An Interview with Mr Navdeep Kapur

Mr Navdeep Kapur is a senior member of the CPS International, New Delhi. He had been associated with Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and CPS Mission from the very beginning. He plays a critical role in the functioning of CPS. His tireless efforts for this cause make the mission stronger day by day. He chooses to remain in the background even while accomplishing very important tasks for the CPS mission. Interacting with him reminds us of the spirit of the Companions of Prophet who were so focused on God’s work that they wished to be forgotten and unknown in this world for the sake of God

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Will you please enlighten our readers with some details about your formative years?

I was born in a Punjabi business family that migrated from Lahore, Pakistan after the partition. My family had lost their entire wealth which was to the tune of hundred crores at that time. They still were very humble and positive towards life. I never heard my family members complain. They started their publishing business again after settling down in Delhi. We were never forced to do anything and were encouraged in whatever we wanted to do as long as we never hurt or humiliated anyone. Our mother was instrumental in making us morally strong. She devoted her life to our upbringing and wellbeing. Our parents never made us feel for want of money. Though we lived in a joint family with our cousins, all the children were treated the same. We never knew the difference between our father and our uncle. In fact, my uncle was instrumental in my becoming a sportsperson. He encouraged me and the other family children to excel in whatever they wanted to do.

Ours was a close-knit family which always believed in doing good deeds and working hard. In fact, my father used to always say ‘work is worship’ and wanted all the family members including the ladies to work in the family business. My aim in life was to excel in the sport which I had chosen as a career. I was not interested in joining the family business which had expanded by sheer hard work of my father, brother, and uncles. I had decided to leave for Germany for higher studies after graduating from college. And I had told my father that although I am going to do a course in printing technology, I will not come back as I wanted to pursue my career in professional tennis. But God had other plans. My father passed away in May 1982 just prior to my completing my graduation. In fact, my final examinations had started. So, I had no option but to get totally involved in the family business immediately upon graduation.

When did your spiritual journey start?

I was not a spiritual person but believed in One God from the very beginning. After joining the family business, I was completely involved in it. Such was my conditioning in business that when Naghma and I got married in 1985, I even got her engaged in business, though she never had any business background. I think my spiritual journey started in 2002 when my sister-in-law passed away at the age of 52 due to cancer. She was the healthiest person in our family who had never taken any medication in her life. In fact, she did not even know what a headache was. She passed away after an illness of nine months in which we tried every treatment which money could buy. I remember that some of her medicines were even imported from other countries. This made me realize that money had no power and that is when I started asking questions. This incident also made me think about the purpose of life.

Before this, purpose of life for me meant working hard in my business. When I thought that my sister-in-law had dedicated her entire life to the family business, and just as the business had got established, God took her away. Then I felt that there had to be more to life. Then I fervently started looking for answers pertaining to life.

What did you think of religion before you met Maulana Wahiduddin Khan?

I was never spiritual as I never got answers to many of my questions. My family used to call me a nastik (unbeliever) as I used to always doubt the existence of so many gods. I used to ask a lot of logical questions as I had a logical mind. But I never got any answers. All people used to say, this is the way it has always been, so accept it. This never addressed my mind, and hence I lost interest in religion or spirituality. After marriage, I had the opportunity of meeting some religious scholars. After interacting with them I found their answers to be unconvincing. I also found out that what they spoke and how they acted did not match. So, I told Naghma that from now onwards I will never meet any other religious scholar as none is able to give me logical answers to my questions. Religion was the last thing on my mind before I met Maulana. I always believed in doing good deeds and working hard to achieve success in business.

How were you introduced to Maulana? Kindly describe your first meeting.

It was Naghma who first heard about Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and when she tried to contact him for her centre as a speaker, he asked her to first attend his Sunday Lecture and see if what he spoke addressed her mind. When Naghma asked me whether I would like to accompany her, I replied, “Not another Maulana.” So, she went alone for the first class. She has a habit of writing down everything. So, she took notes of the entire class. When she came back, she asked me whether I would be interested in listening to what Maulana said. I very reluctantly agreed. And she read out the lecture to me, which was on the Creation Plan of God. On hearing that lecture, I immediately said, “This man thinks like me. And I will go with you to the next class.” And this is how my journey with Maulana started.

I still remember that the first time we met Maulana he asked both Naghma and me to tell him something about ourselves. After giving us a patient hearing he said, “You must change 1% while you must make 99% of the changes.” Naghma who was not looking at Maulana directly thought that she is the one who has to change 1% but then he said, “Ma’am,I am addressing you. You need to make 99% of the changes because Islam that you have received is through culture and tradition. You must unlearn this Islam, then you have to make a renewed effort to understand what Islam is. As of now, the only correct thing about Islam that you know is the concept of God.” Then, turning to me, Maulana said, “You need to change your concept of God, otherwise, you are on true nature.”

From the beginning, I never missed a class come what may. I used to look forward to every lecture. His lectures addressed my mind and I got answers to all my questions when he explained the Creation Plan of God.

