The Text

THE TEXT

9/25/06

The text is the most ambiguous aspect of human life that is being used so frequently. We as human beings are bound to face text in each and every field of life. And somewhere we are slaves of the text and it controls our minds. The Text has power to change. We are what we understand by our mother language. We think through the text and words frequently spoken, written or read around us. We can not cross the limits of the meaning field that a word, symbol or sign holds in a language system.(i.e. a system of signs and symbols actually) 1. Text has a power to change the human life or it can control the tendencies of human mind. 2. Text seems and somewhere admitted that it is the most ambiguous form of expression. But it is not so. Because if the text is ambiguous then why almighty Allah selected text to convey the holy message.(may be Almighty Allah always selects ambiguity to reveal the clarity… there is also an old saying that God always does in the strangest way” that’s why he selected the text for his message and as he says in Quran that this book misguides many and brings at the right path many at the same time. Its mean here God uses a most ambiguous form of expression to convey his message and the human beings somewhere misunderstand or detracted from the right path but the responsibility to be wrong by wrong understanding does not goes to the Holy Text but the human mind because he tries to give desired meaning to a predefined text with a predefined meaning and it means where ever we try to give our desired meaning to the text apart from the predefined meaning by the language system or culture we make it ambiguous. 3. Where does meaning exists and where does text holds a meaning. Is meaning a constant or we can bring change in meaning field whenever we want. 4. If the meaning is constant then the text must also be the constant and if the meaning is not constant in itself then how does the text that holds it can be constant. 5. Text is no where ambiguous but human mind that interacts with it makes it ambiguous. Its human mind that determines the meanings of the text. It is human mind that deals with the meanings not the text. So it can be said that the text is a constant and always opens the same gate of the meaning field but it is the human mind that changes the

scene behind the gate according to its own personal present state or feeling whatever it is. 6. Text is just a key to the door of the meaning field. It opens the door of a meaning field to human mind and it takes a look of the room each time with a different state of mind that’s why every time we use the word it changes the meaning to some extent. About change in meaning assigned to the word, it may a change in order of the feelings, may be it opens another gate to another meaning field, may be it takes you to no where some times and you feel there is too dark in side the room. 7. It’s interesting to discuss that meaning generates the text or text generates meaning. In actual sense both statements are wrong. Not the text generates the meaning nor meaning generates the text. Meaning has its own systems of existence and the text has its own reasons of existence. And they both are interlinked to organize a system to understand the world around us or each other point of view and sometimes just to express something. The meaning exists because it has to exist. 8. Each and every object and phenomenon in this universe has its predetermined meaning and we just try to understand or try to get access to that meaning field through text or any sign system. 9. Is it necessary to create a sign system in order to express meaning? 10. No sign/symbol is valid out of a well organized system or structure to express a meaning. A sign/symbol gives meaning within a structure and as the structure changes or shatters the meaning also changes or demolishes accordingly.