Reclaiming the Lost Caliph
Getting the Crazy Out of the Way
Oh boy. *rubs palms excitedly*. This is definitely going to be my most daring piece of writing. Ah, well. Stupid, crazy things certainty can make you do. Socrates choosing poison hemlock over exile, Mandela coming out stronger after 27 years in jail, and freedom loving Faiz writing his best pieces while pinned to the walls of his cell. Certainty…what a wonderful feeling that provides mental stability, making people genuinely happy and peaceful from the inside. Certainty…that magic which makes people smile when things are good and even in situations that may apparently seem miserable to others. This however, is an unmatched comparison since it is merely a blog that no one will read.
Now let me get the crazy out of the way first. So, here goes. It is undeniable that scientists have done a splendid job deciphering the mysteries of this physical world and all matter that exists within. So anyone rejecting them, be it for ‘religious’ or any other reason, would be equivalent to pasting the tag ‘FOOL’ on their forehead. However, I have this very certain feeling that these undeniable scientific findings are very much valid but only limited to this universe: this small pond that we inhabit in the form of our physical bodies. So, if the life-long struggles of all these scientists to understand the workings of our universe must not be dismissed then neither must they be considered all there is to it. There is so much that we know that we don’t know. And there is much more that we don’t even know that we don’t know.
Brrrr! Thats a mouthful.
Once in a while, one human, that tiny speck of dust on the face of this universe, experiences something magical and extraordinary that surpasses all logic of those scientific laws and theories leaving them gaping and in awe. Some of them dismiss it as a trick their mind is playing while others decide to pursue.
I believe I have had an experience that now makes me believe strongly that parallel to this physical world exists another world that is more real than this one and where all these scientific theories and laws become null. To make it more relatable? Just like in Stranger Things. Yup. Thas right. This is the spiritual world which is more real, more beautiful, more permanent than this one and it works by its own set of rules. The form in which we exist in this world i.e. the soul, has a higher sensitivity as compared to this current physical form of ours.
Ah, okay. That’s enough to process for now. I will now let you vent with your judgement. CRAZY? Tell me about it. Sounds like a load of crap? I KNOW! But why would anyone want to appear crazy unless they are absolutely certain. Well yeah, maybe thats worse than crazy. Maybe that’s super-dooper-mega crazy. To be so certain about your craziness that you don’t feel anymore how crazy it sounds. Haha! Anyway. Moving on…
So, the ones who are more conscious of this spiritual world will not be satisfied by this low quality product being offered by this physical world. Because they have had experiences that keep giving them déjà vu of the wholeness and higher pleasure of the spiritual world. Therefore they will not be satisfied with these theories as their consciousness keeps telling them there is something extraordinarily miraculous that is much more amazing than this. It may not be achievable under the theories and laws of this physical world, but it is very much true and very much there in the spiritual one. Which is why when someone does achieve them on Earth, it is called a miracle. But like they say, miracles only happen to those who believe in them.
Another certain feeling: And, here I am about to lose 3 out of 4 of my readers who came this far just because they happened to accidently click on the title of this blog.
These very people who are silently being pulled by their spirituality, initially try to find comfort in religion as it seems to be talking about almost the same thing. But as they dig deeper listening to religious beliefs that are presented to them by molvis, pundits, fathers and others, something just does not click. So, over the years, interest is lost and religion ends up being swept into the trash assuring them that it is an entirely different dimension than what they are feeling from inside i.e. spirituality. Frustrated, they declare both a figment of their imagination that wasted precious years of their life. The life, that they must now live fully, in the moment, enjoying all the pleasures and luxuries that it has to offer without being restricted by any boundaries or limitations.
Lately, owing to a very painful yet beautiful once-in-a-while experience, I was forced into exploring the Islamic teachings above and beyond the thousand versions of religion that I grew up in. This deep introspection seems to have become the foundation for a connection with God so pure and unadulterated with societal notions that I regret not having found it earlier and at the same time am grateful for this most precious blessing on me even this late in life.
Yeah so bye, bye and bye. Its you and me now, Bro. Lets do this!
