• PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA
FROM the earliest days of humanity there has been intense curiosity about how it all came about; how man and woman were created and how the Universe was created. Each religion, each culture developed its own answers, its mythology. Christianity and Islam adopted the Judaic version of creation, as laid out in the Book of Genesis. God made the Universe in six days and rested on the seventh. He created man and from the man’s rib made the woman. Hindu mythology had a different version. So do other cultures and religions. Was God then independent of the Universe? Where was He before the Universe came into being? Where would He go after the Universe is destroyed? Buddha said: Universe was never created. Universe will never die. Universe has been in existence always, and will be in existence always. Sanatana Dharma, the philosophy of Hinduism, supports Buddha. The Brahman always was, is and will be. Brahman is Existence. Existence is the universe. There never was a time it did not exist, and there never will be a time it would not exist. Different parts of the Universe will die and new ones will be created. The Big Bangs and Black Holes will occur at different spaces and different times in the Universe randomly and in a chaotic manner. But the Universe will exist forever and ever. While modern science talks about the Big Bang theory, no scientist has an answer to what was there before to cause the Big Bang, if it is considered to be the seminal act of creation. Science has as of today no answer even to how living matter was created. A-biogenesis, the emergence of living matter from non-living material is still a mystery, though there may be hundreds of unproven theories. How the first particle of the chain of life, the amino acid or its constituents, came into existence is still a question mark. Hindu scriptures say that living matter came out of the energy of the elements of the Universe. Taittreya Upanishad explains how from the energy of cosmos arose all other energies such as space, air, fire, water and earth, finally resulting in plants and humans. Science has a long way to go before it has an alternative explanation. After reading the Upanishad, Einstein remarked: Spirituality starts where science ends. Unlike most other scientists, Einstein understood that there was never a time that the Universe and Life did not exist.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Prophet Mohammed, Last Messenger Of Allah
Zeeshan Ahmed
The life of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Mohammed Mustafa, whose birth anniversary falls this month, is a role model. The high accolades paid to his personality by Allah through the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah or Islamic practices reminds us of his exalted personality. Thrice in a day, the adhan or call to prayer reminds Muslims that the Holy Prophet is the Messenger of Allah. In addition, the namaz recited emphasises the unity of Allah and the messengership of the Holy Prophet in the same breath, thereby underscoring the significance of the persona of the Prophet. Islam teaches that Allah chose to introduce Himself through His words revealed to His choicest servants. For the guidance of mankind, Allah sent 124,000 prophets, the first of them being Adam and the last being Hazrat Mohammed Mustafa. It was the Holy Prophet of Islam upon whom Allah chose to end His message and complete the chain of prophethood and messengership: “This day, I have perfected the religion (Islam) for you; completed My proof upon you and am satisfied with Islam as a religion (Maidah, verse 5). Allah emphasises the finality of the prophethood and messengership of Hazrat Mohammed with the words, “Mohammed is not the father of any of the men among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the Prophets” (Ahzab, verse 40). Such is the respect accorded to the Holy Prophet that Allah chose to end his communication and message with the Holy Qur’an revealed to His last prophet and messenger. The Qur’an itself, along with the code of laws, pays rich tribute to the Prophet. At one place, while the Holy Prophet is called “Uswatul Hasanah”, the ideal model to emulate, at another place, he is called the “bearer of good news”, paradise, and a “warner” for divine chastisement and retribution. The compliments paid to the Holy Prophet by Allah are not out of place. The period before the arrival of the Holy Prophet in Arabia was one of darkness and ignorance. Wars were fought over petty matters, superstitions were rife and women were hardly respected. The social fabric of the Arabs veered more towards vice and debauchery than religion. Principles which we take for granted in our lives like justice were thrown to the winds. It was in such trying circumstances that the Holy Prophet announced his message that would change the face and social fabric of the Arabs and others forever. Within a period of 23 years, with extreme patience, with the odds of success stacked against him, the Holy Prophet attracted people towards the message of Allah. Centuries-old customs were disbanded, enmity replaced by brotherhood and superstitions replaced with firm beliefs and reliance upon Allah. Through the love showered upon his only daughter, Fatemah, the Holy Prophet reiterated his commitment to the respect and uplift of women and abolished the shameful practice of burial of female infants. This brings to the fore the primary mode adopted by the Prophet for disseminating his message: his exemplary character and morals. So whether it was dealing with his family members, his friends or his enemies, he set standards of ethics which remain unsurpassed. It is for this reason that despite the advance of 1,400 years since his demise, the Prophet lives amongst us today through his teachings and words.
The life of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Mohammed Mustafa, whose birth anniversary falls this month, is a role model. The high accolades paid to his personality by Allah through the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah or Islamic practices reminds us of his exalted personality. Thrice in a day, the adhan or call to prayer reminds Muslims that the Holy Prophet is the Messenger of Allah. In addition, the namaz recited emphasises the unity of Allah and the messengership of the Holy Prophet in the same breath, thereby underscoring the significance of the persona of the Prophet. Islam teaches that Allah chose to introduce Himself through His words revealed to His choicest servants. For the guidance of mankind, Allah sent 124,000 prophets, the first of them being Adam and the last being Hazrat Mohammed Mustafa. It was the Holy Prophet of Islam upon whom Allah chose to end His message and complete the chain of prophethood and messengership: “This day, I have perfected the religion (Islam) for you; completed My proof upon you and am satisfied with Islam as a religion (Maidah, verse 5). Allah emphasises the finality of the prophethood and messengership of Hazrat Mohammed with the words, “Mohammed is not the father of any of the men among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the Prophets” (Ahzab, verse 40). Such is the respect accorded to the Holy Prophet that Allah chose to end his communication and message with the Holy Qur’an revealed to His last prophet and messenger. The Qur’an itself, along with the code of laws, pays rich tribute to the Prophet. At one place, while the Holy Prophet is called “Uswatul Hasanah”, the ideal model to emulate, at another place, he is called the “bearer of good news”, paradise, and a “warner” for divine chastisement and retribution. The compliments paid to the Holy Prophet by Allah are not out of place. The period before the arrival of the Holy Prophet in Arabia was one of darkness and ignorance. Wars were fought over petty matters, superstitions were rife and women were hardly respected. The social fabric of the Arabs veered more towards vice and debauchery than religion. Principles which we take for granted in our lives like justice were thrown to the winds. It was in such trying circumstances that the Holy Prophet announced his message that would change the face and social fabric of the Arabs and others forever. Within a period of 23 years, with extreme patience, with the odds of success stacked against him, the Holy Prophet attracted people towards the message of Allah. Centuries-old customs were disbanded, enmity replaced by brotherhood and superstitions replaced with firm beliefs and reliance upon Allah. Through the love showered upon his only daughter, Fatemah, the Holy Prophet reiterated his commitment to the respect and uplift of women and abolished the shameful practice of burial of female infants. This brings to the fore the primary mode adopted by the Prophet for disseminating his message: his exemplary character and morals. So whether it was dealing with his family members, his friends or his enemies, he set standards of ethics which remain unsurpassed. It is for this reason that despite the advance of 1,400 years since his demise, the Prophet lives amongst us today through his teachings and words.
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