A Tale of Two Holy Cities

A quick 26 days tour of Makkah and Madina during Hajj 1431 taught me some new things in life. Each foreign visit broadens up your vision of the world, and tells you a few things you never learn from the media and the books.

Makkah Mukarma turned out to be very different from the image I had in my mind. To my surprise, it's a hilly area with very warm weather; it felt hot even in November. At the least, the area surrounding the Ka'aba consists entirely of mountainous terrain. There is almost no greenery, which makes me wonder where did they keep camels in this city!

Besides the hot weather and the relatively difficult terrain, there were thousands and thousands of pilgrims, which to some extent made it challenging to move around during rush hours---mainly the five prayer timings.

Amongst other impressions modified by this visit includes the commonly held belief that "Saudis, because of being Wahabi's, have lack of empathy for other sects/ interpretations of Islam." While this remains true to a large extent even today, I could witness some completely unheard of events: A group of young Shiites (perhaps Hezbollah members?) slanting "Labaik Ya Hussain" while performing Tawwa'f of Khana-e-Kaa'ba; Ayatollah's from the US; a huge gathering of Lebanese Shiite's on 7th Zilhajj and recitation of Sura-e-Baraat by them. Very rarely but surely one could find Muttawas holding and beating pilgrims who, according to them, were performing acts of shirk.


Madina left an impression very different from Makkah---firstly, it wasn't too populated since Hajj days were over; secondly, the weather was chilly. There was a sense of peace and calm in the city, and the city also seemed to be much more developed as compared to Makkah.

I specially liked the area around Masjid-Zu-qiblatain; extremely peaceful environment with modern shopping arcade at some distance and a small, very beautiful park close by. Yet, the visit to Madina wasn't without surprises either. On 18th Zilhaj, when we tried to go to Masjid-e-Nabawi (Salallaho Alay'he Wa Aal-e-hi Wassalam) after Isha prayers, we were not only stopped from entering the mosque, rather forcefully pushed away by Saudi Army. The mosque was sealed by Saudi armed forces and people were being drove away! After some time, we realized that only Irani passport holders were allowed to enter the mosque and the rest of the nationalities were forbidden. This was one of the most unimaginable thing for me.

Later, it was found out that on this particular night Irani pilgrims pray Dua-e-Kumail, and they are handed over the mic of the mosque for a few hours! The army was there to make sure that Iranis do not go beyond what's agreed with the Saudi government.

And the complete list of surprises includes the flood in Jeddah as well as the threat now Saudi government feels from Yemeni rebels.

A bonus informative point is that Madina hosts Sheikh Amri. Getting more information on this person is worth your time!

Imam Ali (alayhis salam)'s Advice to His Son

Nahjul Balagha (The Peak of Eloquence) was translated into Urdu by Mufti Jaffer Hussain. In Pakistan, it's published by Imamia Publications, Lahore. However, the Urdu print is still handwritten and not typed. I am thankful to Faeza Rizvi for helping me out in typing Imam Ali (alayehis salam)'s wasiyat in Unicode. The same can be found in English here. I am putting an initial part of the advice below. Please install Nafees Web Naskh for better rendering of the text. You can also get the complete document from here.

صفین سے پلٹتے ہوئے جب مقام حاظرین میں منزل کی تو امام حسن علیہ السلام کے لیے یہ وصیّت نامہ تحریر فرمایا:

یہ وصیّت ہے اس باپ کی جو فنا ہونے والا، اور زمانہ کی چیرہ دستیوں کا اقرار کرنے والا ہے۔ جس کی عمر پیٹھ پھرائے ہوئے ہے- اور جو زمانہ کی سختیوں سے لاچار ہے اور دنیا کی برائیوں کو محسوس کرچکا ہے، اور مرنے والوں کے گھروں میں مقیم اور کل کو یہاں سے رخت سفر باندھ لینے والا ہے- اس بیٹے کے نام جو نہ ملنے والی بات کا آرزو مند، جادہ عدم کا راہ سپار، بیماریوں کا ہدف، زمانہ کے ہاتھ گروی، مصیبتوں کا نشانہ، دنیا کا پابند، اور اس کی فریب کاریوں کا تاجر، موت کا قرض دار، اجل کا قیدی، غموں کا حلیف، حزن و ملال کا ساتھی، آفتوں میں مبتلا، نفس سے عاجز اور مرنے والوں کا جانشین ہے۔

