INTROSPECTION

Material Distractions Our minds are continuously attracted towards material needs. This leaves no room for thoughts about higher realities. We remain devoid of spiritual realization. The real means of attaining the ends of tazkiya is for man to reflect on the signs of God, activate his thinking, and through continuous reflection or pondering, discover the deeper realities of things. This discovery is spiritual food for a person who is a seeker of it. For instance, suppose you see a bird. This reminds you of the saying of the Prophet that the hearts of the people of Paradise will be like the hearts of birds. You later begin to think about yourself—whether your heart is like that of the bird; whether your heart is free of all negative thinking like that of the bird; whether you are free from greed like the bird; whether you are as harmless as a bird; whether you follow the law of nature, just as the bird does. Such thinking is the essence of tazkiya. Without such introspection, no one can attain it. In its reality, it is an act of spiritually developing one’s own self. In engaging in self-purification, one has to become one’s own teacher to purify oneself. Sitting in the company of another or listening to someone else’s preaching cannot in itself be effective for one who aspires to purification. Initial guidance can be provided by another person, but taking it to completion is a task one must achieve oneself. In the process of attaining purification, if the share of the other person is 1% then one’s own share is 99%. o The culture of the people of Paradise would be that of peace and positivity; only those would be accommodated there who had the capacity to live together in love and peace.