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
DEVELOPMENT OF CHARACTER
IT is a human tendency to attribute the accumulation of riches to one's own efforts and to hold others responsible for failure to achieve or obtain something desired. As a consequence of this tendency, we fall prey to false pride in our abilities on the one hand, and to false complaints against others, on the other.
Actually, we should consider the good things that we possess as gifts from God, and should attribute the lack of the things that we do not yet possess to our own shortcomings. In this way, we can really help ourselves in character-development. It can make us positive-thinking people. It must be remembered that there is nothing in the world worse than a negative-thinking character.
To help us become positive-thinking people, we need to work on increasing our awareness of ourselves through study, reflection, and contemplation. A Hadith quotes the Prophet as asking God: “O God, grant me the ability to see things as they are.”
A major problem with us is that we do not see things as they really are. And so, typically, we overestimate ourselves and, at the same time, underestimate others. This unrealistic way of thinking is really very dangerous. People who fall prey to this mentality will possibly fail in this world as well as in the next.
How, then, should we think of ourselves and of others?
The proper way is to be modest in our estimation of ourselves, and, along with this, to acknowledge the goodness of others.