This
I Believe!
By Nasir Gondal, MD
New York
Dervaish Lashkari was in unbelievable
form in his article. Enjoyed reading it. Thanks.
***
By Kalim Irfani, MD
New York
Thanks for an excellent piece from
Dervaish Lashkari.
Here is a little of my bit.
Doubt is good! And Certainty is death!
To make it, at least, somewhat palatable, (if
not digest able), for our Pakistani/Muslim mind
set, I am quoting a couple of verses from the
Farsi poems of no less a person than Allama Iqbal.
The translation given below each verse is non-literal,
but it is an attempt in prose with free thinking
elaboration transmitting the ideas and the feelings
of the poet. As Iqbal says in the Urdu verse here:
"Zaahir ki aankh se na tamaasha kare koyi,
hay daikhnaa tuo deeda-e dil vaa kare koyi"
Farsi verses:
"Ham-eh sooz-e na-tamaa-mam, hame-h dard-e
aarzoo-yam,
Be-gamaan' daham yaqin' raa, keh shaheed-e just-jooy-am"
[My whole being, is in a state of simmering (un
extinguishable) fire,
My whole being is in constant pain and achingly
desirous of (still) looking for some answers,
I would rather trade doubt for certainty, for
I'd rather be a martyr on the never ending path
of search]
"Gar nejaat-e maa faraagh az just-joost,
goor behter az behesht-e rang-o bost"
[If our salvation lies in freedom from (continuing)
our search, then,
the (cold clay) of the grave is preferable to
a paradise full of color and perfume]
***
By Omar Ali, MD
Via email
A wonderful and enjoyable
piece from Dr. Lashkari. It led me to dig up a
couple of quotes from other thinkers as well.
From the hopeful Marx who thought that the shedding
of illusory happiness would lead to "real
happiness", to Noam Chomsky, who takes a
rather more pessimistic (realistic?) view of what
we know and how far that can take us...
"Religious distress is at the same time the
expression of real distress and the protest against
real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed
creature, the heart of a heartless world, just
as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation.
It is the opium of the people. The abolition of
religion as the illusory happiness of the people
is required for their real happiness. The demand
to give up the illusion about its condition is
the demand to give up a condition which needs
illusions." (Marx)
Like everyone participating I'm what's called
here a "secular atheist," except that
I can't even call myself an "atheist"
because it is not at all clear what I'm being
asked to deny. However, it should be obvious to
everyone that by and large science reaches deep
explanatory theories to the extent that it narrows
its gaze. If a problem is too hard for physicists,
they hand it over to chemists, and so on down
the line until it ends with people who try to
deal somehow with human affairs, where scientific
understanding is very thin, and is likely to remain
so, except in a few areas that can be abstracted
for special studies.
On the ordinary problems of human life, science
tells us very little, and scientists as people
are surely no guide. In fact, they are often the
worst guide, because they often tend to focus,
laser-like, on their professional interests and
know very little about the world.
As for the various religions, there's no doubt
that they are very meaningful to adherents, and
allow them to delude themselves into thinking
there is some meaning to their lives beyond what
we agree is the case. I'd never try to talk them
out of the delusions, which are necessary for
them to live a life that makes some sense to them.
These beliefs can provide a framework for deeds
that are noble or savage, and anywhere in between,
and there's every reason to focus attention on
the deeds and the background for them, to the
extent that we can grasp it.
Doubtless more understanding can be gained, and
is being gained (by Atran's work, for example).
That's all to the good for trying to comprehend
the strange animals we are — but I don't
see any signs that such comprehension is likely
to be very deep. (Noam Chomsky)
Hum jaara ghar apna, liya muraara haath
Ab ghar jaaroon taan ka, jo chale hamare saath
(Kabeer)
[I set fire to my own house and picked up a burning
log, now I will burn the house of one who walks
with me].
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