Tuesday 12 August 2014

Gullu Butt and our judicial system

Gullu Butt has been freed on bail! 
The news is yet another evidence of our failing judicial system which fails to provide justice even if the evidence against a criminal is abundant. We can't blame the judiciary alone. It actually involves the whole system starting from Police as investigators, the Prosecutors, the Witnesses, the Lawers, the Judiciary and finally the Executive. It also includes the Legislative which fails to make necessary laws. 
In short, it's our failure as a nation that criminals don't get punished and take the Law for granted. 

Saturday 2 August 2014

It all starts at birth!

Learning is a continuous process which starts right from the moment we breathe for the very first time though some might argue that it starts even before that when we are exposed to numerous factors affecting our physiology during our in utero life. Whenever it starts, it surely continues throughout our life till we breathe our last though some still might argue that learning continues even after that while we continue our search for perfection!

During the course of our life we radiate whatever we learn. This 'radiation' makes the basis of teaching which can either be passive if it involves just the way we behave or active if it involves a deliberate effort to train others. Imparting knowledge or education requires understanding human psychae and can be improved by systematically studying effective methods of educating others.

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Physiology of belief

Every belief has a portion which can never be logically explained or scientifically proved. To make it easier for the believers, the belief organizes a system of induced preoccupation. It demands every believer to dedicate some of the time for rituals focusing on their belief and keep repeating them. More the number of repetitions more the preoccupation and stronger becomes the belief. A stage comes in the process of this preoccupation when the belief becomes an obsession and then a delusion and the believer starts actually seeing things what he believes in. This is the ultimate aim of every belief and anyone at this stage can do anything for his belief including killing or get killed.

Induced preoccupation is accentuated by synchronized repetition of belief fragments which resonate with and thus amplify the already existing beliefs making the believer actually see what he believes.  That is why believers of any faith see what they believe when in trance while meditating. This seems to be more of a neuronal phenomenon and needs to be scientifically studied to get an objective insight into belief systems. However any metaphysical experience with tangible physical outcome seen by others too would not be explained just by preoccupation-obsession-delusion triad and would require some sort of spiritual deliberation instead of a purely neuronal explanation. One can make an active search for such metaphysical phenomena and subject them to scientific analysis to get to the truth.

The importance of synchronized repetition is quite evident from the fact that this is part of almost every belief system presently known. We don't know if the 'persona' resulting from the induced preoccupation following synchronized repetition of belief fragments survives the physical death of the believer or perishes along with his physical body. There is also a possibility that a strong belief could resonate with other minds and amplify their much weaker beliefs.

With the present little metaphysical knowledge every belief cannot be scientifically proven or rejected. Believing in something, though, seems good for psychological health as it makes life simple, gives hope and provides comfort in times of distress. It also produces an inner sense of security and being looked after helping us to face adverse situations. However many a time it is associated with a varying degree of 'religious exhibitionism' which annoys others and puts them on the back foot because of the apparently embedded message of انا خیر منکم (holier than thou). This 'religious exhibitionism' should be deliberately kept in check to avoid our belief becoming an obsession hampering our ability of logical reasoning. We should also avoid falling for the resultant delusions which might force us to make drastic changes in life at personal level or try imposing our belief on others one way or another.
Of course it's a fine balance and requires a lot of intellectual gimmickry.

Sunday 27 July 2014

Ghaza and Israel - پانچواں فریق

غزہ پر اِسرائیلی جارحیت کا تیسرا فریق مسلم دنیا ہے جس کی مجرمانہ خاموشی کے باعث اِسرائیل کو شہ ملتی ہے۔ اِس معاملے کا چوتھا فریق غیر مسلم مہذب دنیا اور اقوامَ متحدہ ہیں جو خود کو انسانی حقوق کا علمبردار کہتے ہیں لیکن اِس معاملے میں مکمل نہیں تو کسی حد تک اِسرائیل کے ساتھی ہیں۔


سوال یہ ہے کہ کیا اِس معاملے کا کوئی پانچواں فریق بھی ہے؟                             

Friday 25 July 2014

Muslims' voice

Muslims throughout the world are in distress despite the fact that they comprise one fifth of the world population and sit on a land rich in natural resources. They don't have a say in world's affairs despite their geopolitical importance. In my view there are four areas which need their urgent attention.

First of all is education. Muslim countries need to focus to impart knowledge to the masses, develop educational institutions and dedicate funds for research which is genuine with equal opportunities to all segments of the society. The second factor is discipline. Muslims need to have a rule of law and a willing acceptance if discipline in all spheres of life. At the moment they represent more of a herd than well developed nation states. Their systems are either yet to develop or just being in rudimentary form. Unless there is a discipline, the masses will remain deprived with continuing unrest. Third factor is unity among all Muslim countries. There has to be a mechanism of bringing all Muslims together where they can voice together and where they can have a common policy at least regarding some issues. This needs ironing their differences within their ranks and files first. They can put aside some issues which are hard to be tackled for this purpose. There has to be a political body with representation of all Muslim countries which can function as the voice of all Muslims and can get itself heard in world's affairs. Fourth factor is independent policy making which is possible only if they are self reliant. Only self reliant people and nations can have the luxury of having self worth and at the moment Muslims are so badly dependent on others in one way or another. 

