Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Eid Mubarak

Ever since I have joined Facebook and its other networking variants I am amused to observe  how much goodness  there is in the virtual world ....

No one seems to be endorsing violence or corruption and everyone seems to be on the side of peace and togetherness.
It is heart warming to see Eid , Holi , Diwaali , X'Mas , Gur Parab , Pongal , Navroz and an infinite number of other festivals being universally celebrated in the cyber space
Also  birthdays , wedding anniversaries , birth of a grand child , wedding/engagement/other festivities in the family etc are all celebrated with joyous and heartfelt greetings :-)
And as if this is not enough  there are birthday and anniversary celebrations almost every day on one or the other group and we see a long chain of cheerful wishes flowing through from across the globe  :-)

Yet in a surprisingly ironical real world people are not as accommodating , respectful and  polite  ...
There is wide spread  (almost unchecked) corruption which in turn results in barbaric terrorist activities  happening under one or the other pretext ... There is a glaring lack of tolerance and an alarming rise in intermittent acts of violence...
There is mud-slinging and name-calling  , there is heart break and depression , there are calls to "avenge injustice"  and oath-taking to "teach the other a lesson "
There is so much rigidity as though human hearts have turned  into stone ...

Everyone is entwined and entangled  in this demoralizing scenario and usually people choose their side of the fence as per their background and philosophy considering their circumstance at that given present time

Incidentally, this year  in the Holy month of Ramzaan , from having sermons on the benefits of Yoga and Namaaz ,  and  the warnings about how a "wrong " pronunciation of Arabic words could lead to blasphemy by Urdu speaking believers of Islam ,  to the mindless killing of one sect of believers by another sect  in a mosque  have left the ordinary followers of the faith speechless and confused.

A religion that is said to be preaching universal peace and brotherhood is being put to disgrace by a few of it's  "followers" misleading  an entire world of people who are at a loss to perceive the "compatibility" between peace and violence


Meanwhile Ramzaan is moving at a fast pace .... The intezaar for Eid has already begun ... I wonder kis ne kitney Qur'an padhey aur kitney sajde karey ...... ?
Who did it right and who did it wrong ?
Whose ibadat will be accepted by God Almighty ?

But the biggest of all questions is a thought that nags the mind :
Is this the kind of "ibadat" that one should be satisfied with ?
What is the purpose of such rituals ?
Should the customs that have religious sanctions not be evaluated and updated from time to time ?
Ramzaan , or for that matter any time of the year is not just for the followers to spend nights and days reading Qur'an , offering namaaz and reading some duas ( that have been "standardized "  and circulated over various internet groups )
As we talk of spirituality and find ourselves among a mind boggling maze of rituals the question of "har yug mein badaltey dharmoN ko kaisey aadarsh banaaogey .... " is of great importance

If we can just learn to stop being judgmental and also stop counting the good deeds of a person in relation to his/her roza and Namaaz , if we can respect the creations of God Almighty for what they are , and learn to ALSO  PRACTICE  what we so fervently preach on the social networking sites , we would go a long way in living up to the spirit of Ramzaan .... and perhaps be able to imbibe the truthfulness and depth of God's message better

So while we prepare to bid this year's Ramzaan an affectionate  Khuda Hafiz , and get ready to eat our sheer-khurmaas and qeewami sevaiN, let us spare a thought for the larger message of God , which is universal in whatever name/form it comes to us , shunning discrimination of all kinds :-)

Happy And Mubarak Eid to all
God Bless


15 comments:

Unknown said...

So beautifully written..full of thoughts which every one goes through...This article should appear every where...excellent writing...Happy Eid..

Unknown said...

So beautifully written..full of thoughts which every one goes through...This article should appear every where...excellent writing...Happy Eid..

Unknown said...

Zohra,

That's the crux. Why, in spite of increasing religiosity and all that virtual 'goodness', man is going deep down in the scale of universal brotherhood and natural tenets of morality in real life? Please understand, virtual may after all not be candid. It is easy to pass comments and like/dislike posts on the spur of the moment. In reality, it is more than just an exercise in seeking approval or gratification. You are talking about genuine goodness and you have a point there. It is difficult to identify virtue in virtual world. (Just think how difficult it is in 'really' to understand the person who is near you in flesh and blood!) But all said, it is a great paradox of the modern world... More religion, and more intolerance and violence. The religions that the masses understand has not made mankind more civilised and human. It is, unfortunately, the other way round. There are isolated examples like you, where your religious belief is not coming in the way of universal love and compassion.

For a moment, consider imagining 'Mother Nature' as GOD, and you will see all walls of seperation falling apart. No rituals other than all that you do to respect nature. No prayer to the unknown other than unbounded expression of compassion to all living things. If this happens, then we can see some hope for the survival and true humanity.



Unknown said...

Very nice, sincere & beautifully written dear. And I do fully agree with you. Stay blessed. A very happy & prosperous Id to you dear. Enjoy the holy day.

Nisays said...

'Kuch' kya, bhut kuch kehdeti ho, Zohra.....!!! Bahut khoob.....!!! I applaud every word of what you wrote in this blog. Possibly, it reflected everything I had always wanted to say, all my life but couldn't get around to do for various reasons. Thanks for voicing, in your own inimitable style,my own mind. Thanks a Million, Zohra. Eid Mubarak Ho. Khuda tumhari har Ibadat, Roza, Namaz aur Dua kubool farmayen. Aameen.

awanderingaesthete said...


Very well written, Zohra. And so true. If only we practice half of what we profess to be- the world would be a better place to live in. You should put this write-up for higher circulation.
Eid Mubarak & God bless :)

Rupam Kumar said...

वाह !! क्या खूब लिखा है ज़ोहरा ...दिल ने जो चाहा और सोचा आपने लिख दिया ......हमेशा से कायल हैं आपके .....ख़ुशी होती है एक सुलझी सोच का साथ है .......बहुत अच्छी ईदी दी है आपने......ईद मुबारक़ !!

Zohra Javed said...

Thanks so much for the wishes and your words of appreciation

Zohra Javed said...

Very well analysed .... The truth in all honesty most certainly is , like you have said : " No prayer to the unknown other than unbounded expression of compassion to all living things "

Zohra Javed said...

Thanks so much for understanding , appreciating and agreeing with my point of view ... I see hope for a better future if this understanding can translate from thoughts to action

Zohra Javed said...

Huge bunch of thanks .... In a world filled with immense diversity people are desperately seeking like minded friends ....there is an inadvertent effort to create uniformity and hence religion is gaining importance .... But what a strange irony this is that among the followers of the same religion also we find conflicting interpretations of the same Holy text

Zohra Javed said...

Thankyou so much Chitrita :-)
" Everyone wants change , but no one wants to change "
Lekin still let us hope better sense prevails .... Even if the process is a gradual one
God bless

Zohra Javed said...

Very kind and generous of you ... Such encouragement goes a long way in helping me express in words what my heart thinks in silence :-)

Unknown said...

Happy belated Eed-ul-Fitr.

I became late in reading your blog and responding to you as I normally do open my gmail account for the links of YMGJS only.

Zohra Javed said...

Thanks a lot .... And never ever mind the delay :-)
God Bless