In Accompany With Fundamentalist, Religious, Realistic People !!

Alright, I've been thinking about this for a while...how to approach the subject.

Before I do, let me throw a few things at you, so you know where I'm coming from:

·         I'm not an atheist but believe on realistic approach towards the issue , but you knew that right? I don't like being linked with atheists because saying you're an atheist creates all sorts of connotations, the most obvious being "You're stupid for believing in god". But, many people admit that mainstream atheism (or at least the perception of it) is that it's combative and evangelical.

·         Science and reason is a starting point, and a means. It is not the endpoint, or an end in itself. So I tend not to get hung up on it, or get in arguments with people over science vs. religion. Particularly if the spiritual/atheistic person isn't intelligent enough to understand the argument. Fundamentalism, either scientific or religious, is a problem. The left has the same problem, identifying anyone on the right as stupid, uncaring, and wrong-headed.

Confirmation bias and systems-thinking orientation, I have 'rational/scientific' friends. I have conspiratorial friends. I have political, postmodern, and spiritual friends. All these friends look at the world though a set of lenses (their system of understanding), however I don't really have any friends who are able to employ more than one of these systems.

Funny thing is that all these people are convinced that they're right, and that their way of understanding the world is the one true way.

Problem is the world is full of people, with all these different knowledge systems. And those systems guide their behavior. If you want to understand why someone does something, you need to understand their motivation, and how they look at the world. Unfortunately, not many people are doing this. And for those who CAN do this, seldom have they weighed the pros and cons of the other knowledge system. They’ve only looked at it from their own knowledge system, to find the holes to attack, so they can feel confident and secure in their belief that their own knowledge system is the best knowledge system.

I choose Pakistan over Gaza

                                                       Message From Gaza To Pakistan 

  www.awaztoday.com/News-Talk-Shows/29720/Message-From-Gaza-For-Pakistani-government.aspx

Recently, I watched this video and made me ponder whether to worry about recent bombings and killings of Muslims in my country Pakistan or to concern about Gaza situation. In recent times I have observed a new kind of mindless debate and accusation growing in the social media where many have accused the media of not giving enough space or preferential treatment to Gaza or the atrocities that are being committed there by the Israeli forces. Since the day Israeli forces have started this operation in Gaza, this story has mostly been part of the headlines and the bulletins on many channels. I know that after reading this blog I will be accused by many of simply defending massacre of my fellow Muslim brothers.

Gaza being a city with a Muslim population has an automatic affiliation with the people of Pakistan but when so much is happening in my own country and when so many are suffering due to terrorism, poverty, corruption and illiteracy; I am sorry but I will first definitely feel the pain for my own people. It is a natural phenomenon that when a bomb blast takes place, a family member will always try to locate one of his own and then look at others who have suffered even though both are victims of the same incident. Gaza has seen bloodshed which is not just painful and depressing but it has also been an agonizing journey for many who live there who have to suffer this after every few months or years but is the case for Karachi, Peshawar or Quetta any different? People in Gaza at least even know who the aggressor is but my people don’t even have an idea who is killing them. For the last decade or so my country still suffers from this question if people who are killing us are Muslims or not? Terrorists who are killing me or you are foreign funded or locally funded? Do we need to talk to these terrorists or do we need to start an operation? Was Malala a pawn in the great game to start an operation against these terrorists or was she targeted just because she wanted to give the strongest reply to these terrorists through education? Where people of Gaza know who to retaliate against; my country fights for its survival with its body bleeding and the eyes still searching for the person asking who did this to me? For me my country and my people will always take preference because my fight continues with the mind and not a physically present entity.

I suggest you should keep an eye on Al-Jazeera and Arabic channels and newspapers also and see if bomb blasts and terrorists ‘activities that take place in my cities are preferred over the killings in Gaza? I am sure it won’t because people of that particular area/region are more affiliated with Gaza.

Ego: I Define As War Between Religion And Humanity

Did you ever wonder: what is wrong with us? I mean. . . as a species. As much as we love, and give, and aspire, we also lie, hate, and kill. These are pretty basic questions. What would it take to better ourselves morally, in ways  that  really  matter?

