Oct 15, 2008
Posted by arif in Spirituality | 2 comments
I feel so hypocrytical writing this. I stay in a spacious apartment, drive a really comfortable car, receive delicious sustenance on my dining table meal after meal, day after day. I have never borne the agony of having a disease and not have the means to pay for the medical bills. What right do I have to right about poverty? Before coming to India, I thought the privacy of having my own toilet is a birthright. Yet, on my way to office day after day, I see sights where men and children have to bathe in public. Child labour is illegal. However one just has take a stroll outisde one’s office, home to neighbouring construction sites or kitchens of restaraunts to find precious irreplacable youth being squeezed and twisted out from young boys. Only fools romanticise poverty.
What does God say on helping the Poor?
One doesn’t need further instructions from God to do something for the deprived. One’s conscience is sufficient. But He’s provided guidance nonetheless.
Below are a few Quranic verses that I personally found highly moving urging Believers to help the poor man:
Chapter 90 (The City), Verses 8-17
Have We not given him two eyes,
And a tongue and two lips,
And pointed out to him the two conspicuous ways?
But he would not attempt the uphill road,
And what will make you comprehend what the uphill road is?
(It is) the setting free of a slave,
Or the giving of food in a day of hunger
To an orphan, having relationship,
Or to the poor man lying in the dust.
Then he is of those who believe and charge one another to show patience, and charge one another to show compassion.
Chapter 98 (The Evidence), Verse 5
And they were not enjoined anything except that they should serve Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience, upright, and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and that is the right religion.
Chapter 107 (The Alms Giving), Verses 1-7
Have you considered him who calls the judgment a lie?
That is the one who treats the orphan with harshness,
And does not urge (others) to feed the poor.
So woe to the praying ones,
Who are unmindful of their prayers,
Who do (good) to be seen,
And withhold the necessaries of life.
Finally few sayings of Imam Ali (AS) on various aspects of Generosity, miserliness and poverty:
1. Be generous but not extravagant, be frugal but not miserly.
2. I wonder at the mentality of a miser, fearing poverty he takes to stinginess and thus hastily pushes himself head- long into a state of want and destitution, he madly desires plenty and ease, but throws it away without understanding. In this world he, of his own free will, leads the life of a a beggar and in the next world he will have to submit an account like the rich.
3. Wealth converts a strange land into homeland and poverty turns a native place into a strange land.
4. There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance
5. He who practices moderation and frugality will never be threatened with poverty.
Let’s do our best henceforth, to consistently participate in charitable activities and we’ll stop giving only when we either run out of money, or run out of life.
photo credit: Meanest Indian
Oct 5, 2008
Posted by arif in Spirituality | 5 comments
Do you find yourself riding an emotional roller coaster, forever?
Are you constantly navigating from unimaginable highs, to crazy depths and then chugging back up again. At one moment experiencing the addictive joys of accomplishment, appreciation, or physical pleasures. Other times suffering the unbearable pains of ailments, harsh criticisms or the stings of injustice. Is that how we are destined to live our lives? Are we mere putty that yield and mould ourselves to the circumstances that provoke us. Or are we the potter that is eternally at peace, no matter what the circumstances, is always in control and shapes the clay of our emotional life into a perfect and beautiful vase? Can we become the warrior who consciously acts rather than the individual who simply reacts.
The answer is yes, we can be in more control of our feelings, emotions and reactions. The answer lies simply in knowing, the answer to the cliche’d question, Who are you?
Who are you, really?
Are we really just our physical selves? Are you and I just the amalgamation of limbs and organs, cells and bones? But we know that it just isn’t so. We know that because:
- Inspite of having all material comforts, there is that yearning for more. If we were just our material selves, more comforts, would satisfy us, but it just doesn’t.
- We understand and respect universal values truth, love, justice etc. Specialy if they are achieved when sacrificing more tangible values such us Personal Comforts, Time and Money. All these evidences point to the fact that we are much more soul & spirit (i.e. Consciousness) than we are flesh & bones (i.e. Matter).
But if we really are more Consciousness than Matter, are our concerns proportionaly placed? What are we thinking about most of the day? Are they more material, in nature, or more spiritual? If you’re thoughts are like mine, then all I’m mostly bogged down with are matters of either:
- Work (i.e. I’ve got so much to do and there’s just so little time, Oh woe is me, the market is not so good, oh yippee market is booming again…etc.)
- Physical self (i.e. I’m hungry gosh when will lunch time come?, Yawn I feel so sleepy I could really use a cup of coffee know, Man, I’ve got a headache now where did I put that strip of Crocin)
- Other Material concerns (i.e. What do others think of me?, Do my colleagues feel I’m too lenient? Too strict? Gosh, what will everybody say if I do this/say that/weat this/wear that?)
How entrapped we are with our material concerns and little do we reflect on our spiritual ones.
So what’s the solution? What are my next actions? What can I do to get more of this Eternal Peace, thingy?
1. Keep asking Why? What? Where?
One of the best ways to gain perspective is constantly ask yourself. Ask yourself, where have you come from? Where are you going? Why you are doing what you are doing? Why are you working? Is it making you permanently happy? What would make you have everlasting bliss? It’s only with this process of asking and seeking that you can set yourself on the journey of being in a state of contsant peace.
2. Remind yourself.
Once you find yourself getting close to the answers, set reminder for yourselves daily, weekly, monthly etc. Take your favourite quotes and place them in your tickler file. Read, listen to material that places true perspective of the meaning of life. Man is of highly forgetful nature. Without constant reminders, one gets trapped again and again in the rat-race of life.
3.Give your Best at every moment.
All we ever have is, this moment. And if we give our best at every moment, we get the BEST results every time. What is regret, if not giving our best for a moment that just passed by? If you have realised now, that it’s essential to spend time to identifying your Life Purpose. Don’t give a half-hearted effort, but give it your very best, this moment and every moment.
4. Adopt Acceptance and Seek forgiveness.
Although we have unlimited desires & opportunities, we are helpless with limited knowledge & resources. We can’t help but make mistakes and fail, at times. Our Most Merciful Lord has made available for us a secret portal to return back to Him. It’s by seeking forgiveness. Seek forgiveness for the wrongs committed, be it for wrongs knowingly done or ignorantly. Seek forgiveness for not giving one’s best (be it charity, time etc.), seek forgiveness for not dealing in the best of manners with our close ones (be it parents, children, relatives or colleagues at office.) Adopt a lifestyle of constant acceptance of any situation and asking for forgiveness.
One of the best speeches I’ve heard, that spells out really clearly that indeed man is more of spiritual nature than material one is this lecture by Dr. Murtaza Alidina. It’s about an hour long. Click here to download the mp3 file.
Would love to hear your comments on the above. Keep smiling!
