I have got most of the materialistic things I once dreamt of in my childhood. Yet I am no happier than I used to be. Why?
We spend all our life running after money and the things money can buy, not realizing the fact that there is no end to this chase. At first comes the console, followed by the ultra-gaming computer, high quality surround sound system and then a top of the line full HD TV. Once I get my own car, I strive for a house. I don’t know what might come after that but what I am sure is that once I get all the necessities, I will run after the luxuries and since there is no limit of those, I will always find something to run after. In the end we all become part of a race that ends with death.
How can I achieve happiness? Is it that “thing” that keeps me happy? No, it’s a mental state that I describe as happiness. I felt happy while going home from my office on a Friday evening. I felt even happier when going on a vacation to meet my family. I believe that happiness comes when the status quo is broken for the good. Similarly, sadness comes when the status quo is broken for the bad. For instance, when I buy a brand new car, my state is changed for the good. Now I have something that I didn’t have, that I really liked. So I am happier than before. However, once that new state is unchanged after some time, I will move back to the neutral state. This is called “getting used to” something. Since that change is a big change in my life, the happiness is more intense and lasts longer. However, it does fade away with time. One thing to note here is that buying a car is not cheap. In the same way, if one’s father dies, it is a state of shock and extreme sadness for that person. The sadness is more intense and lasts longer. However, after a year or two, the neutral state is restored.
What I would try to do after knowing that fact is to try to find an economic way to change my state for the good every day. By doing that, I can stay happy all my life, without running after the unnecessary man-made luxuries of this world. Islam gives you a very easy yet very effective way to stay happy. That is by worshipping Allah with all your heart and soul. You pray 5 times a day and the happiness you will get after meeting your Lord is enough to boost you really high. You re-direct all your worries and anxieties to Him and free yourself from this world for that moment. If you keep on practicing it, a stage will come where you will be elevated every time you offer your prayer. That is perhaps one of the explanations why all the saints have had happiness and satisfaction filled in their lives eliminating the need to run after worldly desires to get temporary happiness.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Monday, September 22, 2008
Death
Every created being alive has to die. You are one of them. Death is the biggest certainty man has ever known. No one knows when, but everyone knows for sure, that it will come. It can be the moment you finish this sentence.
Thank God, you are still alive. Doesn’t it make you frightened to think that you will die one day. How painful will it be the moment your life is taken away from you. Will you be shot or drowned. You might also die from a disease or a heart attack. No matter what the event might be, you will have to face it. You will have to die.
I knew a man who once said, "death smiles at us all; all a man can do is smile back."
However, being afraid of it won’t be any good to you because there is no escape. The best you can do is face it with courage. The only problem is that in that situation, you can’t be calm and courageous, unless you have a clear conscience.
We are involved in the worldly business of becoming rich, famous and occupying the top spot, so deeply that we have forgotten the bigger realities of life. Only when we get a chance to look at death more closely, do we realize how terrifying it is. Ask a person with Cancer or HIV, what it means to be “alive”. You can feel from his talking, the fear that is eating him inside, knowing and realizing the fact that he will die any second because of that disease.
Those of us, who are still healthy have time to focus on more important things in the bigger picture so that when the time comes, we will have plenty of faith, character and a clear conscience to support us. Worship alone will not carry us to safety. We will need the support of a life that has purity in faith and actions to carry us across the border to Heaven. We have known from religious scriptures that the after life is eternal. Trading 60 years for an eternal life; you won’t find a better deal in the market.
Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal;
"Dust thou art, to dust returneth" was not spoken of thy soul.
Thank God, you are still alive. Doesn’t it make you frightened to think that you will die one day. How painful will it be the moment your life is taken away from you. Will you be shot or drowned. You might also die from a disease or a heart attack. No matter what the event might be, you will have to face it. You will have to die.
I knew a man who once said, "death smiles at us all; all a man can do is smile back."
However, being afraid of it won’t be any good to you because there is no escape. The best you can do is face it with courage. The only problem is that in that situation, you can’t be calm and courageous, unless you have a clear conscience.
