I FOUND MY CALLING UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF MAULANA - Mr. Haroon Shaikh, Mumbai

by writing the first point as ‘Education’, the second point as ‘Education’ and third point also as ‘Education’. In the end he wrote, “… and again Education.” As a young boy, after the demise of his father, he was enrolled at a traditional Islamic seminary, Madrastaul Islahi in Sarai Mir (Azamgarh) in 1938 to receive religious education. After he graduated, he realized that he had to further his learning in modern disciplines and he engrossed himself in self-study to satiate his quest for knowledge. As per the Maulana, education is the very foundation of nation building. He believed that acquiring education was not a means of outperforming one another in material wealth, rather it was a means of strengthening character and becoming a responsible member of society. Such a society, which is an aggregate of virtuous individuals, becomes the first unit of a peaceful nation. He remained a life-long learner and encouraged spirit of enquiry and curiosity in all his discussions. He held that spirit of enquiry was the bedrock of intellectual development. He always took examples from the world around us and urged everyone to do the same. He often loved sharing a poem on “cow” which he had read long back in his school textbook. His favorite stanza from the poem was “kal jo ghas chari thi ban mein, doodh bani who gaaye ke than mein.” (The grass which the cow ate yesterday has now converted into milk). He used to share this to explain how cow was a divine example of converting a negative event into a positive one. He used to say that a cow presents a perfect example for us to emulate: it never asks but only gives. Similarly, a successful