Time has come to seriously ponder on these issues and our leaders across the globe need to focus and act if we intend to be counted as a significant entity in the world. Failing this soon we'll just be history following others' dictates and resorting to collective prayers against atrocities committed against us. 

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Perseverance



Life is marked by continuous struggle which requires setting up achievable goals and then working steadily to achieve them. It's probably right to say that giving up is death and anyone alive won't give up. 




Belief Vs obsession


Belief should give you hope, comfort in times of distress and a sense of security (even if false) instead of an obsession to act in a particular way without even thinking if it's rational and logical.



Sunday 5 January 2014

Atheist and Believer

In a mother's womb were two babies A and B. They were communicating with each other.

A: "Do you believe in life after delivery?"
B: "Why? Of course I do. There has to be something after delivery.  May be we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later."
A: "Nonsense, there is no life after delivery. What would that life be?"
B: "I don't know, but there will be more light than here. May be we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths."
A: "This is absurd! Walking is impossible. And eat with our mouths? Ridiculous. The umbilical cord supplies nutrition. Life after delivery is excluded. The umbilical cord is too short."
B: "I think there is something and may be it's different than it is here."
A: "No one has ever come back from there. Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery it is nothing but darkness and anxiety and it takes us nowhere."
B: "Well, I don't know, but certainly we will see mother and she will take care of us."
A: "Mother?Do you believe there is a mother? Where is she now?"
B: "She is all around us. It is in her that we live. Without her this world would be no more."
A: "I don't see her, so it's logical that she doesn't exist."
B: "Sometimes when you're in silence you can hear her, you can perceive her. I believe there is a reality after delivery and we are here to prepare ourselves for that reality."

Friday 3 January 2014

A gentleman, law abiding atheist

A gentleman, law abiding atheist is a strange phenomenon and appears to be either lacking wits or courage to do what pleases him.

Why on God's earth an atheist should be good or do any good? What is his inspiration? Why should he be loyal in his relations? Why? Why? Why not do whatever he likes while evading law of the land? The question is why should he think positive? Why should he do good? Why should he not do whatever her likes? What is his inspiration to do good? Because for an atheist there is no God or a Devil and everything is fair what is necessary for his good provided he can evade law. Why should he be good? What is the source of his morality? 


The appreciation of an atheist who chooses to be a gentleman despite a belief that there is no God is agreed. The obvious derision in the top line is in fact an attempt to find the reason for it. I would now like to rephrase the line and say, 'What makes an atheist to choose being a gentleman and a law abiding citizen despite a belief that he could do whatever he likes except lack of wits to evade law or lack of courage to deal with opponents?'

Who frames the moral grounds for an atheist? In fact the source of all morality is religion. Atheists following moral standards are actually following religion without accepting God. Good for them and appreciated.
There is something deep inside every person which tells him what's right and what's wrong. We need to find the origin of that something. If it's just our parents and society then they can very well be wrong and there is no point following their dictates.


A well developed cerebral cortex might be the reason but this cortex was there for many thousand years as evolution is a damn slow process but still we see totally different morality standards a few thousand years ago. Religion has undoubtedly shaped morality among human beings and has given it a deeper meaning by associating it with the concept of a hereafter and God.

Religion is actually a solution to the problems an individual faces in community living and ensures to secure the interests of the whole community. So it's just that morality originates in religion and an atheist too acts on religion if he is a gentleman even if he does not believe in God!

There is nothing good or bad if you don't believe in God. The rules framed by human being at different times make some acts UNLAWFUL and ILLEGAL. Not everything unlawful is bad and not everything legal is good. For a dog there is nothing bad or good. What if you kill a person in the dead of the night and no one sees you. The law is not there. Is it okay? If not then why? What makes it bad? Law? No! That makes it illegal only. It's a stupidity to waste life following the law and be loyal if one is atheist. Why not evade the law and have fun? Why would one want to do good to others while one can get away with anything? So I really find no reason for the morality of an atheist except cowardice or lack of wits! 

Some people say that Ethics stem from humanitarian values, not from inherited beliefs repeated like a parrot. One wonders what is the origin of these humanitarian values. An atheist having morality actually follows religion in some spheres of life. Honesty, loyalty, caring are all religious dictates and anyone following them will enjoy its fruit. That is why some atheist societies thrive because they have adopted the Divine principles of Justice, Honesty, Loyalty and rule of law. Like tablet paracetamol will lower temperature even if you don't believe in it! 
 
Morality originates in spirit which is Divine! Every human being is blessed with a Divine element and that is the source of his morality. Without that there is no concept of evil and good. Anything good done is actually the expression of the same Divine element at different times of human history.