Fight for the rights and struggle for the generations to come!

Fight for the rights and struggle for the generations to come

It was heartwarming to see the positive outcome of the parents struggle against the unjust increase in the fees of their kids studying in the private schools.

Silence has always been taken as for-granted in the human history and in case of no retaliation the wrong doers got the encouragement to do more evil in any form that suits them. Somehow in the light of geo-political scenario and socio-economic factors, we are getting ample courage as a nation to speak up piece of our mind and stand up tall against injustice in any form. The recent hype in the private school fee structures gave clear indications that a great portion of well deserved kids would be deprived of so called quality education.

We very well understand that Education provision is a business now and we respect this fact but every business has to be run through some basic business ethics and most important amongst those is taking care of the customers/consumers by facilitating them through getting realistic and just return on investments and offering relief and support to customers as and when possible. The private schools on the contrary have shown that these have single track strategy to loot the money of the parents who are pursuing desperately a better future for their next generation.

The in-trend private school groups are hardly few may be less than ten but have an un-written and hidden business alliance to monopolize the whole market. The decline of quality of education in government schools have further infuriated and worsen the situation and parents are bound to send their children to these private schools as it is being perceived that these schools qualified students would be given preference when it comes to their professional careers in the long run. It is because of an unfortunate fact that educational back ground is considered with preference of an institute and not the actual talent of the individual.

We should learn to fight for our rights and current spark shown by the parents of the school kids have clearly indicated that there would be a strong notion of rejection and un-acceptance by our Nation in general and especially by the educated community. It has sent strong vibes to the ruling government to do something serious about the two different standards of education in Pakistan, education has to be made affordable for all citizens of Pakistan and should not be the right of the elite class to have quality education. It can only be done by improving school's infra-structure, revising the pay scales of teachers and re-setting the curriculum to reflect our religious and social values combined with an eye on the modern education in the books we teach our next generations which would eventually be responsible for the betterment of our Country and long term progress on the way to become and strong economic power.

Let us decide today that we would bow down to the pressure tactics of anyone who is victimizing us by forcing us to accept their dictated terms on any matter. Hats off to the standoff by the parents in a fight to retaliate the un-just fee increase at private schools!

The Alarmingly Expensive Private School's Education in Pakistan!

The Alarmingly Expensive Private School's Education in Pakistan!

 Over the last 5-6 years Private school systems have crossed all the limits by increasing the school fee and making books provided by them more expensive to such an extent that a middle income level parent cannot even dream of sending their kids to the likes of Aitcheson, Lahore Grammar, Roots, The City School, Beacon House etc.

And the irony is that the focus is no longer on kids character building, it is all about business and making money and trying to produce best results. A lot of parents are forced to use unfair means and corruption doors to earn extra enough to have their kids admitted in the better schools.

All major elite schools are being run by political families so eyes of the government and legislation will be closed and these school have got a free hand to amend fee structure as and when required as it goes without check and parents do not have much of the choice. The mighty wealthy elites rule Pakistan, parents do not talk much about it as they fear their kids will be asked to leave the schools if they try to raise questions on the ever increasing school expenses.

The way these school systems are given preference when it comes to selection at Higher education institutes and later on in the government and private sector jobs, parents who cannot afford to pay such high fees, are forced to send their kids to these schools for their children's better future. Armed forces institutes provide education to serving officers and other ranks children at a subsidized fee but civilians have to pay more if by any chance their children get admission.

A lot has been said, written, promised in election campaigns but nothing concrete has been done to provide affordable quality education for masses in Pakistan. We have declared war against terrorism, lets declare an education emergency and we all contribute in an education fund to build and maintain schools all across Pakistan especially in rural areas of all provinces and FATA to emerge as a Nation in ten years which is making Pakistan's socio-economic environment much better than that of what is prevailing today. Lets Join Hands and do not rely only on our government, we should come forward and support the education cause and for that matter support any organization or independent body which comes forward to support this noble cause.

Basic human rights include health, education, clean water, residence, equal opportunities to grow and to exercise own religious rights for everyone. Let's try to re-stage a certain level of governance which was there in the days of Prophet Muhammad may peace be upon him and in the era of The Worthy Caliphs (may peace be upon Them) so that the deserving people are given the much needed support and parents of our time live a stress free life which they ruin for themselves in order to provide better future for their next generation. Let education be affordable and of same standard for everyone in Pakistan so that we can allow our children to compete on merit in their professional and personal lives.

 

"Destiny is reached by our will to sacrifice."

"Destiny is reached by our will to sacrifice."

 

by Muhammad Usman Arshad

 

If we review the print and electronic media in depth, there is a clear trend of shifting our own responsibilities on others. We want to eradicate corruption, we hold government responsible for it but we still tend to give bribes to get our legal or illegal work done swiftly. We would sit silent on an effort to remove poverty, improve health and education facilities, provision of speedy and free justice for all and to provide equal opportunities of men and women from all income levels to excel in their professional and personal lives. We would rather think that government is there, Edhi Sb is there, Ansar Barni Sb is there, Imran Khan is there and few other individuals and organizations are there to take of the well being of the struggling class of our society.

We can always come up with our share through a monetary contribution and by working for a particular cause and encouraging others to contribute as well to improve the living conditions of people around us and let them have same health and education facilities that the people who could afford are providing to their children.

The irony is we are not contributing enough or not contributing at all, we have a narrow approach to focus on life and are targeting our own lives in terms of growth and success. We would not pay income taxes and would not spend a penny on Zakat to help out others.

The signs of a bloody revolution are already evident in our country as the difference of income level of haves and have nots has increased so much that people would consider it their right to snatch and loot the money. This can be stopped firstly by correcting our own deeds, then choosing the right people to rule us, thirdly we contribute as much as we could from our limited resources for the betterment of the people in need, we pay taxes in full and on time and we should not sit silent if we are not effected at all, we must raise the voice as we all know our rights and those who do not their rights, should be given enough education so that no one could exploit their innocence and ignorance.

If a city like Karachi can spend Seven Arab rupees for Eid shopping last week, we could do wonders for others if we could gather 20% of it in same proportions from other cities across Pakistan and then spend it rightly on the right projects. We need Kala Bagh Dam for our survival, let's start a National Level loud and visible struggle to make it happen, we need to revive and amend current educational policies, let's be part f it. Let's make hospitals like Shaukat Khanum by relying on our own resources, lets create awareness of Wind and thermal energy and force our governments to take up these projects on war footing basis. Let's make our armed forces more strong by becoming self sufficient in producing most advanced Arsenal for air, sea and land combat by utilizing our own talent and through transfer of technology as well. Lets force the decision makers to replace non-genuine people sitting at key positions in government, judiciary, civil service, armed forces and local bodies. We have to elect right people next time and not let anyone "select" our leaders by rigging and un-fair means in the electoral process.

 

We can do wonders if we follow the rule, we remain honest, we respect merit, we respect privacy of people around us, we do not mis-use the media power, we educate the people, we take care of the deprived, we become part in provision of health and social welfare. Self correction is the key to be part of a revolution, wrong people if gathered for a right cause cannot get success and would rather bring harm to the core values of the cause.

We have to tune the legislation to our Islamic teachings and Ideology, we must learn to survive without the help of so called Gods in the West, writ of the people of Pakistan should be established. Baluchistan and KPK should not be ignored any longer, common man's life status should be up-graded through education, job opportunities, new industry, better infra-structure and equal distribution of resources. Pakistan is not  just Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Quetta, Islamabad and Peshawar, all other cities should be developed and managed in the same spirit.