The Quran, unlike most religious scriptures, is still intact in the form that it was revealed in even after 1400 years. Moreover, I am amazed at how much I can resonate with it, now that I read and understand it in the light of my experience. It seems to be entirely focused on reminding our physical bodies of the reality of the spiritual world and the fact that one day we have to return to it. So if we have to return to it and it is the world that we actually belong to, then what is the purpose of being here on Earth? Could it really be like Islam (And other religions that Islam verifies) says that this world is like an examination hall testing us for the spiritual one? Or is our search for a purpose in life just a coping mechanism to remain sane like some psychologists believe? Or could it actually be a real thing, like the food we eat and love we crave for, that our soul keeps nudging us towards believing it to be the reason of our existence in this physical world? Remember the restlessness and feeling of purposelessness that creeps on you without any reason, despite all apparently going well? Remember dear old depression? Could it be all a result of ignoring the soul: our parallel existence in the spiritual world?
Justifying Crazy with the Religion Card
As I dig deeper into this with the help of the Holy Quran, I see why God has given up proving His existence through miracles anymore. This was a privilege bestowed on the previous nations but no longer applies on us because previously miracles were shown to make people believe in God and due to the arrogance of those nations who started taking these extraordinary happenings for granted and chose to ignore them, miracles have now become the reward of belief. So belief leads to miracles and miracles lead to guidance. But where does belief come from then? Remember those once-in-a-while experiences that were trying to force you to think beyond the walls of this universe? The very experiences that you dismissed as a mind trick. Yup. Thas right again.
This sequence is what the introductory chapters of the Quran encompass. It begins with the first chapter Surah Fateha where man is seeking guidance from Allah.
1:5 It is You we worship; it is You we ask for help
1:6 Guide us to the straight path:
1:7 the path of those You have blessed, those who incur no anger and who have not gone astray.
And then in the second verse of the second chapter Surah Baqarah, Allah begins with explaining the prerequisite of receiving guidance. He mentions ‘taqwah’ or belief as the very basic requirement of receiving guidance.
2:2 This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah* –
- *‘Conscious of Allah’ is the translation of the arabic word ‘mutaqqeen’ derived from the word ‘taqwa’. It means people who believe, are aware or wonder about the existence of a higher being. Now it is my personal opinion that the word mutaqqeen can be used for anyone. Umm…other than strict gnostic atheists, I guess. And I think that is so amazing because the best atheist that I have met is an agnostic atheist as they believe that one can never be 100% sure owing to limited knowledge of humans and should always ‘leave open the possibility for future evidence’ to quote their exact words. At the age of 50, they claim to be approaching gnostic atheism fast, but still find themselves to be an agnostic atheist currently. And I think that is better than having what we call ‘faith’. This ‘faith’ is dangerously limiting as it is just a false sense of security. We never make that effort to find out if it really is true or not because for so many years we live under the assumption that we are on the right. No research and no attempt of verification leads to uncertainty, confusion and over-possessiveness of beliefs. Its easy to identify such people as they get offended and aggressive easily on the slightest religious argument. An agnostic atheist on the other hand has spent more time and effort wondering about God than the one with this superficial faith. They have just not yet had that once-in-a-while experience to make them absolutely certain. Or maybe they did but, in my humble opinion, not grasp it in its true essence. So ‘conscious of Allah’ for me, is any individual, regardless of their faith, who simply wonders about God. This taqwa sleeps somewhere deep inside each and every one of us, stirred occasionally when we see or have some out-of-this-world experience.
Introspection: If you have inner demons creating havoc under that surface of apparently calm demeanor of yours, then dear soul, this is probably taqwa stirring inside you. Which is also why I believe depression is a good thing.
Ways of enhancing that taqwa have been listed in the very next verse.
2:3 Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them,
2:4 And who believe in what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you, and of the Hereafter they are certain [in faith].
It is a tough job, no doubt. Believing in the unseen in this era of logic and evidence. But its worth a try. Better than fighting demons all your life, anyway. I see heads bobbing up and down in a nod of those who can relate to these demons.
And then Allah Subhana hu Tala elaborates why this sequence is chosen for this last era of mankind. Why taqwah now has to come before guidance? He narrates stories of Bani Israeel in the second chapter of how they were shown numerous miracles like Man o Salwa, protection from extreme weathers etc. But the love of God that was shown in the extraordinary nature of these miracles was brutally rejected due to their stubbornness and arrogance. Just like that spoiled rich kid who becomes ungrateful and disobedient because he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. So now God has chosen the role of the poor kid for us. The poor kid, who is born underprivileged and now has to make a struggle to make his way up, learning how to be grateful for each and every blessing. The slow progress towards guidance makes him acknowledge and appreciate each step and hold on to his lesson tightly. The hard work that he has to put in order to rise up slowly teaches him patience and gratitude. Even if the progress is so slow that the person ends up acknowledging God while taking his last breath, God promises forgiveness for all previous wrong doings. All will be forgotten and forgiven. All God requires from us in this life is to seek Him and make a struggle in the process. But, like previous nations, don’t expect it to come easy now .