We are involved in the worldly business of becoming rich, famous and occupying the top spot, so deeply that we have forgotten the bigger realities of life. Only when we get a chance to look at death more closely, do we realize how terrifying it is. Ask a person with Cancer or HIV, what it means to be “alive”. You can feel from his talking, the fear that is eating him inside, knowing and realizing the fact that he will die any second because of that disease.
Those of us, who are still healthy have time to focus on more important things in the bigger picture so that when the time comes, we will have plenty of faith, character and a clear conscience to support us. Worship alone will not carry us to safety. We will need the support of a life that has purity in faith and actions to carry us across the border to Heaven. We have known from religious scriptures that the after life is eternal. Trading 60 years for an eternal life; you won’t find a better deal in the market.
Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal;
"Dust thou art, to dust returneth" was not spoken of thy soul.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Logic
Whenever I get together with my friends for lunch or dinner, or just hang around in the streets of downtown, we always end up in discussions. Some of my friends are atheists and agnostics. So, naturally we include the topic of religion and God into our discussion. However, the emphasis is always on one thing, logic. “How do you prove the existence of God logically?” is always the billion dollar question of the night.
What is Logic? Why is everybody after it? Well, we call everything that satisfies our mind as logic. So, the limit of logic is set by us. In that respect, how can we accept anything that is outside the logic. We simply can’t, because the definition is recursive. It doesn’t have a solid ground. How can a man walk on the moon? If you had asked this question a century earlier, you wouldn’t be able to get an answer. It just seemed illogical to everyone to beat gravity to enter space. Now that we have understood everything, it has become part of logic. This thing we call logic is biased towards the known, making it unfair for all the things that are still unknown to us but do exist.
Why do we keep on arguing about the existence of God. Our existence can’t be a natural phenomenon; otherwise it would have been possible to create things out of emptiness. Even though i don't like the concept of logic, but since everyone is in favor of it, so let me prove the existence of God through logic.
Everything is made of matter
Matter can neither be created nor destroyed
These two universal truths lead us to the conclusion that there is some source of power that can create matter and destroy it (otherwise matter in this world would keep on increasing). We religious people believe that that source is infinite and call it God. In the Quran, God calls Himself by the name Allah. Since Allah is a proper noun so calling God, Allah should not be limited to Muslims, rather everyone should call Him by that name.
What is Logic? Why is everybody after it? Well, we call everything that satisfies our mind as logic. So, the limit of logic is set by us. In that respect, how can we accept anything that is outside the logic. We simply can’t, because the definition is recursive. It doesn’t have a solid ground. How can a man walk on the moon? If you had asked this question a century earlier, you wouldn’t be able to get an answer. It just seemed illogical to everyone to beat gravity to enter space. Now that we have understood everything, it has become part of logic. This thing we call logic is biased towards the known, making it unfair for all the things that are still unknown to us but do exist.
Why do we keep on arguing about the existence of God. Our existence can’t be a natural phenomenon; otherwise it would have been possible to create things out of emptiness. Even though i don't like the concept of logic, but since everyone is in favor of it, so let me prove the existence of God through logic.
Everything is made of matter
Matter can neither be created nor destroyed
These two universal truths lead us to the conclusion that there is some source of power that can create matter and destroy it (otherwise matter in this world would keep on increasing). We religious people believe that that source is infinite and call it God. In the Quran, God calls Himself by the name Allah. Since Allah is a proper noun so calling God, Allah should not be limited to Muslims, rather everyone should call Him by that name.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Immortality or Fun
Reproduction is a process by which humans, like all other animals, ensure their immortality. The big difference between the two though is that animals are free to exercise it whenever they desire and with whom they desire, nothing holding them off. Humans on the other hand have a concept called morality because of which they differentiate between what should be done and what should be avoided. We think, hence we decide our actions. This makes us superior to animals. To make this difference obvious and practice morality, thus remaining within the circle of ethics, we humans have developed a culture for performing this process. It is legalized only after marriage, an agreement by which opposite partners of the race mutually agree to live together for the rest of their lives. Hence, each member of the race is engaged to only one particular member instead of one-time short-term selection as is the case with animals.