How did Maulana influence your thinking?

Maulana made things very simple and explained the purpose of life so beautifully that my entire goals in life changed. My focus was now on attaining Paradise in the Hereafter, rather than trying to make paradise in this world. Maulana realized that I had a logical mind but used to do things in a hurry which often resulted in my making mistakes in taking the correct decision. He made me realize that I have to change this habit and take my time to think logically before taking a decision. Overall, Maulana has been a very positive influence in my life. He addressed my mind. It was only after coming to the CPS that I received answers to questions regarding spirituality and religion.

What inspired you to devote yourself wholly to the mission?

Once when asked by Naghma why your message is not being taken to the world when people really need this guidance, Maulana replied, “Who is stopping you? You do this work.” This is when we decided to dedicate ourselves to the mission, and started supporting Dr Saniyasnain Khan, Farida Aapa and the CPS members in the mission. This was the starting point of our association with CPS International, the NGO founded by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan.

Maulana advised me that from now on you have become 'one man, two missions' as it will be difficult for you to be one man one mission. The two missions being, my livelihood and thereafter, all time should be devoted to the mission as it is a case of reward and punishment for each one of us. And this being a testing ground, we cannot afford to waste our time in any other activities. He always said that you should fulfil your duties as a good son, brother, and husband, but make sure that you do not waste your time in worldly matters. My association with Maulana lasted for a period of 17 years in which he really changed me, not only as a person but also taught me the purpose of my life. My faith in God and the teachings of Maulana about Islam were getting stronger by the day.

Maulana’s central teaching was about being connected to God. Kindly share with us the most inspiring teaching of Maulana which helped you in this connection.

Maulana made things very simple. He believed in mind-based spirituality. In this connection, he always used to say look around and you will find God’s signs everywhere. All you have to do is contemplate on those signs and discover the Creator, God and His magnanimity. Seeing the creation, one can discover and remember the Creator, God Almighty. Everything in the universe seems to convey a divine message. I feel each creation of God is in itself a full industry. Take a tree for an example. You will learn that despite humans creating so much pollution, a tree still provides us with fresh air. It does not complain, nor does it react. But keeps on doing its work quietly. This is how God wants us humans to live our life without any complaint and be a giver, rather than a receiver.

How has your companionship with your wife helped in your journey of God-realization?

Maulana always used to say that husband and wife are a part of a whole. That means that each is equal in all respects but performs different roles. This one teaching of Maulana changed our lives and we became intellectual partners to each other. Each appreciates the others’ role and guides the other wherever necessary. Guided by Maulana, we have intellectual exchanges. We have a beautiful garden in front of our home. Our interactions during our walks in it become a source of discovering God.

What is your understanding of the CPS mission?

I have seen this mission grow under the guidance of Maulana. Our mission is to take the word of God to all humankind in a contemporary style. I truly believe that this is God’s mission and each person in this mission has been picked by God Almighty to perform a specific role. Maulana’s role was to provide the ideology of the mission of explaining Islam as it is in the modern, scientific idiom so that it addresses the mind of the modern man. It is now our duty to translate all his works from Urdu to English and other languages and develop a website where all this material can be easily accessible to all. So, we should first understand our role and perform it till our last breath. I pray to God to unite us with Maulana in Paradise.

What are the tasks you are shouldering post-Maulana Saheb’s demise?

My role as defined by Maulana is to protect the mission administratively and support each department whenever required. I am directly involved in the legal, administrative, and financial aspects of the mission. I work with the other CPS Team members in taking care of these aspects of the mission.

CPS movement is spreading very fast across the world with its peaceful ideology of Islam. What is the reason behind its success in addressing the minds of people of all faiths, especially youth?

With God’s grace, CPS has become a movement. Today people are looking for a logical explanation of religion. Since nobody can see God, people have different questions about Him. Maulana has logically explained the existence of God through examples of nature and science. Here I want to mention that the book The Seeker’s Guide has answered most of these questions. The answers in this book in particular address the modern mind and give the rational explanation of religion that everyone is looking for. When CPS members worldwide present this to people, it is as if their nature gets addressed.

What is your message to the members of CPS?

My only message to CPS members is that I believe that this is God’s mission, and we have an opportunity to be a part of this. Although Maulana is no longer with us physically, he has prepared a complete repository of wisdom in the form of literature and multimedia material demonstrating the relevance of Islam in the modern age. He has trained us to take this material to the world.

Now we have to just stand for God, completely relying on Him and discover and perform the role God has given to us. I have seen that God’s guidance comes to people who are actively involved in this mission. Maulana told us that this mission is standing on dua, i.e. supplication. So, we all must do a lot of dua while doing the work of the mission. As Maulana said, either become one man one mission or at least, one man two missions as our eternal life depends on what we do on this earth. And as Maulana used to say this mission is an opportunity for us. And we should dedicate our lives to take this message of God to all humankind.