LECTURE TITLE:
Divine Harmony
LECTURER:
Maulana Shah Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddique
LANGUAGES :
In English.
LECTURE :
In my old age, I have undertaken the present world tour, with all its attendant hardships,
only with the mission of delivering the message of peace and goodwill
to my fellow beings so that they might be able to avoid conflicts and
quarrels and to live in harmony.
After years of serious thinking, I have come to the conclusion that
the real cause of human strife and wars consists in selfishness, on the
one hand and the forgetfulness of God on the other. When people begin
to act in utter self-interest, when the social obligations are
forgotten, when one can stoop down so low as to pursue one’s interests
at the cost of the rights of the other, harmony and concord recede in
the background. Similarly, when men become so engrossed in
earthrootedness that they do not find the occasion to remember their
Creator even formally, when the relations between the supreme source of
power are cut off, when we cease to feel that by breaking the divinely
appointed laws of nature, we are only destroying the harmony of human
existence, peace must become a thing unattainable.
We all experience it in our daily lives that whenever we break the
physiological laws of nature, we feel ill and have to endure bodily
pain. Similarly is the case of the divinely-ordained moral laws. By
breaking them, we invite nothing else than misery. If one breaks the
heart of someone today, one must be ready to suffer a similar pain
tomorrow.
Everyday and every night you hear music and songs in the
recreational programmes over the radio. Did you ever consider from
where this melody, which captivates your hearts and enchants your ears,
did acquire that sweetness? If you have seen an orchestra, you must
have noticed that it always contains several musical instruments, each
one possessing its own sounds and tunes. Now, if all the instruments
are played at one and the same time, and the players make it a point to
play independently, you will hear nothing but discordant and jarring
sounds. It is only when those in charge of the orchestration bring the
different tune of the different instruments into harmony with one
another, that you get that symphony which enthralls and thrills not
only the listeners but the players themselves.
Thus, I would like you to consider every human figure like the
musical instrument participating in musical performance. Learn the
lesson of harmony from the orchestra. Remember that the moment you
succeed in creating the requisite harmony with your fellow being,
melodious tune will emanate from human life, imparting that sweetness
which unfortunately, has now become a thing of the past.
Beautiful faces and beautiful things come before you, day and night
enchanting your hearts. You say that you consider the face of so and so
as beautiful, and you declare your love for that beauty. At this
occasion I would not drag you into a discussion on the nature of love.
I might tell you later on, that what people call love today is not love
in the real sense or the term, but only a name for vulgar appetites,
rooted in the lower form of desire. Actually love denotes that holy
state of mind which has no reference to self-interest and baser
passions.
However even if you think that love is nothing but an inclination
which is sensuous in nature, I would like you to consider the problem:
from where came this beauty and grace which attract your hearts? From
where came those superior distinctions which make you bow down? Could
these material bodies become so beautiful and seemingly so perfect by
themselves, or, is there some Supreme power who creates the beauty and
imparts distinctions? If you doubt the existence of that Supreme Being,
we might discuss it at some other occasion. But if your nature itself
and your inner voice tells you that there is someone who is the maker
of this universe, then rest assured that all this beauty and perfection
which you see in this world is only a manifestation of that really
Beautiful and Perfect Being whom all sensible people of all religions
call God. One step further you shall be able to feel that, if the
beauty and perfection of created things are so attractive, how
beautiful and perfect should He be who is the Creator.
You allow yourselves to be absorbed in the beauty of created things.
But I would like you to focus your attention on Him, the really
beautiful and the really perfect being, in Whom is the origin of all
life. Think of Him and love Him. Your attitude of love will help in
increasing your consciousness of God’s omnipresence. Until you will
find it impossible to act against His law. Then you will hurt none, you
will break the heart of none, you will cheat none, and you will insult
none. On the other hand you will feel the blacks and the whites, the
poor and the rich, the lowly and the high-placed are all God’s family
and consequently your own brothers and sisters. Your love for God will
compel you inwardly to love your fellow beings. When this attitude of
mind has been attained, the world will have peace in the true sense of
the word.
You are accustomed to hear the melodies of human song from the
radio. Today you have heard about the melody of Divine Harmony. Let us
henceforth think of God and Love Him with ever-increasing devotion, let
us adopt the higher forms of human morals, and let us endeavour to
build up a true Humanity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY :
Author : Maulana Shah Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddique
Copyright : © Maulana Shah Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddique
