I am writing this piece with a genuine desire to share my views on religion. I hope that none of my views will be taken amiss. I have no desire to hurt anyone's sentiments.
I am a Hindu, born and brought up in India. There must have been a reason why I was born into a particular religion, and once (thanks to my spiritual mentors) I understood the real philosophy of Hinduism, it has become easier to follow it with my heart. But I also stand against a certain distorted version of my religion which some political groups have been pushing for their own gains. I genuinely respect all other religions. But many people I know, including my close friends, don't. They can find a hundred flaws in the practices of other religions. After hearing their views I can say that Islam is probably the least-understood religion I have come across. While I know a bit about Christianity, Sikhism and Buddhism, the little I know about Islam has been shaped by stereotypes in Bollywood and politics. And even this little doesn't throw any light upon the spiritual basis of its teachings.
Thanks to Zindagi channel and Umera Ahmed, I have learned about some of the core teachings of Islam, which have found resonance with my own religious beliefs. Teachings such as"
Not accumulating wealth for yourself alone, but sharing with others: This is similar to the Gandhian ideal of Trusteeship, in which the wealth-owners should think of themselves as trustees for the poor, not the proprietors; and also to the Biblicial saying that it is very difficult for rich men to enter the kingdom of God (because wealth makes them arrogant and forgetful of God).
Not worshipping idols' : This is one principle of which Hinduism and Islam are said to be completely opposed. But some Hindu sects (like the Arya Samaj) also oppose idol worship, under the rationale that the devotees become obsessed with the idol itself and not with the God whom the idol represents i.e. not seeing the universal God in all creation. In Shehr-e-Zaat, this has been explained by the logic of"we create an idol, then become enraptured by our own creativity (which is actually a gift from God), and then we start searching for that ideal in humans. This reminded me of our frenzy for certain celebrities. As fans, some of us develop a certain image of our favourite celebrities, and then we start worshipping and defending that image against the slightest criticism. Actually we don't love the real person, but the image we have created in our own mind"like the image of Salman which Falak had created.
God longs for us like a mother longs for her child: When the shepherd woman told Falak, "If mother and child get separated, the mother suffers more", it hit a nerve. I had never thought Islam visualized God as Mother too. This concept makes it so much easier to love God.
Human love is Blind; and that's why it is unreliable: Salman's love for Tabinda was inexplicable, but so was Falak's love for a man who was so indifferent to her. Many times we long for a person's love and think life would be useless if we didn't get it; but even if we get it, there is no reliance on human nature. It is fickle.
There is a wall of desires separating us from God: Echoes with the Hindu and Buddhist philosophies that we can gain liberation only by giving up desires.
The concepts of wajood' (the little self) and zaat' (the higher Self): Similar to the Hindu concept of the higher Self or Atmaa versus the little self, the Ego or the Aham, which confines our consciousness to this world.
Most importantly, being grateful to God, not being arrogant that we have earned' our blessings. They can be removed any time.
Shehr -e-Zaat has not only helped me in personal spiritual development, it has also shown me that the so-called differences between Hinduism and Islam are merely cultural, because of the different geographical regions in which these two religions developed. But below the surface, their spiritual teachings are the same"just like of all great religions of the world.
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