I used to discuss with my colleague the philosophic dilemma of determinism and free will. She once remarked that one of our batchmates always got best postings while those of us who didn’t enjoy the senior officers’ favor were often left with nothing. I would argue that everything was predetermined. If we were sitting there, having conversation over a cup of tea, it was so because it was in lauh-e-mehfooz  لوحِ محفوظ, the Divine tablet of fate. She never got convinced with the argument. To her it implied that we should abandon all effort and resign ourselves to fate. I would counter her by saying that this was the question of ages. We could sit all day long and discuss the pros and cons of determinism and free will and at the end of the day stand nowhere. Basically, it was more of a matter of faith than logic. I told her, “If I am right you can go to your home and sleep peacefully but if you are right then the only thing you will get out of the day is frustration”. She would retort, “If you are right, life, as we know it, will come to a standstill but if I am right life will be full of thrill and buzz”. We would run in circles the entire day but that, as mentioned earlier, was of no consequence.

I believe that it is neither possible nor required to find absolute logic in religion. Religion stands for blind trust therefore, you will get nowhere without a leap of faith. That is to say, one must firmly believe in an ideal without being able to explain it logically in a satisfactory manner. You might call it the “Essence of the Unknown”. It is this relative lack of logic and bounty of belief that makes a religion so sacred. The word “relative” emphasizes that religion cannot be completely devoid of logic. It exists, though not in absolute from, but it is there.

                           ———————————————————

Inaction is when you stand at the top of a cliff and do nothing. Passive pursuit is when you stand at the top of a cliff, throw down a pebble and leave to nature whether it reaches the bottom or not. More elaborately, throw the pebble and let it gain momentum on its own. If it is destined to reach the bottom, it will, and if it gets stuck somewhere, throw another pebble in a different direction at some other time. Active pursuit is when you stand at the top of a cliff, throw down a pebble and when it gets stuck somewhere you climb down to that point, pick it up and throw it again. Then if it gets stuck again you repeat the same process yet again and again and again till such time that it reaches the bottom.

Both inaction and active pursuit can be undesirable. Do something and time will tell you whether it was worthwhile. Nature will teach you, slowly and gradually, how to get hold and when to let it go—for everything there is a time. When you master passive pursuit, nothing can beat you because nature will work in your favor.

The surfer doesn’t just lie flat on his board. A slight adjustment in posture aligns him with the force of the massive wave. If he fights the wave, he achieves nothing.

Inaction brings no progress, passive pursuit represents determinism whereas, active pursuit represents free will. Absolute free will is not possible in this world. Never for a moment believe that you can ever be free from the clutches of nature. Can you deceive death?

                           ———————————————-

Baby Moses (PBUH) was set adrift on the bank of river Nile by his mother in a fragile basket.