And like it or not, this is how we are and how we want it. We like to believe that we figured things out on our own. We love our struggles and appreciate the reward of those struggles much more than if it comes quick and easy. We don’t like things forced down our throats. We feel pride in being given a choice and freedom to explore things on our own using our brilliant brains. But, careful dear soul, this is where we have to be cautious because those very brains also have the capability to turn against us if we begin demanding logic for everything and not leave somethings to the ‘thinking heart’ as Quran says.
67:23 Say, “It is He who has produced you and made for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful.”
Demanding logic for everything is just another way of saying, ‘I am the smartest and my brain has the capacity to understand everything’. But, with the uncountable biases instilled in us by our society, how can we expect us to take things in their true essence?
Random thought: There should have been a ‘Factory Reset’ button on us. I would definitely press it because it takes so much courage and time to unlearn things drilled in us over years.
The things that don’t make sense to us are instantly declared untrue. Because remember? I’m so smart! If I am not able to understand it, then it must be untrue. Nope. Those things do exist. They are very much there and are the ultimate truth for some. So, why not make room for some things to be seen and understood with the eye of the heart. Extraordinary and miraculous things that happen around us all the time but are shrugged off as untrue and crazy just because they don’t make sense to us. Remember, there was a time when simple things like rainbow, cycles of the moon and the round shape of Earth also did not make sense. Eventually they did start making sense.
Boundaries in Pursuing the Spiritual World
Now taking Islamic teachings as guidance, in the physical world some restrictions seem to be present in pursuing the spiritual world. But with that being said, I cannot deny that these extraordinary phenomenon very much exist. For example belief in numerology is discouraged in Islam. But my father passing away on my sister’s birthday can be a coincidence, but my mother passing away on my birthday, both deaths 8 years apart, cannot be a coincidence, right? (Yes, I am serious and yes they both died natural deaths, the former from heart failure and later from liver cancer). And then astrology. If we can comprehend the fact that the sun and the moon have the tendency to influence the ecosystem of earth then why is it so hard to believe that other celestial objects may too?
Islam does not deny the existence of these phenomenon. In fact telling us to stay away from them is an acknowledgement of their presence. However despite me witnessing and experiencing these influences all around me, for whatever reason, I am advised not to indulge them. Maybe it is because it is likely to limit my beliefs and potential. Or maybe because it will take away my drive to struggle. Or maybe because such knowledge is so minuscule against my limitless potential that it is not even worthy of my attention. Just like superficial physical attractions that are meant to be controlled by developing ‘haya’ (the theme of my other blog ‘The Mystery My Hijab Veils’).
Or maybe it will disrupt the balance that is meant to be kept between both worlds because such information becomes too overwhelming for an even smaller brain of that speck of dust. It is appealing and it triggers my curiosity but nevertheless, not an advised path for me. And the taqwa that has been strengthening as a result of understanding the wisdom behind some of the instructions of Allah has given me the blind faith, security and certainty in practicing those instructions as well that I don’t understand yet or may never.
So with so much happening in this universe that we neither experience nor understand, how can we claim to know it all? Why does our lack of experience and limited knowledge lead us into dismissing other’s beliefs as lunatic? Okay, forget me. I am crazy anyway. We see sane, intelligent, wise people believing in crazy things. So why do we disregard those beliefs just because they fail to fulfill our criteria of logic? Why are we offended so easily? Why are we so uncertain, confused and closed-minded subsequently reacting in ways exhibiting our insecurities and over-possessiveness of our beliefs? Do we even realize the insignificance of our existence in this universe? How can we be so arrogant to believe we alone are the only one on the right path? But, honestly, it wouldn’t be fair to blame anyone. Magic and miracles call for faith only through individual personal experiences and that is exactly why others should not be bashed for not understanding them.
