Life (and Death) etc.

Excellent piece!!. It is not answers that are as interesting as the questions. Questions define answers and yours are beautiful. I am sure that the answers you will achieve (and share at Chowk) with these will be as beautiful. I hadn`t seen Chowk in a while and am glad to see such an interesting piece.

BTW, if it matters or makes any sense, take away time from the questions (life and death are timoral concepts and thereby relative). Maybe the questions then will be even more fun. Sorry if this sounds too absurd.:-)

Rizvi sahib:

It is an honour to communicate with a sage like you. The dream like wanderings of a thirsty and free thinking mind in this world’s vast deserts of ignorance are beautifully expressed. You are entirely too humble in your scholarly disclaimer.

You ask the eternal questions. The quest for even UNDERSTANDING these questions (let alone discovering answers) takes a lot of courage and it can last the entire lifetime.

Like yourself, I also feel very fortunate to be among the fabulous and learned people who InterAct at the Chowk. It is refreshing and stimulating. Thanks to the Webmasters this maybe a turning point for many a life. The exchange of opinions and discussion of ideas that we witness in this cyberspace Chowk may not have been possible in physical space for another few decades, possibly longer.

Congratulations and Welcome !

...SR

Good stream of consciousness piece. Enjoyed
it. Some very good lines. Hope you keep contributing.

If you ever re-write, perhaps you will look at para/stanza #4 critically.

Qata-e-safar-e-hasti wo aaraam-e fana heech
Raftar nahin besh tar az laghzish-e paa heech
Ghalib

(Withdrawal from life`s journey
And the peace of annihilation are in vain;
Except staggering foot-steps,
Walking is nothing.)
Translated by Yusuf Husain

I will whole-heartedly join Asim: Welcome to Chowk!!! It was a pleasure reading your thoughts and comments to other articles at Chowk.

I guess life, truth, morality, dreams and immortality are all hopes, wishes for a ray of light. These are the hopes that allow one to survive in the darkness of death, lies, deceit, nightmares and utter lack of respect for life. All of these are wishful fantasies that keep one going by providing something to look forward to. These are the fires that power our engines, the batteries that keep the clock ticking!

best

Rehan,
Welcome to the chowk!!!! Contrary to your perception of your article, and after having read your earlier responses, specially on the article about Qurbani, let me assure you, you fit in very well with the mindset here on chowk, as a conscientious member of utopian community, where one constantly is allowed to think and discuss, and thus arrive at better understanding of the world around us, notably recently, from the Islamic Perspective, and about the numerous issues/conflicts/hypocrisies/ affecting Pakistan in particular.

Your current article indeed depicts some of the mental anguish, and strain one feels in living the day to day existence one becomes used to, and the extemporaneous factor which brings some novelty to life is missing..... It is indeed a great exercise sometimes to sit quietly in ones favourite nook of the house, alone, in silence, gazing at nature, and trying to make some sense of the madness around us, the hustle bustle of daily life, the worries of earning an honest living, the devotion to ones work, ones family, the shock to hear about a young man commit suicide in the prime of his life, the ``scandal`` to hear about a young girl marrying without her parents consent, and later being hunted down along with her legally married husband and sacrificed in the name of honour and integrity, the killing of innocent people and children, offering fatiha at a funeral, the killing of a christian boy who had dared to speak out about his woes, excessive corruption in our Land of the Pure, rights of women and children being trampled on each and every day, feudalism still still being the number one way of keeping the illiterate and poor, desolate people in bonded labour, fifty years on after the British released us from such shackles. Indeed it is a farce on modern day concept of civilisation as we know it.

Your comments about the futility and often misery of life, death, darkness, truth, honesty, deceit, reality draw a vivid picture of the hopelessness of our times, the dejection and anguish one feels at being part and parcel of such a system....

I too must apologise in advance for the above perhaps sounding a bit eccentric, given all that was required was for me to say whether i liked or agreed with the points presented in Rehan`s Article.......

Regards

asim

P.S Looking forward to more thought provoking articles Rehan....