The Secret of Success PDF by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

THE SECRET The various examples offered by the author in THE SECRET OF SUCCESS this book help enlighten and reveal the latent potentialities and inner reserves of a human being. In usual, ordinary circumstances one’s ene...

THE SECRET The various examples offered by the author in THE SECRET OF SUCCESS this book help enlighten and reveal the latent potentialities and inner reserves of a human being. In usual, ordinary circumstances one’s energies OF SUCCESS are in a dormant state, but the moment a person experiences a situation of challenge or a shock, the mind brainstorms in remarkable ways, channelizing itself in directions and surmounting hurdles one had never imagined one could go past. The book, through practical experiences, provides illumination to an The Art of Unleashing Your individual about the tremendous power and capacity Potential, Conquering Adversity that one encloses within oneself. Instead of becoming and Achieving High Goals dejected and dispirited, one should reflect and seek creative ways in which one can put to use one’s inner reserves. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (1925-2021) was an Islamic scholar, spiritual leader and peace activist. MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN His work has received international recognition for his seminal contributions toward world peace. The Maulana authored over 200 books dealing with Islam’s spiritual wisdom, the Prophet’s non-violent approach, Islam’s relation with modernity and other contemporary issues. His English translation of the Quran is widely appreciated as simple, clear and easily understandable. He founded Centre for Peace and Spirituality International in 2001 to popularize the culture of peace and share the spiritual message of Islam with people. Goodword www.cpsglobal.org www.goodwordbooks.com MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN Goodword [email protected] [email protected]  THE SECRET OF SUCCESS M AU L A N A WA H I D U D D I N K H A N Translated and Edited by: Prof. Farida Khanam Dr. Naghma Siddiqi Maria Khan  First Published 2020 This book is the translation of the Urdu book, Raaz-e-Hayat. This book is copyright free and royalty free. It can be translated, reprinted, stored or used on any digital platform without prior permission from the author or the publisher. It can be used for commercial or non-profit purposes. However, kindly do inform us about your publication and send us a sample copy of the printed material or link of the digital work. e-mail: [email protected] Centre for Peace and Spirituality International 1, Nizamuddin West Market, New Delhi-110013 e-mail: [email protected] www.cpsglobal.org Goodword Books A-21, Sector 4, Noida-201301 Delhi NCR, India e-mail: [email protected] www.goodwordbooks.com Center for Peace and Spirituality USA 2665 Byberry Road, Bensalem, PA 19020 e-mail: [email protected] Printed in India  Contents Foreword 8 When One is Broken 44 A Taste of Honey 11 The World is Not a The Example of Nature 12 Typewriter 45 The Life Force 13 The Creation Plan of The Teacher Tree 15 God 46 An Easy Solution 16 The Present World and the Next World 48 Reading the Signs 18 The Purpose of Man’s Per Ardua ad Astra 19 Trial 50 The Need for Flexibility 21 The Divine Scheme 52 Perseverance Pays 23 Why Suicide is Not an A Spur to Improvement 24 Option 53 Teaching the Teachers 26 Doing One’s Bit 54 Learning from Long-term Planning 56 Our Mistakes 28 Try, Try, Try Again 57 Motion and Direction 30 A Realistic Approach 59 Simply a Matter of Time 31 No Second Chances 61 Ease After Hardship 32 False Pride 63 An Inevitable Evil 34 Instant Response 64 The Evil of Ignorance 35 On the Ground of Ducking Below Patience 66 the Waves 37 There is No End No Vengeance 67 to Opportunities 38 Hasten Slowly 69 Before Receiving 40 The Talent for Survival 70 The Order of Nature 41 On Pride and Arrogance 72 The Law of Nature 43 The Price of Unity 73  The Secret of Success The Secret of Unity 74 Viewing Things from a A Fitting Response 76 Positive Angle 108 Admitting One’s Faults 77 Life’s Labours are Never Lost 110 The Message of Life 79 Fighting Frustration 111 The Scientific Temper 80 Wise Use of Money 113 He Was Expelled from School 82 Making Concessions to Circumstances 115 Wise Management of Anger 84 Before Beginning, Challenges of Life 85 Predict the Ending 116 You Are Not Poor, How to Find Happiness? 117 You Are Rich 86 The General Good 120 The Handicap that To Act or Not to Act 121 Helped 88 The Wise Course for Have No Regrets 90 Recovering Loss 123 The Making and No Second Mistake 126 Breaking of History 91 Every Cloud has a Silver Leaving it All Behind Us 93 Lining 128 A Position of Honour 94 A Purposeful Life 129 Giving Way to Others 95 Total Involvement 131 Moral Inheritance 96 Having a Purpose in Our Homage to the Past 100 Life 132 Overcoming One’s All the Blood in Limitations 102 One’s Body 135 A Message of The Determination to Perseverance 104 Achieve 136 The Advantage of Prior Gerard of Cremona 138 Knowledge 106 Not a Minute to Spare 140 Uncomplaining Something More to be Endurance 107 Done 141 4  Contents Proceeding with In the Entrepreneurial Caution 143 World 176 The Strength of Every New Morning 179 Character 144 Endeavour is What Trust is Golden 145 Counts 180 Determination Plus No Frustration 181 Diligence 147 Failure: An Analysis 182 Beyond Road Blocks 149 Failure Turned to Reward for Capability 150 Success 184 Utmost Devotion 152 Going Against the Age 185 Idleness 153 Through Fire and Water 186 In the Nick of Time 154 Look Before You Leap 187 Making the Best of Learning on One’s Own 188 Things 156 A Simple Formula for Moon Mission 158 Success 190 Starting from Scratch 160 Sharing and From Strength to Cooperation 191 Strength 161 Fighting Off Despair 193 The Top Position is Having One’s Share 194 Vacant 163 Success through The Cause Lies Within 164 Hard Work 195 Dreams and Success 166 Interest and Involvement The Psychology of in Work 197 Success 167 Plan the Best Use of The Principle of Give Your Resources 198 and Take 168 Having the Courage The Spirit of Selfless to Err 200 Devotion 169 “Peccavi” 201 Proving One’s Worth 171 An Ordinary Step 203 A Distinctive Capability 174 Problems and Seize Every Opportunity 175 Opportunities 204 5  The Secret of Success A Lesson from a Tiger 205 Accepting Defeat 236 The Importance of the After Being Broken 237 Foundation 207 Unwavering Winning Over Others’ Self-Sacrifice 239 Confidence 208 Talking Tall 240 Admitting One’s Fault 210 The Virtues of A Business Secret 212 Dependability 241 Super Performers 213 The Bigger the Better 242 Exceeding Expectations 215 No Acknowledgement 243 The Price of Success 216 Mistake after Mistake 245 To Achieve Something Supreme Success 246 Big 217 Complaining against Overcoming Arduous Others 247 Situations 218 The Human Personality 249 Shaping One’s Own Personality 220 Social Behaviour 250 The Fire of Revenge 222 Consistent Character 254 No Double Standards 223 Working on the Living with Individual 257 Contentment 224 The Need for The Asset that Wins Self-Appraisal 258 Affection 225 Know Your Initial Preparation 227 Shortcomings 260 The Result of Being Patience, Perseverance Impatient 229 and Compassion 262 Staying Cool 230 The Secret of Keeping Calm in the Harmonious Living 263 Face of Adversity 232 A Practical Solution 265 Responding to Social Solidarity 266 Criticism 234 Changing Times 267 The Positive Side of Non-Acknowledgment Danger and Insecurity 235 of Truth 269 6  Contents Handling Rough Education: The Science Situations 270 of Life 306 Thorough Investigation 272 Negligence: A Moral Encouraging the Young 273 Deficiency 307 Group Loyalty 276 A Nation’s Stability 309 The Inverted Pyramid 277 Ethics and Technology 311 Remove Suspicion 278 Dealing with the Young 312 Healthy Criticism 280 Working One’s Way Up 314 Solutions to Social Problems 281 Perseverance and All to Play a Role 282 Will Power 315 Working Together 284 How to Win a Nobel Prior Knowledge Aids Prize 316 Comprehension 285 Impartiality: The Secret Setting Aside Differences of Success 317 and Grievances 287 Working in Unison 319 The Cementing of In Giving We Receive 320 Society 288 The Creative Impulse 321 Character Builds the Nation 290 Flexibility of Approach 322 Building a Strong Sacrificing Oneself for Nation 291 Humanity 324 Having a Constructive A Nation’s Progress 325 Temperament 293 Dedication to a Noble The Japanese Cause 327 Experience 294 Taking Account of Our Potential is Our Unforeseen Wealth 297 Circumstances 328 Don’t Harm Yourself 299 The Awakening of the Rise Like the Phoenix 301 Conscience 330 An Economic Pearl Harbour 303 Planting the Tree of the Nation 331 7  Foreword A lfred Adler (1870-1937) the renowned psychologist, focused principally on individual psychology. One observer made the following comment on Adler’s chosen field: After spending a lifetime studying people and their hidden reserves of power, the great psychologist, Alfred Adler, declared that one of the wonder-filled characteristics of human beings is “their power to turn a minus into a plus”. God has created human beings with extraordinary capabilities. This quotation is a succinct acknowledge- ment of God’s work as expressed by a psychologist. Indeed, one of the greatest features of human capability is that a person can see the bright side to things—even in darkness. He finds it possible to change unfavourable situations into favourable ones. Even in defeat, he can find new opportunities to achieve success. It is a fact that a human being is by nature well equipped to turn his minuses into pluses. But there is a condition attached to this—He shall have to opt for the way of management and abandon the way of confrontation. An individual ought first of all to study the situation he is faced with and then plan his course of action objectively. A person will succeed if he follows the principle 8  Foreword of management rather than confrontation. Non- confrontational methods always yield positive results, while confrontational methods only aggravate matters. In human life the most important thing is the will to act. The people who ultimately succeed are those who are undaunted by adverse circumstances, who waste no time in lamenting over their disadvantages and who give their attention instead to overcoming whatever difficulties they face. It is not, after all, the one who has never had to face any kind of difficulties, who is necessarily the most successful in life. The truly successful person is one who can carry his ambitions into effect no matter what hurdles he has to surmount. He is the one who will arrive at his destination no matter what obstacles are strewn in his path. He is the one who is prepared to battle through fire and water right to the very end. God has created this world with remarkable possibilities. Here, when an endeavour appears to fall into the oblivion of failure, a new light shines out from the darkness. When a house falls, it leaves the space for another house to be constructed in its place. The same is true of human life. Here, with every failure, there arises a new possibility of success. In the competition of two nations, if one nation becomes developed and the other is left behind, the matter does not end there. Subsequently, a new process begins to take shape where the people of developed nations adopt a lavish lifestyle and enjoy luxurious facilities, whereas the people of underdeveloped nations develop a passion for hard work and struggle, and thus become developed. 