Arif & Ali's Blog » Spirituality

A Nice Thought

arif — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 09:52:38 +0000

A wise man once sat in the audience & cracked a joke.
All laughed like crazy. After a moment he cracked the same joke again and a little less people laughed this time.
He cracked the same joke again & again, When there was no laughter in the crowd,
he smiled and said

“When u can’t laugh on the same joke again & again, then why do u keep crying over the same thing over and over again.”

Arif’s comment: Thanks for this email forward Hina :-)

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I am Free. Because I am Free from Fear.

arif — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 04:35:00 +0000

Fear is a theme that I have touched time and again on this blog. I recently heard this excellent documentary-podcast on the Aung San Suu Kyi. Aung San, keeps appearing in the press now and again for being under house-arrest. But being historically-illiterate I had no idea why she was put on house-arrest and what’s the big-deal really. Her confi/dence and aura of courage is extraordinary. The podcast provides a wonderful background of her upbringing and what has made her so courageous. It’s through this podcast that I learnt of her award winning essay on Freedom From Fear. You may download the podcast from this page and read the whole essay by clicking here. I am pasting my favourite excerpts of the essay below.

It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.

Where there are no such laws, the burden of upholding the principles of justice and common decency falls on the ordinary people. It is the cumulative effect on their sustained effort and steady endurance which will change a nation where reason and conscience are warped by fear into one where legal rules exist to promote man’s desire for harmony and justice while restraining the less desirable destructive traits in his nature.

Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying. So free men are the oppressed who go on trying and who in the process make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities and to uphold the disciplines which will maintain a free society. Among the basic freedoms to which men aspire that their lives might be full and uncramped, freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end. A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear.

Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one’s actions, courage that could be described as ‘grace under pressure’ – grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure.

Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.

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Self-Control with Ramadhan

arif — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:30:59 +0000

Picture taken without permission from the Boston Globe The Big Picture

A dear friend (Navaid Alam) has written this well-expressed article on Ramadhan, that was selected by The Hindu (a leading national newspaper) for publishing in it’s Open Page. This has been re-published here without his permission, (hopefully he won’t sue us, it’s Ramadhan after all :-).

The ninth month of the Islamic Hijri calendar, Ramazan (or Ramadan), holds a special significance for Muslims around the world. It is in this month that Muslims attempt to let go of the worldly pleasures and decide to reorient themselves towards being better humans — humans that are not so lost in the pursuit of their desires that they cannot sense the needs of others. The cruelties that man shows towards his own body round the year are redressed in this month. The body is allowed to rejuvenate and repair the damage caused during the rest of the year. Conscience, that guiding light, is strengthened and prepared to shine through the dark alleys of human greed. And the soul is provided with the spiritual nourishment that it needs to connect with its creator.

Although many obvious benefits for fasting have been observed both by spiritualists as well as scientists, the Muslim fasts because God has so commanded. This, while it may seem dogmatic, is inherently cogent. A command of an omniscient god cannot possibly be wrong because if it was then He wouldn’t be omniscient. However, this holds good provided it can be established through reason that it is indeed His command. This is one of the fundamental rationales of the Islamic thought and the foundation of its call to acceptance because faith built on unreasonable premises is unworthy of submission.

Fasting has always been prescribed by God for communities around the world, a fact attested by the the Holy Koran. And why shouldn’t it be, after all if fasting has such fundamental benefits then those benefits must be for the entire human race. And one fundamental benefit mentioned by the Koran is taqwa in Arabic.Taqwa means, among other things, self-restraint, a quality fasting so strongly creates. When man is able to control his two most basic urges namely the digestive and the reproductive, it becomes easier to contain the others. And such control is the first step towards the greater realisation that these are the necessities of life not its purpose. However, the purpose of fasting is to control these urges and not to kill them for they are fundamentally essential to human existence and a system that destroys them cannot be natural or divine.

Islam did not, however, merely prescribe fasting but prescribed it for a specific period of time. One whole month to be exact, dawn to sunset is a Muslim required to fast abstaining from food, drink and sex. Token or symbolic fasting for a certain day cannot provide the results that Ramazan seeks to create. It is only when people abstain from these day after day for a good one month can they attain control of their selves and a sense of concern for the less privileged begin to develop. Moreover, fasting that is accompanied by massive eating before and after the prescribed period of the day cannot yield those results.

