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 ever growing 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

NEWS OF PROMOTION

Ayoung man told me that he had recently been promoted. “Now I will get a higher salary, a bigger house and l will be given a bigger car. Earlier, I had a railway pass to travel, but now I can travel by air!”

Listening to him, I thought that this is precisely what is going to happen in the Hereafter. Heaven too, can be expressed in worldly terms in this way. Entry into heaven also is a promotion. People whose record in this imperfect world is found to be good will be promoted and allowed to enter into the perfect world of heaven.

Inviting people to God is like giving them
prospective news of their own promotion.

Promotion to heaven however, requires that we lead our lives with great awareness, gauge our every action to ensure our entry into heaven. An aware mind has its own security guard. You will carefully watch your every action—thought, word, behaviour and deed. One who bears this thought in mind epitomizes the words of Umar Faruq “Weigh up your actions before they are weighed.”

Inviting people to God is like giving them prospective news of their own promotion. This news is a billion times greater than a job promotion. Such a person cannot keep news of the Truth to himself since it makes him invite others to the Truth. Claiming to have found the Truth and not inviting others to it, is evidence of the fact that he has actually not found it.