It is about time for all of us to set our goals and priorities, a strong Pakistan's picture can be presented to rest of the world if we learn to survive on our own resources and correct our acts before criticizing others for various odd reasons. We are one Nation as Muslims without any discrimination of sects and clans as our enemies have always tried to divide us and then destroying us as they wish.

Let's be part of an effort to bring our motherland to such a height that our neighboring friends and enemies would envy us for our revival as a strong nation.

 

 

 

Why would I need a "New Pakistan" ?

It is a total confusion out there! Politicians trying to justify their existence as elected leaders, the law breakers are hiding behind the law to cover their asses made of Gold, The justice providers are sitting silent and proving the fact justice in actual is blind, the tax evaders are living on the taxes that you and me pay and our parents paid in the past too.

Mass murderers are un-touchable, the system is there but it cannot be implemented cause it is there to safeguard the elites. The Moghul Empire is gone and was gone cause the rulers in that era forgot the very people who were there in a condition where there was no respect for them and basic human rights were denied, Invaders came and the rulers fell on their faces as they were lacking public support and their entire focus was to remain in power even if they have to send their own father in exile.

The situation is no different now, the so called head of the state has one agenda, to remain in power and for that he is willing to shake hands with the proven worst enemies.
The people needed a ray of hope and somebody with ample courage to speak out the truth aloud as we as a Nation have become hypocrites, we need somebody else to fight our case as we do not have the courage to face the outcome of the retaliation we might have with the so called big guns. I have been writing articles, poetry and stuff for more than a decade now and the people around me would always discourage me from day one and label me and often commented " This country will not change, you are wasting your time".

There are no short cuts to glory I agree the struggle is beyond the testing limits of patience but a start is needed against status quo, Imran Khan will not last long if he would not get the much needed support from all of us. His job was to trigger the chain reaction of enforcing people's will for their own rights, he is fighting our war as a general would do, but he would need us to be there in the battle field to fight our own battle to get rid of a system polluted with self interests of the ruling class and elites. The Civil Service officials, Judiciary, Police, health and Education Sector is filled with a plague of corruption, we all make a hue and cry about it but do not dare to say a word against it as we fear we would end up losing what we have made in our life despite the limited opportunities and resources.

People say that Democracy should be de-railed and let these thugs loot us for another five years, I would ask the supporters of system a question that would they hire a totally corrupt person who is known as the most notorious and corrupt professional to look after their own private business with everything on the line from financial management to resource management? The obvious answer is a BIG NO!

No wonder the supporters of Imran Khan are people who are having a sensible head on the shoulders starting mostly from middle class people and some portion of wise and educated elite and he has to make a great deal of effort to get his message spread across the rural areas of Pakistan where 70 percent of our population resides .

Let's be realistic Imran Khan and his team is not considered to be angels from the heavens but they have a vision, a proven track record of no major visible corruption and a system which can deliver for a common man as well, I support this movement not because of the charms of Imran Khan and his world cup victory, I support him as somehow after so many years I strongly feel that if he is a given a chance,  even if I die today, my kids would get to see a Pakistan where the law would protect and look after even orphans and give them an equal opportunity and merit based system to excel in life.

I worry if death strikes me today, my kids would be at the mercy of a ruthless system which supports the ruling class and elite only and every new legislation is done to protect their own wrong doings, would you leave future of your kids in the hands of the people who shot un-armed innocent women in their faces to prove that they can do whatever they want as the law and establishment are their bought servants.

We need a Pakistan where a farmer's son can be an Amy Chief, a school teacher's son can be a Prime Minister, a driver's son can be a Chief Minister and a sweeper's son can be Chief Justice of Supreme court based on merit and their professional back ground.

May Allah have mercy on Pakistan and let us contribute with our portion of effort in any way we could  to make a new Pakistan based on the foundations of truth and equality for all. Long Live Pakistan!


Muhammad Usman Arshad

To Work Or Not To Work, That Is The Question!

"To work or not to work, that is the question"

A mighty 20% of work force in textile sector jobs in Pakistan come to work place with one major ambition in mind which is "Am not going to work today while sitting in office".

There are a lot of reasons behind the lack of interest in jobs, lazy attitude at work and lack of initiative prevailing in people coming to work. People might not have the right aptitude for work, they might lack basic job skills and their educational back ground would not match to their job descriptions, they have been given a position as a personal or political favor or they could not find proper job and landed in an industry in which they are misfits by all means.

Textile sector by default requires a lot of hard work and professionalism from people who are earning their livelihood from it. As it is export oriented and production intensive business, there is a great deal of emphasis on the adhering to product development and production lead times. From a basic concept/design creation to transforming that concept in to a physical product which can sell well in all major markets across the globe, an extensive team effort is required to come up to the expectation of buyers around the world in terms of product quality, creativity, reliability, production lead times, logistics support and customer care excellence.

Serving the textile sector for the last 20 years in Pakistan with core competence in International sales and marketing and operations management, I have seen that a lot of people (20% as described above) are not inclined to give their 100% to their jobs for various reasons and their self made justifications to not to work.

The reasons vary at different job levels, some of the reasons are far from reasoning and at times very funny.

Let's review the few types : -

1. The sick and misery struck lot:

                                                                These are the ones born with almost every fatal disease one could imagine starting from heart, kidneys, liver and lungs abnormalities. Every second week somebody dies in their families. I have worked with few people who had to come up with their grand dad and grandmother death news at least thrice every year. The most strange and alarming fact is that their beloved ones either die on Friday or on Monday to let them avail long weekend for mourning. The worst part is they have really sick people in their family and they need off from work and need loans to look after them. One of the production managers came with a loan and leave application for his wife's critical surgery, two months later we came to know that the guy is not married and went to Dubai with friends to party.

 

2. The Late Comers:

                                                These types are found at each and every level of management but with varying and interesting lame excuses to be late. Some of the organizations have strict timings supported by thumb scan and retinal scan attendance, so these cut salary of all of their late comers as per their policy and you would find only a hand few of people coming late despite having genuine problems at times. The problem arises where the attendance is either manual or there is no deduction of salary from late comers. Most of them have a car having starting trouble almost every day, their children get sick every third day, they get sick every third week and some of them have strange allergy issues which only occurs in certain months of the year.  Some of them get their sons circumcised two times a year. The worst cases are people doing their own business and job at the same time. Sometimes we get to know that a guy is on family vacation without the family and after effects of travelling cannot allow him to be in office on time in the morning and push them to leave early as well.

 

3. The Field Team:

                                                Textiles mills not having their own printing or dyeing, have to rely on external processing of fabric for which they need planning and execution managers, quality control managers and quality auditors to ensure their goods are printed/dyed/bleached as per their customer given specifications. These guys stay in the field and spend less time in office and they have the liberty to go to a mill direct without coming to office and here starts the game of lies and funny excuses. Somebody will tell you on phone that am in a mill and discussing designs with printing manager and yet you hear his son screaming and crying aloud and at times the wife would ask when are you leaving to do the grocery. Sometimes a guy would be asleep at home and yet his email would suggest am in a mill getting a design printed in my presence. Most of these guys can do 2-3 jobs at the same time and if get caught would come up with funny excuses like sudden family emergency, had to do this to look after orphans in the family and long stories beyond your intellect and understanding. Only a hand full of companies have managed to monitor presence of their team in the field through GPS devices and hand held smart phones which pinpoints the exact location of their employee in the field, rest are still trying to develop a monitoring system via satellite GPS.

