ASK MAULANA

Your Questions, Answered

What should we do when we come across people who lie to us?

When you come across people who lie, don’t take their words seriously. You must try to avoid such people and not enter into any dealings with them.

What is the difference between belief and ideology?

According to general perception, belief is that which is based on subjective thought and ideology is that which is based on objective facts.

But, according to my experience, there is no difference between belief and ideology. If one is able to find reasons to believe, then his belief becomes ideology.

How can we adopt two different attitudes at the same time — following idealism at the level of thinking and adopting a practical attitude in other matters?

It is quite possible to do so. Idealism pertains to one’s own mind and behaviour. So, there is no problem in adopting what you want to adopt for yourself. But, when it comes to society, you have to be practical and you have to take others into consideration. You have to adjust with other people. In such situations, it is quite reasonable for a person to adopt idealism in his own life, and to adhere to practical wisdom in his social behaviour. Both the behaviours can be summed up in a single formula: idealism for individual life, which is possible — and pragmatism for social life, which is also possible.

What is the main obstacle to realizing the difference between reaction and positive action?

Positive response means giving a well-considered response to the situation. On the other hand, reaction is a response given without doing serious planning for analysis of the situation. If you are serious you will certainly opt for the first choice; but if you are not serious you will be prone to taking the second option.

What is the “Art of Questioning”? What is the definition of a healthy question?

A question for the sake of questioning is an unhealthy question, while question for the sake of learning is a healthy question. This is the art of questioning. One who knows this fact is a master of the art of questioning.

How does one deal with the guilt that is sometimes borne out of introspection?

Guilt-consciousness is a very positive sign. It provides you an incentive to correct yourself. If one is ready to correct oneself, then the feeling of guilt is very good. However, it becomes a problem only in the situation when one is not ready to reform oneself.

In an article it is written that it is very important to love ourselves in order to feel the love and affection from others. What is your view on this and how important do you think it is to love one’s own self?

I don’t subscribe to this formula. My formula is: Discover your responsibility toward yourself as well as toward others. It is the sense of responsibility that is important, and not love. Love is the highest aspect of man’s nature. It is, thus, meant only for God, the Creator. According to my experience, the right formula is: Love for God and responsibility towards fellow human beings.

Man has been given a very strong ego which comes in the way of surrendering before God. Why is man put under such a difficult test?

It is not a matter of difficulty; rather, it is a matter of realization. If you realize that the ego is a gift from God and it was not created by you, then it becomes very easy to surrender to God. Because after this discovery, surrender becomes acknowledgment of God, and to acknowledge is the greatest urge of one’s nature.

When we are born with the spirit of submission, what makes us turn arrogant and become a rebel?

Man is born with ego. Modesty comes when we exercise control over our ego. Ego comes by birth and modesty comes by choice.