So what to do? Must I wander alone and unowned with this feeling of unfulfillment killing me every second of my life? No, I must not. If there is one thing that I must do is to give atleast one chance to the One who says:
Forbidden Fruits Taste Sweetest Initially. But Eventually Very Bitter
Slowly I start to tick of the forbidden things in Islam. I think about alcohol. What does it do? It lowers my consciousness to feel pain. Pain! That one thing that was especially designed to awaken my soul. And here I am doing all that I can to shut it down because I do not have the courage to face it. What else? Now that I have successfully shut down my pain I am now staring at thin air not knowing what to do with my life and this gap that I feel. The gap that was supposed to be filled had I allowed pain to be felt deeply. I never gave my self that chance of even setting a foot on that truth-seeking path. So which way to go now? I start looking for pleasure because I feel this is what is missing. I start to invest in my career so I can earn as much money as I can. I start making money but I still feel this gap. So I start spending that money. All on myself. I buy a condo, a sports car and start wearing branded clothes. But that only makes me even more sad when I realize that I am still not happy. Every time I take one step towards the physical world, I come one notch down in my connection with the spiritual one. And then comes the last blow. Casual physical relation. That one thing that gives instant immense pleasure. I jump from one partner to another trying to give pleasure to this physical body of mine. But still I feel unhappy. Why is that? Is it because deep down my soul feels unhappy?
The Quran 24:2 verifies this again by stating strict punishment for fornicators. The act is considered a sin as fiercely disliked as Shirk (believing any living or non-living thing other than Allah, to be God). Both are considered gunah-e-kabira (biggest sins).
Through the course of events where I was engrossed in seeking pleasure in this physical world, I become completely disconnected with my spiritual world. I begin to panic as years go by and death seems to be approaching fast. I see all that I invested in, slowly slipping from my hands no matter how hard I try clenching on to it. My youth. My relations. I start losing control. Meanwhile this other dimension that my soul is living in, where I was the one completely in control of everything, is unfed. Controlling all those things like anger, gratitude, patience would have made me rich in the spiritual world. But I made no effort to clothe myself, built no house and bought myself no means of conveyance. So, here I am wandering naked, starved, homeless and poor. My soul is traumatized. No wonder I am unhappy.
Have we ever stopped for a minute to think that all these things that we are forbidden from from the All Knowing, could actually be for our own good? When we teach our children right and wrong so that they would be able to do better in the physical world, have we ever wondered that similarly there is a higher being who is trying to teach us right and wrong to do well in the spiritual world? And now that I go back to the guidelines set out by God, I am mesmerized by the beauty of it all. Not only has God defined everything that lowers our consciousness and must be avoided, He has also listed all those things that will raise it. I cannot talk about the peace that the daily five time prayer gives as it would not be relatable for many. But the benefits of fasting, for instance, are being acclaimed openly by people of religion and otherwise. Robin Sharma and many others talk about how fasting can make people more productive and clear headed.
Zakat that is an obligation on Muslims is annual giving away of a fraction of your money to the needy and deserving. It teaches us to learn how to let go of our money and keep only that which is necessary. In this age we see numerous big gun-turned-philanthropist spending a large amount of their earning on charity. Why? They don’t have to care about what people think of them because people think high of them anyway for their money. So why do they do that? Why not keep all the money to yourself?
Prayer, Fast, Zakat are the fundamentals and are called the pillars of Islam. This means that they are the most important practices. But that is only just the beginning. Islam goes deep into giving guidance for every little detail of life. What to eat, how to eat. What to wear, how to behave. How to treat various age groups, how to deal in business, how to be with the opposite gender. But for most of the things the reason is not given. And that is again where your freedom comes. You are free to explore the wisdom behind every instruction. And trust me, once you reach that level of consciousness, regardless of your faith, you will begin to understand that wisdom clearly. I hope this does not sound like a projection of my religion.
Okay yes. It does sound like that :p
But honestly even I have only recently started understanding my own religion. Being born into a Muslim family, did not make me a Muslim. I have to struggle as much as a non-Muslim or maybe more because I am born into a false sense of security that I never even question in the initial years. I never fully understood Islam until I did enough seeking and had certain experiences that I took seriously. It is only when you make that connection, become conscious of the spiritual world and raise that taqwa high enough, that you actually begin to understand the reasoning behind every little detail.
But I was so caught up in my ego that I became stubborn and arrogant. I began to throw questions like why am I being stopped from seeking physical pleasure? Why cant I do whatever I want to? I am a free being. Nobody has the right to stop me. I will do whatever I want and live my life to the fullest! So okay, go ahead and try everything. But just don’t forget your way back home when things don’t work out after you have tried all. Because the doors to this home never close.