 

4. The Sales And Marketing Team:

                                                                                The blue eyed employees, the ones who would get you more business and would contribute a lot to the overall growth of the company. They have extensive in-land and abroad travelling as they meet customers, sourcing houses and attend International Textile trade fairs. They have the highest salary and are given the appropriate protocol and respect in the company. They hardly get sick, they hardly need an excuse as they are visiting customers all the time and this activity can cover their family vacations, they can rest if they want to at their own and at times their girl friend's home. They can do personal party in the name of customer entertainment. They can buy gifts for their wife or girl friends and submit the bills as the gifts for customers. They need luxury sedans to ride as they need to pick up customers and show them the mills and marketing offices and similarly can use these cars for the dates as well. They look very busy while they relax most of the times, all they need to do is achieve sales targets and then no questions asked. Nobody questions them for late arrival or earlier departure as it is understood that they are busy in marketing activity. Rest of the departments teams (accounts, finance, production, Human resource) simply hate them but the cant do anything about stopping their luxuries as long as they keep company in profit.

5. The Production Team:

                                                The senior managers and department heads ensure their presence only when CEO is around or has called up a meeting. They have fleet of managers in their team and can afford to be away from their desk in the name of product development and visiting dyes, pigments and chemical suppliers in the same connection. They work with their own team from a cleaner to a senior manager and can always blackmail the management to flee with their fleet/team if a lot of questions are asked regarding their timely presence and quality of work. They often get invitation from chemical suppliers for sponsored foreign training trips (training includes how to party abroad at someone else's expense) and they would like to attend all the world machinery fairs in that connection as well. For stitching division, if work force is short, they would highlight a problem in the fabric or an accessory to buy out time and they make every product making so complicated so that they can easily do production as per their convenience and make more margins in cost of production with the contractor hired by the company. They have technical reasons to not to do a job or to delay it.

 

6. The Finance team:

                                                They are the eyes and ears of top management, they survive by converting every investment in to an expense before the board of Directors. They are on time most of the times and when they need to be away, they are having a meeting or lunch or dinner with bankers. Their timely arrival is seen as an example and their timely reporting can make or break careers as they have the art to make a profitable deal in to a huge loss by just playing with numbers. All the other teams including the marketing and sales, tries to be friends with them and do not confront with them. They only work when CEO directly gives them a task for routine matters, they have the necessary talent available in the team to let them relax. They are the true example of a white collar job.

 

7. The Human Resource Team:

                                                                Unfortunately they do not have a choice other than to be in office on time and leave on time as well as they are supposed to monitor timings of everyone else in the company. They can only be away to meet people in the name of head hunting and visiting other factories within the same group. They are first ones to leave the office as well and survive on reporting the timings and official activities details plus activities after work of employees to the top management. The can last long in any organization. Their supreme task is to delay the loan applications, increments, bonuses with an excuse that company is not doing well and company as a policy is not going to spend in these areas. They are having the best lame excuses, they are the champs in this field!

 

8. The Purchase Team:

                                                They are not to be bound by timing policies, they need to visit Suppliers to monitor work and times to collect their own commission as cash or cheque payment. They can sleep at home, run their own company and sell goods to company at which they do job. They manage their work well and can afford holidays any time they wish. They can afford to have anything they need by ringing a supplier and anything from a deep freezer to a mid-sized car can be delivered to their homes, their holidays are planned by their suppliers and they have the golden excuse to be in the field for days. They only work with their own developed suppliers and hate recommendations. They can put a cover on their incompetence on not enough resources given by accounts, shortage of goods in market, the supplier which produces a certain item no longer exists, they delay purchases to the last moment and suddenly arrange things at a much higher price than the market norm and consider this act as a favor to the company.

 

9. The Administration Team:

                                                                They are the miracle makers, their job is to make every task impossible first, then come up with an idea to bribe somebody and then get the job done. They are always on Holy Work of the company and can come late, be away on assigned tasks, can some late and leave early and still be in good books of management. They are the most un-organized department but have an excuse for this as well as they always portray that they are over-loaded with work.

 

10. The Product Development Team:

                                                                                They are creative people and creative people need a lot of time to complete their piece of art. They come in late and always have an excuse to be in the market for research and development effort to see the prevailing trends. They take a lot of time to complete a design creation and if their slow working is questioned they would revert by saying "Creativity needs time and only a designer can understand this" They never set a standard time to complete a task, it can be completed whenever they wish to complete it. They have technical excuses to justify the delay.

 

 

11. The Love Birds:

                                                They will either fall in love with one of the colleagues or somebody away from work which pushes them to be away from office, or be busy at mobile or skype chats. Whenever they get married, they tend to give more time to work :)

 12. The Sports Lover:

                                                They will religiously watch cricket no matter what happens to their careers, on a crucial match day, they will not work whatsoever!

 

The writer is a veteran in Textile Industry in Pakistan in the field of International Sales and marketing and in Operations Management. Currently serving as a Chief Operating Officer for a major textile group.

The Disguise!

The Disguise

 

In the good old days not long ago, say twenty years ago life was bit simple, relaxed and worth living for most of the people. What went wrong then? The answer is we all lost focus and ignored our prime responsibilities partially or completely.

In the 60's, 70's and to some extent 80's parents were the biggest influence we would get in the making of our character. A child was taught how to talk, how to behave and how to get and give respect from the early age which resulted in a better character building and then a better reflection as a nation in the long run. The biggest plus point was basic religious knowledge was transferred to children and parents had time to follow the activities of their children till they become adults and useful citizens of the country.

Late 80's marked the end of Dictatorship rule which was a very healthy sign for improvement in all areas starting from better economy, improved living for everyone, better human rights, rule of law etc but on the contrary what happened was beyond our dreams.

A total shift from our end with an inclination towards materialism. We used to lead a simple life whether poor, lower middle class or middle class, am leaving out upper class Elites as they have to maintain a King's life style to retain their presence in Elite class. Democratic governments were supposed to be bringing in a revolution to improve common man's life but it never happened to the scale which was largely expected. The well wishers came in the disguise of honest political, religious and military leaders and what they did was totally opposite and not hidden from anybody.

We made a big mistake as a nation during that time, we remained busy in following our dreams and were in the rat race of gathering wealth either by fair or unfair means, those who got success were able to crush the ones who were far behind in this rat race.

Parenting suffered the most in this era, elders who could afford had left the responsibility of character building to play group schools, house maids and to modern educational institutes. Those who could afford that they were struggling to find two meals a day for their children already so were not able to focus on their kids well being and character building as for them survival was most important. A lot was said and observed that there would be a bloody revolution cause of social injustice, poor living conditions, a major gap between have and have nots, limited employment and when available it was not provided on merit, educational institutes were not giving education they were focused on selling the degrees. Every aspect of life became business, all relations became fake and every move we made in life was considered as a business transaction, production facilities focus became profit and not their work force, our leaders focus was to loot our resources rather than enhancing our growth potential, our armed forces mis-used the trust of common man and got indulge in lust for power again and over a certain period of time we all became more mean, selfish, greedy and almost inhumane to win in the rat race of retaining our fake outlook, our disguise, our standing in the society and above all a mask on faces to cheat people around.

Then a new generation of reformers and revolution makers came on board, the media giants which brought a lot of new kids on the blocks as "Gurus" in making Pakistan a better place to live for common people. Later on after a decade or so now suddenly the whole Nation went in to shock to realize that these private channels were not there to improve a life of a common man, these were there as businesses and individual profit centers.