Spirituality is transformation. If we could understand and apply this principle, our lives would change dramatically. Transformation is how grapes become wine. Transformation is how wheat becomes bread. But what is the nature of this transformation for human beings? How does a schmuck become a saint, or at least a decent human being?

Most of us are stuck most of the time. Most of us fear real change because our egos are in control. The ego is a defence mechanism, but not necessarily a healthy or very effective one. The ego that is overbearing, self-centred, and manipulative, is actually full of self-doubt, insecurity, and fear.

Spirituality sees the ego as an instrument. It's not who we are but how we express what we are. The ego is like the saxophone of the soul. Play it well or not, it's out there on stage doing its thing.The wise harness their egos to their hearts. The lower self bows to the higher self. To use the language of religion, the ego can become "a servant of God."

But maybe we need a new language to express primordial truths. Many people seem not to find the old language of religion very convincing. It has bad associations. Religion, in many people's minds today, is associated with close-mindedness, intolerance, and even violence. But if you look at the record, religion is not primarily to blame. A closer look reveals that human egos are responsible for all this madness.

Take religion completely out of the picture and set about reforming the world, and, so far, what we have seen is Stalin or Mao. Modern secular ideological movements are actually responsible for much greater and more indiscriminate violence than any religion ever has been. Maybe that's because they mobilized greater powers than religion was able to do in the modern age. The case still stands.

This innate capacity is not so far-fetched and unverifiable as it at first sounds. The key to this spiritual sense, this perception of value, is described by the word "sacred." We don't need an explicit theology to let the sacred into our lives. Almost any human being can acknowledge that there is something sacred in the birth of a child, in nature, in an individual human life, in free will. This sense of the sacred, however, has become quite  scarce in contemporary life and that may be one of our biggest problems.

Most people have this capacity for empathy and relationship. Because this capacity is innate, believers have no monopoly on it and even atheists are not without it. It is in our nature as human beings. But are we too busy to allow this sense of the sacred into our consciousness? Is it that our consciousness is too filled with the  trivialities and banalities of modern life? Worse yet, are we filled with fear or hatred for "the other."

Spirituality, simply seen, is allowing ourselves to be transformed by all the challenges, sufferings, and joys of life. It is in the nature of our lives as human beings to emerge from states of limited consciousness into states of greater maturity and wisdom. We can change from being people obsessed with threats from a perceived "other," who need to parade with placards of hate, who even rationalize violence in a vain attempt to solve our problems and achieve our ends. What is needed today can better be achieved by cooperation, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, and love.

Beyond all the labels we apply to ourselves (Democrat, Republican, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, secular, atheist, or none of the above), we cannot afford to let the false self run our lives, or forget that all of humanity is one, and that some things are truly sacred.

REALISM – WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?

Well, it was weekend and it was best time for all of us to study new philosophies. Well, searching through Wikipedia about political philosophies, there was a eye catching word called Realism!  To sum it up, A Realism is a political philosophy based on various premises. The first is that a world should be seen in terms of relative power. The theory applies both domestically and internationally, focusing on the individual and the state respectively. Realism asserts that all states and individuals are to work for their own self-interest, and that since there is a scarcity of resources in the world, there will be conflict. This leads to the premise that the basic state of affairs in the world is anarchic. War is inherent in the nature of a nation-state, according to Thomas Hobbes.

The world is a battle-zone, with each party acting to protect itself, increase its power base, etc. Along with this is an idea that connects to the notion of relative power: one can only increase one’s power by decreasing that of another. Morality is virtually non-existent (according to the realist doctrine). ‘Right’ or ‘good’ is defined by self-interest. If a certain action will give you a ‘leg up’, so to speak, then it is justified, and not only can you carry it out, but you should.

Some call realism a closed theory, saying that it can refute any action of apparent selflessness simply by saying that there must have been some ulterior motive behind the deed. To confirm this requires an in-depth knowledge of the functioning of the state, its officials, their intentions, etc.

