STORY OF A PROPHET

STORY OF A PROPHET

Muhammad was born in about 570 AD in the small town of Mecca, on the coast of the Red Sea of Saudi Arabia. He was the son of an Arab merchant. And when he grew up he had to take up the family business. At that time merchants in Mecca were well off. In Mecca there was a lot of money to be made out of the pilgrims who came from all over the east to visit the Kaabah. Built of three layers of stone, the Kabbah isbelieved to have been built by Ibrahim and his son Ismail.

Muhammad was already known to be very sincere, honest and kind hearted. These traits also left a mark over his business life. he Muhammad was disturbed by the way people around him led their life – specially the spiritual life.

His tribesmen, though Semitic, like the Hebrews, had been riddled by superstitious beliefs, and multiplicity of faiths. They had an assortment of gods, whose images they carved and worshipped with strange kinds of practices. There was no uniformity in the faith. Nor was any discipline in the spiritual life. And Muhammad wanted to change all these.

It is believed that Muhammad was one day visited by the archangel Gabriel who brought message from God, or in his language, Allah. Inspired by Allah, Muhammad decided to give up the business and took to a life of spiritual empowerment. It then devoted himself to prayer, meditation, preaching and helping the poor. He was then around forty.

Muhammad condemned the Arabs for worshipping a host of gods, and told his audiences that Allah was the one and only true God.

At first Muhammad’s teachings irritated the Arabs. Yet, undaunted, Muhammad continued with his preaching. The situation turned so worse that his life was at stake. Following this, Muhammad had to leave his native town of Mecca. He journeyed further north to Medina. This emigration from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD is an important milestone in the history of Islam. The year of the emigration is called Hegira. And it is the starting point from which the Muslim Era, called Hegira, is computed.

Medina, however, welcomed his ideas. And Muhammad found a favorable climate for preaching and spreading his teachings. And he acquired a following of disciples. He preached rules of good and kind behavior.

Ten years passed and Muhammad had attracted a sizeable number of diehard followers. This even included a small but devoted corps ready to fight to the death to champion his ideas. And Muhammad’s faith became known as the Islamic faith and his followers were called Muslims. Islam spread when Muhammad’s teachings were set down in a book called the Quran. This is the most sacred book to the Muslims.

Quran holds all the revelations that Muhammad received from Allah over a period of 23 years. According to Islamic history, after Prophet Muhammad’s death, they were compiled under the direction of the first Sunni Caliph Abu Bakr about 1,400 years ago. And this is what we see in the present day’s Quran.

Muhammad instructed his followers to destroy all his personal belongings when he died. For, he believed that none but Allah should be venerated. This is why Islam forbids any form of idolism and deity worship.

In course of time Islam acquired believers all over the world. From North Africa to the farthest point of South East Asia. Today, Islam is one of the world’s major religions, with followers estimated to be over 600 million. Or, about one fifth of world’s total population.

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TALK ON NATIONAL INTEGRATION – 02

National integration

 India has many races, nationalities, castes, subscastes and communities but so far the heart of India is concerned it is one. It is true that societies that have been integrated into bonds of unity have always enjoyed peace, stability, prosperity and permanence. And those torn by mutual disruptive tendencies among various sections of the society have always been short lived and become non- existent. The national integration is the process of uniting different people from all walks of life into a single whole. The most serious problem being faced by India in present circumstances is, how to develop an atmosphere of national consciousness among so varied a people.
Indians already have suffered for long periods, the pangs of enslavement and servitude. It is India in the whole world which has to suffer under foreign rulers for more than seven hundred years. The separatist tendencies among people and kings have always resulted in the fall of our kingdoms. Our country was always divided into large number of small kingdoms which were mostly at daggers end. There has been a lack of national consciousness. The internal disputes among the Rajput kings allowed Muslim invaders to establish their foothold here. Then the Britishers were able to create rifts between various kings and princes and thus established their supremacy. It was only overthrown when Indian nationhood joined together by unparallel acumen of some great Indian leaders who became creators of history.
There is a need to make efforts for creating emotional integration or a sense of unity. The need of the hour is national integration. It should be taught at the very beginning, in all schools and colleges all over the country that India is one and only one. The differences between various cultures are just superficial and basically it is only one. What is needed is superior interpretations, synthesis of the power of the mind that can give rise to a vision of the whole and oneness. The school and college teaching material should be suitably revised wherein importance and need of oneness should be emphasised. From one end of the country to the other end, regular long distance tours must be conducted so as to foster emotional integration among the young students of our country. Steps must be taken to see that, there are no sectional appeals so that disunity among the people does not increase manifold.
To bring about national integration, there are many techniques. It can be forced out, or can be made to strengthen from within the core of hearts. The result by way of exercise of power would always be weak, unsuccessful and it would be for a temporary phase only. But when the sense of national integration stems from within, it would be strong stable and ever-lasting.
British government brought about national integration by way of their needs. For the first time during the British rule, the whole of India came to be governed from one centre and all regions of the country from West to East and South to North obeyed instructions and advice from the central power. This was because the God of freedom was the same and realized all over the country. The national unity became more emotional when the country fought a united struggle for freedom. Emotional integration is the basic foundation on which the main structure of national integration can be created.
There is a rich cultural heritage in India. All of us are inheritors to several grand treasurers in the fields of music, dance, drama, fine arts and paintings, sculpture and theatre. Our seers and sages have left behind a tradition of piety, penance, conquest of passion and spiritual greatness. Our cultural unity is further exemplified by the great temples of the South, the caves of Khajuraho and Ajanta and Ellora which are glittering examples of proficiency of India in the field of architecture and sculpture. India classical music is built on the concept of ragas and talas. Each raga is regarded appropriage to a certain emotion, a certain mood suitable for a specified time of the day or night. In the modern times, people like Pandit Ravi Shanker have taken the Indian music to great heights in the whole world and thus have bridged the gap between the East and the West in the field of music.
Today the intellectuals of Indian society can give the right direction as the country is standing at the crossroads of failures and achievements. The intellectuals must come out of their narrow cells of detachment and awake up to their responsibilities towards the general masses. Through national integration, we will prosper and flourish and dominate the others who are characterized by divisive forces. We will carry with us, a power and strength, solidity and solidarity and an element of cohesiveness which will impart to us further permanence and stay in present struggling world

