Thursday 23 February 2012

Autocracy of Assumptions

Think of a number and I'll tell you exactly what you'll think.........and no I won't be making crazy long calculations in order to approach a close approximate. So before you go any further think of a number and check the endnotes for the answer............so am I right or am I right? :)




The reason you picked an integer is because you assumed that a number is always a integer whereas a number can be a decimal, fraction or a square root. Besides mathematics i'd like to share an experience. I was sitting inside a class and I wanted to slide the window in order to open it but when I saw that the window had a rubber fixed to the bottom with 2 screws, I didn't even bother to make any attempt of opening it because I assumed that if something is fixed to the bottom with screws then it can't be moved. But after a while another person came in the class and easily opened the window by sliding it. What I found out was that by the looks of it, the screws looked tightly screwed to the bottom but in reality the screws were loose enough for anybody to open the window. All one needed to do was to make an attempt to open it.
Now consider a hypothetical situation. Suppose you hear me listening bollywood songs for couple of seconds in my car. You might assume that since I listen to bollywood songs and write against it ,hence I am a hypocrite. But there can be several other explanations to it e.g I might be in the process of changing the radio channel, my friend is listening to that song and he is not letting me change it or I might think am listening to a Pakistani band.
We all receive alot of information in everyday life and we have to built some assumptions when making decisions. I guess it's all right to assume things without concrete evidence in trivial matters (like above) but it is the big issues in our lives that are supposed to be articulated by concrete logic and evidence along with credible source. We should not let our assumptions meddle in big matters of our lives. The biggest problem with assumptions is that we form these in early stages of our lives and  in later stages we mostly carry the same assumptions but in different contexts aswell.
The whole point is that seeing isn't always believing and every context should be studied differently and separately. It's important to distinguish between facts and assumptions during decision making because we sometimes subconsciously consider them one and the same. The more one assumes, the further he/she is likely to drift away from the truth. It is also advisable that we should put our heads down and start extracting all the assumptions lurking in our minds and challenge the one's that seem dubious cause it is these dubious assumptions that sometimes maintain a prison for our minds.





Endnote
1. The number is integer.
2. Not all assumptions are questionable. One needs to figure out which are and which aren't.



Coming Soon : Revival of the Believer (Inspired by The Belief)

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Understanding Pain



Just for the sake of argument, suppose one day you win a lottery of millions of dollar. On the very day the love of your life calls you up and says that he/she can’t think of anything else but to grow old with you. Also the top employer of the world insists you to be a part of their company and offer you senior management position. Your family and friends get ecstatic about your position and are honestly full of praise for you. In a nutshell everything gets perfect. Infact it even gets better and better every day for eternity. You also become a big kurt cobain fan. Now given your situation, if you were maintaining a daily journal then my best bet is that it would look something like this:-

Day 1 
WOW! What a day!!!! , Easily the best day of my life. My friends and family were totally cool with me. My workplace is awesome and everyone cooperates with me. My wife can't stand to be two feet away from me and so can't I. My pockets are running deep and next week I’ll be going on a Eurotrip!!!!! :) The best part about the trip is that my boss has no issue with me taking a long absence. Infact he wants me to have a time of my life :)

Day 10 
I've seen so much about Eurotrip in movies but this is even better than I thought!!!!! The food tastes spectacular and cinemas are so much amusing!!!!!!! I don't know the name of the hotel but if there ever is a 17 star hotel than this would be it. Man! and I thought Day 1 was the best day of my life!!!!!

6 Months 
I SIMPLY CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!! Out of 6 months, I have spent 2 months vacationing with my family and friends and my boss is totally cool with it. On top of this, I have been awarded the employee of the month!!!! I JUST LOVE MY LIFE!!!!!!!! :)

1 Year 
Vegas is unbelievable! I can never get used to the glamour and attraction to this place. On the other hand it may sound crazy but it feels like that the thing am getting used to is happiness....hhmmmm......anyways my birthday is coming up and my friends and coworkers are arranging a party for me back home so ill be heading back soon.