What is the ultimate goal of reproduction? It is a way to give birth to offsprings of our own species. Hence, we die but our kind continues to live through generations. It is one of the most important functions of our existence. So, something has to be added to ensure the certainty of this process. To achieve that, the chemistry within our body creates seducing effects that arouse us. Medical experts will agree with me that the brain has an important role in it. As a result, we ensure our existence and seek pleasure at the same time. Had there been no fun in doing that, its accomplishment wouldn’t be a certainty.
We have controlled animal instincts. Religious practice and moral awareness keeps us focused on our limits. If however, we lose our focus and deviate, as a consequence we will also lose our control. A loss in control over our actions ultimately results in fertilization between two unmarried members for the sake of pleasure. The real intention of continuing the species is not at play here. As a consequence, the resulting child born is treated like a by-product. That is why I often hear in the news or read in the newspapers about an infant found dead lying in a trash bin or in a dark corner of the street. One, who survives, grows but faces many hardships because of his background. The aftermath is an addition to the cons of the world.
It is believed that the most straightforward path to become a saint is to have complete control in yourself. If you control your desires and anger, you simply can’t go wrong, provided you also know the difference between right and wrong. Religious practices, even though appear restrictions to us, are after all for our own benefit in the long run. If we create a large computer simulation of our world, maybe then will we better understand the concept of salvation by grace through faith and act of righteousness.
What is the ultimate goal of reproduction? It is a way to give birth to offsprings of our own species. Hence, we die but our kind continues to live through generations. It is one of the most important functions of our existence. So, something has to be added to ensure the certainty of this process. To achieve that, the chemistry within our body creates seducing effects that arouse us. Medical experts will agree with me that the brain has an important role in it. As a result, we ensure our existence and seek pleasure at the same time. Had there been no fun in doing that, its accomplishment wouldn’t be a certainty.
We have controlled animal instincts. Religious practice and moral awareness keeps us focused on our limits. If however, we lose our focus and deviate, as a consequence we will also lose our control. A loss in control over our actions ultimately results in fertilization between two unmarried members for the sake of pleasure. The real intention of continuing the species is not at play here. As a consequence, the resulting child born is treated like a by-product. That is why I often hear in the news or read in the newspapers about an infant found dead lying in a trash bin or in a dark corner of the street. One, who survives, grows but faces many hardships because of his background. The aftermath is an addition to the cons of the world.
It is believed that the most straightforward path to become a saint is to have complete control in yourself. If you control your desires and anger, you simply can’t go wrong, provided you also know the difference between right and wrong. Religious practices, even though appear restrictions to us, are after all for our own benefit in the long run. If we create a large computer simulation of our world, maybe then will we better understand the concept of salvation by grace through faith and act of righteousness.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Spirit or Soul?
Who am I? What am I? What is the soul? Are we really just a mass of organic matter without it? These are the questions whose answers are as much a mystery today as they were at the time of birth of man. However, there are some traces of knowledge about the thing we call soul. In this writing, I will elaborate on the Islamic context.
The Holy Qur’an, which is considered to be the word of God by the Muslims, has touched this topic briefly. The word used by the Qur’an is Rooh, which is translated as spirit instead of soul. So we first have to look at the difference between the two.
Spirit: When God made man, He took soil and blew spirit into it. So spirit can be considered as heavenly matter. The soil has earthly properties because of which it makes us behave like worldly creatures. We eat, drink, sleep, walk etc. The spirit, being heavenly, distinguishes us humans from animals by doing good deeds. It hosts morality. Angels, being heavenly creations, are made completely from spirit. Hence, they cannot do evil. So, it is a balance between the two that keeps us humans. With more and more meditation, man allows the spirit to dominate the soil.
Soul: It is the self-aware essence, unique to a particular living being. It is the totality of our wishes, emotions and experiences. In other words, it is our personality. All our desires are generated by the soul. That is why it is believed that success lies in controlling the soul. Qur’an uses the term Nafs.
Now that we know the difference between the two, we can look at where they came from. It is believed that God has created three places.
1. Aalam-e-Arwah
2. Earth (or Universe)
3. Aalam-e-Barzakh
God first created all the spirits. He gathered them in the Aalam-e-Arwah and made an Ehd, which means to hold witness. It is called the Ehd-e-Alast. He questioned the spirits, “Who is your God?” All replied “You are”. At present, it is believed that the spirits of the ones yet to be born are present here.
