To Blog

I blog. Yes, I do. But I do more than merely doing. I am in a process of defining myself. I am like a fish in the sea. Where the sea and fish are not two things, but one. No duality there. Just two aspects of one individual. The fish wants to discover the sea and the sea wants to hold the fish. One wants to flow freely; while the other tries to concentrate on a single point. Yet no duality. I write because I want the states of my heart to be captured, like a snapshot. A long snapshot maybe. I want to concentrate on a single point. Because I want revelations out of that point. If this is discovery, in the sense that wisdom which unsettles at my heart wants to let itself free, ultimately aiming at immortality. Then the former is re-discovery: Had I been clear to myself? Do I make sense to the outer world?

'Do you make sense, Umer?'

I cannot answer. Allow me to become the sea once more.

Ek Khalish ko Hasil-e-Umr-e-Rawan

Is Golablization Inevitable, Irreversible?

These two oft-repeated words, inevitable and irreversible, used often with the term Globalization, lack my respect. Yes, I degrade them as they do it to me. A process that is not strictly happening according to a Divine and Natural Law, but that which actually is a function of the choices humans make, has come to suggest that it transcends human beings. Is it fair? The later question would be raised more forcefully and more provocatively by those who believe in Iqbalian philosophy of humanism, not quite same as Western humanism, however. Iqbalian philosophy of Selfhood gives central place in the universe to humans, who are of best composition. Thou art not for sun and moon, it is they who art for thou. If humans give up to live, to say the extreme we shouldn't say, would globalization be inevitable and irreversible? That is not to denounce increase in the interdependency and inter-connectivity between people, but to show the dominance of humanity over non-human, cosmic elements or forces.

Apart from this, such annotations and connotations for a process called globalization raise logical questions about the certainty and finality of these ideologies. If globalization (the exact opposite of tribalism) is supposed to be an unstoppable phenomenon, which it is called upon by some academicians, then why still its definition is termed too dynamic to be explicitly stated as a whole? That is, you cannot limit its definition or even define it fully by assuming that this process has shown all of its manifestations; and that now no further study of historical processes is required to deduce an all-rounded and exact definition of this phenomenon, process or philosophy ('3 Ps' as called by Ali Muqteda). To be precise, my question is: Why this process has not completed and turned into a condition?

There is no argument over the fact that since globalization has never been a modern or post-modern phenomenon, it has evolved over hundreds of centuries and still continues to be so. But is it correct to label such a phenomenon, process or philosophy, which may be as lethal for humanity as tribalism, unstoppable? Are we becoming a victim of arrow of time, which has inherited in its forward flow some diabolical cruelties, so much unavoidable? Is this whole notion human?

Evil, Offense, Deception...

...All in one sentence? Let's have a look on this:

"The diabolic iniquity committed by the wanton malefactor was insidious, flagrant, and repugnant." (From, Vocabulary for College, 3rd Ed.)

Battlefield - An Exotic Classroom For Geeks

Imagine a scholar-soldier going into a precarious, chaotic, gory battlefield. And a Chinese proverb would bet that that learner can do anything he thinks he can do, but not within a few hundred years. This apprehension about sholarly nerds has been realized by such a soldier who fought in Afghanistan, against no matter whom. On Mr. Mullaney’s memoir about his experiments with war and battlefields, a journalist comments,

"'The Unforgiving Minute” is Captain Mullaney’s attempt to reconcile the precombat lessons that seemed so clear to him with the exigencies of battlefield experience... It’s the inner journey of a man who is at first eager to learn as much as he can from service and scholarship. Later on he learns from his mistakes." (Read its complete review here.)

Love, Arthur, Love!

There is no salvation for the soul
But to fall in Love.
It has to creep and crawl
Among the Lovers first.

Only Lovers can escape
From these two worlds.
This was written in creation.

Only from the heart Heart
Can you reach the sky.
The rose of Glory
Can only be raised in the Heart.

Rumi

Although you want me to be myself, but think again. Does humanity need my rants and endless prose and poetry, devoid of best wisdom? When Rumi's perfume still afresh, fragrant, when yours and mine world, globalized unevenly, unfairly? Think again. And answer. What should I do?