It brought an invasion of Western and Indian media influence and with some channels total funding as well to eradicate the basic true spirit of our religion, our social taboos and our very identity as a Pakistani. On the name of improvement in educational system, text book boards re-visited the text books and took out material related to our history, our heroes and our heritage.

Planned terrorism was executed in our country in which 99% damage was done to common man and we fought somebody else's war against terror in which we compromised integrity and safety of the whole nation and gave a way to Political parties to have militant groups within their lines and execute terrorist activities and blame foreign terrorist element. We were introduced to suicidal bombings, Drone attacks, target and Random Killings which resulted in a wide spread fear for life for common man not everywhere in Pakistan but more in some major cities.

In the recent days, major channels which were supposed to be major reformers, suddenly came out as worst enemies of the our Nation as evidences were made public they were behind major conspiracies against the Nation. When I was a kid, competitions were held on National Songs singing, Qirat, Naat Khwani and Ramazan's month was special with Television reflecting religious programs..... Alas! that spirit is gone and most effected is our younger generation who are confused as they are not being told that Justin Bieber is not their ideal, their ideal is Prophet Mohammad may peace be upon him, His companions and Historic leaders who were part of expanding Islamic Empire. Again not their fault, we have exposed them to negativities of life, wearing a vulgar dress means to them being a style icon, misbehaving with elders to them is taken as right of free speech, not taking care of grandparents to them means they cant interact with an old and obsolete school of thought, being rude to servants to them is talking to paid people, not helping friends and family to them is remaining focused on their dreams, roaming around with boys and girls and staying from home to them is cool and in thing for them, misbehaving with parents to them is to do the same thing their parents did to their own parents, joint family system to them is a joke and going to mosque to them is becoming a fundamentalist and a backward person.

We have given our religion in the hands of quacks (not all of them as we do have excellent renowned Muslim scholars but majority of our people do not have direct access or not literate enough to read their published books and articles) thus our masses are exposed Imams of Mosques and to invasion of negativity from the print and electronic media.

The worst part is every day we see the real face of someone or some organization, a hue and cry is raised for a week or ten days and then it is forgotten. Worst part is when we are given a chance to change our fate through electoral process, we do not choose wisely or the election is rigged where people made the right choice and again the same rulers are back in business of making their own lives better.

We have seen that we cannot rely on system and our ruling elite as both are in majority very corrupt, so an effort has to be made from our home first by making an effort on our kids to be trained and guided enough to choose a right path. Our priority is bank balance, house, land, luxuries, finest available education, modern living and we remain busy in lust for more and more of this to provide a secure future to our kids but again our religion states that biggest Asset of parents is their honest and pious children. Even trillions of dollars are less if genuinely compared to the worth of a son and daughter and family who is on the right path to earn from fair means and are helping out the needy around them silently. This is something we can do as parents and would not need governments help, NGO's aid or some hifi educational institute.

Luxury or Needs first? We got to decide it.

The blame game is on for years now and we should have been sick and tired of this dirty drama depicting the negativities around us and not showing and revealing the positive side of issues around us.
We blame the government is not anything and simply forget our role in the scenario. We cannot get a much needed change of attitude if we keep on holding other people responsible for all the problems of the world. A famous saying “If you are not the part of the solution, then you are part of the problem in the first place”.
Bold TV Anchors, Straight forward Journalists, so called honest Politicians, Talented industrialists, Leading religious activists, Famous lawyers, Truly good poets, Educationists, all seem to condemn the system and have their own views to fix the Problem. We as common Pakistanis are by negative grounds, forced to confined our life in the walled circle of basic survival which is a rented place, house hold expenses, kids Education, Kids marriages, Utility bills, safety of all family members and many more problems that we do not have time to discuss the core issues or take some revolutionary steps as a Nation on the whole to fix the problem. We need to show our own sincerity to our home land by surviving in the limited means of income, we have made our life so troublesome cause of the fact that a worker wants to adopt the life style of a Super visor, A super visor wishes to match his spending with a manager, Manager will follow footsteps of a Senior manager and cycle goes on till we reach the stage when some big shot is trying to match the life style of the President of Pakistan.
That compels people to take the short route of corruption to excel in life, this short route could start from not paying taxes, frauds in business and with people, mis-using the talents of people by paying them less, not returning loans, not re-investing the profits in to business and sending earning abroad in the foreign accounts, taking bribes at all levels, making sure that honest people do not grow or are placed at positions where they can be a stumbling block in the way of corruption and that includes electing the people to rule us, begging from an ordinary street beggar to a level of a Head of the State asking for loans, then comes the evil of Credit cards, that has made every one addicted to enjoy the money which is not earned by hard work, the interest free business dealings system given to us by our religion is still the best way to survive within our own sources.
Some people regard certain kinds of work or professions as contemptible. However, the Prophet (peace be on him) denied the validity of this notion. He taught his Companions that the whole of a human being’s dignity is tied up with his work—any sort of work —and that real disgrace and humiliation consist of depending on other people’s help. He said, It is better that a person should take a rope and bring a bundle of wood on his back to sell so that Allah may preserve his honor, than that he should beg from people, (regardless of) whether they give to him or refuse him. (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
Allah will inflict a disgrace upon you which will not be removed until you return to your religion. (Reported by Abu Daoud.)
We are still having the fate of being disgraced by the people who control us all cause of our lust and greed for wealth, in order to fulfill our wrong desires we can go to any extent starting from dodging own family members and friends to the level of looting the resources of our home land when and where given a chance.
But when they see some business or amusement, they disperse to it and leave thee standing. Say: ‘What is with Allah is better than amusement and than business; and Allah is the best of providers.’ (62:11)
We got to learn to survive in the available means and we must pursue our basic right of having equal opportunities in life as there is absolutely no restriction of pursuing better life backed up by fair means efforts. We start playing our part and keep on pushing the decision makers that they got to move in the right direction.
It is not necessary to have a 1300 cc car when we can hardly afford an 800 cc one, it is not needed to spend a lot on marriages just to show off, it is not needed to rent a bigger house when we can’t afford it, bank loan is not needed when we can gradually build our business, it is not needed to wear expensive brands when we can survive in equally good clothes but at less than 1/4th of the price, we can survive with a cheaper cell phone rather than spending thousands on it just to show others that how expensive mobile phone we have got despite the fact that we do not even use its full features that make it expensive, and there could be hundreds of examples. We adopt wrong means of earning when we exhaust every limit of available financial means and then we make our life miserable in the rat race of earning. The biggest problem of all is that we start in the company of Elites who are filthy rich and become complexed and we ruin ourselves by matching their spending pattern, their life style etc and make a bad out of a good life we were enjoying before our interaction with them.
It is a fact that our leaders and rulers are a true representation of what we are these days as a Nation but we keep on denying the fact that we need to mend our ways first, if we become honest at individual level, then a chain reaction will start which will purify the system and over all out of us as a Nation will certainly improve.
Allah bless Pakistan and move us all in the right direction!

Revolution?