بعدہ، تمھیں معلوم ہونا چاہیے کہ میں نے دنیا کی رو گردانی، زمانہ کی منہ زوری اور آخرت کی پیش قدمی سے جو حقیقت پہچانی ہے وہ اس امر کے لیے کافی ہے کہ مجھے دوسرے تذکروں اور اپنی فکر کے علاوہ دوسری کوئی فکر نہ ہو مگر اسی وقت جب کہ دوسروں کے فکرواندیشہ کو چھوڑ کر میں اپنی ہی دھن میں کھویا ہوا تھا اور میری عقل و بصیرت نے مجھے خواہشوں سے منحرف و روگردان کر دیا اور میرا معاملہ کھل کر میرے سامنے آ گیا، اور مجھے واقعی حقیقت اور بےلاگ صداقت تک پہنچا دیا۔

میں نے دیکھا کہ تم میرا ہی ایک ٹکڑا ھو، بلکہ جو میں ہوں وہی تم ہو، یہاں تک کہ اگر تم پر کوئی آفت آئے تو گویا مجھ پر آئی ہے۔اور تمہیں موت آئے تو گویا مجھے آئی ہے۔ اس سے مجھے تمہارا اتنا ہی خیال ہوا، جتنا اپنا ہو سکتا ہے۔ لہذا میں نے یہ وصیّت نامہ تمہاری رہنمائی میں اسے معیّن سمجھتے ہوئے تحریر کیا ہے خواہ اس کے بعد میں زندہ رہوں، یا دنیا سے اٹھ جاوں۔

Some Less Pondered Lessons from Karbala

What do you do when you know that the end is inevitable, and you are all set to embrace it? Consider, for example, a person suffering from a painful disease and he/ she is known to die; the only thing unknown could be the time frame he/ she has to bear the suffering. Most of the people would prefer ending the suffering, even if it entails something like death. The earlier the better.

But there is an example in the world history where such suffering was willingly elongated: the night between 9th and 10th Muharram---despite having no water for 3 days and being very clear about his choice and the events which would follow, Imam Hussain (alaye-hissalam) requested the Yazidi forces to allow him and his companions one night's opportunity.

To the apparent eye, the Imam might have wanted to spend his last night praying and offering supplications, which is of course true but there was a side-affect of this one night's delay: one of the commanders of the Yazidi forces, Hur, changed sides the last night, and martyred from Imam's side in the morning---martyred by the forces he once commanded.

Ask yourself: when do you change sides? When the competitor has something higher to offer: a better rank/ authority, more financial rewards, etc. Yet, here is an example of going to the other extreme when Hur made up his mind to get killed in the battle to succeed. The request for spending another night living in Karbala was actually an opportunity to the people on the evil side to make up their mind.

Karbala was a demonstration, and Hur is a symbol of humanity, who got purified by this demonstration.

Religion and Reasoning - Part III

First of all, lots of apologies for being away. I recently shifted my home and there is lots of work in office as well---I work in a company which makes software for ATMs and alternate delivery channels.

I'll like to continue with the example of a perfect statue in a wilderness: while you are wondering where it came from, suppose somebody (call him Mr. Truthful) tells you that the sculpturer was so and so. Mr. Truthful is well known in the area---people respect him for his truthfulness and honesty---and he further claims that he himself met the sculpturer.

After coming to know this, there are two logical conclusions: Either believe in what Mr. Truthful told you, or regard his meeting with and knowledge of the sculpturer as a hallucination. Disbelievers tend to conclude the later one. On the other hand, I find it absurd---if you trust a person in all the worldly affairs, and agree that all his faculties are superior to yours, why not trust him in things that can't be seen by the eye? After all, I do trust things like who my parents are; 1+1 equals 2; atom is made up of electrons, protons and neutrons; etc. I trusted my teachers and my parents for I didn't have the knowledge to prove or disprove the facts.

There are some similarities between the allegory and the coming of Prophets; there are further questions that one should ask himself: Why did the Prophets (Peace be upon them) one after the other validated their predecessors? Why did all of them prophesied the coming of the next one? Why each of these talked about the same things: monotheism, creation, day of judgment, and moral obligations? Why each of these was the best of his era (in terms of knowledge, wisdom, influence, etc.)? Why Gabriel is the arch-angel? Why the Old Testament (Torah), New Testament and Quran are so much similar in their teachings?

Besides, everything fits so nicely into this explanation of the creation and the purpose. Moreover, what all it asks you is to spend your life in a pious way---to refrain from what's harmful for you (both body and soul) and to practice what increases your level of awareness.

Religion and Reasoning - Part II

I have done enough reasoning bashing. Honestly speaking, reasoning provides foundations for almost everything; it's just that I don't think of it as the ultimate arbitrator because of the two concerns I raised earlier (i.e., limitations of logic and changing premises).

Below, I extract from some of the points mentioned by Josh as disadvantages of having a belief system (I am sorry if you think they have been taken out of context; the original comment can be seen here):

• Instead of seeking to understand different views, or new ideas, a believer will automatically treat that which is not taught in church/ synagogue/ mosque as incorrect, distorted, biased, or even evil. This creates a defensive, closed mindset; not an open, intelligent one.


• So much time is wasted teaching children and adults nonsensical scripture when they could be learning things about themselves and their world which could help them overcome all the many barriers which stand between them and happiness/ fulfillment.

While, to some extent, I agree to the two points extracted above (I'll talk about other points at some later time), aren't these problems of the clergy (or whoever is your teacher) rather than religion itself? What else justifies creation of sects within a religion where people can be brainwashed to the extent that they become ready to kill each other just because they interpret things in a different way.

When I asked what were the disadvantages of having a belief system, I intended to know the answer from a personal point of view. That is, how religion affects you as an individual --- it varies from person to person depending on what kind of environment you have been brought up in and how much intelligence you have been gifted with.

To me, religion provides a broad framework of life in which I have individual freedom and choice. My religion expects me to be aware of my consciousness, at all times. Seeking knowledge and reflecting on the creation is a not only encouraged, it's obligatory.

There are so many paths which I can follow from this point in my discussion. I guess I should start with the Big Bang (it would be a good idea to read a little on the theory if you are new to it). Next I quote from Quran:

Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before We clove them asunder, and We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (Ch:21,Ver:30)

There are a few other verses that can be quoted: "The heaven, We have built it with power. And verily, We are expanding it." (Ch:51,Ver:47). Parallels with the Big Crunch and an oscillating universe have also been suggested: "On the day when We will roll up the heavens like the rolling up of the scroll for writings, as We originated the first creation, (so) We shall reproduce it; a promise (binding on Us); surely We will bring it about." (Ch:21,Ver:104).

The word used for a Quranic verse is "ayat" (آيت) which means a "sign" or an "indication." There are signs all over the universe for believers. Non-believers discard all of them by saying that "the citation doesn't constitute a proof." What kind of proof are people interested in when our knowledge is extremely limited, and there exist things that can neither be proven to be true nor false?

Before moving further, I'd like to pose more questions:

Suppose you come across a perfect statue in a vast wilderness, something far superior than anything that have ever seen. What will be your first question? Mine would be, "who created it?" And I might laugh it off if somebody gives the answer that evolution took place at that particular 3x4 feet area and the statue was merely a coincidence.

Religion and Reasoning - Part I

In this and the posts which will follow, when I say religion I mean all monotheistic religions which have foundations in Creation/ Intelligent Design and prophesies the Day of Judgment. More importantly, these are my views and I am not an authority over anything but I seek truth, just like you do.

The modern man puts reasoning and rationality above everything -- to the extent it challenges the need for a religion. In what follows, firstly, I'll indicate why I think reasoning and common sense can't give you everything.

Let me start by asking a few questions: Do you think that clockwise and anticlockwise rotation are mutually exclusive? What if I tell you that it's possible for something to rotate in both directions simultaneously? Well, in Quantum Mechanics an electron can be rotating both clockwise and anticlockwise at the same time.

As another example, you believe you know reproduction. Perhaps, virgin birth is impossible. Right? Wrong! Consider this.