Thought of the day

After the completion of any task assigned - done with painstaking effort; in utter anxiety and nervousness - showers the rain of endless happiness and joy, one never imagined. Rapture, no matter how short-lived (it must be short-lived). It is like a gift from heavens. And it is wonderful. The bliss. The mirth. The humility.

Human Vocal Tract

(Click to enlarge)

Vocal tract is the cavity which produces voice. Human vocal tract is said to be unique from that of all other animals. Human language from all aspects remains quite unique. The adjoining diagram shows a vocal tract, we all share. As the primary medium of language is speech, historically and quantitatively (e.g. about 6000 languages are not written, but spoken), so is the vocal tract important.

* Source of the image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_tract

An Optimizing Rational Decision

Just before a boy enters the barbershop, the barber tells his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world.Watch." The barber puts a dollar in one open palm and 50 cents in the other and asks the kid, "Which do you want?" The boy takes the 50-cent coin and leaves.
"See?" says the barber, laughing. Later, the customer passes the boy, who is standing outside a candy store. "Why'd you take the 50-cents and not the dollar?" he asks.
"Because," says the boy, "the day I take the dollar, the game's over."!

- CONNIE BEHENSKY, Laugh, Reader's Digest. Feb. 2009.

In Economics, there is no great importance assigned to a perfect decision. Rather to that decision which can maximize one's profit, especially in the long run. I will be mentioning this 'trade-off' by the kid in my microeconomics class and see how many students label this trade-off, rationally, most appropriate one, if not best.

Islamic Language?

Although the ex-Senator Rick Sanatorium had good intentions for Islam and Muslims, but he probably did not work too much to be effective. He stated in a seminar at an American university, (without any offense), that:

"The Quran is perfect just the way it is, that's why it is only written in Islamic."

He has been loathed by all kind of language hats. Why should I remain behind, alluding to you not to embarrass yourself with this kind of a blooper? To correct the facts, Quran was revealed and written in Arabic and it is believed in the Tradition that the Koranic Arabic language inherently contains an eternal effect which gives its enchanter divine blessing or bliss. As we all know, Islamic is no know human language. Does this prove how little knowledge can be dangerous? It can be in many ways.

However, despite the fact that everyone is ridiculing ex-Senator, his intentions were very honest and need to be appreciated by everyone. His whole speech reflected the spirits of reconciliation, which is alone to be admired.

In the Memory of Sigmund Freud

What evil is: not as we thought,
Deeds that must be punished, but our lack of faith,
Our dishonest mood of denial,
The concupiscence of the oppressor.

- W.H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden.

'A Poignant Picture of Punjabi Life'

Image source.

Should we not read Economist about a new collection of stories by an American brought-up Pakistani, who throws vivid light on the complex culture of his soil? IN OTHER ROOMS, OTHER WONDERS, is Daniyal Mueenuddin’s first debut which is about the life of a Pakistani feudal lord. But there is a lot more magic in this than a mere fictional biography of an aging landlord, which justly makes it a literary piece of work by painting things in a large canvas of Pakistani society, especially of Punjab. Nothing could make a foreign journalist describe the Pakistani society so accurately than the stories carved by Mueenuddin, that:

IN PAKISTAN life is shaped as much by who you know as what you do. In this remarkable debut, a range of characters rich in practical intelligence demonstrate the importance of influence. An electrician burdened with 12 daughters persuades his employer to give him a motorcycle; a servant sleeps her way into maintaining her position in a Lahore household; a down-at-heel woman pleads for a post with a distant rich relation. (Economist.)

Therefore, connections are very much the necessity here. Now some words about the archetypal stories by Daniyal Mueenuddin:

Passing from the mannered drawing rooms of Pakistan’s cities to the harsh mud villages beyond, Daniyal Mueenuddin’s linked stories describe the interwoven lives of an aging feudal landowner, his servants and managers, and his extended family, industrialists who have lost touch with the land... A hard-driven politician at the height of his powers falls critically ill and seeks to perpetuate his legacy; a girl from a declining Lahori family becomes a wealthy relative’s mistress, thinking there will be no cost; an electrician confronts a violent assailant in order to protect his most valuable possession... (Daniyal Mueendin website.)

