FROM THE SPIRITUAL TREE

FROM THE SPIRITUAL TREE There is a tree beside my house. I call it the 'Spiritual Tree'. I derive spiritual inspiration from it. A tree is an evergrowing being that was initially a seed possessing the potential of becoming a full-grown tree. A seed takes food from the universe around it and then grows into a tree. The same is true with spirituality, the desire for which is intrinsic to, and an integral part of, the very nature of, every human being. To realize this spirituality, Man must derive spiritual food from the universe around him. A tree converts carbon-dioxide into oxygen; a spiritual person is one who can take positive lessons from negative situations. From this perspective, a tree is an embodiment of a spiritual personality. —Maulana Wahiduddin Khan MAN’S HELPLESSNESS I N his book The Mysterious Universe, the British scientist Sir James Jeans elaborating on man and the universe, writes: ‘It appears that man has strayed into a world which was not made for him.’ But it would be truer to say that: It appears that man has strayed into a world which was not made by him, and nor is he its controller. Man’s predicament is very strange. We know ourselves to be living beings. But this existence is a gift. We have not brought ourselves into existence. We want that we should have a healthy body, which is essential in order to live well. But a healthy body is not in our hands. We need all those many things that form part of what is called the ‘life support system’. We can lead a successful life only with this support system. But it is not in our power to establish this system. Man must acknowledge that in this world he is only a ‘taker’ and secondly that there is another Being who is only a ‘giver’.