Before one starts making logical conclusions that disprove God's existence, let me ask if the following statement can be attributed as true or false: "This is a lie." Obviously, if it's false then it's not a lie and if it's true, then again it's not a lie. We have arrived at a paradox -- it's not necessary that "logic" itself will give you all the answers you want.

But this doesn't mean that reasoning is a plague. In fact, whatever could be deduced from the above discussion is still based on reasoning! The problem is that reasoning begins with a premise (and our knowledge is constantly increasing and thus, the premises keep changing) and secondly, there is no escape from paradoxes.

If you go through Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, you will experience the strange world of "self reference." Let me give you another example (inspired from GEB):

A genie comes out when you open up a bottle. The genie asks, "Make a wish and I'll fulfill it." You say, "Grant me 3 more wishes."
The genie would reply, "That's a meta-wish!"

The more you talk about self reference (as well as the higher level of being), the more confusing it gets!

Karbala

At the expense of redundnacy, I say that the amount of information obtained from an event is directly propotional to its rarity. And Karbala is an event which is the rarest of its kind in the history of mankind. Despite the fact that the exact details have reached us, most of the people just have a very vague idea of Karbala.

Quoting from one website:

Ashura is the story of loyalty, bravery, piety, magnanimity and self-sacrifice. It is the eternal saga of persons who created epics to safeguard humanitarian principles so that the coming generations can live in dignity with heads held high in defense of truth. On this day, the Prophet’s grandson courted martyrdom in order to inspire mankind in the fight against injustice and exploitation. In the words of American historian Washington Irving the spirit shown by Imam Hussein (AS) remains immortal since he presented the lasting example of heroic bravery.

Each and every detail associated with this happening is enlightening. Consider, for example, what made the "Muslims" fight against the grandson of the Holy Prophet (sal'Allaho alayhe wa'alayhi wasallam)? This happened in less than 50 years after Prophet's (PBUH) death!

Why Husain bin Ali (AS) took only 70 people with him when he was leaving Madina? While Husain (AS) refused many people who wanted to go with him, he wrote letters to some others to accompany him! The list of such people includes Habib bin Mazahir, a childhood friend of Husain (AS), who was more than 70 years old then.

Each and every act and saying in this few days period seems to be planned as if to teach us something. Consider Hur, the leader of a small section of the evil forces, who changed sides just a night before and joined Husain's (AS) camp. He knew fully that the stage had been set and the next day every man on Husain's (AS) side would be martyred. Hur would not have changed sides if Husain (AS) had not asked the evil forces to delay the fight for a night.

The companions were handpicked. A night before Ashura, Imam Husain (AS) said, "Tomorrow whoever is here will die so I let you go away from here; save yourself; I permit you to leave this place." When nobody left, he ordered the light to be put off so that nobody was ashamed of leaving in front of others. But in reply all of them said, "If we are to die seventy times and our bodies are burnt even then we will not leave you."

No saint or Prophet had such companions! And perhaps the night of Ashura was the strangest in human history, when the companions and Husain (AS) spent the whole night offering prayers to Allah. Not a single drop of water had passed through the throats for the past 3 days; the happenings of the coming day were known to all; yet, they showed so much calmness! so much generosity! Perhaps, this would have been a night when angels would have desired to be such humans.

I dare to say that if you don't know Karbala, you know nothing about life. You are asleep and need to wake up.

بیاں سر شھادت کی اگر تفسیر ھو جاۓ
مسلمانوں کا کعبہ روضہُ شبیر ھو جاۓ
(علامہ اقبال)۔

Jab Anay Wala Aye Ga

Click the link to download the mp3: جب آنے والا آٌے گا

The First Steps...Towards Religion

Like a child who knows that he has to walk some day but still can't manage, I am toddling. For days, I have thought how to say this and I am afraid I am tongue tied. Firstly, I would say, don't trust me blindly. This is my understanding of things and others may or may not agree. Just seek other sources for whatever I say (and I shall provide as much references as I could). At the same time, I pray from the Almighty that I get things correctly.

Let me start like this...

One thing is for sure, no religion could have a base as simple as the Kalima we, as Muslims, recite. However, do we really know what it means? The general translation of the first part of Kalima is "There is no god but Allah." The translation has a flaw, I believe. The word "god" restricts the concept only to idol worship. As far as I could find out, there is no proper translation of "ilaha" in English. The word "ilaha" means deity / god/ one to be worshipped/ one who has power to satisfy your needs and answer your prayer/ one who is in control of your affairs/ One who can comfort you; provide protection and support for you.