Pakistan is said to be well understood by its inhibitors and much misunderstood by the outsiders. Hopefully this collection of short stories, praised by both Mohsin Hamid and Salman Rushdie, will remove any misconceptions in the minds of foreigners, which can save many lives. Moreover, it can remove the number of dejected hearts who often come here with the romantic notion of receiving bliss from the perfume of Pakistan, and return with many natural shocks. I see hope. (Very poignant.)

A Nation That Lacks Few Worthy Administrators

Yesterday, a bombing took place in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, killing 30 people, causing injuries to more than 50 people. I know no one is surprised who has a little or no knowledge of the present-day Pakistan. Fie! People have no assurance whatsoever if the authorities care about their protection. Thousands of suicide bombings are proof to that. When people took blood-painted bodies, after the huge explosion, to a military hospital, "the staff said they could not treat so many people." While I didn't mention that civil hospitals lacked only a few competent doctors.

"The bombing, which targeted the funeral of a Shiite man who had been shot in the city a day earlier, set off a chain reaction of chaos in the city of about a million people on the edge of Pakistan's lawless tribal areas.

Enraged mobs attacked local security forces, ransacked shops and surrounded hospitals as members of the funeral procession struggled to secure treatment for the wounded, according to the mayor, Abdur Rauf."

Read more here: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/world/asia/21pstan.xml

Sat-Chit-Ānanda

"The Hindu expression Sat-Chit-Ānanda is one of the Names of God." But there can be as many translations (or forms) of this expression as are multiplicities of one unity in this world, visible. Different translations may not be called as non-linear as we can better assign this quality to the 'levels or hierarchy of reality' for giving one expression so many forms. Following are some of them I read in the footnotes of the book Knowledge and Sacred:

*Sat-Chit-Ānanda usually translated as “Being-Consciousness-Bliss.”

* Most “essential” and metaphysical translation - “Object-Subject-Union.”

* At the highest level this ternary (three-fold) may also be expressed as “Known-Knower-Knowledge” or “Beloved-Lover-Love.”

* Operative or spiritual meaning related to invocatory prayer, such as the Prayer of Jesus (Christianity), japa (Hinduism), and dhikr (Islam). Here it takes the form of “Invoked-Invoker-Invocation” (in Islamic terms madhkūr-dhākir-dhikr).

Cool thought of the day

"...There are beings who live because other beings have light, and there are beings who die because someone lets their lamp go out."

-Rumi's Father

I received this thoughtful sentence in an email footnote-cum-quote. But who can grasp the underlying meaning, expressed with great clarity, and with a little twist in the language, making it a nice aphorism? It is only a deeply penetrating, yet easily imaginable, an observation, interpreted after what was heard and seen through a being's eye of the heart, and not a by-product of abstract mental visualizing technique. But have you noticed how co-eternal is this observation with your and mine existence? And what give words like these power to fly so high; defeat the boundaries of space and time, yet without living on the periphery of the whole reality, rather at the heart of it?

Two Pre-Sophia Philosophers & Their Concept of God

I once asked my friend about what he thought of pre-Sophist period philosophers. He deliberately restrained himself from answering, for some good, and instead put forward this question to me that as to what I thought of them. I could not reply him at that time. Therefore, I do it now.

'Brave'. They were brave. That is my first reaction about them. They rebelled against the masses and rejected what they considered as wrong, especially about religious philosophies, which is the primary concern of this post. Popular religion in their period was of many gods. A long list of them - begotten gods, sons of god, images of gods, etc, etc. Whereas, their polytheistic notion about god was "countered with a more philosophic conception of one god, the source in some way of the entire universe and the power behind all the phenomena of the universe."

I can highlight two such philosophers, whom I consider to be brave thinkers. One is Xenophanes and the other was Heraclitus. Both had a great contempt for the religion of public. Heraclitus condemned their religions in this way, "And to these images they pray, just as if one were to converse with men's houses, for they know not what gods and heroes are." Whereas Xenophanes, belonging to the sixth century B.C., "proclaimed that God was one and unchangeable." He condemned the popular notions of god as beings like us. "Yes, and if oxen or lions had hands, and could paint with their hands and produce works of art as men do, horses would paint the forms of gods like horses and oxen like oxen. Each would represent them with bodies according to the form of each," he wrote. He thought that God was unlike us, the mortals. And that He is the First and the Last, or to say that He had neither any beginning nor any end, "an eternal unity." Although he rejected polytheism and believed in monotheism, he however has been called pantheist in the book Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers*, because he thought that God is the world. "A belief that everything in the universe is God, and God is everything in the universe," the book says. This position, of pantheism, is not acceptable in all three great monotheistic religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

* All the quotes in this article were taken from this book.