9  The Secret of Success This means that in this world of God there is no question of being overtaken by disappointment and depression. No matter how unpromising the circumstances may appear to be, there will always be a new opportunity for success close by. One has to avail of this new opportunity in order to convert defeat into success. Moreover, deprivation in this world is not something valueless; deprivation gives rise to the passion for enterprise. And in this way, it makes groups more active and produces the possibility for greater success. Those who wish to advance and be successful in life without passing through the necessary stages, will have to build another world for themselves—one which satisfies their own requirements; for in the world that God has created, their dreams can never come true. Wahiduddin Khan May 8, 2019 New Delhi 10  A Taste of Honey O f all the nectar that bees collect from flowers, only about a third is actually converted into honey. In order to produce just one pound of honey, bees have altogether to collect nectar from 2 million flowers. This involves approximately 3 million flights over an aggregate distance of 50,000 miles. Only when the required amount of nectar has been collected does the process of honey-making begin. In its initial state, nectar is a liquid of roughly the same consistency as water. Bees’ wings have been designed to act as fans which vapourize the excess liquid. When this has been removed, a sweet liquid remains, which the bees suck. The mouths of the bees contain a certain type of gland, which automatically transforms the sweet liquid matter into honey. Their honey prepared, the bees now store it in their hives in specially formed holes made out of wax. All this involves an enormous amount of work by other bees. The safety and effectiveness of this method of storage is as complete as any packaging in which humans encase honey. Only when the honey is needed for human consumption does it have to be taken from the hives. Numerous other arrangements of this kind could have been made for the preparation of honey. God is able to do all things: He could have brought honey into 11  The Secret of Success being by uttering a magic word; He could have caused it to issue from the ground, as He has done with water. But for the preparation of honey He has ordained this other, highly evolved and perfect system. This is so that man may take heed and realize the manner in which God has created the universe, thus learning the laws and methods he must follow if he is to be successful in this world. If we are to sum up the method employed by bees in the preparation of honey, we might say that it is a method involving perfect planning. This same method is to be followed by man. For man to achieve any worthwhile aim in life, he has to work towards it in a planned, methodical way. This is the only way to be successful in one’s aims. What applies to the bees applies also to mankind. The Example of Nature A n expert on hunting writes: “The big cats often turn into man-eaters when they are too old to hunt and trap wild animals. But nine times out of ten, they do so because a poacher has wounded them.” (The Times of India, May 12, 1984) The big cat by nature is not a man-eater. But it is the greatest enemy-eater among all animals. The big cat does not spare anyone it considers to be its enemy. In general when a big cat sees any human it veers away from him. 12  The Life Force But those hunters who do not possess a proper weapon or take poor aim at a big cat are generally unable to kill it, and instead leave it wounded. These are the big cats who turn into man-eaters, they now consider “humans” to be their enemies and whenever they come across them they do not stop until they kill them. This is one of the laws of life. Just as it is true of the big cat versus man, it also holds for man versus man. Whether it concerns an individual or a nation, in both the situations the same principle applies. Do not seek revenge on an enemy if you cannot at first succeed, for he will only become a greater opponent than he was before. When you try to deal with one who is your enemy without proper preparation, it is like digging your grave with your own hands. Impatience will not work for those who are unable to formulate a plan. With their silent struggle they are the ones who act against people on the surface, turning them into bigger enemies and later resort to complaint and protest. In this world ill- prepared action and ill-founded complaints have no value. The Life Force A creeper growing in a courtyard once had the misfortune to have its roots and branches buried under mounds of earth and rubble when the house 13  The Secret of Success was undergoing repairs. Later, when the courtyard was cleaned up, the owner of the house cut away the creeper, which had been badly damaged, and even pulled out its roots so that it would not grow again. The whole courtyard had then been laid with bricks and cemented over. A few weeks later, something stirred at the place where the creeper had been rooted out. The bricks heaved upwards at one point as though something were pushing them from below. This appeared very strange, but was dismissed as being the burrowings of rats or mice. The riddle was solved when some of the bricks were removed, and it was discovered that the creeper had started growing again, although in a sadly distorted form. As it happened, not all of its roots had been pulled out, and when the time of the year came around for them to grow, life began to stir within them and they pushed their way up through the cement to the sunlight. It is one of nature’s miracles that these tender leaves and buds, which can so easily be crushed to a pulp between finger and thumb, can summon up such strength as to force their way through bricks and cement. The owner of the house then regretted having attempted to take the creeper’s life. He remarked, “It is just as if it were appealing to me for the right to grow. Now I certainly won’t stand in its way.” And saying so, he removed some more of bricks so that it would grow unhindered. In less than a year’s time, a fifteen-foot creeper was flourishing against the courtyard wall at the 14  The Teacher Tree exact point from which it had been so unceremoniously ‘uprooted’. A mountain, despite its great height and girth, cannot remove so much as a pebble from its flanks. But these tiny, tender buds of the tree can crack a cemented floor and sprout up through it. Whence such power? The source of its energy is the mysterious phenomenon of our world called life. Life is an astonishing, ongoing process of this universe—a force which will claim its rights in this world, and, even when uprooted, it continues to exist, albeit dormant, at one place or the other and reappears the moment it finds the opportunity. Just when people have come to the conclusion that, because there is nothing visible on the surface, life must be at an end, that is when it rears its head from the debris. The Teacher Tree T he tree-trunk forms one half of a tree and the roots the other half. Botanists tell us that there is just as much of a tree spread under the ground as there is standing above the ground. The top half of a tree can only stand erect and verdant above the ground when it is prepared to bury its other half beneath the ground. This is an example which trees show to mankind; from it, man can learn how to build solidly in his life. One philosopher puts it this way: “Root downward, fruit upward, that is the 15  The Secret of Success divine protocol. The rose comes to a perfect combination of colour, line and aroma atop a tall stem. Its perfection is achieved, however, because first a root went down into the homely matrix of the common earth. Those who till the soil or garden understand the analogy. Our interests have so centered on gathering the fruit that it is easy to forget the cultivation of the root. We cannot really prosper and have plenty without first putting down our roots in a life of sharing. The horn of plenty does not stay full unless there is first such sharing.” A tree stands above the ground, having fixed its roots firmly beneath the ground. It grows from beneath, upwards into the air; it does not start at the top and grow downwards. The tree is our teacher, imparting to us the lesson of nature that if we seek to progress outwardly, we must first strengthen ourselves inwardly; we must begin from the base of our own selves before we can hope to build society anew. An Easy Solution O nce a hakim (Unani physician) was visited by a person carrying a box, out of which he took a piece of jewelry, saying that it was pure gold. “Its price is not less than rupees twenty thousand. I want to leave it with you against a loan of 10,000 rupees. I will return this 16  An Easy Solution amount in one month and will then take this jewelry back from you.” The hakim said: “No, I don’t do this kind of work.” But the man expressed his helplessness in such a manner that the hakim felt sympathetic towards him and lent him ten thousand rupees against the jewelry. After that he kept the jewelry safely in an almirah. Months passed by but the man did not return. The hakim now became suspicious. At last one day he showed the jewelry to a goldsmith. Right away he told the hakim that it was brass and not gold. After the loss of money, the hakim did not want to lose himself. So he stopped thinking about this incident. He only changed the place where he kept the jewelry which had earlier been kept safely in a steel cupboard. Now he kept it in an open cupboard. He separated the jewelry from the gold ornaments and kept it in a boxful of brassware. Anger generally arises due to the non-fulfilment of the expectations that we have of another person. One we regarded as an honest person turns out, after a bad experience, to be dishonest. One we considered to be an obedient person turns out not to be so. The best way to deal with such a situation is for the person concerned to change his position, just as the hakim did in the case of the fake jewelry. The jewelry which he had originally thought to be gold and kept safely, was later removed from that safe place and kept in a boxful of brassware. 