We talk a lot about a revolution, a major change in the system and seeing a new Pakistan with in no time. We vote for the same people, same parties, same culprits again despite the fact that the media is highlighting their true character in front of the readers and viewers.
70 percent of our voters are illiterate, most of them are in bonded labor of Feudal Lords in Sindh and Punjab and Sarhad. The so called lords discourage education of the labor class to keep intact their vote bank and get elected every time by building a fear factor, forced voting and often buy votes at the price of a decent meal.
Majority of the Pakistanis belong to a struggling class, they spend 16-18 hours in work to earn two decent meals a day for their family, they cannot judge the cruel acts of the politicians and always vote blindly on the basis of clans, tribes, communes, family and native area and at times out of peer pressure as well. They are so badly crushed in the struggle of life that they see vote casting as an opportunity to earn some money or to get false promises of farm land ownership, better health facilities, roads and infrastructure development and jobs for them and their kids. They don’t have the ability to reason and convince anyone if they had made the right choice while voting. On the other hand what choices do we have? It’s the same party system bringing in mostly corrupt people having forged documents and educational certificates and degrees, so they just choose the one culprit from the group of cheats.
You cannot educate them, because they listen and only see their needs because they have been seeing deprivation for decades which includes hunger, no shelter, no health facilities, no education and no right to be treated as a human being even.
We are expecting a change and a revolution from them who are blinded by the circumstances around them, they see the remote chances of their betterment only, they are made silent by the powerful feudal Lords and they can hear only the promises of their future.
Imran Khan and Sheikh Rasheed is hinting a bloody revolution in the coming months, again Politicians will bring people on the road for their own vested interests to grasp the power to rule Pakistan and then forget them as soon as they will be in Power.
If we want to see a real revolution, we must provide good and quality education to the people of Pakistan, their basic needs should be fulfilled which are food, health, security and justice. People cannot make judgment with an empty stomach. Millions of displaced people in all provinces due to flood who hate their ruling elites for some time and then get back to their own routine for struggle in life and will forget what these mean buggers had done to them. We understand that floods are far bigger a problem than the available resources for government to tackle the situation but the question remains that for how many times we will give people of Pakistan an excuse that “WE WERE NOT READY FOR THIS “. For a change the focus should turn to the people of Pakistan, years effort would be needed to re-build the infrastructure but before that people need love, affection and care from all of us including the so called leaders.
It’s about time that politicians and we as Pakistanis stop playing with the emotions of poor and troubled people around us and do some real time effort to help and support them. Every effort counts, every act of kindness has it effects. Poor people of Pakistan are not only an opportunity for having votes from them but they are human beings as well who should be treated well and remembered even after the elections. Common man dies on the road for politicians attempt to bring revolution to take them to the government. We are not yet fully ready to handle democracy because we attempt to loot Pakistan when ever given a chance even by electoral process to rule Pakistan. It is a sad thing that western media calls our head of the state as Mr. Ten Percent, again a democratically elected head of the state by the people who are blinded by their needs and hopes, and are deaf and dumb cause the law and justice is not made for them so they do not raise their voice and do not even listen to the words of wisdom by anchor persons in TV channels cause all of them know deep down their hearts that their life style will not change and they are born to suffer.
Let’s join hands in an effort to do justice to our motherland, our jobs, our families and to our next generation to change our mean life style to caring and helping and also by working honestly. Poor people are least bothered if a shoe is thrown at Zardari Sb, or if some MNA’s degree is fake, or if Umar Gul is not playing the next cricket match, or if Reema and Javed Sheikh are making a movie together, or if a new season of Coke studio is being shown or if Justice is silent, all they need is just enough chance to make enough money to merely survive in these rough and tough circumstances.
Democracy means rule of majority and unfortunately there is a majority of ignorant and illiterate people as compared to educated ones, so the poor condition of the people is being manipulated with false promises in every elections and people do not have any choice but to be betrayed again cause they don’t have a sense to judge the right from the wrong as most of the times they have to chose from the available “WRONGS” in elections.

The flowers and candles for Imanae Malik!

We the people of Lahore gathered with flowers and candles at Liberty round abound at the main Boulevard Gulberg to register our silent protest against the criminal negligence of the Doctor's Hospital duty doctors which resulted in sudden death of a three year old beautiful Princes named Imanae Malik. The reason I was forced to go there was the fact that if this could happen to Mr. Aqeel Malik's daughter, it could happen to our kids as well.
In order to get superior medical attention, Imanae Malik's parents took her for treatment after a minor burn to Doctor's Hospital, but casual and criminal attitude of Doctors lead her to death cause the case was mishandled from the word go. The removal by Doctors Hospital Management of screen printed message for silent protest by her parents, clearly indicates the fact that the management is not much bothered about this incident and taking it as a routine matter.
No way on earth they could treat it as a routine matter as some body's beautiful little Princess died there. Hats off to media for supporting the cause of getting this hospital of murderers shut down as their mentality clearly indicates that they are selfish and self centered people focused only to make huge profits by getting en-cashed miseries of people who happen to have money to afford expensive medical treatment. I find it very strange on part of Chief Minister Punjab's Silence over this serious matter, at least one of the directors of Doctor's Hospital should have been sent behind the Bars to start with. Governor Punjab, Prime Minister and the President of Pakistan should get their act put together and should issue directives to investigate this issue on top priority and make sure the culprits are duly treated by the law.
A full wave of silent protests must be done and all parents from all walks of life to support the cause of Imanae Malik's parents so that a wake up call can be given to all such Hospitals that if they are not going to work in a professional manner, they will be dealt severely by the law.
Government is taking it very lightly which is further adding to the grief of the effected family. Imanae was the Princess for her parents like we have got our own Princesses at our homes and our daughters are always being treated as Princesses no matter we have got blood relation with them or not. I wonder how difficult it must have been for Mr. & Mrs. Aqeel Malik to bear this great loss, its end of life for them as their eyes must be looking for her cute looks while she used to run around in the house, they must be missing her lovely smiles and giggles and they must be missing their little Princess who has left a huge gap in their life by departing them at a stage when every body in the house was cheering her presence. Like us they must have had plans for her bright future, all is gone with the wind now. They are left with her sweet memories and a shear pain and agony for rest of their lives.
Who is going to take charge for the quick action to provide a speedy justice to the parents. The need of the hour is that through our political system, we get a legal Punitive law approved by the National Assembly to tackle such Criminal negligence in future and to make sure that licenses of all such hospitals are cancelled and strict measures are taken which should include sending of the Director's of such Hospitals behind the bars for life imprisonment.
Human life is the most precious thing in the entire Universe and for Parents the well being and good health of their Kids matter the most. I am along with the people living in Lahore, are there to strongly support the struggle of the Malik Family who are seeking justice from the Ruling elites who are not focusing on their core duties and spending most of their time discussing NRO, whether President should stay or not, cutting down of expenses etc but we are are least concerned of such activities by them. We want them to provide immediate justice to Imanae Malik's parents or if they will not bother to do so, they do not have a right to sit in their offices as head of Provinces and of the country as well.
We all seek justice on humanitarian grounds and will keep on registering our protests till the culprits are sent behind the bars. It might look as an ordinary incident in our rulers eyes but for us who also have small kids at home, its a matter of life and death as we live for our children's future and can not live with out them if they are being parted from us due to criminal negligence. I am sure the doctors who are responsible for the death of Imanae, must be having kids of their own and they would try their best to bring every comfort in their kids lives, they should look after their patients especially who are small kids in the same manner other wise there is no difference between them and butchers! Its a noble profession to play a role of a healer but if the duties are performed in a rightful manner, it can turn out to be most pain inflicting profession in the world.
Its about time that the doctors who are responsible for this brutal act, come forward and hand over them selves to the authorities with signed confessions, this might save the grace whats left in them.
The struggle for the justice would not come to an end, it would be spread like a epidemic and sooner or later a movement would be triggered through out the Pakistan to get Justice to Imanae Malik's parents the rightful justice. Their daughter was killed and the killers are on the loose, their next target could be our kids as well, I would request all readers to help us all in convincing the Government that they have to provide justice to the people of Pakistan. if they will not respond quickly, they will be become part of such killing by not making arrangements to stop these and they will be answerable to Allah, in the biggest courts of all, at the judgement day.
We look forward to a selfless support from all especially continued guidance and help from the media (newspapers and TV channels) , its a struggle that will ensure safe future of our kids in the days to come.
Another of such incident reported in the past, please follow the link below to find out the continued mismanagement at Doctors Hospital, they have a history to prove that they are thorough non professionals.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C02%5C12%5Cstory_12-2-2006_pg3_7

The Clicks Of The Time Bombs!

