Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Principles of Life
An old Mea woman with a bundle on her head once boarded a bus passing through Mewat, only to find that there were no seats available. Another passenger, aiming to have a bit of fun, pointed out the driver’s seat to her, and told her to go and sit there. Not realizing the difference between the driver’s seat and the other seats, she promptly went forward and settled down on it with her bundle. When the driver got on a little later, he asked her why on earth she was sitting there when he had to drive the bus from that seat. The old Mea woman adjusted her luggage and said with composure, “Now that I’ve made myself comfortable here, why don’t you go and drive your bus from some other seat!”
When seen in the setting of the bus, this is simply the story of an error made out of ignorance. But how often do we find people trying to occupy others’ ‘seats’ in the broader material setting of today’s world! It is the story not of ignorance or illiteracy, but of greed, envy and the craving for power. Today, few are content to remain in their own ‘seats’ but wish to usurp those of others. In the constant lusting after power and material advantage, people stop only when forced to by circumstances.
In this world of God, each and everything has its own sphere, the outer limits of which must be respected. In this way, the heavenly bodies revolve in their own orbits and nowhere else. The animals of the jungle too stay in their own territory, transgressions being few and far between, and that too because of natural disasters or the depredations of man. In this world of God, there is only one creature–man–who does not accept that there must be boundaries to his own personal world. Planning to take possession of that which rightfully belongs to others, he frequently goes beyond all limits.
In the case of the old Mea woman, it was her foolishness which was to blame. But in the case of the power-hungry, it is rebellion against God’s will. According to the law laid down by the Almighty, foolishness is a pardonable weakness, whereas rebelliousness is an offence against His divine will and as such, is unpardonable.