17  Reading the Signs W ith the increase of traffic in modern times, the danger of accidents has also increased. To obviate this danger, various forms of road signs have been put up, for the guidance of motorists. One such sign reads: “Lane driving is sane driving.” Keeping to one’s lane is an effective safeguard against accidents, averting the danger of colliding with other motorcars, and ensuring that one’s journey does not end in disaster. An article in a British motor magazine by an expert on driving gives some indispensable rules of thumb for drivers. If one is speeding down a main road, for example, and suddenly a ball appears from a side road, one must realize that there is probably a child not far behind it. If one sees the ball, but fails to see the child, one cannot count oneself a good driver. The really good driver stops, not on account of the ball, but on account of the child that he sees with his mind’s eye, running behind the ball. It is the quickness of the driver’s imagination which saves the child from being run over. The principles we are required to keep in mind while driving are the same as those we should keep in mind on our journey through life. If one wishes, one can learn from the “highway code” the principles that one should follow in the vaster arena of life. Always confine your activities to your own sphere; 18  Per Ardua ad Astra if you infringe on the sphere of others, you are sure to clash with them: then your progress will come to an abrupt halt. When certain signs appear on the horizon of society, try to make out what these signs imply. Do not just go by outward signs; try to reach the meaning behind them. If one just goes by what one sees and fails to see what lurks in the background, one will not advance in one’s journey through life. Others, more far-seeing than oneself, will forge ahead, while one falls victim to dangers that could have been avoided if one had read the signs properly. Per Ardua ad Astra A ccording to an English scholar, Ian Nash, who spent eleven years in Japan making a detailed study of the people and the nation, what shook the Japanese most profoundly was not upheavals in politics, but the great Kanto earthquake, which devastated the whole of the most populated eastern part of Japan on September 1, 1923. Another terrible blow was the reduction of two of the great cities of Japan to smouldering mounds of waste by the dropping of atomic bombs. This led to the ultimate defeat of Japan in the Second World War in 1945. One might imagine that any country which has been dealt such shattering blows would never be able to rise again from its ashes. But this is far from the truth, 19  The Secret of Success for Japan has not only rehabilitated itself, but now figures most prominently on the world’s commercial and industrial scene. Japan has become a great hive of technological activity, in spite of having launched itself on an industrial course long after Britain, Europe and America. This is all the more remarkable considering that Japan has none of the natural resources that the older established industrial nations have, buried right there in their own soil just waiting to be extracted. In human life the most important thing is the will to act. Had the Japanese succumbed to a sense of loss and frustration and frittered their energies away in futile political protest, their country would have been doomed to decline and ruination. But, as it was, they overcame any sense of victimization they might have had and set about reconstructing their national life with a will and a way. Although earthquakes had brought them death and destruction, they had also galvanized them into building their lives afresh. In such situations of grim affliction, provided one has the will, all one’s hidden potential and latent faculties are brought into play. One can think better, plan more successfully and make the greater efforts needed to bring one’s plans to fruition. One who lacks the will to improve his life is just like an idling motor which is going nowhere. Experience has also shown that complacency and a sense of comfort can be even greater vitiating factors in man’s progress through life than devastation and despair. This does not mean that adversity by itself is beneficial. No. It is simply the spark which ignites the 20  The Need for Flexibility fuel of man’s soul and drives him on to greater things. It is the mainspring of his initiative and the force which propels him relentlessly forward. In the face of adversity, his hidden capacities come to the fore and it becomes possible for him to reach undreamt of heights. But first and foremost, there has to be the will to do so. There has to be the will to stop wallowing in self-pity and to get up and take action. It has rightly been said: “It is not ease, but effort, not facility, but difficulty which makes a man what he is.” The Need for Flexibility A man came into a shop intent on buying some cloth. Choosing a suitable piece was no problem, but fixing a price was, for in eastern countries one usually has to bargain before buying anything. This time, the bargaining was tough. Neither the shopkeeper nor the customer was willing to budge from his original price. Finally, after holding out adamantly for half-an-hour, it was the shopkeeper who gave in, coming right down to the customer’s price, thus clinching the deal. A friend of the shopkeeper’s was in the shop at the time. After the customer had left he asked, “Why waste so much time over the price, when you were ready to give it at the customer’s price all along?” “You missed the point,” the shopkeeper replied. “That was my way of clinching the deal. Why, if I had agreed to the customer’s 21  The Secret of Success price straightway, he would have thought—’Oh, I might be able to get the cloth even cheaper somewhere else’— and gone off. Anyway, I wanted to know how far he was willing to go. When I realized that he was not willing to budge even an inch, I saw that I was the one who would have to give in. So I sold him the cloth at his price.” So it is with any contest in life. Quite naturally, each party wishes to settle the matter to his own satisfaction. It is only sensible, then, for him to press his demands. But, at the same time, common sense requires him to know what his limits are, i.e. how far he can go without losing anything himself—or sending his customer away dissatisfied. Here we have a basic principle of life. It can be put in one word—adjustment. Adjustability is the key to success in life, both for individuals and for nations. We can define adjustability as taking into account the needs of others besides one’s own. In this world, success comes the way of one who is able to see both sides of a coin, to look at matters from another’s point of view as well as from his own. Those who only know what they want, and go all the way to achieve it, irrespective of others’ needs, will find their path through life strewn with obstacles and pitfalls, and it will be little wonder if they come to grief. 22  Perseverance Pays W aking up in the morning to the noisy chirruping of the birds, the man noticed a broken egg lying on the floor. It had obviously fallen from the nest built by sparrows just under the ceiling of his modest dwelling. Wearily, he removed the broken egg, then, noting with disgust the straws which were eternally littering his floor, he stood up on a piece of furniture, and swiped the nest out of its niche. Then he spent quite some time and effort cleaning up the whole place. The very next day, he found more straws dirtying his newly cleaned floor and, looking up, he saw that the birds were again building their nest under his roof. He felt he was going mad with their chirruping and the perpetual mess they made, so he destroyed the new nest before it was even half-completed. That way he thought he could drive them away forever. But the tragedy of the devastated home only spurred the birds on to greater efforts, and showing great daring, they worked faster than ever. They did not waste a single moment on lamenting their loss. Nor did they go away to collect a whole flock of birds to come and make a united attack on the house owner. They simply flew to and from the home, quietly and incessantly picking up fresh straws and fixing them in position. They did not waste a single moment. 23  The Secret of Success This self-same story was repeated from day to day for over a month. The house owner would angrily destroy their home and moments later the sparrows would reappear with straws in their beaks to begin their labour all over again. Their efforts seemed fruitless. Their incessant gathering of straws was apparently futile. But, regardless of the consequences, they went on steadily with their work. It was the birds’ answer to the unmitigated hatred of the man. Yet although he was the stronger, they always seemed somehow to foil him. And, finally, with their silent endeavours, they gained the upper hand. The man realized that his resistance was futile and he stopped destroying the nests. Now they have completed their nest and have successfully laid and hatched their eggs. Their chirruping no longer incenses the man. He has simply ceased to mind them, for they have taught him a priceless lesson—never hate your enemy. In all circumstances, persevere steadfastly in constructive activities. In the end you will emerge victorious. A Spur to Improvement O n board the Delhi-Hyderabad Indian Airlines flight no. 439 on January 20, 1987, the usual announcements were made, from which I gathered that the pilot in command was a Captain Mustafa. This name was new to me, although I was a regular passenger on Indian Airlines flights. It clearly indicated that 24  A Spur to Improvement Muslims were now being recruited to India’s airlines as well as to other prestigious services of the country. This seemed to me to be a great step forward—the result of a major effort to overcome the general backwardness of their community. This is highly significant in the context of Indian Muslim leaders’ proclamations to the world at large, that young Muslims are regularly kept out of good jobs. It hardly seems fair to go on in this vein without presenting both sides of the picture. If, in certain instances, Muslim youths are denied good jobs, the other instances of their being recruited should also be brought to the attention of the public. Constantly making out that Muslims are necessarily at a disadvantage is certainly unjust, given the changing pattern of national opportunity. I agree, of course, that for every ‘Mustafa’ who has been taken into service in this country, there is another, less fortunate ‘Mustafa’ who has been turned away. But I object to this being called discrimination. This is simply one of the realities of our highly competitive world. It is a matter of historical fact that for any human progress to take place, the competitive element is an essential ingredient in any social set-up. As a spur to improvement, competition must play its part between individuals and societies alike. After all, observation of animals confined in the safety of zoos, where all of their requirements are provided for them, has shown that they sink into indolence and lethargy, and only regain their zest and vigour when ‘rival’ animals are introduced into their cages. In this respect, human beings are no 25  The Secret of Success different, for it is only when they are confronted by rivals that they strive their utmost to fulfil their potential. In many situations in life, there must be a winner and a loser. The moment such a situation is termed communal, however, an atmosphere of bitterness is generated in which grievances are regularly voiced. If, on the other hand, we simply