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 SCIENCE—AN AID TO GOD-REALIZATION W HILE ON A TRIP away from the city, if you chance to lift your head up at night and look at the sky, you will see thousands of stars; beautiful, magnificent and wonderful stars. If you observe them carefully for some time, you will see that they are slowly moving across the sky. This apparent movement of the stars across the sky is because of the Earth’s rotation. In fact, some stars seem to move faster than others. This is because of the distance between the stars. This difference in apparent movement is called parallax. In the case of stars, this is very helpful, since it helps us measure the distance between us and the star in question. Fourteen centuries ago, however, little was known about the stars. The Earth was thought to be flat and the heavens a kind of vault resting on the hilltops which provided a roof over the Earth. Stars were considered as close to one another as they appeared to be. It was generally believed that the Earth was stationary and that the sun revolved around it. People believed that the universe had existed since eternity. Even the greatest thinkers of the time believed in a static model of the universe.