ASK MAULANA

ASK MAULANA Your Questions Answered How should we manage our ego? It is very easy. It is said that when a peacock sees its beautiful feathers, it becomes proud, but when it sees its ugly legs, it becomes modest. The same is true of man. In every human personality there are plus points as well as minus points. Those who see their plus points become egoists, while those who see their minus points become modest. So, when a plus point comes to mind, turn your attention to the other side of your personality which has some minus point. And you will suddenly become a modest person. This is the easiest formula for maintaining modesty, avoiding arrogance. Is it necessary to exercise restraint over our desires? If yes, how can we do this? Our desires are unlimited, but our capacity is limited. Due to our limitations, we cannot fulfill all our desires. So, it is realistic to control our desires. If we fail to control our desires, we will fall into despair, and certainly no one can afford to follow a path which leads nowhere except to despair. It is a fact that controlling desires is a lesser evil and despair is a greater evil. And no one would prefer to involve themselves in a greater evil. Restraining desires is often associated with the stifling of personality development. Please comment. This is a sheer fallacy. When unlimited desires cannot be fulfilled, trying to fulfill all desires will lead to a negative and not to a positive growth of the personality. Any scientific survey can disprove this kind of formulation. Does prayer help in developing one’s personality? Yes. Prayer means trying to establish contact with the higher reality and the higher reality is the source of all kinds of inspiration. So prayer, if it is a true prayer, will certainly help to develop the personality of the individual, be it a man or a woman. What is the importance of ritual? Ritual is the outer form of worship. When imbued with the inner spirit, rituals are good but without that, rituals are of no avail. The body of a human being is important, but without the inner spirit, the body is