call this human rivalry, it will be seen as an instance of obedience to a law of nature. There will then be no grounds for ill-feeling and the destructiveness which this can engender. Teaching the Teachers F or about twenty years, between 1950 and 1970, Japan used to import superior industrial technology from the West, at times by outright purchase, but more often by borrowing or on a credit basis. As a result, Japan today stands on its own feet economically and is in a position to export not only its goods but also its know- how to other countries. Thanks to its advanced technical expertise, it is now in a position to help other countries, enter into friendly relations with them and draw up contracts to do business with them. Some of their feats include working on the latest irrigation projects in Thailand, giving instruction in computer programming in Singapore, constructing iron and steel factories in South Korea and China and setting up petro-chemical industries in the Middle 26  Teaching the Teachers East, etc. The Japanese learnt iron and steel making from the Americans and have now developed it so extensively that they are at present exporting their skills to the Americans themselves. Japan, once the learner, is now so well placed in so many fields—particularly in communications and electronics—that America is seeking its technical assistance in many of its important military departments. The students are now teaching their teachers. A newspaper correspondent reports: “Now the flow is out instead of in.” (Hindustan Times, June 11, 1981) Japan willingly submitted to industrial tutelage for 20 years and, as a result, attained the position of industrial dominance. If it had chosen not to recognize the supremacy of others at that crucial point in its development, and had felt too proud to go to them for help, it would never have had such resounding successes. All too often, we have to lose in order to gain. We have to resign ourselves to our lowly position until we can work ourselves up to more satisfactory heights. Those who recognize this necessity as one of the facts of life will have a better chance of succeeding in this world than those who expect to be able to climb straight to the top without first having accepted a position of humility, or who persist in blaming others for their failures. Patience, fortitude and tenacity are the virtues which will see us through to success, provided they are always leavened by humility. 27  Learning from Our Mistakes A dam, the first man, had two sons, one of whom killed the other in anger—while quarrelling. This was the first incident of the killing of a man in human existence and the murderer had no idea of what should be done with the dead body of his brother. “Then God sent down a raven, which scratched the earth to show him how to bury the corpse of his brother. ‘Alas!’ he cried, ‘have I not strength enough to do as this raven has done and so bury my brother’s corpse?’ And he repented.” (The Quran 5:31) Ever since this event took place, God has continuously been sending one creature after another to us to guide us about how we should lead our lives. But man seldom takes heed of such occurrences. A friend, by the name of Khurshid Bismil, living in Thanna Mandi, Rajouri, once showed me a spot in his house where such an incident took place as should give rise to serious thought about the quality of human endeavour. It seems that two swallows once built a nest under the eaves by bringing small quantities of mud and laboriously attaching it bit by bit to the underside of the wooden roof. It took several days of continuous effort to make the nest solid enough for them to lay their eggs in it. Sad to say, while the hatching process was going on, the nest suddenly gave way one day, fell to the 28  Learning from Our Mistakes ground and was destroyed. The weight of four eggs and two swallows had been too much for it. But, nothing daunted, the birds began fluttering around looking for some safer place to reconstruct their home. They finally found a niche with a rougher surface, which would give the nest better support. Whereas the swallows had made their first nest just from mud, they made this one from a mixture of mud, grass and straw. This combination of materials proved much stronger than plain mud and this nest was also more firmly fixed in position than the previous one. The eggs they laid in it then were successfully hatched and this new, reinforced nest continued to provide shelter for the baby swallows until they grew up and flew away to mate and make their own homes. There is a great lesson in this for all of us: if a bird or animal fails in some effort, it seeks to understand the reason for its failure. It does not simply give up and succumb to adversity. It casts about for some other, better way of doing things and rectifies its errors by harder work and better planning. Human beings would do well to follow this example. Our planning is so often faulty and the efforts we make are so often inadequate that failures in many spheres are commonplace. But, really, all it would take to achieve success would be to give further thought to the problems besetting us and a deeper appreciation of the strategy we need to adopt. It is a wise man who learns by his own mistakes. 29  Motion and Direction A western thinker once commented, “You have removed most of the road blocks to success when you have learnt the difference between motion and direction.” One intrinsic quality of activity is movement. When you are walking, driving, riding a bicycle, galloping along on horseback or roaring along on a motorcycle, you are moving. But in what direction? Are you moving towards your destination, or away from it? The actual motion in both cases seems to be no different in quality. The great difference between the two is that the former brings you ever nearer to your destination, while the latter takes you further and further away from it—leaving you where? Nowhere. At least nowhere that would be worth your while going to. It is direction that is all-important. Even if we only get on to a slow-moving bullock cart or a cycle rickshaw, we shall do better than a jet plane whose pilot has no sense of direction. Whether in the context of our private lives or social existence, it is imperative that we take stock of our means and resources and then set off in the right direction, if, sooner or later, we are to reach our destination. Often people launch themselves on careers, plunging headlong into them without giving due thought to their actual capacities and to whether they have any real 30  Simply a Matter of Time potential which can be developed? At times, they are led astray by trivial considerations, ill-founded opinions and overwhelming emotions, and rush heedless into whatever first comes their way. When the result is not what they had anticipated, they fall to complaining against others, lamenting their losses and failures and claiming that it was due to the prejudices of others that they had had to suffer frustrations and that their careers had come to naught. Had they given more profound thought to the matter, they would have realized that the fault lay in their own ill-judged planning or even total aimlessness. Had they started out in the right direction, others would not then have had the opportunity to place obstacles in their path and turn their successes into failures. Aimlessness is a great weakness and should be eschewed at all costs. In actual fact, no activity is truly of value unless it is characterized by its direction and not just its motion. Simply a Matter of Time O xford University, which was established in 1163, is surrounded by lush, green lawns. Once a visiting American millionaire, who had been quite charmed by them, asked the gardener at Oxford, how much it would cost him to have the same kind of lawns around his mansion in the US. “Nothing,” replied the gardener. “How?” asked the millionaire in astonishment. “You have to only level the ground and grow the grass. Then 31  The Secret of Success you cut it and roll it.” “Oh, really!” said the millionaire, feeling reassured. But then the gardener went on in all seriousness: “Repeat this process for five hundred years and your lawn is ready.” Meeting the steady gaze of the gardener, the millionaire realized that not only do the English have their own special sense of humour, but that there are things which money cannot buy. There are things for which time is of the essence. In the evening, when the sun has set, if we have a sudden desire to see the sun again, there is no way that we can do so except wait through the long night for dawn. If we plant a seed and hope to see more than just the sapling which will spring from it, we have to wait for many years. Only then shall we be able to see the full-grown tree in all its might and glory. A definite span of time has been appointed for all of nature’s happenings. Nothing can come into being or fructify before that appointed time. Ease After Hardship A nyone who has experienced a dust or sand storm in desert regions will know what traumatic experience they are. There does not appear to be anything good about the scorching, blinding winds. But Soviet meteorologists have—in the Karakoram desert—made investigations into the properties of dust storms and found that they are nature’s way of controlling extreme 32  Ease After Hardship climates. The strong winds raise the dust up to form a screen in the atmosphere, guarding the earth from the intensity of the sun’s heat. The surface of the desert, scalded by the summer sun, is considerably cooled when it erupts in a dust storm. Sometimes the resultant change of temperature can be felt, say, in America and the Arctic as far afield as from Arabia and Central Asia. Such is the order of nature. In this world just as ease always follows hardship, so fruitful results come only from arduous, painstaking processes. This is the way nature works, and from it we can see how we should live on earth. We should be prepared for a period of hard struggle before we can expect to reap the results we desire. This is a law established by the Maker of the universe, and it is only by complying with it that we can advance towards our goal in life. If we wanted to accomplish things an easier way, we should have to create another world, one in which cooling clouds—for instance—are not preceded by scorching winds. There is no doubting the fact that failure in life usually results from the quest for immediate success. The word “short-cut” may be applicable to the world of roads and footpaths, but there are no short-cuts in the struggles of life. This fact frequently evinces itself in untoward ways. Take the instance of a young man in the town of Surat, in Gujarat, who entered a jeweler’s shop, stole a piece of jewelry, then tried to make a quick exit. His line of retreat to the staircase being cut off by the suspicious shopkeeper he made a dash for the nearest window and crashed his way—as he thought—to freedom. But 33  The Secret of Success this bold attempt ended disastrously. His leap from the second floor window resulted in his instant death. (The Times of India, January 21, 