Lesson from Flowing Water

things, smaller things get included themselves. But if you seek smaller things, nothing else will be included in your prayer. So, we must pray to God for higher blessings – spiritual and intellectual development, and smaller blessings will be invariably encompassed by such a prayer. How can Muslims learn to do intellectual exchange? I t was said for the second caliph Umar that “he used to learn from everyone.” But in order to enable ourselves to undertake such an intellectual exchange, we first need to understand the difference between ‘dialogue’ and ‘debate’. I was once in America where a ‘Trilogue’ was organized between Muslims, Christians and Jews. I was invited to this and saw that Christians and Jews spoke scientifically but every Muslim had become a “debater”. The Jews and Christians used to put up their word in the form of a dialogue. ‘To learn from everyone’ meant that Caliph Umar, in spite of being a very learned man himself, used to put himself in a position of intellectual inferiority in front of others. Only when one puts himself in this position do they develop a spirit of mutual learning. They open their minds to more knowledge and intellectual exchange. But for this the first step is to disown the culture of debate completely. Why do people suffer from inferiority complex? I think it is a result of artificial thinking and happens because of not knowing oneself. Thinking that one is superior or inferior – both are a result of artificial thinking. One’s thinking should become so developed that we are able to save ourselves from both kinds of complexes. We need to realize ourselves and our potential such that we do not position ourselves as superior or inferior to anyone. How should we learn to respect all? W e must become hate-free. In social life, other than religion there are several reasons that cause differences. They are a part of life. When such a difference is against us, we get angry and develop hatred. We will have to understand that difference is a part of life, it is a part of creation. We will have to therefore accept it, there is no other option. What is solution to despair?