FROM MAULANA’S DESK
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life has been the establishment of worldwide peace. He has received the Padma Bhushan, the Demiurgus Peace International Award and Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Peace award for promoting peace in Muslim societies. He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world’ and is recognized as one of its most influential Muslims . His books have been translated into sixteen languages and are part of university curricula in six countries. He is the founder of the Centre for Peace and Spirituality based in New Delhi.
ASPIRING FOR MORE AND SETTLING FOR LESS
IN the present world, there are many people who have become habituated to a number of addictions like alcohol, tobacco and psychotropic drugs. It is well known that these habits are very bad for health; yet, people are unable to give up these habits that eventually become addictions.
I have often met such people and, curious to know why they were entrapped in this unhealthy habit, asked a person the reason. He smiled and said to me, “Ye mere liye ek bhulawa habit hai” (This is how I try to forget my frustrations). He told me he knew full well that this was a harmful habit but still, he said, he did it to lessen his pain.
I studied several people to understand why they live in frustration and pain. There is no other reason for this, except that of having unrealistic goals. As people grow older and seek material progress, they often fail, because of their own ambition, and their inability to distinguish between what is realistic and what is unrealistic in the workplace. A realistic job is always doable; an unrealistic job is quite the reverse.
When they take up an unrealistic job and find, throughout the rest of their lives, that its targets are never achievable, they live in a state of perpetual anxiety. Faced with the demands of day-to-day life, neither are they able to leave their jobs nor be comfortable at it. The result is frustration.
There is a way out. Adopt a unique formula, aspiring for more and settling for less. One is ambitious by nature and therefore feels compelled to aim for unachievable goals. At the same time, one should reason and become aware of their inherent weaknesses and accept the fact that no one has the power to ideally achieve all the things that they want. Therefore, a successful person is one who adopts the formula of desiring more but remaining satisfied with less.
If you are living in contentment, then you will be happy. But if you are discontented with what you have achieved, you are bound to live in a state of unhappiness. If you become aware of this fact, you will easily be able to fulfil your ambitions and instantly achieve happiness. Happiness is an internal phenomenon; it is not an external achievement.
Jawaharlal Nehru completed his studies in law from Allahabad University following which he practised in the Allahabad High Court. He first wanted to make his career in the field of law but he was not successful. He then took the second option of politics and became successful as a politician.
In this world, there are always several options and if one option does not work, one should take another and try it out. Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds, especially for the less privileged, but the right attitude may help one deal better with life’s challenges.
Every person should realize that the world in which they are to lead their life is full of options. All one needs to do is refuse to succumb to despair and embark immediately on an alternative option even if that option was never the first choice. That is the secret of success. Don’t give up, plan once again, try something new and look ahead with hope.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
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