1980) This might appear to be just an isolated incident involving a foolhardy youth, but one finds people who are generally considered to be intelligent committing the same mistake in their lives. When an individual tries to accomplish instantly what should be worked for over a long period—like the youth who sought to reach ground level by jumping instead of walking down the stairs—he is condemning himself to destruction. When the leaders of a nation do likewise, they are spelling doom for all those who follow their lead. An Inevitable Evil M r. Das was ranked as one of the most senior IAS officers. He had a big house in “Madhuban”, a posh colony in Delhi. But he committed suicide on the August 3, 1985, by putting a noose around his neck. His wife, Hena Das, entered his room around one o’clock in the afternoon and found his body hanging from a ceiling fan. He was 54 when he died. He had recently been appointed the Chairman of the Delhi Tourism Development Corporation and was receiving the highest scale of salary. In spite of all this, why did he commit suicide? On 34  The Evil of Ignorance this issue Hindustan Times and The Times of India, both dated August 4, had this to say: “A businessman friend of Mr. Das said that the deceased bureaucrat was dissatisfied with many of the postings he was given. He said that Mr. Das often used to say that he was always given insignificant and ordinary positions. He was also depressed because he felt that he was not being given his due in the administration.” Whether a person belongs to a majority group or a minority group, is an ordinary employee or a senior officer, in every situation, he will often experience what he considers unjust treatment. In this world, one can seldom escape the thought that one has not been assigned the position one deserves. In this situation, one should simply accept the situation. Because refusing to do so can lead a person towards total frustration or ultimate suicide. The Evil of Ignorance T his is an incident that happened before Independence. A villager once came to the city and stayed with one of his acquaintances. A melon was served to him. A knife with which to cut it was placed along with the melon on a plate. When he saw this, he was quite astonished. He said: “I do not understand the combination of knife and melon.” Without eating he returned the melon. When someone asked him why he had not eaten the 35  The Secret of Success melon, he replied: “The only way I know how to eat a melon is by breaking it into pieces by pressing it with my hands. Then why was that knife placed beside the melon? I thought there must be some sorcery in this and that is why I did not eat it.” Once again the same kind of incident happened with this man at night. A pillow was placed on the bed which had been made ready for him. He could not sleep the whole night and kept looking at the pillow. Later he said, “I thought there was some treasure inside it. I could not understand whether I should guard this bundle or sleep.” Often it happens that a person develops complaints about others to such an extent that he becomes very annoyed. For his part, he thinks that his feeling of annoyance and complaints are completely justified. Whereas this is only because of his ignorance. Without taking into account the whole of the situation, he forms his own opinions and sticks to them, whereas in reality, his complaints are baseless. The Quran tells us how to keep away from such evil. That is, by thoroughly investigating the matter. If one is sincere, his attitude will be one of two: either he will just try to forget what he has heard or he will remain silent. And if for any reason he wants to discuss the matter, he will do so with the concerned person. Thus he would accept the facts only after proper investigation. Holding firmly to his former opinion even when investigation has shown it to be wrong is equivalent to propagating something without prior investigation. 36  Ducking Below the Waves T wo young friends, both good swimmers, once went swimming off the coast of Madras. The day was pleasant, the sea calm, and sometimes skimming along the surface, sometimes plunging below, they had soon left the shore far behind. Then, quite without warning, they found themselves struggling against enormous waves which bore down on them with tremendous force. One of the young men struck out strongly against the waves, battling his way to the shore. But try as he might, he could not make the distance to the beach and he was drowned. The waves had proved stronger than him. His friend also struck out in the same way, but soon realized his efforts would be futile. Luckily he remembered that the force of the waves was felt more on the surface and much less underneath, so he immediately plunged, kicking and struggling, to a depth where he was no longer buffeted about. Now he began literally to swim for his life, his lungs bursting and his muscles aching. By straining every fibre of his being, he managed to reach the shallows, where he was picked up unconscious by some sailors. They brought him safely to dry land, where he was taken to hospital. He was given emergency treatment and soon recovered. It had certainly been lucky for him that there had been a boat in the vicinity to haul him out, and that he could have immediate medical attention. But what had really saved 37  The Secret of Success his life was his change of tactics when he realized that the waves were going to be too powerful for him. Both the young men had struggled valiantly to survive, but it was the one who had not depended only on physical strength but also on his intelligence who lived to tell the tale. He had understood almost immediately that a confrontation of his own human strength with the enormous powers of nature would be inane and futile. This is a principle which might well be applied to the whole spectrum of human activity, for confrontation seldom brings us anything positive. When a typhoon approaches, even the fishes dive deep. There is No End to Opportunities T he sun was setting in the west behind the mountains. One half of the sun sank behind the mountain’s peak while the other half remained visible above it. After a few minutes the sun had set behind the mountain range. Now darkness started to spread everywhere. The sun had withdrawn its light slowly, and it now looked as if the entire surroundings would be enveloped in darkness. But, simultaneously, another light appeared on the opposite side of the sky. It was the moon of the twelfth night, which had started to shine after the sun had disappeared. After some time the moon was at its 38  There is No End to Opportunities brightest. A new light now pervaded the surroundings after the disappearance of the sunlight. This is a sign of nature, I thought. When one opportunity ends, at the same time another opportunity arises. After the setting of the sun, the world had been brightened again by the light of the moon. This is how opportunity never ceases to arise, both for individuals and for nations. If anyone goes through bad times, even then there is no question of being disappointed in this world of God. By availing of new opportunities one can pull through once again. There is just one thing one needs to do and that is to give proof of one’s wisdom by continuing to struggle without giving in to disappointment. God has created this world with remarkable possibilities. Here, when an endeavour appears to fall into the oblivion of failure, a new light shines out from the darkness. When a house falls, it leaves the space for another house to be constructed in its place. The same is true of human life. Here, with every failure, there arises a new possibility of success. In the competition of two nations, if one nation becomes developed and the other is left behind, the matter does not end there. Subsequently, a new process begins to take shape where the people of developed nations adopt a lavish lifestyle and enjoy luxurious facilities, whereas the people of underdeveloped nations develop a passion for hard work and struggle. This means that in this world of God there is no question of being overtaken by disappointment and depression. No matter how unpromising the circumstances may appear to be, there will always be a 39  The Secret of Success new opportunity for success close by. One has to avail of this new opportunity in order to convert defeat into success. Before Receiving T here is an English proverb to this effect: “It is in giving that we receive.” The Creator of this world has laid down a law that he who gives is the one who receives. In this world, one who has nothing to give is destined to get nothing in return. God has enforced this principle in the world around us. Here, though everything has to receive something from elsewhere to sustain itself, the fact is that everything tries to give more than it receives. Take a tree for example. The tree receives water and minerals from the earth. It receives nitrogen from the air. It receives heat from the sun and, in this way receiving its sustenance from the universe, it carries its being to a high level of perfection. But what does it do after that? After that, its whole being is reserved for other things and people. It gives shade to some. It provides wood for others. It gives flowers and fruits to yet others. Throughout its life it reserves itself for the service of others, till the time it dies. Everything in the universe follows the same pattern. Everything is busy in giving to and benefitting others. The sun, the rivers, 40  The Order of Nature the mountains, the air—everything benefits others. The motto of the universe is based on giving benefit to others and not demanding rights from others. In this world there is only one being who wants to receive instead of giving anything and that is the human being. Human beings exploit others unilaterally. They want to receive from others without giving. They want to become takers without being givers. This attitude runs counter to the scheme of God. It deviates from the general law of the universe. This contradiction proves that success is not destined for such people in the present world. In this world only those can achieve success who conform to the culture of this vast universe, and who live in this world as givers, not as takers. The Order of Nature A fter an absence of several weeks, despite having shut up your room, you will find on your return, that a layer of dust has settled over everything. Until the room has been dusted, you will not feel like sitting in it, so displeasing is all this dust. It is just as unpleasant as the dust that is blown in your face by a strong wind. It makes you long for the air to be still once again, so that you may be spared the irritation. But what is this dust that we find so annoying? It is, in fact, a surface layer of fertile soil, the very substance which enables the growth of all forms of vegetables, 41  The Secret of Success fruits and cereals. If this soil did not lie on the face of the earth, it would be impossible for us to live on the earth at all. It is this same dust that makes the earth’s atmosphere dense enough for water to vapourize, forming