Globalization: The Pathos of Circular Definitions

'Sir, what is globalization?'

Coincidentally, just coincidentally, I am attending a special sociology course on globalization, and we are also supposed to know it the way it is taught and not the way things are. A common spectacle, I presume. Not know what scholars say and contest. Not know what history says. Not follow where history goes, and thus to analyze it properly. Not think outside of those trite, rotten and dry textbook definitions, which being absolutely devoid of any intellectual stimulation and enthusiasm only dull our minds.

'Son, it comes from the village', the answer comes back like a bullet.

[What about it???]

'You see, a village is were we all come from, or perhaps from urban areas, but villages are more prestigious, right? So all the problem it has got to do is not with the globalization, but with the village. And since there's always an outrageous chaudhary, (financially and socially the elite person(s) in a typical village, who dominates others in one way or another), out there, hence there are certains problems, you know'.

'No sir, I'm asking where did it come from, that globalization thing?'

'Oh! I see. It comes from the global village. And now, I know, you'd be intrigued enough to know, where did that come from. Therefore, I must tell you - from the village. Yes, I think. Now. Enlarge that village. Stretch it on a globe, one available in our library (a round model of globe). And, here we have a fine example of a global village. Further, son, the process of turning and transforming this village by stretching it on a plastic globe is what we, academically and commonly, refer to as globalization'.

*Huge applause*

The converstaion thus naturally ends here.

A sound echoing in our minds, 'And where did that come from, the village, SIR??? From globalization???'

Conclusion: We are but victims to the circular definitions of enlightened professors, who can profess it so easily and in the same fashion slip away.

'O earth! show me your nets!'

* Image source: http://www.cartoonweb.com/images/globalization/globalization5.gif

Arab Rhetoric

Be it a conversation (even poetic) or a sound literary piece of work, Arabs are very indirect in their expression. As for the style – hyperbolism, ellipsis, simile, metaphors, tautology, their balagah is full of them. An Arab has a reputation. It has a certain character (I will show it just not now) which gives a peculiar shape to its balagah. That character, psychological in nature, is inherited after a long time of conditioning. A Semite character, as Frithjof Schuon calls it.

But wait!

What is balagah?

If you know this word, please forgive me for the redundancy. Balagah, precisely, is just a synonym of term rhetoric. Apart from their rhetoric, the later doctrinal works of Arab Sufis and scholars were evidently focused on Islamic spirituality. And despite this fact, the psychological imprints of conditioning on this nation did produce intelligible and vivid effect on their rhetorical and scientific and theological works, as well.

What is that psychological character I just mentioned that has shaped its rhetoric, giving birth to indirect use of speech? If you recall, Allah didn’t blame the believers (Arabs in that case) for their inconsiderate oaths. F. Schuon says that the Arab has inherited such a volatile temperament that “it would draw a sword for ‘just a yea or nay’!” So are his expressions, volatile and spontaneous. But the Arab tongue is subtle too. It doesn’t follow its immediate nature; rather it resorts to the Semite’s way of expression.

How does it say the truth? Say it nakedly? No. He cannot afford to. Rather, he would follow the injunction of Gospel which advises “not to cast pearls before Swine nor to give what is sacred to dogs”. Just like the Arab covers women, abstains from wine, to save themselves from befuddling and intoxicating, he covers his language too. He must not say what can drive people mad with the ‘naked truth’. Arab’s tongue is thus filled with ellipsis and hyperbolism, as well with metaphors and tautology. This character of his native expression resembles to Semite’s way of expression, notes Schuon. And, also, this is what makes its rhetoric so much so rich of ‘indirect expressions’. And without baffling today's already baffled.

