Thursday, July 30, 2009

Religion is a Necessity

A man’s success in life depends upon the amount of knowledge he acquires of the universe and upon the proper use of that knowledge. The wider his knowledge, the greater are his chances of success. Knowledge of creation can never be complete without sufficient knowledge of the Creator and the principles and policy upon which the universe is created and run. This is what science is searching for.

There are people who do not feel inclined to believe the existence of God. But they cannot disprove Him either, for it is more difficult to disprove than to prove God. That is to say they ignore rather than deny the existence of God. We cannot possibly disprove God, because by doing so we disprove the whole universe including ourselves. We are obliged to believe in the existence of superior intelligent force controlling the universe.

To be able to control and regulate the various conflicting forces in nature, the guiding-force ought to be stronger and more intelligent than everything else in the world, for a weak and blind force cannot function properly. Willingly or unwillingly, they are all united on one point, namely, the existence of a supernatural, intelligent force guiding, directing, regulating and controlling the entire universe.

So, man, as the highest subordinate force in creation will never be able to carry on his duties properly unless he is properly attached to the Creator. Detachment from the central power can only end in disaster. No unit in an institution, no soldier in an army and no officer in a state can do without maintaining proper connection with the central superior force. Without this connection, everything is doomed to confusion and chaos.

To maintain proper relations with God one has to behave properly in all walks of life. To affect this, one stands in need of religion. It is religion which guides us in this direction and regulates our relationship with God. And our relationship with God embraces our relationship with everything else in the world.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Anatomy of Rage


Say someone in another car cuts dangerously close to you as you are driving on the highway. If your reflexive thought is “You bastard!” it matters immensely for the trajectory of rage whether that thought is followed by more thoughts of outrage and revenge:

“He could have hit me! That bastard – I can’t let him get away with that!”

Your knuckles whiten as you tighten your hold on the steering wheel. Your body mobilizes to fight, not run – leaving you trembling, beads of sweat on your forehead, your heart pounding, the muscles in your face locked in a scowl. You want to kill the guy.

Then, should a car behind you honk because you have slowed down after the close call, you are apt to explode in a rage at that driver too. Such is the stuff of hypertension, reckless driving, or even highway shootings.

Contrast that sequence of building rage with a more charitable line of thought toward the driver who cut you off:

“Maybe he didn’t see me, or maybe he had some good reason for driving so carelessly, such as a medical emergency.”

That line of possibility tempers anger with mercy, or at least an open mind, short-circuiting the buildup of rage.

I guess anger is never without a reason, but seldom a good one.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Get Hot

A mountain is an impressive sight – when we see a mountain for the first time.

But after we have seen a mountain, or a lot of mountains, with what becomes a sort of monotonous frequency, even a mountain becomes just part of the landscape. A mountain…is a mountain…is a mountain.

There it is. Another mountain. Just there. Doing nothing.

Not so, a VOLCANO!

When a mountain becomes a volcano, it turns on! It comes alive! It becomes a shaker and a mover! It lights up! It radiates a glow! It is a something! It is a happening! It is somebody!

So, let us be a VOLCANO!

Don’t just be part of the landscape. Or just part of a crowd. Or just a member of a group. Or just one of the employees.

Let us be something special! Like a VOLCANO!

People pay attention to a VOLCANO! It is a one-mountain spectacular! If you want people to pay attention to you, you are going to have to be a one-person spectacular!

Turn on! Come alive! Be a shaker and a mover! Light up! Heat up an inner glow so that you can radiate an outer glow! Be something! Be a happening! Be somebody!

People respect a VOLCANO! It is simply too hot to handle! A VOLCANO does more than flame and glow. It spreads heat! Red-hot lava spreads out from the blazing center. Woe unto any person or any thing which dares to stand in its way! It is nature’s proof of the devastating power of ever-expanding, uncontainable heat! So people respect it. No one dares to oppose the oncoming, unstoppable, constantly spreading, all-consuming heat.

Do you want to attract attention? Do you want to command respect? Do you want to be unstoppable?

Then, be a human VOLCANO!

And remember the source of its power…HEAT!

So, get HOT!!!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

We Who Have Chosen Evil

If one is capable of believing in God and all that is good, then one should be capable of believing in an evil one and all that is bad.