The increased number of recent attacks in the last two weeks on civil and military establishments has arose the the major concerns in the masses and in the government as well.

Some are relating it to the American plans to get hold of Pakistan's nuclear assets and over all submission to its God Father's demands. Kerry - Luger bill much in discussion these days but core issues are put aside. Our Nation is put to test to pass through extreme violent times under heavy stress so that we can not decide as a Nation that what we want in our future. We were a Muslim threat to Israel and Jewish lobby in USA from the day we got independence.

Its been history of Muslim rulers in our part of the world to play in the hands of foreign invaders whether its east India company's control of Sub Continent or its Joint effort of India, USA and Israel to weaken us through incompetent and corrupt leader ship whether Marshal Law dictators or the politicians. We have sold our integrity and character to west to make own lives a heaven and of masses a living hell. Parents are not sure whether their kids to school, their sons and daughters gone to offices, their relatives on a recreational trip would come back or not due to major terrorists strikes at the places where security is supposed to fool proof. Civil service is also a hidden factor. One wonders how come these so called CSPor PCS officers make so much money that they spend their holidays abroad, their kinds studying in the most expensive of the universities, their life styles are that of billionaires, their parties are worth seeing the way they spend on all banned things. Then comes the business community who hide their actual earnings and pass lives of Kings and Queens.

The Army is forced to cover and clean the mess of the Former President and the politicians of current and previous governments. The heavy death toll is recorded for innocent civilians and Armed forces personnel and it is becoming a never ending story.

Media is jumping up and down to claim that they are the first one to be at the bombing sites, first one to disclose the government weaknesses etc to sell their air time of telecast in a profitable manner. Vested interests are being given preferences. Our Nation has become and a chronic patient of stress and extreme depression, those who could afford are selling off properties and getting Nationalities abroad. Those who are left behind are awaiting an end to their destiny whether they would be able to face the after effects of poor economic conditions, poor law and order, poor educational facilities, poorly developed health sector, law and justice to support the people who could afford to fight their cases and pay the lawyers and the people concerned. A person found on the road snatching a mobile phone is sent to Jail where its his luck if he is presented before a court of law or sent home by police after taking bribe or is kept behind bars with out even registering a case on the contrary for elites we have a Law called NRO which enables them to get away with murders, financial crimes and so on. This generates a high level of helplessness and frustration in our youth and start thinking on the lines to use ill legal means of earning livelihood which often let them fall in to the cruel hands of terrorist organizations which brain wash these young men and use them for suicide bombings etc.

It is a harsh fact that in severe economic crisis a person can go to extreme actions which include suicide and a suicide which can bring good life to the rest of family members with a payment (as suggested in media) of 2-3 million rupees, a person is like to fall in the trap. Its sad but a bitter reality that our governments whether current or from the past, have thoroughly failed to change the fate of the people of Pakistan where majority of the population is still living beyond poverty level. What would our corrupt leaders do with a such a wealth which is earned by making deals to sell sovereignty and existence of Pakistan. We dont educate people of the rural areas cause it was an old plan before partition to give wealth and education opportunities to the limited minority and let that minority rule for ages by sucking sweat and blood of poor people. We dont have social and economic justice no matter what governments say, the ground reality is that the poor are given very limited chances to grow, and those who managed to grow, they grow over night by fitting in a system of corruption, deception and fraud.

I would like to remind all the rulers of current times and the ex rulers who are still alive that west have always used our ruling class as toilet paper, when the purpose is served, they no longer use them. Killing of Gen. Zia, Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto etc is a fine example. Still our leadership is not waking up from false dreams. If you talk about masses, they are not even bothered whether black water is in Pakistan or Drone attacks are frequent, whether GHQ is attacked or the parliament cause they are currently fighting a war of their own existence in times when they are not able to earn two meals for the family, the are not provided with basic human rights. What do you think that A person who needs one million to save his son after a major surgery would care much about anything else than to make arrangements to get him being operated upon. Nothing in the world other than survival of his son is considered more important for him or her. We talk a lot about Food, clothing and shelter to the poor, this is just not enough. Equal opportunities to excel in life should be made sure well.

Lets play our part by helping the needy with in and out of our limits and also by forcing all political parties to arrange housing for people rather then spending billions on long marches, by dedicating a certain portion of our earning to the people who are struggling in life and above all making sure that an impartial system is there to discourage and stop the mis-use of resources. The time has already gone past, we need to mend our ways on war footing basis or else we would be making more and more likely targets for terrorist organizations to use our own people against us. The sense of deprivation and total degradation of human values can put all Nation in danger as if we are sitting with time bombs all around us, cant find any of those and only listening to the clicks of the watch of time bomb and not knowing the person sitting next to us is wearing a suicide jacket under neath his dress or not?????

Its all about setting of priorities and fixing short term goals to save what is left with us. We dont want another head of state leaving/fleeing the country with a character certificate of a Saint issued by the USA government or issued under the influence of USA. Our corrupt leaders approved NRO to save their necks but this Nation and the time will never forgive them. Even if they get away with their deeds in their life times, another trial will be waiting for them, they will be charged and repeatedly executed at the judgement day. Life is short but after effects of bad deeds of our leaders are long term.

The Simplicity!

We are in a habit of making our lives complicated, tough and hard by continuously following the on going traditions, styles and trends. In doing so we have to bear a huge expense and we make our domestic budget non-workable at times.

We have become class and brand conscious, which has made us complexed people. We target the life style of a higher class and try to be like them in terms of general living and and their out look. In order to do so, we would love to wear the brands they like or the brands which are considered in style, we would go for interior decor of the house, we would spend our life saving on a latest model car which is considered as "cool" car to have by the gentry. We would send our kids to the schools where only elites could afford to send their kids and confusing our kids with excellent facilities at school and less attractive home as compared to the school. Ladies would love to buy the in trend ready made garments of an expensive label and would try n match that with equally expensive jewellery and shoes. We strive to achieve an artificial life style in which media is playing a vital role. With the facilitation of the government in last 4-5 years, a lot of new channels are being operational which use their air time to show glamour and artificial life style to make the people wish for things which they can not afford at all.

Now how would they get it, the first thing would be coming in to trap of getting a credit card with a good limit and then keep on getting the credit the new cards from different banks every month. By the time a year ends, they will get at least 6-7 different cards and are spending heavily through each of these. This story never ends here, when they are under heavy debt cause of the interest and principle amount still not paid, they indulge themselves in to illegal ways of earning money that includes bribes, frauds etc. Thus to cut short, they make their life a living hell in a matter of 2-3 years which other wise would have been lot easier and simple if they had managed to survive with in their means of earning and that too legal.

I can understand that it is a birth right of every person to pursue the dreams and go higher and higher in life in terms of success in the careers and life. But it should be at the expense of making ones life miserable and difficult along with its family as the race of jumping from class to higher elite class of the society is a never ending story. We spend our life time to pay back the loans etc we had taken un-necessary in our life as we wanted to have the confidence in moving in the circle of elites. We would love to go there in their parties wearing HSY, Armani or Gucci in a latest Sedan driven by a chauffeur and then brag about it when sitting in the people who actually belong to the same class of society as we are, but those people are sensible and never ran after an artificial life.

