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
BUILDING THIS WORLD, OR PREPARING FOR THE HEREAFTER?
IF you look around you, you will see that everyone (including probably yourself) seems frantically busy with something or the other. People are so caught up doing their own things that they do not seem to have the time to listen or think about anything else. They know of just one way of using their time and resources—and that is, to spend it on seeking to achieve the numerous worldly goals they have set for themselves.
People’s business is geared simply to one thing. And that is, to make their little worlds as nice as possible. By and large they are concerned only with worldly progress.
Death, however, is a bold rebuttal of this worldview. Everyone has to die one day, and so all the worldly wealth you have accumulated will one day be snatched away from you. You will have to leave behind forever the little world that you have spent all your energy, time and other resources in building. You will be taken towards such a world for which you possess nothing at all if you did not adequately prepare for it while in this world.
Every person who is born into this world very soon starts thinking in the same worldly terms as the people around him. Like them, he too gets entangled in all sorts of material pursuits. Because of this, materialistic thinking has become a part of the continuing flow of human history. This sort of thinking has become such an integral part of cultural traditions that it seems almost impossible for anyone to be able to think free from it.
It is here that man’s real test takes place. If you want to be truly successful in life, you must extricate yourself from this conventional way of thinking and begin to think for yourself. You must separate yourself from traditional culture and thinking and form your opinions based on reality. Only then will you realize that the real issue for us human beings is not worldly progress, but instead, preparation for the eternal Hereafter. Our real task while in our pre-death period is to prepare for the post-death period of our lives. We must work on developing ourselves in such a way that in the eternal life that will unfold after death, we will be able to attain success.