Everything has been designed for you to keep your mind, body and spirit pure and innocent. If only we realized…And I understand that too because I design assignment for my juniors and although I have the best intention at heart to make tasks easy for students, there are always a couple of kids who would complain about why they are being made to do it. I calculate all the resources that will be required to get the task done and communicate them to the students for their convenience. But there will always be a few who would rant about the quantity of things they have to buy not realizing the value of the hard work that has already been put together for their convenience. It would have been very easy for me to leave it up to them to figure it all out on their own. But not only would it have given them a bad grade but also would have wasted a lot of time and not have achieved the goals within the time limit. Also it would have been unfair for the people who were willing to benefit from my hard work and take it forward from there to add value to it. And I must say that putting all that hard work for such students is always a pleasure and always worth it.
So now I can truly say that I am proud of my religion because I have dissolved my cognitive dissonance and am intellectually convinced. Islam seems to provide all humanity a complete guidance. This guidance is not limited to Muslims only. Anyone who fasts, anyone who gives charity, or serves humanity will feel the same peace as a Muslim would. And here another question arises. Why has Islam taken the pain to develop this user manual? People spend their lives trying to decipher these mysteries and wisdom when on their own. Islam has served all that in a plate. The effort that is required from man is to exercise his freedom, read, understand and then practice. The test is to see who trusts these instructions and take it forward to add value and who choses the other way. This clearly also means our life is not as boring or limited to just try to understand these instructions. I mean, what is the point of a user manual if you don’t even get to use the fancy electronic you just bought. So, clearly Islam considers the instructions as something so basic that they must be provided by the manufacturing authority so that we don’t waste precious time trying to figure it out on our own. Too bad we take it as a blow to our ego!
Simultaneously, I must realize that Islam is not making me completely detached from the physical world (Tark-e-dunya: what some religious scholars promote). And neither does it want me to run for the woods (what the remaining religious scholars promote :p).
In one of the verses of Quran, Allah says:
Then We sent following their footsteps Our messengers and followed [them] with Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel. And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy and monasticism, which they innovated; We did not prescribe it for them except [that they did so] seeking the approval of Allah . But they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave the ones who believed among them their reward, but many of them are defiantly disobedient.
God repeatedly instructs man to ‘preach the good and forbid from evil ’. How will you do that without interacting with the society? What Islam is trying to ensure, through its instructions, is a perfect balance between both worlds. It allows me to eat, sleep, seek pleasure, strive, achieve, all while staying within the boundaries that ensure my stable connection with the spiritual world. I believe it takes a lot more courage than monasticism to become involved in the worldly matters while keeping your spiritual side alive as well.
I must now move beyond the basics and strive for something bigger. So, amar bil maaroof, nahi anil munkir. The happiest are the ones who serve others. The most fulfilled are those who fight for the rights of others and establish peace and equality. Isn’t this what gives us that inner most satisfaction? Islam calls for us to take action now. Come into the field and start practicing that user manual. Islam wants a proactive approach from each and every being where we actively, regardless of our gender, start mending this world with kindness, compassion, patience, mercy and wisdom. It wants us to use those instructions to bring justice, peace, harmony and equality that deep down we all know we are capable of and believe it to be our duty to implement. These things must not be limited to leaders only. Imagine a world where each and every human being strived to promote good and discourage evil. This is the status of a true human being. A Caliph who, unfortunately, is forgotten. And that, my dear souls, is what I believe is the purpose of life that we all are searching for. Rediscovering that lost Caliph in us.
So to put it in a sentence, like Ketut says in Eat, Pray, Love:
‘Not too much God. Not too much selfish. Otherwise, life too crazy.’
Muhammed SAW: The Imperfect Human Striving for Perfection
How can a person like Muhammed SAW, who could neither read nor write, develop such out-of-this world ideas on his own and be so certain about them that he was compelled to spend all his life in pain and struggle in convincing others of these?
I still have to hear of a human being who was able to come up with a complete set of life code, develop it, struggle to implement it, and be successful in establishing it despite extreme opposition. That too, all in his lifetime while practicing tremendous amount of patience, consistency and mercy. How could a single person, with family and historical background like his, accomplish all that in a lifetime? So c’mon! You have to admit atleast one of the following:
- Either Muhammad SAW was a man of extraordinary physical, mental and spiritual strength.
- Or that there has to be some divine intervention.
