We are often blaming others for what they have done wrong. Usually we say that "What did I do with this person? Why did he/she treat me like this? I haven't done bad with anyone, then why do others always do "bad" with me? Why me? He/she is responsible for what really bad happened".
I usually think that no one has ever done anything wrong with me. No body's action has caused what created problems in my life. No one has really ever been my enemy. I am the one who has proved to be my enemy always. Whenever anything bad occurred, it was actually me who was the culprit. Me myself! If we think about different unfortunate incidents of our lives, we will realize that most of the time, we were the ones to be blamed. We create problems for ourselves.
Let me try to remember a few instances. For e.g., I waste time, which delays the work I need to do. As a result, I'm lagging behind the schedule. If I have been given an assignment by my teacher, I delay it to the point that it can't be completed unless I work day and night at the highest speed possible. As a result, the work I turn in will never ever be up to my expectations (getting an A+)! And I will most probably blame the teacher (Oh, he/she didn't give us enough time, didn't give us enough guidance, didn't give us the material). Or I will blame my friend (hadn't she insisted on going for shopping, I would definitely had aced this exam. My friend ruined my planning by calling me and talking for an hour on the phone!). My parents took me to this stupid party that I was never ever interested in. As a result, I didn't have enough time to complete my work, and now they expect me to top in the class!
Now that was just one example. Why am I always looking for someone else's shoulder to fire the bullet of blame? Why can't I consider myself the one who is actually guilty? I have come to the conclusion that you have other enemies and there is no doubt about that, but you are one of the biggest enemies of yourself. Thus, Allama Muhammad Iqbal (RA) says, "Tu Agar Mera Nahin Banta, Na Bann, Apna To Bann". (In English: You don't want to be mine, don't be, but at least be your self's). Alas! there hasn't been a lot of times when I acted like a friend of mine.
Now I want to talk about another very important observance. When I look at someone or talk to someone, my brain starts immediately and processes some information about that person. Then, it does an analysis of that person. Well, I do think about the positive aspects of his/her personality. But most importantly I think about the negative ones. That I really don't like this particular habit of his/her. I don't really appreciate this trait that he/she has. Next thing I do is that I ask this question to myself: "Do I have this trait/habit in myself?" To my surprise, most of the time, I also have it!!
So I am embarrassed that I look for flaws in other people so easily when I have thousands of those in myself! Why can't I just sit and analyze my personality's bad traits? Why is it so difficult to know yourself? Why is it so difficult to correct yourself? I just can't figure this out!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Waves
Everything in this universe is a wave or at least waves are all around us. I was never as much fascinated by this phenomenal creation of Allah as after studying "Electromagnetics" in one of my Electrical Engineering courses. I realized that there are millions of waves--whether they are shortest wavelengths or longest--wherever I'm looking!
Even if we cannot see them, we can sometimes imagine being in a space that has unlimited waves crossing each other. And one day I experienced another interesting fact, that human beings propagate as waves in the space! We have a maxima, a minima, and a mean point (zero crossing) while we walk. We keep ourselves balanced by moving our arms and legs in our set amplitudes. Now I have started using technical words as I cannot think of regular alternative words for them.
Everything in this universe follows a set pattern, that pattern is either a sine wave or a cosine wave. Each has its unique frequency and amplitude. I guess we are also recognized by our unique frequency. The best way to observe waves is to go and sit infront of a water body. Water waves are usually "standing waves". Standing wave is a wave whose zero-point always remains as it is; but its maxima, minima and all other points keep on changing.
All communication takes place in the form of waves. Not only between non-living but also between the living beings. We sometimes are amazed when somebody we are thinking about calls us all of a sudden. It cannot always be a coincidence; we are transmitting and receiving some sort of recoverable data even without using any of our five senses. Our brain is sending and receiving wave-like patterns which can be understood by us but cannot be comprehended!
And last but not the least, these waves are nothing but forces! Something projecting a force on something else. There is so much enigma surrounding us. There is light which has a wave-like nature and a particle-like nature! Well, I would not go into that deep interesting stuff in this post! This one is just an Encomium of Waves, nothing but Waves!
Even if we cannot see them, we can sometimes imagine being in a space that has unlimited waves crossing each other. And one day I experienced another interesting fact, that human beings propagate as waves in the space! We have a maxima, a minima, and a mean point (zero crossing) while we walk. We keep ourselves balanced by moving our arms and legs in our set amplitudes. Now I have started using technical words as I cannot think of regular alternative words for them.
Everything in this universe follows a set pattern, that pattern is either a sine wave or a cosine wave. Each has its unique frequency and amplitude. I guess we are also recognized by our unique frequency. The best way to observe waves is to go and sit infront of a water body. Water waves are usually "standing waves". Standing wave is a wave whose zero-point always remains as it is; but its maxima, minima and all other points keep on changing.
All communication takes place in the form of waves. Not only between non-living but also between the living beings. We sometimes are amazed when somebody we are thinking about calls us all of a sudden. It cannot always be a coincidence; we are transmitting and receiving some sort of recoverable data even without using any of our five senses. Our brain is sending and receiving wave-like patterns which can be understood by us but cannot be comprehended!
