A Crisis Puts Things in Perspective

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 9 September 2022 Har Saaz Se Hoti Nahin Ye Dhun Paida Hota Hai Bade Jatan Se Ye Gun Paida Meezan-E-Nishaato-Gham Mein Sadiyon Tul Kar Hota Hai Hayaat Mein Tavazun Paida Raghupati Sahay ' Firaq ' Gorakhpuri (Every instrument doesn't elicit this rare tune/This comes only after great endeavours/Tottering on the anvil of joys and sorrows for centuries/Life develops the quality of a perfect balance) The great French lay Catholic philosopher, scientist and mathematician Rene Descartes (1596-1650), who gave the famous dictum, 'cogito ergo sum' (I think, therefore, I'm), observed very minutely, 'Human beings explore and re-explore certain people and episodes in their lives only after setbacks and crises. Love either vanishes or it gets strengthened; a bond either peters out or it gets rejuvenated. Any relationship in life needs to be jolted to judge its durability.' Very true. Gold becomes sterling (pure gold, Kundan or Akseer in Arabic) when it passes through fourteen very tough and stringent tests of examining its purity. A crisis of any kind puts things in perspective. We're never sure of someone's fidelity or friendship until a crisis crops up. Likewise, we're never clear about the utility or futility of something until a crisis reveals its true nature. Behavioural psychologists are of the view that every relationship in life must face a barrage of crises to come out scathed or unscathed. A person's true character can be judged only when something untoward happens to him/her. What we see is just a part of a bigger and happier reality in life. It's not real. We call people our friends and boon companions but their companionship can only be tested when a situation arises. We're all more or less situational beings. We tend to act according to the situations and circumstances. We hardly know how we'll react until the real situation presents itself before us. I've seen the so-called 'very nice people' act in a manner which is unbecoming of their ostensible character and external appearance. Their spontaneous reactions of raw nature belied all their apparent sophistication. Yours truly too has acted in an utterly irresponsible manner when he ought to have been much more mellowed and level-headed. We're all slaves to situations, circumstances and crises. And only those, who are on the anvil of crises and emerge unaffected are pure gold. Urdu poet Jagannath Azad aptly said, ' Woh Zarf Ka Aala Hai /Jo Har Mushkil Se Oopar Aaya Hai ' (He has amply proven the fabric of his character and is numero uno / Who has come out of the cauldron of trials and tribulations in life. Asghar Hussain Gondvi's couplet articulates this further: Chala Jaata Hoon Hansta-Khelta Mauj-E-Havadis Se/Agar Aasaniyan Hon, Zindagi Dushvaar Ho Jaaye. It can be looked at from a bigger perspective. India was thoroughly vanquished in the Indo-Sino war in 1962 and so many loopholes in the defence and political system transpired. But the same India decisively defeated Pakistan just three years after the Indo-China debacle. The then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri learnt a lesson from that crisis and in 1965 war, India left behind the nightmarish memories of 1962 and out-battled Pakistan. Only the very best can use a crisis to their benefit and they're like that nonchalant Buddhist monk, who broke the coconut and drank its water and smilingly said 'thank you very much' to the mischievous monkey who hit him with a coconut! So, be ready for all crises. They teach you life's virtues and vices. And humans are forever on test. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/crisis-perspective-psychologists/d/127910 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism