FROM MAULANA'S DESK

FROM MAULANA’S DESK 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. T he Serenity Prayer is the common name for a prayer authored by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). The prayer goes as follows: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.” This saying is based on a law of nature. The fact remains that we are living in a society. We have to accept others, as it is only then we can have the room to live with others. According to this law of nature, there is a difference between the individual and society. As an individual, one can opt for the all good. But, when it comes to society, one has to accept what is practically possible. A wise person is one who knows this difference. In society, people tend to opt for those things that are always and entirely good for them. But, this goes against social wisdom. In society the choice is not between 'all good' and 'all bad'. In fact, the right choice here is the lesser of the two evils. In one’s personal life, one can try to BETWEEN LESSER EVIL AND GREATER EVIL