Principles of Life

A noted western writer once, after studying the lives of great men, attempted to pinpoint the special qualities that were common to all of them. He came to the conclusion that all of the men he had studied had been filled with curiosity and discontent. Curiosity had kept them in hot pursuit of things, ideas and ideals which had at first eluded them, and discontent had never allowed them to indulge in the thought that they had reached the final peak of achievement. These qualities had proved to be the mainspring of their inspiration.

The Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 A.D. in Makkah, the power centre of Arabia, and died in Madinah in 632. His father Abdullah, died prior to his birth. His mother, Amina, also died soon after his birth. There was nothing extraordinary in his external circumstances. But, from his very childhood, his personality reflected extraordinary character. On seeing him, his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, used to remark that this grand son of his would reach a high place in life.

An Indian Airlines Airbus, flight IC 406, from Bombay to Delhi, left Bombay half an hour behind schedule. Soon after the take-off, one of the passengers sent a note to the pilot, Captain Bhatnagar, asking him the reason for the delay in departure. The latter asked him to come to the cockpit so that he could explain the position to him.

The passenger not only refused to be convinced, but hit captain Bhatnagar from behind saying:

“I have seen many pilots like you!”

Machines, for instance, clocks and watches generally run on a system of cogwheels. The movement of one such wheel sets another in motion. If either of the wheels does not mesh with the other, neither will the cogwheel move, nor will the machine be set in motion.

The same applies to human plans in the modern world. There are two “cog-wheels” here as well. And life’s system functions properly only when the two engage and work together in unison.