Pain: The Golden Ticket to the Fast Track of Spiritual Growth
Second Thought: Lets talk some more about pain. *Evil grin*
One thing that makes us most aware of our spiritual poverty is pain. Yes, the very same pain that we try to bury under our flashy clothes, drown in pints of alcohol and try to detach from as we search ironically for permanence in changing life partners. We never really realize that that same pain came to teach us some important lessons but we did not have the guts to face it and chose to push it away. Have you noticed how when we are in pain we instantly want to disconnect with the physical world? We don’t feel like eating, we start avoiding friends and lock ourselves up in a room and go deep down within us?
Another crazy thought: Have you noticed how when a tragedy hits us, our favorite thing is to sleep it off. Well, I believe that dreams are actually a mini trip to the spiritual world. Just like after death you will enter this world, sleep is that time where your soul is temporarily taken away into the spiritual world. And since all my beliefs have to be verified with Quran, this one is too. Allah says:
39:42 Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.
So, maybe this is why sleep gives comfort because we are craving to be connected to that spiritual world as we try to detach from the physical one.
This very well-known and widely experienced phenomenon that pain teaches us most important life lessons also seems to justify why there is injustice in the world (which btw is, as we all know, one of the most popular atheist argument). I strongly believe that pain is meant for those who are most beloved to God. The Prophets of Allah experienced the worst kind of pain in their lives. Also, since everyone is in some kind of pain, I feel this is God’s ‘cute’ little way of trying to pull each and every human being close to Him. This is God’s way of trying to remind us of the spiritual world, of our soul and our purpose of being in this physical world.
The thought after the second thought. The third thought…?: Another reason for why the equation of pain = gain exists is maybe because someone would find the rhyme in both words and put them together in a sentence.
But once your eyes have opened to the reality of this spiritual world, you will become fearless. You will long to be in this world where all is in your control and which is everlasting. But you will also be reminded that to do well in that world you have to put effort in this physical world first. Prove that you are pure and deserving. So from then on you will strive and make every moment count. You will not waste any time and become extremely focused to reach your target.
What is Freedom, Really? No, I Mean Really.
Freedom is not being in a position where you can do whatever you want. Right or wrong. If it was, we would not be caring for our young. If this was freedom, why don’t we let our children be on their own from the day they are born? Why do we stop them from putting their finger in the socket? Why don’t we let them eat mud? They are free. They should be allowed to do whatever they want, right? No. Not right. Then what is freedom actually?
Freedom is the liberty of exploring on your own why right is right and wrong is wrong. Freedom is defying forced opinions and allowing yourself to be courageous enough to reach your own conclusion. Freedom is having the free will to learn from the gift of your individual personal experience designed for no other but you. Freedom is the independence to pursue your highest level of consciousness without anyone interrupting or influencing the process. And, unfortunately I feel, none of us is free in that sense. Caged by the norms, forced to swallow societal values we waste our precious lives in being distracted with opinions of others never really tapping into our own selves.
But the good news is that we all have this gift hidden somewhere deep inside of us. Taqwa. When we become certain about taqwa, it makes us fearless and gives us the courage that will help us break free from the shackles set by our family, society and culture. Your freedom is in your hands only. If you have the courage to challenge everything that is taught to you since birth and if you have the guts to verify with your deep inner self, everything that the society biasedly imposed on you , then you my friend, are as free as anyone can be. Nobody, even if they tried to, can stop you from reaching that higher level of consciousness. It is inside you and only upto you to seize. And that is the truest, most real and authentic form of freedom that we all must pursue.
Also our responsibility as parents, teachers, mentors and educators is only to ensure the physical wellbeing of our coming generations but wisely stepping back when it comes to their spiritual growth. We must let them be or go only as far as facilitating them in the pursuit of this freedom. But unfortunately somehow we presume ourselves to be entitled to the ownership of the spiritual being in our children as a reward of nourishing their physical being.
Hope, Happiness and Certainty
Today, I turn 30. And as much as I dreaded this day owing to my previous belief that life after 30 only goes downhill, I feel like a new born who has just opened their eyes to this mysterious universe full of secrets, miracles and wonders. I celebrate this milestone as I become firmer in my belief that some good things are only meant to come with age. I feel like I have taken my first step on a journey that is never ending but full of magic and beauty all the way. I have a long way to go and I cannot wait for all the adventures that this path has in store for me. So here I am putting all my thoughts into a gift wrap of hope and happiness, securing it with a bowtie of certainty and presenting it to myself on my 30th. 10 years from now when I open it, I expect it to be a delightful reminder of where I started from and how far I have come. Here I am hoping not to be disappointed…