On Earth, when a human is still in the womb of the mother, God takes one particular spirit from the Aalam-e-Arwah and assigns it to that body. It combines with the body and gives life to a new born baby. The fate of that baby (place and time of birth and death) has already been decided. The human is ready to live his life on earth doing whatever he wishes. He has been given free will till death. During that time, the spirit remains within the body.
After death, the spirit being separated now from the body goes to a place called Aalam-e-Barzakh leaving behind the dead body. In Aalam-e-Barzakh, the spirit gets an idea through the surrounding whether the person to whom it belongs to will go to heaven or hell. Since man is what he is because of his personality and lives because of the spirit, it is believed that the spirit and soul don’t die. It is also believed that since it is the essence of life, so whatever the spirit experiences in Aalam-e-Barzakh is also experienced by the human to whom it belongs. So it can be concluded that man is actually the combination of spirit and soul. On Earth he had been given a body and free will to learn and do whatever he wished. Now he has to wait for the outcome of whatever he did. In Aalam-e-Barzakh, the spirits will remain till the Day of Judgment.
There are still many questions unanswered. Since soul and spirit are out of the reach of scientific phenomenon, they will remain unanswered. We will only know them through experience after death. However, at that moment, repentance will not be an option.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Desired Leadership
I am sure most of you must have heard about Lord of the Rings. Wrong, this is not a review about the trilogy made by Peter Jackson. I am referring to it because last week when I watched all the three episodes back to back, a strange thought came into my mind. Let's first discuss the story a little. Lord of the Rings is about a world that has multiple races like humans, dwarfs, elves, hobbits and orcs. Orcs are the evil race that wants to rule over the rest of the world. The remaining races used to be united once, but with time, got isolated from one another. Fate has given them a chance to re-unite and defeat the evil. Among them, a young hobbit is chosen to fulfill the impossible task of saving the world.
After watching the movie, when my mind came back to reality, I thought how peaceful our world is. There is only one race here, and that is us, humans. Then I realized how cursed we are. We don’t need anyone else to destroy us, we are sufficient enough ourselves. Everyone would agree with me that the twentieth century has given us much, but most of all, wars. Countries have gone to war for decades because of wrong decisions of a few. Nations have been destroyed. Moreover, there are generations who have seen nothing but war. All we do is read the newspapers and share our condolences with the person sitting next while waiting for the bus.
Why is it happening? Let us look at why the four races separated. The leader of the humans was leading the army of the good. He destroyed the evil leader by cutting off his hand. Then when he had a chance to finish off everything by throwing the ring into the fire, his desires came into play. Selfishness caused him to ditch everyone and keep the ring for himself. Because of one man’s decision, all had to suffer till the end. It is all derived by leadership. One corrupt leader can change the course of a nation. He has power to destroy the entire race, which is happening today. Anyone who speaks against him has to suffer death. If it were death alone, things wouldn’t be that bad, but the price his dearest ones have to pay is worse than death itself. As a consequence, no one dares to look the leader in the eye.
The law of survival of the fittest reigns supreme in this world. Those who have the power did not earn it through their character or abilities, rather got it through inheritance. Unjustified rule always has its consequences. As a result, we are all paying the price of a few. For how long will it continue like this, I don’t know. What we need though is a leader chosen by God to get us out of this mess. Every religion is waiting for a savior to free its followers from evil. Christians are waiting for Jesus, Jews for their messiah and Muslims for their Imam. It is all a matter of faith. The prophecy will be fulfilled and the time will come when Peace will prevail and the Kingdom of God will reign supreme again, just like it was at the time of Mohammed (Peace be upon him).
After watching the movie, when my mind came back to reality, I thought how peaceful our world is. There is only one race here, and that is us, humans. Then I realized how cursed we are. We don’t need anyone else to destroy us, we are sufficient enough ourselves. Everyone would agree with me that the twentieth century has given us much, but most of all, wars. Countries have gone to war for decades because of wrong decisions of a few. Nations have been destroyed. Moreover, there are generations who have seen nothing but war. All we do is read the newspapers and share our condolences with the person sitting next while waiting for the bus.
