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The remedy for ignorance is asking questions. (Prophet Muhammad)
The spirit of enquiry is the hallmark of an open society and the above saying of the Prophet aptly illustrates this principle. A culture of curiosity and open-mindedness will foster development in any society by motivating its members to learn enthusiastically and enrich their knowledge. This is because awareness of one’s ignorance is half of knowledge, as it becomes a stepping-stone to seeking and finding answers. A questioning mind is like a flowing river that is replenished with fresh thoughts and ideas and continues on its journey
How do I build patience?
If you become a realist, patience will follow. We must learn that things are never going to be according to our desire; they would be according to the laws of nature. I have always been very fond of trees and in my youth I once wanted to see a green tree in the courtyard of my home. I thought that if I planted a sapling, it would take a long time to grow into a tree. So, I went to my garden and selected a fully-grown tree. I then employed several labourers to dig it up and then transport it to my courtyard where I had it planted. But the next morning when I looked at the tree, I found that its leaves had begun to wither, and after a few days the whole tree dried up.
A similar story had featured in the Reader's Digest where a reverend Father had attempted a similar planting exercise. He was very happy and was thinking to himself; I have travelled a long journey in a single day. Planting a sapling or a seed would have been a lengthy business and now I have found a quick way of having a lush green tree. Naturally, he was disappointed. One of his friends visited him and found him in a very sad mood. On being asked the reason, he said; ‘I am in a hurry, but God isn’t.'
This story informs us about the law of nature, which is based on gradual development and not on sudden leaps. One who follows this law of nature will be successful, while the one who fails to follow it, will never succeed. If we analyze what happened, we would realize that whatever happened was what was going to happen, there was nothing else that could have happened.
This law of nature does not exclusively apply to trees; it is a universal law. In every field, we need to realize that nature shall follow its own course and consequently it would take its own time to get the desired result. Only then can we observe patience and calm; otherwise one cannot attain any worthwhile goal by deviating from laws of nature and realistic thinking.
How do I control my anger?
I have spent significant time on this topic and my conclusion is that nature has instilled a special mechanism in a person by which he can control his anger. When angry, all one has to do is observe silence. Anger incites a psychological fire within a person and in the resulting rage, he is not able to control himself. But when one becomes silent in moments of anger, the rage instantly begins to take a downward trend. So, when someone provokes us, we must simply become quiet.
At all such times, I myself do not react and I have experienced that anger takes no time in subsiding. Reaction leads to chain reactions and not reacting stops the chain reaction, but in order to stop the chain reaction, one needs the power of self-control. Only the spiritually strong can break the chain reaction in a situation involving provocation and rage. It is a sign of great strength. As per a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad: The strong man is not one who is good at wrestling, but the strong man is one who controls himself in a fit of rage. (Sahih al Bukhari)
It has been alluded to in the Quran that one may earn a position in Paradise by being forgiving at times of anger: for those who spend, both in prosperity and adversity who restrain their anger and are forgiving towards their fellow men—God loves those who do good works. (3: 135) Even I used to get angry in my early days. A closer scrutiny made me realize that anger yields no result. I then concluded that it was futile to waste energy on anger.
In the year 1975 I was invited to Ahmedabad by a young engineer who had set up a factory there. He was a very competent person. As he was showing me his factory we came across a new kind of machinery which was produced in those days only for export purpose. While demonstrating the prowess of the machine, he first pushed on a button and its flywheel started rotating at top speed. He then pushed another button and the flywheel immediately changed its direction and started rotating opposite to the previous position. As I saw this, it struck me that when matter (or machine) has the quality to change its direction within seconds, then a human being should have this ability manifold. After this incident, I started training my mind to change my emotion within seconds, whenever a situation requiring so arises.
Hence, in moments of rage when our natural tendency is to speak or react aggressively, we need to instantaneously change the direction of our flywheel and remain silent. Without doubt, anger shall dissipate and we shall be in a position to prudently handle the situation.
Deviations from nature
not only fail to achieve
any positive gain, but
also entail the loss of
desirable features of
human existence.