Famous realists you may have heard of:  Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, St. Thomas Aquinas, Rousseau, Woodrow Wilson

Din e Elahi: Mass Peace Program

Jalal-ud-Din Akbar (1556-1605), the son of Humayun had three main phases in his life. One was firm belief in religion holding the founding tenets of Islam. The second started when he opened the doors of religious natter and dialogues in which he invited the religious scholars of different sects of Islam in the “Ibadat Khana” (the place of worship) but soon he was disillusioned with the attitudes of the Maulvies and scholars who started losing their tempers and even abused one another on petty issues.

Therefore the subsequent phase resulted in the promulgation of a new religion, din-e-Elahi. He accumulated the best practices of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Jainism and propounded the new religion in 1581.

 There are ten virtues which the Din-e-Elahi professes.

(1) liberal-mindedness and generosity

(2) forgiveness of evil-doers and repulsion of anger with mildness

(3) abstinence from worldly desires

(4) non-attachment to the materialistic world

(5) careful weighing of pros and cons of actions to be taken

(6) performance of noble deeds with courage

(7) softness of voice and gentle speech

(8) good behaviour to others

(9) absolutely no connection with bad characters and evil-doers

(10) total dedication to God

Din-e-Elahi was more an ethical cult than a religion as it did not present any common prayers or system as all these eclectic religions offered. It was based on ethical values considering and propagating slander, lust, and pride as deadly sins whereas piety, kindness, mercy as the commonalities of the diverse religions and were appreciated. Slaughter of cow was prohibited to accommodate Hinduism and celibacy was venerated. The religion had no script or written documentations. Din-e-Elahi could triumph over only 19 adherents consisting mostly of Muslims. Hindus and other religions did not embrace it though they appreciated the religious move of Akbar.

Din-e- Elahi met with fierce criticism by the believers of Islam as he denied the foundations of religion by appreciating celibacy and the prohibition of cow. The Hindus also could not accept it as a religion. Din-e-Elahi was intended to create harmony and integrity among the different religions though it could not bring the desired fruits.I think interpretation of religious teachings according to the wishes and agenda of rulers is not a new phenomenon. This is almost as old as the religion itself. Many scholars refused to act as Qazi under Muslim rulers, just because they were afraid of to act according to ruler's wish and not according to God's law.

Do me a favour answering one question, what is most important? Fighting on basis of religion for years or accepting each other perspective and living together with peace!

What if Din-e-Elahi succeeded and there would be a no separation of South Asia? What would be the present scenario then?

Our Brain Make us Fool!!

Our brains love playing tricks on us, and the results can be detrimental. Because of how we remember certain events, even a good experience can be recalled as an awful one because of one little problem. For example, a customer could have a great experience with a product or service, but only have bad memories when thinking about it later. Here’s how. Let’s say you are on vacation and have dinner at the best restaurant recommended to you. Perfect table. Food is exquisitely prepared. The experience is fantastic. However, when clearing the table the waiter spills coffee into your lap. Odds are that the coffee spill will degrade your memory of the food and wine, no matter how exceptional you otherwise would have remembered them. And if the hot coffee burned a leg or damaged an expensive dress or suit, the wonderful dining experience may not be remembered at all.

Basically, when something bad happens it overwrites the good portions of your memory. As we learn from bad ways , your brain likes to focus on the negative stuff. To counteract this, the best thing you can do is remind yourself of the good parts of the experience as soon as possible. Think about everything good that happened instead of the one bad moment. Perhaps the bad moment is enough to deter you, but if not you can use it as an opportunity to remind your brain to store a positive memory instead of a negative one.

Jinnah's Pakistan, anyone?

If you are a Muslim, and a Pakistani for that matter, then chances are that all that has enveloped you for the past week – and still is – is news and discussion of the anti-Islam film desecrating the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The video has spread like fire and enraged Muslims all over the world, and rightly so. And thus, whether you are at school/office, or hanging out with friends, or logged on to Facebook, this is all people are chattering about.

