FROM MAULANA’S DESK

dies only in a state of despair and frustration. In the ‘modern world’, it appears that the objects designed to fulfill man’s desires have grown enormously in number and are widely available. In the past, man dreamt of winged chariots, but now this has become a reality in the form of aeroplanes. The means of global communications that man imagined as legendary pigeons are now in everyday use in the form of modern wireless connectivity. The same transformation has occurred in almost every aspect of life. The comforts and luxuries that people could only imagine before are now readily available. Almost all of ancient man’s dreams seem to have become a reality. Despite all these luxuries and comforts, as far as true joy is concerned, man has been unable to attain it. The birds chirping in the trees are joyful, but man is joyless. Today, you can purchase almost anything in the markets of the world, but you cannot buy peace and happiness anywhere. There is only one reason for this tragic state of affairs. And that is, trying to understand life keeping only the pre-death period of life in mind. Whereas, the reality is that there is a post-death period of life and without taking into account this eternal period, the meaning of life cannot be understood satisfactorily. According to the creation plan of God, human life is divided into two phases: a relatively short, pre-death phase, and a post-death eternal phase of life. The pre-death period of man’s life is the period for sowing seeds, as it were. The post-death period of man’s life is the period for harvesting the fruit. According to the law of this world fruits cannot grow without sowing seeds. And without fruits, farming is meaningless. Without knowing this fundamental aspect of life, it is impossible to find a satisfactory explanation for it. o Maulana Wahiduddin Khan editor@thespiritofislam.org Follow Maulana at http://www.speakingtree.in (The Times of India) Despite all these luxuries and comforts, as far as true joy is concerned, man has been unable to attain it. Today, you can purchase almost anything in the markets of the world, but you cannot buy peace and happiness anywhere.