How can one feel the pain of those not fortunate enough to have their daily meals if one gluttons himself and feels no pangs of hunger? The Sufis have always held in accordance with the tradition of Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, that one ought to eat less even during that portion of the day when one is not fasting otherwise the spirit of the fast is weakened. However, pragmatism requires that people be not subjected to undue duress hence the tradition of sahr, the pre dawn meal and iftar, the ‘breakfast’ meal.

Fasting however is not merely about avoiding food and drink; it is also about building your character. The one fasting is required to control his talk so as not to say words of abuse or even dislike to other fellow human beings. The Prophet said, “Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, God is not in need of his abstinence from food and drink.” Anger, that form of temporary madness, is to be subdued, a lesson that Muslims around the world would do well to follow. Said the Prophet, “Strong is not the one who overcomes people by his strength, but he who controls himself while in anger.” This is the demand oftaqwa.

And when the faithful fulfils this commandment of God, having fasted and abstained from all vices and actively sought virtue for nothing but the pleasure of God, then he breaks into thankful joy on the first day of the next month,Shawwal, the day of Eid. After the prayer of thanks in the morning, the day is spent meeting friends, neighbours and relatives. Grudges of the past are buried to make a new beginning in human relations.

However, those struggling with the necessities of life are not to be forgotten and they are as entitled to enjoy this day as the others. Besides the zakat which is not directly connected with this month, Islam has prescribed another mandatory charity called the Sadqatul Fitr. This is a small sum given by those capable to the poor to enable them to engage in the festivities of Eid for there can be no festivity for the well off unless they have taken care of the have-nots.

(If you’ve liked the above article, do let Navaid know at naf@engineer.com).

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A Prayer

arif — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:02:55 +0000

“O Allah, do not try me by letting me resort to other than You when being compelled, not submit to other than You when being poor and not invoke other than You when being frightened lest I will deserve, by that, Your humiliation and Your turning away from me.” – Imam Ali Zain ul Abideen.

Photo courtesy: mrehan

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Quran in Pdf format

arif — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:11:14 +0000

There are a numerous sites where you can read and search through the Quran. My most frequented one is the one hosted by Al-Islam.org. However, quite often when I’m offline and I want to search through the Quran, the only viable alternative was to peer through index of the physical book itslef to find the verse I’m looking for. So using Dinesh’s help at office, we’ve put together Quran in pdf format. The file is a mere 4.6 mb in size and enables you to search through the translation quite easily without being connected to the internet. This pdf copy of the Quran can be downloaded from here. Cheerio.Similar Posts:

How to be Happy for No Reason

Mohammed Ali — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:15:19 +0000

What makes us Happy?

Is it a new car? A job promotion? A new house? Does our Happiness depend on external factors? Do we wait for someone or something to make us happy? Many of us think that “If I had so and so… I would be Happy”. “If my partner would behave in a certain way … I would be Happy” Depending on external factors to make us Happy gives us only short term Happiness, till the time we start craving or the next thing or event to make us Happy. read more…

The above is a guest post we had done for Zeenat Syal’s Blog Positive Provocations. She’s got some good articles on her Blog that are worth going through.Similar Posts:

An inspiring video on standing up for Justice, even if it’s against your own kind.

arif — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:22:23 +0000

One of my more favourite verses of the Quran is when it commands us to speak and act justly even if it be against your community, your parents, even yourself. The exact verse is:

4:135 O you who believe! Be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness of Allah’s sake, though it may be against your ownselves or parents or near relatives; if he be rich or poor, Allah is nearer to them both in compassion; therefore do not follow (your ) low desires, lest you deviate; and if you swerve or turn aside, then surely Allah is aware of what you do.

Pretty common sense when you come to think of it. But very difficult to live by. How many times we protect our loved ones for wrongs that they have done. As parents we protect our children for their mistakes, instead of letting them face the music. Or as a Manager or Fellow employee protect another fellow employee. We give in to our “low desires” rather than striving for and sticking to higher ideals of living that we’ve been destined for.