In a lonely desert, with my Arab friend, I would drink to the fountain of words and expressions from his mouth. Especially when I am not a Sumari warrior and I have to tell a serious truth to him and expect at least one from him. Would you not?

* This manuscript is a handwritten manuscript of Arab rhetoric, available for sale at ebay here.

Mystic illumination vs. Speculative thought

The following excerpt from Ibn Arabi's work "Futuhat" is interesting for those concerned with the mystical experiences, speculative thought and the common ground for both these sciences. This is a dialogue between young mystic 'Arabi and the philosopher Ibn Rushd, probably a man of quite mature age at the time of conversation.


"I spent a good day in Cardoba at the house of Abu Walid Ibn Rushd. He had expressed a desire to meet me in person, since he had heard of certain revelations I had received while in retreat and had shown considerable astonishment concerning them. In consequence, my father, who was one of his close friends, took me with him on the pretext of business, in order to give Ibn Rushd the opportunity of making my acquaintance. I was at the time a beardless youth. As I entered the house the philosopher rose to greet me with all the signs of friendliness and affection, and embraced me. Then he said to me "Yes!" and showed pleasure on seeing that I had understood him. I, on the other hand, being unaware of the motive for his pleasure, replied, "No!" Upon hearing this, Ibn Rushed drew back from me. His colour changed and he seemed to doubt what he thought of me. He then put to me the following question, "What solution have you found as a result of mystical illumination and divine inspiration? Does it concide with what is arrived at by speculative thought?" I replied, "Yes and no. Between the Yea and the Nay the spirits take their flight beyond bodies." At this Ibn Rushd became pale and I saw him tremble as he muttered the formula. "There is no power save from God." This was because he had understood my allusion."

Ibn 'Arabi,
'Futuhat', I, P. 153.

What role can memory play in creativity?

Sometimes memory can help creativity take place as concrete as it can be, and without any effort. I experienced this thing yesterday. Should I tell you the story?

I can describe it.

'I am walking down a workplace hall. I hear a guy listening to a Bach tune on his computer, which coincidentally I too have heard more than once. It involves Organ music. But as I reach nearer and nearer to his open cabin, the music starts changing into non-monotonous beeps of a Photocopy machine. Finally, as I cross him, I realize that it 'was' a photocopier dubbed by my senses as Mr. Mozart! And instantly, the creative part of the story emerges, I imagine a sitcom taking birth out the what I had just experienced, as an irony: Modern photocopier playing, with its non-monotonous beeps, a classical, out-of-date Mozart tune with actors (i.e. workers) acting as Orchestra team members in a conventional hectic workplace?'

Details can be worked out. And it can be funny. One must be an opmistic.

However, there is a serious fault in this kind of intuitive and spontaneous process; which is of lack of 'originality'. This is so because nothing lies outside the memory. Nothing. Such scenes have often been acted upon in various serials, dramas, films, etc. And this observation can lead one to conclude, one way or another, that after all no artistic, creative piece of work can be totally original, in absolute terms.

Faiz: A Legend of Letters

Sometimes, we need a voice, not of our own, but of a great master that may resonate with the electric-meter of our heart; and, it'd be equally the mastery of that voice which can make it to dance. A voice of compassion, of love and friendship. A voice which fulfills the most rudimentary need of man - sympathy and human relationship, a need transcendent to bodily necessities. Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the Urdu poet and critic of art, is that voice for many. Many - not including those close to him geographically, but also those who share the pathos of oppression, sickness, suppression and loneliness. He spoke for human beings, for Palestinians, for the victims of the hatred of ignorant dogma - do I need to present you an unimaginably lengthy list of strange creatures in the guise of humans, who benefit from this source of healing, Faiz?

A few days before yesterday, was Faiz's birthday. You may be asking, why at this late hour - remembrance? I am more than just happy to tell you the reason for it, because that would not be a reason, rather a matter of (childish) proud. I am lazy, so was Faiz. I am weak in Mathematics, and so was he. I am happy I have found two ample reasons to relate myself to that soothing voice. And I did wrote something in time to celebrate for God's mercy and Faiz's courage, conscious human endeavor. But I have lost that nice essay I wrote on him, as it was but a fledgling set of intuitions. And roaring, creative intuitions often do fail to crystallize themselves if not gripped with iron hands - their spontaneity is simply uncontrollable.

