The Modern Man

The Modern Man by Maryam Taufeeq You see him standing before you, a middle-aged man in a stylish business suit… he looks composed and lively enough, but despite his almost entrancing charisma, there’s something missing. Looking closely, do you notice someone who’s surreptitiously staring into space talking to himself, disregarding you, so as to be almost offensive? You don’t notice it at first sight, but his mind his elsewhere, maybe pondering over why he turned down the business deal he got so close to embracing? Or maybe wondering whether his wife had left enough money in his bank account, from her latest shopping expedition, to suffice a month’s expenditure should a financial crisis surface? This, among many, is a persistent fear he harbours. Despite possessing much more wealth than he needs, an unknown fear always lurks, something he just can't fathom. If you are a keen observer, you’ll notice how his reply to your greetings is almost automatic, empty and lacking in the warmth he so carefully tries to assert. You’ll notice how he, almost unconsciously, glances at his watch every now and then, how his hand reaches to his pocket every five minutes, to check if his cell-phone’s vibrating, heralding an important call he’s been expecting. Disappointed, disillusioned, are you? Being a young man, fresh out of the university, trying to find your way in the world, does your very first encounter with the fast-paced world bedazzle you, or does it spur you , sweep you in with the tide? You are 25, the only son, pampered and cared for… uptill now. Are you braced to ‘take the bull by the horns’? Worry not, soon you’ll walk shoulder to shoulder with the very same people who seem so alien to you. You can’t help but be a part of the rat race, can you? This, is the modern world. And you, are a part of it, its product. Only now, will you assume a role entirely different. You have left the backseat, to assume the driver’s place. Prior to this, your life was nothing but one big party, wasn’t it? Did you ever get time enough from all the fun and frolic to sit down and think what life is all about? Did it ever occur to you that the world you live in, is artificial? Its artificiality has so penetrated your being, that everything, from your thoughts, perceptions, aspirations, demeanour, apparel is not your own. That your entire life is a mere fabrication? The beliefs engendered in you, were over the years, hammered into your consciousness, by your parents, peers and undeserving role-models: pop-idols, football heros, or movie stars. You might not realise it, but you live among a sea of painted faces. As T.S. Elliot says: ‘ To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet’. Like a skilful artist, you paint a face to blend in with the crowd, you create masks to suit the varied settings you encounter. Are you daring enough to take off the fake masks and reveal your own true self? Do you have the courage to go against the stream. Ask yourself honestly, do you not articulate your speech with the accent everyone would get impressed with, lacing it with unnecessary and often, foul-meaning slang just to appear cool ? Are you not plagued and enslaved by fashion, which George Bernard Shaw so rightly terms an induced epidemic? The people who painted this fake picture of the world, and who feign their own identity, are like cattle, but even worse, as the Holy Book says, [ Or thinkest thou that most of them listen or understand? They are only like cattle;- nay, they are worse astray in Path.(25:44)]. Their shepherd is their own passions, they are shackled by the chains of this modern, enlightened world. [deaf, dumb, and blind, they are void of wisdom. (2:171)] Yes, this is the 21st century, the era of the modern man. This is the age where

knowledge has reached a peak as never before, but at the price of wisdom and humanity, of respect and rationality. When you’d rather follow the crowd than follow your conscience, when you’d rather listen to your friends than heed your parents, when you prefer fleeting relationships over something as pure as marriage, when words of wisdom are nothing but old wives’ tales. When you’ll read a myriad self-help books and never bother what the Sages or the Scripture says. When religion is reduced to a set of rituals to one’s convenience, when love is reduced to a bunch of hollow words and empty gestures, when a child is anything but innocent, when you can't remember the last time your family had dinner together, when you label someone with morals and values as old-fashioned and dimwitted, when you know what's happening in Africa but not what’s going on in your child’s mind. When you attend every other rock concert and check out every new restaurant, squander your money to get the latest designer clothes and shoes, but never once think of the less privileged. When you trample upon your voice of judgement, and feel content in following your conscience. When you live in a crowded world, with few people you can call friends. When a friend in need might just be having a hidden agenda. When you live in your own island, loneliness getting the best of you, while the world boasts of being a global village. When a man is judged by his economic status and not his strength of character. When you’ll set a mental alarm of your favourite TV show, but conveniently forget your dad’s appointment with the doctor. When you much rather watch an interview with the hot new movie star and get inspired, than listen to the timeless wisdom of your elderly, who by the way, only come to your mind when you need their prayers before an exam. Isn’t it always difficult for you to come to terms with the Divine message, but you never question what Science says, much of which is mere hypotheseis? Don’t you always justify what you do with the ruling of your conscience, never bothering to find out what the Truth is? You would never admit it, but you worship many gods: the god of materialism, of your temptations, of the media, of the West, of your own ego. You will go to any length to appease these gods, won’t you? You take pride in calling yourself the modern man, in tune with the fastprogressing world you dwell in. But search your soul and ask yourself, are you really in tune with your own inner being? The pride and satisfaction you claim to possess is only factitious. It does not stem from a deep feeling of selfcontentment, from a sense of identity. You do not feel at peace with yourself, because you strangled the pure self you were born with. But as they say, hope floats. Hope is alive as long there’s breath in your body. Come, there’s still time, time to throw off your disguise and wash off your painted face. Time to reflect, to search for answers to what this life is all about, to re-enliven the spirit of your true being. This is an invitation, for you to think, and take a step in the right direction. There Is A Candle In Your Heart There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, don't you? You feel the separation from the Beloved. Invite Him to fill you up, embrace the fire. Remind those who tell you otherwise that Love

comes to you of its own accord, and the yearning for it cannot be learned in any school. ~ Mawlana Rumi