Its easy to adopt a simple living style and enjoy most of it using the available source of income we have to get a smooth sailing in family and professional life. Life can be difficult as there are so many attractions coming our way to tempt us to spend far beyond our earning means. We want more and more in our life, first we strive for one thing in our life when we achieve it then we want to grow limitless in terms of enjoying luxuries of life, it starts a vicious circle of loans, credit cards, debts etc and we get financially fully exhausted in a mere two years time and struggle like any thing to get out of these loan payments but we cant get out of it.

This clash of the classes has made life close to miserable of so many people around. Due to excessive spending and burrowing, such people do not normally have any kind of saving at all for the any un-foreseen bad patch in life and we see them becoming patients of depression and stress at a very young age.

Our religion Islam tells us to spend according to our means of earning and highly condemns getting loans against interest. The interest is considered as going for an all out war against The Almighty Allah. But unfortunately our whole economy is based on a system which does not support interest free banking at all. The division that deals ordinary people like us in any bank is called consumer banking. This division has got many ways to attract people with the advertisement campaigns of getting cars on lease, home loans, home improvement loans, house hold goods on lease, educational loans and send us regularly a list of 100's of attractive things which we might get on installments using our credit card.

I sincerely wish and hope that all of us limit our spending to less than what we earn and influence our family members to go for savings every month by try to lead a very simple but a happy life. We are running blindly after the things which we don't really need, if we can live two suits reserved for party wearing and on weddings etc, why to go for a new suit on every function that we attend. Secondly there is no point wearing the international brands and labels when we can not afford those, we spend millions every year on our out look just to be seen distinguished and branded from head to toe just to hear comments like " Oh my God, you look stunning! what is it? Oh Hugo Boss my Gosh"

This is an artificial way of life and suits only to those who earn 100 times more than what they spend, no matter their earnings are through fair means or not. Its not not us at all, we have to save our selves from the on slought of International brands and labels in Pakistan. We tend to get hold of these if we can not afford these, we buy readily available fake imitations of Rolex watches, Armani and Boss Suiting's and shirts, M&S garments, LV and Gucci ladies hand bags etc.

This thing is making every thing seems like fake even the relations of love and trust as people tend not to settle with one life partner and strive for the better options all the times.

All of us to do a self assessment of our spending patterns and refrain our self from undue and un-necessary spending just ot show off and impress people around us. The reality bites and bites very hard when we utilise all available resources one day and look for support and help from others which may or may not come forward at the hour of our need.

Baba Bulleh Shah: The Sufi poet!

Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, now in Pakistan. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara in modern Uzbekistan . At the age of six months, his parents relocated to Malakwal. There his father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a preacher in the village mosque and a teacher. His father later got a job in Pandoke, about 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Bulleh Shah received his early schooling in Pandoke, and moved to Kasur for higher education, to become a student of the prominent professor, Ghulam Murtaza. He also received education from Maulana Mohiyuddin. His spiritual teacher was the eminent Sufi saint, Shah Inayat Qadri . Bulleh Shah was a direct descendant of Muhammad, through the progeny of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gillani of Baghdad. A large amount of what is known about Bulleh Shah comes through legends, and is subjective; to the point that there isn’t even agreement among historians concerning his precise date and place of birth. Some “facts” about his life have been pieced together from his own writings. Other “facts” seem to have been passed down through oral traditions. Bulleh Shah practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Shah Hussain (1538 – 1599), Sultan Bahu (1629 – 1691), and Shah Sharaf (1640 – 1724). Bulleh Shah lived in the same period as the famous Sindhi Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai (1689 – 1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the legendary Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722 – 1798), of Heer Ranjha fame, and the famous Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahad (1739 – 1829), better known by his pen-name, Sachal Sarmast (“truth seeking leader of the intoxicated ones”). Amongst Urdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from Mir Taqi Mir (1723 – 1810) of Agra. He died in 1758, and his tomb is located in Kasur, Pakistan. Poetry Style The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is called the Kafi (Refrain), a traditional style of Punjabi poetry used by Punjabi Sufis and Sikh gurus (such as Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh). In Bulleh's time, Sufi poets often did not adopt the classical languages of Persian and Urdu, instead choosing to write their verses in Punjabi, Saraiki, and Sindhi – languages of the common folk amongst whom they lived. Although the number is disputed, Bulleh Shah is credited with authoring anywhere from 50 to 150 Kafi, 1 Athwara, 1 Baramah, 3 Siharfi, 49 Oeodh and 40 Gandhan. This appears to be a large body of work; however, this oeuvre is small enough that one could read it all in a few weeks. What is most striking about Bulleh Shah’s poetry and philosophy is his audacious critique of the religious orthodoxy of his day, particularly the Islamic religious orthodoxy. His poetry is filled with direct attacks on those who claim control over religion, to the point of comparing mullahs to barking dogs and crowing roostersTemplate Spiritual Purification Sufis typically spend their lives trying to penetrate the meaning of life while searching for God. Those among them who were poets articulated this exploration through their poetry. ‘Who is the Creator?’ ‘What is the truth?’ ‘What is the meaning of life?’ ‘How can one find God?’ ‘Who am I?’ These are some of the questions Sufis have tried to answer, by dissociating themselves from worldly activity, and moving onto a saintly field where they are no longer bound by conventionally interpreted holy or material boundaries. Bulleh Shah studied Arabic, Persian and the Quran under his traditional teachers. After that, in an attempt to move to the next level (of mystic realization), he searched for a spiritual guide. Ultimately he found his murshid, in the form of Inayat Shah Qadri. Inayat Shah Qadri (or Shah Inayat, as he is referred to in Bulleh Shah’s poetry) was a Sufi of the Qadri order, who authored many Persian books on mysticism. He was from the Arian cast and grew vegetables to earn a living. Paradoxically, Bulleh Shah was of the much higher Syed caste. Yet, in defiance of tradition, Bulleh Shah accepted Shah Inayat as his spiritual master, and subordinated his life to his lower-caste murshid. Much of Bulleh Shah’s verses about love are addressed directly to his spiritual guide, Shah Inayat. Religion Despite being very critical of religion, Bulleh Shah does not denounce religion as a whole. Nor does he appear to be pushing any other structure of thought to supplant religious notions. His ideas, therefore, cannot be placed into the category of secularism or atheism. In reality, Bulleh Shah seems somewhat critical of all persons in authority - including intellectuals, academicians and jurists - who create obstacles and needless complexities for common people in discovering love, and through love, discovering God. Bulleh Shah preaches an uncomplicated conception of humanity, as the common connection through which persons of all faiths, creeds and opinions can attain a superior and more pure existence, eventually coming closer to God. Humanist Bulleh Shah’s writings represent him as a humanist, someone providing solutions to the sociological problems of the world around him as he lives through it, describing the turbulence his motherland of Punjab is passing through, while concurrently searching for God. His poetry highlights his mystical spiritual voyage through the four stages of Sufism: Shariat (Islamic Law), Tariqat (Observance), Haqiqat (Truth-Essence) and Marfat (Union or God knowledge). The simplicity with which Bulleh Shah has been able to address the complex fundamental issues of life and humanity is a large part of his appeal. Thus, many people have put his kafis to music, from humble street-singers to renowned Sufi singers like the Waddali Brothers and Abida Parveen, from the synthesized techno qawwali remixes of UK-based Asian artists to the rock band Junoon. Bulleh Shah’s popularity stretches uniformly across Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, to the point that much of the written material about this Muslim thinker is from Hindu and Sikh authors. A Beacon of Peace Baba Bulleh Shah's time was marked with communal strife between Muslims and Sikhs. But in that age Baba Bulleh Shah was a beacon of hope and peace for the citizens of Punjab. While Bulleh Shah was in Pandoke, Muslims killed a young Sikh man who was riding through their village in retaliation for murder of some Muslims by Sikhs. Baba Bulleh Shah denounced the murder of an innocent Sikh and was censured by the mullas and muftis of Pandoke. Bulleh Shah maintained that violence was not the answer to violence. Bulleh Shah also hailed Guru Tegh Bahadur as a ghazi (Islamic term for a religious warrior) and incurred the wrath of the mullas. In one of his poems, he also writes "I don't talk of here and there, I will say the truth only; Had there not been Guru Gobind Singh all the Hinds would have got circumcision" in reference to not what the Sikhs did for the Hindus, but against oppresion and tyranny. Banda Singh Bairagi was a contemporary of Bulleh Shah. In retaliation for the murder of Guru Gobind Singh's two sons by Aurangzeb, he sought revenge by killing common Muslims. Baba Bulleh Shah tried to convince Banda Singh Bairagi to renounce his campaign of revenge. Bulleh Shah told him that the same sword which fell upon Guru Gobind Singh's sons and innocent Sikhs also fell upon innocent Muslims. Hence killing innocent Muslim was not the answer to Aurangzeb's reign of oppression. Modern Renditions !n the 1990s Junoon, Asia's biggest Sufi rock band from Pakistan, has also rendered such poems as Aleph (Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar) and Bullah Ki Jaana. Bulleh Shah's verses have also been adapted and used in Bollywood film songs. In 2004, Rabbi Shergill successfully performed the unlikely feat of turning the abstruse metaphysical poem Bullah Ki Jaana into a Rock/Fusion song, which became hugely popular in India. Another version was performed by Lakhwinder Wadali titled simply Bulla. Examples include the songs Chhayya Chhayya and Thayya Thayya in the movie Dil Se. Few translations of his work, Neither Hindu nor Muslim, Sacrificing pride, let us sit together. Neither Sunni nor Shia, Let us walk the road of peace. We are neither hungry nor replete, Neither naked nor covered up. Neither weeping nor laughing, Neither ruined nor settled, We are not sinners or pure and virtuous, What is sin and what is virtue, this I do not know. Says Bulhe Shah, one who attaches his self with the lord. Gives up both hindu and Muslim. Bullah is neither Rafzi nor Sunni, nor learned nor an intellectual nor a Jaini. I have learnt the lesson of love of God alone. People say : Bulleh is an Infidel (Kafar) and an idol-worshipper. But in the Lords court, both the Momin and Kafar (Believer and un-believer) are treated alike. I am free, my mind is free, I am neither a sick person nor a physician Neither a believer nor an infidel Nor a mullah or syed In the fourteen spheres I walk in freedom I can be imprisoned nowhere. I know not who I am I am neither a believer going to the mosque Nor given to non-believing ways Neither clean, nor unclean Neither Moses not Pharaoh I know not who I am I am neither among sinners nor among saints Neither happy, nor unhappy I belong neither to water not to earth I am neither fire, not air I know not who I am The more we read his poetry, the more our hearts are enlightenened and our minds are opened to the world of Sufi thoughts!