Therefore, having lost an original piece of work, I still wish to celebrate the legend and in order to relive the legend I can only reproduce a few magic words of pain and healing, of yours and mine - Faiz. The Faiz of Faiz. All Hail.


(About this poem 'City of Lights'. Once Faiz was imprisoned for his political beliefs. He wrote this poem on Lahore's lights from his prison cell, during that certain period.)

The greenery is drying in a pallid afternoon;
Parched walls are wet hued with a lonely prison.
Far to the heart's horizon shrinks, rises, falls again
The fog of an undimmed grief, a heavy tide;
And yet behind this fog rises the City of Lights.
-O, City of Lights-
Who can tell how to attain your illuminated paths?
Here, in broken light, in nights of separation,
Listless you see sitting the soldiers of desire.

-Translated by Sara Suleri Goodyear

U.S. Senate Nods to Obama's Economic Stimulus Plan

News Alert Source: The New York Times

"A $787 billion economic stimulus package got 60 votes, the minimum needed, in the Senate, readying it for the signature of President Obama. Earlier, it had cleared the House easily."

Read More Here:
http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na

Thou Shall Write

11, Jan, 2009. Late at night.

Where is my pen, the tiny stick which engraves the manifestations of a can-be eternal Selfhood on the tablet? Where is it, the canon which reinvents and transforms man from his plightful condition and conditioning, making the later state a history and making new histories out of the former? I cannot live without it. I'm sorry. I cannot live in a depressing shameful limelight in my own eyes, forget about the extrinsic. Even when my mirror doesn't reflect back to me my best composition, I ought to write. 

But wait. Let me sink in the abyss of the world of contemplation, and, by hanging in there, ask myself: What came out of that void which had no inside nor outside? I know! It was you and me, this whole universe, which still is coming in quanta from on high. I know! The river isn't stagnant. It is evolving. I can write. After the realisation, for the sake of advancement and commencement for a never ending journey, then a comes a voice to my mind and orders me, "Thou shall write". 

Thou shall write: To weather the cruelty of imperfect recording machine our brain is; to, using a trite metaphor, 'make the hay while sun shines'; to grasp what that invaluable thing that comes from the void - thought. To make sense and meaning out of that void. To absorb "the thousand natural shocks", to lubricate them. And what is more important than to self-audit.

"Thou shall write," the 'unimaginable source' says, "for life's sake - all in all," - a meaning so wide, boundless and infinite which I fear my words fail to grasp. To write, perhaps, to grasp life itself.

Truth & Power

After watching a talk by writer and author Elizabeth Gilbert, I just posted on this blog - some words of poet-philosopher Iqbal flashed across my mind. While Iqbal was conversing with someone, he quoted Goethe saying something like this:

"Take refuge in art, there's still truth in it."

But, then, he professed, "I only replace the word 'art' with 'religion', for although art has truth, it hasn't any power." Gilbert's beautiful and reassuring talk reminded me of this.

"Allah, Allah! That's Allah!"

Here is Elizabeth Gilbert (her personal website) talking on the creative process, in a world conference brought by TED.

If you're having a problem with the view, click here.

A Mystery

I have this frequent habit of doing two activities simultaneously, one is particularly, in this case, of talking and listening; and the other can be writing symbols, or drawing lines, doodling figures or patterns either carving them on house-hold artices or any viable medium. The interesting thing is that my brain starts relating these two activities, obviously of different domains, while no dualism appears anymore. It is like as if heard or spoken word(s) is being carved into the structural patterns that my brain is recording, meanwhile, through the vision of the eyes and hearing of the ears. During some intense moments, this may result in discontinuity in awareness of the discussion with the other person. And I become so much absorbed in these two activitis that I have no idea what is happening in my surrounding, and also, not knowing, 'Who is he I'm talking to?' or even, to mention the extreme, 'Who am I?'

I do not understand this mystery. Do you?

Master or PhD? That is the Question!

(transcription of the comic below)

To PhD or not

To Phd...

That is the question.

Whether 'tis saner in

The mind to suffer the slights and putdowns of

Outra-geous faculty...

Or to take data despite advisor grumbles,

And by graduating, end them?