clouds which release a downpour of water to revive and replenish the earth. Without rain, there would be no life on earth, and rain is only possible because of the dust in the earth’s atmosphere. The redness of the sky which we see at sunrise and sunset is also due to the presence of dust in the atmosphere. In this way dust, besides possessing multiple practical benefits, also contributes to the beauty of the world. From this straightforward example, we can see how God has placed unpleasant things alongside the pleasant things of life. Just as the rose bush, as well as having exquisite flowers, also has sharp thorns, so also is life composed of an amalgam of both pleasing and displeasing things. This is the way God has created the world. There is nothing we can do but fit in with this order of nature as laid down by Him. Much as we may try, it is impossible for us to have things in any other way. If you want to complain, you are sure to find plenty to complain about in life. But constantly complaining about things is surely a fruitless exercise. The intelligent thing to do is to forget the unpleasant things which are a part and parcel of life, bury grudges, and carry on seeking to fulfil your true purpose in life. 42  The Law of Nature H arry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969) explained a certain fact of life in these words: “No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunnelled. No life ever grows until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.” (Harry Emerson Fosdick, Living Under Tension) There is but one law of nature, which applies to both animate and inanimate objects. It is that there is a price to be paid for every objective aimed at in life: without paying that price, nothing can be achieved. In this world one has to sink before one can rise; one has to resign oneself to loss before one can gain, to backwardness before one can advance; one has to be able to accept defeat before one can claim victory. The world in which man lives has been created by God, not by man himself. This may appear to be a simple fact, but it is one that man usually forgets in his everyday life. Since we are living in God’s world, we have no alternative but to understand His laws and follow them. There is no other way we can make a place for ourselves in the world. Those who wish to advance and be successful in life without passing through the necessary stages, will have to build another world for themselves—one which 43  The Secret of Success satisfies their own requirements; for in the world that God has created, their dreams can never come true. When One is Broken W hen an inanimate object, such as a piece of wood, is broken into two, it remains broken. Never again can it remould itself into one piece. Animate objects, however, live on even after breakages. When one live amoeba is cut in two, it turns into two live amoebae. This is surely a sign from God, showing us the breadth of opportunity that God has kept in store for us live human beings in this world. For a human being, no defeat is final, no disaster permanently crippling. As an animate being, no human can be finally shattered, for when broken, his every piece is welded again into a new, live being, if anything, more formidable than before. For a human being, failure is no disaster, for it only serves to make one into a more profound, thoughtful person. Obstacles present no hindrance, for they open up new avenues of intellectual advance. Setbacks do not stunt one’s growth, for even if one is crushed into many small pieces, each piece in its own right has the capacity to form the building blocks of an entirely new being. Such are the never-ending possibilities which God has created for man in this world, but it is only one who is alive to these possibilities, who can benefit from 44  The World is Not a Typewriter them, gathering and marshalling his resources after some shattering setback. When he tastes defeat, he does not lose heart, but prepares himself to issue a new challenge. He builds anew his shipwrecked boat, and, aboard it, recommences his journey through life. The World is Not a Typewriter A man was sitting with a typewriter in front of him. Something came to his mind, and he immediately put paper in the typewriter and his fingers started moving along the keyboard. His thoughts were taking the form of words. Now all the sentences were typed out as follows: I am right, except for me, everyone is wrong. There is no fault in me. In all matters others are at fault. I am the greatest of all. Others are inferior to me. I am God’s favourite. Paradise is reserved for me. The man was happy that whatever he wanted had been written down on paper. But man’s misfortune is that the world in which he lives is not a typewriter. The way he made his thoughts real on a paper, could not be done in this real world. It is enough to move one’s fingers on the typewriter to print words of our choice on paper. But one has to perform a long and extensive struggle in the real world to make one’s thoughts come 45  The Secret of Success true. It is not just a question of moving one’s fingers on a keyboard. The result is obvious. Whereas the typist had achieved apparently everything in the world of words, he was totally deprived of any such result in the outside world. However unpleasant it may appear to us, it is a fact that the world is not a typewriter for us. We are not its typists and we cannot, just by the movement of our fingers draw anything we like on the map of the world. This is a world of grave realities and it is only by adjusting to realities that we can achieve anything in this world. Man has a tongue and a pen with which he can express whatever he wants to. But man must remember that his tongue and pen can only shape words and not the realities of life. Words are reduced to dots or symbols on the paper. Words have to be translated into realities by our own efforts, determination and actions. Otherwise all will be lost. The Creation Plan of God E veryone asks the same questions: Who am I? Why I am here on this planet earth? What is the purpose of man? What is success and what is failure? These questions may be summed up in a single sentence: What is the creation plan of the Creator? Chapter sixty- seven of the Quran, Al-Mulk (The Kingdom), gives the answer to this question. The translation of the relevant verse is as follows: 46  The Creation Plan of God “God created death and life so that He might test you, and find out which of you is best in conduct. He is the Mighty, the Most Forgiving One.” (67:2) According to the Quran, man was created as an eternal being. In the above Quranic verse ‘death and life’ represent both the pre-death period of life and the post-death period of human life. So, death and life cover the entire eternal lifespan of human beings. The fact is that God created man with a well thought- out plan, the essence of which is to give man complete freedom—not simply as a gift, but as a test. The result of this test would enable God to know who misused his freedom and who put his freedom to the best use. This was, and still is, the divine scheme of things for man. This test is not just for the sake of testing mankind. It is for a high purpose. Before creating man, God created an ideal world, that is, Paradise. Now God wanted ideal men and women who would merit being settled in this Paradise for all eternity. Therefore, the present world is a selection ground for Paradise. According to this divine scheme, the present human lifetime affords a great opportunity to man. In the pre- death period of life, man has the chance to qualify himself for Paradise, so that in the post-death period of life he may be settled as a deserving candidate in this perfect world. This divine scheme gives man great hope. The present world may be one of problems, for in this world there are sorrows, pains and unwanted situations. But the divine 47  The Secret of Success scheme of life prescribed in the Quran gives us a great solace. It is like a bright light in the darkness. It gives men and women great hope that all those sorrows they experience in the present world are for the temporary period of testing, and that once they qualify in the test, they will be fortunate candidates for eternal Paradise. This Quranic notion explains human life. It explains not only the existence of man, but also all the misadventures that he faces in this world. It gives great meaning to all the good and the bad in life. Man is born with unique qualities, he is born with unlimited desires, his mind has enormous capacity but, before realizing his potential and before fulfilling his desires, his life comes to an end. Given his often untimely demise, man seems to be a completely inexplicable phenomenon, but in the light of the above divine scheme, human life becomes completely explainable and understandable. Keeping this in mind, one sees how everything falls into place. The Present World and the Next World If any farmer would like to reap the harvest on the day of sowing the seeds, shall lose the seeds as well as he will be deprived of the harvest. Same is the case with this world and the post-death world of tomorrow. The world of today is a place for action, and the world of tomorrow is the place for receiving reward. The one who 48  The Present World and the Next World wants to achieve the ‘reward’ in today’s world will be at the price that he will not be able to perform the desired task and will miss the only opportunity of building the world of tomorrow. Man desires to achieve in the present world, what is to be achieved in tomorrow’s world. This is the reason he loses both of them. The wise man is the one who buys tomorrow’s world at the cost of today’s world, rather than be embroiled in today’s world thus depriving himself from finding a place in the world of tomorrow. If one tries to find all the comfort of one’s home during a journey, one can never succeed in achieving this. The matter of today’s world and tomorrow’s world can be understood by an example. Today’s world has been made by God for action (performance) and tomorrow’s world for achieving the results of the performance of those actions. Today’s world is a journey, and tomorrow’s world is its final destination. If one desires to achieve the results in today’s world itself, the planning of one’s actions will all go totally awry. Similarly, if one desires the comforts, available only at one’s destination, during the journey, he would mar his journey. A wise man is one who understands the difference between today’s world and tomorrow’s world; who does not desire in this world what is to be achieved in the post-death world. A man ought to be a realist. He must not chase after his desires because desires lead man nowhere but to destruction. 