Is death the ultimate reality?

I am neither a philosopher nor an intellectual to make you digest the tangled, knotty and abstract concept of metaphysics. Nor am I a religious preacher to tell you the horrible and frightening details of the life after death. I just intend to discuss with you the death whose mere name is enough to make us shudder.

Sometimes death looks like a phenomenon, which cannot be comprehended, and at the same time, all its aspects illuminate every corner of my mind and heart. Now and then, I think death is nothing but a gateway to the world hereafter. If it meant the death of elements with which humans are composed, then you all know that the decomposition of the mortal body will release the elements and the immortal thing will bow before the LORD. Our spirit does not accept it and elements return to their source. What is death then? 

Man and Animals

Let the reins of imagination at large, the civilized man of today would be found hunting animals centuries ago in the past. Scarcity of food compelled him for the enmity of animals. This was the primitive relationship of man with animals. As time moved forward, man learnt agriculture and freed himself from the fear of starvation. He became friendly with animals. He did his best to tame animal for his benefits. Cows, buffaloes, donkeys, sheep and goats were chosen as pets in the beginning. Now the standard of his food raised and he was in no more need of meat for food. He got milk from cows and buffaloes. Donkey was used for carrying loads, hens laid eggs, dog watched and protected animals and home and the life was contented.   

Man is selfish by nature. When he was busy getting hold of the resources of earth, he tried to overpower the animals but he partially succeeded. He got frightened of the animals he was not able to overcome. Then he associated the bravery to lion, cleverness to the tiger, and cunningness to the fox. He made fun of his pets, cow was jeered at for her simplicity and buffalo was considered as a duffer animal. The societies where agriculture could not take roots or remained impossible, man used animals for food. For example in the desert of Arabia and the forests of Africa, animals were killed or slaughtered for food.

Why should we smile?

I love smile and smiling people. It seems a trivial thing but it opens a gateway of favors for us. I am not interested in the hairsplitting and bring before you its scientific and biological reasons. I am not in the mood of explaining the boring details of contraction and relaxation of muscles. I leave this difficult task to the scientists and biologists. The thing I want to share with all of you is that it opens a soft window to the hearts of others and they accept you with your smile. Smiling people look innocent and friendly. Everyone wishes to meet them. If you greet the people with smile, its radiations impress them directly and strongly.     

It is not only a strong sign language but also a tool to convey your message to others. Your smile will reveal the inner and concealed intentions of your heart. The sincere smile is a pure, simple, and plain. It does not only satisfy yourself but also consoles the person to whom you pass it. It has the capability to make friends for you. It is a key to boosting your relations to the people you do not know. Convenience and ease is the outcome of smile in difficult situations. If face is the index of mind, the smiling face is the world of love, affection, sincerity, and confidence.  

In movies, time and again, you watch a villain adoring his face with hypocritical smile. You can fully understand his mischief and black intentions before his delivery of dialogues. It is impossible to conceal his heart desires behind the curtain of smile. Smile leads you to the insight whether the person is liable to be trusted.

Why should we study history?

The details of works of the great people, important events and occurrences, the rise and fall of nations, the information about prophets, saints, reformers, warriors and great generals of the past, all add up to make history. If a person in some family gets high rank in learning, becomes a great scientist or earns fame as brave solider, the other members of the family, consciously or unconsciously, try to follow him. No matter whether Peron lives in present or is a tale of past. Whenever he is recalled, he comes before us as a fact, as an example to be followed. We inspire our children giving examples of his achievements in life. Actually, we are impressed by history. This is one of the sole aims to study history. 

No nation can achieve its glory and a respectable place a in the world unless being well aware of its existing history. The progress, prosperity and power of affecting world’s politics need a complete awareness about past. Individuals, as well as nations, if plan to correct the state and condition of their present deteriorating plight, they must look into their past mistakes, blunders, and follies. If Pakistan’s young generation do not know about the causes and reasons of separation of West Pakistan, how they will be able to save the rest of their country. Pakistan’s attaining nuclear power is the result of this thinking. China’s wonderful progress is the outcome of their acquaintance with their history. The nations who did not learn from history became a lesson for the others. The leading politicians must have good knowledge about the world history. They have to steer the nation through thick and thin, they have to make decisions pertaining to the destiny of the nation. They have to be well aware of the mistakes of the past to acquire a respectable and glorious place among the world community. The generals, whether it is war or peace, must remain in close connection with history, so that they might be able to do the best in the light of past, in their current circumstances. The great figures not only affect their own era but the ages after them. An individual can have an excellent chance to extract the tips to uplift his life, to get the nobleness of mind, to have a good character.