To graduate: to sleep; once more;

And, by a PhD to say

We end the back-ache

And thousand financial debts that

Grads are heir to.

'Tis a commencement

Devoutly to be wished

To graduate; to sleep...

To nap; perchance

To dream...

Source.

5 Humble Ways of Pre-writing

This post is just an ordinary post. I know that prolific writer's do not really need such ordinary techniques in writing to practice, which I am to mention. But basics are basics. And, since when we emphasize by repeating a word twice, we imply it to be definitive and essential. To get to the point, I now hereby, pronto, pledge to, quantify, exalt.... [I'm sorry, just snoozed in the process!] Following are 5 humble ways I use to prepare scripts for daily orientations:

1.  Develop a writer's journal. Here I record experiences and ideas on a daily basis only to break down the patterns and find new sources from where to take a fresh flight.

2. Another ordinary 'oriental thing' I do in prewriting is freewriting. While being wild, I sit down and let the wild within me do whatever... it... is... to... do! [giggling], and not for more than 5 minutes do I collect the ideas I want to write about.

3. Listing ideas quickly without judging them. Now that's important, since I do not wish to curb my wildness and its manifestations - I let Pakistan's constitution rule!

4. Ask 5 W-How questions: Who, what, where, why, when and how. I hope you understand.

5. Reading and listening with focus. If it is important for effective learning that we learn a thing not only by listening and reading, but by other ways also (speaking out, writing down etc.), so is the case with writing. I cannot just write 24-hour a day. Whatever best I can ever write, no matter how original and unique, it is by the knowledge of the known that I advance towards what's unknown. And, most importantly, it is also advised to listen and read before sitting to write down as reading and writing are said to complement each other. (It's a total mystery to me as to why.)

Family I Deserve

I desire to study for more than six years and I equally wish that my parents pay for my needs and passions, so as to allow them a chance or two to express the love for their child (I know him). It is all a matter of abstract expressions, nothing that concrete. Although, I have no desire whatsoever of living an absolute dependent life, I only prefer an interdependent one. I know when I'll have kids, I'd love to bestow on them material benefits as my parents do to me now. How can I make sure that I become such a father who is very generous, if I haven't experienced the mirth of taking and possessing? 

Knowledge of 'a' gives us the knowledge of 'b'. Not to reiterate my master's words, if black is not known how comes white be known? (It's an ABC thing, your maturity won't understand!)

thought of the day - little learning, more power

Nukta (A dot). Source

"Acquire knowledge. It enables its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven; it is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude, our companion when friendless; it guides us to happiness; it sustains us in misery; it is an ornament among friends, and armor against enemies."

These are the words of "the illiterate camel driver". I know of no better practical philosophy of learning than this prompting to action aphorism by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. This is exactly 'turning a little learning into a powerful thing'.

War of Aphorisms

Holbrook Jackson in his Platitudes in the Making utters,

He who reasons is lost.

G. K. Chesterton, Jackson's contemporary, in his copy of Platitudes forwards his own anti-theses with bright green pencil beneath each of Jackson's maxims. And, responding to the maxim just quoted, he remarks:

He who never reasons is not worth finding.

Jackson,

Don't think--do.

Chesterton, a Catholic rationalist and socialist, fires back:

Do think! Do!

Isn't it fun? Sharp shocks!

Bible's Version in the Language of Prophet Jesus Found

Released photo of the manuscript on 6th Feb, 2009.

"Ancient" Syriac bible found in Cyprus

By Sarah Ktisti and Simon Bahceli – 2 hrs 59 mins ago

"Authorities in northern Cyprus believe they have found an ancient version of the Bible written in Syriac, a dialect of the native language of Jesus.

The manuscript was found in a police raid on suspected antiquity smugglers. Turkish Cypriot police testified in a court hearing they believe the manuscript could be about 2,000 years old.

The manuscript carries excerpts of the Bible written in gold lettering on vellum and loosely strung together, photos provided to Reuters showed. One page carries a drawing of a tree, and another eight lines of Syriac script."

Read Full Story Here.

Don't mess up Pronouns

But it's fun to. Allow Tom Stoppard to explain:

Septimus: Geometry, Hobbes assures us in the Levithan, is the only science God has been pleased to bestow on mankind.