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TALK ON NATIONAL INTEGRATION – 01

National Integration

India has many races, nationalities, castes, subscastes and communities but so far the hear of India is concerned it is one. It is true that societies that have been integrated into bonds of unity have always enjoyed peace, stability, prosperity and permanence. And those torn by mutual distruptive tendencies among various sections of the society have always been short lived and become non- existent. The national integration is the process of uniting different people from all walks of life into a single whole. The most serious problem being faced by India in present circumstances is, how to develop an atmosphere of national consciousness among so varied a people.
Indians already have suffered for long periods, the pangs of enslavement and servitude. It is India in the whole world which has to suffer under foreign rulers for more than seven hundred years. The separatist tendencies among people and kings have always resulted in the fall of our kingdoms. Our country was always divided into large number of small kingdoms which were mostly at daggers end. There has been a lack of national consciousness. The internal disputes among the Rajput kings allowed Muslim invaders to establish their foothold here. Then the Britishers were able to create rifts between various kings and princes and thus established their supremacy. It was only overthrown when Indian nationhood joined together by unparalled acumen of some great Indian leaders who became creators of history.
There is a need to make efforts for creating emotional integration or a sense of unity. The need of the hour is national integration. It should be taught at the very beginning, in all schools and colleges all over the country that India is one and only one. The difference between various cultures are just superficial and basically it is only one. What is needed is superior interpretations, synthesis of the power of the mind that can give rise to a vision of the whole and oneness. The school and college teaching material should be suitably revised wherein importance and need of oneness should be emphasised. From one end of the country to the other end, regular long distance tours must be conducted so as to foster emotional integration among the young students of our country. Steps must be taken to see that, there are no sectional appeals so that disunity among the people does not increase manifold.
To bring about national integration, there are many techniques. It can be forced out, or can be made to strengthen from within the core of hearts. The result by way of exercise of power would always be weak, unsuccessful and it would be for a temporary phase only. But when the sense of national integration stems from within, it would be strong stable and ever-lasting.
British government brought about national integration by way of their needs. For the first time during the British rule, the whole of India came to be governed from one centre and all regions of the country from West to East and South to North obeyed instructions and advice from the central power. This was because the God of freedom was the same and realized all over the country. The national unity became more emotional when the country fought a united struggle for freedom. Emotional integration is the basic foundation on which the main structure of national integration can be created.
There is a rich cultural heritage in India. All of us are inheritors to several grand treasurers in the fields of music, dance, drama, fine arts and paintings, sculpture and theatre. Our seers and sages have left behind a tradition of piety, penance, conquest of passion and spiritual greatness. Our cultural unity is further exemplified by the great temples of the South, the caves of Khajuraho and Ajanta and Ellora which are glittering examples of proficiency of India in the field of architecture and sculpture. India classical music is built on the concept of ragas and talas. Each raga is regarded appropriage to a certain emotion, a certain mood suitable for a specified time of the day or night. In the modern times, people like Pandit Ravi Shanker have taken the Indian music to great heights in the whole world and thus have bridged the gap between the East and the West in the field of music.
Today the intellectuals of Indian society can give the right direction as the country is standing at the crossroads of failures and achievements. The intellectuals must come out of their narrow cells of detachment and awake up to their responsibilities towards the general masses. Through national integration, we will prosper and flourish and dominate the others who are characterized by divisive forces. We will carry with us, a power and strength, solidity and solidarity and an element of cohesiveness which will impart to us further permanence and stay in present struggling world.

Read Full Post »