Ignoring the Jugular Vein
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
Westfield, IN
It is undoubtedly rude and may actually be considered blasphemous to emphasize upon it in Pakistan. At a personal level, the consequences could be dire in the current circumstances when society is religiously polarized and emotions are running high. Therefore I have decided to refrain from mentioning it by name for now. It is the jugular vein for our survival and I can only refer to it as a four-letter word of English (of paramount significance).
It can easily be considered as one of the most important aspects of global human existence. It is absolutely necessary. It rules the world. It guides and directs us. It provides meaning to life. It leads us to the unseen universe of bliss and eternity. It is a delight. It is an addiction. It is a gift and a divine pleasure. Most of us agree that it could be as critical as a chilled glass of water in a hot summer day for a thirsty old man, or as vital as a piece of bread for a starving child in the middle of a famine and as provocative as a falling apple on the ground for a thoughtful Isaac Newton, lost in his ruminations.
According to some scientists, the reverberations of it can be heard from a very early age, as early as in infancy, but its true colors reveal themselves as we grow older. It becomes the backbone of all our activities. It becomes a compulsion and a necessity in our everyday life. It is powerful and ubiquitous. Its dimensions are diverse and myriad that distinguishes human behavior from other animals.
With its significance being realized even more through across the globe, its place in our national discourse is remarkably shrinking. We are regressing from a higher level of liberal values to adopt a lower level of non-religious, local and traditional culture. We are debating about its importance and trying to limit its utility. We are segregating it between genders. We are promoting double standards in society, making it unfair for our daughters. We confuse our duplicity with morality and sometimes we blame it on the Scripture. At others, in our xenophobic minds, we even consider it as a foreign idea, an anti-Muslim conspiracy. We feel embarrassed to discuss it publicly; we are ashamed to admit our failure to promote it and therefore, we continue to deny its importance as the fundamental instrument to liberate our minds from our deep-rooted conservative ideas.
At the peak of the Islamic civilization, our approach towards it always had been complimentary and encouraging. We had realized its significance and therefore were leading the world in all spheres of life. On the one hand, it included the arts and culture, diversity and pluralism, literature and creativity, and on the other hand, we were making tremendous progress in science and technology. Society was progressive; it was transparent and the virtues of patience, tolerance and forbearance were not only practiced, they were promoted and encouraged throughout the empire. In those times, we were the liberals, unbigoted and the enlightened ones, while the rest of the civilizations were lurking in their dark ages.
Unfortunately, in present times, we deviated from our liberal values and dissociated ourselves from it, at least partially. We disowned it. We missed the spirit of it and went after the dogma — the cover. We created a taboo and the essence of it became a ritual for us. The enjoyment, the excitement and the thrill associated with it all disappeared. Our lack of commitment translated into our failures. The others picked the joy of it and benefited exceptionally. They are racing ahead, leaping forward and making progress.
Even our youth trails far behind in their achievements regarding it, when compared to their age-matched counterparts in the rest of the world. In both the USA and Europe, they have developed instruments to pass it on to their youth. Their culture has evolved to promote it across the board. They have lifted the taboo. There is no stigma attached to it; instead, it has become a matter of pride in society. There is no gender disparity; young boys and girls get an equal opportunity to identify their talents through it and express them accordingly. It is rewarding because as these children grow older, they become independent thinkers, and they are equipped to take on the challenges of the world. They lead the world with dedication and remain focused on research and innovation.
We still do not completely understand how and when we lost our relationship with it. We do not contemplate when it lost its charms for us when God clearly instructs His last Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) about it: Read/Iqra.
(The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at skhashmi@yahoo.com)
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