The purpose of this article, however, is not to discuss the film and start ranting about how the innocence of the Muslims was taken advantage of by the evils of the world, or how Muslims were, as always seems to be the case whenever something remotely bad happens, targeted by a Jewish conspiracy.

And then YouTube got banned in Pakistan. The timing of this particular event was highly annoying for me, for I had been working on a coding assignment that night and had to make a graph on Excel comparing the efficiency of different codes. Having studied the workings of Excel over two years ago, I had forgotten the bit about how to make graphs, and I thought to myself: No problem! I’ll just watch a tutorial on YouTube to see how it’s done. Which seemed to be the cue for the people over at the PTA responsible for banning access to the site, and thus I could not, for once, use YouTube for a purpose other than procrastinating.

The purpose of this article, however, is not to sympathize with my misfortune, or question the validity of the decision of banning YouTube.

Friday, 21^st September 2012; a date that will remain lodged in the minds of all Pakistanis for a long time, unwilling as though they may be to the intrusion of this day into their memory cells. The day was Yaum-e-Ishq-e-Rasool, a public holiday declared by the government to carry out a peaceful protest against the anti-Islam film.

Yaum-e-Ishq-e-Rasool? I think this day can be renamed better as, Yaum-e-paish-e-Jahiliat.

The protest involved people, most of them students, taking to the streets in a frenzied state after the Jumma prayers, and leaving destruction in their wake. Numerous cinemas (five alone in Karachi) and petrol pumps were set ablaze. Policemen tried their best to stop the mob, exhibiting use of tear gas and even live ammunition, but the tidal wave of the protestants fueled by a terrible anger was too much for them to handle, and many of them were injured and even killed in the process. Cars were smashed to pieces, and then set ablaze. People, barricades and buildings alike were showered with stones. Containers were overturned. Shops were looted. All in the name of the man who preached peace and forgiveness above all!

The purpose of this article, however, is not to exhibit shock over the madness of our countrymen, and start stating how the protest should really have taken place.

Because the protest that should have happened, did in fact, happen, and THAT is the purpose of this article.

As they say, the night is darkest before dawn. As a dejected me logged on to Facebook later in the night, I came across something which gave me hope. It was an event named ‘Project Clean Up for Peace’, and its basic aim was to gather people from all around Pakistan and get out on the streets, and use whatever resources available to clean up the mess that was created by the infuriated mob on Friday. The event caught popularity like fire to dry wood, and in less than three hours, about 1500 people had marked themselves as ‘going’, and this number continued to rise. It was certainly very pleasing to see the youth of the nation stepping up and accepting their responsibilities as dutiful citizens of the state; quite a contradiction to the typical ‘our youth is dead’ stereotypes.

I did not attend the event myself (I never was that big a patriot), but a couple of my friends did, and I also came across a lot of clips and videos. What I saw warmed my heart. Here were tens of hundreds of people, mostly youngsters, in different cities of Pakistan working in coordination with each other, PEACEFULLY. They were using brooms to clean roads and streets. They were brushing aside rubble and pieces of broken glass, and then putting them into shopping bags. They were repainting the barricades and building walls. They were repairing the check posts. They were distributing water and boxes of juice amongst the policemen. They were… redefining Pakistan.

Yes, indeed! With this simple and humble act, the youth of Pakistan managed to project a positive and totally different image of Pakistan to the world. The Pakistan which did not protest by rampaging and burning, but one which gave an actual purpose to the protest by displaying and promoting peace. The one which showed up with posters of not “Down with USA!” and “Kill enemies of Islam”, but rather ones saying “Respect all religions equally”, “Peace please?” and “Islam is a peaceful religion”. The one which did not vent out its anger and disappointment over the film senselessly, but one which used it to fuel the purposeful effort of cleaning up the devastation caused by a few illiterate individuals. Pakistan is not all about bombs, terrorism and poverty; it is also peace, love and harmony. These people managed to demonstrate just that.

The widely popular phrase “Jinnah’s Pakistan” doesn’t seem so alien now, does it?