So, what's the difference? And one may ask: does it matter? This post is about these two questions.

If your understanding of the word "god" goes beyond idol worship, then there is no difference; otherwise, there is a huge difference. There is this wonderful thing about Quran: it's an explanation of itself. If you find a word confusing in a verse, try looking for it somewhere else in Quran and the other verse would explain the previous one. So for the explanation of "ilaha" let's look at verse 25:43. The English translation is given below:

Have you seen him who takes his low desires for his ilaha? Will you then be a protector over him?

Do you think anyone in the world really "worships" his desires? I haven't met anyone who does but I have seen people, the focal point of whose lives is "worldly desires." Thus, I believe the word "ilaha" shouldn't be restricted to idol worship. It's more close to "the focal point of your life."

Let's now come to the question whether it makes any difference or not. If you have followed the last few arguments then you should be able to see that the difference is actually similar to the difference between "idea" and "attitude" or in other words, the difference between "set of concepts" and "way of life." Islam is an attitude, a way of life. It's not an idea or some set of concepts.

Which brings me to what I wanted to say in this post: Islam means submission and there are no rules/ restrictions except those imposed by Allah (which reached us through His Prophet, Salallaho Alay-he Wa'aalehee Wassalam). A Muslim not only doesn't worship any other being/ thing; the focal point of his life isn't anything except the commandments of Allah.

Though it might seem a simple concept to grasp, it might also appear to be quite difficult to follow. Yet, it isn't and I shall tell you why in the next few posts. I shall also continue with why we need to understand the meanings of the words so deeply.

Just as a last example, let me put a question to you: Do Muslims worship the Black Stone (hijr-e-aswad) when they perform hajj and kiss this stone? No, certainly not! This is what the focal point indicates: When you are sure that an instruction is from Allah, then there is no question of right or wrong/ benefit or loss - acting accordingly is "right" and "beneficial."


I shall move forward with both kinds of posts - computer science as well as understanding of life, the later being extremely difficult to put into words. The next post might be about "exploiting buffer overflow vulnerabilities to hack systems."


Submission to Allah's Will is the best companion; wisdom is the noblest heritage; theoretical and practical knowledge are the best signs of distinction; deep thinking will present the clearest picture of every problem.
(Hazrat Ali AS)

It's a way of saying "what I am here to do"

Yes, that's how people define karma. I have been here for two months. My first term is over by now and I have done well in the exams, Alhumdolillah. The result of the first term would be announced in a few weeks. But, is it why I am here? Yes, good grades are part of me but is it really the "most important thing" that brought me here.

Certainly not. I am here to complete myself - the way I want myself to be and the most important part of that is to understand life which, I am fully convinced, is linked with Islam; yet I am so far away from my goal. But not any longer.

Uptil now, what has made me afraid of saying anything about Islam is my own self which is evil enough not to deserve any acclaim. Yet, I feel that time is running short and I am not doing anything - may be I should just start and I would improve as I traverse this path. Writing makes you formalize your argument and makes your thoughts concise and coherent. And certainly to say something about Islam is a huge undertaking - even Qudurat-ullah Shahab titles his autobiography's chapter on Islam as "chota moun bari baat." What he has written is astonishing, to say the least.

Last night I had an Iftar at Rymdtorget in Bergsjon from some Pakistani PhD students. Amongst others, a Bosnian, named Raghib, who was in his late 20's was also invited. The man, though young, seemed to be a religious scholar and later I came to know that he taught Arabic as well. He was asked about the situation of Islam in Bosnia-Herzogovina. The man replied, "The atrocities on Muslims by Serbs had been a blessing." According to him, the Muslims before 1991 genocide were no different from other nations of Yugoslavia. "It was common to marry with non-muslims and people hardly offered prayers. Yet, it's this systematic eradication and the sufferings that has made us look deeper into our identity and thus, our religion. The situation is very different now. And we look towards nations like Pakistan for guidance."

How is a Pakistani supposed to respond to the last sentence? Certainly there is something wrong somewhere. But what is it? I am going to find out and it would be very different from the regular stuff told to you by everyone.

