Hebrew King Solomon (Arabic Sulaymān) (970-931 BC), is known for having been a
very wise man. He possessed smarts,
wealth and power (Bible 1-Kings 3:10-13); (Q.38:35-40). People came to him for help in solving
difficult problems or to learn from him what he knew. His kingdom overflowed with wealth. He had all—the riches and notoriety and power
that so many throughout history have dreamed of achieving. Despite having it all, we can see his
disappointment with this physical life by reading the book of Ecclesiastes in
the Old Testament. Time after time he shows that the physical life can and
should be enjoyed when it is well lived. Hard work is satisfying; food and
drink provide pleasure; relationships enhance quality of life. But “All the
labor of man is for his mouth and yet his soul is not satisfied.” (Eccl.
6:7). Solomon recognized the same
emptiness that results from solely physical pursuits. The excitement eventually
fades. Everything we see, touch, feel
taste and hear is temporary:
“What should we build our lives around if everything
we see will cease to exist at some point?” Solomon raises the question and
answers at the end of his message: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole
matter: Fear God and keep His
commandment, for this is man’s all”(Eccl. 12:13).
We
find the same expression in the Qur’an with a message: “Every soul shall have a
taste of death; And We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. To us must
ye return.”(Q.21:35).
My life experience has convinced me that there is no other truth
than God. And if the preceding pages do
not proclaim to the reader that the only means for the realization of Truth is
self-realization only, I shall deem it all my labor in writing this treatise to
have been in vain. And even though my
efforts in this behalf may prove fruitless, let the readers know that the
vehicle, and not the principle, is at fault.
After all, however sincere my strivings after self-realization may have
been, they are still imperfect and inadequate.
A man who aspires finding truth in himself, he cannot afford to
keep out of any field of life—pious or impious alike. But this is not possible
without self-purification. And the path
of self-purification is hard and steep. To attain purity one has to become
absolutely passion-free and biased free in thought, deed and speech; to rise
above the opposing currents of love and hatred, attachment and repulsion. To
conquer such subtle passions seems harder than the physical conquest of the
world by force of arms. Ever since my sojourn to a few parts of the world, meeting
different types of people and their culture, I have had experience of the
dormant passions lying hidden within me. The knowledge of them has made me feel
humiliated though not defeated. The experiences and experiments have sustained
me and given me great joy. But I know that I have before me a different path to
traverse. I must reduce myself to
zero. So long a man does not do this of
his own free will there is no salvation.
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