When desire ends, peace begins
By: JAVAID JAFRI
Simple living and high thinking implies that we must lead a simple life but at the same time our thinking must not be limited. We are not born to impress others. This is to say that we must not restrict our thinking only to the nitty-gritty’s of everyday tasks. Our life will not get better if we continue to look for ways to impress other people of our society by different means and ways.
Surely our life will be fulfilling and satisfying when we focus on ourselves rather than others. Simplicity is a great virtue which one can observe in life as we are usually advised by our elders to believe in simple living and high thinking. We should observe simplicity in our ways of living like food, behavior, habits and so on. We should also observe simplicity in our manners and appearance as well as our consumption.
We must observe simplicity in our speech and manners and should always try being polite and humble in our talk, We must not show pride, nor should we try to bully others. We should never lose our temper whatever the circumstances and conditions might be and we should always remember staying honest and straightforward on our dealings.
The famous Indian actor, Mr, Rajnikanth has beautifully defined simplicity in couple of lines while keeping in view present scenario of this global village. “Whether you have a maruti or BMW the roads will remain the same. Whether you travel economy class or business your destination doesn’t change. Whether you have a titan or Rolex the time is the same. There is nothing wrong in dreaming a luxurious life, what needs to be taken care of is to not let the need become greed. Because needs can always be met but greed can never be fulfilled.”
We must not think only about ourselves but also about those around us. “Charity is best when given privately” Al Quran (2:271). When we stop living an artificial life trying to impress others and turn towards a simple life, we grow close to our roots. And definitely we will get close to our family members and the love showered by them brings immense joy. When we stop looking for more and more things to gratify ourselves and spend time with our selves we ultimately begin to recognize who we truly are.
It is reported from the sixth Imam, Imam jaffar Sadiq (a.s) that the Holy prophet (SAW) had said that “Charity in secret, quiets the wrath of God and takes away one’s sin as the water puts the fire and keeps away seventy kinds of calamities.”
We all agree that most of the things we want are meant to impress our neighbors, friends and relatives and so on. This kind of life can never be fulfilling or pleasurable. This is because we are not born to please or impress others and we can never even do so.
“How strange and foolish is man he loses his health in gaining wealth, and then to regain his health back he wastes his wealth. He ruins his present while worrying about his future, but weeps in the future by recalling his past. He lives as though death shall never come to him, but dies in a way as if he was never born.” Imaam Ali (AS)
This does not mean that it is wrong to be ambitious and earn money to lead a comfortable life. There is a big difference between living comfortably and having a lavish lifestyle. There are many rich people around the world who lead a simple life and possess high thinking. They are happy in charity rather than spending lavishly on themselves, which is quite enough way to satisfy their short life and brings peace in their mind.
The remembrance of death puts everything into perspective. The things we bicker over, the amount of money in our bank account, our status, entertainment, and egos become so insignificant. No matter how much we beautify our face and hair every morning, we will one day sleep in the dirt. No matter how much we beautify our clothes, we will one day be buried wrapped in a small piece of white shroud. Living simple is not difficult. It is rather simple we just need to limit our desires as when desire ends, peace begins. And let go off the need to impress others.
The writer can be reached at javaidhossein10@gmailcom
