Kheyal

The Kheyal is a spontaneous thought, a direct flash of inspiration which comes of itself all of a sudden. It's counterpart in poetry is the Japanese Haiku. Kheyal is an original eastern tradition, more than a saying or aphorism, a mystic utterance which in Tennyson's words "Cometh from afar". One knows not at which time of day or night it will come, and sometimes a Kheyal comes after months, or several Kheyal come in deep sleep, or spring forth in common conversation, but always in a...
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The Kheyal is a spontaneous thought, a direct flash of inspiration which comes of itself all of a sudden. It's counterpart in poetry is the Japanese Haiku. Kheyal is an original eastern tradition, more than a saying or aphorism, a mystic utterance which in Tennyson's words "Cometh from afar". One knows not at which time of day or night it will come, and sometimes a Kheyal comes after months, or several Kheyal come in deep sleep, or spring forth in common conversation, but always in a spiritual context, or a sacred utterance. It is the delight of spiritual utterance, the mark of the mystic, both a Hindu and Sufi tradition, and famous Kheyals have come from souls as diverse as Maiyee Ma of Allahabad, the Sufi saint poets of Kashmir, or the Tamil saint poets.A Kheyal comes in complete form and cannot be in any way improved because it is the spark of a divine enlightenment sprung at the forge of the burning foundry of human consciousness at its deepest. The Granth Sahib of Sikhs and Suras of the Koran are Kheyals.