I’m posting the below video not to air my political views, but simply to share my awe in how he is not afraid to speak up for what he believes is right inspite of the seemingly overwhelming opposition. Furthermore this video is also an epitome of the Silent Majority syndrome. Observe how vociferous the minority of the audience gets when what they hear is not to their liking; but as soon as the speaker responds at 1:14 the crowd explodes in applause. The same thing happens towards the end, the crowd responds in an overwhelmingly positive manner. The question is, why was the crowd silent till that time? Why did they wait for the Norman Finklestein to air his frank views on the Holocaust to then offer their support? It’s the same reason why I don’t standup for the corruption and injustice that I see today. It’s so much more comfortable to sit and watch instead. And give support when only when everyone else is doing so.

Have a look at this landmark 3 minute video:

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Timeless Sufic Excerpts

arif — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:15:44 +0000

I so love Sufic Tales and Poems. These are words that have been born in a realm other than ours and tease us as to what lies beyond. Reading these sayings provides one with a delectable taste of the spiritual pleasures that a Sufi experiences. One of the best Sufic books I’ve come across is Essential Sufism. I share with you below a few quotes from the book, with the hope that it’ll help me internalise these into practices.

O My Lord, if I worship You from fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; and if I worship You from hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your own sake, do not withhold from me Your Eternal Beauty. ~ Rabia
(This prayer is a modification of an original prayer by Hadhrat Ali (AS))

Act as if there were no one on earth but you and no one in Heaven but God. ~ al Antaki

As long as your lower self rules your heart, you will never lose your love of this world. – Traditional

If you treat your lower self with affection, you will never by saved from it. ~ Traditional

Those who are dead to their lower selves are alive with God. ~ Traditional

Those who are controlled by the lower self must serve it; those who control thee lower self serve others. ~ Traditional

The lower self is like a theif who sneakes into your house at night to steal whatever is valuable and worthwhile. You cannot fight this thief directly, because it will mirror whatever force you bring against it. If you have a gun, the theif will also have a gun. If you have a knife, the thief will have a knife as well. To struggle with the thief is to invite disaster. So, what can you do? The only practical solution is to turn on the light. The thief, who is a coward at heart, will then run out. How do we turn on the light? Through thepractice of remembrance, awareness, and heefulness. ~ Sheikh Tosun Bayrak

A donkey with a load of holy books is still a donkey. ~ Traditional
( I LOVE this quote! )

Each faculty of our delights in that for which it was created;
lust delights in accomplishing desire, anger in taking vengeance,
the eye in seeing beautiful objects, and the ear in hearing harmonious sounds.
The highest function of the soul is the perception of truth. ~ al-Ghazzali

If words come out of the heart, they will enter the heart,
but if they come from the tongue, they will not pass beyond the ears. ~ al-Shurawardi

Jesus (upon whom be peace!) saw the world revealed in the form of an ugly old hag. He asked her how many husbands she had possessed; she replied that they were countless. he asked whether they had died or been divorced; she said that she had slain them all. “I marvel,” he said, “at the fools who see what you have done to others, and still desire you.” ~ al-Ghazzali

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On Enlightenment

arif — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:55:31 +0000

“Before Enlightenment, Chop Wood, Carry Water. After Enlightenment, Chop Wood, Carry Water.” - Ancient Zen Wisdom, from Mastery by George Leonard.

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A few Quotes from Tuesday’s with Morrie

arif — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:48:47 +0000

I read this bestseller quite some time back, after Ali informed me that it’s audiobook has been quite a hit on iTunes. Although not a spiritual classic and not a book that I would strongly recommend, a part of me is glad that I have completed it. Below are a sprinkling of quotes from the book that I placed in my Intention Journal. I felt like sharing them with you.

“When you learn how to die, you learn how to live”

“Well the truth is if you really listen to that bird on your shoulder, if you accept that you can die at any time-then you might not be as ambitious as you are.”

“The things you spend so much time on-all this work you do-might not seem as important. You might have to make room for some more spititual things.”

Spiritual things?

“You hate that word, don’t you? ‘Spiritual.’ You think it’s touchy-feely stuff.”

“Mitch,” he said, laughing along, “even I don’t know what ‘spiritual development’ really means. But I do know we’re deficient in some way. We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted.”

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