Khalil Jibran Quotes!

One of the amazing and beautiful writers and poets of our times, some of his quotes to refresh your memories.

His Date of Birth:
January 6, 1883
His Date of Death:
April 10, 1931

But his works still live in the hearts and minds of millions of admirers across the world.

• But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
• Coming generations will learn equality from poverty, and love from woes.
• Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
• Exaggeration is truth that has lost its temper.
  
• A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain?
• A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.
• All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind.
• Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood.
• Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.
  
• Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.
  
• Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.
  
• Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
• Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.
  
• Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.
  
• Hallow the body as a temple to comeliness and sanctify the heart as a sacrifice to love; love recompenses the adorers.
  
• Generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is giving me that which you need more than I do.
• I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end.
  
• I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.
  
• I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.
  
• I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires.
  
• I wash my hands of those who imagine chattering to be knowledge, silence to be ignorance, and affection to be art.
  
• If my survival caused another to perish, then death would be sweeter and more beloved.
  
• If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember.
  
• If you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work.
  
• If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.
  
• If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.
  
• If your heart is a volcano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom?
  
• In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
  
• Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children.
  
• Knowledge cultivates your seeds and does not sow in you seeds.
  
• Knowledge of the self is the mother of all knowledge. So it is incumbent on me to know my self, to know it completely, to know its minutiae, its characteristics, its subtleties, and its very atoms.
  
• Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
  
• Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.
  
• Love and doubt have never been on speaking terms.
  
• Love is trembling happiness.
  
• Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
  
• Love possesses not nor will it be possessed, for love is sufficient unto love.
  
• Love... It surrounds every being and extends slowly to embrace all that shall be.
  
• Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth.
  
• March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life's path.
  
• Most people who ask for advice from others have already resolved to act as it pleases them.
  
• Much of your pain is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
  
• No man can reveal to you nothing but that which already lies half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.
• Nor shall derision prove powerful against those who listen to humanity or those who follow in the footsteps of divinity, for they shall live forever. Forever.
  
• Of life's two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart and the second in a laborer's hand.
  
• Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.
  
• Pain and foolishness lead to great bliss and complete knowledge, for Eternal Wisdom created nothing under the sun in vain.
  
• Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
  
• Poverty is a veil that obscures the face of greatness. An appeal is a mask covering the face of tribulation.
  
• Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.
  
• Rebellion without truth is like spring in a bleak, arid desert.
  
• Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.
  
• Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.
  
• Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'
  
• The eye of a human being is a microscope, which makes the world seem bigger than it really is.
  
• The just is close to the people's heart, but the merciful is close to the heart of God.
  
• The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master.
  
• The most pitiful among men is he who turns his dreams into silver and gold.
  
• The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.
  
• The person you consider ignorant and insignificant is the one who came from God, that he might learn bliss from grief and knowledge from gloom.
• The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.
  
• There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
  
• They consider me to have sharp and penetrating vision because I see them through the mesh of a sieve.
  
• Time has been transformed, and we have changed; it has advanced and set us in motion; it has unveiled its face, inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration.
  
• To be able to look back upon ones life in satisfaction, is to live twice.
  
• To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.
  
• Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
  
• Truth is a deep kindness that teaches us to be content in our everyday life and share with the people the same happiness.
  
• We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.
  
• What difference is there between us, save a restless dream that follows my soul but fears to come near you?
  
• What is this world that is hastening me toward I know not what, viewing me with contempt?
  
• When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
• When we turn to one another for counsel we reduce the number of our enemies.
  
• When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
  
• When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
  
• When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?
  
• Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?
  
• Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself.
  
• Wisdom stands at the turn in the road and calls upon us publicly, but we consider it false and despise its adherents.
  
• Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
  
• Would that I were a dry well, and that the people tossed stones into me, for that would be easier than to be a spring of flowing water that the thirsty pass by, and from which they avoid drinking.
• Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream.
  
• Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love.
  
• You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
  
• You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
  
• You have your ideology and I have mine.
  
• You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.
  
• Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
  
• Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you your all.
  
• Your friend is your needs answered.
  
• Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.
  
• Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
  
• Zeal is a volcano, the peak of which the grass of indecisiveness does not grow.
  
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