Unconscious mind and Collective Self

A writer, although conscious by every definition of consciousness, is not free from unconscious writings. This is an experience of my life for which I had to leave my province for the first time in life and go to Lahore in order to attend Young Leaders Conference 2007.

It was a six-days conference. We spent first three days in PC hotel Lahore. At the end of first day, we were given an assignment to prepare a drama. The objective of drama was to show how we see our country in future. Drama was to be performed on the third day. We had a group of fifteen and I knew that none was much interested in dramatics except me. As the first day was very tiring, we had to leave the preparation of drama for the second day.

But the second day of the conference was very busy. We were not able to take out time and when activities of the day were over, we started discussing about the drama at 1:30 a.m approx.

They didn't know it, but I had a surprise drama for them in my bag. I wrote it during one of the lecture sessions of second day. It was story of a person who seeks revolution, but for that he had to recognise his own self, and then he starts communicating his ideas to other people. In the process of communication, he dies. I quote some initial lines of this drama (It was a kind of drama where poetry is narrated in the background with silent acting on stage) :

Main tha iss jahaN meiN zinda
Jaisey koi masoom darinda
Har pal thi koshish jeeney ki
Jaam-e-duniya ko peeney ki
Ek mor aya
MaiN behek gaya

By this, one can easily get the impression how I used to see the world, that is, false and unimportant. I used to give importance to my inner-self only.

The group discussed about what to do, till 2:15 approx with no conclusion. I was silent. There was a flaw in my drama..... It didn't show how the future will be, instead it showed how to transform ourselves to a better future, according to my perception at that time.

Well, I spoke and took the drama out of my bag. Read it. They all clapped after I finished. But one group member identified the flaw in the drama: It didn't fulfil the purpose. They all liked the drama, but they all agreed that we had to amend it a bit to allign it with our purpose. They all agreed that the protagonist should not die in the end as it is depressing.

Time was running fast, at 3:10 a.m, I took permission from my group to leave them and go to my room, as I needed some silence to write a new drama for them. They reluctantly gave me permission. I promised I will return after half an hour.

After half an hour at 3:40 a.m, I returned with a half finished drama. I read the lines I've written and requested them to give me ten minutes more to complete the drama. After listening the unfinished drama, they all clapped more encouragingly than before, even at that hour of morning when they were really sleepy. They all accepted my drama. Initial lines of this drama are as follows:

Ek qaum ho aisi, jaani pehchani
Jis par barasti hoN rehmateN aasmani
Jo kisi ke khwaaboN se kam na ho
Jo kisi ke rokney se khatam na ho

Our drama got much appreciation next day when we performed it.

But, this drama is really a mysterious text. Concept of "qaum" (Nation) was there, and it was "jaani pehchani" (already known). It's written that it confirms to "Kisi ke khwabon" (Anybody's/Somebody's dreams). I never dreamed of any such nation. Then who did? Iqbal?? Our nation?

The second drama was certainly not made up of my ideas. Those ideas were unconscious. I believe every Pakistani writer has such ideas, they can only be explored through interaction with people of Pakistan. I wrote that drama just because I had to confirm to the ideas of my group members. If we start interacting with people of our nation, these ideas will automatically emerge in our writings.

Our unconscious mind already has the idea of Collective Self. It just needs exploring itself through interaction with people of our nation.