Lady Croom: And what does he mean by it?

Septimus: Mr Hobbes or God?*

* Quoted in the Fowler's Modern English usage.

How I Moved On

Journal Entry   -   5th Feb, 2009.

I entered the park in the shadow of dark clouds, which darkened my vision of the horizon. But as I looked here and around, what was the spectacle? litter and garbage. Childern, adults and some poor people in their adolescence, who have little reasons to exist reasonably, had just emptied the field for my phlegmatic visit, after paying a tribute to the Labor's Day (?) in the form of - Litter and Garbage. The voices from the management class resonated in the back of my head, of proaction, proactivity, service and creating value. I only waited for a partner, instinctively. I betrayed myself. I never walked the walk and tried to avoid any eye-contact with the litter and garbage on the otherwise amorous green patches. 

The place was filled with the blankets of silence. Silence that of desert. But having concrete paths, it was a unique place to walk on. Silence and concreteness; and yet no action, I reflected. But I moved on. Somehow, I picked a small abused cover of an edible product. Thanks to the advertising skills of the entrepreneur, it amused me, it read: Fast Nimko, Family Pack CFP. Nimko and fast? [Chuckles] [Clears throat] 

Nevertheless, I moved on... How could I?

The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam by M. Iqbal

The Reconstruction of the Religious Thought in Islam

By, Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

The book starts with the most penetrating questions and yet they're not: very penetrating to a deeply reflecting mind, but not to an unconscious one. For instance, he starts the first lecture, or chapter, of the book by expressing his own deep philosophical perplexing queries: "What is the character and general structure of the universe in which we live? Is there a permanent element in the constitution of this universe? How are we related?" The book is immensely philosophical, and is an effort to address these philosophical questions from the viewpoint of religion Islam and its authentic classical sources, primarily Qur'an and Prophetic traditions of the Prophet of Islam (P.B.U.H.). 

I have found it to be a very resourceful book, not limiting itself to a particular domain of knowledge. For instance, this book points to the origins of philosophy of atomism based on Qur'anic injunctions in Islam - a subject very pertinent to physics and chemistry science students. (You can read an extract from the book here on atomism by a Muslim school of thought.) The book heavily relies and takes constant inspiration from the Holy Qur'an and Hadith of Prophet, and as well from the classical and contemporary Muslim metaphysical sources. It seems as if the writer wants to shed off the treasures of Islam to the whole world, so as to enlighten it.

 Nevertheless, this book has one great flaw. It never reaches down to the level of "layman's" understanding. Perhaps, that has been the reason why it remains a neglected piece of work in Muslim world today. That is, although it wishes to communicate a profound understanding of religious message to humankind, it does not wish to bend its lofty manner of expression by resorting to plain language. Another reason of its being neglected by Muslims may lie in its excessive use of the language of modern Western philosophy in conveying the meaning of the religious text. This particular aspect of this work has been criticized vehemently by relatively traditionalist scholars, who seek to reform Muslim societies in the exact spirit of Prophet's days and first Islamic century.

 What I have said till now may be very inaccurate, but this is what I've been able to appraise. Here, I do not feel shame to mention that I have miserably failed to fully grasp an understanding of the complexity of this work. However, it certainly has enlightened my thinking in many ways. Its certain passages opened up new worlds of understanding to me that I wish to share here. You may find one passage quite thought-provoking, while the other groundbreaking, and some simply beautiful and a few other as revolutionary.

 Although this book takes inspirations from Western philosophy and sciences, it very much deserves critical criticism with liberal spirits from Muslim quarters. However, it should be noted that in Muslim academic circles across the globe, this book has received a wide range of audience. It has been well criticized with differing perspectives, and the numbers of critical works on it are increasing day-by-day. It is only that common people with no background in philosophy are very much unfamiliar with this work and that, as I said, maybe an internal flaw of this work.

 I have posted a few extracts from this book on the following topics that I have found thought-provoking and exotic for any conscious reader, in the comment section:

 1. about the cognitive element of mystical experience(s)

 2. about the notion of matter

 3. about Ijtihad

 4. Explanation of a beautiful verse of Urfi

 5. about the knowledge of heart.

(See the comments section.)