Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Knack of Objectivity - Part 2

The Companions of The Beloved Prophet (Peace be upon him) were very smart and intelligent people. You must have read many very wise saying of Sayyiduna Ali (Radiy Allahu Ta'ala Anhu). There is a very powerful saying by Sayyiduna Umar (Radiy Ta’ala Allahu Anhu):

“Do not put off today’s work for tomorrow.”

Today, when our juniors take advice from us, there are a lot of things that come to mind, and we try to give them the crux of our experiences. The aspect on which great stress is laid is to keep things on day-to-day basis. I have personally experienced the benefits of acting according to the above-mentioned saying, and have also suffered by doing so otherwise. It is natural that things get pretty smooth if we mend our daily-routines according to daily works. What ought to be done today, should be done today! And then, during those days of stress and anxiety, you will feel comparatively light, and at weekends, you will have quite a handsome amount of time with you. In short, these beautiful words are really some tremendously worthy gemstones.

There are some activities, which spread over much stretched periods of time. The prime example that I see in my social circle is gatherings with leisurely talk. Sadly, sometimes, I also become a part of this, and when the process is on, we never seem to get tired of it. To talk is not bad, talk a lot, but keep it objective and productive. Then, at times, we just need to relax and talk to our family and friends; bingo! What I am talking about is long hours of worthless and unproductive talk. These activities, which eat so much of our time, are counter-productive. With time, they also suck energy out of us. Another example is watching 3, or even 2 movies without a break or a whole season of a TV-Series or anime in one go. As far as my personal experience tells me, this tendency is what I should say ‘slow-poisoning’.

I conclude this piece of writing by telling you an interesting tale. There was a king, who was a very wise man. Once, his people brought him some pebbles, which they had collected from outside the king’s palace. The king took the pebbles, examined them, and then ordered his citizens to find out who these pebbles belonged to. The court-men were surprised, but couldn’t say anything to the king on his face.

“It is rather stupid of the king to order us to locate a man who has disposed off useless pieces of rock.” One of the court-men said during their own conversation.

People began investigating, and ultimately found the person who had thrown these little stones. The man was taken to the king’s palace. When they reached the castle, he was given a glass of sherbet, and then after he was relaxed, the king asked him:

“Why did you throw away these pebbles?”

“They are worthless pieces of stones, what could have I gained by keeping them? I threw them because I knew that they are of no use to me.”

The king looked deeply into the person’s eyes, and then waited. After a long pause of pin-drop silence, the king said:

“Certainly, this is not your mistake. If you knew the truth, you would have never done that.”

Everyone, who was present in the court of king, was surprised. They started giving each other curious looks. The king stood up from his royal chair, and then what he delivered was one piece of a legendary talk:

“These stones are not just worthless pebbles; they are extremely expensive pearls and gemstones! They could make this man a millionaire, but he threw them away considering them to be any other pieces of rock. The reason is that he did not know their worth. My countrymen, same is the case with the time we have. Each second, and each minute that passes is a gemstone, but we fling it away, because we do not know its value. God has given you life as a gift. When you pass your life, every second passed should be in obedience to your Creator, and then you may acquire the actual worth of each pearl!”

The court was dismissed.

Later on, the man was returned half of the treasure, and the other half was donated to the state for a public project.

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