We
started this series with the intention of trying to understand the process, the
‘how’ of how a pilgrimage has the power to transform, to make you as pure as a
newborn. It has taken us four chapters to just reach the physical destination
of the pilgrimage, but that was because preparation and planning are so
essential to achieving any goal.
The
Quran says (in Sura-al-Fatir) that ‘those who plan badly have to bear its
consequences.’ Now how much of that relates to Project Management practices?
And we thought that religious texts only prescribe to religion and God. One of the
interesting realizations during this journey was comprehension of the term ‘religion’.
We will come to that during the course of our journey.
I
had taken along with me an 800 page volume of the transliteration of the Holy
Quran thinking that without any personal and professional obligations I would
have enough time on my hands to read a few chapters every day. I was wrong.
Inside the Haram (as the grand mosque is normally referred to) you don’t have
to do anything to spend time.
Circumambulating
the Kaaba (called tawaaf), or walking
the seven rounds between the Mountains of Safa and Marwah (called saee) or simply sitting in front of the Kaaba
with all the time to yourself, your life starts playing itself in your memory.
And it always begins with a single thought; what was the good you did that God
bestowed on you this great privilege of being at the place where so much
history has been created by such revered people.
And
you struggle to identify one honest good deed. What instead come to mind easily
are the various wrongdoings; the times when you were angry with your spouse or
parents, or envious of a friend’s success or hurt someone because you were
upset, often due to your own lacking. There are enough times you realize where
you behaved in a manner that your conscious knew, at that time or a little
later, wasn’t exactly the right behavior.
Every
action of the body first begins as a thought in the mind. If the root (or
intent) of that thought is pure the action is likely to be good. We had a
scholar as our tour guide – a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of
Madina. He told us that every amal
(deed / action) had to be performed with the sole intent of pleasing God. Was
there a single deed I had done which could strictly satisfy that criteria – because
every success, every good deed, every charity I could think of was somewhere
deep down rooted in self-pride, fame or fear.
Whether
it is the great sanctity of the place or the unfettered time you get to
yourself, it becomes easy to get under the veneer of your own self and you
begin to discover your true intent which neither your boss nor your friends or
family may have ever come to know about. There is no one in that loneliness to try
and impress but you and God and how many lies can you tell your own self?
You
realize that in that hitherto unaccessed recess of your heart and mind lay a
lot of garbage which you would never have been able to reach otherwise. And your
hands automatically rise in repentance and forgiveness that is genuine to the
core. It is only such forgiveness which can clean some of that internal garbage
and start making you pure.
The
sanctity of the place demands reverence. Every good deed done in Makkah, the
Holy book says, fetches you a hundred thousand times more in reward. At the
same time, every wrong deed or even wrong intent fetches you a similarly high
punishment. Leaving the arithmetic apart what it means is that one has to be
constantly aware and conscious of one’s intent and not just the deed. It
reinforces mindfulness and taqwa and
helps in the journey of self-discovery.
And
you realize being good also is not as simple especially when the conflict is
between two goods.
It
is the first Friday in Makkah and I am conscious of going to Haram early to get
a vantage place for the afternoon congregation prayers from where I can see the
Head Priest reciting the sermon. But my wife who has had a long night doesn’t
share my eagerness and is taking her own time getting ready in our hotel room. We
get only 3 Friday’s in Makkah and I am getting fidgety and anxious as she takes
time with the morning chores. I am not able to decide whether I should leave
for the mosque alone letting her come on her own whenever she is ready or stay
back and accompany her. Whether my duty as a muhrim (i.e. one accompanying a female relative) means I have to
wait for her even if it means having to forego a lifetime opportunity? Which is
a greater duty to adopt since both are prescribed by religion and which one
needs to be sacrificed?
For
the conscientious there could be so many questions. Is it the burden of the conscientious to be continuously in doubt about
one’s choices? Is being continuously aware and mindful of one’s choices a
more stressful way of living?
We
will talk about more such questions in our chapter next week.
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