The Earth is the sun’s satellite. It constantly
orbits around the sun. It takes one year to
complete such a rotation. This movement of the
earth around the sun is essential for the healthy
functioning of life on earth. If the earth did not
revolve around the sun, its existence would have
no meaning, and life would come to an end.
This is a practical example of how we should
lead our lives in this world. This example is
indeed a physical demonstration that shows how
man must revolve around God, just as the earth
revolves around the sun. It means that all of
man’s activities should be based on God.
The earth rotates as compelled to by the laws
of nature. But man, of his own free will, should
surrender to God. He should build a life, which
is based on the concept of God. This
consciousness is the real ascension of man. In
this consciousness lies the secret of all success.
A God-oriented life begins with the discovery
of God. When individuals, whether men or
women, discover God, it means that they have
found the truth. And this truth pervades their
whole being. This feeling of having discovered
the truth becomes such a thrilling experience
that it fills them with everlasting conviction. This
everlasting conviction removes all frustrations
from their lives. Therefore, losses are no longer
such, for, in spite of them, they never lose the
feeling that their greatest asset, i.e. God, is still
with them.
Man experiences this realization by pondering
upon God’s creations. The present universe is
an expression of God’s attributes. It is a
complete introduction to God. God is visible in
His creations, just as clearly as a human being
sees his own reflection in the mirror.
The vastness of space tells man that God, its
Creator, is boundless. The observation of the
sun and the stars shows us that God is all light.
The heights of the mountains show us the
greatness of God. The waves of the sea and the
flow of the river tell us that God is a storehouse
of boundless blessings. We see God’s bounty in
the greenery of the trees. Man’s existence
becomes a proof of God’s existence. In the waft
of air he experiences a Divine touch. In the
chirping of the birds, he hears God’s songs
.
For man, a God-oriented life starts by his
remembering God. He begins to feel the presence
of God. Everything serves to remind him of God.
God’s remembrance is never absent from his
heart and mind. His mornings and evenings are
spent as if he is living in God’s neighbourhood.
Just as rain replenishes the crops, so does he
remain ever immersed in the remembrance of
God.
God is a spiritual focus for man. One whose
heart is attached to God undergoes spiritual
experiences at every moment. Belief in God
becomes a source of spiritual development for
him. Filled with the love of God, he does not
need anything further. God becomes a vast ocean
for him to continue to swim in without ever
experiencing any limit. In the form of spiritual
awakening, he receives such great wealth that
he does not feel any need for anything else.
For one who discovers God, the entire
universe becomes an open book of God for him.
Every leaf of a tree becomes a page of the divine
book.
When he sees the sun, he feels as if God is
lighting His heavenly torch so that he may read
His book clearly. The Universe becomes, as it
were, a supernal university and he its student.
Finding God is to find his centre of Love. Man
by birth is a seeker of a Supreme Being who is
far above him, who is free from all limitations
and who may form the centre of his feelings, in
short, a Being after finding whom a grown man
becomes as satisfied as a child after being held
in the arms of his mother. This discovery of
God saves one from regarding something other
than God as God and mistakenly and
unrealistically thinking it to be the answer to the
urge inherent in his nature.
The discovery of
God is to fulfill his or her real urge to find God.
And the failure to discover God means failing to
find that which is man’s greatest need.
One who fails to find God is compelled by his
natural urge to give the place of God to
something other than God.
This place is
sometimes accorded to a certain human being,
sometimes to a certain animal, sometimes to a
phenomenon of nature, sometimes to a certain
material power, sometimes to a certain supposed
concept and sometimes just to the self.
Even if one fails to discover God, or he
becomes a denier of God, it is not in his or her
power to stifle the urge in his nature to find
God. That is why those men and women who
have not found God inevitably come to hold
something other than God as God. And this
supposed God is always some creature or the
other of God. By nature, it is possible for man
not to accept the real God as God, but it is not
possible for anyone to save himself or herself
from granting the status of divinity to something
other than God.
Making God one’s object of
worship raises man’s position. On the contrary,
regarding something other than God as God
amounts to descending from the level of
humanity.
Submission to God is the only way of life for
both man and the universe.
--Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
( Ref - Reality of Life )
