Justice and Apotheosis

My tenth post will have a link of sorts with my first one. Opposites.

Life and death, angel and demon, heaven and hell, male and female, god and Satan, light and darkness, rich and poor, matter and antimatter. The list is endless.

Our world is a duality; there is always an opposite for everything. A balancing of the scales, if you will.

Consider justice, if you will. Our politicians, books, texts and ideals tell us that we can eradicate injustice, and we shall live in a world free from tyranny, crime and evil.

It aint happenin’.

Trust me on that.

The fabric of our world and the mathematics of the cosmos DEMAND that there be a duality, an opposite, of everything. Materialistic or otherwise.

How can a person do well, without knowing what the bad is? How can a person be happy, without feeling sad? How can a person love, without feeling hate? How can a person not feel pain? How can a person live his life, without having his share of death?

Most of all, how can a person implement justice, do justice, expect justice, without feeling, implementing, and expecting injustice?

Any system that proposes total relief from injustice is flawed, and therefore not perfect. There has to be injustice for justice to have its effect.

It is up to us to ensure that justice is dominant over injustice. Injustice may not be totally eradicated, but it is suppressible.

This is my last post, at least for the next month or two. I hope my posts have done some good, even though I’m not overly optimistic about it.

One last thing. I would like to mention a term, and tell you something about it. Apotheosis. The term literally means “to make divine”. It is the transformation of man into a god-like state.

Im not foolish or stupid enough to imply that something like this can really happen.

But I DO know that humans have unprecedented potential. So much so, that they might appear like God to others.

Isa (Jesus) has had such an in impact on this world, that he was made divine by calling him the Son of God.

George Washington, a true patriot, who led his people to independence, is actually depicted as a god in the Capitol Building in the US. The portrayal is called “Apotheosis of George Washington”.

Heracles or Hercules of Greece and Rome. He was exalted by the people as a God after his death.

And even more.

The recurring theme is that all of them weren’t really gods, but they were exceptional men. So much so, that the people viewed them as God.

I’ll leave you to your own thoughts now.

Through wonder comes wisdom,

Through wisdom comes the ability to understand the truth,

Through the truth can we finally understand ourselves,

And when man understands himself,

He becomes one with his soul and mind,

And finally,

The Apotheosis is complete…………..

Ajwad Wasim Malik

 

Faith

I’ll start the post with a simple statement.

Faith is not a gift; it has to be earned.

 

And I agree wholeheartedly.

Well, I would cause I came up with it.

Anyway, moving on.

Faith is not a gift, and all of us treat is as so. It’s not something to be given and accepted with a big smile on our face. We have to believe in it without being told to do so.

Majority of the theists today are born, not made. They usually have no choice in the matter. Their religion is chosen for them by their parents, and theirs by their parents, and so on and so forth. An unbroken chain through time, except for some broken links labeled as diverters.

That’s the major problem facing all religions of today. The ‘believers’ simply don’t believe because they haven’t discovered what to believe and how to believe for themselves! Their whole lives, right from their first breath, they’ve been told who to believe. Let the kid find out for himself dammit!

And now you’ll say that kids don’t know what’s good for them. 

If only I earned a riyal for every time I heard that, I’d be a millionaire by now.

Just think. Parents choose it for the kids because the kids don’t know what’s good for them. Temme this: at what point did the parents come to know that what was chosen for them is good for them?

Exactly.

Why did God give man intellect? Why did God give man a soul? Why did He make us better than the angels themselves?

(If you’re wondering how humans are better than the angels, then consider the fact that angels don have a free will. We do. ‘Nuff said.)

He gave us a soul and a mind so that each one of us can discover and understand God for ourselves. Instead of being led to Him, we have to go to Him.

Really, if He wanted things go be simpler than He would have created us as sheep. Simple, stupid and eternally shepherded. Mind you, some people are properly described as this. Sorry for the offence.

It’s late, and I don’t wanna make it any simpler. I tried my best to put my post into really simple words, and I can’t do simpler any longer. It makes me feel dizzy to think at your level.

Faith is not a gift; it has to be earned.

 

 

Dearly Dead Departed

2010. One year. Three deaths. Three profoundly sorrowful losses.

First, the death of a father. The father of my friend, Shaheryar Khan.  A man that I’ve met only once, but I was smitten by the man’s love for his children and the twinkle in his eyes when he laughed. I remember his hands, and most of all, his smile when he offered me an ice-cream cone at the ice-cream parlor near his home. A short sentence, isn’t it? I leave that for you to decide if it really is a short one.

The second is the death of another father. The father of a friend that I’ve only come to know now. I have never met this friend in person, and I’ve never even seen her. Then how did this death affect me so much? It affected me because Nosheen told us (by ‘us’ I mean tweeters) about her father. It made me feel somehow close to him. Call it empathy, if you will.

These two deaths took me back to my own loss. The loss of my mother. I knew how they felt, and I knew that this loss will affect them for the rest of their lives. Each one of us, Im sure, would gladly give away all the days since our parent died for one chance, just ONE chance, to be with him/her again, be it for a single minute. Just one.

The third one which brought a tear to my eyes was that of my friend, Ammar Idrees. 15 years old, and rammed by a speeding car. Head split open and fractured body. Let me tell you about him a bit.

A really nice guy. He ALWAYS respected his seniors. I’ll miss the way he called me “bhai”. I’ll miss the enthusiasm with which he used to talk about sports and electronic gadgets. I’ll miss his patient smile while I tried to work his iPhone.

One lil incident that I’ll always remember.

I was talking to Ali, and Ammar comes up.

“Bhai!”

I thought he was calling someone else, so I kept on talking to Ali.

“Bhai! Bhai!! Ajwad!!!”

I turned around, and there was Ammar standing with his hand outstretched.

Me,” I’m so sorry! I thought—well, never mind,” I shook his hand.

Ammar simply smiled, and walked away.

There are a lot of things that I can tell you about him, but at this point I’ll be selfish, and keep them for myself.

I know that my post isn’t doing a lot of justice to these three people, but I felt the need to post this.

And this is the only time I’ll EVER post an emotion-induced blog. It has tired me beyond I could’ve imagined. I dedicate this blog to the three people mentioned above. I dedicate this to their families, their friends, their loved ones and especially their parents and children.

I also dedicate this blog to YOU. Realize this, what matters isn’t how long you’ve lived, nor does it matter if you lived a life of love or hate, good or bad. What matters is whether you’ve lived your life to the full, never leaving the future in the hands of time or fate, and using the time you had for yourself and for the ones who mattered to you.

Finally, I dedicate this blog to the Dearly Dead Departed.

Wisdom, Truth and the indefinable Third

What is really important in a man? Wisdom? Truthfulness? Empathy? Passion? Faith?

It’s different for everyone. I’ll tell you what SHOULD be important.

(Warning. Its gonna get boring. Grab a pillow)

Wisdom itself is nothing for a man. Even the wisest fall prey to the most foolish of things. You need a way to channel your wisdom, to use it and not just boast of it.

I’ll give you an example. The wisest person ever to live, King of Israel, King Solomon, turned to idolatry as he neared the end of his life. He put up temples in honor of them. God punished him by splitting his kingdom in two. So, wisdom on its own is not important; it’s inadequate.    

(Before you guys start screaming out profanities, I’m relating the christianic version. Yes he was wise for them too, you know)

Moving on.

Truth. Where do I start with it? Every year since time past brings a new war to our pathetic world, and the main reason always trickles down to this: Whose version of truth is more appealing. Even history cannot be credited with truth; it’s always written by the victor, showing itself in a favorable light. And what is now marked as a lie, was the indisputable truth in its time.

So, even truth on its own is not enough. We need something more to complete us.

How about putting wisdom and truth together? That might work. But no, with wisdom you can find the truth and maybe even uncover more about it, but there is one thing that will make this union a perfect one.  

It is the ability to handle the truth through our wisdom.

*flash of anti-climax*

Ok I know you’ve heard this before, but just consider it again.

Can you really handle it? Can you handle the stuff that an atheist will throw at your face? Can you handle if a spokesman on TV is wiping the floor with the leader you are inspired by? Can you?

That is the indefinable Third. The ability to listen to the truth, processes it, and then accepts it. Simple right? It isn’t. Trust me.

The ability to change the way you think, the way you believe, and the way you perceive things doesn’t come easily. It needs time, it needs patience and it needs a lot of thinking. That’s where your wisdom comes in.

You’ve got a mind. You’ve got a soul. Use it.

Time for a Story

Picture this.

A wide, flowing river. A woman sits by its banks with an adorable baby boy in her arms. She has a basket of rushes coated with pitch. She kisses her baby one final time, and puts the sleeping infant in the basket. With a final look, she puts the lid over the basket and surrenders it to the might of God and Sea.

Miraculously, the child doesn’t drown in the waves is received by a merciful and compassionate soul. The person nurtures the boy, feeding him and giving love and affection without abandon.

The boy grows up and becomes the leader of his people.  A man of iron will and infectious charisma. He stirs his people with his words and overcomes his enemies with unimaginable odds. His empire stretches across the land and across generations of time. His legend still endures, mesmerizing children and adults.