49  The Secret of Success Every man’s heart is an ocean of desires. These desires are not wrong in themselves but the place for the fulfilment of these desires is tomorrow’s world and not the world of today. The Purpose of Man’s Trial A ccording to the creation plan of God, man was settled on this earth for the purpose of putting him to the test. This divine intention is clearly stated in the Quran at several different points. One example of how God’s scheme was to be carried out is alluded to in the chapter Yunus (Jonah): “Then We made you their successors in the land, so that We might observe how you would conduct yourselves.” (10:14) This kind of test is basically of one’s sense of moral responsibility. When a person comes to understand that he is on trial and that angels are recording all of his actions, this automatically engenders in him the requisite sense of responsibility. Now he becomes cautious in every aspect of his activities—in thinking, speaking, dealing, and in all other activities. Indeed, this understanding of how he is being tested works like a self-correcting mechanism which promotes deep introspection. It is the crucial factor that makes him a good person and a good member of society. But what is this test for? According to the Quran, 50  The Purpose of Man’s Trial the final destination of mankind is Paradise, but only good people will be permitted to cross its threshold. So this test is to determine those who are truly worthy of being selected for Paradise. Thus, the knowledge that one is being tested serves as a great incentive to live up to a high moral standard. Living a disciplined life then becomes every person’s self-interest. He feels that he must adhere to high principles, otherwise he will lose the opportunity to gain entry into Paradise. A very bad and risky alternative to such a life is to make one’s motto: ‘Eat, drink and be merry!’ Adherents of this formula know nothing beyond their own desires and will never rise above the animal level in this world. Such a formula can turn our society into a jungle. But the above Quranic formula compels man to behave like a responsible member of his society. The whole of humanity becomes his concern and then he cannot afford to live like an irresponsible person. This is what gives us an honest society. This formula, based on belief in the Hereafter, is also fully applicable to our worldly life. When one becomes a responsible person with a disciplined character, and does his best not to succumb to satanic temptations, he becomes a good human being, not only in terms of the Hereafter, but also in terms of the present world. Moral character requires some incentive, for without that incentive no one is going to uphold moral values. The above Quranic formula provides a great incentive to do so. It applies not only to a community or nation, but also to individuals, both men and women—all are equally required to demonstrate a sense of responsibility. All 51  The Secret of Success are under the watchful eye of God who will hold them accountable for their deeds. There are no exemptions to this rule. All are equally responsible before God. The above Quranic principle not only addresses those who were the contemporaries of the Prophet of Islam, but is an eternal teaching, applying to the whole of creation. The Divine Scheme A ccording to the Quran, man was created as an eternal being. The period of life in the present world is the pre-death phase and is temporary, while the period of life after death will be eternal, post-death period of human life. The fact is that God created man with a well thought out plan, the gist of which was to give man complete freedom, not simply as a gift, but as a test. The result of this test would enable God to know who misused his freedom and who put his freedom to the best use. This was, and still is, the divine scheme of things for man. This test is not just for the sake of testing mankind. It is for a high purpose. Before creating man, God created an ideal world, that is, Paradise. Now God wanted ideal men and women who would merit settling in this Paradise for all eternity. Therefore, the present world is a selection ground. According to this divine scheme, the present human lifetime affords a great opportunity to man. In the 52  Why Suicide is Not an Option pre-death period, man gets the chance to qualify for Paradise, so that in the post-death period he may settle as a deserving candidate in this perfect world. Why Suicide is Not an Option G eneral Atiqur Rahman, then Chairman of the Pakistan Federal Service Commission, came to Delhi on an official visit in February 1984. An emigrant to Pakistan, he had worked before Partition during the Second World War with Field Marshal Manekshaw, in Burma. At a meeting with journalists, he told of how, during his stay in Burma, Manekshaw had once been badly wounded, and the pain having become unbearable, he decided to put an end to his life by shooting himself. He asked Rahman to give him a pistol for this purpose, but Rahman refused. The General added, laughing, “Had I known at that time what General Manekshaw was going to do to us during the 1971 war, I would certainly have given him my pistol!” (The Times of India, February 20, 1984) During the Second World War, Manekshaw’s state of despair was such that he wanted to commit suicide, quite unaware of the fact that 25 years later, he was to emerge the victor in the 1971 war. If Islam holds suicide to be unlawful, it is because committing suicide means having despaired totally of any succour from God. What is equally bad is that it 53  The Secret of Success also signifies a refusal to accept the reality of the world Hereafter. But if a man is convinced that he will not face extinction upon the death of the body, and that he will experience a rebirth in the world Hereafter, he will never commit suicide. For one who is fully aware of the seriousness of life after life, the anguish of this life will pale into insignificance. Beside this, there is another aspect to holding suicide unlawful—it conveys a message to man not to be forgetful of the future because of temporary hardships. The present world is one in which every man, woman and child has his or her moments of pain and grief. But these should be recognized as transient phases, and borne with stoicism and courage. Just think of Manekshaw, who wished to annihilate himself, little realizing that his name was to be emblazoned in the pages of history as a latter-day conqueror. Doing One’s Bit T here was once a person who did not believe in the existence of God or that it was God who provided food to all. His friends tried their best to make him understand this fact but to no avail. At last he said, “I would like to experience this myself.” Therefore, one day early in the morning, he left home and headed towards a jungle. There he perched on the branch of a tree. He 54  Doing One’s Bit said to himself: “If God is the one who provides food then He will definitely send food to me here.” He sat on the tree for a whole day but did not receive any food. His morning, noon and evening meals were skipped. He did not find anything to eat. Now he was convinced that the belief that God provided us with food was wrong. Then after some time, he saw a group of people. They were travelers and were looking for a tree under which they might spend their night. After looking here and there, they finally selected the same tree upon which the man was perched. He remained totally silent so that they would be unaware of his presence. After setting up the camp, the travelers collected wood to make a fire. Then they untied their bag, took out pulses and rice, and cooked a dish from them. When it was ready, they thought of seasoning it, so they heated oil with chilies. When the strong smell of chilies reached the nostrils of the man sitting up in the tree, he could not stop himself from coughing. Hearing this, the travelers discovered that someone was sitting up on the tree, so they helped him get down and invited him to join their feast. The man happily returned home in the morning. He said to his friends: “What you all said was 100 per cent correct. Surely it is God who provides us with food, even when we have done nothing to deserve it.” 55  Long-term Planning T he following story, written by Mao Tse Tung, former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, is one which should set us all thinking. In olden times, there was once an old man from the northern part of China who lived on the side of a mountain range which always lay in shadow. The problem was that there were two high mountains in front of his door which prevented the sun from entering his house. One day, the old man called his young sons and said to them, “Let us go and remove these mountains by digging, so that the sun’s rays may fall upon our house unhindered.” A neighbour of the old man’s, hearing of this plan, made fun of it. He said to the old man, “I knew that you were foolish, but I never realized that there was just no limit to your foolishness. How on earth is it possible to remove these high mountains just by digging them?” The old man replied in all seriousness, “Yes, you are right. But when I die, my sons will dig, and after their death, their sons will dig. The digging process will thus continue for generations. The mountains, as you know, will not go on increasing in size, whereas each digging is bound to reduce them in size and, in this way, there will come a time when we shall have finally succeeded in removing these obstacles.” 56  Try, Try, Try Again The power to solve problems is always more significant than the problems themselves, and while problems are invariably limited, their solution is unlimited, there always being a number of different approaches which naturally vary in scale and complexity. This story is a beautiful illustration of how a major feat necessitates not only long-term planning, but the willingness and determination to carry that planning into effect. For people who have the fortitude to carry on their schemes from one generation to the next, working consistently and steadfastly, there is no mountain or river on earth which they will not be able to conquer. Try, Try, Try Again A person who was employed as an ordinary worker in a bidi factory soon learnt the entire art of the business and set up his own factory. He initially invested only Rs. 5,000 in his business but then by dint of fifteen years’ hard work, his business progressively increased until it expanded into a big factory. One day, narrating his life story to his friends, he said: “Just as a young child grows into boyhood after fifteen years, so does a business. I have not reached this stage in one day. It has been a fifteen-year struggle.” In truth every piece of work is accomplished in “fifteen” years, be it of an individual or a nation, be it a business or a social service. Those who long for a recipe 57  The Secret of Success for instant success are, in fact, living in a fool’s paradise. It is all very well to say that a hop, step and jump can take you right to your destination. But as soon as one comes face to face with reality, one realizes that this is just an illusion. Glenn Cunningham, a sportsman who became a champion of the one-mile race, saw the school in which he was studying go up in flames. His own experience was terrible. His feet were so badly burnt that he could not even move his legs. The doctors lost all hope of his ever walking or running. They said that only a miracle could save him. Surprisingly Glenn Cunningham’s incapacity