And last but not the least, these waves are nothing but forces! Something projecting a force on something else. There is so much enigma surrounding us. There is light which has a wave-like nature and a particle-like nature! Well, I would not go into that deep interesting stuff in this post! This one is just an Encomium of Waves, nothing but Waves!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Prerequisite to Walk on the Right Path
December 2008 was one of the most important months of my life. It not only changed my way of thinking, but also gave me unlimited amount of happiness. The transitional phase had started long time back, but I consider those days were the 'turning point' of my life. It was the high time of my spiritual growth. It felt like I am not short of anything in life. As if I have every happiness and peace that one can imagine.
This was when I started watching Ashfaq Ahmed's "Mann Chale Ka Sauda" on youtube. Whoever has posted this masterpiece spiritual drama has done an amazing contribution to mankind. In the first episode, the writer presents one of the key ideas behind sufism (which is completely according to strict Islamic teachings).
A Wali-Allah shown as a shepherd tells a man what he has to quit in order to walk on the path of Allah Subhanau t'Allah. He says, "The path of Wali Allah (a friend of God--the highest rank given to a human being but lesser than that of a messenger/prophet) requires you to quit these four attributes of self:
1) False ego
2) Arrogance
3) Anger/short temper
4) Show off
Without leaving these four characteristics, you can never ever succeed in this path". Then you can think about gaining Allah's happiness as it's directly related to giving happiness to mankind.
These words stuck to my mind and heart. I saw myself not on the first or zeroth step towards the right path, but on the "negative some six digit number" -1000000 step. I had to reach the zeroth step before I could think of moving forward. I wasn't even fulfilling the prerequisites. I was taught about this from the very beginning, but it was never stressed in my education ever. My environment had taught me to "sell" my qualities by speaking about them. The people around me behaved with arrogance because they had more money/smartness than others. Our ego forced us to insult the ones who were under us in any worldly respect.
Today it feels like I've again fallen on the step # -1 as I demonstrated my hot temper in front of my father once again. It was due to some argument between us. At that time I couldn't realize but later I had this guilt inside me. Alas! I had failed again, and I didn't care about behaving patiently and speaking softly. I don't know when I will be strong enough internally to fight the devil inside me.
But as they say that the feeling of hopelessness is not allowed in Islam. I cannot lose hope because I know one thing. If I'm still alive, that means that my aim of life is still incomplete. The aim for which I came in this world. I have to fight against the evil inside myself before fighting against the evil outside. Well, the outside one can always trigger the one inside us. Thus, this is a nonstop and a continuous war between the right and the wrong path.
May Allah give me the courage and determination to keep struggling for the right path. May I be able to leave these negative aspects of my personality one day and be a better soul. May God give us the courage to make life easier for others (Ameen).
This was when I started watching Ashfaq Ahmed's "Mann Chale Ka Sauda" on youtube. Whoever has posted this masterpiece spiritual drama has done an amazing contribution to mankind. In the first episode, the writer presents one of the key ideas behind sufism (which is completely according to strict Islamic teachings).
A Wali-Allah shown as a shepherd tells a man what he has to quit in order to walk on the path of Allah Subhanau t'Allah. He says, "The path of Wali Allah (a friend of God--the highest rank given to a human being but lesser than that of a messenger/prophet) requires you to quit these four attributes of self:
1) False ego
2) Arrogance
3) Anger/short temper
4) Show off
Without leaving these four characteristics, you can never ever succeed in this path". Then you can think about gaining Allah's happiness as it's directly related to giving happiness to mankind.
These words stuck to my mind and heart. I saw myself not on the first or zeroth step towards the right path, but on the "negative some six digit number" -1000000 step. I had to reach the zeroth step before I could think of moving forward. I wasn't even fulfilling the prerequisites. I was taught about this from the very beginning, but it was never stressed in my education ever. My environment had taught me to "sell" my qualities by speaking about them. The people around me behaved with arrogance because they had more money/smartness than others. Our ego forced us to insult the ones who were under us in any worldly respect.
Today it feels like I've again fallen on the step # -1 as I demonstrated my hot temper in front of my father once again. It was due to some argument between us. At that time I couldn't realize but later I had this guilt inside me. Alas! I had failed again, and I didn't care about behaving patiently and speaking softly. I don't know when I will be strong enough internally to fight the devil inside me.
But as they say that the feeling of hopelessness is not allowed in Islam. I cannot lose hope because I know one thing. If I'm still alive, that means that my aim of life is still incomplete. The aim for which I came in this world. I have to fight against the evil inside myself before fighting against the evil outside. Well, the outside one can always trigger the one inside us. Thus, this is a nonstop and a continuous war between the right and the wrong path.
May Allah give me the courage and determination to keep struggling for the right path. May I be able to leave these negative aspects of my personality one day and be a better soul. May God give us the courage to make life easier for others (Ameen).
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