YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
The remedy for ignorance is asking questions. (Prophet Muhammad)
The spirit of enquiry is the hallmark of an open society and the above
saying of the Prophet aptly illustrates this principle. A culture of
curiosity and open-mindedness will foster development in any society
by motivating its members to learn enthusiastically and enrich their
knowledge. This is because awareness of one’s ignorance is half of
knowledge, as it becomes a stepping-stone to seeking and finding
answers. A questioning mind is like a flowing river that is replenished
with fresh thoughts and ideas and continues on its journey.
What should be our response when people mistreat us?
The outside world knows you as you have introduced yourself to it. It
sends back its reflex responses according to the picture you have given
it. This being so, when you find others mistreating you, do not seek the
fault in them. Seek rather the fault within yourself. By recognizing your
own shortcomings and doing your best to remove them, you can better
safeguard yourself against the mistreatment of others.
I have many regrets for lost opportunities. What can I do now to save
myself from sorrow about this?
When the sun rises and night ends, it is a silent announcement by
nature that the earth’s rotation on its axis has been completed. Now
its second rotation is about to begin. Anyone can start his journey in
its light and reach his destination. The sunrise each morning makes a
person stand between two things: one is the opportunity which has
passed and the other is the opportunity that now presents itself. One
who can avail of these opportunities will surely attain his objectives.
Success, in other words, depends upon making the best of available
opportunities. No one can start his journey from the day which has
already passed. Forget about lost opportunities; take stock of the
opportunities which are on offer today and utilize them. Always
remember that a day once passed never comes back for anyone. It is
not therefore, going to come back for you either.
I am afraid of failure. How can I overcome this fear?
Success very often follows failure. In this world success is only for the
person who has the courage to accept defeat. Everything has a price
tag and acceptance of failure is the real price of success. Those who do
not pay this price will never be able to reach the destination of success
in this world.
There is only one way to success in this world, and that is thinking
of failure as something temporary. Without losing one’s patience, one
should devote oneself to converting one’s failure into success.
Do you think preparation will reduce the risk of failure?
Certainly. In a world where everyone is vying for position, one has to be
fully prepared for whatever venture is to be embarked upon. If one is
caught unprepared, the outcome is inevitable―failure!
Whatever preparation we make, it should be thorough and completely
in accord with the demands of the times we live in. If we fail to keep
pace with modernity, we can never hope for success in a society which
is so preoccupied with innovation. We must at all times keep a finger
on the throbbing pulse of life so that we may remain attuned to the
imperatives of the day. It is only in this way that we shall understand
exactly what ways we need to be prepared, and can take the appropriate
steps while the time is ripe.
Do we need to have big resources to achieve success?
The secret of success lies in following simple rules. People generally
think that success is something which can be achieved only by doing
something great, or by utilizing great means or resources. But you can
reach the peak of success just by your polite words, hard work, making
good use of your limited resources and patiently doing your work,
with perseverance. None of these things are too big or difficult for the
common man to achieve.
Do the problems in this world prevent us from making use of
opportunities?
"Starve the problems, feed the opportunities”, so goes an old saying.
Simple words, but imbued with great profundity. One who understrands
the message of these words and acts accordingly will find the doors
of success opening to him, while one who lives in ignorance of them
will find all the doors closed to him. The crux of the matter is that
an individual in this world is forever caught between problems and
opportunities. And herein lies the test for people. One person, seeing only the problems that confront him becomes caught up in them. Such
a person is bound to miss his opportunites. On the other hand, one
who concentrates on using the opportunities available to him as best
as he can will not find much time to worry about the problems afflicting
him.
Experience shows that, far from helping anyone, becoming caught up
in problems just leads to gloominess and depression and from the
practical point of view is a waste of time. It is better to concentrate on
making the best use of one’s opportunities. Not only will new avenues
open before one, but the problems that so afflicted one will gradually
pale into insignificance.