Why is it happening? Let us look at why the four races separated. The leader of the humans was leading the army of the good. He destroyed the evil leader by cutting off his hand. Then when he had a chance to finish off everything by throwing the ring into the fire, his desires came into play. Selfishness caused him to ditch everyone and keep the ring for himself. Because of one man’s decision, all had to suffer till the end. It is all derived by leadership. One corrupt leader can change the course of a nation. He has power to destroy the entire race, which is happening today. Anyone who speaks against him has to suffer death. If it were death alone, things wouldn’t be that bad, but the price his dearest ones have to pay is worse than death itself. As a consequence, no one dares to look the leader in the eye.
The law of survival of the fittest reigns supreme in this world. Those who have the power did not earn it through their character or abilities, rather got it through inheritance. Unjustified rule always has its consequences. As a result, we are all paying the price of a few. For how long will it continue like this, I don’t know. What we need though is a leader chosen by God to get us out of this mess. Every religion is waiting for a savior to free its followers from evil. Christians are waiting for Jesus, Jews for their messiah and Muslims for their Imam. It is all a matter of faith. The prophecy will be fulfilled and the time will come when Peace will prevail and the Kingdom of God will reign supreme again, just like it was at the time of Mohammed (Peace be upon him).
Friday, May 2, 2008
Degeneration of Morality
Yesterday I watched Titanic in 720p, really good quality on a 22” widescreen monitor. Besides a wonderful love story, one thing that I noticed in it was the depiction of discrimination between the elites and the poor. Nowadays, it is not that obvious in this part of the world, but in the third world countries, it is still healthy and grooming. The rich enjoy the luxuries and own the law. The poor on the other hand have to give up everything in their reach to survive just another passing day.
I found one scene of particular interest where the ship is sinking and the boats are being lowered into the ocean. Rose’s mother while entering the boat confirms from one of the crew members that this boat is meant only for the elite class. Even at the time of death and uncertainty, she did not realize what she just said.
There is a time when people believe in morality and condemn any deviating behavior. Man is moral in nature. As time passes, people move close to neutral space. They know that the society is changing but they don’t act. This provides an environment for evil to flourish in the background. More and more souls get lost. No one realizes how dangerous this can be, but they just neglect it. Much worse happens when everyone starts doing what his desires drive him to. He does realize in the end what he did was not right, even if it was something as small as telling a lie to deceive someone. His conscience is still alive at this moment. However, the worst happens when he becomes amoral failing to differentiate between good and evil. He does things which he believes are good but prove to be disastrous for the society. At that moment his conscience dies. What remains is a body that looks like a human but acts worse than an animal.
We go to a heart surgeon if we discover some heart disease. However, we never care about all the other diseases that have inhabited our heart since long, diseases like lust, vanity, envy and hatred to name a few. We should move our attention to them more often, since a stroke will only end our life, but pride will lead us to hell.
I found one scene of particular interest where the ship is sinking and the boats are being lowered into the ocean. Rose’s mother while entering the boat confirms from one of the crew members that this boat is meant only for the elite class. Even at the time of death and uncertainty, she did not realize what she just said.
There is a time when people believe in morality and condemn any deviating behavior. Man is moral in nature. As time passes, people move close to neutral space. They know that the society is changing but they don’t act. This provides an environment for evil to flourish in the background. More and more souls get lost. No one realizes how dangerous this can be, but they just neglect it. Much worse happens when everyone starts doing what his desires drive him to. He does realize in the end what he did was not right, even if it was something as small as telling a lie to deceive someone. His conscience is still alive at this moment. However, the worst happens when he becomes amoral failing to differentiate between good and evil. He does things which he believes are good but prove to be disastrous for the society. At that moment his conscience dies. What remains is a body that looks like a human but acts worse than an animal.
We go to a heart surgeon if we discover some heart disease. However, we never care about all the other diseases that have inhabited our heart since long, diseases like lust, vanity, envy and hatred to name a few. We should move our attention to them more often, since a stroke will only end our life, but pride will lead us to hell.
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