A month ago, there was a dinner by Chalmers Muslim Students Association in which the guest speaker talked about "The concept of Saving the Environment in Islam". One of the questions put to him was, "How much of what you have said is practiced in the Islamic world and if not, then why not?" The speaker responded by saying that till the time Muslims followed the teachings of Islam they were the best in the world. It's a very typical answer that we have heard so many time from our teachers and religious scholars. But ponder on the question once again, "Why aren't the teachings followed?" Putting it in other terms, I would say, "If Islam is so good and the teachings if followed can make our country/ place heaven then why aren't they followed?" Perhaps, no one has a satisfying answer.


It's just an official start of a journey which unofficially started quite a long time back. I would be talking about very many things (most of which will be esoteric and thus, unheard of) and would appreciate if I get some feedback along my way!


I do not look for holy saints to guide me on my way
Or male and female devilkins to lead my feet astray.
If these are added I rejoice - if not, I shall not mind
So long as I have leave and choice to meet my fellow-kind.
For as we come and as we go (and deadly soon go we!)
The people, lord, Thy people, are good enough for me.

Thus I will honour pious men whose virtue shines so bright
(Though none are more amazed than I when I by chance do right)
And I will pity foolish men for woe their sins have bred
(Though ninety-nine percent of mine I brought on my own head)
And Amorite or Eremite or General Averagee
The people, Lord, Thy people are good enough for me
(A Pilgrims Way by Rudyard Kipling)

Ingredients of a Genius

What's common in Einstein and Edison apart from the starting letter of their names? Einstein was one of the most dull students of his class until he started studying Mathematics after high-school (with support from his father and uncle). Edison was considered a symbol of disgrace by his teacher. But his mother withdrew him from school and taught science to him herself! Both the men were genii and their creations have significantly affected our lives.

Nature has rules and they aren't usually violated. I believe that there are rules that dictate when a genius has to be born! At the least, I have found one thing common in every person who is commonly thought of as a genius: One or both of the gifted child's parents belong to the same field in which he later shows expertise. It's the continuous struggle and interest of the parents which gives the child a good start - a start from where his parents left off!

An individual is based on two things: what he inherits from his parent(s) and how the environment affects him. In terms of being eminent, these correspond to hereditary intelligence and hard work. Also, I believe that if you are interested in some field but couldn't prove to be "eminent" in it, try putting your child into it in very early ages. The results would be very promising.

These ideas of mine are based on the biographies of great people that I read during my student years. However, recently, I was surprised to learn that Francis Galton did an extensive research on similar lines and published his work as Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into Its Laws and Consequences in 1869. He studied men from various fields of life: men who are born leaders, great warriors, eminent scientists, gifted poets, etc. He, then, checks the family tree of these eminent people to discover parents/ siblings in the same field - in a very thorough manner as compared to what I did.

Quite interestingly, though Darwinish it may sound, Galton states that particularly in order to be a successful person in science, you need to have an able mother and I agree. Ofcourse, there is a margin of error in everything and that's where probability kicks in!

This post was written several years ago; it must be read in conjunction with a review of Outliers.

Why? Because I believe something you do not? No! I stand here without fear because I remember. I remember that I am here not because of the path that lies before me, but because of the path that lies behind me!
(Morpheus: The Matrix Reloaded)

The Center and Its Importance

For every activity there is a center, like the vortex of a whirlpool or the yolk of an egg. Usually there is an orbital (or at least a fixed) path associated with the surrounding particles. The center not only provides the centripetal force which is necessary for orbital motion but sometimes has other very important functions to perform. For example, here's an article which states that the nucleus is really the living cell's mothership, a crucial and very active source of information, support and control.

Though not exactly orbital, blood circulates in the body following a fixed path, going through the heart. The heart is the center and the only instance when blood violates its definite path is when bleeding occurs.

The orbital motion is very prominent in the electrons tied to every atom's nucleus; the moon of every planet; the planets of every sun, etc. Not surprisingly, Muslims perform a circular ritual around Ka'aba during Haj. This center of all the activity has to be practically demonstrated at least once in a lifetime.

