FROM THE SPIRITUAL TREE

There is a tree beside my house. I call it the 'Spiritual Tree'. I derive spiritual inspiration from it. A tree is an evergrowing being that was initially a seed possessing the potential of becoming a full-grown tree. A seed takes food from the universe around it and then grows into a tree. The same is true with spirituality, the desire for which is intrinsic to, and an integral part of, the very nature of every human being. To realize this spirituality, Man must derive spiritual food from the universe around him. A tree converts carbon-dioxide into oxygen; a spiritual person is one who can take positive lessons from negative situations. From this perspective, a tree is an embodiment of a spiritual personality. —Maulana Wahiduddin Khan


LOVE OF GOD

LOVE of God is not simply a philosophical issue: it is rooted in the very nature of a human being. Love means strong affection. Love is a natural phenomenon, an elevated kind of positive response towards someone you feel is loveable. Love cannot be created in a vacuum, it requires a strong base of affection.

Love of God is this same kind of strong affection. The basis of this love is quite natural when one discovers that one was created by God and that it was God who has given humankind all such bounties as the planet earth, the life-support system, oxygen, water and food. All these things were not created by man. They are precious gifts bestowed by someone else. When one discovers this fact, one naturally becomes a lover of God. Thus, love of God is the outcome of one’s discovery.


Love of God is not simply a philosophical issue: it is rooted in the very nature of a human being.

Every sincere person reaches a stage in life when he faces some basic questions such as, how did I come into existence? how is it that I find myself in a world that is extremely favourable to me? One realizes that this compatibility between man and the rest of the universe is so unique that science has observed that the universe has been custom-made for man. Love is in fact an acknowledgment of this. When we endeavour to acknowledge our super-benefactor, we call it love of God.

Although love is an inner feeling, it comes naturally to human beings to give it an external expression. It is said that man is a social animal, so it is but natural that one’s inner love should also find some expression in terms of social relationships. It is this social expression of one’s inner feeling that is called peace. In terms of God, love is a psychological acknowledgment of the Creator, and in terms of society, love is manifested in peaceful living among other members of society.


When a person has love in his heart for his Creator, at the same time he cannot resist showing his love to his neighbours.

It is not relevant to ask, if we cannot see God, how can we express our love towards Him? This contention may have been valid in the era before nuclear science, but after the emergence of nuclear science it is totally invalid. Nuclear science has successfully established that nothing is observable in this world. For example, everyone loves his mother, but in terms of modern science, no one is able to see his mother. One’s mother, as well as other things, is nothing but a combination of numerous unobservable electrons. In fact, ‘mother’ is an unobservable inner being whom we see with reference to her external body. Similarly, God is an unobservable being whom we see through His creation. In such a world, it is irrational to say that one cannot love God because one cannot observe Him. The fact is that if you receive some good things from anyone, you cannot do other than acknowledge his generosity. In this sense, love of God is a natural phenomenon.

It is also a law of nature that if you add a pinch of dye to a glass of water, all of the water becomes coloured. This principle is also applicable in the case of love. When a person has love in his heart for his Creator, at the same time he cannot resist showing his love to his neighbours. And in this electronic age, the whole world is one’s neighbour.

One can say that love has two dimensions: theoretical and practical. In terms of the theoretical dimension, love means love of God and in terms of the practical or social, love means love for all human beings.