Having said this I recalled the momentous incident involving Adam and Eve. They originally lived in a spectacular paradise. They could have continued to experience paradise. They chose not to. They were given permission to enjoy the wonderful fruit of all the trees in the garden (except one). They even enjoyed the tree of life. In other words, they savored life itself.

However, there was one tree from which they were instructed not to eat. They were essentially instructed not to eat of this tree as a way of saying they were not to make themselves God. God is God, they were not. It is He that would determine what was good and it is He that would declare what was evil. They should not.

Tragically, they chose to violate the prohibition. In violating it, they attempted to make themselves God. They attempted to define what is good and what is evil, what is bad, what is right, what is just, what is true.

If one understands human heart is drawn toward that which is wrong, then it brings to the fore the reality that any authentic good can come only from reconnection with and submission to God, the source and definer of all that is good.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Gratitude is Golden

One of my favorite teachers in school used to emphasize about the importance of not focusing on “what you don’t have”. He admonished his pupil by saying, “start to be grateful for all the things you feel good about.”

When I was a kid, my parents would notoriously admonish me, “Be thankful for what you have rather than focusing on what you don’t have.” Grateful people simply receive more in life. Nobody likes whiners. It has been said that whiners are not winners. Ungrateful people are turn-offs and they drive people away. People are drawn to those who have a spirit of gratefulness.

Why is gratefulness so important? Because gratefulness is much more than simply saying “thank you.” Saying “thank you” means that we are acknowledging someone has provided something wonderful for us. It’s a way of acknowledging that we are not the epicenter of our universe. Someone else has provided for us. In other words, gratefulness is actually a form of humility.

Humility is not saying, “Oh, I’m nothing. I’m really nothing.” That’s false modesty. Humility is having a spirit of gratitude for all that’s been given to us and the blessings of life. Humility is expressed by gratefulness, and gratefulness results in, or finds its source in, humility.

We all appreciate humble, grateful persons. And that is precisely what God calls us to be. I properly acknowledge that we have the capacity to choose in life. It is called free will. We can choose to have thoughts of gratefulness. We’ll be happier if we do. Everyone around us will be happier if we do.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Meaning of "Unveiling the Veiled"

In naming the blog Unveiling the Veiled the object in my mind was the name itself should be expressive enough to indicate the contents thereof. For, those whose inner eyes are open can easily understand from the title what the blog is mainly about.

Having cleared my mind of all motives, I pray to the Almighty to grant me success and save me from attributing this work to myself, for I am quite certain that the ability to perform all deeds comes from the Lord Himself and no one else!

I seek pardon from God for my sins and I implore Him to save me inwardly and outwardly from all calamities and ask the readers to pray for me to be vouchsafed by His Vision by His Grace.

Blessings (salawat) of Allah be on the Holy Prophet Muhammad, his posterity, his companions and his wives.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Body & Soul

Human greatness, or human perfection, if you so call it, depends very much upon the highest possible development of all the outer and inner qualities and upon the proper use that he makes of the qualities so developed.

Everything has two sides, the exterior and the interior. Its value depends, not so much upon its exterior, as upon its interior side. A box full of diamonds and precious stones is certainly more valuable than a similar, or even better looking box, full of ordinary stones and dust.

A human being has likewise two sides, the external and the internal. He is a combination of body and soul. One is necessary as the other, his ultimate superiority over the rest of the creation depends more upon his inner merits, his intellectual capabilities, his spiritual attainments and the polish and the brilliance of his soul, than upon his exterior form and appearance and qualities of his body.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Know Thyself

A belligerent samurai, an old Japanese tale goes, once challenged a Zen master to explain the concept of heaven and hell. But the monk replied with a scorn, “You’re nothing but a lout – I can’t waste my time with the likes of you!”

His very honor attacked, the samurai flew into a rage and, pulling his sword from its scabbard, yelled, “I could kill you for your impertinence.”

“That,” the monk calmly replied, “is hell.”

Startled at seeing the truth in what the master pointed out about the fury that had him in its grip, the samurai calmed down, sheathed his sword, and bowed, thanking the monk for the insight.

“And that,” said the monk, “is heaven.”

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Aristotle's Challenge

Anyone can become angry – that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – this is not easy.