am Khizr.” Thereafter, Sikandar (Alexander) abandoned his search for Aab-i-Hayat.