excited in him a new zeal and eagerness to walk and run. All his mental faculties became concentrated on his decision to walk. So he began to experiment with different kinds of exercises till he hit upon a novel idea. It was to drag himself along by holding on to the handle of a moving plough. When his feet could even so much as rest on the ground, he felt encouraged, and intensified his efforts. Finally, the miracle of which the doctors had so despaired, took place. The new technique was a tremendous success and, ultimately, he could not only walk, but could also run. Later he entered a race. He set up a new record and became a champion of the one-mile race. But this grand success was not achieved in a few days. He had to spend “fifteen years” realizing his goal. Only after a fifteen-year stint had it been possible for him to become a champion in flat racing. In reality, no success is possible in this world without working for “fifteen years”. It is God alone who has the power to achieve instant success. But God has not 58  A Realistic Approach created this world on the basis of instant success. Man must learn his lesson and should not fritter away his time in futile efforts. In this world of God, innumerable events are taking place, all of which are based on eternal, immutable laws. Not even a blade of grass grows on the ground as a result of wishful thinking, not even an ant can manage to live by ignoring the realities of life. How is it possible then for man to change the divine laws? The only condition for success is continuous striving, that is, to make such unflagging efforts, as are essential to achieve the desired objectives in the world of God according to the law of God. By following the same principle we can achieve success in this world; it is the same principle which will bring us success in the next world. A Realistic Approach T he process of gardening does not start with a conference on gardening. It starts rather in the way that every plant should be provided with such circumstances and conditions in which it can use its own ability to grow itself, thus becoming a part of the whole garden by developing itself into a tree. The same process has to be followed to make a nation or community flourish. The betterment of the nation presupposes the betterment of the individuals of which it is made up. That is, every individual has to be made 59  The Secret of Success aware of his duties and the latent natural abilities of every individual must be encouraged to fructify so that he may reach the position of a fully developed human being in the real sense. The urge must be fostered in every individual to struggle for the development of his potential without his being a problem for others. It is such activities which build the nation or community. This is a world of competition. It never happens that opportunities present themselves without there being hurdles to overcome and that there are no opponents in the field. This has never happened in this world for anyone, nor will it happen for anyone now or in the future. Life, in fact is all about surmounting hurdles and barricades, finding ways to proceed and not futilely knocking on doors. History demonstrates that however excessive the hurdles and problems may seem, there is always a way for a person to reach his destination. But this is not for those who stick to the well-trodden path, but for those who search for a new path in another direction and press onwards. History also shows that no matter how great the disadvantages are, there is always a way for them to be compensated for. In this world, no calamity is final. There is always the opportunity for a human being to start his work afresh with better planning and achieve his goals in a new way. You too can achieve what others have if only you recognize the fact that those goals which can be achieved 60  No Second Chances by accepting reality, cannot be achieved by mere wishful thinking. No Second Chances A senior college teacher once commented to me with considerable bitterness, “There are no second chances in life. Wonderful opportunities to advance myself are coming my way at the moment, but I can’t take advantage of them.” I was rather surprised at this outburst and asked him the reason. “It’s all because I rushed into taking up a job immediately after I had done my B. Sc. You see, I never did my M.Sc. Of course, I always meant to at a later stage, but somehow the circumstances were never just right for me to leave work and start studying again.” I had to agree with him that without higher qualifications one cannot aspire to higher things in life. This is unfortunately true of about 99 percent of our society. The early part of one’s life should be devoted to intensive preparation for adult responsibilities, but most people fritter away their energies in fruitless activities, more intent on enjoying life than on giving any thought to the future. Having failed in their youth, through ignorance or negligence, to develop their potential to the full, they can seldom make a decent start in life, and even if they do, they find it almost impossible to make 61  The Secret of Success any progress. More often than not, they find themselves at an impasse. All doors are closed to them. When you enter the field of life inadequately prepared for it, you cannot expect to reap a harvest if the seeds for it have never been sown. When the time has come for harvesting, you cannot then rush to sow seeds. Time once lost can never be brought back again, and once opportunities have slipped from your hands, they can never again be recaptured. Fortune only knocks once, it does not knock again. There are few useful tasks which can be performed without preparation, for preparation equips one and gives one the tools for the job. If you try to break a stone with your bare hands you will surely fail. But if you take a pickaxe to it, and have learned how to wield it, it will only be a matter of minutes before you have smashed the stone into small pieces. Being well equipped and having the technical knowhow are indispensable to personal progress. Only if you enter life with the requisite competence will you receive your rightful place in it. Bemoaning your losses and protesting against imagined enemies will be of no avail. It is pointless counting upon the environment to provide the necessities of life, and complaints against it are usually an expression of one’s own incapacity. They convey the desire to possess, to reach heights of honour and glory without having put in the necessary groundwork. 62  False Pride T his is the story of a man whose grandfather was a successful businessman, but who later lost his business. His parents died during his childhood. He did not inherit any wealth from his father or grandfather. All he inherited was the feeling that his father and grandfather had been wealthy people. When he came to know that the post of a clerk was vacant in the town’s government office, he applied for it and got the job. However, his relatives advised him to continue his education till matric at least, as he had studied only up to middle school. After that he could qualify for a senior post in the same office. Besides, he had also inherited some agricultural land the income from which would be sufficient to fulfil all his needs. But his feeling of false pride hindered him from following anybody’s advice. Moreover, in his false pride he often quarreled with his colleagues. One day he even argued with a senior officer and resigned from his job. After resigning he remained unemployed. Neither did he take up another job, nor did he continue his education. His only priority was to talk about his false pride and receive a false sense of satisfaction. After his resignation, he met his necessities from the income of his agricultural land. With the passage of time, he became the father of six children. Now his circumstances were very worrying. However, his feeling of false pride again 63  The Secret of Success stood in the way of acknowledging his own fault in this. He held his relatives responsible for his failure. But this unrealistic attitude not only worsened his ruination, but he became chronically ill. The present world is a world of realities. Here you can achieve everything by coming to terms with the reality. In this world of God, nothing is more worthless than false pride. Here nothing is more destructive than the mentality of false pride. Instant Response I n the developed countries computerized telephone systems have been introduced. As a result modern communications have undergone a transformation. In many towns in the U.S., for instance, a system called “enhanced 911” has been installed. This number 911 has to be dialed in an emergency for the caller to summon help. With enhanced 911, a telephone company is now able to trace the originating number of the call and the caller’s address instantly even without the caller saying a word. This automatic system can immediately identify and convert numbers into addresses even when the callers are unable to say where they are calling from. The system’s computer is so efficient that after tracing the call, it can itself determine whether the 64  Instant Response emergency relates to the city’s police, fire or ambulance departments. In Orlando, Florida, a panic-stricken woman caller dialed 911 but could not say a word before hanging up. Gunshots, however, were clearly audible. Within minutes cars were on their way to the correct address and the culprit—an enraged gun-toting relative of the woman’s—was apprehended. In another case, a deaf and dumb person could summon help in a similar fashion in an emergency. (The Times of India, April 16, 1985) In the above instances, the computer converted the call into telephone numbers, and telephone numbers into addresses, then without delay informed the police by wireless technology. The Quran and the Hadith tell us that when a person calls upon God, he immediately establishes contact with Him. There is no delay either in the calling or in the response. The computerized telephone contact is a material analogy of this spiritual reality. It shows how a person, moved by the remembrance of God, loses himself in a spontaneous outburst of feeling, calls upon Him and instantly finds himself very close to Him: within a moment he is in touch with his Lord. 65  On the Ground of Patience C rops spring from the soil of the land and not from ingots of gold and bars of silver. This truism does not just pertain to agriculture but is illustrative rather of a universal law. God has laid down a particular system for the existence of all things. Things come into existence only when in accordance with that particular system. We cannot bring anything into existence by any other method. The same is true of human beings. Life is a test which has to be passed on the issue of patience. Life is a crop which flourishes on importance being given to patience. God has destined life to be grounded on this issue and now this pattern will be followed for all eternity. We cannot create any other fundamentals on which it will thrive. Patience is not a negative thing: it is a form of positive behav