Spirit of Islam, Feb 2013

FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR’S DESK T HE recent brutal violation of the young girl we call Nirbhaya — the fearless one, has shaken the whole country, compelling us to examine the life we lead and the values we believe in. Any kind of violence perpetrated on another is not a sign of power; it is a pointer to weakness and deficient character that comes from a lack of direction or purpose in life. This in turn could be the result of various factors. In this case, there was absolutely no respect for a fellow human being’s dignity or life. One day in 1893, Swami Vivekananda was walking down a street in Chicago clad in two pieces of untailored saffron cloth. At that time this was a strange sight in America. A lady who was walking on the same street saw Swamiji, and said to her husband, “I don’t think this man is a gentleman.” Swami Viekananda, who overheard the remark, walked up to her and politely said: “Excuse me Madam, in your country the tailor makes a man a gentleman; but in my country, character makes a man a gentleman.” A gentleman is, as a gentleman does — it is not about what he wears. We need, now more than ever, to revive this spirit in India. We must conduct ourselves in such a way that we uphold human dignity and the sanctity of life, realising our potential as a spiritual superpower. People of every group and organisation in India, outraged by this criminal assault on 1. The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims 2012, Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Jordan Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life has been the establishment of worldwide peace. He has received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in India, and the Demiurgus Peace International Award. He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world’ and is recognised as one of its most influential Muslims1. His books have been translated into sixteen languages and are part of university curricula in six countries. He is the founder of the Centre for Peace and Spirituality based in New Delhi.