If something breaks its designated path, it goes astray. The suns and moons are very obedient creations (some people would like to replace the word obedient with dumb). But man has been given choice, which unfortunately is a very complex topic. The life of a human being can revolve around many centers. Or in other words, the center keeps shifting. To realize/ recognize our true center is the first and foremost duty.

A long time ago, PTV telecasted a very good drama with the title, "2 Suraj ka Siyara" (which translates into A Planet of Two Suns). Are you a planet of more than one sun?


"I am a trafficker of information, I know everything I can. The question is, do you know why you are here?"
(Merovingian: The Matrix Reloaded)

The Quest for Completeness

Much has been said and written about the quest for completeness in human beings and thus the attraction towards the opposite. What we term as attraction is actually "completeness being sought." This completeness can't be attained by merging the opposites but by merging things that complement each other.

Take example of two opposite poles of a magnet. What the north pole possesses isn't available to the south pole and what the north pole lacks can only be fulfilled by the south pole. Thus, they get attracted and combine to manifest unity.

Look into another example of two oppositely charged particles. Both positive and negative particles actually seek "completeness" which makes them come close to each other and thus unite. Positive and negative charged particles are not opposites [They don't cancel each other. "Light" and "dark" are real opposites.] Charged particles complement each other to form unity. Everything in this universe is in search for its missing parts.

What makes Na (sodium) react with Cl (chlorine)? If you remember lessons from your high school chemistry, sodium has 1 electron in its outermost shell while chlorine has 7. Sodium can "complete" its outermost shell by losing one electron (where completeness is defined as having the last shell 2 or 8 electrons) and chlorine can "complete" its outermost shell by gaining an electron. Thus, its the universal quest for completeness that makes them have an attraction towards each other and hence combine to form sodium cholride (table salt).


And based on my experience I would say that people who are almost alike in personalities can never constitute a good friendship; there is usually a teacher-student relationship in these cases or worse: there is professional jealousy in these cases. So even our friendship is a manifestation of a lost part of our-self. And this brings me to a very perplexing question: "Where exactly do I end and where exactly do you, my friend, begin?"

Patterns for Humanity?

The effect of diversity on the quality of a solution is interesting. But I must say that diversity is itself a manifestation of unity! Otherwise, what good these patterns are! One would be justified in saying that application of these patterns to human beings is really complex. Actually, the complexity arises from only one thing: choice! This very word is one of the core issues discussed in the trilogy of Matrix movies.

Agent Smith: Mr. Anderson, you must know it by now! You can't win, it's pointless to keep fighting! Why, Mr. Anderson, why, why do you persist?
Neo: Because I choose to.
(Matrix Revolutions)

The issues are getting out of my grasp but still the comments provide an alternative view point of some intelligent people. On with the show:

Stagnation is Death:

Have you ever wondered why 0K (Zero Kelvin) is the lowest possible temperature? Life is all about being dynamic. Everything in the entire universe is moving - from things smaller than electrons to solar systems and beyond. Matter can't be at rest. If it ceases to move, it ceases to exist! An atom must retain at least one quantum of energy and this keeps it from cooling below Absolute Zero. This means that nothing can ever be at rest.

What we term as death is actually a portal - from this world to the presumably broader one. Another form of death within this world lies in being stagnant or in other words, having the state of in-activity - a scholar who no more thinks of new ideas is dead, an IT professional who can't pace with the emerging technologies is obsolete, etc.

Occurrence of events is must for imparting knowledge. The amount of knowledge gained from the occurrence of an event is directly proportional to its rarity (or inversely proportional to its frequency).

Building on the example of the last pattern, when you are pushing a car even in the wrong direction, at the least, you are doing something. And this doing something is very important. In no time, one of the enlightened persons, amongst those who are pushing the car, will realize the wrong way! He would announce it and make sure that people understand the idea. And making mistakes (and learning from them) is as important as doing it right.

But what if there is a stalemate - a situation where everyone is waiting for everyone else to do things for them? Or when everyone is motionless just to avoid some inescapable situation; to avoid a future that exists only in the minds? In the words of Noon Meem Rashid (if I can recall them correctly):

Un-kahi say dartay ho?
Jo abhi naheen howa hai, us ghari say dartay ho?
Un-kahi to tum bhi ho, un-kahi to hum bhi hain.
Khud say tum naheen dartay?

where khud: self,
ghari: moment,
un-kahi: something that hasn't been said yet.