Sound familiar? Yup. It’s him. Take a wild guess.

“ Heh. The satanic idiot is REALLY an idiot!! Dude that’s Moses!!”

Wrong. Heh.

That, my knowledgeable friends, is King Sargon of Akkad.

Fairly interesting, right?

What’s more interesting is the fact that King Sargon lived almost a thousand years before Moses.

The accounts are strikingly similar, and of course there are a lot of differences, but the main story is same.

Okay okay!! I’ll tell ya some of the differences.

First, the river in Moses’ story is Nile while the other had Euphrates. Moses’ was picked up by the Pharaoh’s daughter/wife while Sargon was picked up by a hermit. More?

Look I would LOVE to tell you more but I don’t want to digress from my topic.

The point of relating these stories is that all of our fables are inter-related and are basically a re-telling of bygone stories. All of us think that if a lot of people know about a particular thing, we start to think of it as the truth. Also, human beings have a very annoying tendency to believe anything out of the ordinary about anyone or anything. (a coupla guys come to mind)

This won’t be a big blog or anything, because I think you’ll get the point I’m trying to make here.

For those who don’t, this is what I’m trying to say= verification and originality are key to success.

And if Muntaha, Ali Umar or Abdullah are reading this, then you guys don’t take it the wrong way. I’m not implying anything here. Seriously, act like a guy and stop spreading around rumors.

My Mother

My first poem EVER. Enjoy it mates!

My mother is my pride,
who taught me how to read and write,
My mother is my life,
who taught me the difference between wrong and right,

Bold was her tongue,
Fair was her face,
My mother was the best,
in her race,

I cannot fulfill the rights of my mother now,
which she deserved from me,
for she has gone,
never to return,

I saw her lifeless face,
I touched her cold cheeks,
I kissed her pale forehead,
I prayed her funeral prayers,
I threw sand in her final resting place,

I now go on,
with the goal,
of fulfilling,
my mother’s aims,

I cannot see my mother,
anymore,
but still,
i feel her presence,

In day or night,
In light or darkness,
In hope or despair,
I will keep on praying for my mother,

And she shall remain,
in my soul,
and in my heart,
forever and ever……………

PS=i wrote this about 4 years ago, so some of the phrases might sound out of place.

Yup, even a guy who writes about dark stuff  has a soft spot somewhere.

666

666

One of the most famous numbers ever to be written.666.

Rendered immortal in the hearts of Christians by this verse in the Book of Revelations:”let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast. For it is a human number. Its number is six-hundred and sixty-six.”

And it shall be forever viewed with scorn by the Muslims for the role it played in ridiculing the founder of the faith of Islam, Muhammad.

I’m not going to go into the history or logistics of how this number came to be. I’ll tell you something different. I’ll tell you what this number signifies, according to me.

Let me correct a common misconception before I launch into my theory. Most of you’ll say, foolishly, that this is the number of the devil. How wrong can you get? It’s the number of the beast that will be a servant to the devil. That is the religious view anyway.

My turn.

Let me give you a background check first.i hope you don’t get bored.  According to Judeo-Christian-Islamic theology, there are two reasons why Satan refused to bow down to Adam. The first and most commonly known, is that Satan was just too arrogant to bow down to Adam because of the difference in the potency of their essences. The second, and to which this blog relates, is that Satan said that human beings have the potential to do evil. And I mean evil in all sense of the word. Satan didn’t bow, as this would be an affront to his pure essence.

I can imagine your response to this paragraph. “DUDE!!SATAN IS EVIL-ER THAN US!!HE’S THE DEVIL!!OMG YOU NUB o_____O!!!”

Satan is not inherently evil. Yes, his main characteristic lies in the fact that he can spread evil temptations. BUT, he’s not evil from the inside as we are. Do you really think that Allah/God/Elohim would let Satan reside in heaven in the first place if he was evil? His only sin (heh) lies in the fact that he was tooooo arrogant. I kinda like that.

Moving on.

I say that 666, the number of the beast of the Devil, signifies……..…us. Humans. Theists or atheists, it matters little.

Just consider this. As long as one can remember, the ‘evils’ of society has been increasing at an almost exponential rate; it has never really decreased. Of course, cities or towns may have a significant decrease in crime and other stuff, but I’m talking about it as a whole. It’s natural that these things would increase, for the human population is expanding at an increasing rate each year.

“You still haven’t told us how WE are linked to 666, you satanic idiot!!”

This is what I’m trying to say…….

There shall come a time when the whole world will be steeped in evil, brought upon us by ourselves and not one individual. Every conceivable, and inconceivable, evil shall rule this Earth with humans as the tools through which this evil is administered. It won’t matter how pious, or good-natured, or tyrannical, a person is. All will contribute to this global up building of evil.