Books are our best friends

In the ancient times when man initially learnt how to live and the wheel of civilization started moving, he needed to save this information and memories somewhere. Perhaps it was the time when he too realized the necessity of writing. Man started knowing the art of writing gradually like everything else when he felt the need. I am not going to discuss the history of writing and compiling books. I just plan to highlight that the relationship of book and human being is as old as human civilization.

The affiliation of man with books remains strong in all the ages of civilizations. I have an audacity to say that the development and transformation of culture and civilization was only possible when man gathered his knowledge in the form of books and preserved it for the next generation. Man had been learning from his experiences through centuries and was able to establish the different branches of knowledge. In the beginning, he wrote his information, which was the result of his experiments, on pages and these were joined together afterwards. Books always remained the major source of learning and knowledge. After Johann Gutenberg’s invention of printing press, there came a tremendous revolution in the field of book publishing and it was established as an industry.       

Books stood shoulder to shoulder to man in his way to progress and prosperity. Great scholars, intellectuals, reformers, scientists and men of learning remain very close to books. They not only benefited themselves but also contributed a lot to their coming generations. The glamour’s progress of today, the ease and facility in every sphere of life is the result of books written by great people.

How water is affecting us

In scorching hot summer, a glass of clean and cool water seems the only hope of life. Traveling long when we get no chance to have a shower due to unavailability of water or any other reason, water becomes a very important thing. No doubt, it is the most important, rather, one of the great blessings of Allah Almighty. The scarcity of it in some areas of the world causes terrible famines. The cultivation of crops depends upon water availability. The air and sunlight can clean the dirt but water is the most important for this purpose. Sunlight and air take months but water acts quickly .Our houses can become a place of living only when water is available. Otherwise, they will turn into a source of dirt, garbage and ill smelling. We go to our work every morning wearing clean, shining, and well-pressed dresses, which greatly owe to water. Think deep about the importance of water.

In Second World War, Singapore was well fortified by the English. The British forces proudly termed it invulnerable. Its water supply was totally linked with Malaya, which was conquered by the Japanese. They disconnected the water supply and the British Governor surrendered before the Japanese within few hours. He had to accept a shameful defeat in spite of having large number of weapons and huge quantity of food. It proves that water has been used as a weapon in wars in past. 

How flowers help humans

Flowers represent beauty in its real form. Presence of flowers in your lawn gives a unique grace to that piece of land. An orchard with flowers attracts the visitors with amusing colors and sweet fragrance. The vicinity too looks decorated and pleasant. They make everybody pleased and delighted. Actually, flowers are a great boon of God. They not only satisfy our aesthetic sense but also have great effect on our moods and temperaments. If you are sitting alone in sad and gloomy mood, they can release your pressure and tension. Their colors directly affect man and he feels relieved. When you visit your friends and relatives in their ailment, often you offer them bouquets. Flowers really console and please the patients and this is helpful to recover them soon.

Flowers decorate our homes and instill passion of love among us. The interior decoration of houses with flowers makes the inmates happy. Flowers also enhance grace and a sense of sacredness of funerals. The flower petals put on the bed of the deceased person, wreaths of flowers highlight the graves. The tombs of prominent national heroes when visited, people pay homage by offering flowers. The reception of Barat in marriages is conventionally associated with flowers. Birthday parties seem dull without them. The young children offer small bouquets to their favorite teachers when they get high ranks in their exams.

The rose symbolizes love and affection. It is a common observation people offer roses to their beloved ones. Huge spending is seen on Valentine’s Day. Kids to their parents, husbands to their wives and young boys and girls to their partners offer red roses. It shows that they are the symbol of love and integrity.

Why Students Avoid Mathematics?

“Mathematics is the mother of all sciences “is frequently heard saying. It does not bother the logical minds because of its concrete facts. However, it is hard to capture by literary and poetic nature. The concept prevails upon our students. The myth that math is a difficult subject to comprehend is baseless. As you climb stairs systematically and ultimately you find yourself on the roof, similarly in mathematics after some logical steps you get hold of the whole idea. If your behavior is rational, your mind will be of a mathematician.

Mathematics anxiety is not a common problem with our students only but I think it is an air, which goes throughout the whole world. A research in United States stunned me to know that only 17 percent of their High school seniors are proficient in mathematic. The job opportunities are much more for mathematics graduates than other disciplines. The proficiency in mathematics is not sufficient to meet US workforce demands. The students do not study mathematics because they are unable to get good grades in it. They had to labor hard but with poor outcome.