3 Years 
Work was fantastic as usual and got another pay raise. Wife is great as always with me. Paradoxically I've never had a single fight with her in 3 years and unfortunately she doesn't seem to get into one for a long time to come. Wait a minute.......I wonder why I wrote unfortunately ?.......hhhmmmmm........anyways my boss is sending me to another trip to Switzerland so i guess that will be exciting.

8 Years 
Even though I just came back from Paradise island, Bahamas (which is my 7th trip here) along with my friends and family.......... something doesn't seem right.......I mean things are all so perfect all the time......sadly I can't even remember the last time I was in any predicament.........I guess the problem is that there still isn’t enough happiness in my life......or not enough enjoyment or perhaps pleasure....................or maybe there just isn't enough PAIN!!!!!!!

10 Years 
It’s better to burn out than to fade away.................................

Like I learned and wrote before, excess of everything is bad and indeed happiness is no exception to it. We mostly try to get the perfect job, spouse, friends, salary etc not knowing what exactly are we asking for. Essentially the point am trying to make is that to strive for perfection in life is not a bad idea but if you can't attain it than it's ok.
Now we all know too much pain is very dreadful aswell so if it’s not a friend than it’s neither a foe. We all have our predicaments and problems in life but that doesn't mean we should cry over it all the time and relapse into reactive mode. Both pain and pleasure are complements to each other and we need them both to function properly. Besides more pain gives you more opportunity to be happy in future. Also we feel happiness only because of pain and vice versa. 

To sum it up, ALLAH has given us the perfect system to execute our choices and fulfill our purpose in life. So the next time you suffer from financial pressure, loose loved ones, shown contempt at workplace, fail in exam or sports , suffer from health issue's etc, you can let pain have the best of you for couple of days max  but then remember to RISE UP to tell yourself with a smile that.................the show must go on...............






Endnotes
1. This blog is not applicable on everyone. Any ifs and buts applied to it can be taken up on the comments section.
2. Those of you who are not familiar with the phrase "It’s better to burn out than to fade away", it was written in kurt cobain's suicidal note.
3. Without purpose, objective or goal in life, pain can cause upheaval and also there can be a danger of ending up into a limbo.


Up next: The Curse of Bollywood

Monday 6 February 2012

Top 15 lessons learned in life


Following are some lessons I've learned in life till now :-

1. There is perfect logic behind everything Islam tells us to do. If one can't see it doesn't mean it's not there.

2. Get married or stay single, anything else will prove to be detrimental in time.

3. Excess of everything is bad.

4. We are slave to our hearts and minds but there are ways to transcend.

5. Currently i dont know the purpose of life but what i do know is that its not getting educational degree's, accumulating wealth, marrying a perfect spouse and then doing it all over again for your children. It's just a part of it but we are born with a much higher purpose.

6. Cheating in schools, colleges etc will only do you harm. The purpose of education is to stimulate your brain and invigorate your thinking process and cheating kills both of them. Unfortunately we all come to realize/understand the drawbacks of cheating in the later stages of life and some never do.

7. Better not to judge people cause there is a big ocean inside their hearts and minds and you may be looking at it from the shore. You may look alot but not enough.

8. Pain is neither a friend nor a foe (i'll explain this in my next blog).

9. You may come to hate what you love today with the passage of time (even though everything else may remain constant) but it doesn't have to be that way.

10. There are no limits to your most powerful weapon........choice.

11. Think about the things you have and not have not's. There will always be some/alot have not's in your life but understand this that it is for your own good.

12. One of devil's strategy is to give you short term gratification against long term deterioration.

13. Its better that your deepest desire remains unfulfilled otherwise you may loose the flavor of your life.

14. Sometimes its ok to not know the right answers if you know the right questions.



and my personal favorite........

15. Its better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you're not.



Endnotes

1. Listing is not based on priority.
2. My lessons learned don't necessarily mean lessons implemented but i try to.

Sunday 5 February 2012

The Belief


Once there was a firm believer of ALLAH. That believer had suffered almost all the hardships in life. His family died in a car crash, livelihood wasn’t easy going by any means, struggled maintaining a fair income and was treated as an outcast by the society. The loss of his family was the most excruciating moment of his life. But despite all the thorns injected by life, his belief stood in unwavering resolve. He worshipped ALLAH whole heartedly and thanked him for everything he could imagine to thank. At the end of the day, the believer knew one thing for sure and that Allah is the greatest judge and he will make things right one day. But days went on with hardships getting insurmountable everyday and the only pity life could render him was death. So he died and no grief was shed on his death.

When the believer opened his eyes, he was standing between two gigantic doors opposite in direction with nothing else in vicinity. Just as he stood there overwhelmed, the devil approached him in a disguised figure and said “You spent your entire life believing in the one who doesn’t exist. The door to your right is hell and to your left is heaven. If you choose to relinquish your belief then you will be pardoned and sent to heaven but if you don’t then you know the price of alternative”. The believer stood there in shock as numbness started to creep inside. Just when it looked like he would break apart, the door of heaven opened. Upon seeing beyond that door, he was drawn towards it and the numbness feeling started to rush back. The word beauty had no match to what he saw. Also his beloved family approached the door beckoning him towards them with a smile. As the believer got nearer to heaven and his family, a surge of happiness after a long time started to develop inside him. He knew that his life of hardships was over. Finally a life of comfort, happiness, love, pleasure, joy with immortality became possible. Everything a human may ever desire was just couple of steps away. Everything…………except ALLAH. And on that very thought he stopped. Unknowingly the believer briskly walked multiple steps towards heaven but now even a single step looked like climbing Mount Everest. The devil was immensely perturbed by this and quickly rushed towards him and asked “you are just couple of steps away from everything a man desires. So why have you stopped?” The believer humbly replied by following words:

"It is true that what is ahead of me is what I have longed for my entire life. All my dreams and wishes are within my reach. My pursuit of happiness is about to end but the thing is that it has never been about me. You tell me that ALLAH doesn’t exist then why do I feel him in my heart, mind ,blood and soul. You tell me that ALLAH doesn’t exist then why was it that only the mere thought of him gave me the strength to overcome all the pain and sorrows in life and keep going on. You tell me that ALLAH doesn’t exist then why is that I feel that only he is the one capable of creating me, people, earth, planets, stars, universe and the unknown (Just then the believer turned around and started walking in opposite direction and his family also turned back happily). I know behind the heaven door lay all my desires but they all will remain insatiable without ALLAH. My life was tough but Allah was always there for me and now I am here for him. Real or not, ALLAH is the only one I still believe in and always will. Not only because I want to but also because he deserves so (Now the believer stood couple of footsteps from the door of hell). Anything and everything is about ALLAH and always will be and if the price of believing in him is hell then it’s a price I shall gladly pay. I have believed in him anywhere and everywhere so OPEN THE DOOR! and take me to the depths of abyss for it is the one place I have yet to test my belief"

Upon hearing these words the devil was filled with anguish and faded away into nothingness. Just then the door flew open and this time there were no words ever invented to describe what the believer saw. There he was, The Great One, The Almighty, THE KING OF KINGS………..ALLAH. The believer saw him and fell to his knees with bent head and tears gushing out. ALLAH saw the believer and said “WELL DONE”.





Endnotes

1. The sole motivation behind this fiction is to glorify ALLAH.
2. ALLAH was going to reward the believer with heaven no matter what door he would have chosen. ALLAH always knew his choice for ALLAH knows everything.
3. The believer was rewarded with a high rank in heaven with his family.


The believer's real desire wasn't money,house,education,perfect spouse, peace of mind........but to be united with ALLAH..........what are your desires?