Patterns Debate Continued...

Some of you might be right that life exists only when "the part lives and dies/ has identity within" the whole. As one can argue on anything, I might say that what exactly is within? And we will never reach anywhere. Instead of putting questions just for the sake of argument, I am trying to demystify things and thus will come back to this question sometime in future (when I have a reasonable answer). But do keep your thoughts pouring in!

Present day science and common sense do not explain everything. Still both are the tools that have enabled mankind to come this far. There is a parallel way of being powerful: the paranormal explanation of things. Having interest in both paranormal experiences and scientific laws as well as their intersection, I am not going to support either. This blog is about life in general and practical social life in particular. So this time I am going to discuss the alignment of elements:

Alignment of Elements: The Power Hence

What is the difference between an iron bar and a magnetic bar? No, I am not interested in being told that one attracts the other and hence has power. What I want to know is the difference in internal structures. You can take a piece of iron bar and magnetize it by rubbing a magnet from end A to end B repeatedly (always in the same direction). This would magnetize the iron and give it power; but what has actually changed? It's the orientation of atoms within the iron bar.

Take another example, think of a group of people that are pushing a car where everyone is disoriented and pushing it in a different direction. Where would it take them? Nowhere! What if they are properly aligned and asked to push the car in one specific direction? If all the elements get aligned the power originates from within!

Re-apply this pattern to anything and you would conclude that dis-orientation is powerless and alignment gives you power! The first example is more enlightening in the sense that it seems a bit esoteric. Taking a step further I would say that merely thinking in the same direction (alignment of thought) is very powerful - perhaps that's the basis of importance of prayer with jama'at (congregation).

Do share your thoughts.

"Because you didn't come here to make the choice, you've already made it. You're here to try to understand why you made it. I thought you'd have figured that out by now."
Matrix Reloaded: Oracle

Design Patterns in Nature

Design Patterns is a fancy word in the field of computer science, frequently abused. I take this opportunity to apply the word with reference to Mother Nature. Just as a design pattern serves as a blueprint for solving one particular kind of problems, there are patterns in the nature itself. And just because I have a limited vocabulary, I have used the word Design Pattern for these patterns. Let me know if you can term the following something else:

. System within Individual: Life and its Definition
. Orbital Motion
. Ingredients of a Genius
. Alignment of Elements: The Power Hence
. Attraction Towards the Opposite: The Quest for Completeness
. Generalizing Khans, Blacks and Sikhs (without any racial discrimination)

System within Individual: Life and its Definition

Let me start by putting a question: What are you - an individual or a system? If you think for some time, you are both. And your answer would /should be: "depends on your level of abstraction."

I would then like to put another question: "So if you are a system, why do you think you have life?" And if you are not a thinker this might be a perplexing question.

Let me approach from another direction. If I say that a room in which you are sitting alone is full of life, would you believe me? Think about the micro-organisms and the activities they are doing every moment. If a cell has life then each cell of your body might think that "it has life and it's actually working inside a dumb system with other cells."

Now consider the organization where you work/ study. Isn't each individual person part of a system - whether it's a company or an institute? Does the company have life? Is your educational institute an 'organism'?

Start examining a bee hive - it's a complete system. See inside the hive, you will find individuals - the bees. Take a bee as an individual and dig deeper, see the digestive, neural, respiratory and other systems. Look further inside, you would see a system of tissues and then cells. Don't stop, explore a cell thinking it's an individual and not a system - you would find another complete system (cell membranes, nucleus, acids, etc.). But does it end here? Isn't an acid a system of atoms of various elements? Is an atom an individual or is it again a system of electrons, protons and neutrons? If you think that an electron is not a system, I sympathize with your knowledge of quantum physics [There are Leptons, Baryons, Mesons and the forces].

Is an electron matter or energy? Are you matter or energy?

Re-start from the bee hive and this time start moving in upward direction of abstraction. You will move up and up and will never finish. There is a system within every system! Our concept of life validates only the systems that work as an individual at our level of abstraction!

They say a little knowledge of science takes you away from religion and a comprehensive knowledge of science brings you back! Think about it and let me know via your comments!