THIS is the time when humans shall become the Beast to which shall 666 belong.

(I can already feel the horns coming outta my head)

It won’t be some supernatural OR superhuman being that shall bring about our ruin.

It’s us.

 “……..well……okay…..but you’re still a satanic idiot!”

I think you guys will miss the point of this blog.

Well, it was worth a try anyway.

You can at least be happy on one point; humans DO have the power to change the world.

My Peace

The second poem out of three that i’ve ever finsished.Enjoy.

And dont hate me for it.

A cold night,
A lonely road,
A tree creaks,
And the wind blows,

I watch the dark figure,
Walking down the road,
Hand over hand,
And cloaked from head to toe,

I itch to remove her veil,
To behold the forbidden promise,
But powers unknown,
Stop me from moving so,

She approaches me,
And finally,
The courage for me to move,
begins to flow,

One step after the other,
I reach her,
My heart is ready to burst,
With exhilaration, anticipation!

A cloud shifts,
The moon shines,
I pull away her cloak,
And let it fall down,

I cannot think!
I cannot breathe!
I cannot feel,
My heart beat!

Beautiful eyes,
Brown and wide,
Entrance me,
Like an endless void,

Her soft,
Red lips,
Curve up in,
A beautiful smile,

She has smooth,
Unblemished skin,
The colour like,
That of honey,

Raven black hair,
Long and sleek,
Fall on her shoulder,
Like waves of a sea,

….She Blinks….

I finally wake up,
From my deep trance,
And I stammer out,
“Who are you?”

She says,
“I’m here to release you,
From the pain,
You have suffered.”

“I am the answer,
Which you have sought,
all your life,
Endlessly, tirelessly”

I close my eyes,
I finally understand,
I thank my God,
For the end of it all,

I hope my family,
My friends understand,
That I cannot continue,
On the path that I have chosen,

I open my eyes,
She beckons to me,
With arms wide open,
And a welcoming smile,

With a deep breath,
I step forward,
With fire inside,
I embrace Death………….

Hope

Hope.

What the hell is it?

Seriously.What is hope? What actually defines hope? Is it something that’s always there, manifesting itself when we need it? Or something that is ingrained in us? Or a tool for people to fool themselves with?

It’s nothing but a simple thought. Nothing more.

It’s just one of those countless things that are roaming around in your head, waiting to be called upon so that you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to.

That’s pathetic.

You’re counting on a simple thought to get through your darkest periods and in times of need. Are you really so weak to let a thought guide you? Can’t we at least have SOME confidence in our own abilities and trust ourselves to use those abilities effectively enough to get what we want?

Hope leads a person to irrationality and strengthens his belief that there is always some greater power that has some weird capability to ensure that the person gets what he wants. Have we lost ourselves to such an extent? Is it too much to ask for one to shoulder his own burden and carry it to the end without relying on something else to help him along the way?

And please don’t tell me that people need hope to live on. You guys can do better than that old line.

A lot of you would be laughing your head off at me. Fine then. Go back and live in your pathetic lil bubble. But if any of you agree with even one word of this blog, then its time for you to stop relying on hope. Bottle it up and throw it away.

Umeed pe dunya qayem hai………….yeah right.

You only need one thing to be successful.

You.

Life And Death

Life and death. A simple statement. Well an opposite statement to be exact. Like yin and yang, angel and demon, god and satan, atheist and theist, Ajwad and (your name here)…life and death.

That’s what concerns me. People always think of death as life’s opposite. What most of them fail to realize is that death is not the opposite but an experience of life. If truth be told it is the most incredible of life’s experiences! Okay most of you would now think of me as a sadist or a guy who’s lost his upper storey. Think what you want. Really don’t give a damn.

Most of you would argue that birth is the most incredible of life’s experiences. Well it would have been if you actually knew how it feels when you’re born. You don’t. ‘Nuff said.

Death is incredible because of its uniqueness, its numerous forms and the fact that we fear it for no reason! Stop thinking of death like that! See it from a new perspective. See it as the fulfillment of life! A celebration of life! Death IS life!

Death is what defines our life and our aims. Every one of us, at one time or another has thought that I’ll do this or that before I die. For example set up an organization for charity or get 100,000 tweets. And look at us! We shun the very thing that shapes us. We fear that its coming.

Some of you still mightn’t agree with me. That’s fine ’cause I was just telling my view of life and death. But do me a favour. The next time you think of death, don’t imagine it as the grim reaper or the darkness of your life’s light. Imagine it as you imagine yourself.

Perfect.

Complete.

Unique.