In the pursuit of Man

ڈھونڈنے والا ستاروں کی گزرگاہوں کا
اپنے افکار کی دنیا میں سفر کر نہ سکا

Though man aspires to find the track of stars that roam in the sky and tread Alas!
Man has completely failed to map the world of mind or head.

The man of today knows not himself. He knows about the stars, the galaxies, the cosmos and the universe. He gazes at the stars and captures them on a screen. He steps foot on the moon and sends satellites to planets far away. He simplifies the mysteries of the universe in equations and theories. 

But in pursuit of the unknown, man has lost the known. He does not ponder into himself, doesn't contemplate his existence, does not search for the meaning of his being and does not verify his self. The man of today has reduced himself to stardust only.

The universe in all its glory is supposed to be a means for us to ponder into ourselves. The stars and galaxies are supposed to be the guiding light to our consciousness. The planets are supposed to be a reflection of ourselves.

Knowledge for the sake of knowledge, science for the sake of science is a fruitless pursuit. All Knowledge is sacred - a stream of Divine wisdom and blessing. Muslim scholars realized this stream. For them, science was a way of reaching God, not separating from it. Every scientific fact, medical information and mathematical equation was a proof of God.

The Sufi mystics saw this symbolism - the crescent and the star spoke of something far greater. The mathematicians saw Divine patterns in their equations. The engineers acknowledged the creative might of God through their creation. The doctors tried to recognize the perfect creation in the material body.

And just like God, there was no limit or constraint to knowledge. Knowledge was no one's inheritance, no group could claim hegemony over the truth. The system of education nurtured this culture and produced geniuses of extraordinary intelligence and multidisciplinary skills. The civilization expressed this Unity of secular and the sacred in its arts and buildings. Calligraphy, poetry and art were a flicker of human imagination under the Divine Mercy.

The industrialization and systemization of knowledge have stolen from us this privilege. Knowledge, today, is buried among formalities and exams. To seek knowledge has been a capitalist enterprise, a business investment. At its very best, it is questioning without contemplating. A medical student knows nothing of Andromeda; a physics student is ignorant of the circuits of our brains. Poetry does not appeal because it has no material value, art is an expression of inner sickness only. 

And in all this fiasco, the pursuit of self is lost. Ignorance of self is a pandemic haunting this world.

Who am I?

What is my purpose?

What is my goal?

Do I exist?

Are my senses the only way to knowledge?

Is my intellect the sole power or do I possess other gates of manifestation and knowledge too?

These are the questions fundamental to human life. These are the questions that make us gaze at the skies and dive into the oceans. Today, human intellect is reaching its limits. Common sense is being challenged by scientific theories. Artificial intelligence is becoming more human day by day. And so, it is high time for humans to ponder into their selves - this will open new horizons and is the only way of survival for humankind.